“In this is love, not that we have loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” – 1 John 4:10

One of the most comforting promises within the gospel is the doctrine of propitiation.  Propitiation is the Greek word “hilasmos.” It is a term fully expressing the broad scope of God the Father’s love for His people through the sacrificial death of His Son (Romans 5:8). As Christ was crucified, He did so on our behalf; for in that moment, He took our place, served as our substitute, and took on the responsibility of our obligations. By doing these things, He covered our sins, expiated our guilt, and endured the punishment for our sin from the hand of His Father, a punishment that you and I sincerely deserve.

Let that sink in for a moment; in spite of our sinfulness, brokenness and wretchedness – in spite of our ugly, wicked hearts, Christ who knew no sin, out of pure unadulterated grace, carried the weight and heaviness sin (2 Corinthians 5:21) on our behalf. And by Christ taking on our punishment, we are justified and given right standing with God (Romans 5:1). And because we have been justified, we have the promise of future glorification (Romans 8:30). 

To be sure, it is an overwhelming thought to ponder; to know Christ died for ungodly sinners like you and me (Romans 5:6). As God the Son was placed into the oven of the Father’s fury at Calvary, He satisfied the wrath of His Father. And to top it off, the Bible tells us that the Father actually found pleasure in punishing His Son (Isaiah 53:10). And this leads to a theological truth rarely expounded upon; by dying in our stead, Christ actually protected us from His Father’s wrath and fury. Think about it; we actually need protection from God the Father. It sounds strange when worded that way, especially when we read of God as our protector and defender within the Scriptures (Psalm 3:3; Psalm 91:1-16).  Yet at Golgotha, God the Son shielded God’s people from the God the father’s wrath by taking upon Himself the just penalty, thus placating the Father’s anger. This truth is simply one of the many theological threads weaved within the doctrine of propitiation. 

In our passage above, the Apostle John makes it clear that God the Father was the one who initiated the love between He and His people. The truth is, we are not naturally drawn to God on our own.  To the contrary; by being a part of the human race, we are born sinners (Romans 5:12, Psalm 58:3, Psalm 51:5, Proverbs 22:15) and are naturally obstinate towards God. And so we did not love God first; rather He initiated the love, and He demonstrated this love by providing His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

It seems somewhat paradoxical does it not? For on one side of the coin God initiated love for His people. On the flip side, we deserve His fury and wrath. Yet these truths are not contradictory but complementary. We find comfort in knowing that all of these truths beautifully come together in the person and work of Jesus Christ. 

How is the Lord speaking to you today though these thoughts on propitiation? Could it be that you have been under the impression that eternal life is somehow obtained through good deeds and clean living, and you are holding on to the hope that in the end, your good will outweigh your bad? Be warned; your good is no good (Isaiah 64:6). Instead, rest in the finality of the cross; rest in knowing that Christ permanently satisfied and appeased the fury of the Father. The child of God is his child not because of anything they have done, but because of Christ and Christ alone.