Bible Verses in Atonement Theology Debate
Legend
PSA = Penal Substitutionary Atonement
SA = Substitutionary Atonement (non-penal)
SAT = Satisfaction Theory
CV = Christus Victor
| Verse Reference | Verse Text | Atonement Theory | Commentary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Old Testament | |||
| Genesis 3:15 | “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” | CV, PSA | Protoevangelium – first gospel promise; CV sees cosmic battle victory; PSA sees Christ taking sin’s strike |
| Genesis 22:1-14 | (Abraham’s sacrifice of Isaac – full narrative) | All theories | Typological foundation for substitutionary sacrifice; ram substitutes for Isaac |
| Exodus 12:13 | “The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you.” | SA, CV, SAT | Passover lamb as protective substitute; liberation from bondage; blood satisfying divine requirements |
| Leviticus 1:4 | “He shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him.” | PSA, SA, SAT | Hand-laying debate: imputation vs identification; atonement through substitution |
| Leviticus 16:21-22 | “Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the iniquities… The goat shall bear all their iniquities on itself to a remote area” | PSA, SAT, CV | Day of Atonement; scapegoat bearing sins away; two-goat system showing substitution and removal |
| Leviticus 17:11 | “For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life.” | All theories | Blood as means of atonement; life-for-life principle |
| Numbers 21:8-9 | “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.” | CV, SA | Type of Christ “lifted up”; victory over death through looking |
| Deuteronomy 21:23 | “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree” | PSA | Christ bearing the curse we deserved; cited by Paul in Galatians 3:13 |
| Job 33:24 | “Be gracious to him, and say, ‘Deliver him from going down into the pit; I have found a ransom.'” | SAT, Ransom theories | God providing ransom for deliverance |
| Psalm 22:1 | “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” | PSA, CV, SAT | Divine abandonment due to sin-bearing; victory following suffering (vv.22-31) |
| Psalm 22:16 | “They have pierced my hands and feet” | All theories | Prophetic detail of crucifixion method |
| Psalm 49:7-8 | “Truly no man can ransom another, or give to God the price of his life, for the ransom of their life is costly and can never suffice” | All theories | Human inability to provide adequate atonement; need for divine solution |
| Psalm 69:4 | “What I did not steal must I now restore?” | SA, PSA | Christ restoring what he didn’t take; bearing punishment for others’ sins |
| Isaiah 1:18 | “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow” | All theories | Complete forgiveness and cleansing through divine initiative |
| Isaiah 53:4 | “Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows” | All theories | Substitutionary bearing of human condition |
| Isaiah 53:5 | “But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed” | PSA (primary), SA, SAT, CV | Most debated verse; explicit punishment language (PSA); healing emphasis (SA); satisfaction (SAT) |
| Isaiah 53:6 | “All we like sheep have gone astray… and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all” | PSA, SA | Divine transfer of iniquity; substitutionary framework clear |
| Isaiah 53:10 | “Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt” | PSA, SAT | Divine will in suffering; guilt offering language |
| Isaiah 53:11 | “Out of the suffering of his soul he will see light and find satisfaction… by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous” | SAT, All theories | Satisfaction through suffering; justification of many |
| Isaiah 53:12 | “He poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many” | PSA, SA | Sin-bearing substitution; identified with sinners |
| Jeremiah 31:34 | “I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more” | All theories | New covenant promise; complete forgiveness |
| Daniel 9:24-26 | “To finish the transgression, to put an end to sin, and to atone for iniquity… Messiah shall be cut off” | All theories | Messianic atonement prophesied; substitutionary death indicated |
| Hosea 13:14 | “I shall ransom them from the power of Sheol; I shall redeem them from Death” | CV, Ransom theories | Victory over death and Sheol; divine ransom |
| Zechariah 13:7 | “Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered” | PSA, SAT | God’s sword of judgment; divine justice requiring shepherd’s death |
| New Testament – Gospels | |||
| Matthew 1:21 | “She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins” | All theories | Salvation from sin as Jesus’ primary mission |
| Matthew 20:28 | “The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” | CV, PSA, SAT | Ransom (lytron) = price of release; liberation or payment debate |
| Matthew 26:28 | “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins” | All theories | Blood establishing new covenant; links to Jeremiah 31 |
