01.15 Atonement And Redemption

XV. Atonement and Redemption The Christian Religion has been charged with being a "BLOODY" Religion; that it savors of the Abattoir, turned the Temple into a "Slaughter House," and is a "Religion of the Shambles" because it demands the "Blood of Christ," and therefore is revolting to persons of refined sensibilities. What the blood is to our bodies (life), the "Blood of Christ" is to the Bible. Take the "scarlet word" out of the Bible, and the Bible is a DEAD book. If you were to take a brush and dip it in red ink and go carefully through your Bible from Genesis to Revelation and mark out all the passages that refer to the "Blood," and are associated with it in any way, you would be surprised at how little of the Bible you would have left. In fact its value would be gone. The historical portions would be meaningless, the ethical teaching powerless, and the prophetical statements unfulfilled. Every doctrine in the Bible is dependent on the "Blood." Without it there would be no "Forgiveness," no "Regeneration," no "Justification," no "Sanctification," no "Peace," no ."Joy," no "Rest," no "Hope," no "Resurrection," no "Heaven," no "Robes Washed," no "New Song." Twenty-eight times in the Book of Revelation Jesus is called THE LAMB, and that title is always associated with His atoning work. So we see if we take the "Blood" out of the Bible the Doctrine of the Atonement must go.

I. THE ATONEMENT The word means "AT-ONE-MENT." The "Fall of Man" put man and God "AT-TWO-MENT," that is, alienated and separated them. The purpose of the Atonement is to make them one again. It is a principle of law that the "Penalty" of a broken law must fall on the breaker of the law or on his substitute or bondsman, otherwise the law is of no effect. A law without a penalty would be useless. It is not the law but the penalty that men stand in fear of. An "Atonement" then is any "Provision" that may be introduced into the administration of a Government, whereby that Government may, upon just, safe, and honorable grounds, release an offender from the "Penalty" of a broken law. Now God made a "Law" to govern the conduct of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. The "Law" was-"Of every tree of the Garden thou mayest freely eat: but of the ’Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil’ thou SHALT NOT EAT." The "Penalty" was-"In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely DIE." Genesis 2:16-17. When Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden fruit they broke that "Law" and were doomed to die. But their death would frustrate God’s purpose in their creation, which was to repopulate the restored earth. Genesis 1:28. Now God could not withhold the "Penalty" of death without breaking His Holy Word, and in the future cause Adam and Eve to doubt his truthfulness. It became necessary therefore that the "Penalty" of the Law, if it was not to fall on Adam and Eve, should fall on some one who should take their place. The substitute that God in His love and justice provided was HIMSELF in the person of His Son Jesus, for Jesus was no other than God manifest in the flesh. 1 Timothy 3:16. But this substitute was not provided immediately. It was not until 4000 years later that Jesus paid the "Penalty" of Adam’s disobedience by His death on the Cross. But during those 4000 years, by the shedding of the blood of bullocks, goats, and innocent lambs, whose bodies were laid smoking and quivering on Hebrew altars, God, in one great "Object Lesson," kept before the people the fact that without the SHEDDING OF BLOOD there could be no remission for sin. The sprinkling of the blood of every Passover Lamb was a reminder of Him who was to be the "Lamb of God" who should take away the sin of the world. John 1:29. And when the hour had come for the offering up of THE SACRIFICE, we see Justice and Mercy standing on the Hill Calvary, and hear Justice say to Mercy-"Where is He who, over 4000 years ago, in the Garden of Eden, offered Himself a SUBSTITUTE for the sin of the world ?" "Behold Him," says Mercy, "coming up the Hill bearing His Cross." When He reached the top of the Hill Justice presented the "Bond," executed centuries before, and demanded its payment. The Son of God replied-"I will this day cancel it." Soon all the preparations for the sacrifice were complete, and the "Lamb of God" was laid on the ALTAR OF THE CROSS. As Jesus laid His hand upon the crossbar of the Cross, He held in it, invisible to human eyes, the "Bond" to be cancelled, and when the Roman soldier drove the nail through that hand there were fulfilled the words of the Apostle-

"And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath He quickened together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses; BLOTTING OUT THE HANDWRITING OF ORDINANCES that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took IT out of the way, NAILING IT TO HIS CROSS." Colossians 2:13-14. By the cancellation of the "Bond" the Law and Justice of God were satisfied, and it was possible for God to- "Be JUST and the JUSTIFIER of them who BELIEVE IN JESUS." Romans 3:26. But some one may say, "How could an innocent person assume the guilt of another?" This can only be done by the innocent person entering into "Corporate Oneness" with the guilty person, and thus becoming IDENTIFIED WITH HIM. For illustration the debts of a poor widow could not be justly charged up to a millionaire neighbor, but if he entered into "Corporate Oneness" with her by marrying her, and thus assuming all her obligations, then he could justly and legally be held responsible for her debts. Now this is just what the Apostle says-

"Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become DEAD TO THE LAW (our first husband) by the body of Christ (that is by Christ’s death); that ye should be MARRIED TO ANOTHER, even to Him (Christ) who is RAISED FROM THE DEAD." Romans 7:4. This union with Christ results in a "LEGAL ANSWERABLENESS" by Him for all our debts to the Law, and Jesus recognized the justice of all His sufferings on the Cross, when He said to the two disciples on the Road to Emmaus-"O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: OUGHT NOT CHRIST TO HAVE SUFFERED THESE THINGS, and to enter into His Glory?" Luke 24:25-26. We see then that the Atonement of Christ means more than mere "Substitution," it means a "CORPORATE ONENESS," a union in which it was perfectly just for God to exact from His Son the penalty of death in satisfaction of the broken Law. We are therefore as believers to "RECKON OURSELVES DEAD TO THE LAW." (Romans 7:4.) That is, we are to believe and act as those who have been freed from the Law, for "there is therefore now NO CONDEMNATION to them who are in Christ Jesus," (Romans 8:1), for we were judged for sin in Christ on the Cross, and our Judgment for "Sin" IS PAST. The efficacy and "Substitutionary" character of the Atonement is beautifully illustrated in the story of Barabbas. Barabbas had been condemned to die, he was to have suffered the penalty of his crime on the cross between the two thieves, but when the multitude was given the choice between Christ or Barabbas, they chose Christ, and He as a SUBSTITUTE took Barabbas’ place on the central cross, and His death satisfied the Law, and Barabbas was free. If Barabbas had gone out to Calvary that day and witnessed Christ’s death in his stead, and had accepted Jesus as his personal Saviour from sin, he would have been the first man to understand the substitutionary character of the Atonement. As sinners we were under the "curse of the Law," but as believers-"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. The "Tree" that Christ hung on was the CROSS. We are therefore DEAD to the Law; not physically dead, but JUDICIALLY dead, for the "Penalty" of a law cannot be exacted twice. If Jesus "bare our sins in His own body upon the Tree" (1 Peter 2:24), then they are no longer upon us and we are free from sin. The death of Christ was no mere accident or incident, it was predetermined. "Ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold . . . but with the PRECIOUS BLOOD OF CHRIST, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: who verily was foreordained BEFORE THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD." 1 Peter 1:18-20. From this we see that there was a purpose in Christ’s death; that Calvary and the Cross were a necessity, and that the mission of Christ was not simply to bear witness to the Father, and reveal God to men, but to die upon the Cross for the Salvation of the World. THE EXTENT OF THE ATONEMENT

Some would limit the Atonement to the elect only. They look upon the Atonement as a "Commercial Transaction," and quote the words-"Ye are bought with a price" (1 Corinthians 6:19-20), and claim that as in a commercial transaction there must be a buyer and seller, a thing to be bought and sold, and a price to be paid, that God was the "Buyer," that the Law was the "Seller," that the "elect" were the "Thing" sold, and that the "Blood of Christ" was the "Purchase Price." Now as in a commercial transaction there must be a mutual understanding as to the price to be paid, and the quality and quantity of the articles to be delivered, the "Commercial View" of the Atonement implies that God bargained for a certain number of persons that He personally would choose, and that He would insist on the delivery of not only the exact number, but the same ones. To illustrate if a man bought 100 horses, it would not suffice when the animals were delivered to merely count them to see whether there were 100, but he would want to know if they were the same horses that he had purchased. From this we see that the "Commercial View" of the Atonement limits the "purchasing value" of Christ’s Blood to the elect only. But Christ did not die to save a few individuals, He died to pay the "Penalty" of Adam’s disobedience, which was DEATH. In other words He died to redeem the human race from the "curse of sin," and put it in a salvable position. "He is the propitiation of our (the Righteous) sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the WHOLE WORLD." 1 John 2:2. The word "Propitiation" means the "act of reconciliation."" The "Death of Christ" was the ground on which God can deal, and does deal in mercy with the whole world. "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." Romans 5:10. Or as Paul puts it in Colossians 1:20. Christ "MADE PEACE through the ’Blood of the Cross,’ and has reconciled ALL THINGS unto Himself, whether they be on earth or in Heaven." We see then that the Atonement of Christ on the Cross is sufficient for the whole human race and places it in a SALVABLE position. But this does not mean "Universal Salvation," for all men are not saved, because they do not comply with the condition of Salvation, which is to accept the FINISHED WORK OF CHRIST.

