7 day plan

Big Questions at Easter

Day 6 of 7

NIV

Ephesians 1:18-23

"I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength, he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.  And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way." Ephesians 1:18-23 (NIV) "And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit." (2 Corinthians 3:18) NIV

Reflection: What did Jesus achieve by dying on the cross?

We are using this special season of Easter to explore the significance of Jesus’ death on the cross.

The word ‘atonement’ means: paying the price for having done something wrong. When trying to understand its significance with Jesus, it will be helpful to understand how the Bible describes the different theories of atonement Jesus fulfilled by dying in our place on a cross.

Theologians vary their list of different theories of atonement, but essentially, they would agree that Jesus’ death:

  1. Was an expression of love (John 3:16; Romans 5:8).
  2. Was an act of substitution. Jesus swaps with us and suffers our punishment (2 Corinthians 5:14-15).
  3. Was a payment of debt for our sins, i.e. ransom (Mark 10:45).
  4. Was atonement, i.e. it paid for our sins (1 John 2:2).
  5. Signified reconciliation. i.e. it appeased God’s wrath at our sin and brought us peace (Romans 5:10; Ephesians 2:16).
  6. Was a moral example of sacrificial love (Hebrews 12:3)
  7. Signified transformation. Jesus’ death makes us eligible to be filled with God’s Holy Spirit. This means we can understand the things of Christ, grow the character of Christ, and be raised to eternal life with Christ (2 Corinthians 3:18).
  8. Signified Christ as victorious king. Sin and death are defeated, and Jesus rules with total authority, unchallenged by evil (Ephesians 1:18-23).

All of these factors represent something significant about Jesus’ death. And they can be linked together logically in this way: because of God’s love (an expression of love), Christ substitutes himself for us (substitution) so that he can pay the penalty for our sins (ransom) by atoning for them on our behalf (atonement) to appease God’s anger at evil, and bring us peace with God (reconciliation) with an act of obedience (moral example), which results in us being filled with God’s Spirit so that we can grow the character of God (transformation). All of which results in evil being killed off, and Jesus being crowned king of all (Christ, the victorious king).

It is my profound hope that you can now better appreciate the significance of Jesus’ atonement. Jesus’ death was the ultimate marriage of justice and love – and you and I are the beneficiaries of it.

Prayer:

Help us to mediate on Jesus’ death this Easter, as we are the beneficiaries of the ultimate marriage of justice and love.

Days

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