Understanding atonement

Lent 2024 – Part 9, Redemption in the Orthodox churches

This Lent, I reflect deeply on the profound significance of Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection, exploring the various theories embraced or historically cherished by Christian churches. This journey reveals a rich tapestry of beliefs and interpretations. It’s important to acknowledge that there is more than a single perspective, and for those who have engaged in discussions about them, there are way more than the two you have argued over.

Changing what you believe about atonement is not denying Jesus. The gospel is not a description of how Jesus’ death (and resurrection, ascension, and enthronement) rescues the world, but that it does so. The gospel is not a theory or advice; it is news.

The simple version of what Orthodox Christians believe about the cross of Jesus is the Recapitulation Theory: Jesus was a second or last Adam. There is truth in that, but it’s not that simple.

Jesus was sinless and did not need to suffer and die. Yet he voluntarily took upon himself the sins of the world and voluntarily took upon himself to suffer and die for the salvation of mankind. So far, this is exactly the same as what is believed in the Western churches, Catholic and Protestant. Is there somewhere they differ? We need to look beyond the idea of salvation and look at the big picture of the redemption, buying back of the world.

The idea of redemption in the Orthodox churches emphasises three aspects of what Christ did, which are not divided and can never be divided. Jesus, the Perfect Image of Human Life; Jesus, the Reconciler of Man with God; and Jesus, the Destroyer of Death.

Jesus, the Perfect Image of Human Life

• Christ is the incarnate Word of God.
• He is the Teacher and Master sent by God to the world.
• He is the embodiment of God Himself in human form.
• He is “the image of the invisible God” (Col 1.15).
• He is the “reflection of the glory of God and the express image of His person” (Heb 1.3).
• He is the “light of the world” who “enlightens every man… coming into the world”

Nice list! Basically, the Orthodox, along with nearly all Christians, hold to the Moral Example theory to describe this aspect of why Jesus came. Jesus is the perfect example of a life of self-sacrifice, which Christians follow. I wrote about that here.

Jesus, the Reconciler of Man with God

There are two main models for the fall, both ancient.

Fall Type 1 – Adam and Eve, in their moment of vulnerability, inadvertently entrusted humanity to the devil during the fall.

Fall Type 2 – Originally, humanity was lovingly designed to reflect God’s image, to exist in harmony with His divine essence, and to steward all of creation. The struggle that ensued from humanity’s failure in this sacred calling is often referred to as sin or the “fall.” This “fall,” where humanity diverged from its intended purpose, left a deep sense of loss and longing for the connection that was meant to be.

The theories that arose in the Western church, from Satisfaction, Penal Substitution and the Governmental view, which are about the honour, justice and mercy of God respectively, were all built on the Type 1 fall idea. As is Christus Victor. The Orthodox Ransom beliefs are based on the type 2 version.

In Orthodox theology, generally, it can be said that the language of payment and ransom is understood as a metaphorical and symbolic way of saying that Christ has done all things necessary to save and redeem mankind enslaved to the devil, sin and death, and under the wrath of God. Jesus paid the price not in some legalistic or juridical or economic meaning. He didn’t pay the price to the devil whose rights over man were won by deceit and tyranny. He didn’t pay the price to God the Father, God who delights in sufferings and receives satisfaction from His creatures in Him. He paid the price rather to reality Itself creating the conditions through which mankind receives the forgiveness of sins and eternal life by dying and rising again in Christ to newness of life.

By dying on the cross and rising from the dead, Jesus Christ cleansed the world of evil and sin. He defeated the devil in his own territory and on his own terms. The wages of sin is death. So the Son of God became man, took upon Himself the sins of the world and died a voluntary death. By His sinless and innocent death accomplished entirely by His free will and not by physical, moral, or juridical necessity. He made death to die and to become itself the source and the way into life eternal. This is what the Church sings on the feast of the Resurrection, the New Passover in Christ, the new Paschal Lamb, who is risen from the dead:

Christ is risen from the dead!
Trampling down death by death!
And upon those in the tombs bestowing life!
(Easter Troparion)

Jesus, the Destroyer of Death

The last aspect of the saving and redeeming action of Christ for the Orthodox is the destruction of death by Christ’s own death. Death itself is transformed into an act of life. In and through the death of Jesus Christ, death is made to die. In Him, who is the Resurrection and the Life, man cannot die, but lives forever with God.

²⁰ But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. ²¹ For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. ²² For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. ²³ But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. ²⁴ Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. ²⁵ For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. ²⁶ The last enemy to be destroyed is death. 

1 Corinthians 15:20-26 ESVUK

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