CONTEXT
We have entered the section of 1st John where he emphasizes Love. (1 John 4:7-21). John writes in various ways that 1. God Loves Us, 2. We are to Love God, and 3. We are to Love one another.

PERFECT EXAMPLE OF LOVE
It is interesting that in John’s definition of love, he describes what God did for us by sending His Son, Jesus, to be the “atoning sacrifice” for our sins. It is Christ’s work on the cross is the absolute perfect definition of love. The Bible is full of verses which describe Gods love for us in this one act of sacrifice. As examples see: John 3:16, Rom 5:8, Rom 8:38-39, Psa 36:7, Eph 1:5-6, Eph 2:5-7, Eph 3:18-19 …

OUR RESPONSE — WE LOVE ONE ANOTHER
Because of this perfect example, we are told that we too ought to love one another as Christ loves us.

While the message of this verse is simple, HOW God accomplished it is so profound, so powerful, and so loving that it is beyond our comprehension. Scripture uses strong words filled with meaning and implication to describe what happened when Jesus became that “Atoning Sacrifice.” Therefore, I thought I would walk us through the “big words” of salvation, to help us understand their meaning, but much more important how they fit together to describe the wonder of Christ’s work on the Cross.


SALVATION (sōtēría) is a general word which describes a rescue or deliverance from danger, destruction, or peril. Jesus’ death and resurrection saved us from our sins and the wrath we deserve. We read in Acts 4:10, 12: “then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed …. Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”

RANSOM (lutron) primarily means to substitute something in place of another. Jesus traded himself for us as a ransom payment. Mark 20:28 tells us that “just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

ATONEMENT, ATONING SACRIFICE (hilasmos), also translated propitiation and expiation in older translations. It primarily means to appease anger or avert a coming wrath by offering a sacrifice. Old Testament sacrifices were given as a temporary atonement for the sins of Israel and its people. This is the word used in today’s verse as we read that God sent his Son as an “atoning sacrifice for our sins.”

REDEMPTION (agorazo) This word had a powerful image in the OT. The Law we read that if a close relative loses property because of debt, or was sold as a slave, it was the duty of the kinsman to recover, or buy back for a price what the person had lost, whether it was property or personal freedom. They were called a kinsman-redeemer. We read in Titus 2:13-14: “while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.”

JUSTIFICATION (dikaiōsis). Frequently used by Paul, this is a courtroom word, basically meaning to be acquitted or declared not guilty. Jesus’s sacrifice took the guilt and the penalty for our sin, so that we would not be held accountable. Not guilty does not mean that you did not commit the crime, it only means that you are not held accountable. “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him!” Rom 5:8-9

RECONCILIATION (katallasso) starts with a breakdown of a relationship, and reconciliation comes the relationship changes from animosity and division to harmony and fellowship. Sin has caused that breakdown in our relationship with God, and the sacrifice of Christ brought about that reconciliation. “For if, while we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!” Rom 5:10

ADOPTION (huiothesia) Throughout 1 John, we read how we are now Children of God. Adoption is a Roman term, as it was frequent practice for Roman families to adopt individuals into their family. It was not uncommon that those adopted were slaves or servants who served their masters faithfully. Adopted children were given all the rights and responsibilities as natural children. Gal 3:4-7 “But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, ‘Abba, Father.’ So you are no longer a slave, but God's child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.”

Appl does not fit in desc sorry.