Tonight we want to look at what the Bible has to say in the way of teaching and the instruction concerning God’s Grace and Atonement.
The Bible teaches that God planned from the beginning to save mankind from their lost and sinful condition through His Son, Jesus Christ. The very first shadowy indication of God’s desire and plan to do this is seen in Genesis, Chapter 3, verses 14 and 15. Just after the fall of man, after the first sin had been committed, and God approached the man and the woman, He pronounced judgment upon the serpent: Genesis, chapter 3, beginning with verse 14, “So the LORD God said to the serpent: ‘Because you have done this, You are cursed more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly you shall go, And you shall eat dust All the days of your life. And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel.’”
If you are reading from another translation, some versions do not capitalize the pronouns. The New King James Version is one that does. You’ll notice there in verse 15, it speaks about “between your seed and her Seed,” and that second “Seed” is capitalized. That is because it’s referring to Jesus Christ. Then in the last part, “He (capitalized) shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His (capitalized) heel.” Once again, this is a reference to God’s plan of salvation. This pronouncement is a little bit shadowy and there is not much detail, but here is the first indication that we have that God already had a plan.
The shadows are removed entirely in the New Testament. Specifically, we could look at Ephesians, chapter 3, beginning with verse 8. Paul writes and says, “To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God Who created all things through Jesus Christ; to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord, in Whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him.”
Here Paul speaks about that “eternal purpose.” What was that eternal purpose? Well, it was God’s plan of redemption—God’s plan of reconciliation. This plan was according to God’s Own purpose, His Own design, and by His grace. 2 Timothy, chapter 1, beginning with verse 8 says, “Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the Gospel according to the power of God, Who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His Own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began,” (there’s a reference to that “eternal plan” again) “but has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, Who has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel, to which I was appointed a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles.”
So we see God’s purpose and His grace.
Now we want to mention something about atonement. That is what this lesson has to do with: God’s grace and the atonement. The atonement is the means that God uses to bring about salvation. So we have God’s grace, according to His divine plan and according to His purpose, and then we have the atonement, by which He brought this about.
Let’s first look at THE GRACE OF GOD.
God saves us todayby His grace through faithful obedience in Jesus Christ. Ephesians, chapter 2, beginning with verse 4, is a familiar text for us: “But God, Who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For bygrace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”
In the English New Testament, the word “grace” is translated from the Greek word “charis.” This word occurs 170 times in the New Testament. According to Nelson’s Bible Dictionary, it means, “Favor or kindness shown without regard to the worth or merit of the one who received it, in spite of what that person deserves.” That’s a pretty good definition of grace, isn’t it? This is the kind of grace that we are talking about here. We sometimes frequently hear this definition: “God’s unmerited favor.” Well, that’s a good definition, too.
Thus, if we look at this definition and understand what grace is, we see that God’s grace is totally from within Himself, and His grace is not dependent upon what man does or how man responds to that grace. Let me make sure that you don’t misunderstand here. There is a response that is required, and we’ll talk about that a little bit later, but as we think about God’s grace as a whole, it is there regardless of what my response is. Now if I am to avail myself of God’s grace, then I need to be obedient. But God’s grace, as an entity—as a whole—is there regardless of whether I accept it or respond to it. Salvation is available to all. And the fact that He has made this grace available—that He extends this grace to mankind—shows His deep concern for a relationship with Him, a relationship that we can have to Him, and that He can have to us.
There are many Scriptures that prove this. John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His Only Begotten Son, [that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”]. That’s a very short primer about grace. Why did God send His Son to the world? Because He desires a relationship with mankind. He desires a relationship with you, with me. He desires that we have a relationship with Him. The only way that was possible—or is possible—is through His Son. Again, this is indicative of God’s deep desire to have this relationship, thus, His willingness to provide such grace for man.
In this life, we will never fully understand or appreciate all that is involved in God’s relationship to us. We can see in Scripture, though, how He feels about us. For example, Romans, chapter 5, verse 8, “But God demonstrates His Own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Therein is a demonstration of love; therein is a demonstration of God’s deep desire to have a relationship with us, and for us to have a relationship with Him, and the extension of His grace.
Let’s look at some other Scriptures that speak to the way God feels about us. There is nothing new or overwhelming here, but let’s look at a number of verses, and keep in mind what we’re thinking about. We’re thinking about, “How does God think about us?” and this idea that “He desires to have a relationship with us.”
He made us “in His Own image,” Genesis 1: 26 and 27 [“Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’ So God created man in His Own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.”].
He gave man “dominion” over the creation, Genesis 1, verse 28 [“Then God blessed them, and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.’”]
He had in mind this plan of salvation from the very beginning, Genesis 3, verse 15 [“And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel.”].
