Propitiation

"The word propitiation carries the basic idea of appeasement, or satisfaction, specifically towards God. Propitiation is a two-part act that involves appeasing the wrath of an offended person and being reconciled to them."Propitiation at Got Questions Ministries. Propitiation is that "by which it becomes consistent with his character and government to pardon and bless the sinner. The propitiation does not procure his love or make him loving; it only renders it consistent for him to exercise his love towards sinners."Easton's Bible Dictionary, third edition, 1897 (public domain).
==Background==
In Rom. 3:25 and Heb. 9:5 the Greek word hilasterion (KJV, "mercy-seat") is used. It is the word employed by the Septuagint (LXX). translators in Ex. 25:17 and elsewhere as the equivalent for the Hebrew kapporeth, which means "covering," and is used of the lid of the ark of the covenant (Ex. 25:21; 30:6). Hilasterion came to denote not only the mercy-seat or lid of the ark, but also propitiation or reconciliation by blood. On the great day of atonement the high priest carried the blood of the sacrifice he offered for all the people within the veil and sprinkled with it the "mercy-seat," and so made propitiation.Ibid.
In 1 John 2:2; 4:10, Christ is called the "propitiation for our sins." Here a different Greek word is used, hilasmos. Christ is "the propitiation," because by his becoming our substitute and assuming our obligations he expiated our guilt, covering it by the vicarious punishment which he endured. (Compare Heb. 2:17, where the expression "make reconciliation" of the KJV is more correctly in the ASV "make propitiation").Ibid.
==Propitiation versus Expiation==
Propitiation literally means to make favorable and specifically includes the idea of dealing with God's wrath against sinners. Expiation literally means to make pious and implies either the removal or cleansing of sin.
The idea of propitiation includes that of expiation as its means; but the word "expiation" has no reference to quenching God's righteous anger. The difference is that the object of expiation is sin, not God. One propitiates a person, and one expiates a problem. Christ's death was therefore both an expiation and a propitiation. By expiating (removing the problem of) sin God was made propitious (favorable) to us.
The case for translating the Greek word hilasterion as "expiation" was put forward by C. H. Dodd in 1935 and gained wide support.C. H. Dodd, The Bible and the Greeks (1935) pp. 82-95. As referenced in A Theology of the New Testament, by George Eldon Ladd, Donald A. Hagner, p. 470. As a result, hilasterion has been translated as ‘expiation’ in the RSV and some other modern versions. But a generation of debate has shown, especially in the work of Leon Morris, that the linguistic evidence appears to favor “propitiation” as the more appropriate rendering.Leon Morris, The Apostolic Preaching of the Cross, 3rd revised ed. (London: Tyndale Press, 1965). Cf. Matthew Black, Romans, New Century Bible (London,1973), p. 68; David Hill, Greek Words and Hebrew Meanings (Cambridge University Press, 1967), pp. 23-48.
==Notes==
==Relevant passages==
* Romans 3:25
* Hebrews 2:17
* 1 John 2:2
* 1 John 4:10
==Further reading==
*George Eldon Ladd, A Theology of the New Testament, (Eerdmans, 1993), p. 470ff.
*Leon Morris, The Apostolic Preaching of the Cross, (Eerdmans, 1984), esp. chapters 5-6
*Leon Morris, "Propitiate; Propitiation" in The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (Eerdmans, 1986), vol 3: 1004-1005.
==See also==
* Atonement
* Definite atonement
==External links==
* Propitiation in 1 John 2:2, by Dr. Gary D. Long
* List of articles on propitiation
* Propitiation: The Very Central Heart of the Gospel, by Charlie Martin
* Facets of Salvation - Propitiation, by Jay Wegter
Category:Salvation