Related to God Through a Propitiation

Today we're continuing our study of the Believers' Unfathomable Riches in Christ by Keith Lee III. I put the URL which you can use to find that on the web if you haven't had that before. It's a long one, but if you just search under bible.org, you can find it.

One of the things I'm doing here today is beginning with the position and possessions of the believer. And there are, according to the listing, 34 of them in this particular study. We're right now in number 5, related to God through propitiation, the satisfaction of God's holiness. And next week, Brother Malloy will be covering number six, right? I'm going by the PowerPoint thing that we got back. Anyway, this is a listing of all 34 of them. Isn't that interesting?

These are so succinctly brought out here. If you look these up, you'll find that the Holly Hills presentation of it doesn't have the actual text, but if you go to Keithley's site, you'll find that the references are there as well, and some commentary in places. I'm going to begin with the references that deal with our propitiation. It is a Godward aspect, and so let's take a look first at Romans 3, verses 24 through 26.

Being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus, whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness. Because in the forbearance of God, he passed over the sins previously committed, for the demonstration, I say, of his righteousness at the present time, that he might be just, as well as the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. The form here is an adjective. The gift of divine love for the salvation of men, And that particular explanation of it is given from Vine in the Word Pictures.

I don't know if you're aware of that. This is a very big verse. a lot in this verse. So, don't get blown away with everything there. Keep in mind that the satisfaction of God's holiness is in view. And if you'll notice, I've got propitiation heavily in the middle of that. He is displaying, God is displaying publicly His satisfaction in his blood through faith. So he is satisfied with the sacrifice through faith. Okay, that's the agency that we enter into his satisfaction. We believe it.

A second verse that is also an adjective is in Hebrews 9.5. and over it the cherubims of glory shadowing the mercy seat of which we cannot now speak particularly. This has the idea of a place. It's an adjective also of Helisterion. Those are the two adjective uses in scripture of this word propitiation.

In 1 John 2.2, He Himself is a propitiation of our sins, and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.

There are two verses in the noun form of propitiation, this is one of them, and this is the other, 1 John 4.10. Herein is love, not that we love God, but that He loved us, and sent his son to be the propitiation for our sins." I think it's interesting that the Apostle John in his small epistle uses the noun form to describe the work that God has done to be satisfied. I was really tempted at this point to take off and chase the rabbit, but let me continue with the actual references.

The fifth one here is Hebrews 2.17, Therefore he had to be like his brothers in every way, so that he could become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. Now this is a verbal infinitive, and it's in the present indirect middle of Helas Komai, to render propitious to oneself. I found that very interesting in studying this, that God's satisfaction was for himself, his own benefit. He has nothing in mind but being satisfied with the work of Christ concerning sin. He was offended by man's sin. He is satisfied by Christ's death on the cross for our sins.

And Luke 18.13 is a rather unique use of the word propitiation.

Let me read the verse. But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even raise his eyes to heaven, but kept striking his chest and saying, God, turn your wrath from me. I'm using the Holman Christian Standard Bible for these two verses. The other ones are King James, OK? But I used it here because it is actually the word propitiated And he is in an imperative form, passive imperative. Be propitiated, is what he's saying. Be satisfied. It is actually, God turn your wrath from me.

Isn't that something? What an aspect of this. This is the Old Testament perspective of propitiation. This is before Christ came to the cross. So it's an Old Testament perspective, just so you were on the same page. Okay, now I'm going to look in perspective at propitiation and reconciliation. Why? I think we'll catch on pretty quick why here.

Proficiation is the Godward effect of value of the cross. Christ has died and God is proficient or as satisfier and the satisfaction. Two aspects of proficiency is in the scripture. He is both the one who does the satisfaction He is also the satisfaction. Isn't that neat?

Nowhere else in any religious system is this explained. In fact, only the death of Christ is emphasized in each of the four Gospels for salvation. That is unique. You don't find that in the writings of other religions. His death is the focal point of his ministry. He came to die. Isn't that something? God's purpose. This truth is the heart of the good news and that which is to be believed. Now the other half, reconciliation, the manward effect and value of the cross is related to man. Propitiation relates to God. Reconciliation relates to man.

Since the word signifies a complete change, the term cannot be applied properly to God. He's immutable. He doesn't change. And by the way, in passing here, we're going to come to some of the authors that actually credit to God that he did change. But really what changed with God is concerned. He was offended. So he had to handle it. But did he change?

No. He encompasses the ability to handle things without changing his own essence. looking at the wording there, it signifies a complete change. The term cannot be applied properly to God, who is immutable. It does apply to man, who by death of Christ is placed in a changed relationship to God and to his judgments against man. By his own choice, and I've put in blue there, that by faith in the person and the work of Christ, Man may be turned about or converted respecting the rightful claims of God upon him.

