A. Scripture Methods of Representing the Atonement.
We may classify the Scripture representations according as they conform to moral, commercial, legal or sacrificial analogies.
(a) Moral.—The atonement is described as
A provision originating in God's love, and manifesting this love to the universe; but also as an example of disinterested love, to secure our deliverance from selfishness.—In these latter passages, Christ's death is referred to as a source of moral stimulus to men.
A provision: John 3:16—“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son”; Rom. 5:8—“God commendeth his own love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us”; 1 John 4:9—“Herein was the love of God manifested in us, that God hath sent his only begotten Son into the world that we might live through him”; Heb. 2:9—“Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that by the grace of God he should taste of death for every man”—redemption originated in the love of the Father, as well as in that of the Son.—An example: Luke 9:22-24—“The Son of man must suffer ... and be killed.... If any man would come after me, let him ... take up his cross daily, and follow me ... whosoever shall lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it”; 2 Cor. 5:15—“he died for all, that they that live should no longer live unto themselves”; Gal. 1:4—“gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us out of this present [pg 717]evil world”; Eph. 5:25-27—“Christ also loved the church, and gave himself up for it; that he might sanctify it”; Col. 1:22—“reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy”; Titus 2:14—“gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify”; 1 Pet. 2:21-24—“Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that ye should follow his steps: who did no sin ... who his own self bare our sins in his body upon the tree, that we, having died unto sins, might live unto righteousness.” Mason, Faith of the Gospel, 181—“A pious cottager, on hearing the text, ‘God so loved the world,’ exclaimed: ‘Ah, that waslove! I could have given myself, but I could never have given my son.’ ” There was a wounding of the Father through the heart of the Son: “they shall look unto me whom they have pierced; and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son” (Zech. 12:10).
(b) Commercial.—The atonement is described as
A ransom, paid to free us from the bondage of sin (note in these passages the use of ἀντί, the preposition of price, bargain, exchange).—In these passages, Christ's death is represented as the price of our deliverance from sin and death.
Mat. 20:28, and Mark 10:45—“to give his life a ransom for many”—λύτρον ἀντὶ πολλῶν. 1 Tim. 2:6—“who gave himself a ransom for all”—ἀντίλυτρον. Ἀντί (“for,” in the sense of “instead of”) is never confounded with ὑπέρ (“for,” in the sense of “in behalf of,” “for the benefit of”). Ἀντί is the preposition of price, bargain, exchange; and this signification is traceable in every passage where it occurs in the N. T. See Mat. 2:22—“Archelaus was reigning over Judea in the room of [ἀντί] his father Herod”; Luke 11:11—“shall his son ask ... a fish, and he for [ἀντί] a fish give him a serpent?” Heb. 12:2—“Jesus the author and perfecter of our faith, who for [ἀντί = as the price of] the joy that was set before him endured the cross”; 16—“Esau, who for [ἀντί = in exchange for] one mess of meat sold his own birthright.” See also Mat. 16:26—“what shall a man give in exchange for (ἀντάλλαγμα) his life” = how shall he buy it back, when once he has lost it? Ἀντίλυτρον = substitutionary ransom. The connection in 1 Tim. 2:6 requires that ὑπέρ should mean “instead of.” We should interpret this ὑπέρ by the ἀντί in Mat. 20:28. “Something befell Christ, and by reason of that, the same thing need not befall sinners” (E. Y. Mullins).
Meyer, on Mat. 20:28—“to give his life a ransom for many”—“The ψυχή is conceived of as λύτρον, a ransom, for, through the shedding of the blood, it becomes the τιμή (price) of redemption.”See also 1 Cor. 6:20; 7:23—“ye were bought with a price”; and 2 Pet. 2:1—“denying even the Master that bought them.” The word “redemption,” indeed, means simply “repurchase,” or “the state of being repurchased”—i. e., delivered by the payment of a price. Rev. 5:9—“thou wast slain, and didst purchase unto God with thy blood men of every tribe.” Winer, N. T. Grammar, 258—“In Greek, ἀντί is the preposition of price.” Buttmann, N. T. Grammar, 321—“In the signification of the preposition ἀντί (instead of, for), no deviation occurs from ordinary usage.” See Grimm's Wilke, Lexicon Græco-Lat.: “ἀντί, in vicem, anstatt”; Thayer, Lexicon N. T.—“ἀντί, of that for which anything is given, received, endured; ... of the price of sale (or purchase) Mat. 20:28”; also Cremer, N. T. Lex., on ἀντάλλαγμα.