We see Old Testament examples. I was reading the other day about Enoch, who “walked with God,” and because of that close relationship, “God took him,” Genesis 5, verses 21 through 24 [See verse 24:“And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.”]. I was reading today about Elijah, and God “took him.” [See 2 Kings 2:10-12.] Here are examples of that close relationship God had with these two men. These two men did not suffer death; God just “took” them. Enoch just disappeared. Elijah went up in a fiery chariot with horses of fire.
Then there’s a man like David. God had a close relationship with David—a man “after His Own heart” who “found favor with God,” the Scriptures tell us [See 1 Samuel 13:11-14 and Acts 13:22]. And David, of course, wrote most of the Psalms. In the Psalms, we read many descriptive terms that speak to God’s “feeling” towards man, His desire for a relationship with man, and what He does for man.
Very quickly, let’s run through this list from the Psalms:
He preserves us, Psalm 16, verse 1 [“Preserve me, O God, for in You I put my trust.”].
He hears us and loves us, Psalm 17, verse 6 and 7 [“I have called upon You, for You will hear me, O God; Incline Your ear to me, and hear my speech. Show Your marvelous lovingkindness by Your right hand, O You Who save those who trust in You From those who rise up against them.”].
He hears our cry, Psalm 18, verse 6 [“In my distress I called upon the LORD, And cried out to my God; He heard my voice from His temple, And my cry came before Him, even to His ears.”].
He helps those who trust him, Psalm 18:30 [“As for God, His way is perfect; The Word of the LORD is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him.”].
He avenges us, Psalm 18, verses 46 through 48 [“The LORD lives! Blessed be my Rock! Let the God of my salvation be exalted. It is God Who avenges me, And subdues the peoples under me; He delivers me from my enemies. You also lift me up above those who rise against me; You have delivered me from the violent man.”].
He shows mercy, Psalm 18:50 [“Great deliverance He gives to His king, And shows mercy to His anointed, To David and his descendants forevermore.”].
He sustains us, Psalm 30:2 and 3 [“O LORD my God, I cried out to You, And You healed me. LORD, You brought my soul up from the grave; You have kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit.”].
His thoughts are toward us, Psalm 40, verse 5 [“Many, O LORD my God, are Your wonderful works Which You have done; And Your thoughts toward us Cannot be recounted to You in order; If I would declare and speak of them, They are more than can be numbered.”].
He is always ready to help, Psalm 46, verse 1 [“God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble.”].
He is always ready to forgive, Psalm 51, 1 and 2 [“Have mercy upon me, O God, According to Your lovingkindness; According to the multitude of Your tender mercies, Blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, And cleanse me from my sin.”].
He wants us to seek him, Psalm 53, verse 2 [“God looks down from heaven upon the children of men, To see if there are any who understand, who seek God.”].
The writer tells us that God is for me [“for” — in the interest of, in favor of], Psalm 56, verse 9 [“When I cry out to You, Then my enemies will turn back; This I know, because God is for me.”].
He sends His mercy and His Truth to us, Psalm 57, verse 3 [“He shall send from heaven and save me; He reproaches the one who would swallow me up. Selah. God shall send forth His mercy and His Truth.”].
He is our defense and mercy, Psalm 59, verse 17 [“To You, O my Strength, I will sing praises; For God is my defense, My God of mercy.”].
He loads us with benefits, Psalm 68, verse 19 [“Blessed be the Lord, Who daily loads us with benefits, The God of our salvation! Selah”].
He bestows a multitude of mercies on us, Psalm 69, verse 13 [“But as for me, my prayer is to You, O LORD, in the acceptable time; O God, in the multitude of Your mercy, Hear me in theTruth of Your salvation.”].
He does wondrous things for us, Psalm 72, verse 18 [“Blessed be the LORD God, the God of Israel, Who only does wondrous things!”].
He is good to us, Psalm 73, verse 1 [“Truly God is good to Israel, To such as are pure in heart.”].
He hears us, Psalm 77, verse 1 [“I cried out to God with my voice—To God with my voice; And He gave ear to me.”].
He is full of compassion for us, as well as being gracious and long suffering toward us, Psalm 86, verse 15 [“But You, O Lord, are a God full of compassion, and gracious, Longsuffering and abundant in mercy and Truth.”].
We are His people, Psalm 95, verse 7 [“For He is our God, And we are the people of His pasture, And the sheep of His hand.”].
We are His sheep, Psalm 100, verse 3 [“Know that the LORD, He is God; It is He Who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.”].
He is gracious, righteous and merciful to us, Psalm 116, verse 5 through 7 [“Gracious is the LORD, and righteous; Yes, our God is merciful. The LORD preserves the simple; I was brought low, and He saved me. Return to your rest, O my soul, For the LORD has dealt bountifully with you.”].
