This view of God is foundational to understanding the why of the atonement, but it’s often neglected in discussions of the cross. Instead, the triune God is the law his will and nature determine what is right and wrong. This is why God’s law is not external to him, nor can he relax it at will. One crucial implication of this description is that God, by nature, is the moral standard. From the opening verses of Scripture, God is presented as eternal, independent, holy love, righteous, and good-the triune God who is complete in himself and who needs nothing from us (Gen. If our view of God is incorrect, we will never understand the why of the cross. Disagreements over the meaning of the cross are first doctrine of God debates. Let’s look at each of these in turn.įirst, to understand the cross we must grasp who God is as our triune Creator-covenant Lord. It’s set within the overall framework of Scripture and especially four biblical truths of God, humans, the problem of forgiveness, and the identity of Christ. Our Lord’s death does not come to us in a vacuum. The Biblical-Theological Context for Understanding Christ’s Cross All this reminds us that the church needs to return repeatedly to Scripture to explain the cross biblically and theologically, which we will do in three steps: (1) describe briefly four foundational truths that locate the cross in its proper biblical-theological context (2) describe the diverse, complementary ways Scripture describes the cross and lastly, (3) ask how best to explain theologically the meaning of our Lord’s death for us. As various atonement debates occurred, clarity and precision were achieved. But, admittedly, the conceptual clarity of the doctrine came over time, similar to other doctrines. Yet, it’s vital to note that despite no ecumenical confession regarding the cross, all Christians have agreed that Christ’s death secures the forgiveness of our sins resulting in reconciliation with God. From this fact, some have concluded that no one view of the cross adequately explains what is central in Christ’s death. In fact, unlike the ecumenical confessions of Nicaea and Chalcedon that established orthodox Trinitarian and Christological doctrine, there is no catholic confession regarding the atonement. Throughout church history, however, there have been a variety of atonement theologies. 13:8), it’s crucial that we explain it correctly. And given the centrality of Christ’s death in Scripture (Mark 8:31-32 Acts 2:23 cf. It’s not enough for Christ only to be with us in his incarnation he must also act for us in his life, death, and resurrection. Yet, although there is a danger in prioritizing one aspect of our Lord’s work, Scripture does stress the centrality of Christ’s priestly office and his sacrificial death for our sins (Matt. What Calvin sought to avoid was reductionism, the “cardinal” sin of theology. John Calvin sought to grasp the comprehensive nature of Christ’s work by the munus triplex-Christ’s threefold office as our new covenant head and mediator-prophet, priest, and king. Trying to capture all that our Lord Jesus Christ achieved in his glorious work is not easy given its multi-faceted aspects.
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