Actuality of Atonement: Chapter Six

Gunton now examines atonement in light of a Triune God. He sums his argument, thus far, succinctly. First, all the metaphors are formed in relationship. They can all be understood as the "expressing in human language the significance of the life of a man, born, crucified, risen and ascended, as at once coming from God and bearing upon the life of all humankind" (143). Second, the relation is not simply between humanity and God, but between God and all of creation. The relatedness is also metaphorical, as language that relates. The metaphors don't just express the relation; they are the relation, opening new possibilities for relating.

Gunton then asks two questions:
1. Who is this relating God?
2. What kind of world is this?

First, God's act in Christ is not simply interventionist, but is consistent with his entire history of acting. The work of God in Christ is new and unparalleled, but is continuous with God's action of creation and rescue in the Old Testament. God's is always victorious, just, and sacrificial.

Second, the creation of God has a purpose. It is not created a "static and perfect whole." This means that atonement is prelapsarian. So, is atonement to right something that went wrong or to continue creation? Gunton believes that either of these options poses a threat for metaphors, but believes the incarnation takes its form because of the fall and works the end of creation. (I don't quite understand Gunton's point here.) Metaphors are also to be understood from the far side of the cross. Victory could not be seen prior to resurrection.

Third, Gunton asks what Jesus' relationship is to humanity. Is he a substitute, a representative, or some combination? Gunton urges that Jesus' life also be exemplary. An objective picture of atonement cannot come at the expense of a subjective one. However, subjective pictures can sometimes trivialize evil. God must do the work of cleansing, freeing, and ordering.

So, substitution or representation? Gunton likes both. "Jesus is our substitute because he does for us what we cannot do for ourselves" (165). What Jesus does 'for us' includes, but is not fully described as 'instead of.' And as representative, we are found in Christ before God.

Gunton now flips the argument backward: The fact that God creates in Christ means that his atonement has universal significance and in the resurrection means that, concretely, the world is changing, being drawn to its end by the power of the Spirit. The world becomes just; the world is cleansed; evil is conquered.

Gunton then hints at where his next chapter is headed. To keep atonement from being strictly abstract, there must actually be an accomplishment of atonement. There must be a space where justice, victory, and sacrifice are realized. This, of course, is the church--"the place where the reconciliation of all things is from time to time anticipated" (170).