from 40 Questions About the Atonement
by Channing Crisler
And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment.
~Hebrews 9:27
Among the many smash hits by the British rock band The Who, their song “Baba O’Riley” confidently asserts that one does not need to be “forgiven.” While I am not sure that Pete Townshend of The Who intended to make a theological statement, the line embodies a question that demands a response. Do I really need to be forgiven? Why is forgiveness necessary? Why is reconciliation with anyone, particularly God, necessary? Along these lines, why is atonement necessary?
The writer of Hebrews provides the broadest answer, namely, that God has slated every human being for postmortem judgment before him (Heb. 9:27; see also Prov. 24:12; Matt. 12:36; 16:27; Rom. 2:6; 14:12; 2 Cor. 5:10). Unless reconciliation occurs before that moment, no living thing will stand in or survive that moment (Ps. 143:2). However, this kind of eschatological judgment assumes a certain backstory involving people and God. Consequently, we will provide three answers to the question, “Why is atonement necessary?”: (1) because all humans are judged in Adam; (2) because of our fallen, sinful condition; and (3) because of God’s unchanging character.
Because All Humans Are Judged in Adam
Alister McGrath summarizes the events of Genesis 3 by noting, “The image of a ‘Fall’ conveys the idea that creation now exists at a lower level than that intended for it by God.”[1] I agree in principle with the metaphor of “fall” to describe the human condition since Adam; however, Platonic undertones and a lack of clarity render “fallenness” language insufficient. As Philip Cary observes, such language originated from a “Platonic myth of the Fall” wherein the preexistent soul fell from a “heavenly, disembodied state” to earth, where it then took up residence in the human body.[2] Cary goes on, “We call the narrative about Adam and Eve and the forbidden fruit by the name ‘The Fall’ because, ironically, it invited Platonist speculations about the Fall of the soul that were entertained but eventually rejected by orthodox Christianity.”3 Even more, “fall” language neither occurs in Genesis [3] nor clearly conveys the legal framework that defines the narrative. At Eden, in the immediate aftermath of the first couple’s rebellion, God passed judgment on humans then, now, and beyond in a way that makes atonement necessary. The judgment in Genesis 3 is multifaceted and its consequences reverberate throughout human history.
First, Adam and Eve exchanged their trust in God’s promise of judgment for the serpent’s covet-inducing assertion that eating from the prohibited Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil would not lead to death but to divine knowledge of good and evil (Gen. 2:17; 3:5–6). Trust in the word of the serpent rather than the word of God led to sin and the penalty of death that accompanies it.
Second, the first couple’s transgression brought a flood of guilt, shame, and fear in the presence of God, as indicated in the way that Adam and Eve clothed themselves and hid from the divine presence (Gen. 3:7–8).
Third, the transgression immediately fractured the relationship between Adam and Eve even as they deflected responsibility for their actions (Gen. 3:12–13). The fracture intensified in the subsequent narrative with Cain’s murder of Abel, which produces the need for God to vindicate the righteous (Gen. 4:1–16; cf. Matt. 23:25; Luke 11:51; Heb. 11:4; 12:24).
Fourth, God condemned all parties involved. He condemned Satan to a life of enmity with Eve’s seed, though it is embedded within the so-called protoevangelium (Gen. 3:15b). God condemned Eve to painful childbirth and marriage, which is synecdoche for no longer reigning as Adam’s helper (Gen. 3:16; see also Gen. 1:26–30; 2:18–25; 5:1–2). God even cursed the earth and thereby condemned Adam to a life of toil, which is also synecdoche for no longer reigning with Eve as one made in the image of God.
Fifth, exile from God’s presence stood as the essential judgment against Adam and Eve (Gen. 3:22–24). Without access to his presence, Adam and Eve inevitably died as God promised (Gen. 5:5). Genesis 3, then, describes more than a fall from an idyllic state. God doles out judgment against Adam and all who share in his transgression (Rom. 5:12–14).
