T(r)oy's Marbles
how God atones (4th part)
We've been talking about the atonement, how God reconciles humanity to Himself. We've introduced the classic idea, that the atonement is, first and foremost, a victory over sin, death and the devil. In the second part, we noted that the classic idea is rooted firstly in the Incarnation. In the third part yesterday we talked about where the cross of Christ comes into play.
Go here to start this exploration at the first part.
Go here to read part two.
Go here to read part three.
And now, part 4 in which we will bring the classic idea full circle with a discussion of the resurrection of Christ and our atonement.
The resurrection in the classic idea
Here’s how they put it: Remember what Jesus said when the Jews demanded of Him a sign that He really was the Messiah, their Great Liberator? What did He say? No sign will be given “except the sign of the prophet Jonah.”
Now, what on earth could He have possibly meant by that? Jesus explains himself, but before we look at what Jesus said, let’s put on our “thinking caps” and dig a little on our own.
Remember the story of Jonah? It’s about a man who gets swallowed by a great fish. Then, three days later, he’s coughed up. By all accounts, Jonah was a dead man, but miraculously, he survived.
The early church fathers, as did Jesus, saw in the factual story of Jonah an allegory of the Christ. And if you doubt it, just look at what Jonah prays while in the belly of the great fish. Jonah’s prayer could easily be Christ’s prayer, if taken poetically (and in some cases, quite literally!). Read Jonah’s prayer through the lens of Christ as He lay in the grave and marvel at “the sign of Jonah”. I’m going to add some emphasis to the text to show the parallels visually:
“In my distress I called to the Lord, and he answered me. From the depths of the grave I called for help, and you listened to my cry. You hurled me into the deep…I said, ‘I have been banished from your sight…’”
(What was it Jesus said? “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”) Continuing now…
“The engulfing waters threatened me, the deep surrounded me; seaweed was wrapped around my head…”
(Hmmm….sort of like a crown of thorns…)
“To the roots of the mountains I sank down; the earth beneath barred me in forever…”
(Jesus was “buried”!)
“But you brought my life up from the pit, O Lord my God.”
(Jesus rose from the dead!)
“…And the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.”
The “sign of Jonah”, indeed. Jesus, after he tells those who ask for a sign that they will be given none except the “sign of Jonah”, explains himself. His explanation coincides with the above reading of Jonah’s prayer. He says, “For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” (Matthew 12:40)
Now, keeping in mind the “classic idea” that our atonement was first and foremost a victory won over the devil, let’s put together this image of Jesus and the “sign of Jonah.” Here’s a paraphrase of how the early church fathers did it:
God disguises himself as Man, thus becoming a “worm” (when compared to the glory to which He was accustomed). The worm is pierced, pinned to a hook (in this case, the cross--which is rather like a hook, I must say). The devil, that great serpentine fish, sees an opportunity to claim another worm and takes the bait, swallowing the worm whole. The worm descends into the belly of the fish, which is the bastion of death for all, the grave. Once in the belly, the fish discovers he has eaten a very special worm, completely unlike any other worm he has eaten before. This worm cannot be killed, kept down. This worm is none other than God Himself. Since the worm has, by the devil’s own choice, by the fish’s own permission, been granted access to his belly, the worm now has the right to free all the other worms the fish has eaten. And, of course, God--now perfectly within His rights--takes advantage of the opportunity to release the captives. Jesus, the worm, emerges victorious from the belly of the fish.
The Scriptures refer to this liberating ministry when it says of Jesus that he “ascended on high” and “led captives in his train…” (Ephesians 4:8, emphasis added)
Now, let’s layer in one more theme within the classic idea to “complete the circle”, as it were.
The classic idea and recapitulation
Further, the Scriptures and the early church fathers couch this liberating ministry of Jesus in the terms of recapitulation. Here’s another way of putting it: “Through the liberating work of Christ, God has in mind to set everything right again, to restore all things, to put everything back the way it was intended.” To “recapitulate” is to reclaim the exercise of authority over a given sphere. In this instance, God limits the amount of authority the devil has had over our lives and over creation, while at the same time, exercising His rightful authority over the same (and some day, God will completely cut off the devil’s authority; but, until that day, we are still called to “resist the devil” and cling to God). The point is: God can rightfully limit the devil’s stake on our lives now, because He has liberated us from the devil in a just and fair manner.
