Reclaiming the Gospel, Part 3 – God’s Character

I don’t know if you have seen some of the recent discussions on interpretations of the atonement, but it seems to be news for a lot of people that there is more than one Biblical description of the atonement made for us by Christ. It’s helpful to understand that the term itself originated with English translations of Romans. In one passage, Paul uses the same term for reconciliation about five times, and someone decided to use the term at-one-ment in one instance to interrupt the repetition.

Paul was talking about reconciliation as God’s work to bring us into God’s presence and connecting with God in fellowship. That’s a very different picture of the meaning of salvation than what is garnered by an understanding of penal substitutionary atonement. In one picture, God is doing what is necessary to bring us kicking and screaming into the fold of redeemed. We have wandered away, but God has come to locate us and bring us back. In the other picture, God is angry and revengeful on account of human sin. God cannot stand to look upon us in our sinfulness. Jesus, however, comes to earth to become a sacrifice taking on the brunt of God’s anger and condemnation that we might go free.

Those are not the only understandings that have been shared over the centuries as we have tried to understand God’s work of salvation and its relation to the crucifixion. They do, however, emphasize just how different God’s character is portrayed in these doctrinal positions. Understanding who God is in regard to God’s character, has a great impact upon how we deal with various theological concepts.

Jesus had a lot to say about God’s character. He spoke of God as a Loving Father. Not only did Jesus describe God that way in the model prayer, he also told the story of the prodigal son whose father anxiously awaited, yearning for his eventual return. He likened God to the Loving Father who grants us good gifts, not so unlike the way we give good things to our children. He demonstrated God’s love for those we deem sinners, traitors, and unclean foreigners. He spoke of the just God, whose rain and sun fall upon the fields of both the righteous and the unrighteous, providing for each indiscriminately. He displayed God’s care and concern for the poor, the sick, those who were maimed, blind, lame, or for some other reason looked down on and rejected by human society. He painted a portrait of God whose primary character trait was love, whose gift was mercy, and whose concern was to justly meet the needs of everyone.

Jesus reduced God’s commands to love. In so doing, he declared that love was God’s highest value and priority. Love was much more important than condemnation and punishment. Love was much more to be valued than sacrifice, ritual, and public displays of piety. This is the God who took the initiative to create human flesh through which to become manifest to humanity. This is the God who calls us all to an abundant life in reconciliation, friendship, companionship, and community. If this is how we understand the character and purposes of God, our understanding of the cross and atonement must fall in line, right along with our understanding of salvation.

On the other hand, if our understanding of God’s character is that of a vengeful, condemning deity with whom we must be very careful, spending eternity in such a one’s presence does not sound very appealing to me. In fact, those are the very attributes we would expect to apply to the archenemy of Jesus.

If Jesus’ life, ministry, and teaching have any bearing at all on the character of God, we must accept that whatever else the cross means, it speaks of God’s love toward all humanity. Paul tells us that the cross is indeed proof of God’s love toward us, even while we were embroiled in enmity with God. John tells us that we love because God first loved us. If this love is the theme of the cross, it is not God who sent Jesus to the cross so much as we who nailed Jesus there to silence him and distance ourselves from God. God was simply willing to accept the full brunt of our enmity to bring us a full understanding of God’s love and grace.

Who we understand God to be drives how we look at most every theological category of thought. It’s not just about the cross, it’s also how we approach the concept of sin. It’s how we understand what salvation is along with its purpose. It transforms how we understand evangelism. It alters how we look at God’s purposes for our lives. It directs how we understand prayer, worship, sacraments, and the mission of the church.

Good news! “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God, for God is love.” (1st John 4:7) “For God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.” (John 3:17) “In this way, God proved his love for us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died on our behalf.” (Romans 5:8) That God truly loves us despite our unworthiness is indeed good news.


#Gospel #GoodNews #Character #GodIsLove #Love #Mercy #Compassion #Justice #Reconciliation

— ©Copyright 2023, Christopher B. Harbin 



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