Soteriology, Part 7

By Lewis Sperry Chafer

The Savior

Things Accomplished by Christ in His Sufferings and Death

II. Christ the Ending of the Law Principle in behalf of Those Who Are Saved.

The more extended discussion of the Law as to its inception, its purpose, its reign, and its termination, yet to be undertaken under Ecclesiology, is not in order here. The immediate issue is the truth that, by the death of Christ and for those who believe, the legal, meritorious system of works’ comes to an end. In its larger aspects the law exists as two widely different realities, namely, the Law of Moses, and inherent law.

The Law of Moses is that rule for conduct which God gave to Israel at Mount Sinai, which law ran its course for 1500 years and was then superseded by “grace and truth” (John 1:17). It is that covenant which God made with Israel (Exod 19:5) when He “took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake” (Jer 31:32). The law-covenant was strictly a conditional agreement which conditioned divine blessings upon human faithfulness. The official and final statement of this covenant is recorded in Deuteronomy, chapter 28. In the light of new blessings and relationships which were to follow in the present age of grace and in the yet future kingdom age, the Mosaic Law was an ad interim divine, dealing until the Seed—Christ—should come. It was a παιδαγωγός, a child governor or disciplinarian, to lead to Christ. But after Christ, the object of faith, is come, “we are no longer under a schoolmaster [παιδαγωγός]” (Gal 3:19–25). Nevertheless, though the legal principle is now done away—and of necessity, because of its incompatibility with the rule for conduct which grace provides—it will, when Israel returns to the land under Messiah’s reign, be reestablished. Of those requirements and concerning the return of Israel to the land, Moses said, “And thou shalt return and obey the voice of the LORD, and do all his commandments which I command thee this day” (Deut 30:8). Though it is the very law which Moses commanded that Israel will do, their situation will be altered. Christ will be on the Throne of David reigning over Israel and the whole earth; Satan will be in the abyss; and this law, rather than being merely addressed to Israel, will be written on their hearts (Jer 31:33), but its legal character is not changed. It is that law which Moses commanded them. In passing, it is important to observe that this Mosaic rule, or governing code, did not exist before it was proclaimed by Moses at Mount Sinai; it was never under any circumstances addressed to Gentiles; and as certainly it is never addressed to Christians, though Christians and unsaved Gentiles may, because of ignorance of God’s will for them, assume the obligations of the law-system. These are reminded that, when thus assuming any portion of the law of Moses, they are under self-committal to do the whole law. Being ad interim in its character, the law which Moses commanded came to its termination at the time and under the circumstances divinely decreed. An exposition of this great body of truth, which will justify these dogmatic assertions, will be undertaken in its proper place.

Inherent law is perhaps best defined as the Creator’s right over the creature and, therefore, the creature’s responsibility to the Creator. In his wicked assumption of independence of God, man has lost the sense of the Creator’s rights and looks upon the authority of God as unjustifiable intrusion into the sphere of human autonomy. However, the philosophy of self-rule, which Satan persuaded Adam to adopt, though so indispensable to fallen man; that he can think in no other terms, has never nullified the inherent obligation of the creature to the Creator. “Be ye holy, for I am holy” is a reasonable, though drastic, requirement, being that which a holy God can alone require. Israel were condemned for having failed to keep the commandments of Moses—”which my covenant they brake”—; but of man in general and as under inherent law it is said, “There is none righteous, no, not one: there is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one” (Rom 3:10–12). During a period of at least 2, 500 years between Adam and Moses, only inherent law obtained; but that law was sufficiently definite that God judged men as offenders and purified the earth with a flood. More was known in that period of the demands of inherent law than is now recorded. God’s Word respecting Abraham’s obedience chronicled in Genesis 26:5 is most suggestive: “Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws” (cf. Gen 18:19; Rom 5:13). The requirement upon man that he be pleasing to his Creator is an obligation from which none may escape.

