This page contains links to articles on the Atonement and also articles on the Incarnation of Jesus.
The Atonement: Christ’s Saving Work
At the heart of the gospel lies the atonement—the reconciling work of Jesus Christ that bridges the chasm between holy God and sinful humanity. Through His perfect life, sacrificial death, and victorious resurrection, Christ accomplished what we never could: He satisfied the righteous demands of God’s justice while simultaneously demonstrating His boundless mercy. The cross stands as history’s pivotal moment, where divine wrath and divine love met in perfect harmony.
Throughout church history, theologians have contemplated different dimensions of this glorious truth. The substitutionary view emphasizes how Christ took our place, bearing the punishment we deserved. The Christus Victor perspective celebrates Christ’s triumph over sin, death, and Satan. The ransom theory highlights our liberation from bondage, while the satisfaction view focuses on how Christ’s sacrifice upholds God’s honor and justice. Rather than competing explanations, these perspectives function like facets of a diamond, each reflecting unique aspects of the same magnificent reality. The conservative Christian tradition particularly emphasizes the substitutionary nature of the atonement—that Christ died in our place, for our sins, as our representative before the Father.
The Incarnation: The Word Made Flesh
Equally important is the doctrine of the incarnation—that the eternal Son of God took on human flesh while remaining fully divine. This is Christianity’s distinctive claim: not merely that God sent a messenger or prophet, but that God Himself entered human history. “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14) represents the most radical statement ever made about the intersection of heaven and earth.
In the person of Jesus Christ, we encounter the perfect union of two complete natures—fully God and fully man—in one person. This is not a mixing or confusion of natures, but rather the Second Person of the Trinity assuming a complete human nature while retaining His divine nature. As the Council of Chalcedon affirmed, Christ is “truly God and truly man,” with two natures “without confusion, without change, without division, without separation.”
This hypostatic union means that when we look at Jesus, we see both the perfect revelation of God to humanity and the perfect response of humanity to God. In His divine nature, Christ possesses all the attributes of deity—omnipotence, omniscience, eternal existence. In His human nature, He experienced genuine human emotions, limitations, and temptations, yet without sin. He hungered, wept, rejoiced, and suffered, all while maintaining His divine identity.
Incarnation
- Oliver Crisp’s Model of the Incarnation: Understanding How Christ Can Be Both God and Man
- The Critical Problems of Christian Physicalism: Why Substance Dualism Remains Essential for Understanding Christ’s Incarnation
- The Kryptic Model of the Incarnation: Understanding Andrew Ter Ern Loke’s Divine Preconscious Model
- The Two Natures of Christ: A Comparative Analysis of Oliver Crisp’s and Andrew Loke’s Models of the Incarnation
- Timothy Pawl’s Model of the Incarnation: A Comprehensive Analysis of the Two Natures of Christ
Atonement
- Finis Dake’s Dangerous Errors on Jesus’ Atonement and Salvation: A Biblical Analysis
- Understanding How Jesus Saves Us: Two Different Atonement Views Explained (PSA vs Vicarious Satisfaction)
- A Theological Analysis of Three Contemporary Catholic Atonement Models
- Atonement Models: A Comparative Analysis of Philippe De La Trinité’s Vicarious Satisfaction and Penal Substitutionary Atonement
- The Atonement as Both a Substitution and a Victory Over Sin and Bondage
- Understanding Victorious Substitution: A Fresh Look at How Jesus Saves: Vee Chandler’s “Victorious Substitution” Model
- A Comprehensive Exposition of Vee Chandler’s Atonement Model
- Substitutionary Atonement and The Violence of God? A Journey Through the Meaning of the Cross
- Jennifer Turek’s Atonement Theology: A Comprehensive Analysis and Comparison with Penal Substitutionary Atonement
- A Comprehensive Theological Analysis: Eastern Orthodox and Catholic Views of Atonement
- The Eastern Orthodox View of Atonement: A Comprehensive Analysis of Patrick Henry Reardon’s Theology and Its Biblical Foundation
- Understanding the Atonement: Fleming Rutledge’s Biblical Alternative to Penal Substitution
- Comparative Analysis of Non-Penal Substitutionary Atonement Models
- Comparing Atonement Theories: Fleming’s Substitution Without Wrath vs. Craig’s and Allen’s Penal Substitutionary Atonement
- Understanding the Atonement: A Comparative Analysis of Margaret Turek and Fleming Rutledge’s Theological Perspectives
- Atonement Views Compared: Rutledge Fleming’s (Substitutionary) vs. William L. Hess’s (mainly Christus Victor)
- Bible Verses in Atonement Theology Debate
- Atonement: Sacrifice Without Wrath