I got both of these from Lewis Ferry Schaefer in the Systematic Theology books, volume 3. This particular one is on page 129, just for your passing. By the way, I'm using the 1974 version. There are several. I don't know if the page numbers correspond to the other versions.

The propitiation here is from Christian foundations. I got this out of a book that When I was at Biola my freshman year, Bible Institute Los Angeles, Gerald B. Stanton was our teacher in Christian Foundations. I still have that book. In looking at it, it says the word means satisfaction and is the Godward aspect of salvation. It means God is completely satisfied with the work of his Son as the adequate solution to the problems raised by sin.

And we've already looked at those verses, but that's Romans 3.25, 1 John 2.2, and 4.10. He ends his description of this as God is now kindly disposed toward the sinner. because the sin issue has been met and solved at Calvary.

I thought that's an awfully good summary. Reconciliation is the manward aspect to salvation, and he says the sinner is changed completely. This is not brought out in some of the other authors. The word is not just changed, but changed completely. and brought back into adjustment with an offended God.

And one of the passages that is listed there, Romans 5.10 and 2 Corinthians 5.18-20, a rebel from God, he is now restored to divine favor. I thought maybe I'd take a look at those references with you.

The 5.10 we've already looked at, I believe, but 2 Corinthians 5.18 says this, All things are of God, who hath reconciled us." Notice that God is the actor here. He has reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ and given to us the ministry of reconciliation. To wit, verse 19, God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them, and had committed unto us the word of reconciliation." Isn't that something? Changed completely is the heart meaning of reconciliation. The action done by God in this is towards the world and towards heaven. Two aspects, okay?

He has also, as far as man is concerned, given us the ministry of reconciliation. When we tell people about Jesus Christ, what is the response that God is revealing to us here? That the message, if received, would produce a change that is complete. I don't think if you were in Hinduism, Buddhism, or any other religion that you would have that confidence that God himself, our creator, gave us the ministry of a message that will change completely if people will believe it. The good news. Yeah. Go ahead. And I would say, too, that's also why it can't be undone. Yeah. or change completely, that's who you are. And even if you stray from that in your condition, that's who you are. That's right. Okay, now this is, I thought, just one of the many that we'll look at, but I've got another one here.

This is out of Cadwell Ryrie in Bible Doctrines, a survey. He says, Propitiation is the death of Christ's propitiated God. averting his wrath and enabling him to receive in his family, I love that because we're related to God through propitiation, it enables him to receive in his family those who place their faith in the one who satisfied him. Isn't that neat? That's the basis. The extent of the preparatory work of Christ is the whole world.

We read 1 John 2 too, right? That's where we get that. The basis of this partitiation is his shed blood. We're going to get into that in another section, but in the Old Testament picture and the New Testament picture, there's an interesting contrast. And I'll just say that now. We'll get to it in a minute. Reconciliation means to change. Now this is from Briary. Reconciliation by the death of Christ means that man's state of alienation from God is changed so that he is now able to be saved.

And 2 Corinthians 5.19 we already read is mentioned there. When a man believes, then his former state of alienation from God is changed. into one in being a member of his family.

How wonderful that is, right? Enemies to child, beloved child, loved by the Father, indwelt by the Holy Spirit, empowered by the Holy Spirit, guided by the Holy Spirit, protected by the Holy Spirit. We could go on and on, it couldn't wait. But that family relationship is so precious.

We think in human terms of the family, think of divine terms in family, and this is only one aspect. Propitiation and reconciliation sort of go together, don't they? There's a Godward side and there's a human side. And that's what this little section I'm trying to bring out is all about. They are closely connected. Again, this is from another author. This is Henry Clarence Thiessen.

I don't agree with all of his writings, don't get me wrong, but He was the doctrinal textbook of theism and doctrine at Biola when I was there. And so using his book closely connected our propitiation and reconciliation. It seems to be related to each other as cause and effect. Christ's death propitiated God and as a result He is reconciled. Isn't that something? I've got the Ephesians passage 216 there. It will open here. I like to read it.

That he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby. When did God slay the enmity? the cross, right? And the two groups in the preceding verse, having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances, to make in himself of two one new man. So out from the Gentiles and out from the Jews came one new man, Christ at the head, right? And making peace. You notice that? So what is the result of this union? Making peace. Reconciliation has one end. Satisfaction, propitiation has one end. Making peace between us and God. between God and us.