These two legal requirements—the Mosaic system and inherent law—are alike in one particular: they each aim at the establishing of human merit as the ground of divine blessing. Alike, these legal obligations impose upon man that only which a holy God might accept and which fallen man has never wrought—not even as much as a semblance of them. The failure of Israel under the Mosaic system was such that the law, which in itself was “holy, just, and good,” became a ministration of condemnation and of death (Rom 7:10; 2 Cor 3:7, 9), while the failure under inherent law is such that only retribution awaits those who are not saved from it.

These extended introductory words have been penned as a preparation for a right understanding of an extended body of Scripture bearing on this theme—Christ the end of the law for those who believe. The central passage will be first in order and this will be followed by a series of texts which disclose the precise nature of this aspect of Christ’s achievernent in His death.

Romans 10:4—”For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.”

The context, disregarding the intrusion of a chapter division, begins with Romans 9:30 and presents a strange paradox, which is that the believing Gentiles who followed not after righteousness have attained unto righteousness, while Israel, who followed after righteousness, hath not attained to righteousness. There is thus introduced two methods of gaining righteousness. Israel, by self-effort, which the law prescribed, and by ignoring faith, hath not reached the goal of righteousness. Their law-works were, as always, a miserable failure. Over against this, Gentiles who attended not on the law since it was never their portion, but who did exercise faith, reached the goal of perfect righteousness. A deep truth respecting the divine purpose in the giving of the law to Israel is here disclosed. God is said to have given the law as “a stumbling stone and rock of offence” to the end that He might accentuate this very truth under discussion, namely, “whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.” The example of Abraham who believed Jehovah and it (his faith) was counted unto him for righteousness (Gen 15:6) was ever before Israel, and David had described the blessedness of the man unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works (Rom 4:6); nevertheless, Israel stumbled over the stumblingstone of human merit, as humanity is ever prone to do—even many who through faith are already in possession of infinite righteousness. The Apostle at once points out that Israel’s difficulty was not a lack of zeal; for, he asserts, they had a “great zeal for God.” Their trouble was ignorance. They did not know the truth that faith in God would, as witnessed by Abraham, David, and the prophets, bring about, through divine grace, an adjustment all-satisfying to God—even a righteousness as perfect as Himself. The student is reminded of the previous discussion concerning the equitable ground established by the sweet savor aspect of Christ’s death whereon God is free to impute all that Christ is—even the righteousness of God—unto those who believe, and Himself to be just when He justifies the ungodly. Unfortunately, this devastating ignorance respecting imputed righteousness, which so injured Israel, has characterized the church of Christ also. Great multitudes of those who belong to the church as its members have never conceived of any relation to God beyond “the law of works.” Their reprehensibleness is far greater than that of Israel; for, while Israel had the witness of Abraham and David, the church has the example of Israel’s failure and, in addition, the great body of New Testament Scripture. The Arminian notion that people will not live righteous lives unless placed upon a works basis of relationship to God has permeated the church to a large degree. This ignorance is manifest in the church by the fact that the greatest incentive to holy living that the human heart can know is ignored, which is, to “walk worthy of the vocation wherewith we are called” (Eph 4:1). The individual who comprehends that he has attained by faith through grace to the perfect righteousness of God, will be incited by so great an honor and trust to walk more faithfully in the path of God’s own choosing than will the individual who hopes—against hope, for it is recognized as an impossible task—to satisfy a holy God by his ever-failing works.

But is the perfect righteousness of God secured as a standing, as a wedding garment, by those who do no more than to believe in Jesus? It certainly is; but the ignorance of Israel and of so many in the church does not make any place for so glorious a truth. Naturally, objection is not raised to the requirement that the individual should believe in Jesus. It would dishonor Him not to do so; but repentance, confession, consecration, good works, etc., must be added, it is claimed, to complete what is deemed to be reasonable, not understanding that the addition of one feature of human merit introduces a principle which, of necessity, is to misunderstand the entire character of that grace by which alone the soul is saved. Let the Scripture itself testify of this truth: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith” (Rom 1:16, 17); “Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference. To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus” (Rom 3:22, 26); “But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness” (Rom 4:5); “For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ” (Rom 5:17); “But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe” (Gal 3:22); “For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth” (Rom 10:4).