His mercy endures forever, Psalm 136, verses 2 and 3 [“Oh, give thanks to the God of gods! For His mercy endures forever. Oh, give thanks to the Lord of lords! For His mercy endures forever.”].
Well, think about that! All of these statements have to do with the way God feels about me—the way God feels about you—the way God feels about mankind in general! When we think about God’s love toward us and we examine the Scriptures, both Old Testament and New Testament, we find these statements, as well as other statements. We see examples time and again of God’s love.
Again, think about the way God thinks about you—the way He thinks about me. Think about the close and intimate relationship—the close and intimate fellowship—that He desires to have with you and with me. That’s God’s desire! We think about God, and rightfully so, as Deity, as being Divine, as being omnipotent and being omniscient. We talked about all these things when we talked about the Bible Doctrines concerning God. We think about Him being aloof, being above us, and He is. But, look at the way He feels about us.
But there is a problem. This is the way God feels about us—this is the close and intimate fellowship that He wants to have with us. But the problem is a three-letter word. It’s called S-I-N! Sin destroys that relationship and the ability to have that relationship. It separates us from God.
Look at Isaiah 59, verses 1 and 2. We want to read that because it speaks to both of these things we’re thinking about: “Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, That it cannot save; Nor His ear heavy, That it cannot hear.” Well, that speaks to what we’re talking about—God’s willingness and desire to save us, to hear us, to have this relationship with us. “But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear.”
Well, there’s the problem. You see, in spite of that problem, God wants us back anyway. So His grace—that favor or kindness without regard to our response that He gives without favor or without merit—has made provision for us to be reconciled to him, 2 Corinthians 5, verses 18 and 19 [“Now all things are of God, Who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the Word of reconciliation.”]. This word “reconcile” denotes a change or an exchange, hence the change from enmity to friendship. Because of His grace—because of that unmerited favor—then there is the possibility, the potential for us to be reconciled, to go from where we have been, in sin that has separated us and has caused Him to turn His face from us, and to be exchanged and now be in this friendship relationship, this fellowship.
Vines Expository Dictionary speaks about reconciliation in this regard: “With regard to the relationship between God and men, the use of this and connected words shows that primarily reconciliation is what God accomplishes, exercising His grace toward sinful man on the ground of the death of Christ in a propitiatory sacrifice under the judgment due to sin.”
Well, God’s part in our salvation is grace, and that includes all that He did to provide that salvation. God’s grace is not a feeling alone. We went through that long list talking about how God feels about us and about His desire for this relationship. But His grace went beyond the feeling. He put that feeling—that desire—into action.
We can see GOD’S GRACE IN ACTION:
First, His promise to save us, Romans 4, verse 16[“Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all.”] and Galatians 3:18 [“For if the inheritance is of the law, it is no longer of promise; but God gave it to Abraham by promise.”].
The preparation to send Jesus into the world at just the right time, Galatians 4, verse 4 [“But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law.”]; and Mark 1, verse 15 [“And saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the Gospel.’”].
The Jewish nation, the Law of Moses, all of those things that led up to the coming of Jesus [Galatians 3:24 [“Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith.”]; Romans 3:20 [“Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.”]; and Hebrews 9:22 [“And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission.”].
The sending of Jesus into the world, John 3:16 [“God so loved the world that He gave His Only Begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”]; Romans 8:32 [“He Who did not spare His Own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?”]; and 1 John 4:9 [“In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His Only Begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him.”].
The atonement of Christ [Romans 5:15-17; Matthew 26:39; Romans 3:24], and we’re going to talk about this in just a moment.
The church, Acts 2:41-42, 47 [“Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers…praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.”].
The sending of the Holy Spirit, John 14:26 [“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, Whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.”]; and Acts, chapters 2 and 10. [See Acts 2:4: “And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” See also Acts 10:44: “While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word.”].
And, finally, the giving of His Word—the Scriptures—the Bible, Romans 15:4 [“For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.”], and James 1:25 [“But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.”].
So we can see from this list that God’s grace was active, and it was and still is manifested in many ways. It involves all that has been mentioned, plus much more. That is what Paul refers to in Ephesians 2, verse 8, when he says it is the grace of God that saves us [“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.”]. There is no merit of our own in salvation. God gives salvation as a gift, a free gift. The price has been paid. That’s how it is given as a free gift. Jesus paid in full the price for our redemption on the cross.
However, we must comply with conditions that God has given for us in order to be saved by His grace. When we have complied with those conditions, we are saved by grace through our own faithful obedience. Our compliance with the provision that God has set forth, our obedience to the things that He requires of us still do not merit—still do not earn us salvation. Salvation is still a free gift! Again, the price has been paid in full. We are simply doing what God has asked of us, and what He has commanded of us to do in order to obtain it.