I can run forever with this. I don't know if I'm going to consume the whole amount of time here. I had many, many pages, and I boiled it down to a few, thinking that this would take longer than it's taking, okay? Anyway, and Thiessen, he continues a little bit later, God, the man, stood face to face, God and man stood face to face in the garden, didn't they, looking at creation.

In sinning, Adam turned his back upon God, had to hide. Oh, God called out. Did God hide? No. God turned his back upon Adam, it says in Theeson. I have a little problem with that, but I quoted it anyway. Christ's death has satisfied the demands of God and now God has again turned his face towards man. It remains for man to turn round about and face God. Since God has been reconciled by the death of his son, man is now entreated to be reconciled to God. And he ends God has reconciled to himself not only man, but also all things in heaven and on earth.

Colossians 1.20, I quoted there.

You remember this when we went through it? I see one person shaking his head, yes. You guys remember this? Yeah? Having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself, by him I say, whether they be things in earth or things in heaven. It is undoubtedly due to this reconciliation that God sends temporal blessings upon the unsaved.

Matthew 5.45 that he may be the children of your father which is in heaven for he maketh his son to rise on the evil and the good the encompassing of the evil here I think is interesting quite often we don't think that God is actively involved in his works towards all on the earth okay and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

Romans 2.4 it says, or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance.

He continues, he's in here, that an opportunity is extended to man to repent And he quotes 2 Peter 3.9, The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness, but is long-suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. And then he concludes with, And that heaven and earth will at last be delivered from the results of the fall. We get that in Revelation, which he doesn't give a real good verse here, but there's an awful lot in Revelation about that. How in the consummation of time, he is going to reconcile and be propitiated over all things, working out the manifestation of his satisfaction upon all men.

Where is evil? Separate. Where is good? Glorified. And into eternity a new heaven and a new earth will exist in that domain. The mercy seat, and I'm going to give you two perspectives. Remember I mentioned that? The two perspectives of propitiation in the Old Testament and in the New Testament.

The Mercy Seat is a throne of grace because of there being propitiation. In the Old Testament, in the Holy of Holies was the Ark of the Covenant, and the covering of the Ark of the Covenant was over the Law. Once a year, the High Priest went into the Holy of Holies and sprinkled blood on the top called the mercy seat. And why is it called the mercy seat? Because the blood covers the law. And that was a picture of Christ himself being the mercy seat today.

Covering the law. Isn't that neat? So in the Old Testament we have an image of the New Testament explanation of the Old Testament. I like this. I think it's wonderful how God has taken so specifically, this is a little rabbit trail, okay? When you read the Old Testament, you will find God revealing himself in forms and in figures, in pictures and in types. In the New Testament you will find God revealing who He is that explains all of the forms and figures and types of the Old Testament. The New Testament reveals God clearly. The Old Testament points to God being revealed.

There are so many things in the ministration of the nation of Israel by the priesthood where individuals would come and offer a sacrifice that pointed to Christ and His work on the cross. They were saved on faith, weren't they? And they called on God to be satisfied with a gift offering that was only a picture of what he was going to do in the future. Were they explained that? Well, I think they were.

Because in Genesis 3.15 it says that God is going to come and do what? He's going to be bruised on the heel, but he himself is going to crush the head of Satan. What a message. OK, let's go on and read this. I'm sorry, I get carried away.

The Mercy Seat is the throne of grace in the Old Testament because of their being propitiation or satisfaction. Sacrificial blood sprinkled on the lid of the ark where Jehovah's presence was to be found changed what would otherwise be a scene of awful judgment to one filled with mercy. making in a measure the mercy seat. In a measure means that mercy seat was incomplete. It was pointing to a future mercy seat.

However, animal blood was efficacious only to the extent that it provided a just ground on which God could pass over the sins until Christ should come. and shed his own blood for them. God was propitiated aforetime or formerly, merely to the extent of deferring judgment For this measure of grace, nevertheless, it was reasonable to pray, and in that Luke passage that we mentioned before, in the Holman version, that the tax collector standing afar off would not even raise his eyes to heaven, but kept striking his chest and saying, God, turn your wrath from me.

Be appreciated. And there is actually an article before Sinner, so I stuck it in there in blue. Those are some of the things. Now let's take a look at the New Testament. Christ, by having his own blood sprinkled, as it were, over his body at Golgotha, becomes the mercy seat, not as a picture, but in reality. Okay. He is the propitiator and has made propitiation. He is both. By so answering the just demands of God's holiness against sin, that heaven is rendered propitious or satisfied. This fact of propitiation existing, does it exist today? is to be believed.

