Propitiation and the Mercy Seat

Chapter 3 of Romans continues to explain that Jews do still have an advantage in that "they were entrusted with God's Law . . . they were the race through whom the Messiah came to earth . . . they were the beneficiaries of covenants with God himself . . .But theses privileges did not make them better than anyone else. In fact, because of them the Jews were even more responsible to live up to God's requirements." (Taken From Life Application Study Bible) Paul's point is that the Lord's redemption was available to everyone and everyone was in need of the salvation because we are all equally sinners regardless of background, race, etc. Another interesting point was raised in regards to what Paul has covered so far in regards to the excuses people give for not getting saved seen in chapters 1 and 2 and commented on by the Life Application Study Bible:

Paul has dismantled the common excuses of people who refuse to admit they are sinners: 1. 'There is no God' or 'I will follow my conscience' . . . 2. 'I'm not as bad as other people' . . . 3. 'I'm a church member' or 'I'm a religious person.' . . . . Some may think they don't have to worry about sin because 1. it's God's job to forgive; 2. God is so loving, he won't judge us; 3. sin isn't so bad-it teaches valuable lessons; or 4. we need to stay in touch with the culture around us. It is far too easy to take God's grace for granted. But God cannot overlook sin. Sinners, no matter how many excuses the make, will have to answer to God for their sin.

The point I would like to focus on is when Paul turns to salvation. v. 23- 26
²³ For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus."

I have highlighted words of prominence which I will now define except for propitiation which I will form a discussion about.

Justified: to be declared not guilty (note the words "justified freely- Life Application Study Bible)
Redemption: Christ setting sinners free from slavery to sin (Life Application)
Remission: active release from sin and indicateds that forgiveness is more than a passive act on God's part- God has taken the initiative to break the grip of sin and set people free for a new way of life in God's spirit (take from Nelson's New Illustrated Bible Dictionary)

Now on to propitiation: this means "sacrifice or atonement. . . . Christ's death is the appropriate, designated sacrifice for our sin. He stands in our place, having paid the penalty of death for our sin, and he completely satisfies God's demands. His sacrifice brings pardon, deliverance, and freedom. (Life Application) The Bible Background Commentary brough another interesting point to light about this word in the original Greek language.

. . . the word (original Greek: hilasterion which is seen as propitiation in KJV) is also used in the Old Testament in a more specific sense, where it referes to the 'mercy seat', the place on the altar where blood was placed and atonment took place . . . that it virtually takes on the meaning place of atonment . . . The cross of Christ, Paul asserts, is now the place, in this new covenant age, where God deals with the sins of his people. No longer behind a veil, God's atoning work is now displayed for all to see. Since the atoning work includes (in both the Old Testament sacrificial system and in the New Testament portrayal of Christ's death) the turning away of God's wrath, we are also justified in concluding that his atoning work includes the notion of propitiation.

I found more support in some online articles. According to Zane Hodges in his article :"Jesus is the Propitiation for all, but only the Mercy Seat for Believers," he states,:

Christ in His own Person is the propitiation for all human sin. Now, in the light of our understanding of Rom 3:25, we can add a further observation. As a result of His becoming the living embodiment before God of a perfect and universal propitiation for all sin (1 John 2:2), in His own Person He is also a living “mercy seat.” That is to say, He has also become an infinitely sufficient “meeting place” between a Holy God and a sinful man, but only for believers. As Paul indicates here, “God has set [Him] forth” as a mercy seat “through faith”! . . . .  The point we are about to make is obscured by the English translations which render both hilasterion here (Rom 3:25) and also hilasmos in 1 John 2:2 as propitiation. First John 2:2, however, is an unqualified assertion that the Son of God is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world. There is no qualification that He is this only if and when there is faith. The whole world is covered by His grand propitiatory work, regardless of how many believe it. . . . In Greek the words that immediately follow the phrase through faith are the words by His blood. These words therefore give the basis on which our Lord Jesus Christ can be a mercy seat through faith. He can do so by virtue of His shed blood. In other words He can become the hilasterion through faith as a result of the fact that He is the hilasmos for the sins of all humanity. . . . .

Perhaps we might illustrate the saving transaction as follows (although so sublime an experience is really beyond our capacity to describe since it is experientially instantaneous). The believing sinner comes to God through faith in Jesus. Jesus in His role as Mediator bestows eternal life on the believer thus introducing Him to God. God in response accepts the believing sinner and pronounces him justified.

What has happened to the believer? He has met God in the Person of God’s living mercy seat, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

And, what has God done? He has behaved righteously and graciously in response to His Son. Thus He has been “just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus” (Rom 3:26).

Another article, by Kyle Pope entitled "Christ: Our Mercy Seat" states:

 The mercy seat functioned in four ways: 1. God promised to “meet with” them there (Exodus 25:22); 2. God promised to instruct them there (Exodus 25:22); 3. In some sense He would “appear” to them in the cloud there (Leviticus 16:2); and 4. There, He would grant them mercy and propitiation. These functions are seen in the history of Israel. God spoke to Moses from the mercy seat (Numbers 7:89). Joshua prayed to God towards the mercy seat, and may have received an answer from the mercy seat (Joshua 7:6,10). When Solomon constructed the temple the ark with the mercy seat was placed inside the temple (I Chronicles 28:10-12). . . . .    How is Jesus our mercy seat? First, in Jesus we meet with God. Jesus declared:“...I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6). Second, God appears to us in Jesus. Jesus declared:“...He who has seen Me has seen the Father...” (John 14:9). Third, God speaks to us through Jesus. The Hebrew writer says that God:“has in these last days spoken to us by His Son...” (Hebrews 1:2). Finally, in Christ is the place where mercy is granted. Just before Paul speaks of Jesus as our mercy seat, he declares:“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:23-24). What the material item was to Israel, Christ is to us spiritually.

So what wonderful things have we learned?
Christ is our literal mercy seat because he is the mediator between the Christian and God. He is the mediator because he was the sacrifice that covered our sins and made us acceptable to God making the physical mercy seat unneccessary. We can literally meet with God in Jesus, and this occurs because of faith in Him, and only then. Jesus' sacrifice covered everyone's sin, but only those who put their faith in Him experience Jesus as the mercy seat. Jesus' blood was the final and ultimate sacrifice to remove God's wrath toward us and grant us all unlimited access to a relationship with Him through faith in Jesus Christ. Praise the Lord for his ultimate sacrifice!

One more note: why is the law still important to us today? It brings to us the knowledge that we are sinners and gives us a guide to know how to hold up God's moral standards (Life Application)