Why, though, does God apply Adam’s transgression and judgment to all subsequent people? Answers can be complex; however, four brief points will move us forward. First, Adam serves as a representative for all humanity. His transgression in the garden reflects what all humans would do in the same situation, except for the “second Adam” (Rom. 5:15–21; 1 Cor. 15:47). Second, sin and death entered through Adam’s transgression, which has a deleterious effect upon all Adamic descendants (Rom. 5:12–14). Sin becomes both what humans are guilty of and a deadly power they cannot escape.[4] Likewise, death is both God’s enduring judgment against sin and an inescapable enemy.[5] We will return to this discussion below. Third, everyone since Adam has committed Adam-like transgressions. Consequently, the same divine judgment applies to all who sin as Adam did, that is, by mistrusting God’s promise and transgressing his command. It does not matter if one transgresses a command imprinted upon the human conscience or engraved upon stones, as with the Mosaic law (Rom. 2:1–16; 5:12–14).
Because of Our Fallen, Sinful Condition
Much has transpired since God passed judgment against Adam and his descendants. From the continental drift to the dawn of the digital age, much has changed on the earth since the events of Eden. Historical writing from antiquity to the present day has often fueled the illusion of “progress” within these changes. However, as Qohelet (or the Preacher) opined long ago, ultimately “there is nothing new under the sun” (Eccl. 1:9b). The world is divinely charged with a kind of futility (Eccl. 1:2; Rom. 8:20). The cliché holds, “The more things change, the more they stay the same.” That includes the human condition. Scripture insists that all people remain in the postlapsarian (i.e., post-fall) condition first experienced by Adam and Eve. As Paul declares, “in Adam all die” (1 Cor. 15:22a; see also Rom. 5:15–19).
Paul may provide the best summary of this unchanged condition in his letter to the Ephesians:
And you were dead in trespasses and sins in which you once
walked, following the course of this world, following the
prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in
the sons of disobedience—among whom we all once lived in
the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body
and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the
rest of mankind. (Eph. 2:1–3)
We find here a triad of qualities that describe the unchanged human condition: (1) dead in sin; (2) living under the rule of Satan; and (3) under God’s wrath.
To be dead in trespasses and sin but walk in that state is a paradox (Eph. 2:1–2). How can a dead person walk or live? Paul answers that human beings exist in a state of spiritual deadness that ultimately leads to eternal deadness. Separation from God’s life-giving presence defines this state of existence, which results in foolishness rather than wisdom, death rather than life, condemnation rather than justification, and defeat rather than deliverance.
Simultaneous with life in deadness is life under the rule of Satan (Eph. 2:2–3). While popularized reflections on demonology might give the impression that Satanic rule is synonymous with extreme descriptions of demon-possessed figures such as the Gerasene demoniac (Mark 5:1–20), Paul broadens the scope of such rule to all human beings outside of Christ. Other NT writers confirm this broader anthropological scope, such as John who describes Satan as “the deceiver of the whole world” (Rev. 12:9; see also 2 Cor. 4:4; 11:1 4; Eph. 5:5; 6:11; 1 Tim. 2:13; 1 Peter 5:8). The outcome of this deceptive rule includes devotion to fleshly desires, brokenness, hurt, and a lifelong fear of death (see Luke 13:16; Acts 10:38; Heb. 2:14–15; 1 John 3:8).
Along with living in death and being overpowered by the rule of Satan, the unchanged human condition includes life under God’s wrath (orgē).[6] Paul specifically describes humans as “children of wrath by nature,” which means it is a condition inherited at birth and stands in contrast to Stoic contemporaries who, as Clinton Arnold explains, “emphasized the importance of living according to nature as a way of pleasing the gods” (see Eph. 2:3; cf. Ps. 51:6).[7] From Paul’s perspective, the “nature” (physis) of humanity includes their existence under divine wrath, which means they cannot “naturally” please God. In fact, as judgment for their diverse idolatrous practices, God places Jews and Gentiles under his wrath by handing them over to the power of sin (Rom. 1:18–3:20).
Of course, as we shall see, these pieces of the unchanged tripartite human condition are interrelated. God’s atoning work in Christ untangles all of them in their various machinations.
