A Brief Book Summary from Books At a Glance
by Steve West
Table of Contents
Introduction: The Foolishness of the Gospel
1 The Story of Atonement: From a Garden to a Kingdom
2 The Heart of Atonement: The Great Exchange
3 The Achievements of Atonement: A Multidimensional Work
4 The Coherence of Atonement: An Integrated Achievement
5 The Community of Atonement: Reconciled and Reconciling
6 The Life of Atonement: Taking Up Your Cross
Conclusion
Summary
Introduction: The Foolishness of the Gospel
We are all dying because of sin, but in Christ there is hope for eternal salvation. The cross of Jesus is the most important event in world history. Through his death, Jesus brings about reconciliation and the renewal of all things. In Jesus’s time, crucifixion was known for its agonizing pain, but also for its incalculable shame. That God’s plan centered on the crucifixion of the Messiah was a scandal to Jews and foolishness to the Gentiles. Early Christians were mocked for their belief in the cross of Christ, since it seemed obvious to many that the cross was an event of shame, weakness, and failure. For those with spiritual eyes to see, however, the cross is wisdom and strength: it is “power controlled by love.” The paradox of the cross is that in God’s plan of redemption, the cross is transformed into an instrument of victory, life, and atonement for sin. Christ triumphs through his death on the cross, transforming his death into the good news of salvation.
The doctrine of the atonement is the theological interpretation of Christ’s death on the cross, as believers engage in faith seeking understanding. That Christ died for our sins is one of the things of first importance, and our atonement theology is how we understand the significance and nature of this reality. In understanding the atonement, our goal should be to worship God for what he has done. The atonement is how God reconciles himself to sinners through Christ, but it is also good news for all of creation. It must be understood in a package of coherent salvific realities that includes the incarnation, Christ’s righteous life, the cross, his resurrection, ascension, second coming, and the eschatological consummation. If we drop any of these elements out of our theological understanding, we lose the gospel itself. As a result, our doctrine of the atonement must grasp all of these truths, even as it focuses on Christ’s cross.
Some approaches to the atonement are reductionistic and one-dimensional, but we must try to uphold all its biblical facets in their logical unity, seeing how its various dimensions relate together. For example, in the cross Jesus conquered evil, and he bore our punishment, and he showed us God’s love, and he provided us with a moral example, etc. The cross cannot be isolated out of the themes and narrative plot that we find across the canon, starting in Genesis. Since Christ died on the cross our atonement theology focuses on him, but we must understand it in terms of the work of the triune God. We can learn more about the doctrine of the atonement by studying historical theology, and we should also recognize that our society is in desperate need of understanding and accepting the benefits of the atonement of Christ. The cross is the good news that our world needs to hear.
Chapter 1: The Story of Atonement: From a Garden to a Kingdom
To understand the meaning of the phrase, “Christ died for our sins,” we must locate this truth in its place in the biblical story. If we approach the atonement through the wrong framework, we will end up with an erroneous interpretation. One common—but incomplete—view of the atonement makes it an individualistic issue of saving my soul so I can go to heaven when I die. The social gospel understanding of the atonement, as well as the view that makes the cross the key to personal fulfillment and institutional wellness, likewise falls short of the cross’s true biblical significance. Christ’s cross has a cosmic dimension and is about the kingdom and work of the triune God, rather than narrowly about my self-fulfillment. Scripture is about the kingdom of God, and it is in reference to the kingdom that the cross is coherent and glorious.
The kingdom of God is vast and deep, but we can understand it as, “God’s reign through God’s people over God’s place.” There is no kingdom without the king, and the kingdom of God is the kingship of God. The King reigns over and through his people, and the kingdom will encompass the heaven and the earth in a renewed creation. Jesus is the king who establishes God’s kingdom. Locating the atonement in the matrix of kingdom theology allows us to see the importance of the Old Testament and it also lifts us from self-centered individualism to see the communal aspects of God’s work. It allows us to avoid reductionism and grasp the comprehensive nature of salvation. The story of the kingdom is what allows us to understand the significance of Christ and his cross. Adam was installed as a king under God with the task of expanding Eden to encompass the globe, but he rebelled and failed. Christ restores creation in a new creation, establishing God’s kingdom after Adam’s catastrophic failure. Creation and recreation are crucial elements of this narrative.
Against God’s kingdom reign, there is a kingdom of darkness and evil. There are numerous dimensions to sin, and Christ’s work of atonement is the solution for all of them. Sin is a rejection of God and the enthroning of something else in his place. It separates us from God, leading to banishment and death. Scripture is filled with images and declarations of the negative, far-reaching effects of sin in every area of our lives. In the atonement, there is reconciliation and forgiveness, and all the effects of sin are dealt with. Sin cannot stop God’s rule and reign. The Old Testament contains prophecies and pictures of the coming messiah-king who would be humble, suffer, die, and reign forever. The New Testament explicitly connects Jesus’s cross and messianic-kingship with the rule of God; he is the crucified king who defeats evil. Christ is the lamb of God who redeems people with his blood, saving them into his kingdom. God’s eternal kingdom is established by Christ’s death on the cross. Our salvation is grounded in God’s reign over the renewed creation—we are saved by the king to be part of the kingdom. . . .
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