StockWilburn4

出典: くみこみックス

Resurrection

What was God doing about the cross?. It produces a search for understanding of one of the crucial events of human history, perhaps the crucial event. The entire New Testament focuses on the death, burial, and resurrection, events prior to and flowing from it, its theological significance and ethical implications. We will focus on the deep significance of the atonement, as explained from three perspectives: the dynamic, subjective, and objective views.

Dynamic view The dynamic view sees Christ's death and resurrection because the climax of a cosmic conflict with Satan and also the demonic forces of evil. Christ came since the Second Adam (Romans 5:18-19), winning the competition that Adam failed. He also came because the new Israel, faithfully keeping submitting to God rather than to Satan as the first Israel tried (Matthew 2:15; 4:4; etc.). Immediately after His baptism, the Spirit "drove" (Greek: ekballei) Him into the wilderness so that He might confront Satan (Mark 1:12). His victory there is only one of what must have been many battles, for Luke records that Satan left Him until "an opportune time" (Luke 4:13).

Throughout his ministry Jesus offered His power to cast out demons being a demonstration that He was stronger than Satan. Although He described Satan as a "strong man," He claimed the ability to "bind" the strong man and despoil his possessions (i.e., those that were demon-possessed). His ability to cast out demons "by the finger of God" He presented as evidence of the arrival of God's kingdom on the planet (Luke 12:20-22). Jesus got His disciples involved in the warfare; their successful preaching, healing, and exorcism mission He afterward described as the fall of Satan from heaven (Luke 10:18).

Satan was behind the betrayal of Jesus by Judas (John 13:2, 27), his abandonment from the other apostles (Luke 22:31-32), as well as his trial and murder (John 8:40-41, 44). Jesus recognized Satan as His principal enemy, as well as before His death, He am confident of victory he spoke of it as a fait accompli (John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11, 32). The moment before His death Christ Himself uttered the triumphant words, "It is finished" (John 19:30; compare Luke 12:50). The glorious resurrection is proof that His death was obviously a victory and not a defeat (Revelation 3:21).

In the confrontation with false teaching at Colossae, Paul is the cross and resurrection as a overcome spiritual enemies. The Colossians were in danger of being deceived by a syncretistic blend of Judaistic legalism, Hellenistic philosophy, and Eastern mysticism. Apparently the heretical teachers were not advocating a rejection of Jesus, nevertheless they denied Him the primacy in favor of intermediary beings. "Go beyond Jesus Christ to greater realities," they could have taught. Paul replies that there's nothing beyond Jesus Christ, in whom God's fullness dwells. He it's Who "disarmed the powers and authorities, [making] a public spectacle of which, triumphing over them by the cross" (Colossians 2:15).

Not just did Christ conquer Satan, demons, principalities, and powers. He also conquered death (Acts 2:24; Revelation 5:5-6). Paul uses militaristic terms to discuss the resurrection, e.g., "destroyed" and "victory" (1 Corinthians 15:24-26, 54-56).

Because Christ has triumphed as our representative, we be part of His triumph (hence the super-conquerors of Romans 8:37). In Ephesians 4:8 Paul applies Psalm 68:19 to Christ's triumph, picturing Christ as a conquering general returning to Rome for a victory parade: "When he ascended on high, he led captives as part of his train and gave gifts to men." The ensuing passage explains how the gifts He gave would be the offices for building up the church. The captives are bypassed, but Colossians 2:15 seems suitable commentary.

In 2 Corinthians 2:14, Paul states that "God... always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and thru us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him." In cases like this the apostles (see 1 Corinthians 4:9), and perhaps all Christians, are probably the type of following along behind--themselves conquered, and yet joyously sharing in the victory celebration. Our struggle against Satan and demonic forces continues (Ephesians 6:12). While he is victorious, we also can be victorious (Revelation 3:21; 1 John 2:14-15; 4:4; 5:4-5).

Subjective view It is true that we are the subjects of His daring rescue (Colossians 1:13-14), but we also participate. This is the subjective nature from the atonement: it transforms us. While we are united with Christ through faith-repentance-baptism, God's Spirit begins the process of transforming us from one amount of glory to another (2 Corinthians 3:18).

