Expiation: He Can Cleanse All Your Filthiness

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_bu7EZQSc0

Today we are continuing our study on the atonement and exploring the various aspects of what Christ has done for us. Today, we will talk about expiation. As in the previous teaching, we will see through the account of Lazarus of Bethany, the marvelous work Christ has accomplished through His atoning sacrifice.

Let’s first recap.

First, we started with God’s original intention when He created man positionally and morally good, intended for eternal fellowship and rulership with Him.

Then we saw how the fall corrupted this, perverting man’s will and inclining him to determine position and morality for himself. From this, we have learned that sin is a perversion of man’s will and an act against God’s divine order; it is the practice of turning away from our Creator and turning to the created.

Being unable to save ourselves from this condition, God, who deeply loves us, graced us with His divine assistance to help restore us into fellowship with Himself.

He initiates this by regenerating our ability to hear, respond, and align ourselves with His calling.

This regeneration allows us to realize our depraved state, prompting repentance.

Once realized, repentance occurs, which is the complete deconstruction of the old psyche and reconstruction of the new psyche, all initiated and governed by God. Once reconstructed into a new man, we are given faith. Faith is also a gift from God, enabling us to believe in Him, trust Him, and grow in Him. It is an anointed perspective given by God to see as He sees and will as He wills in obedience.

Now that the person is in this regenerated state, has turned toward Jesus, and has been granted faith, there is no longer fear or dread of God’s wrath being executed upon them. This is because of the propitiation in Christ, which satisfied God's wrath against sin through Jesus’ sacrifice. Jesus’ death on the cross served as justice for sin and an object of God’s wrath, making it possible for humanity to be in fellowship with God again. But there is still more!

While propitiation turned away God’s wrath from us and our sin to Jesus and the sin He took on, expiation completely cleanses us of sin—it literally removes sin from us. Propitiation satisfies and turns God’s anger and attention away from us and our sin and places it on Jesus, while simultaneously cleansing us of those sins.

In John 1:29, John the Baptist refers to Jesus as "the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world." This communicates the expiatory nature of the sacrificial system, where Jesus' blood serves to cleanse believers from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:7). His death represents the ultimate act of expiation, removing the guilt and penalty of sin for all who believe in Him.

Expiation means to cleanse sin—not only the sin itself but also the guilt of the sin and all other consequences attached to it. This is why we are told in Romans 8:1-4:

"There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit."

You see, Jesus has done much more than just die on the cross. He has not only taken on God’s wrath for you, but He has also removed the guilt that sin tries to hold you to!

Now, let's turn again to the account of Lazarus of Bethany. When Jesus calls Lazarus from the tomb, this moment holds deep significance in many ways! One way is that this moment is pivotal in understanding both the immediate miracle and its broader implications. To recap: Lazarus had been dead for four days, and his sisters, Mary and Martha, expressed their grief and disbelief at the finality of death. Moved by their sorrow, Jesus wept.

When Jesus commanded, "Lazarus, come out!", He asserted, exercised, and demonstrated His authority over death, signifying His ability to restore life and reverse the consequences of sin. This act wasn’t just a simple command, but a divine command and a divine fiat.

As we mentioned in our first teaching in this series, a divine imperative refers to a command or decree issued by God that reflects His will. It is an authoritative directive that obliges obedience, rooted in God's moral authority. A divine fiat refers to God's creative and sovereign command that brings something into existence or causes an event to happen by His will alone.

So, when Jesus said, "Lazarus, come out," it was both a divine command and a divine fiat, declaring that the resurrection offered by Jesus is available to all believers, and that true life is found in Him. After Lazarus emerged from the tomb, Jesus instructed those present to "unbind him, and let him go." This removal of the burial clothes represents the cleansing of guilt and the consequences of sin. Just as Lazarus was freed from the physical bindings of death, believers are released from the spiritual bondage, guilt, and sting of sin and death through the expiatory work of Christ.

So, here is a question. And you might be able to answer based on what we have already covered: What is the need for expiation if God has already accepted the propitiatory work of Jesus? What’s the point? Why wasn’t it enough for Jesus to take on the wrath of God and pay the penalty of sin?

Well, here’s straight answer, and it’s a monumental one: First, expiation, or the cleansing of sin, cannot occur before the satisfaction of justice. This is because, without punishment, there is nothing to cancel the sin; the punishment justly helped to cancel or pay for the sin. In other words, getting rid of sin cannot happen until justice was satisfied because, without punishment, there’s no way to truly erase the sin. Justice must be served! This is similar to our human justice system, where a judge must impose a penalty for wrongdoing before the penalty can be removed.