Returning to the central passage—Romans 10:4, just quoted—, it will be seen that some difference of opinion obtains as to the sense in which Christ is said to be the end of the law. Some see only that He, by His sufferings and death, paid the penalty the law imposed and thus discharged the indictment against the sinner, which is comprehended in forgiveness. Others see that Christ fulfills the law by supplying the merit which the holy Creator demands, which is comprehended in justification. Doubtless both of these conceptions inhere in this passage; but it will be observed that whatever is done is done for those who believe—with no other requirement added—, and that belief results in the bestowing of the righteousness of God. As has been observed, the context of the passage under consideration contrasts two widely different principles of procedure, i.e., (1) an attempt to establish righteousness by zealous works; and (2) the securing of perfect righteousness by faith. One is a system of merit—the deadly enemy of grace—, which offers self-righteousness to God with the hope that He will accept it by overlooking in generosity its imperfections; the other is a system based wholly on expectation toward God which receives in Christ Jesus the perfect righteousness of God, and, though works are wholly excluded from the ground upon which this righteousness is received, this plan secures the most serious concern on the part of the one who receives that righteousness, that the daily life may be in harmony with the position and standing which has been attained by faith alone. Whether this superior incentive for a holy life is valued or not, it remains the unquestionable plan of God for those who are saved by grace through faith. The merit system has no termination, while the faith system seals its objective the moment the individual believes. The merit system represents the best that man can do, while the faith system represents the best that God can do. The merit system has never been, nor could it ever be, anything but ignominious failure, ending in eternal perdition, while the faith system never has been, nor could it ever be, anything but infinite perfection, ending in eternal glory.

How earnestly the great Apostle labors to make clear the truth that these two systems—law, works, and merit, on the one hand, and grace, faith, and promise, on the other hand—cannot coexist! He declares, “And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work” (Rom 11:6); “I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then ‘Christ is dead in vain” (Gal 2:21); “For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham by promise. And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise” (Gal 3:18, 29).

It is in connection with the last passage quoted—Galatians 3:29—that the Apostle declares, “For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ” (vs. 27). The Spirit’s baptism into Christ results in the “putting on” of Christ, and, as the most absolute necessity dictates, being thus in Christ, the blessing of Abrahamic faith and the position of an heir according to promise are gained on the most righteous ground. No doctrinal ground is set up in Genesis 15:6 in defense of the divine act of imputing righteousness to Abraham; but the imputation of righteousness to the believer, as has been observed, rests upon the absolute provision secured through the substitutionary death of Christ. The word to believers regarding the extending to them of Abraham’s blessing on the ground of Abrahamic faith is assuring, “Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him; but for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead” (Rom 4:23, 24).

Certain other passages which bear on the same contrast with law, work, or merit, should also be considered. These are:

Acts 15:10—”Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?”

This entire chapter forms the context of this one verse. The question before the first council of the church is that of the relation of the Mosaic system to those from among the Gentiles who are saved. The council determined that Gentile Christians were neither to be circumcised nor to keep the law (cf. vs. 24); and it was asserted by these Jews who were in authority in the church that the keeping of the law as a system of merit had been to those under its rule as “a yoke upon the neck,” from which believers are free (cf. Gal 5:1).

Romans 1:16, 17—”For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ; for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.”

The notable contribution which this Scripture makes to this great theme is that the availability of the righteousness of God is a vital—so far as this text goes, the vital—feature of the gospel of divine grace.

Romans 3:21, 22—”But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference.”

