Trinitarian propitiation

Jesus is the propitiation for our sins. While "propitiation" has a concrete reference to the ark-cover and the firmament, it also has to do with pacifying wrath. But if Jesus is the eternal Son of the God whose name is Jealous, if He is Jealous in Himself, whose wrath is He propitiating? His own?

Though the following comments hardly address all the difficulties, a Trinitarian view of this might help.

God is jealous, a God who defends His own name. Wrath is a manifestation of jealousy, and hence of love, for jealousy protects what it loves.

Jesus is the Name of the Father, and so the Father's wrath is poured out against all who blaspheme Jesus or bear the Name lightly. The Father loves the Son, and takes up the Son's cause, defending the beloved Son with a jealous wrath. By the same token, the Son loves the Father, and when the Father is slandered or attacked, the Son takes up the Father's cause and defends the Father.

This gives an additional nuance, and power, to saying Jesus is the propitiation for our sins. To say Jesus is the propitiation means that He has taken the Father's wrath on Himself. More, the jealous wrath by which the Father defends His Son is poured out on the Son. The Son turns the other cheek, and suffers specifically for all the sins that have been committed against Him. This is the double restitution that satisfies the justice of God: First, that the Son suffers the original offense, and second that the Son endures the jealous wrath against those who committed the offense.

Does the Son pour out wrath on Himself? Since all the opera ad extra are undivided, the revelation of wrath at the cross must be the work of the whole Trinity. But each person participates in the event in a different fashion: The Father pours out wrath on the Son; the Son voluntarily endures that wrath, and thus in a sense propitiates His own wrath; the Spirit is perhaps the fiery jealousy - the Love itself, as Augustine says - in which the Son suffers.

As I say, I'm hardly answering all the questions. Probably raising more than I'm answering.

posted by Peter J. Leithart on Saturday, October 07, 2006 at 10:22 AM

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