That is to say, through the work of Christ, the devil need no longer have claim on our lives. We have been liberated. And not just us, but God is in the business of “re-doing” all things, the entire created order.
Look at Romans 8 as an example of this. First, note the image of subjection, of slavery, of bondage in this passage. Verse 20 states this when it says, “…the creation was subjected to frustration not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it.” To be sure, Paul does affirm the fatal choice humanity makes in selling our will to the devil, but (Paul tells us here) once we do that, we must do the devil’s bidding. We have forfeited our will, so we are forever subjected to frustration now, not by our own choice, but by the will of the devil. In other words, we are helpless.
In that light, Romans 8 continues: “…in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.” Indeed, “We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.” And we “groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for…the redemption of our bodies.” (That is, the “buy-back” of our bodies). We are in bondage, Paul says. Jesus “buys us back”, Paul says. This “buy-back” is not only for human souls, but also for the whole created order. God wants to restore all things. God is in the business of recapitulation.
The early church fathers highlight this idea of “recapitulation” (the means by which our atonement is effected) by describing Christ’s work as one big “Do-Over”.
You know what a “Do-Over” is, right? When I was a kid, if we were playing a game and wanted it to turn out a certain way, we would get frustrated if it didn’t turn out the way we wanted. So, to make it turn out the way we wanted, we would call a “Do-Over.”
Well, God, in the work of Christ, also called a “Do-Over” as a way of trying to get things back to the way He originally had in mind. This is the essence of the idea of “recapitulation”, which lies at the heart of the classic idea of the atonement. In other words, God repairs the rupture in our relationship with Him and in His relationship to the world, by defeating the devil and by “doing it over again”. So, in the classic way of presenting the atonement, you’ll see lots of parallels from the Creation account to the Christ-event. Note those parallels in the following quote. Anselm, a representative of the next idea of the atonement that we shall look at, nevertheless has an appreciation for the “classic” idea. He refers to the idea of recapitulation with these words:
“For, as death came upon the human race by the disobedience of man, it was fitting that by man's obedience life should be restored. And, as sin, the cause of our condemnation, had its origin from a woman, so ought the author of our righteousness and salvation be born of a woman. And so also was it proper that the devil, who, being man's tempter, had conquered him in eating of the tree, should be vanquished by man in the suffering of the tree which man bore.” (Cur Deus Homo?, chapter III)
Here’s how it works, then: In the creation story, Adam, mankind’s representative, disobeys and death results. In the Christ-event, Jesus, mankind’s new representative, obeys and life results.
In the creation story, sin enters into the world through the disobedience of a woman (Eve). In the Christ-event, salvation enters into the world through the obedience of a woman (Mary).
In the creation account, sin enters the world through a tree (the tree of the knowledge of good and evil). In the Christ-event, righteousness invades the world through a tree (that “tree” upon which Christ hung).
There’s a “Do-Over” going on here. This is the language of recapitulation inherent in the classic idea. Our atonement is presented in light of creation’s fall. Christ “does it over again” and “does it right” this time.
The Scriptures refer to this idea when it says things like:
“Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men. For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.” (Romans 5:18-19)
That’s recapitulation. Adam gave us one thing, Christ (whom Christians call the Second Adam, see below…) gave us another thing.
“For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.” (1 Corinthians 15:21-22)
and
“So it is written: ‘The first man Adam became a living being’; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit…The first man was of the dust of the earth, the second man from heaven…And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven.” (1 Corinthians 15: 45, 47, 49)
Adam is the representative of Mankind that brought death; Christ is our new representative (he’s the Son of Man) and he brings life. That’s recapitulation. The grand, cosmic “Do-Over”. And it’s specifically focused on the claim the devil makes on our lives. Jesus comes and, through his life and death, says to the devil, “You have no more power here. I have purchased those in slavery to you. Redeemed them.”
And thus, our reconciliation with God became secure, our atonement effected. But notice, Christ had to die to secure it.
Tomorrow, we shall turn to the second paradigm in our discussion: the "Latin" theory.
Until then, God bless.
teachings | Comments (0) | March 13, 2006