No greater human failure could be described than that recounted in Romans 1:18 to 3:20. From that dark background the Apostle turns abruptly, on the words “But now,” to the most glorious provision, which is, that perfect righteousness is available through simple faith in Christ. This blessing is secured wholly apart from and independent of any help the merit system of the law might contribute. This divinely provided righteousness is revealed unto all and comes upon all who believe. Twice this uncomplicated condition appears. It is through faith in Jesus Christ and extends to all who believe. Language could not more clearly assert that this is distinctly a righteousness from God and received by faith apart from anything or everything belonging to human merit.

Romans 3:31—”Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.”

Two interpretations of this crucial passage have been advanced: (1) that, through the enabling power of the Spirit, the righteousness which the law demands may be fulfilled by the believer; and (2) that the unsaved may establish the law by standing in that fulfillment of it which Christ has accomplished. All that the law could ever require is satisfied in the one who is perfected in Christ. The former interpetation is only an exalted form of human works, which are fulfilled in the believer and never by the believer; yet these works are credited to the believer, since for them he will receive a reward. The latter interpretation is in harmony with all revealed truth, but will be accepted by those only who have apprehended the doctrine of imputed righteousness.

Romans 4:5—”But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.”

The phrase “worketh not” does not imply carelessness in the believer’s daily life; it rather refers to the truth that he does not depend on works of merit. The passage reveals the important truth that believing is the opposite of works of merit. Believing is not doing a meritorious work; it is trusting the finished work of Another. Even the ungodly may be counted righteous on the ground of faith in Christ.

Romans 4:11—”And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised: that he might be the father of all them that believe, though they be not circumcised; that righteousness might be imputed unto them also.”

What Abraham received before being circumcised and centuries before the law was given cannot be said to have been a divine recognition of works of merit. Abraham is the pattern and, therefore, the father of all who receive imputed righteousness by faith.

Romans 4:13–16—”For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. For if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none effect: because the law worketh wrath: for where no law is, there is no transgression. Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all.”

In Abraham’s case, as in the case of all who exercise Abrahamic faith, the promise of imputed righteousness is (1) by faith (nothing on man’s part—cf. vs. 5), that it might be by grace (everything on God’s part), to the end that the promise might be sure. Nothing could be so insecure as a righteousness based on human merit.

Romans 4:23, 24—”Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him; but for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead.”

Let it be restated that Abraham is the pattern of a Christian under grace and not of a Jew under law. The character of his faith, as defined in verses 17–22, is worthy of most careful consideration. But righteousness received by faith is not alone the heritage of Abraham; it is “for us also.” This blessed truth is well expressed by the Apostle in Galatians 3:7, 9: “Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham…. So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham” (cf. John 8:37, 39).

Romans 5:19—”For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.”

Here again, but in a different setting, is presented the truth before emphasized, that it is through the obedient, sweet savor offering of Christ that the many are counted righteous. This, it should be observed, is far removed from the notion that true righteousness is by human works and merit.

2 Corinthians 5:21—”For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”

Associated closely with this passage is Romans 3:22. In both there is clear reference to the fact that there is a righteousness from God which is made the portion of those who do no more than believe in Jesus.

Galatians 3:8—”And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.”

Thus, again, the great benefit of imputed righteousness which came to Abraham in response to his faith is declared to be but a first-fruits, as it were, of that which God in the day of His favor is imputing to all who believe.

Galatians 4:19–31—”My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you, I desire to be present with you now, and to change my voice; for I stand in doubt of you. Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law? For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman. But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise. Which things are an allegory; for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar. For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children. But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all. For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not: for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband. Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise. But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now. Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman. So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free.”

This extended allegory teaches what the Apostle asserts in Romans 11:6, namely, that the two systems—that of works, and that of faith—cannot coexist. The bondwoman, Hagar, who typifies the principle of human works, must be dismissed, for the freewoman, Sarah, who, typifies promise and faith, and the bondwoman cannot share the inheritance.

Galatians 5:1—”Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.”

