God the Son has existed eternally as the second person of the trinity. The same cannot be said of Jesus
as the Christ. Jesus is God the Son in human flesh. As such he finds his possibility in the triune being
of God, but we cannot go further than this. The pre-existence of Christ points to the eternal
presupposition of the historical appearance of the New Being.
The post-existence of Christ, on the other hand, points to the eternal confirmation of the New Being.
Christ sits at the right hand of the Father. If we follow Luther in identifying the right hand of God with
his omnipotence, that is, his power of w
creativity is not separated from the New Being in Christ - its final aim is the actualization of the New
Being as manifest in the Christ.
delijk toch
ongeschonden voorbeeld, omdat hij voortdurend het volkomen Beeld van God of ook het Woord van
God of ook de Zoon van God is. Als eeuwige Zoon is hij het beeld van de ganse (geredde)
177
In other words Jesus as the Christ is the source and criterion of all salvation in history.
In this sense he continues to exist as the Lord of history. 178
2.4.4
The Doctrine of Atonement
179
Van Ruler follows this
180
precedent and support
181
has wisely restricted itself from doing so, because there is no absolute theory of atonement. Abelard ...
and Origen as well as others have had different theories of the atonement. The Church has never
182
Nevertheless
- the subjective side of
concept of participation seems to be a way to a more adequate doctrine of atonement, in which the
183
177
Now, it is precisely this idea of an objective
ThW, I, p. 151;cf. ST, II, p. 162. VV, p. 47; VW, p. 87; Ik Geloof, pp. 114-115.
The idea of the kingdom of Christ will be dealt with in more detail below, as will the place of Christ in the
eschaton.
179
See G. Hodnett op. cit. pp. 17Creeds.
180
GCW, p.
van de plaatsvervanging over de hele linie van doorslaggevende betekenis. De messias doet en is alles, wat hij
doet en is, in onze plaats. Dat wil zeggen: Zijn hele er zijn is een zijn in onze plaats. Het middelaarschap is
178
181
ThW, II, p. 79; cf. IV, p. 85; BZAK, p. 140.
HOCT, p. 166; cf. ST, II, pp. 172-173.
183
ST, II, p. 173.
182
98
substitution that Van Ruler emphasises. Thus at first glance there seems to be a radical difference
between these two theologians at this point. But we must look at this apparent conflict in more detail.
satisfaction would be replaced with participation. Reconciliation then consists of following Jesus, with
death on the cross was an example to reveal the total seriousness of sin and thus prevent future sin, but
not a removal of past sin. Christ then, is the Saviour because he is the great example.
od. The overemphasis of the objective
substitutionary character of reconciliation could be confused with the creation of an objective factual
condition which exists in and of itself. On the one hand this could lead to a form of libertinism, based
on the idea that Christ has put everything in order and we could proceed to live our lives the way we
would like to.184
something onto the work of Christ as an objective and past event. Everything has been put right
between God and us, in Christ. But this is, so to speak, a neutral state or zero point - which could never
satisfy anyone. This leads to the view that man, with the motivating power given by the knowledge of
this fact and in the Holy Spirit, must now move beyond this point. Thus reconciliation is the basis of a
new relationship to God, but it is not its realization.
suffering. Our guilt, punishment and death are not transferred to Christ and therefore ontologically
done away with.185
In the light of these possible errors, we must look at what these two theologians mean to express in
their doctrines of atonement.
In the first place, the subjective and objective aspects must be balanced. This is implied in the
existential character of Christianity. Jesus as the Christ is the subject of believing reception, not the
ished by him.186 Tillich critically
184
185
O. Weber, II, pp. 204-207; 218-219.
See Soteriology and Functional Christology above, also the discussion of possible problems with the
objective doctrine of atonement above.
186
99
187
188
Van
Ruler, in spite of his continual affirmation of the Anselmian doctrine of Atonement, is in complete
agreement.
volstrekt tirannieke positie van de kerk en haar prediking in die wereld. Wie ook pneumatologisch
denkt, beseft, dat ook in de mens een knooppunt in die heilsproeces ligt: in het hart valt evenzeer een
189
In other words, the doctrine of atonement does not only point to an
objective fact, but also to the subjective experience of the New Being.
subjectivity.190 The work of the outpoured Holy Spirit is an objective fact,191 but it is subjective in that
it is the application of the New Being, objectively present in Jesus as the Christ, to history. 192
In the second place, the atoning processes are created by God and God alone.193 Jesus as the Christ is
the Son of God who took on human flesh. He is the bearer of the New Being, who mediates the
reconciling act of God to man.
mythische term. Maar hij is onmisbaar, zullen we blijven spreken van het heil in de zin van het
194
God initiates the processes of atonement. He is not dependent on them. God is eternally reconciled. He
does not need the work of Christ in order to be reconciled to us. Nevertheless it is not meaningless to
guilt feeling has given us a new key for an explanation of the tremendous effect of the Anselmian
195
theory on personal piety
The
important point is that our guilt is often deeply hidden - as modern psychology has demonstrated with
its ideas of the different defence mechanisms that we use to deny or rationalize our actions. Therefore
187
HCT, p. 166; ST, II, pp. 172-172.