II. REDEMPTION The words Atonement and Redemption are used as if they meant the same thing, but they are different as to time and act though they are both the result of the "Finished Work" of Christ on the Cross. Redemption means to redeem a thing that is rightfully our own, but for the time being is in the possession of another, whose claim upon it must be legally met. Writing to the Ephesians Paul said-"Ye were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance until the REDEMPTION of the PURCHASED POSSESSION." Ephesians 1:13-14. Then there is a POSSESSION to be REDEEMED. What this is Paul tells us in Romans 8:22-23 -"We know that the WHOLE CREATION GROANETH AND TRAVAILETH IN PAIN TOGETHER UNTIL NOW. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the ’First-fruits of the Spirit even we ourselves also groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the REDEMPTION OF OUR BODY." From this we see that something belonging to "Creation" and to "Man" has slipped out of their possession and needs to be redeemed. What this was we are told in the third chapter of Genesis. When Adam sinned he lost the immortality of his body, and his inheritance of the earth. The latter passed into the possession of Satan to the disinheritance of all of Adam’s seed. Adam was impotent to redeem what was lost, but the Law (Leviticus 25:23-34) provides that a kinsman may redeem a lost possession. That "Kinsman" has been provided in the person of JESUS CHRIST. To become a kinsman He had to be born into the human race. This the "Virgin Birth" accomplished. Jesus paid the REDEMPTIVE PRICE, which was His own BLOOD on the Cross (1 Peter 1:18-20), but He has not as yet claimed that which He then purchased. Redemption is not the act of a moment, but requires a period of time. This is the "Day of Salvation," but it has extended over nearly nineteen centuries. The "Day of Redemption" will be at least a 1000 years long. It will begin with the Resurrection of the bodies of the Righteous dead, and continue until the New Heaven and Earth appear. THE REDEMPTION OF THE BODY

We cannot conceive of the glory of the "Resurrection Body." The Transfiguration of Christ gives us a faint conception of it, for we are told that when He shall appear we shall be like Him. Paul attempts to give us an idea of it in his immortal chapter on the Resurrection. 1 Cor. 15. He says-1. "It is sown in ’corruption;’ it is raised in INCORRUPTION." That is the unvarnished truth, it is sown in foul rottenness. Paul called it a "VILE BODY." Php 3:21. Whence cometh this corruption? It is simply SIN MATERIALIZED AND CONSUMMATED. But it is to be raised in INCORRUPTION. O happy day, when the bodies of the "Dead in Christ" shall come forth from the tomb in immortal bodies and fadeless beauty, and the living saints shall be changed and clothed in the garments of Glory, and caught up to meet their Redeemer in the air!

2. "It is sown in ’dishonor,’ it is raised in GLORY." How many a body has been sown in dishonor through sin, that has caused disfigurement, but the Resurrection will change all this, for we shall then be raised in GLORY, and have a body like unto His "Glorious Body."

3. "It is sown in ’weakness;’ it is raised in POWER." A corpse is the very embodiment of weakness. Nothing else seems to have such a dead weight as a lifeless body. But if that lifeless body be the body of one of God’s saints He will raise it with POWER. Not only shall God display power in the breaking of the tombs of the dead, but the raised body shall be possessed of power. Not simply power as to strength, but new powers of sight, hearing, memory, etc. It shall be able to travel with the speed of light, and run and not be weary, and walk and not faint.

4. "It is sown a ’natural’ body; it is raised a SPIRITUAL body." This does not mean that our "Spiritual Body" shall be an "Etherealized Spiritlike Structure," but a real body of "flesh and bones," not blood, for it is the blood that causes corruption, but a body like Christ’s resurrection body, of which He said-"Handle me and see, for a Spirit hath not flesh and bones as ye see me have." Luke 24:36-43. Now our bodies are controlled by natural laws; then they will be governed by the laws of the Spirit World. Then we shall bask in the sunshine of God’s presence in a land where there is no sorrow, pain or death. But Jesus did not die simply to redeem our bodies but to redeem the brute creation, and the earth. We read that in the "Day of Redemption"-"The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’ den." Isaiah 11:6-8. The effect of the Fall of Man was far-reaching. Not only was the human race involved, but the whole earth and atmosphere was affected. "And unto Adam He (the Lord God) said, Because thou Hist hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for Thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life: THORNS also and THISTLES shall it bring forth to thee." Genesis 3:17-18. From this we see that "Thorns" and "Thistles" are the result of sin. And from other scriptures we learn that animal life suffers, and the land fails to give its increase on account of sin. It is not without significance that the one who is to be the Redeemer of the earth from its sin-cursed state was crowned with THORNS. It was symbolic of His office as Redeemer. But the day is coming when the earth shall be redeemed from its sin-cursed condition and the exterior surface of the earth go through ’a "Baptism of Fire," that will consume and destroy the thorns and thistles and all disease germs and insect pests, all the result of sin, and the Atmosphere will also be purified with fire, and cleansed of evil spirits, and out of it all will come the "New Heaven" and the "New Earth" wherein shall dwell righteousness, and on it shall rest the "New City," the home of the redeemed of God. Then all discord shall cease, and Eternal Harmony shall prevail throughout the Universe of God. No, God is not going to destroy this earth on which His Son died. It is too sacred and holy a spot. So he saw to it that the work of the Cross should include not only the Salvation of man’s SOUL, but the Redemption of his BODY and of the EARTH as well.