Propitiation

Look at it, 1 John 2:2, "And he is a propitiation for our sins.

And not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world." The word propitiation means mercy seat.

Propitiation means mercy seat, or propitiation means the throne of grace, not only for us, but for the whole world.

So Jesus is both the first goat, sacrificial lamb, second goat, goat of escape.

So when he was, when he was killed physically, Jesus played the role of the first goat.

Christmas is the provision of God.

The propitiation from God takes away the sin of the world.

Propitiation means Jesus Christ took the wrath that we deserve.

Romans 3.25, it says, whom God, Christ, whom God put forward as our propitiation.

That's incredible.

Christmas is the provision of God.

The propitiation from God takes away the sin of the world.

Propitiation means Jesus Christ took the wrath that we deserve.

Romans 3.25, it says, whom God, Christ, whom God put forward as our propitiation.

That's incredible.

So what does it mean?

Propitiation means to absorb and satisfy wrath through a substitute.

Okay.

If we connect this to the bigger picture, it's not just wiping away a mistake.

And this is where we get that term.

Propitiation, it satisfies the righteous anger and wrath of God.

God is angry with sin.

Whose sin? Man's sin.

God took the sovereign initiative when we had absolute zero natural affection for Him.

And what was the specific action that proved this love? Verse 10 gives us the very theological heartbeat of the gospel, "And sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins."

Propitiation.

The Greek word is hilasmos.

Okay, we really need to slow down here because this might be the most important word in the entire epistle, and it has been the center of a massive theological war.

Okay.

But it has absolutely no reference to appeasing divine wrath.

Propitiation, on the other hand, means a sacrifice that specifically bears and satisfies the wrath of a holy God, thereby turning His anger into favor.

Oh, many a sail goes gleaming there, Bound for some olive garden fair, But thou and I made fast to her, And found her cypress lovelier.

The shrines of Aphrodite lift Their smoke in every village rift, But thou and I, remote from man, Propitiate the woodland Pan.

End of poem.

This recording is in the public domain.

Here's another way to put it.

Propitiation refers to the pacifying, placating, or appeasing of God's wrath.

It refers to the turning away of God's anger, how God is propitious toward us.

You may have heard me said before, the simple way to remember this propitiation is about how the God of love is allowed to be pro-us.

No one thinks that it is a good judge who looks at someone who is absolutely guilty and says, but I like you, you can go free.

How can God do this? How can He do such a thing to let guilty people be free? Redemption and propitiation, the answer to that question about justifying the ungodly.

Propitiation is a relational word.

It entails three things, someone who is offended, someone who has committed an offense, and a means of making atonement for that offense and for that offender.