SOMEONE ASKED: WHO REQUIRED CHRIST’S DEATH ON THE CROSS? WHO HAD TO BE APPEASED??

I ANSWERED THAT HE DIED TO SATISFY GOD’S RIGHTEOUS NATURE:

God’s righteous nature had to be satisfied:

·       [Jesus Christ] whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. (Romans 3:25-26)

Prior to this, the Father could only pass over sins and not eradicate them:

·       In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. (1 John 4:9-10)

Who was propitiated (satisfied) through the Cross? It was the Father who required this ultimate sacrifice to satisfy His righteous nature and to reconcile us to Himself:

·       All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. (2 Corinthians 5:18-19)

Notice that through this sacrifice, God the Father reconciled us TO HIMSELF. That couldn’t be accomplished prior to the Cross.

In contrast to this, we find many OT examples showing that because of His righteous nature, God the Father couldn’t remain in the presence of Israel without destroying them:

·       Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey; but I will not go up among you, lest I consume you on the way, for you are a stiff-necked people.” (Exodus 33:3)

Consequently, He sent His Angel to guide them. The Father couldn’t be reconciled with His people until His righteous nature was satisfied by the offering of His Son.