Substitutionary Atonement Is the name given to a number of Christian models of the atonement that all regard Jesus as dying as a substitute for others, ''instead of them''. It is expressed in passages such as ''He himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness.''atonementJesus

Early Church's Restorative Model Jesus’ Substitutionary Atonement was viewed in the early church as restorative justice to heal humanity and restore it to God's original design, immortal, free from Satan’s control. Jesus' death was not considered as a retributive punishment for our transgressions, but rather restorative. It was a vicarious sacrifice bearing our sin, suffering, sickness, injustice, and brokenness. It was purposed to heal us from the consequences of our transgressions and restore us back to the Father as sons and daughters equipped to participate with Him to bring heaven's values to the world. Healed the consequences of sin Restored relationship with God Abolished the fear of death Equipped sons and daughters to Reign

Penal Understanding of Substitutionary Atonement (A predominately Western perspective) Penal substitution focuses specifically on the penal aspects of Jesus' vicarious suffering, in the context of fulfilling the demands of judicial retributive punishment, and appeasing God’s righteous anger. Simply put, penal substitution teaches that Christ was punished instead of us, satisfying God’s justice that demanded punishment for all transgressions. pe·nal –adjective penal relating to, used for, or prescribing the punishment of offenders under the legal system.

Out with the Old and in with the New The penal substitution view was completely absent from the church for over 1,000 years. It was only in the 11th century that Anselm of Canterbury began to introduce the groundwork for this kind of theology to the West. It was not fully developed into the doctrine we now know as penal substitution until the 16th-century Reformers came along. To this day it has never been accepted in the east (nor has it ever been fully accepted by the Roman Catholics). Restorative

Why I Believe the Restorative Model Bears Greater Fruits of Salvation I like your Jesus better! How about a soda better yet….. I'm going to give you a goat! I'm ready to party! How about a soda better yet….. I'm going to give you a goat! I'm ready to party!

Payment for the Offense The Satisfaction Theory Anselm of Canterbury ( )Anselm In his view, God's offended honor and dignity could only be satisfied by the sacrifice of the God-man, Jesus Christ. God had to make satisfaction for Himself. Yet, if this satisfaction was going to avail for humans, it had to be made by a human. Therefore, only a being that was both God and man could satisfy God and give him the honor that is due him. Note: The Protestant Reformers (16 th century) shifted the focus of this satisfaction theory to concentrate not merely on divine offense but on divine justice. This is an important difference. For Anselm, Christ obeyed where we should have obeyed; for John Calvin, he was punished where we should have been punished.

World View always Influence Doctrine Background- Anselm was made Archbishop of Canterbury following the Norman Conquest. His theory of the atonement relied heavily on the feudal system of his day, in which serfs worked on an estate for an overlord. The overlord, a knight, protected the estate from attack. The knight in turn had to honor the King. The serfs owed the knight a debt of honor for their protection and livelihood. Anselm pictured God as the overlord of the world to whom is owed a debt of honor. Failure to honor God is therefore a sin. God cannot overlook such an offence and demands satisfaction. While it is man who owes such a debt to God, the only person capable of paying the debt is God Himself. God therefore became man so that He Himself could satisfy God's offended character. Christ's death accrued a superabundance of merit, which is now available for distribution to those who believe.

Keeping the Balance The Moral Influence Theory of the atonement was formulated by Peter Abelard ( ) partially in reaction against Anselm's Satisfaction theory.Peter AbelardSatisfaction theory In this view, the purpose and result of Christ's death was to influence mankind toward moral improvement. This theory denies that Christ died to satisfy any principle of divine justice, but teaches instead that His death was designed to greatly impress mankind with a sense of God's love, resulting in softening their hearts and leading them to repentance. Thus, the Atonement is not directed towards God with the purpose of maintaining His justice, but towards man with the purpose of persuading him to right action. Romans 2(4)" the kindness of God leads you to repentance."

The First Thousand Years of Atonement Theories The Ransom Theory was the earliest of all, originating with the Early Church Fathers. This theory claims that Christ offered himself as a ransom. It was unclear in its understanding of exactly to whom the ransom was paid. Many of the early church fathers who viewed the ransom as paid to satan, often referred to as God’s mouse trap for the devil. (Mark 10:45). For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”

Recapitulation Theory This view originated with Irenaeus ( AD) who saw the atonement of Christ as reversing the course of mankind from disobedience to obedience. He saw Christ as the new Adam, who systematically revoked what Adam did. Thus, where Adam was disobedient concerning God's edict concerning the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge, Christ was obedient even to death on the wood of a tree.Irenaeus The Word of God was made flesh in order that He might destroy death and bring us to life. “Christ became what we are, so we could become what He is.”