Secondly, If God were to simply forgive sins without any consequences, it would undermine the seriousness of those sins and the truth of His justice. Christ’s death on the cross serves as the necessary punishment that fulfills God’s justice, making (1) forgiveness meaningful and (2) it brings understanding to the great gravity of sin. Your sin wasn’t simply bad things you do.

It is important to understand this because the enemy will try to cause you to discount the severity of what sin is. There are three subtle ways the minimization of sin is found in our thinking, and makes its way into our theology becoming distortions.

Distortion 1. Sin Can Be Overlooked

 “God understands—we all make mistakes. It’s not that serious.”

This lie suggests that sin is a minor issue that can be casually dismissed. But if sin could simply be overlooked, there would be no need for Christ’s suffering and death. The cross reveals the weight of sin, that it required nothing less than the blood of the spotless Lamb to remove it. Expiation shows that sin demands cleansing, not just an apology. It’s not overlooked; it’s removed through blood Hebrews 9:22 reads, “Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.”

Grace is not merely a passive pardon of sin, but an active demonstration of God’s love that intended to awaken a deep desire to be transformed.

Distortion 2: Forgiveness is automatic

“Since Jesus died, I’m already forgiven—why dwell on my sin?”

This mindset leads to spiritual complacency. It confuses the availability of forgiveness with the appropriation of it. Yes, Christ died once for all, but the benefits of expiation are received through repentance and faith. Expiation calls us to be fully aware of our sin, to the point of confession

1 John 1:5-9 reads,

“This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.  If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Distortion 3: God’s Justice Is Still Questionable

 “Maybe I’m not really forgiven. Maybe my sin is too great.”

This lie keeps us trapped in guilt, shame, and self-condemnation. It subtly questions whether Christ’s work is truly enough. But expiation teaches us that Christ’s blood was not symbolic, it was effectual. It fully removed the guilt of sin for all who believe. Because of expiation, you can boldly declare, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). God’s justice has been completely satisfied and any guilt removed.

Now remember, Leviticus 16:10, 20–22. Here it describes the second goat in the Day of Atonement, the scapegoat, which illustrates expiation. While one goat was sacrificed to satisfy God’s justice, the scapegoat was kept alive. The high priest would lay both hands on its head and confess over it all the iniquities of the people of Israel, symbolically transferring their guilt onto the animal. The goat was then sent into the wilderness, bearing their sins away into desolation. This symbolized the complete removal of sin and guilt from the people.

So together, these two goats portrayed the full work of atonement: one life given as a blood offering to satisfy God’s justice (propitiation), and the other sent away to represent the removal of guilt (expiation). This was a foreshadow of Christ. As Hebrews 9:12 and 10:10–14 reveal, Christ entered the Most Holy Place once for all by His own blood, securing eternal redemption. His atonement is complete; He both bore the wrath of God and removed our sin forever.

We see this twofold work reflected again in the raising of Lazarus. When Jesus called Lazarus from the grave, it was not only an act of resurrection but a demonstration of full deliverance. The command, “Lazarus, come out,” reflects the power to give life. But Jesus didn’t stop there. He then said, “Unbind him, and let him go.” This divine imperative and divine fiat reflect expiation. Lazarus had no choice but to respond with the removal of those things that clung to him from death, the symbolic grave clothes of guilt, shame, and bondage. Just as the scapegoat was sent away bearing the sin of the people, so Lazarus was released from all that bound him to death. In Christ, we are not only raised, but we are also unbound. Not only forgiven, but cleansed. Not only justified, but made free.

So remember this, Christ didn’t just die to calm God’s wrath—He died to cleanse you, completely. Every sin, every guilt, every chain that once held you has been shattered, by the power of His love. You are not only forgiven but made new.

The enemy will try to remind you of your past, whisper lies that you are still bound by sin, still unworthy of God’s love. But hear this truth: because of Jesus, there is no condemnation for those who are in Him. You are free. You are clean. You are loved.

Imagine standing before God, no longer weighed down by guilt, no longer burdened by shame. This is what Christ has done for you. He has not only taken your punishment but has washed you white as snow. And in this cleansing, you are empowered to walk in newness of life—boldly, confidently, and fully embraced by the grace of God.

So when the enemy tries to trap you in doubt, in complacency, or in guilt, stand firm in the truth of Christ’s work on the cross. Let the power of His expiation remind you that you are free. Free from sin, free from fear, and free to walk in the fullness of God’s love and purpose for your life.

You are no longer bound. You are His—forever and fully redeemed.