📖 Biblical Definition
Two aspects of the atonement accomplished by Christ's sacrifice. Expiation is the removal, covering, or putting away of sin and its guilt — the dealing with sin so that it is cancelled, blotted out, and no longer counts against the sinner (the objective dealing with the sin itself). Propitiation is the satisfaction or appeasement of God's wrath against sin — the turning away of the divine anger and judgment that sin justly deserves (the dealing with God's righteous wrath). The two are related but distinct: expiation has sin as its object (sin is expiated, removed); propitiation has God (or God's wrath) as its object (God is propitiated, His wrath satisfied and turned away). The biblical foundation for propitiation: the Greek hilasmos (1 John 2:2; 4:10, Christ the propitiation for our sins) and hilasterion (Romans 3:25, Christ set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood; the mercy-seat); the OT sacrificial system, in which the blood of the sacrifice turned away God's wrath and made atonement; the consistent biblical witness to the wrath of God against sin (Romans 1:18; John 3:36; Ephesians 2:3) which the atonement satisfies. The crucial debate: liberal theology (and some who follow C. H. Dodd's mid-20th-century argument) prefers to translate the relevant Greek terms as expiation alone, denying propitiation — on the ground that propitiation (the appeasement of an angry deity) is a pagan concept unworthy of the Christian God, who is love and does not need to be appeased. The Reformed and orthodox-evangelical response (Leon Morris's The Apostolic Preaching of the Cross being a key 20th-century defense) holds that propitiation is essential: God's wrath against sin is real and righteous (not a pagan capricious anger but the holy God's just opposition to sin); the atonement does not merely remove sin (expiation) but satisfies God's righteous wrath (propitiation); and the propitiation is itself the provision of God's love (1 John 4:10, God loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation — God Himself, in love, provides the propitiation that satisfies His own wrath, so that propitiation and love are not opposed but united in the cross). The patriarchal-Reformed reader holds both aspects: the atonement is both expiation (the removal of sin and guilt) and propitiation (the satisfaction of God's righteous wrath); to deny propitiation is to deny the reality of God's wrath against sin and to evacuate the atonement of its central meaning; the cross both expiates sin and propitiates God, accomplishing the full reconciliation of God and the sinner.
📜 Webster 1828 Definition
Two aspects of the atonement: expiation (the removal/covering of sin and guilt, with sin as object) and propitiation (the satisfaction of God's righteous wrath, with God as object); propitiation (hilasmos, hilasterion; 1 John 2:2; 4:10; Romans 3:25) is denied by liberal theology, which prefers expiation alone; the Reformed doctrine holds both.
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EXPIATION AND PROPITIATION, n. phr. (atonement) Two aspects of the atonement. Expiation: the removal, covering, or putting away of sin and its guilt (sin as object — sin is expiated). Propitiation: the satisfaction or appeasement of God's righteous wrath against sin (God as object — God is propitiated, His wrath turned away). Propitiation: Greek hilasmos (1 John 2:2; 4:10) and hilasterion (Romans 3:25, the mercy-seat). Liberal theology (following C. H. Dodd) prefers expiation alone, denying propitiation as a pagan concept. The Reformed response (Leon Morris): propitiation is essential; God's wrath is real and righteous; the cross both expiates sin and satisfies God's wrath; and propitiation is the provision of God's love (1 John 4:10 — God in love provides the propitiation that satisfies His own wrath).
📖 Key Scripture
1 John 2:2 — "And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world."
1 John 4:10 — "Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins."
Romans 3:25 — "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."
Hebrews 2:17 — "Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people."
⚠️ Modern Corruption
Liberal theology denies propitiation (the satisfaction of God's wrath) in favor of expiation alone, treating propitiation as a pagan concept; the Reformed doctrine holds both, since God's wrath against sin is real and righteous and the cross both expiates sin and propitiates God.
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The debate over expiation and propitiation concerns whether the atonement merely removes sin (expiation) or also satisfies God's wrath (propitiation). Liberal theology (and those following C. H. Dodd's mid-20th-century lexical argument) denies propitiation, preferring to translate the relevant Greek terms (hilasmos, hilasterion) as expiation alone; the underlying objection is that propitiation (the appeasement of an angry deity) is held to be a crude pagan concept unworthy of the Christian God, who is love and does not need to be appeased. The Reformed and orthodox-evangelical response (Leon Morris's The Apostolic Preaching of the Cross and The Atonement being key 20th-century defenses; J. I. Packer's essay on penal substitution) holds that propitiation is essential and that the denial of propitiation evacuates the atonement of its central meaning. The substantive arguments: (1) God's wrath against sin is real and righteous — not a pagan capricious or arbitrary anger, but the holy God's just and settled opposition to sin (Romans 1:18; John 3:36; Ephesians 2:3); to deny propitiation is to deny the reality of God's wrath; (2) the atonement deals not only with sin (expiation) but with God's wrath against sin (propitiation) — the cross satisfies the righteous wrath of God, turning it away from the sinner; (3) crucially, propitiation is itself the provision of God's love — 1 John 4:10 holds the two together: Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins; God Himself, in love, provides the propitiation that satisfies His own righteous wrath, so that propitiation and love are not opposed but united in the cross (God is both the one who is propitiated and the one who, in love, provides the propitiation). The patriarchal-Reformed reader holds both aspects: the atonement is both expiation (the removal of sin and guilt) and propitiation (the satisfaction of God's righteous wrath); the cross both expiates sin and propitiates God, accomplishing the full reconciliation of God and the sinner; to deny propitiation is to deny the reality of God's wrath, to misunderstand the cross, and to evacuate the gospel of its central meaning — that Christ bore the wrath of God in the place of His people, satisfying divine justice and turning away the wrath we deserved.
🔗 Greek & Hebrew Roots
Expiation (removal of sin, sin as object) and propitiation (satisfaction of God's wrath, God as object); hilasmos, hilasterion (1 John 2:2; 4:10; Romans 3:25); liberal theology denies propitiation; the Reformed doctrine holds both; propitiation the provision of God's love (1 John 4:10).
Usage
"Expiation (removal of sin and guilt) and propitiation (satisfaction of God's righteous wrath)."
"Propitiation: hilasmos, hilasterion (1 John 2:2; 4:10; Romans 3:25)."
"Liberal theology denies propitiation; the Reformed doctrine holds both; propitiation is the provision of God's love."