Christus Victor Model This was the dominant theory of the atonement for a thousand years. Jesus died as our substitute and bore our sin and guilt by voluntarily experiencing the full force of the rebel kingdom we have all allowed to reign on the earth. To save and heal us, He experienced the full consequences of sin that we otherwise would have experienced. In so doing, He broke open the gates of hell, overpowered evil, destroyed the power of sin and the grave, and erased the law that stood against us, by completely defeating the devil and his works. Jesus freed us to receive the Holy Spirit and walk in right relationship with God as Father in order to serve His purposes with power and love. 1John 3(8b) The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil.

"And I will put enmity between you and the woman. And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel. ”Gen; 3(15)

Irenaeus Bishop of Lyons, France (AD ), who was discipled by Polycarp (who was believed to be discipled by the Apostle John), provides insight to the evangelical nature of exorcisms and healings. "Those who are in truth are His disciples, receiving grace from Him to perform miracles in His name, so as to promote the welfare of other men, according to the gift which each one has received from Him. For some do certainly and truly drive out devils, so that those who have thus been cleansed from evil spirits frequently both believe [in Christ], and join themselves to the Church. Others have foreknowledge of things to come; they see visions, and utter prophetic expressions. Others still, heal the sick by laying their hands upon them, and they are made whole. Yea, moreover, as I have said, the dead even have been raised up, and remained among us for many years." “Christ became what we are, so we could become what He is.”

Eusebius Bishop of Caesarea circa 314 A.DBishopCaesarea “ How can he make our sins His own, and be said to bear our iniquities? He takes into Himself the labors of the suffering members, and makes our sicknesses His, and suffers all our woes and labors by the laws of love. He was crucified, suffering what we who were sinful should have suffered, as our sacrifice and ransom. It is to impel us to ask why the Father forsook Him, that He says, ‘Why hast thou forsaken me?’ The answer was to ransom the whole human race, buying them with his precious Blood from their former slavery to their invisible tyrants, the unclean demons, and the rulers and spirits of evil.”

Healed Forgiven and Raised to Life Justin Martyr (100 – 165 AD) The Father of all wished His Christ for the whole human family to take upon him the curses of all, knowing that, after He had been crucified and was dead, He would raise Him up. He became a man for our sakes, that, becoming a partaker of our sufferings, he might also bring us healing.” Epistle of Barnabas (80-120AD) states, '‘It was for this reason that the Lord endured the deliverance of His flesh to corruption, that we might be cleansed by the forgiveness of sins... and in order that He might destroy death and demonstrate the reality of the resurrection of the dead''.

Restored to Reign St Athanasius taught that because Jesus was human He could die, but because He was also God (‘the indwelling of the Word’) the Life of God in Him overpowered Death, setting us free. Thus it happened that two opposite marvels took place at once: the death of all was consummated in the Lord’s body; yet, because the Word was in it, death and corruption were in the same act utterly abolished. Athanasius taught a model of restorative justice, in the sense that salvation is focused on our healing and re-birth (restoring us), to overturn the system of death and restoring humanity back to God’s reign.

Little Christs Gregory of Nazianzus ( AD) Archbishop of Constantinople. Archbishop of Constantinople Jesus died because humanity must be sanctified by the humanity of God, that He might deliver us Himself, and overcome the tyrant, and draw us to Himself by the mediation of his Son. Christ became the ‘curse-itself ’ in order to destroy the whole condemnation of sin. Gregory taught the concept of theosis, the belief that all Christians can be assimilated with God in "imitation of the incarnate Son as the divine model''.theosis

The Nature of the Head As St. John Chrysostom ( AD) observed: "Where the head is, the body is also; for by no means is the head separated from the body; for if it were indeed separated, there would not be a body and there would not be a head."St. John Chrysostom St. Augustine (354 – 430 AD) taught: ''It is not the appeasement of God’s wrath that allows God to forgive, it is the healing of our sin that removes the cause of God’s righteous anger. In On Nature and Grace, Augustine writes, ‘God himself spiritually heals the sick and restores the dead to life, that is, justifies the sinner, through the mediator between God and human beings, the man Jesus Christ... God then heals us not only to destroy the sins we have committed, but also to provide us with the means of not sinning''.

Restorative Model of Reconciliation II Cor. 5:17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. 18) Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, 19) namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.20) Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21) He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.