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reconciliation itself, and not the means by which it is effected. When
speaking of Christ?s saving work, the word ?satisfaction,? the word used
by the theologians of the Reformation, is to be preferred to the word
?atonement.? Christ?s satisfaction is all he did in the room and in behalf of
sinners to satisfy the demands of the law and justice of God. Christ?s
work consisted of suffering and obedience, and these were vicarious, i.e.,
were not merely for our benefit, but were in our stead, as the suffering and
obedience of our vicar, or substitute. Our guilt is expiated by the
punishment which our vicar bore, and thus God is rendered propitious,
i.e., it is now consistent with his justice to manifest his love to
transgressors. Expiation has been made for sin, i.e., it is covered. The
means by which it is covered is vicarious satisfaction, and the result of its
being covered is atonement or reconciliation. To make atonement is to do
that by virtue of which alienation ceases and reconciliation is brought
about. Christ?s mediatorial work and sufferings are the ground or efficient
cause of reconciliation with God. They rectify the disturbed relations
between God and man, taking away the obstacles interposed by sin to
their fellowship and concord. The reconciliation is mutual, i.e., it is not
only that of sinners toward God, but also and pre-eminently that of God
toward sinners, effected by the sin-offering he himself provided, so that
consistently with the other attributes of his character his love might flow
forth in all its fulness of blessing to men. The primary idea presented to us
in different forms throughout the Scripture is that the death of Christ is a
satisfaction of infinite worth rendered to the law and justice of God (q.v.),
and accepted by him in room of the very penalty man had incurred. It
must also be constantly kept in mind that the atonement is not the cause
but the consequence of God?s love to guilty men (John 3
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