THE FINISHED WORK OF CHRIST
But all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ [making us acceptable to Him] and gave us the ministry of reconciliation [so that by our example we might bring others to Him], - 2 Corinthians 5:18(Amp)
In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation [that is, the atoning sacrifice, and the satisfying offering] for our sins [fulfilling God’s requirement for justice against sin and placating His wrath].- 1John 4:10(AMP)
In Him we have redemption [that is, our deliverance and salvation] through His blood, [which paid the penalty for our sin and resulted in] the forgiveness and complete pardon of our sin, in accordance with the riches of His grace - Ephesians 1:7(AMP)
In our churches today we are taught Theology, Christology, Soteriology, Ecclesiology, Eschatology and other locution that is enough to send shivers through the spine of the congregation. But a simple 'a friend in Jesus' faith is all we need as believers. Why then study all of these doctrines? Doctrine is what the Bible teaches and knowing what the Bible teaches is instrumental to the growth of any believer.
To know Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior is wonderful, but there is still more to learn about our regenerated life in Christ. Don't let the big word scare you away! They are only a way of categorising what the Holy Book teaches about Christ(Christology), God(Theology), salvation (soteriology), the church(eschatology), etc. It is true that the study of doctrine can be difficult at times but stick with it!, because coming to understand what God has encoded in the Holy Scripture is knowing God Himself.
The finished work of Christ is an area of soteriology, that is, what the scripture teaches about salvation and it is an area that is easily misunderstood or not completely understood by many Christians. The Holy Scripture teaches that salvation is both free and very costly at the same time. A person that believes in Jesus and accept him as personal Lord and Savior has salvation for free on one hand. And on the other hand, Salvation cost God the sacrificial death of His Only begotten son. It is this area of Salvation that is called the finished work of Christ(John 19:30). It is not the miracles Jesus performed on earth nor His miraculous birth that is in view with this phrase(finished work of Christ) but refers primarily to His death on the cross. That is where the judgement against our sins was borne by Christ, who became a substitute to us in order to become **our Savior ** . Jesus was not our Savior until he suffered and died on the cross for our sins.
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The Bible uses three keywords to describe the finished work of Christ: propitiation, redemption and reconciliation. Understanding these three keywords will help us understand the finished work of Christ.
So let's discuss extensively these three aspects of the finished work of Christ.
PROPITIATION
The word propitiation comes from the Greek word hilasterion which means to 'satisfy wrath by sacrifice'. Man became helpless after his fall and God saw this helplessness in Man and needed to bring man back to his original state but you know 'boys must be boys' . So, God must be God!, He hates sin and the consequence of sin is death (Romans 1:8, 6:23) and of such before His mercy can be extended to man, something must be done to satisfy righteous claims of God's wrath against sin. God had to come down to in the form of Man, Jesus Christ, and became a propitiation (a sacrifice) for our sins according to Romans 3:25, whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;, this was totally God's work without any input from man. God favor resides in Man!
REDEMPTION
Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: - Galatians 3:13(KJV)
to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. - Galatians 4:5(KJV)
who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. - Titus 2:14(KJV).
forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; - 1 Peter 1:18
The word 'redeem' was used in translating several Greek word in the Bible, in the New Testament, these Greek words were used particularly in reference to slavery. To redeem means to 'buy out from, or to set at liberty'. In salvation context, redemption means the work of Christ to set us free from the bondage of sin and all its awful consequences.
Redemption is not just only about setting us free from the bondage of sin but it also entails our new identity as Sons of God. We were not just redeemed back to were Adam was before, we were also upgraded to become sons in the family of God, glory! In Galatians 4:5, the word adoption does not refer to what we know it today but rather to the Roman adoption ceremony of those days. In this family action, a true son is recognized to be legitimately able to enjoy all rights and privileges of a son who has come of age. This is our present position in Christ Jesus. What grace!
This redemption wasn't paid for by us(1Peter 1:18), we must remember that the cost of redemption was high, it cost the precious blood of Jesus. Have you thanked the Lord God forthe price he paid as a ransom for your redemption today?.
RECONCILIATION
This completes the three-fold aspect of the finished work of Christ. Propitiation deals with the wrath of God, is the 'God-ward' aspect, Redemption deals with the entrapment by sin, is the 'sin-ward'. Reconciliation is the man-ward aspect of the finished work of Christ and deals with our fellowship with God. According to growing Christians;
A wonderful illustration of reconciliation is seen in our Lord's story of the lost son in
Luke 15:11-32 . When the son repents and acknowledges his guilt to the father, he is brought back into a happy and harmonious state of fellowship with the father. He is not just forgiven and allowed back on the property--he is welcomed back into the family with open arms and celebration!
The meaning of reconcile as got from the Greek translation is to 'change completely'. We are the guilty party, hostile and selfish(Colossians1:21). We need to be changed completely not God.
The finished work of Christ is Universal in scope according to 1John2:2 but that doesn't mean everyone has salvation. The finished work of Christ is only fruitful for those who believe. !
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