Atonement - Kenley Miller

Well, good morning, bring greetings to you in the name

of our Savior. I'd like to if I could just

tag onto the devotional I noticed two words starting with

the same letter. That's purchase possession. And that's a concept

this morning that we can all relate to pretty well,

purchased possession if we hold title to it, if we

hold yeah, if we hold title to it, why we

recognize that there's ownership? And I appreciated the thoughts. They're

shared from Ephesians chapter one as a as an introduction

to where I'd like to take us this morning, and

that is with the subject of atonement. And I realize

that as I look at subjects such as that, you

may wonder why I would bite off something that large,

I would feel like I would need a few more

years of experience in order to actually understand. It. Feels

to me like so I'm giving brother Jason the opportunity

to correct the ship by a few degrees if he

needs to. But the atonement is a subject, that is,

it's a doctrine that we believe in, and I would

like to do some review this morning. Considered that as

as an expository look at the doctrine and take us

on a little bit of a trail how I got

to that point and then and then towards the end

bring out several three different points that I trust we

can make a little more practical for us in nature

outworking this, I was looking at the temple that Herod

the Great put a lot of time and renovation work into.

And we're not entirely clear what that all looked like.

But at about twenty BC, Herod the Great he began

some renovation work at the temple in Jerusalem. This was

this was the second one. So first we know that

Solomon put up his extravagant structure as a place to

replace the tabernacle, and it says that God came down

and he recognized that structure. Secondly, was the temple that

Rebeable was responsible to rebuild after the destruction Bbylon accomplished.

And so many many years later, here's Heard the Great

and he's really renovating the structure that's Rebable was responsible for.

And about twenty BC he began that. From what we understand,

he was quite lavish in his decorations. He was quite

extravagant in the way he went about renovating. He was

also concerned. From what we read, he was concerned about

interrupting worship that was happening at the temple, and so

he went to extensive links to just incrementally renovate it

so that it didn't just to the normal flow of worship.

One of the things that Herod incorporated into this layout

of buildings was what we know of as the Court

of the Gentiles. I don't read of that in the

temple structure previous to this, and this is what really

got my mind stirring on the idea of atonement. This

Court of the Gentiles, it's where Jesus would have pulled

out the whip and driven out the money changers. That

story that would have taken place, and what we understand

was the Court of the Gentiles. It's an interesting to

Jewish temple worship in my mind, because the Gentiles were excluded.

It was clearly a line that they were not only

not welcome, they could not enter the temple proper. And

so here we have an area that you would come

into first off, as you enter the compound, that anybody

is welcome to to be at clean or unclean, access

was open. We read that between the Court of the

Gentiles and the next court, court of the women, or

the next one that was beyond. Further inside, we read

that there was a barricade, a stone wall that prevented

you from just crossing, and then there was the specific

access as stairways that led to the next level. We

read that in that wall there were incorporated stones that

had an engraved message, and that message said something to

the effect that no gentile whatsoever was to access beyond

that point upon fear of their life. In other words,

they were taking their life into their own hand if

they were going to go beyond the court of the gentiles.

And they've found a couple of those stones. From what

I understand, if you care to, you can turn the

Ephesians two. Now it seems like Paul may have had

some of this context, as he, by inspiration of the Spirit,

wrote Ephesians chapter two. And I'll start reading at verse eleven.

The Ephesians would understand to have been gentiles. Wherefore remember

that ye being in time past gentiles in the flesh,

who are called on circumcision by that which is called

the circumcision in the flesh made by hands, that at

that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the

commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise,

having no hope and without God in the world. But

now in Christ Jesus, ye who sometimes were far off,

are made nigh by the blood of Christ. For he

is our Peace, who hath made both one, and hath

broken down the middle wall of partition between us, having

abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of

commandments contained in ordinances, for to make in himself of

twain or of two, one new man, so making peace,

and that he might reconcile both unto God in one

body by the cross. Having slain the enmity, thereby came

and preached peace to you which were afar off, and

to them that were nigh. For through him we both

have access by one spirit unto the Father. Yes, Songcluver's nineteen.

Yet now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners,

but fellow citizens with the saints and of the household

of God. I'm really impressed by the thread of two

becoming one. In this passage verse eleven twelve thirteen, he's

specifically talking to outsiders. I'll call it that gentiles, Okay.

