Christus Victor - A Necessary Part of Atonement Theory

INTRODUCTION

The crucifixion, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ are the cornerstones of the Christian religion. As Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15:17 if Christ has not been raised then the faith of the believers is useless because all would still be dead to sin.

Due to the magnitude of this topic, many schools of thought have proposed ways to best view the cross with accurate, theological terminology. Certainly, the most popular view is that of atonement, and the biblical support for this view cannot be denied. However, it is not the only view that finds a valid scriptural basis. Many perspectives of the cross can be held simultaneously without causing an individual to fall into contradiction.

One such view that can – and should – be held alongside the atonement view is the Christus Victor view, which views Jesus Christ’s work on the cross as the defeating of all evil that exists in creation. The Christus Victor perspective (hereby CVP) has significant scriptural support (perhaps even more than the atonement view) and is incredibly important for the Christian worldview.

INTRODUCTION TO THE CVP

Since 1 Corinthians 15:17 has already been mentioned, perhaps it is a fitting place to start. In this portion of scripture, Paul establishes the importance of the resurrection. Christianity itself dies if Jesus Christ does not live. The resurrection is especially important for the CVP. The death of Jesus is what allowed for the atonement of sins, but it was the resurrection that defeated the powers of sin and death. Therefore, Paul writes that if Christ was not raised, faith is useless because believers are still in their sins. This does not mean that believers are no longer sinful because of the resurrection, but instead, it means that believers are no longer under the authority of sin. The Christian has a future hope because the evil powers which bring temptation and suffering are not able to snatch the believer from the hand of the Father, as is written in John 10:29.

Contrary to the “ransom to Satan” view, which proposes that man’s sin enslaved them to Satan, and so Christ had to pay a ransom price to buy back humanity’s freedom, the CVP does not propose that God owed a debt to any evil power. Of course, CVP varies from person to person, but the version of the view being explained in this paper does not support that idea.

However, even if he is not owed any debt, the devil was still affected by the resurrection. The author of Hebrews writes that Jesus used death to destroy the devil, who is the holder of the power of death (2:14). Paul brings another angle in 2 Timothy 1:10, writing that Christ Jesus abolished death, bringing life and immortality to those who accept the gospel.

There also seems to be an “already/not yet” aspect to the defeat of evil, as Revelation 21:4 proclaims that Christ will cause death to be no more, and as a result, there will be no more suffering because the old things of creation have passed away. There is perhaps a connection here to Daniel 7:12, which teaches that the first three beasts of Daniel’s vision were stripped of their ruling authority, though they were permitted to continue living for a time. Though the beasts represent kingdoms, they can be viewed as a part of the evil powers and principalities of the world. The resurrection destroyed the legitimacy and the powers of evil in the past, the beings which cause evil remain in bondage until the end times, when they will be annihilated in hell. More on those themes later...

Dr. Michael Heiser brings an interesting perspective to another relevant passage, that being Matthew 16:18. This passage is often used by the RCC to establish Peter as the first Pope, while Protestant believers typically reject this view, saying that Jesus was redeeming Peter from his betrayal and promising to do great things in the early church through Peter. However, perhaps neither of these views best fit the true meaning of Jesus’ words. This conversation took place in Caesarea Philippi at the foot of Mount Hermon, which is a significant location for the supernatural world. Heiser notes that this region (Bashan, in the Old Testament) was controlled by two kings - Sihon and Og – who were descended from the giants and who ruled primarily from their chief cities: Ashtaroth and Edrei. Israelite and Ugaritic literature describes these cities as the entryway to Sheol/Hades (Heiser). Additionally, Mount Hermon was the traditional location where the sons of God descended from heaven to sleep with human women and corrupt mankind (1 Enoch 6:5). As if that was not enough to make the disciples uncomfortable being in this area, the entire region was dedicated to Zeus, and there was a popular cult center dedicated to Zeus worship located at the foot of Mount Hermon, close by where this conversation between Jesus and the disciples was taking place (Heiser).

All this to say, when Jesus says that He will build His kingdom on “this rock,” Heiser proposes that Jesus perhaps was talking literally about the rock they were standing on. Jesus was saying that He would build His kingdom on the gates of Hades itself and that Hades will not be able to defend against His new kingdom (in the original Greek, the word “against” as in “the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” is not present, instead it should be translated as “the gates of hell will not withstand it) (Heiser). This aligns well with the CVP, as Jesus is informing the disciples of His plans to build His kingdom on death through death, rather than in spite of it. Jesus fulfilled this prophecy when He submitted to death to atone for sin and then defeated it to demolish the bonds of Hades.

It can be seen from these passages that Christ’s resurrection defeated death and founded the kingdom of God on the gates of Hades. Another aspect of this victory is the revoking of the legitimacy of the evil powers, which was hinted at earlier. To explain this scriptural narrative, one should first turn to the Tower of Babel.

GENESIS 11:1-9 – THE TOWER OF BABEL

In this story, mankind begins moving eastward – away from the garden of Eden – and settles in Shinar. In their pride, they construct a massive tower which – due to the cultural and geographical context of ancient Mesopotamia – is best understood as a ziggurat; a place where mortals can interact with gods, and a stairway for the gods to travel between this realm and their own (Walton 162). God takes great offense to this sin and punishes the people by scattering them and confusing their language.