The priceless liberty of the Christian, which he is here enjoined to defend at any cost, is the deliverance he has experienced from the merit system, the law, and human works. If, after being thus delivered, he shall lapse into any form of law observance with a view to establishing his own righteousness, he has fallen from grace (vs. 4). To that extent, Christ, the bestower of a perfect righteousness in which he stands, has become of no effect. Thus the Apostle declares, “For if I build again the things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor” (2:18). This constitutes a most serious warning.

In conclusion it may be restated that, by His death in its sweet savor aspect, Christ secured the righteous ground upon which God is just, when He justifies even the ungodly who do no more than to believe in Jesus. They are equally established before God by their union to Christ through the baptism of the Spirit. In these respects, Christ is the end of the law—the principle of law, works, and merit—for all those who believe. The entire merit system is, of necessity, dismissed, whether it be the Mosaic system or inherent law. No ground is left for an appeal for works of merit in the life of the one who through riches of grace is constituted as perfect in his standing before God as Christ is perfect. The injunctions of the grace portion of the New Testament are free from any appeal to the believer on the basis of merit. There is abundant ground for an appeal that such a glorious reality as imputed righteousness shall be adorned by a holy life. Such an appeal is indeed far removed from the practice of the ignorant Israelites who went aout seeking to establish their own righteousness, not knowing—in spite of much revelation—that there is a righteousness from God. No more imperious feature is embedded in this great body of Scripture than that this marvel of divine grace—imputed righteousness—is received on the one and only condition of believing on Christ.

III. A Redemption toward Sin

This with divisions (IV) on Reconciliation and (V) on Propitiation, which follow, are closely related. These are the three doctrines in each of which the value of the death of Christ is recognized as reaching out to the unsaved. Other doctrines related to the value to men of Christ’s death—Forgiveness, Regeneration, Justification, Sanctification—are restricted in that they contemplate that death only in its relation to those who believe. However, the trilogy—Redemption, Reconciliation, and Propitiation—is unique in that these parts by which it is constituted extend benefits to both saved and unsaved. The essential benefits which accrue to the Christian from these realities will be considered as the doctrines are contemplated separately. On the other hand, when the truth in each of these three doctrines as related to the unsaved is examined and segregated, and these three segregated portions are combined into one interrelated body of truth, the result is a declaration of all that enters into, that which is termed The Finished Work of Christ. This term is derived from the words of Christ on the cross, namely, “It is finished” (John 19:30). There was no reference by these words on Christ’s part to the truth that His own life, service, or sufferings were coming to an end. It is rather that a specific undertaking committed to Him by His Father, which could not have begun until He was on the cross, was consummated. It is true that the Father had given Him a work to do in His three and a half years of service. To this reference is made in the words, “Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work” (John 4:34); “But I have greater witness than that of John: for the works which the Father hath given me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me, that the Father hath sent me” (John 5:36). In contradistinction to this, a specific work was committed to the Savior which began with His cross-sufferings and ended with His death. It is to this that His words “It is finished” refer. Of this same saving work of the cross the Savior in His Priestly prayer spoke when He said, “I have finished the work thou gavest me to do” (John 17:4). That He could speak thus of a work which had not at that time even begun is explained by the fact that the whole of the Upper Room Discourse, including the Priestly prayer, was dated by Christ in relation to the cross, the resurrection, the ascension, and the advent of the Spirit as though these momentous events were accomplished. What was wrought on the cross, and finished when He died, will be discovered only through an investigation into that which was included in His Redemption, His Reconciliation, and His Propitiation.