Verse fourteen. We have making both one that we have

that wall verse fifteen enmity that's reflective of more than one.

For to making himself of two to one new man,

that's verse fifteen, verse sixteen reconciling. Both eighteen preaching peace

to you, which we're far off and verse eighteen both

have access and so Paul is Paul is drawing attention

to the fact that two were reckons chiled through the

atonement process, through Jesus's body laying down his flesh, two

became one. Well, so where does this Where does this arise? From?

Just a bit on the mercy seat and an Old

Testament worship. In Exodus twenty five we have the the

design of God coming to Moses and the design for

the tabernacle, and in chapter twenty five we have the

Holy of Holies in focus with the arc and mercy seat.

I like to read some of the verses here from

Chapter twenty five, Starting at verse nineteen, God says, make

one cherub on the one end, and the other cherub

on the other end. Even of the mercy seat, shall

ye make the cherubims on the two ends thereof, And

the cherubims shall stretch forth their wings on high covering

the mercy seat with their wings, and their faces shall

look one to the other toward the mercy seat. Shall

the faces of the cherubims be, And thou shalt put

the mercy seat above upon the ark, and in the

ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give THEE,

and there I will meet with THEE and will commune

with THEE from above the mercy seat from between the

two Cherubims, which are upon the ark of the testimony

of all things which I will give THEE in commandment

unto the children of Israel. The Old Testament commandment of

ordinances that was focal pointed directly at this spot in

the temple. The arc and particularly the mercy seat that

rested on top the mercy seat was a lid. Why

does this factor into Atonement, Well, we're all familiar with

the Day of Atonement and the proceedings that took place

on that day. But maybe just for review, we find

that in Leviticus sixteen would be one of the passages

we find Aaron and the priests sacrificing a bullock and

taking blood from that bullock to sprinkle on the mercy seat.

Times that was for the blood of the bullock. He

was to sprinkle it seven times verse fourteen. And then

he well, even before before that step, Aaron took instance

in and upon Cole's set it on the mercy seat,

so that the smoke would rise in between the erubims

and and would rise up to God. And then we

have the sprinkling of the blood of the bullock. And

then we have the slain of one of two goats,

and again the blood of that goat would be sprinkled

upon the mercy seat. And what was happening here was

an atonement process where God was God's righteous standard was

being dealt with for the children of Israel through sprinkling

of animal blood, just simply the blood of animals. It

was God's provision that the sins of the children of Israel,

everything they had that had accumulated for the last twelve months,

incidental things, unintentional sins, that God he was able to

experience a satisfaction for all of that accumulation through the

sacrifice of these animals and this blood. Additionally, there was

a second goat upon which Aaron placed his hands and

confess the sins of the people. This was a live goat.

This was a live animal. And the future of that

animal was to be taken out into the desolate wilderness

and left goat. God said verse thirty four of sixteen,

this shall be an everlasting statute unto you to make

an atonement for the children of Israel for all their

sins once a year. And he did as the Lord

commanded Moses. And so this was Old Testament. This was

a covering of sin. This was a way in which

God's holy standard could be dealt with. And I find

it interesting that as we move forward through time the

court of the gentiles, was that a way in which

God allowed gentiles to become more aware of worship of

Him and of his holiness as Jesus' coming was was

soon to be. I don't know, but I wondered if

that was was something God allowed in order for more

exposure to the to the gentile world. As you study

the atonement of Old or New Testament, there's there's some

words that are they're difficult words for me. There are

words that number one I have a hard time pronouncing,

and number two I have a really difficult time understanding.