The Spirit, Himself the guarantee this beginning will reach its intended end (Ephesians 1:13-14), starts to produce His fruit within our hearts (Galatians 5:22-23) as we cooperate by "walking in the Spirit" and being "led by the Spirit" (Romans 8:4, 14; Galatians 5:16). The metamorphosis is not automatic; it takes constant mental concentration as we count ourselves dead to sin and alive to God (Romans 6:11). It also requires continual moral striving, as we refuse to let sin dominate us, yielding the members of our bodies to righteousness instead of to sin (Romans 6:12-13).

It's a battle we fight, yet Paul assures us, "[S]in may have no dominion over you" (Romans 6:14). The struggle contributes to holiness and the end is eternal life (Romans 6:22). When Christ returns, at the eschaton, the Spirit will have performed His are employed in us: "[W]e shall be like Him, for we shall see Him because he is" (1 John 3:2).

Though this is work that changes us from within and in which we ourselves participate, the financing still belongs to God, because it is His work being done in us and through us. He is the one that provides it to completion on that day (Philippians 1:6). Meanwhile, we image Christ these days. He was our representative within the cosmic conflict; we are His representatives within the existential struggle against the world, the flesh, and also the Devil.

Objective view Yet Christ's death is a lot more than what he did for (hyper) us (see Mark 14:24; Luke 22:19-20) and what he does in (en) us (see Colossians 1:27). It also involves what He did as opposed to (anti) us (see Matthew 20:28; Mark 10:45)---the objective view of the atonement. In fact, many feel that the substitutionary nature of the atonement is the central aspect of all.

Several types of the substitutionary atonement originate from Genesis. The word used in 1 John 3:12 to describe Cain's murder of his brother may be the word for "slaughter" (Greek: esphaxen), such as the offering of a sacrifice. It's led some to view our planet's first murder, recorded in Genesis 4:8, because the offering of a substitute sacrifice. Essentially, Cain may have said, "So, You didn't like my vegetables being an offering? Let's see how You similar to this! (slash)." The murder certainly involved the shedding of his brother's blood, because of it cried out from the ground against the perpetrator (Genesis 4:10).

Once the angel stops Abraham from stabbing Isaac to death, Abraham finds a ram caught inside a nearby thicket that he can offer instead of (Septuagint: anti) his son (Genesis 22:12-13). The passage assumes that some sacrifice must be offered, and the one is replaced by the other.

abductions - More than a hundred years later, when Joseph's testing of his brothers developed a crisis situation involving the enforced servitude of Benjamin, Judah stepped forward and freely offered himself as a substitute for his brother (Genesis 44:18-34, especially not the Septuagint's utilization of anti in v. 33). In cases like this also, some substitute had to be provided. There was no potential for mere escape from the demands of the master.

Yet all three of these are one-for-one substitutions, similar to the "eye-for-eye" provisions of the Law. Christ's sacrifice (one for many) is more like the sin offering in behalf of all of the people or the sacrifice from the goat on the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 4:13-21; 16:15-19). He is the "atoning sacrifice for our sins, rather than only for ours, but also for the sins with the whole world" (1 John 2:2). He is the "Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world" (John 1:29).

One for your world? How can that be just? Its justice is dependent upon the identity of the Sacrifice. Just one human deserves infinite punishment as a result of sins. Adding the punishment of one other human adds no more than was there already (for infinity plus infinity equals infinity). This is also true for "the sins of the [whole] world." The slaughter from the Infinite One for these sins beings one infinity into contact with the other--just payment.

Our sins brought us underneath the curse of the law, but Christ was a curse for us by hanging on the tree (Galatians 3:10-14). Because of Christ's death, God could effect what Luther called a "happy exchange": we were the subjects of God's just condemnation, the objects of His righteous wrath, nevertheless the sinless Christ became "sin" for us, so that we might become God's righteousness by Him (2 Corinthians 5:21). God established Him as the propitiation, the appeasement, so that the all-consuming fire of His wrath may be diverted to Him rather than destroying the rest of us humans (Romans 3:25). As Isaiah said, "The LORD has laid on him the iniquity people all" (Isaiah 53:6).

Must we choose? resurrection - Dynamic, subjective, and objective--must we select from them? No! By its very nature the atonement is higher than any one metaphor or perspective can contain. We have to always be answering, "Yes, and much more besides." Like astronomers surveying the universe, the greater we study it, the greater vast it becomes. Our inability to fully comprehend its dimensions will not nullify what we can understand, nor will it rob us of the amazement we sense at what we know was accomplished.