Propitiation vs Expiation in Biblical Theology
Propitiation vs Expiation in Biblical Theology
The concepts of propitiation and expiation are closely related yet distinct in biblical theology, particularly in the context of atonement. Propitiation refers to the act of appeasing or satisfying God's wrath towards sin, making it consistent with His character to pardon and bless the sinner [2]. Expiation, on the other hand, focuses on the removal or covering of sin, often through a sacrificial offering.
In the Old Testament, the Hebrew concept of kapporeth (covering) is associated with the mercy seat on the ark of the covenant, which was sprinkled with blood on the Day of Atonement to expiate the sins of Israel [2]. The Greek term hilasterion, used in the Septuagint to translate kapporeth, is also employed in the New Testament to describe Christ as the propitiation for sins (Romans 3:25, Hebrews 9:5) [1, 2].
The Reformed tradition, as represented by Charles Hodge, understands propitiation and expiation as integral to the doctrine of atonement. According to Hodge, expiation involves the removal of guilt through a vicarious sacrifice, while propitiation emphasizes the satisfaction of divine justice, thereby rendering God propitious towards sinners [3, 5]. Hodge argues that the Bible presents Christ's work as a priestly sacrifice that expiates sin and propitiates God's wrath [4].
The patristic tradition also grappled with the concepts of propitiation and expiation. Augustine, for instance, emphasizes the importance of understanding God's justice and mercy in the context of atonement, highlighting the need for a sacrificial offering to expiate sin [7].
While both propitiation and expiation are related to the removal of sin, the distinction lies in their focus. Propitiation emphasizes God's character and His response to sin, whereas expiation focuses on the removal or covering of sin itself. The biblical and theological traditions underscore the significance of Christ's sacrifice as both a propitiation for sin and an expiation of guilt, demonstrating the complexity and richness of the atonement doctrine [1, 3].
The historical development of these concepts is closely tied to the understanding of sacrifice in the Old Testament and its fulfillment in Christ. The idea of vicarious suffering and substitutionary atonement underlies both propitiation and expiation, highlighting the depth of God's love and justice [6].
Sources
- Easton's Bible Dictionary “Easton's Bible Dictionary: Expiation — Guilt is said to be expiated when it is visited with punishment falling on a substitute. Expiation is made for our sins when they are punished not in ourselves but in another who consents to stand in our room. It is that by which reconciliation is effected. Sin is thus said to be "covered" by vicarious satisfaction. The cover or lid of the ark is termed in the LXX. hilasterion, that which covered or shut out the claims and demands of the law against the sins of God's people, whereby he became "propitious" to them. The idea of vicarious expiation runs thro”
- Easton's Bible Dictionary “Easton's Bible Dictionary: Propitiation — That by which God is rendered propitious, i.e., 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 execise his love towards sinners. In Rom. 3:25 and Heb. 9:5 (A.V., "mercy-seat") the Greek word hilasterion is used. It is the word employed by the 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”
- CCEL (Reformed (Old Princeton)) “Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, Vol. 2, section 96: to assume the guilt, and bear the punishment, and thus freedom from guilt, or righteousness, be secured for the offender.” This is the fundamental idea of atonement or satisfaction, which lies at the basis of all sacrifices for sin, the world over, and especially those of the Mosaic economy. And this is the essential idea of the doctrine of the satisfaction of Christ as it is presented in the Scriptures from the beginning to the end, and which is so inwrought into the faith and experience of the people of God that it has withstood all man”
- CCEL (Reformed (Old Princeton)) “Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, Vol. 2, section 111: restoration of man to holiness and God, as the great end of the work of Christ, and regards his work as involving the greatest possible or conceivable manifestation of divine love, which manifestation is the most powerful of all natural influences to operate on the hearts of men; yet it leaves out entirely what is essential to the Scriptural doctrine of atonement. The Bible exhibits Christ as a priest, as offering Himself a sacrifice for the expiation of our sins, as bearing our sins in his own body on the tree, as having been made a cur”
- CCEL (Reformed (Old Princeton)) “Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, Vol. 2, section 96: § 3. Definition of Terms . Christ, it is said, executeth the office of a priest, in his once offering up of Himself a sacrifice to satisfy divine justice, and reconcile us to God, and in making continual intercession for us. Expiation, propitiation, reconciliation, and intercession are the several aspects under which the work of Christ as a priest, is presented in the Word of God. Before attempting to state what the Scriptures teach in reference to these points, it will be well to define the terms which are of constant occurrence in theol”
- CCEL (Reformed (Old Princeton)) “Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, Vol. 2, section 103: the law. The victim bore the sin of the offerer, and died in his stead. An expiation was thereby effected by the suffering of a vicarious punishment. This also determines the nature of the work of Christ. If He was an offering for sin, if He saves us from the penalty of the law of God, in the same way in which the sin offering saved the Israelite from the penalty of the law of Moses, then He bore the guilt of our sins and endured the penalty in our stead. We may not approve of this method of salvation. The idea of the innocent bearing th”
- Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “NPNF1 Vol 8: Augustine — Exposition on Psalms — PSALM LXV.[5] (part 6): their parents, and saying now what the prophet Jeremias himself said, "Truly a lie our fathers have worshipped, vanity which hath not profited them"[9]--when, I say, they now say this, they renounce the opinions and blasphemies of their unjust parents. ... There have led us away men teaching evil things, citizens of Babylon they have made us, we have left the Creator, have adored the creature: have left Him by whom we were made, have adored that which we ourselves 270 have made. For "the discourses of unjust men have preva”