And so I have three words here that relate to

the atonement of Jesus that the Old Testament foreshadowed in

its in its type of the bullock and goat sacrifices

sprinkling of blood. One is the word expiation, expiation, and

from what we understand that that that paints in the

subject of the Atonement is that in Scripture, sin comes

to us as a violation of a standard, a holy standard,

God's righteous standard, and in his righteousness, his justice must

be dealt with. There are consequences for sin, and they

are unavoidable, and expiation would relate to making amends that satisfy. No,

I'm sorry, would simply be making amends, making amends for

the standard that required holiness. So if it was violated,

then then the consequence needed to be met, and that's

that would be expiation meeting that consequence. Propitiation is another word,

or propitious, and that links directly to the mercy seat

back in the Old Testament. Propitiation because god righteous standard

has been violated and his righteousness must be vindicated. Propitiation

is a satisfaction to that righteous anger. Propitiation is a

satisfying of his requirements, much like expiation, but maybe a

little different in that there's a satisfaction component to that

that God is satisfied, and in essence, God is saying,

as we look at the atonement of Jesus, he's saying,

this sacrifice is what it takes to satisfy me, and

I justify you freely. In essence, that's what God is

saying through the mercy seat propitiation. This is what it

took to satisfy me, and I will justify you freely.

Another thought wrapped up in atonement is the idea of substitution,

the taking the place of another. And we do substitute,

don't we in a number of ways kitchen or or mechanics,

or we find ways to get around if we don't

have the exact part or component or ingredient. Substitution is

taking the place of another. And understand that you had

your school end of school events yesterday and we did too,

had a school picnic. We had to substitute yesterday. We

typically would have an outdoor event and it just didn't work.

Just wasn't God's plan for that. So we substituted an

indoor at, an indoor venue, an indoor place for activities. Substitution.

That thought is linked integrally with the idea of atonement,

that there needs to be There needs to be someone

to take the place of another. I think I would

like to read from Isaiah fifty three. I think we'll

find in this passage what we're looking at. Let's read

the whole past, the whole chapter fifty three, Verse one,

Who hath believed our report? And to whom is the

arm of the Lord revealed? For he shall grow up

before him as a tender plant, and as a root

out of a dry ground. He hath no form nor calmliness.

And when we shall see him, there is no beauty

that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected

of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.

And we hid, as it were, our faces from him.

He was despised, and we esteemed him not surely he

hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. Yet we

did esteem him, stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But

he was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for

our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace was upon him,

And with his stripes we are healed. All we, like sheep,

have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his own way.

And the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us.

All he was oppressed, and he was afflicted. Yet he

opened not his mouth. He has brought as a lamb

to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers,

is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. He was

taken from prison and from judgment. And who shall declare

his generation? For he was cut off out of the

land of the living, for the transgression of my people.

Was he stricken, and he made his grave with the

wicked and with the rich in his death, because he

had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.

Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him. He hath

put him to grief. When thou shalt make his soul

an offering for sin, he shall see his seed. He

shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord

shall prosper in his hand. He shall see of the

travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied by his knowledge.

Shall my righteous servant justify many, for he shall bury

their iniquities. Therefore will I divide him a portion with

the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong,

Because he hath poured out his soul unto death, and

he was numbered with the transgressors, and he bare the

sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors. I

don't think I'm going to comment on the verses. It's

a beautiful, beautiful description here, but it has it has

many well. The subject of atonement has quite a few

different subjects woven into it, or it's made up of

different components. And I have four of them here that

I would i'd like to consider, and they're they're in

Isaiah fifty three here. But have some verses, have some

threads that are woven through the concept of atonement, through

the doctrine of atonement, and like to consider consider these four,

the first one being ransom ransom paying the price to

redeem one Peter one eighteen or nineteen says, four, as

much as you know that you were not redeemed with

corruptible things as silver and gold from your vain conversation

received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious

blood of Christ, as of a lamb, without blemish and

without spot ver stiventy two five and six. There is

one God and one mediator between God and men. The

man Christ, Jesus, who gave himself a ransom for all

to be testified in due time. Verse Grinthien six twenty says,

you're bought with a price. Therefore, glorify God in your

body and in your spirit, which are God's the price

that needed to be paid. In the subject of atonement,

there have been many men who have endeavored to write

an understanding of it, and so as you study it,

you'll notice there's quite a spectrum of beliefs in what

it all entails, and I don't have a very good

grasp of the variations. One of the things that comes

up is did Jesus make a token payment or did

he make the full payment? You're bought with the price.

Was it just a token that satisfied God's righteous standard,

or was it the full price. I believe Jesus paid

the full price. I believe he took upon himself the

entirety of what God's law demanded. And so ransom that

is one component. Another one, and we've already considered the

idea of propitiation in a mercy seat, but God's mercy

that is extended through Jesus life and death on the cross.