Redemption is the sinward aspect of Christ’s work on the cross and as such is restricted as to its meaning. In this thesis, redemption will be treated in this Biblical and specific meaning and not as modern theology has employed the term as a representation of all that Christ wrought in His sufferings and death. The work of Christ on the cross is far too extensive to be contemplated in any single phase of it. This work in its totality could as well be represented by either the term reconciliation or propitiation, as by redemption. Not one of these ideas, or all three together, could serve to indicate in its fulness so vast a theme. Perhaps the free use of the word redemption to represent the entire saving work of Christ is due, too often, to a failure to comprehend all that He wrought. Such a restriction is manifest when men speak of a limited redemption, as though Christ’s work on the cross was restricted to, and exhausted as to its value in, His death for the elect who comprise the Church. Not only is the value of His death not limited to the Church or even to humanity, since it reaches to angelic spheres, but it would be as reasonable to speak of His work as a limited reconciliation, or a limited propitiation, as to style it a limited redemption. The student is cautioned against any assumption of limitation relative to the value of Christ’s death. It will be seen that, while Christ died for the elect who comprise the Church—and at least five aspects of the value of His death are related to that Body—, He is as definitely said to have died for Israel as a distinct and unrelated people, for a judgment upon fallen angels, for a purification of heaven, and for the whole cosmos world. The fallacy of a so-called limited redemption is yet to be examined in a later division of this general theme.

Redemption is an act of God by which He Himself pays as a ransom the price of human sin which the outraged holiness and government of God requires. Redemption undertakes the solution of the problem of sin, as reconciliation undertakes the solution of the problem of the sinner, and propitiation undertakes the problem of an offended God. All are infinitely important and all are requisite to the analysis of the whole doctrine of Christ’s finished work—a work finished, indeed, to the point of divine perfection. Though parts of one complete whole, these great themes should never be treated as synonymous. The specific character of each is obvious.

The redemption provided for and offered to the sinner is a redemption from sin, which estate, according to the Bible, is one of bondservitude concerning which both a liberating price must be paid and power be exercised in the deliverance of the slave. Divine redemption is by blood—the ransom price—, and by power. Such was the release of Israel from Egyptian bondage—a type of bondslavery to sin. Israel was redeemed by the blood of the sacrificial lamb, and by Almighty power was taken out from bondage into freedom. This order is never reversed either in the type or the antitype.

The Old Testament doctrine of redemption concerns, in the main, a redeemed nation, and, therefore, the theme is implied throughout. Exodus is the book of redemption and Ruth is a type picture of the Kinsman-Redeemer. The word ḡāʾal serves to express the thought of redemption—the act of setting free by payment of a ransom price. The thing redeemed might be a person or an estate (cf. Lev 25:25, 47, 48). Certain requirements, which were highly typical, were imposed upon the one who would redeem: (a) He must be a kinsman. This aspect of truth leads to the meaning of the title Kinsman-Redeemer and is the basic requirement which brought the Son of God from heaven to earth and necessitated the incarnation that He might be a perfect Kinsman-Redeemer. (b) The one to ḡāʾal must also be able to redeem. The price, whatever it might be, in any case was paid by the one who redeemed. This requirement was imperative in the type as it is in the antitype. Christ alone could pay the price of redemption—the blood of an holy, undefiled, and spotless Lamb. The blood of a man, especially of a fallen race, would not suffice. It must be the blood of God (cf. Acts 20:28). (c) The one to ḡāʾal had to be free from the calamity which had fallen on the one who was to be redeemed. In this particular, Christ the Antitype was free from both the sin nature and the practice of sin. (d) The one who would redeem had to be willing to redeem. This feature Christ fulfilled perfectly. Boaz of Ruth is thus connected with ḡāʾal and the divinely provided type of Christ in redemption.[1]

