Word Study: Propitiation

By John Hendrix

[Jesus] God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, (Romans 3:25)

I do not suppose that many of us use the word "propitiation" very often in our everyday speech. Yet it appears a few times in the New Testament in reference to the sacrifice of Jesus and how that sacrifice appeased God's wrath towards sinful man; toward you and me.

According to Strong's, the Greek word in Romans 3:25 is hilasterium (#2434). A form of this Greek word is also translated "propitiation" in 1 John 2:2 and 1 John 4:10. This same Greek word is used in Hebrews to refer to the mercy seat that was placed by Moses above the Ark of the Covenant:

And over it the cherubims of glory shadowing the mercyseat; of which we cannot now speak particularly. (Hebrews 9:5)

Of the mercy seat, God said,

And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel. (Exodus 25:22)

Jesus is our mercy seat; the focal point of our communion with God. Through His death, God's wrath is appeased and God's love spread over us.