The Finished Work of Christ
Devotions for Growing Christians
The Finished Work of Christ
1 John 4:10 - ...He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
Ephesians 1:7 - In Him we have redemption through His blood....
2 Corinthians 5:18 - Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ.
Many Christians shy away from a systematic study of the doctrines of the Bible. Words like Theology, Christology, Pneumatology, Anthropology, Soteriology, Ecclesiology, Eschatology are enough to scare anyone! Isn’t a simple faith all that any believer needs? Why get hung up with all that heavy and complicated doctrine? For one very good reason: doctrine, by definition, is what the Bible teaches – and knowing what the Bible teaches is extremely important for growing Christians. God wants us to know what He has revealed about such things as the Church, angels, Heaven and hell, future events, marriage and the family, and many other things. That's why He gave us a Bible, not a pamphlet!
Don’t let the big words scare you away. They’re only a formal way of categorizing what the Bible teaches about God (theology), Christ (Christology), the Holy Spirit (pneumatology), man (anthropology), salvation (soteriology), the Church (ecclesiology), the future (eschatology), etc. Yes, the study of doctrine can get pretty deep sometimes. But coming to understand what God has revealed in Holy Scripture means coming to know God, Himself, more and more.
The finished work of Christ is an area of doctrine that many Christians misundertand. Formally, this subject comes in the category of “Soteriology,” that is, what the Scripture teaches about salvation. The Bible teaches salvation is both “free” and “costly” at the same time. On one hand, salvation is a free gift to anyone who trusts the Lord Jesus Christ as personal Savior. But on the other hand, salvation is very costly because it required the sacrificial death of the Son of God.
This is the aspect of salvation that is referred to as “the finished work of Christ” (see John 19:30). The miraculous birth of Christ or the perfect life of Christ are not in view in this phrase. The finished work of Christ refers primarily to His death on the cross. That’s where the judgment of God against our sin was endured by Christ. He became our substitute in order to become our Savior. Jesus was not our Savior until He suffered and died for our sins on the cross.
The New Testament uses three key words to describe the finished work of Christ: propitiation, redemption and reconciliation. Each word provides a different insight into the work of Christ on the cross.
Propitiation
Propitiation deals with the wrath of God. Propitiation is used in Romans 3:25, Hebrews 2:17, 1 John 2:2 and 4:10. The New Testament was primarily written in Greek, and the word propitiation comes from a word which means "to satisfy wrath by sacrifice.” The ancient Greeks used this word when they spoke of appeasing the anger of their pagan gods, or doing something to obtain the favor of the gods. But this is not the idea of propitiation in the Bible. God is not a blood-thirsty “god” who needs to be appeased!
The Bible teaches that God is love. He loves people, and He wants to have fellowship with us. However, God is also holy and righteous, so He can’t just sweep our sin under the rug. In fact, the Bible teaches that God does have anger, and that anger is directed against sin (Romans 1:18). The righteous laws of God in the moral universe demand that the "penalty of sin is death" (Romans 6:23). Before God's mercy can be extended to mankind, something must be done to remove the blockade of sin, as well as satisfy the righteous claims of God's wrath against sin.
At this point, mankind is helpless. There is nothing that humans can do by themselves to win the favor of God. God already favors us, as John 3:16 clearly states. But the question of God's wrath and judgment against sin must be settled before the free benefits of salvation can be offered to us.
This is precisely where Jesus Christ is the propitiation for our sins. He took humanity’s sin upon Himself and suffered the righteous judgment of God. Jesus not only died to take away man's sin, but He satisfied or propitiated God's anger against sin.
Redemption
Redemption is another aspect of the finished work of Christ. Redemption deals with our enslavement by sin. These Scriptures speak about redemption: Galatians 3:13 and 4:5, Ephesians 1:7, Titus 2:4, 1 Peter 1:18-19 and 2 Peter 2:1. In New Testament times, the Greek words for “redeem” were used particularly in reference to slavery. When used together, these words give us the concept of redemption. To redeem means to buy out of, and remove from, the market in order to set at liberty. In the context of salvation, redemption refers to the work of Christ in setting us free from the bondage of sin’s slavery and all its awful consequences.
In redemption, we have been bought back and set free from the slave-market of sin, and we have been placed in the family of God. Although we did not pay silver or gold (1 Peter 1:18), we must remember that the cost of our redemption was high. The ransom price was the precious blood of Christ.
Some people have suggested that the ransom was paid to Satan. However, that notion is pushing the background of the slave-market too far, and Scripture does not teach that. The ransom price was simply what the righteous government of God demanded for our release from the effects of sin (Hebrews 9:22). Have you thanked the Lord for the ransom price He was willing to pay out for you?
Reconciliation
Reconciliation completes the three-fold view of the finished work of Christ, and it relates to our fellowship with God.
The word reconciliation is used in Romans 5:10, 2 Corinthians 5:18-20 and Colossians 1:20-22. The basic meaning of the word “reconcile” in the Greek language is “to change completely.” In reference to salvation, reconciliation is the act by which God brings mankind into a completely changed relationship with Himself - from hostility and alienation to harmony and fellowship. Notice that reconciliation is a one-way act of God, made by God alone. There’s no mutual give-and-take, as in a marriage reconciliation. Remember, God does not need to change His attitude or meet us halfway. We are the guilty party (Colossians 1:21)!
A wonderful illustration of reconciliation is seen in our Lord's story of the lost son in Luke 15:11-32. When the son repents and acknowledges his guilt, he is brought back into a happy and harmonious state of fellowship with the father. He is not half-heartedly forgiven and sent to live in the barn. Rather, he’s welcomed back with open arms and celebration. It’s a one-way act of the father!
The finished work of Christ is universal in its scope. Look closely at 1 John 2:2, 2 Peter 2:1 and 2 Corinthians 5:19, and you’ll see that the death of Jesus Christ was sufficient to take care of all the sins of the whole world. It’s unlimited in its coverage and provision. That does not mean that everyone has salvation. The finished work of Christ is only effective for those who believe, and put their trust in Him.
We gain a greater appreciation for the finished work of Christ as we come to a fuller understanding of propitiation, redemption and reconciliation. And what blessing for the growing Christian to realize and rest in the finished work of Christ!
- Dave Reid
(Updated 2021, Ron Reid)