ST, II, p. 173.
189
ThW, I, p. 182.
dit samenvatten in de these, dat God in de tijd van de vervulling alles doet in de messias en door het pneuma of
ook door de messias en in het pneuma. In ieder geval komt men hier met een woord niet uit. Alles in het
tegenwoordige heil staat onder deze twee gezichtspunten. Het kan alleen in christologisch en pneumatologisch
ThW, VI, p. 19; CTTP, p. 60; cf. BZAK, p. 137. In the following chapter we will
look at the synergism or reciprocity between man and God in the Holy Spirit.
190
ST, II, p. 177; III, p. 139.
191
VW, pp. 166-169.
192
- wanneer men het schema van objectief en subjectief perse wil gebruiken - in al zijn
VW, p. 167.
193
ST, II, p. 173.
194
ThW, IV, p. 85; cf. Ik Geloof, p. 61.
195
ST, II, p. 173.
188
100
we are never fully conscious of our own sinfulness and guilt. It goes without saying that our finitude
also prevents us from being fully aware of, not only our sinfulness and guilt, but sin and its
consequences on the social-historical level. In other words, God alone knows the fullness of the guilt of
mankind. Therefore, reconciliation is also known, in its fullness, by God alone.
196
In the third place, there is no conflict between reconciling love and retributive justice in God. The
justice of God is not a special act of punishment calculated according to the guilt of the sinner. The
justice of God is the act through which he lets the self-destructive consequences of sin go their way.197
198
justice cannot be done away with, not even by God himself! But if this justice was done away with,
199
verlost naar zijn gerechtigheid. De iustitia is ook iustitia salvifica. Zij is ook soteriologisch van aard ...
De gerechtigheid is wel degelijk ook een eisende en straffende gerechtigheid. De bijbel staat daar vol
200
takes the form of punishment in this sinful world, but punishment never exists for its own sake - it
resists and breaks what is against love in order to further the aims of love.
This leads us to the fourth point in the doctrine of atonement as expressed in the theology of Paul
Tillich and Arnold van Ruler: The divine removal of guilt and punishment is not an act of overlooking
the reality and depth of sin. Tillich praises the Anselmian doctrine of atonement for showing that the
work of Christ makes it possible for God to exercise mercy without violating the demands of justice.
character. At the same time he feels the inescapability of that punishment which is nevertheless taken
201
The point to be kept in mind here is that there is an ontological order between God and man. This order
196
BZAK, p. 137.
ST, II, p. 174.
198
ThW, IV, pp. 42,45; ST, II, p. 174.
199
ST, II, p. 174.
200
ThW, IV, p. 43.
201
ST, II, pp. 172upon himself, thus re-establishing unity with us. The sinner is
146). It must be remembered that atonement comes from God. Jesus is not a third reality between God and man,
on which God is dependent for his saving activity. The Anselmian doctrine is important because it shows that the
ontological demands of justice cannot be done away with. ST, II, pp.169-170.
197
101
202
of being which is violated by
203
The work of Jesus as the Christ must be
seen in this context. Thus Van Ruler writes:
aan Gods gerechtigheid. Er is satisfactio vicaria. Enerzijds in de oboedientia passiva: gewillig
en met blijdschap erkent hij het verdoemend gericht, dat over de wereld hangt, en aanvaadt het.
Anderzijds in de oboedientia activa: daar is eindelijk een plek in de geschapen werkelijkheid,
204
This idea of satisfaction (i.e. placatio and expiatio) refers to the objective side of the work of Christ.205
206
It is the new state of
message of a new being, a new kind of existence in which is not only hope, but also reality, in which
207
In the fifth place, we must look at the concept of substitution. We have already looked at the problems
connected with the concept of substitution. If substitution is understood in an exclusive and objective
manner, the personal character of salvation in Christ is lost. At this point the subjective aspect of
mply some objective event
be understood as his participation in existential estrangement and its self-destructive consequences. He
cannot remove these consequences; they are implied in his justice. But he can take them upon himself
208
Van
en maar veroordeeld in de
zin van wegdoet ... Hij gaat erin, in de zondige werkelijkheid, in de werkelijkheid van de zonde, in de
zonde: de middelaar wordt tot zonde gemaakt. Zozeer aanvaardt God de zonde, Hij verbergt zich,
verpakt zich erin: God is in de
209
202
ThW, IV, p. 45.