| Matthew 27:46 | “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” | PSA | Divine abandonment due to sin-bearing; quotes Psalm 22:1 |
| Mark 10:45 | “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” | All theories | Central to Mark’s servant Christology; parallel to Matthew 20:28 |
| Mark 14:24 | “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many” | All theories | Covenant blood sacrifice; “for many” = all who benefit |
| Luke 22:19-20 | “This is my body, which is given for you… This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood” | All theories | Personal substitutionary giving; covenant establishment |
| Luke 23:34 | “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” | CV, Moral Influence | Victory through forgiveness; demonstrating divine mercy |
| John 1:29 | “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” | PSA, CV, SA | Sacrificial lamb imagery; links to Passover and Isaiah 53:7 |
| John 3:14-15 | “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life” | CV, All theories | Victory through being “lifted up”; references Numbers 21:4-9 |
| John 3:16 | “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” | All theories | God’s love as primary motivation for atonement |
| John 10:11 | “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” | All theories | Voluntary substitutionary death |
| John 10:17-18 | “I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord” | All theories | Emphasizes voluntary nature and authority over death |
| John 12:31-32 | “Now will the ruler of this world be cast out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself” | CV (primary) | Satan’s defeat through crucifixion; “ruler” = Satan |
| John 19:30 | “It is finished” | All theories | Mission accomplished; Greek tetelestai = completed/paid in full |
| New Testament – Acts | |||
| Acts 2:23-24 | “This Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God… God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death” | CV, All theories | Death couldn’t hold Christ; divine plan fulfilled |
| Acts 20:28 | “The church of God, which he obtained with his own blood” | All theories | Blood as price of acquisition; costliness of redemption |
| New Testament – Pauline Epistles | |||
| Romans 3:23-25 | “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood” | PSA (primary), SAT, SA | Central propitiation text; hilasterion debate: propitiation vs expiation vs mercy seat |
| Romans 3:26 | “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” | PSA, SAT | God’s justice maintained while justifying; satisfaction of righteousness |
| Romans 4:25 | “Who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification” | All theories | Death and resurrection both essential; links atonement to justification |
| Romans 5:8-10 | “But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us… while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son” | PSA, All theories | Enemies shows need for wrath removal; reconciliation central |
| Romans 6:23 | “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” | PSA, All theories | Christ received death penalty we deserved |
| Romans 8:3 | “By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh” | PSA, Alternative views | Debate: condemned sin by punishing Christ vs condemned sin’s power |
| Romans 8:32 | “He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all” | All theories | Divine sacrifice; echoes Abraham/Isaac typology |
| 1 Corinthians 5:7 | “Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed” | All theories | Christ as Passover fulfillment; links to Exodus 12 |
| 1 Corinthians 6:20 | “You were bought with a price” | Ransom theories, All | Purchase from slavery; commercial metaphor |
| 1 Corinthians 15:3 | “Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures” | All theories | Core gospel affirmation; “for our sins” interpreted differently |
| 2 Corinthians 5:14-15 | “One has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves” | All theories | Substitutionary death for all |
| 2 Corinthians 5:18-19 | “All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself… not counting their trespasses against them” | All theories | Reconciliation ministry; trespasses not counted |
| 2 Corinthians 5:21 | “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” | PSA (primary), Catholic/Orthodox interpretation | Most debated; PSA: bore sin through imputation; Others: became sin offering |
| Galatians 2:20 | “The Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” | All theories | Personal substitutionary love; individual application |
| Galatians 3:13 | “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree'” | PSA (primary), SAT, CV | Bearing divine curse/wrath; quotes Deuteronomy 21:23 |
| Ephesians 1:7 | “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses” | All theories | Blood redemption; apolytrosis = buying out of slavery |
