Greg Boyd writes:
Through the incarnation, life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ the infinitely wise God solved a number of problems. Among other things,
- through Christ God defeated the devil and his cohorts (Heb 2: 14; 1 Jn 3: 8);
- revealed the definitive truth about himself (Rom 5: 8, cf. Jn 14: 7-10);
- reconciled all things, including humans, to himself (2 Cor 5: 18-19; Col 1: 20-22);
- forgave us our sins (Acts 13: 38; Eph 1: 7);
- healed us from our sin-diseased nature (1 Pet 2: 24);
- poured his Spirit on us and empowered us to live in relation to himself (Rom 8: 2-16);
- and gave us an example to follow (Eph 5: 1-2; 1 Pet 2: 21).
- Greg concludes that "God’s wisdom is displayed in a “rich variety” indeed!"
From Beilby and Eddy, The Nature of the Atonement: Four Views, p. 23
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I'll be making posts on the Atonement through Good Friday.
If you want to dig deeper, see the Beilby and Eddy book.
See William Lane Craig, The Atonement.