Because of God’s Unchanged Character
Just as an unchanged human condition makes atonement necessary, God’s unchanged character necessitates it as well. Scripture stresses that neither God’s attributes nor his actions change. As YHWH announces through Malachi, “For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed” (Mal. 3:6). Similarly, as the writer of Hebrews maintains, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Heb. 13:8; see also 1 Sam. 15:29; Ps. 102:27; James 1:17). We should infer then that God’s judgment doled out in Eden still stands, because his holy and righteous character requires that he remain in the same disposition toward sinners. Even outside of Edenic judgment, God’s righteous character demonstrated in his judgment against Adam and his seed is eternal. As William Lane Craig maintains, “God’s inherent righteousness, like His power or wisdom, is an essential property of God that He has objectively and independently of whether any human beings at all exist, much less have faith in Him.”[8] God’s righteousness, along with his love, holiness, and all indivisible attributes, are eternal, or unchangeable.
It follows that God’s disposition toward sinful humanity does not change. His promise of judgment against them and his mercy for them remain intact. Such a promise from a righteous God who does not change necessitates his atoning work in Christ.
Summary
Contrary to The Who’s suggestion that “I don’t need to be forgiven,” which assumes atonement is superfluous, Scripture clearly teaches otherwise. That teaching includes the unchanged judgment against humanity first instituted at Eden, the unchanged sinful condition of humanity, and the unchanged attributes of God, particularly his righteousness whereby his promise of judgment and mercy remain. If we ask, “Why is atonement necessary?” the answer resides in the unchanged nature of humanity and the eternal character of God. Human beings are “by nature” under God’s wrath, living as those dead in sin and enslaved to Satan. Contrastively, God remains holy and righteous. In his righteousness, God obligates himself to judge sinful humanity, give mercy to them, and thereby reconcile himself to those who believe.
To read more, preorder a copy of 40 Questions About the Atonement, or pick up a copy on Tuesday, January 28!
[1] Alister E. McGrath, Christian Theology: An Introduction, 2nd ed. (Oxford: Blackwell, 1997), 21.
[2] Philip Cary, The Meaning of Protestant Theology: Luther, Augustine, and the Gospel That Gives Us Christ (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2019), 38.
[3] Cary, The Meaning of Protestant Theology, 38.
[4] For sin as a “power,” see, e.g., Rom. 3:9; 7:7–25; 1 Cor. 15:56; 1 Peter 2:11.
[5] As Paul describes death in 1 Cor. 15:26, “But the last enemy destroyed is death.” See also 2 Tim. 1:10 and Heb. 2:14.
[6] Cf. the use of “wrath” (orgē) in John 3:36; Rom. 1:24–32; Col. 3:6.
[7] Clinton E. Arnold, Ephesians, Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Academic, 2010), 134.
[8] William Lane Craig, Atonement and the Death of Christ: An Exegetical, Historical, and Philosophical Exploration (Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 2020), 54.
This post is adapted from 40 Questions About the Atonement by Channing Crisler. This title is set to be released on January 28, 2025. If you are interested in adopting this book for a college or seminary course, please request a faculty examination copy. We will also consider requests for your blog or media outlets.
Atonement sits at the very heart of Christian doctrine, describing believers’ status as “being one again” with God through Jesus Christ. It is the culmination of God’s work of reconciliation, simultaneously defining believers’ relationship with God while also describing how that relationship is restored. Because of this, how one understands atonement has a profound impact on how one views and understands God, salvation, and human nature.
New Testament scholar Channing L. Crisler offers a robust foundation for understanding the divine mystery of atonement, drawing on biblical and historical witnesses to answer pertinent questions, such as:
- Why is atonement necessary?
- What are the different theories of atonement?
- How is atonement understood by the various Christian traditions and world religions?
- What implications does one’s understanding of atonement have on the present?
Through its question-and-answer format, 40 Questions About the Atonement provides an expansive introduction to the doctrine of atonement, inviting the reader to wade into this divine mystery with curiosity and awe.