| Ephesians 2:13-16 | “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ… making peace through the cross” | All theories | Peace through blood; reconciliation of Jew and Gentile |
| Ephesians 5:2 | “Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God” | SAT, All theories | Sacrifice pleasing to God |
| Colossians 1:19-20 | “Through him to reconcile to himself all things… making peace by the blood of his cross” | All theories | Cosmic reconciliation through blood |
| Colossians 2:13-14 | “Having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross” | SAT, PSA | Legal/debt metaphor; satisfaction of legal demands |
| Colossians 2:15 | “He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him” | CV (primary), PSA | Victory over spiritual powers; military triumph imagery |
| 1 Timothy 2:5-6 | “For there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all” | All theories | Mediatorial ransom; antilytron = corresponding ransom |
| Titus 2:14 | “Who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness” | All theories | Redemptive self-giving; includes purification purpose |
| New Testament – General Epistles | |||
| Hebrews 2:14-15 | “That through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery” | CV (primary), PSA | Destroying devil’s power; combines victory and propitiation |
| Hebrews 2:17 | “Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect… to make propitiation for the sins of the people” | PSA, SAT | Propitiation through identification with humanity |
| Hebrews 9:12 | “He entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption” | SAT, All theories | Superior sacrifice; eternal effectiveness |
| Hebrews 9:14 | “How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience” | SAT, All theories | Perfect, unblemished sacrifice |
| Hebrews 9:22 | “Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins” | PSA, SAT | Blood sacrifice necessity for forgiveness |
| Hebrews 9:26 | “He has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself” | All theories | Once-for-all sacrifice putting away sin |
| Hebrews 9:28 | “Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him” | PSA, SA | Sin-bearing language; substitutionary offering |
| Hebrews 10:10 | “We have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” | SAT, All theories | Sanctification through single offering |
| Hebrews 10:12-14 | “When Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God… For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified” | SAT, All theories | Complete and final sacrifice; contrasts with repeated OT sacrifices |
| 1 Peter 1:18-19 | “You were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers… with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish” | All theories | Ransom through blood; lamb imagery |
| 1 Peter 2:24 | “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed” | PSA (primary), All theories | Bearing sins substitutionally; quotes Isaiah 53 |
| 1 Peter 3:18 | “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring you to God” | PSA, SA | Clear substitutionary framework; righteous for unrighteous |
| 1 John 2:2 | “He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world” | PSA, SAT, SA | Universal propitiation/expiation; scope debated |
| 1 John 3:5 | “You know that he appeared to take away sins, and in him there is no sin” | All theories | Sinless one taking away sins |
| 1 John 3:8 | “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil” | CV (primary) | Explicit victory purpose stated |
| 1 John 3:16 | “By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us” | All theories | Love demonstrated through substitutionary death |
| 1 John 4:10 | “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” | All theories | Propitiation rooted in divine love |
| Revelation 1:5 | “To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood” | All theories | Freedom through blood |
| Revelation 5:9 | “You were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation” | All theories | Universal ransom through blood; worship celebrating redemption |
| Revelation 12:11 | “They have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony” | CV (primary) | Conquest through blood; believers share in victory |
| Revelation 13:8 | “The Lamb slain from the foundation of the world” | All theories | Eternal divine plan for sacrificial atonement |
| Deuterocanonical Books | |||
| 2 Maccabees 7:37-38 | “I, like my brothers, give up body and life for the laws of our ancestors… to bring to an end the wrath of the Almighty that has justly fallen on our whole nation” | SAT, PSA elements | Martyrdom as atoning sacrifice; satisfying divine wrath |
| Wisdom 2:24 | “Through the devil’s envy death entered the world” | CV | Devil’s role in bringing death; sets up victory theme |
| Sirach 17:26 | “Return to the Lord and forsake your sins… How great is the mercy of the Lord, and his forgiveness for those who turn to him!” | All theories | Divine mercy and forgiveness central |
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