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Jesus Christ and the Work of Atonement
1. Setting the Scene
The record of God's creative work in Genesis is an expression of God's plan and purpose with this Earth and with mankind. God's intention is clear - man's destiny is to dwell on the Earth in harmony with Him. When Adam broke the commandments of God and introduced sin into the World, God's plan appeared to falter. It appeared to falter in that God, who is righteous could not without compromising that righteousness dwell with man who by nature and disposition was wholly given over to sin and iniquity. Although the choice of whether to obey God (or not) was necessary as part of true free will, Adam's sin (in disobeying) created a fundamental breach in the relationship between God and Man.
God's plan with this Earth and with mankind has not changed. It remains the same. There are many passages of scripture which confirm this. An example can be found in Isaiah which speaks of the time when the Kingdom of God will be established in the Earth:
"And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem." (Isaiah 2:2-4)
This prophecy has not yet come to pass, but we believe it will in the very near future when Christ returns the second time to establish God's Kingdom upon the Earth. At that time God, through His Son the Lord Jesus Christ will dwell with Man upon the Earth.
This has now been made possible through God's plan of salvation which is centred in His Son the Lord Jesus Christ. It was Jesus, the Saviour who has overcome sin and destroyed the power of sin in his own flesh through his perfect sacrifice that he made upon the cross. This work of redemption is referred to as the atonement and is explained below.
2. The Promised Seed of the Woman destined to destroy the Seed of the Serpent
After the fall of Adam, when the law of sin (that is the human condition which by nature is disobedient to God's laws) had entered the world, God passes judgement. In passing judgement He reveals how sin would ultimately be destroyed, for He says to the serpent:
"I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel" (Gen 3:15)
The seed spoken of was singular, as in one and not plural, as in many. The bruising of "his" heel means a temporary set back, whereas the bruising of the serpent's head would be a death blow. We also note that God makes reference to the seed of the woman whereas normally we speak of the seed of the man. What then is this scripture speaking about?
Well this verse is prophetic of the Lord Jesus Christ and of the work of atonement. He is that singular seed, born of the woman.
i) the Seed of the Serpent identified as representing the power of sin
The serpent is symbolic of the power of sin. It was the serpent's reasoning and his words that provided the temptation which resulted in Adam's transgression. In the New Testament, the Lord Jesus Christ uses this figure when speaking about the Pharisees of his day. He refers to them as "Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers" (Mttw 23:33). They were motivated and wholly overtaken by the power of sin. They were serving themselves and not God, the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ.
ii) the Seed of the Woman - prophetic of the Virgin Birth
As stated above, in normal speech we refer to the seed of the man when considering the paternity of a child. But not in this particular case as it was not applicable. The words spoken to Eve are prophetic of the virgin birth. The Father would be the Lord God Himself.
Eve clearly understood this to be the case as evidenced by her words which are recorded in Genesis Ch 4:
"And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I HAVE GOTTEN A MAN FROM THE LORD." (Gen 4:1)
Clearly she was wrong about the timescale of God's plan and she was wrong concerning Cain - he was not the promised seed, instead events later proved that he was of the seed of the serpent - i.e. altogether overtaken by the power of sin. However it does illustrate Eve's understanding of how redemption from sin would be achieved by God.
The virgin birth which is recorded in detail in Luke's Gospel is critical to our understanding of the atonement. Jesus was the Son of God. Through this paternity he was made strong to do the will of his Heavenly Father. He was therefore unique and special. But through being born of Mary he was also the Son of Man. He therefore inherited the sin nature which his mother bore - she being a descendant of Adam. Jesus therefore was made of flesh and blood and capable of sin. The temptations he suffered therefore were real.
"Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he [that is Christ] also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death that is the devil. For verily he [that is Christ] took not on him the nature of angels but he took on him the seed of Abraham. Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people." (Hebrews 2:14-17)
(The devil spoken of here is not a supernatural being. Such a person does not exist. Instead the devil we are told here is the one that has the power of death. The devil therefore is the personification of the sin power found in all men as we are all descended from Adam and we all share his nature. Christ was made like unto us - he bore our nature, yet remained without sin. If you wish to explore this issue further then look at our page on Satan, the Devil and Demons.
iii) the blow to the heel of the seed of the woman
The blow to the heel of the seed of the woman is prophetic of the temporary set back suffered by Christ in that he died to sin and was in the grave for 3 days and 3 nights before being bodily raised up by God to newness of life, never to die again.