ST, II, p. 174.
204
ThW, IV, p. 44.
205
ThW, I, p. 183; VI, p. 55; BZAK, p. 137.
206
ST, II, p. 177.
207
The Shaking of the Foundations, Penguin, London, 1964, p. 81.
208
ST, II, p. 174; cf. pp. 173, 176.
203
209
hemelvaart - deze houdt o.a. ook in : dat het offer permanent aan de Vader wordt opgedragen en dat permanent
de intercessie geschiedt: zo wordt de zonde intiem ingevouwen in de situatie van de wereld en God verwikkeld
102
210
meer dan solidariteit en lotsgemeenschap ... Jezus is de heiland.
separated from him.211
212
O.
Jesus Christ
213
In the sixth place we must look at the centrality of the Cross of Christ in the doctrine of atonement. The
214
It is not the only manifestation, but it is the central, the criterion of all other manifestations
215
unconditionally affirmed,216 as well as his mercy and grace.217 Thus the cross is the centre and criterion
true man, the only person who was completely obedient to God.218 He suffered and died in our place,219
and salvation is participation in his being.
voltrokken wordt, dat wordt ook voltrokken aan allen, die in hem geloven ... Wij krijgen in zekere zin
ook deel aan het heilig lijden en sterven. Wij worden ook k
220
Thus through participation
in the New Being, i.e. the being of Jesus Christ, we also participate in the manifestation of the atoning
den, dat
Schepping en Koninkrijk, diss. 1959, p. 221.
210
Ik Geloof, pp. 97, 90.
211
The fact that our salvation cannot be separated from the cross of Christ is discussed below.
212
This idea was first used by A. Ritchl. O. Weber, op. cit., II, pp. 204, 206-207.
213
Ibid, p. 206.
214
ST, II, p. 176.
215
ST, II, p. 175.
216
Ibid., pp. 173, 174.
g men uitsluitend afleiden uit het kruis, in
VW., p. 116.
217
218
ST, II, pp. 134-135; Het Leven Een Feest, Callenbach, Nijkerk, A.A. van Ruler, 1972, pp. 46-47. See
above on the humanity of Christ.
219
That is, his suffering and death was completely unique. He is the mediator who died so our guilt could be
ST, II, p.
176; AA van Ruler, op. cit. pp. 46, 49.
220
Op. cit., pp. 46, 49; Matt. 16:24.
103
act of God. We participate in the suffering of God who takes the consequences of existential
estrangement upon himself, or, in other words, we participate in the suffering of Christ.221 It is only
through the imitatio Christi, the insitio in Christum and the unio mystica cum Christo that we regain
our true humanity. Participation in the suffering of Christ is the power which overcomes and transforms
creaturely self-destruction and sin.222 Nevertheless, the subjective consequences of participation in the
New Being are fragmentary and ambiguous. We never attain our full humanity in this life. True and full
humanity is an eschatological concept.223
224
2.5 The Eschatological Background of Sin and Salvation
2.5.1
Sin and the Eschatological Kingdom
eternal decree (protology) and how sin and guilt are atoned
for in Jesus as the Christ. Now we must look at the place of sin in eschatology. Does sin serve an
eschatological purpose?
use thee for whatsoever I will.
Thou shalt be the dung with which I will fertilize my lovely vineyard. I will and can use thee in my
225
Salvation is derived from salus: health, well-being, or salvus: healing. Salvation is the overcoming of
226
het vlees is kenmerkend
voor de Geest. In deze hele strijd zoekt hij de mens, de wereld, de schepping. Daarom maakt hij ook
niet slechts gebruik van de gegevenheden in de mens en in de cultuur maar brengt hij ze ook 227
misschien kan men zeggen: weer terug -
Salvation always takes place against the background of sin and guilt. Salvation is the struggle to realize
the will of God against the contradictions of existence. Salvation is the fulfilment of what existence
ought to be by overcoming the destructive, meaning-defying, powers that threaten existence. Salvation
is actualized whenever a demonic power in social or individual existence is overcome by the divine
221
ST, II, p. 176.
Van Ruler, op. cit., VV, pp. 190-191; ThW, II, p. 176.
223
ST, II, p. 177.
224
ThW, VI, pp. 39-40; CTTP, p. 86; cf. VV, pp. 190-191; ThW, II, pp. 232-233;
225
Quoted by Reinhold Niebuhr, An Interpretation of Christian Ethics, SCM Press, London, 1948, p. 85.
226
ST, II, p. 166; cf. III, p. 403.
227
ThW, VI, p. 39; CTTP, p. 86; cf. ThW, pp. 17-18; CTTP, pp. 57-58.
222
104