1) God’s Attitude Toward Us

First, the Bible does not teach that God is ill-disposed toward us. He is not a disapproving deity. He does not need constant atoning sacrifices. He does not change His feelings toward us because of them. That is a corrupt, pagan idea.

The biblical truth sounds like this: “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10).

We do not have to change His heart toward us by atoning sacrifices. Rather, His heart, which is inclined toward mankind, is the source of all our blessings. Our sins made atonement necessary. But He Himself provided the necessary sacrifice.

2) Who the Atonement Was

Second, we want to note who the atonement was. He “sent His Son.” Someone who was Himself God became the atonement!

This is a deep mystery. Yet it is far removed from those degrading, pagan ideas. Atonement was expressly not needed to change God’s heart. It did not change Him from being against us to being for us.

Rather, it was the most perfect expression of His love. The apostle points to this when he exclaims: “In this is love!”