iv) the blow to the head of the seed of the serpent
This is prophetic of Christ destroying the power of sin. Christ destroyed sin in his own flesh through his death upon the cross. How does this work? Well note the following:
3. Jesus provided Atonement for God's People
Not only did Jesus destroy the sin that warred against the will of God in his own flesh, but he also took upon him and destroyed the sin of God's people from all generations. In other words it was retrospective, current and future in its application. In doing this he provided the perfect sacrifice for sin and accomplished the atonement. In other words the breach in the relationship between God and Man was repaired through the death of the Lord Jesus Christ.
But how does this work?
Well Jesus as a Jew was subject to the Law of Moses. The Law of Moses was given by God to regulate both the personal and the national life of Israel. It was wholly righteous in its character and operation. We are told in Romans that it is through the Law that we have knowledge of sin. In other words through the commandments of God which inform us of what is right and what is wrong we can judge our behaviour and identify sin when it occurs. ("for the law is the knowledge of sin. "See Romans 3:20). Given that sin is the breaking of God's Law, the power of sin is in the Law itself!
Included within the Law of Moses was a commandment:
"Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree" (See Galatians 3:13 and Deut 21:23)
Jesus was hung upon a tree having been crucified to death. In being placed upon this tree the whole curse of the law which is the sin of the world fell upon him. In this way he bore up our sins in his body that they might be nailed to the cross and destroyed. The Apostle Peter confirms this when he wrote these words about the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ:
"who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed." (1Pe2:24-25).
The righteous Law of Moses therefore cursed the only righteous man that ever lived. This is all part of God's Divine wisdom which is at the very centre of His plan of salvation. It is also the means whereby sin was destroyed in the flesh of Christ. Those who are now covered by the righteous blood of the Lord Jesus Christ through baptism into his saving Name have their sins forgiven. They are counted righteous as a consequence of their faith in him.
In this way two core principles of the Divine revelation are satisfied:
4. Christ was the Anti Typical Serpent Raised up on the Pole
Jesus confirmed these principles when he said:
"Now is the judgement of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. This he said signifying what manner of death he should die." (John 12:31-32)
This is a clear reference to an incident recorded for us in Numbers Ch 21: 4 - 10 which is established through the words spoken by the Lord as a "Type" of his work of atonement. ["Types" as we discover them in the Bible are a foreshadowing of things. Here it is meant that scripture has established beyond doubt that it is prophetic of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Anti Type is the aspect of the Lord's life which provides the real substance of what the type was pointing forward to.]
In Numbers Ch 21 we have a record of the wilderness journey undertaken by the children of Israel after their deliverance from the land of Egypt. While in the wilderness they rebelled against God. As a result of this sin, God sent amongst them fiery serpents which when they bit the people, the people died. Death therefore followed as a direct consequence of their sin (the wages of sin is death - Rom 6:23). The Law of Moses had no solution for this problem. When the people repented therefore and diligently asked Moses to make petition to God to remove the serpents that troubled them there had to be a solution found that was outside the scope of the Law of Moses.
We read that God instructed Moses to make a brass serpent and put it upon a pole. This brass serpent on the pole was raised up in the middle of their camp. Those of the children of Israel who were bitten, who were of faith, were instructed to be placed where they could look upon this brass serpent and in looking in faith be healed of the consequences of their sin. The object of their gaze was a representation of the very thing that was killing them - the power of sin.
Jesus applies these same principles to explain the work of atonement. He is the Anti Typical serpent on the pole. As explained above, this is evident because he was a man subject to the principle or law of sin because he bore our nature which we inherited from Adam. He was raised up on the pole or the tree of crucifixion.
His people are dying as a consequence of their sin - the wages of sin is death. Jesus invites his followers to look, through the eyes of faith, upon him and upon the sacrifice he made in order to be restored and to be healed of sin's deadly bite.
5. The Response required by those who Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ
Those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that he made an atonement for sin are required to be baptised into his saving name. This is the way in which man enters into covenant relationships with God. It is also the way in which man becomes personally associated with the sacrifice for sin made by Jesus on our behalf. Baptism is essential for salvation.
Baptism involves the full immersion in water. For this to be effective, the Bible sets out a very clear process, which is: