Christus Victor
28But
if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out
demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon
you. 29Or how can someone enter a strong man’s
house and plunder his goods, unless he first
binds the strong man? Then indeed he may
plunder his house.
Matthew 12:28-29 [ESV]
Theories of Atonement
•Objective paradigm
•Atonement satisfies a necessary demand
or requirement of God
•Subjective paradigm
•Atonement brings about a change in us
Theories of Atonement
•Christus Victor paradigm
•Atonement is directed toward Satan and
powers of evil
•Through the cross Christ fights against
and triumphs over the evil powers of the
world (cf. Col 2:13-15)
Christus Victor
•The Ransom Theory
•Dominant understanding of the atonement
throughout first 1,000 years of the church
•Advocates included Origen, Gregory of
Nyssa and Augustine
Christus Victor
•The Ransom Theory
•Satan gained control over mankind and the
world
•This control was the result of human sin
Christus Victor
•The Ransom Theory
•Since Satan had ‘rightful’ control over
mankind and the world, God would not ‘steal’
man back
•Justice required that God ‘buy us back’ if we
were to be freed from Satan
•A ransom had to be paid (cf. Mark 10:45; 1 Cor 6:20)
Christus Victor
•The Ransom Theory
•Satan demanded Christ’s death as the
suitable payment (i.e. ransom)
•He agreed to free mankind in exchange for
the death of Jesus
•He thought he could ‘own’ the soul of
Jesus by killing him
Christus Victor
•The Ransom Theory
•Satan demanded Christ’s death as the
suitable payment (i.e. ransom)
•He sought to control God by ruling over
the Son
Christus Victor
•The Ransom Theory
•However, Christ proved victorious over
Satan through the resurrection
•Satan’s scheme was thwarted
•Mankind was justly freed
Christus Victor
•Contemporary Christus Victor models
emphasize the defeat of Satan over the
payment of a ransom
Christus Victor
•Key biblical motifs
•The ongoing reality of spiritual warfare (e.g.
Eph 6:12; 2 Cor 10:3-5)
•The recognition that humans are held hostage
by powers of evil (e.g. John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11; Luke
4:5-5; 1 John 5:19)
Christus Victor
•Key biblical motifs
•The ministry of Jesus was characterized by
active opposition to satanic powers
•Exorcisms (e.g. Matthew 12:22-28; Mark 1:23-27;
5:1-13)
•Freeing the captives (e.g. Luke 4:18; Eph 4:8)
Christus Victor
•Key biblical motifs
•The ministry of Jesus was characterized by
active opposition to satanic powers
•Resistance of satanic temptation (Matthew
4:1-11//Luke 4:1-13)
•The presence of the kingdom of God means
the kingdom of Satan has been defeated (cf.
Matthew 12:28)
Christus Victor
Five Observations
•Demons knew who Jesus was but did not
understand what he was doing (e.g. Mark 1:23-24;
3:11; 5:7; Luke 8:28)
•God’s wisdom that led to the crucifixion was
‘secret and hidden until after the crucifixion
(Romans 16:25-26; 1 Cor 2:7)
Christus Victor
Five Observations
•Satan and his minions were instrumental in
bringing about Jesus’ death (cf. John 13:27)
Christus Victor
Five Observations
•Paul wrote, “None of the rulers of this age
understood this [the mystery of the cross] for if they
had, they would not have crucified the Lord of
glory.” (1 Cor 2:8)
Christus Victor
Five Observations
•The cross brought the defeat of Satan and the
reconciliation of mankind and the world to
God (2 Cor 5:18-19; Col 1:19-22; 2:13-15)
Christus Victor
Contributions
•Emphasis on Christ’s victory over evil
•Those who are in Christ also have victory
over the evil one (cf. 1 John 2:13-14; 4:4)
•Emphasis on the cosmic impact of the
atonement
Salvation and Theories of Atonement
•Salvation is complex and contains
elements of mystery
•While we may understand aspects of it, we
do not understand all of it
•A final analogy
•Salvation is like …
a set of golf clubs