In the New Testament, three different Greek words are used to translate redeem, or redemption, and the distinctions which they set forth are naturally lost to the reader of the English text. These words are: (1) ἀγοράζω which means to purchase in the market. Here the essential truth appears that the unsaved are bond-slaves to sin—”sold under sin” (Rom 7:14)—, dominated by Satan (Eph 2:12; 1 Cor 12:2), condemned (John 3:18; Rom 3:19; Gal 3:10). Whoever would redeem them must take the slave’s place, be made a curse for him, and shed his blood as a ransom-price of redemption (Matt 20:28). (2) ἐξαγοράζω, meaning ‘to purchase out of the market.’ This is a distinct advance over ἀγοράζω, which implies no more than the payment of the requisite price. The addition of ἐξ supplies the added thought of removing or taking out. One thus taken out will never again be returned to the place of bondage and exposed to the lot of a slave. (3) λυτρόω, which indicates that the redeemed one is loosened and set free. Redemption, in its fullest meaning, as represented by this word, is assurance that Christ has not merely transferred the sinner’s bondage from one master to another; He has purchased with the object in view that the ransomed one may be free. Christ will not hold unwilling slaves in bondage. All this is typically anticipated in Exodus 21:1–6 (cf. Deut 15:16, 17). A slave set free by his master was wholly free; but he could voluntarily remain as the slave of the master whom he loved. The new voluntary relationship was sealed by the master piercing the ear of the slave with an awl. Thus, according to type, the Christian is set free, but is privileged to yield himself wholly to the One who redeemed him. Of this, the Apostle said, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God” (Rom 12:1, 2). In like manner, Christ, on His human side, was the perfect example of voluntary yielding to the will of another. According to Psalm 40:6, quoted in Hebrews 10:7 and contemplating the sealing of the voluntary slave, Christ said “Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine ears hast thou opened: burnt-offering and sin-offering hast thou not required. Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me, I delight to do thy will, O my God; yea, thy law is within my heart” (40:6–8). The phrase “mine ears hast thou opened” may as well be rendered, “mine ears hast thou bored,” and reference is evidently made to the provision recorded in Exodus 21:1–6. He is in every respect—type and antitype—the yielded servant.

It is therefore to be observed that the doctrine of Redemption as set forth by the terms used in the New Testament is a complete fulfillment of the truth foreshadowed in the Old Testament, that there is a sense in which the price is paid but the slave is not necessarily released—which is the estate of all for whom Christ died who are yet not saved—, and that, by a deeper and more abundant realization of redemption, the slave may be released and set free—which is the estate of all who are saved. The relation of the unsaved to the truth that by His death Christ paid the ransom price, is to believe what is declared to be true and is true. The relation of the saved to the truth that by His death Christ set them free is to recognize that marvelous freedom and then by self-surrender to become the voluntary slave of the Redeemer.

IV. A Reconciliation toward Man

The manward aspect of Christ’s work on the cross is termed Reconciliation and is strictly a New Testament doctrine, or, more specifically, a reality made possible by the death of Christ. The word reconciliation occurs twice in the English A.V. of the Old Testament—1 Samuel 29:4, where it is merely that one would make himself pleasing to another; and 2 Chronicles 29:24, where it refers to the making of an offering. Other Old Testiment passages—Leviticus 6:30; 8:15; 16:20; Ezekiel 45:15, 17, 20; Daniel 9:24—, to be consistent, should be translated atonement. Similarly, Hebrews 2:17 should be rendered propitiation, as Roman 5:11 should be rendered reconciliation. The New Testament doctrine is, however, of major importance. The one Greek word καταλλάσσω has but one meaning, namely, to change completely. Should these words be substituted in the New Testament text wherever the English word reconciliation occurs (excepting Roman 5:11), the true force of the passage will be preserved. It is written: “For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled [changed completely] to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled [changed completely], we shall be saved by his life” (Rom 5:10); “For if the casting away of them be the reconciling [changing completely] of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead?” (Rom 11:15); “But and if she depart, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled [changed completely] to her husband: and let not the husband put away his wife” (1 Cor 7:11); “And all things are of God, who hath reconciled [changed completely] us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation” (changing completely—2 Cor 5:18); “And that he might reconcile [change completely] both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain. the enmity thereby” (Eph 2:16); “And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile [change completely] all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven. And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled” (changed completely—Col 1:20, 21).