As we know, this is a stumbling block for many people. Grace is a misunderstood entity. There are many who would say, well, we “put conditions” on God’s grace, and of course we’re not, but we’re accused sometimes of putting conditions on God’s grace and upon salvation. If we say that it is necessary for a person to be baptized, then we are putting a “condition” on that, and a person is then “earning” his salvation. Of course, that is not what we’re doing and that is not what a person is doing.
The analogy that so well illustrates that point has to do with a person who is approached and is offered a huge sum of money—a million dollars:
“I’m going to give this to you, there are no strings attached, you don’t owe me anything, and there is no obligation. You don’t have to pay taxes on it—it’s yours!”
“What have I done to earn it?”
“Well, you haven’t done anything to earn it! I’m a philanthropic sort of fellow and I just want you to have this money. Now, you just need to go across the street to the bank and present yourself to the teller and tell them who you are and they’ll count out a million dollars and you can walk out with it.”
“Oh, I’m not going to do that. That’s asking too much!”
Well, who among us would say that? We wouldn’t! And who among us would feel as though, by walking across the street and presenting ourselves to a teller, we had somehow earned the million dollars? We wouldn’t!
The same thing is true of God’s grace. God has said, in effect, “walk across the street, present yourself to the teller and you’ll have salvation.” Have we earned it? No! We’ve simply complied with what God has required.
Speaking of this, the Hebrew writer says, referring to Jesus, “And having been perfected, He became the Author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him,” Hebrews 5, verse 9.
Now let’s look at THE ATONEMENT:
As we’ve already established, God desires a close and intimate relationship or fellowship with us, but sin has interrupted that. However, from the beginning, God had a plan to reconcile—to redeem—man and the atonement is God’s means to bring this about. The atonement may be defined as covering over of sin—the reconciliation between God and man accomplished by the blood of Jesus Christ. Remember: We talked about reconciliation, going from enmity to friendship, making that exchange. And it is the blood of Christ that makes that exchange—that reconciliation—possible. It is the result of Christ’s sacrificial sufferings by virtue of which all who exercise proper faith and obedience receive forgiveness for their sins.
God used the law and the sacrifices of the Old Testament to prepare us for the actual atonement. We see this in Numbers 15, verse 28, which speaks of the priest making atonement, under the Law of Moses [“So the priest shall make atonement for the person who sins unintentionally, when he sins unintentionally before the Lord, to make atonement for him; and it shall be forgiven him.”].
Also, the Passover Feast was symbolic of the coming atonement, Exodus 12:1-13 [see verse 13: “Now the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.”].
The Law of Moses itself was given to prepare us for Christ, Exodus 30, verse 10 [“And Aaron shall make atonement upon its horns once a year with the blood of the sin offering of atonement; once a year he shall make atonement upon it throughout your generations. It is most holy to the LORD.”],and Leviticus 16, verses 6-16 [See verses 6 and 16: “Aaron shall offer the bull as a sin offering, which is for himself, and make atonement for himself and for his house…So he shall make atonement for the Holy Place, because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions, for all their sins; and so he shall do for the tabernacle of meeting which remains among them in the midst of their uncleanness.”].
In the New Testament, Paul shows that God used the Old Testament to point to Christ. Galatians, chapter 3, beginning with verse 19: “What purpose then does the law serve? It was added because of transgressions, till the Seed,” and notice the capital “S” there in Seed, “till the Seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was appointed through angels by the hand of a mediator. Now a mediator does not mediate for one only, but God is One. Is the law then against the promises of God? Certainly not! For if there had been a law given which could have given life, truly righteousness would have been by the law. But the Scripture has confined all under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed. Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.”
So again, we have the Old Testament that foreshadowed the atonement to come—the coming of Christ—and we now see that inthe coming of Christ.
There are several words used in Scripture to refer to the atonement:
Propitiation: Hebrews 2:17 [“Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.”]; Romans 3:25 [“Whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed.”]; 1 John 2:2 [“And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.”]; and 1 John 4:10 [“In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”].
Ransom or Redemption: Matthew 20:28 [“As the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”]; Mark 10:45 [“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”]; and Hebrews 9:12 [“Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His Own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.”].
Substitution: Romans 5:6-9, 18 [“For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His Own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him…Therefore, as through one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life.”]; 1 Corinthians 15:3 [“For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,”]; 2 Corinthians 5:21 [“For He made Him Who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”]; Galatians 3:13 [“Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree’).”]; and Titus 2:14 [“Who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.”].
And, finally, a brief summary of God’s grace and the atonement. The need for the atonement was seen because of the sin of mankind. As Paul said in Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” The promise that God made to meet this need to overcome sin was His sending His Son. He is the sacrifice and we must avail ourselves of the provision of God’s grace in order to be saved.
There is another part to this that we will cover next week, which has to do with Man’s Part In Salvation.