Subject One Hundred Forty-three

THE PROPITIATION-COVER OF GOD

Scripture: Rom. 3:25-26
The propitiatory sacrifice is the propitiation-cover in the original language.

1. God set forth a propitiation-cover through Jesus
   1. In the Old Testament the Holy of Holies in the tabernacle is the meeting place for God and man. In the Holy of Holies there is an ark which contains the tablets of the ten commandments. The ten commandments express the righteous requirement of God. This means that if a man wants to be in the presence of God, he has to fulfill all these ten commandments. But the real condition of man is that rather than keeping the ten commandments, he breaks them. Therefore, according to the ten commandments, God has to condemn man.
   2. However, God is also full of compassion. His love causes Him to be gracious to man. Here we see that God’s love is conflicting with God’s righteousness. In order to fulfill both His righteousness and His love, God sent Jesus to be our propitiation-cover.
   3. Jesus Christ was given to us by God’s love and grace, but the shedding of Jesus’ blood for the forgiveness of our sins is according to God’s righteousness. Because His blood satisfies the righteous requirement of God, enabling God’s love to come upon us, Jesus becomes the propitiation-cover of God.
   4. In the Old Testament, the propitiation-cover is on the top of the ark, completely covering the law inside the ark. This signifies that Jesus Christ and His redemption completely satisfy the righteous requirement of God. Thus, God can no longer put the demands of the law upon man.
2. By the blood of Jesus
   1. In the Old Testament, the blood was sprinkled upon the propitiation-cover for the people of Israel. Every year on the Day of Atonement the high priest had to bring the blood of atonement into the holiest of all and sprinkle it upon the propitiation-cover. Then, upon the propitiation-cover, God manifested Himself to meet with man. There man also was able to meet God and obtain grace from God. Under the propitiation-cover there was the righteous law of God, while upon the cover there was the blood of atonement. The righteous law was putting demands upon man, but because of the blood on the propitiation-cover the demand of the law was satisfied.
   2. Likewise, in the New Testament, the blood of Jesus Christ satisfies the righteous requirement of the law of God. With the blood of Jesus Christ, God’s righteous law can no longer put any claim upon us. Thus, the blood of Jesus Christ opens a way for God to grant us His grace without causing God to be unrighteous. Therefore it was through this blood that God established the Lord Jesus as the propitiation-cover.
3. By the faith of man
   1. The righteousness of God has already accomplished everything for us so that we might obtain God’s salvation. However, we must receive this salvation by faith. To receive is to open our heart to believe in Christ and His redemption.
   2. To believe is not only to agree or to confess, but also to receive in the spirit.
4. To manifest the righteousness of God
   1. By our faith, and through Christ, God not only gave us grace, but also manifested His righteousness. Every believer who obtains redemption through faith in Christ has both the grace and the righteousness of God. Because Christ has accomplished redemption, His blood has satisfied the righteous requirement of God. Thus today if we believe in Christ and His redemption, God has to forgive us and justify us for His righteousness’ sake. If God would not forgive or justify us, He would be ungracious and unrighteous. So today God’s forgiving us and justifying us by faith manifests not only His grace but also His righteousness.