The mercy seat and what that embodied. So one we

have Jesus paying the Christ. Two here we have the

thought of the mercy of God that is extended from

his character. God is a just God, and the price

had to be met. But God is a merciful God,

and he desires He desires reconciliation. He doesn't need my effort.

Nothing I can do would gain his mercy. For John two,

verse two says, and he is the propitiation. This is

speaking about Jesus. Jesus is the mercy seat for our sins,

and not for ours only, but also for the sins

of the whole world vers. John fourteen. Here in his love,

not that we loved God, but that He loved us

and sent his son to be the propitiation for our sins.

Number three. A third component to the idea of atonement

is substitution. We've already noted that substitution taking the place

of another, as the Ram took the place for Isaac, substitution.

There as Abraham was asked to offer Isaac, the Ram

took the place it met the need instead of Isaac.

And in Sewo Corinthians five, verse twenty one, I think

i'll just note verse twenty one. Now, perhaps we'll come

back to this passage a little bit later, but in

second five point twenty one, it says that for he

Hath made him. I understand this to be meaning the

Father made Christ to be sin for us who knew

no sin. Jesus knew no sin, that we might be

made the righteousness of God in him. I'll read that again.

For he the Father hath made him Christ to be

sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might

be made the righteousness of God in him substitution. But

the demands of the law had to be met, and

if they would be met in me, there would be

nothing left of me. I could not make that. And

so Jesus stood in my and your place to meet

that as a substitute. This is one of the verses

that has variation of thought, and I don't I don't

understand them the depth of it myself. I don't want

to to try to take take it where it's not

meant to be. What does it What does it mean

that he was made sin for us? I'm not exactly sure.

Does it mean that he paid the sin price? I

have a hard time believing that Jesus had sin in

himself as he took on the price of my sin.

But I'm not sure. I'm not sure what all God,

what all happened there on the cross. A couple of

things that I'll just bring into the to the mix here.

One is the goat in the Old Testament that had

imputed sin placed upon its head. It was sent out.

It took on what the people were guilty of, And

so Jesus took on for sure the price of sin.

Galatians three and verse thirteen talks about us being redeemed.

I'll have to turn there. Glatians three thirteen says where

Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law

being made a curse for us, for his written cursed

is everyone that hangeth on a tree. Clearly, clearly the

penalty was something he experienced. What I do, oh, as

far as as his substitution is that justice was met,

mercy was granted, and God accomplished reconciliation probably not so important,

how we whether we understand the depth of that. A

fourth component of atonement would be the idea of the

advocate work of Jesus that he is interceding on our behalf,

that he's pleading for our cause. In John fourteen and

verse sixteen, he says that I will send you another comforter,

and that's the same word for an advocate or intercessor.

I will send you another comforter versus John two, Verse one,

My little children, these things write onto you that ye

sin not, and if any man sin. We have an

advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the Righteous. He is

the embodiment of the righteousness of God's standard. His advocate

work simial areas where we might make this practical for us.

Invite you to Romans three, Chapter three. I think we'll

work down from verses twenty one to the end of

the chapter. We notice in verse twenty one that God's

righteousness is being revealed or manifested. It says it's happening

without the law. So the Old Testament law was to

reveal God's righteousness. But it says it's being revealed even

without the law, and it's also witnessed or it's witnessed

by the law and the prophets. Verse twenty two. That

righteousness is by faith to all and upon all that believe.

There is no difference. All have sin Verse twenty three.

The umbrella is universal justified freely by his grace, that's

verse twenty four, by his grace through the redemption that

is in Christ Jesus freely at no cost. There is

nothing that I can do to procure this verse twenty five,

whom Christ, whom God has said forth to be a

mercy seat through faith in his blood. To declare this

righteousness again, his righteousness for the remission of sins that

are passed through the forbearance of God Nubverse twenty six,

we have, well, I'll read it. Let's read it here

to declare I say at this time his righteousness, that

he might be just and the justifier of Him which

believeth in Jesus. And so God's justlessness, he was just

in Christ, his justice was satisfied. He was also justifying us.