This is from Lewis Perry Chaffer and it's actually in volume 7 just to make sure everybody's on the same page with me, not volume 3. It's a big set of volumes there and it's page 258 through 260. Attention should be called to the fact that God saves a sinner or restores a saint without striking a blow or even offering a word of criticism. It is too often supposed that human repentance and sorrow soften the heart of God and render Him propitious.

This cannot be true. It is the legal fact that Christ has borne all sin which renders God propitious. He is satisfied fully. God is propitious, thus all the burden is taken off the sinner or Christian. The sinner being unsaved, the Christian being saved. only leaving him to believe that through Christ's bearing his sin, God is proficious or satisfied.

Okay, that's sort of the end of where I put it on slides. I had another dozen, and I said, no, I better stop right here. So we have time for questions and maybe some discussion about this. Have you all thought about the propitious work that the cross is, and the duality that's involved in that work? Reconciliation as well. The manward side, reconciliation, and the Godward side, propitiation. My beloved is back there with her hand up.

Yeah, I was thinking, you have in your very last little box there, number 11, that the fact that propitiation is to be believed. And I was thinking of, in all the other religions, now I'm no expert on this stuff, but it seems like they're all doing works, they're all trying to get this God that they believe in to be propitiated to be satisfied they want to be good enough or they want him to bless their crops or whatever it is they're asking for at the moment and to, I don't know which one of your boxes where you said that God is kindly disposed that the idea of having to satisfy him Right here, it's too often supposed that human repentance and sorrow softens the heart of God and renders Him propitious, makes Him happy, makes Him satisfied, makes Him, okay, He's on my side now, I've been weaking, I've been crying, right?

How about money? How much money do you need? I'm trying to quote the author here, OK? I don't need enough. I need more. Can you buy God's favor? That's right. Look at all the religions. They have the boxes everywhere you go through. People are putting money in every icon that they pass. They're putting money in it.

I haven't heard anything from anybody so far regarding this work of Christ on the cross satisfying God regarding heaven. Have you thought about that? I'm just asking that to you. What happened in heaven? But if we're in Christ, you know, we're seated with Him too, at the right hand. Who else is in heaven? Who else has a domain or an existence?

And how are they related to all of this? Well, is there one chief angel? And a whole bunch of them that followed him? That are involved in this? Satan, the deceiver, right? I don't know if this is correct or not, the morning star is his description also. Interesting, huh? What's he doing? Well, how does the death of Christ on the cross propitiate regarding him or satisfy God's righteousness. So why is he doing the same thing? I'm bringing this out just to make thoughts. Is he deceiving himself? Maybe a stronger word is He refuses to believe what is true. That God is God and He is a created being. Even though He's proud and says, I'm going to be God. God says, no you're not.

Where on the cross did Satan have a work? Where can we, in looking at the cross itself, the crucifixion of our Lord, Did he die for Satan? No. Did he die for the effects that Satan precipitated in man? Yes. Right? But is there a relationship where he died to demonstrate his righteousness? Christ died to show. Remember the first verses that we looked at? I don't know if I can bring it up or not. Displayed publicly as a propitiation in his blood through faith. This was, let me just go back and see if I can. I'm sorry folks, I'm not real good at this.

Yeah, in Romans 3, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus, whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation or a satisfaction in His blood through faith. What satisfied God? The actual life of the flesh of a man. the perfect man-God combination, the hypostatic union, it's called, of God and man, Christ Jesus. So it is in His blood, through faith, we, believing it, demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God, or His patience, He passed over the sins previously committed for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time.

And who is he revealing it to? His righteousness. At this time. Satan. The angels. In heaven. They can't argue with that. Isn't that neat? That he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. Obviously, the angels can't do that that have fallen. But, their argument is I'll be thy God. You can't do that. You can't go to the cross for sins. Because you're not perfect. You're a created being. Isn't that neat? I mulled over this a lot and I went to several different rabbit trails.

But the bottom line is very simple. There's a union between the word propitiation and the word reconciliation. Godward and manward, the work of the cross satisfied everything that needed to be satisfied in God's perspective. And we believe it, or we don't. And that's it. It is our faith, not our will. that justifies if we have the right object. And that object is the death of Christ for us personally. And it's not just a fact. I think Satan believes it's a fact. But it's not for him personally.

Isn't that something? I'm asking you to say some things or ask questions. I should have put up more slides obviously. What this also points out is that this is a truth we need to certainly believe in salvation but it's a point we need to believe in our Christian law because we too often think that by, you have at the very last, at the end, by something will happen we think well if I'm particularly pious or if I do this or do that I can have his favor. Right. And that's hard to see sometimes when difficulties and trials come along and say I have God's favor but this is happening to me. Right. And that's that's the part where the tough part where we are to continue to trust him and rely upon him even in the midst of trials we're continuing to believe that he is propitious to work. We do have his favor 24-7. It doesn't change.

