Big Words, Big Meanings
In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 1 John 4:10
The word “atonement” describes what Jesus did for us on the cross. He made a satisfactory payment on our behalf in order to rescue us from sin and death. That is what “propitiation” means: it is a satisfactory payment to God. A payment was needed to bring us back from the depths of despair we were in. But as we learned yesterday, we could not make that payment ourselves. Our God is holy and just. He despises that which is not holy and just. Even if a person tried his best, without Christ, no work or payment would be acceptable.
One of the beautiful truths we find in this short passage from John’s first epistle is the divine recognition of this fact. John had just explained that God is love: “In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him.” (1 John 4:9) Of this same love, Paul writes one of Scripture’s most comforting passages: “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)
God loved us despite our sin. Knowing that we could not make the satisfactory payment for it, He sent His Son into the world to pay the price. It was no cheap deal—it cost Him dearly. The Son of God made Man endured the trials, sufferings, and pains of this life while also enduring the pains and sorrows of death and hell in His last hours. Yet through all of these, He remained sinless and obedient to His Father.
This was not the mere blood of goats and lambs being shed. God and Man hung from that cross. That precious blood that He shed is poured over you. It is the one and only satisfactory payment for the sins you have committed. It is forgiveness. It is admission to heaven, where your loving Father invites you with open arms.
Lord Jesus, we thank You for the gift of life and salvation. Amen.