Both of those, Both of those were happening together. Both

God's justness was being satisfied, and he was justifying the

sinner through faith. All right, And then we have verse

twenty seven. Where is boasting or in other words, where

is the value that I could bring to God that

says I have it. I've attained I have something whereby

I might offer to him. All Right, it's laid aside,

it's stripped aside. It's only by faith, and we conclude

that that's where justification comes. He says in verse twenty eight.

We conclude that a man is justified by faith. All right.

Circumcision is justified by faith. Uncircumcision through faith, and that

is establishing God's righteousness the law. I said, how are

we going to make this practical? Believing that God's standard

for me has been satisfied. My faith in the finished

work of Jesus Christ is what makes that effective for me.

It's my faith nothing. It's nothing that I can do

for God to accomplish this work in my life. Do

I believe? Do we believe this morning that I serve

as satisfy God, that His righteousness has been fully met

for my need? Completely? Can I rest in that that?

There's nothing I can do to be deserving, or to

be worthy, or to bring merit to justify myself. I'm

not entitled to it. I'm unworthy. Yet I accept it

as a finished work at Calvary on my behalf. Let's

move on to Tewod Corinthians five seventeen to twenty one.

Believe we have a calling that comes to us seventeen

to twenty one. Therefore, if any man be in Christ,

he is a new creature. Old things are passed away. Behold,

all things are become new, and all things are of God,

who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and

hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation, to wit

that God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself,

not imputing or conveying their trust, passes unto them, not

putting them on their account, and hath committed unto us

the word of reconciliation. We have been in trust with

ministers of this reconciliatory work. Now then we are ambassadors

for Christ. As though God did beseech you by us,

we pray you in Christ, stead be ye reconciled to God,

for he hath made him to be sinned for us,

who knew no sin, that we might be made the

righteousness of God in Him. Being being mediators for Jesus,

we have been given granted the privilege of being ambassadors

for him. It was interesting to me to look up

this word ambassador. I equated it to a government designated

position where someone is authorized to be an ambassador for

a government and represent them to another country. And I

think that probably plays in here. But the idea of

being an elder also is part of the ambassador thought here.

Being an elder some one who understands the the entrustment

of the ministry of reconciliation, The understand that so so

that they are able to convey that to those who

are in need. So we are we are entrusted with it.

Does the salvation of those around me? Grip my heart?

I think that that is one of the things that

we practically take on as we understand the work of

Jesus Christ on our behalf, the the desperate plight that

people who are unsaved are in, does the urgency of

their salvation? Grip my heart? And am I am I

walking in the ministry of reconciliation just in the way

I live, living with the desire of making one out

of two and one instead of two, working together, living

my life so that I am making peace. I believe

that's a practical nature of our of the atonement on

our behalf. One more that I'd like to finish up

with here, turn with me, if you will to Hebrews

Chapter ten and verses nineteen to twenty two, Hebrews ten,

nineteen to twenty two, Having therefore, brethren boldness to do

what to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus,

by a new and living way, which he hath consecrated

for us through the veil, that is to say, his flesh,

and having a high priest over the House of God.

I try to understand what it means to be able

to enter the holiest through the blood of Jesus. And

I guess I'm so thankful that the Law was a

shadow that reflects it, because without that it would be

it would be so much more difficult to understand when

I'm when I'm already struggling. But it says that Jesus

was a veil in his flesh, the Old Testament Tabernacle

veil split when he died. Somehow, I believe that in

his life here on earth he lived out for us

what it meant to understand God. And it was through

his flesh that he revealed the Holy of holies through

the veil, which is his flesh. Maybe in a small way, men,

we can step into that with him. Phesians five, verses

twenty five to twenty seven. I'll read for us, husbands,

love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church

and gave himself for it, that he might sanctify and

cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,

that he might present it to himself a glorious church,

not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but

that it should be holy and without blemish. As Christ

loved the Church, maybe in a small way we can

reflect to those were responsible for a guidebook to the Father,

as Jesus did to us, that through his incarnation he

opened to us us the way to God. And hence,

as husbands and dads, we do that for our families

and beyond beyond. But here's a specific directive to love

as Christ loved. May God bless you as you seek

to walk in that priceless gift purchased possessions of our Savior.

If the Lord bless you in the in your walks

with Him and with a desire for His completeness. Hm