Isn't it wonderful that the explanation of the Apostle John is that if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, and his justice is revealed here, okay, to forgive us our sins and to keep on cleansing us from all unrighteousness. Isn't that wonderful? And you used the verse, verse Psalm 22, but just the verse before it, where it says, if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous, and he is the propitiation.

He's the one on our side saying, I'm satisfied. God is satisfied. And put the word satisfaction in there. He is the satisfaction for our sins. He is the one that, using the Old Testament picture, covers us with His goodness. Wayne? I was just thinking, then He recreates the believer. I didn't want to go into that too much because of the sins removed by his efficacious blood, which I thought might, you know, infringe on that one.

I mean, these 34 things are only a part of what is 360 some odd things that we could have a list of here. I tried to find that, by the way. Do you know where that is? The 300 and some odd things that happened at Salvation? I know it's here in our documentation somewhere. I was looking for it. Yeah. I've got kind of a question. Sure. In 2 Corinthians, God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself. Right.

So then God departed from Christ? Remember when God departed from Christ and he was alone, separated from God as he was crucified, right? I don't think in the sense of his deity that that happened, but his humanity it certainly did. My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me, were his words on the cross, spoken as a man. Don't you think too that was because he had taken on all the sins?

Right. Sin and God cannot be reconciled. That's right. I mean, they can't be together. They can't be together, but sin and man can. Sin and man can. At that particular point, he had taken on all the sins. So a righteous God could not be in the presence of all that sin. So that's why the forsaken heart, that was always my understanding. He couldn't be with the sin. So there was a time period there where he was separated.

And every sin that we've ever committed or ever will commit, every sin of Adam and Eve, and every human being until the last man that's ever born, because there will be a last man that has a birth, when births will end, right? All of those sins were on Christ. He became the payment for all of those sins. And in that manifestation, His righteousness, His justice is demonstrated, is revealed. Not just to us, but to the fallen angels and the unfallen angels, the hosts of heaven, however you describe them. We were only revealed about angels. There's a host up there, folks. I shouldn't say up there, right here, because we are an illusion. You and I, when we look at each other, the part that we see is a very small part of the reality of who we are.

I mean, I was looking at this the other day, and I can't put it into words other than, here's an atom made up of a molecule of a nucleus, right? And here's an electron going around it, just one electron for simplicity, right? The size of that atom, if it's the point of a pin, would make the electron going around it at the end of a football field, in distance.

That's a lot of space, folks! So when I look at it, each of us look at each other, we're looking at space. Okay? Isn't that something? to comprehend? Oh, gee. In time, you think of all the dimensions of reality. This is in the spiritual realm, obviously. We are newborn, spiritually dominated over the soul now by the Holy Spirit. The old man, the soul dominated the spirit. the new man, the spirit dominates the soul.

Isn't that neat? And how did that happen? By the work of the Holy Spirit indwelling us. Right? And that's only because He is the one who advocates for righteousness versus sin in each of our hearts. That's real. That's who we really are. If you look at me, I'm not here, I'm just in this body. Okay? I'm a spirit that has a soul living in a body. And when I die, my soul and my spirit go outside of this to a new body eventually, right? New body doesn't have any sin nature, old body does.

I get excited about that. But, you know, I'm looking at it, that's a human perspective. Think of how God is excited about that. He created us to be in His family, to be united with Him spiritually forever. And that harmony that's going to exist is not like the harmony of a nucleus and electron. Goodness, that's a material thing. This is a spiritual thing.

And we've got 34 of them here that happened at the cross that relate to all of that. in words. Words, by the way, are something else. I mean, what are the words of a dog? Woof! What are the words of a cat? Meow! I mean, come on. Only God could give us communication that He has. Words have meaning, right? But only God could do that. I'm sorry, I get excited. We are, and the propitiation, the satisfaction of God is complete. Do you believe that? Do you? That's the question. I heard a buzzer. No other questions? Let's pray.

Father, thank you for this time together. In all of the majesty of your work, which we've only looked at a little bit of it today. You are so magnificent. You are so infinite. It is only by your Holy Spirit that you can show us the details of who you are and how you manifest yourself, but also how we fit within your design God, be creatures, Heavenly Father, of eternity, of a relationship of love and joy and peace, of long-suffering, of gentleness, of mercy, of kindness, of every detail, Heavenly Father, of Your Spirit controlling us. We thank You for that in Christ's name. Amen.