The two aspects of reconciliation are best disclosed in 2 Corinthians 5:19, 20. In verse 19 it is declared that the world (κόσμος, which term is never by any stretch of exegesis made to represent the elect who are saved out of it) is reconciled to God. This vital passage presents the truth that, in and through the death of Christ, God was changing completely the position of the world in its relation to Himself. The Bible never asserts that God is reconciled. If it be supposed that God is represented as having changed completely His own attitude toward the world because of Christ’s death it will be remembered that it is His righteousness which is involved. Before the death of Christ His righteousness demanded its required judgments; but after the death of Christ that same righteousness is free to save the lost. His righteousness is thus not changed nor does it ever act otherwise than in perfect equity. Thus God who sees the world changed completely in its relation to Himself by the death of Christ, is not Himself reconciled or changed. The same interpretation is required. in Romans 11:15. There is no disposition to be over-critical on the part of God; but this belongs rather to propitiation than to reconciliation. The latter is no more Godward in its objective accomplishments than redemption. Certainly redemption is not Godward, nor, in the final analysis, is reconciliation Godward; for God is immutable. He is always righteous, just, and good. Propitiation, it, will be seen, does not infuse compassion into God; it rather secures the freedom on His part to exercise His unchanging compassion apart from those restraints which penal judgments would otherwise impose. There is a truth to be recognized concerning God, that in His own being and from all eternity His holiness and His love have found adjustment concerning the sinner through the death of His Son; but this is only an other approach to the same divine propitiation.

It has been claimed that for God to adjust the world in its relation to Himself, as is accomplished in the reconciliation aspect of Christ’s death, is universalism. It is assumed, thus, that general reconciliation is equivalent to general salvation. To avoid such a conclusion, it is asserted that Christ died for only the elect. They alone were changed completely in the sphere of their relation to God. Most convincingly the Apostle goes on in verse 20 to state that Christ’s messengers, to whom is committed the word of reconciliation, go forth, in His stead, beseeching the very men who according to verse 19 are already divinely reconciled, to be reconciled to God. The word beseech implies that they may or may not be reconciled in response to the messengers. What is it that men are thus implored to do? Simply this: God is satisfied with the solution of the sin question as consummated by Christ in His death, and the sinner is petitioned to be himself satisfied with that which satisfies God. Thus the element of faith is present—and it is never absent when the salvation of man is in view. It is evident, then, that whatever complete change is indicated for the κόσμος, according to verse 19, is not equivalent to the saving of anyone—elect or non-elect; but rather it has made the reconciliation of verse 20, which is equivalent to salvation, possible. The unregenerate are saved when they individually elect to stand adjusted to God through the death of Christ. This, indeed, is a thorough change from unbelief and rejection of Christ to belief and acceptance of Christ. In other words, the value of Christ’s reconciling death is not applied to the sinner at the time of that death, but rather when he believes.

This twofold reconciliation—that of the world and that which is wrought when the individual believes—is in evidence again in Romans 5:10, 11. “For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.” In the first instance, the death of Christ is said to have reconciled “enemies” to God, which truth corresponds with the reconciliation of the world; in the second instance “being reconciled” by a personal faith as well as by the fact of Christ’s death, the saved are to be kept saved by Christ’s living Presence as Advocate and Intercessor in heaven.

There could be no question raised as to the fact that there are two aspects of reconciliation: one wrought for all by God in His love for the world, and the other wrought in the individual who believes when he believes.

Dallas, Texas

Notes

1. Other words than gaal which are found in the Old Testament and which convey the thought of redemption are, padah (cf. Lev 19:20; 27:29; Num 3:46, 48, 49, 51; 18:16; Deut 7:8; 13:5; Ps 49:7, 8–15; 111:9; 130:7; Micah 6:4); qanah (cf. Neh 5:8; Ps 136:24); guellah (cf. Lev 25:26, 29, 32; Ruth 4:7; Jer 32:7, 8).