DEUTERONOMY 32:8-9 – THE ELECTION OF ISRAEL

This punishment does not only result in the geographical scattering of the people, however. It also signifies Yhwh’s disinheritance of the nations. As confirmed by Deuteronomy 32:8, the Most High scattered the people, dividing them up into nations according to the number of the divine assembly. But God did not disinherit all the nations... instead, the following verse declares that He elected Israel as His special people; His nation of priests through which He would redeem all the nations and draw them back to Himself.

The nations were not given over to their own rule, however, as Deuteronomy implies that the nations were divided according to the sons of God, not for the sake of numbers alone, but so that control of the nations could be divvied up between the sons of God. Of course, this does not go well, as the divine rulers grow wicked and unjust.

PSALM 82:1-8 – THE JUDGEMENT OF THE GODS

Though there are many ways of interpreting this Psalm, with each way being logically valid and well-argued, this paper will assume that God is standing amid His own assembly, pronouncing judgment on real divine beings who were instructed to rule over the nations justly.

Because the sons of God ruled unjustly, showing favoritism to the wicked and not defending those who are suffering, God condemns them to die like mortals. The Psalmist then declares that God owns all the nations! This verse can be translated in two ways, either with God owning the nations currently or with the verb being translated in the future tense (“you will take possession of all the nations”) (Chisholm 1003). This second translation certainly makes more sense with the CVP on the work of Jesus.

ACTS 2 – TYING UP LOOSE ENDS

Though the languages of the nations were confused following the Tower of Babel incident, it was not in God’s plan to keep the nations separated forever. In Acts 2, the disciples are indwelled with the Holy Spirit and given the ability to speak in tongues, a miracle that transcends the language barrier and, in some ways, reverses the judgment performed by Yhwh and His council in Genesis 11 (Keener 323). This ability to overcome the previous judgment to share the gospel marks the beginning of a new era when all the nations are once again under the control of Yhwh.

1 PETER 3:18-22 – DIVINE LEGITIMACY IS REVOKED

These few verses are perhaps the least well-known verses in all of scripture. Peter begins by urging believers to do good even in the face of suffering and persecution, and suddenly he is on a tangent about spirits in prison, Noah’s ark, and baptism. However, the Enochic context for these verses clarifies the meaning.

Peter is comparing Jesus to Enoch, as they both were sent to proclaim judgment over the wicked spirits who ruled in the days of Noah. Keener notes that this word for “spirit” is almost never used to refer to human spirits in early Christian literature (694). Additionally, these spirits are directly mentioned in verse 22 (Keener 694). So, Jesus descends into Hades, either literally proclaiming judgment to the evil beings or proclaiming judgment figuratively through His resurrection (either way, the spirits receive the message that, while they are trapped and are awaiting their destruction, Jesus is the only one who holds the keys to – and therefore the only one who can escape from - the gates of Hades, as written in Revelation 1:18). 2 Peter 2:4 also mentions these wicked angels, and directly says that they were thrown into hell and locked up with chains so that they cannot escape while they await their judgment.

So then, the rule of the divine beings, fallen angels, the devil, and all other powers of evil and wickedness have had the legitimacy of their rule revoked by Jesus. When He resurrected, He showed Himself as the true owner of the only set of keys that can open the gates of Hades. The nations have once again come under the rule of Yhwh, who will destroy all that is evil in the last days so that His original Edenic vision can be expanded from only the east to the entirety of creation!

In addition, Peter is using these Enochic and Old Testament references to show not only the work of Jesus but the glorification of Christians as well (Jobes 309). Peter teaches that, through the believer’s descent and subsequent ascent into the baptismal waters, they also remind the imprisoned spirits of the punishment that they will receive, but the followers of Christ will never experience.

It is in this area that the CVP continues to shine as a bible-based perspective on the work of Jesus on the cross. Evil has been defeated, death has been abolished, the evil ones have been stripped of their authority and are awaiting future destruction, and the legitimacy of the wicked sons of God has been revoked.

Along with the atonement view, the CVP can be used to gain a fuller, richer, and more impactful understanding of what Jesus did for His children, and it can also inspire great hope for the believer because everything which causes suffering and evil in the world will be annihilated so that suffering and death no longer exist. For it is written in 1 Peter 3:22 that Jesus sits at the right hand of God with all the angels, authorities, and powers subject to Him.

To return one last time to 1 Corinthians 15, Paul teaches that, if Jesus didn’t atone for our sins and defeat death forever, believers do not have a future hope. All would still be in bondage to sin, and subject to the wicked authorities of this world. Paul drives home his point with a bold statement: if the believer’s hope in Christ is only in this life, and not eternal, then Christians should be pitied more than anyone.

Works Cited

Chisholm, Robert B., et al. “Psalms.” The New English Translation Bible, edited by J. Davis, et al. Thomas Nelson, 2019.

Heiser, Michael S. “What Did Jesus Mean by “Gates of Hell”?” Logos Bible Software, 2018.

Jobes, Karen. Letters to the Church: A Survey of Hebrews and the General Epistles. Grand Rapids, Zondervan, 2011.

Keener, Craig. The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament. IVP Academic, 2014.

Walton, John H. “The Mesopotamian Background of the Tower of Babel Account and its Implications.” Bulletin for Biblical Research, vol. 5, 1995, pp. 155-75.