Christ’s death was a substitutionary sacrifice meant to satisfy the demands of God’s justice. Man’s main problem is depravity, and thus the atonement is directed toward God as a payment for the law’s prescriptive and penal demands. This understanding of the atonement does not eliminate every aspect of the other views, but it most fully explains the biblical data for the meaning of the cross.

Theories over Centuries

Over the centuries, theologians have articulated several different theories or models of the atonement. Most of the models get something right, though some are much closer to the mark than others. We will look at ten models, concluding with penal substitution, which is at the heart of the atonement and the “theory” that holds all the biblical insights of the other theories together.

1. Recapitulation Theory (Irenaeus)

According to this model, Christ lived out all the stages of human life in such a way that his life of obedience compensated for Adam’s life of disobedience. Christ obeyed the Father, reversing the curse in Adam and setting us free from the tryanny of the devil. This understanding of the atonement is right in what it affirms, though there is nothing about the satisfaction of divine wrath and little about Christ bearing the penalty of sin.

2. Ransom to Satan (Origen)

In this popular and well attested model, Christ’s death is seen as a ransom to purchase man’s freedom. The atonement is directed toward Satan, who was duped—like a fish is fooled by bait on a hook—into thinking the cross was his triumph when it was his defeat (think of the sacrifice of Aslan made to the White Witch in Narnia). The contemporary version is usually referred to as Christus Victor, meaning Christ is the one who vanquished the powers of hell. While this is certainly one important aspect of the atonement, the theory gives too much power to Satan in making him the object of the payment.

3. Commercial Theory (Anselm)

Anselm’s theology of the atonement represented a major step forward in biblical reflection. In Anselm’s thought, Christ’s death brought infinite honor to God. In turn, God gave Christ a reward, which (needing no reward himself) he passed on to man in the form of forgiveness and eternal life. Importantly, Anselm understood that the atonement was directed toward God and that man’s main problem was dishonoring God. And yet the nature of the transaction is somewhat vague. Christ’s death is offered as a tribute—rooted in God’s honor instead of God’s justice—but it is not clearly a vicarious suffering for the penalty of sin.

4. Moral Influence Theory (Abelard)

For the medieval theologian Peter Abelard, Christ’s death showed God’s great love, which in turn gave man the impetus to repent and believe. In Abelard’s theory man’s main problem is spiritual neediness, with the atonement directed toward man in order to convince him of God’s love. This makes Christ’s atoning work strictly voluntary rather than a necessity according to the logic of divine justice.

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