Was Crucified
The form of Christ's death also embodies a singular mystery. The cross was accursed, not only in human opinion but by decree of God's law. Hence, when Christ is hanged upon the cross, he makes himself subject to the curse. It had to happen in this way in order that the whole curse--which on account of our sins awaited us, or rather lay upon us--might be lifted from us, while it was transferred to him. . . . Therefore, to perform a perfect expiation, he gave his own life . . . as an expiatory offering for sin . . . upon which our stain and punishment might somehow be cast, and cease to be imputed to us. . . . The Son of God, utterly clean of all fault, nevertheless took upon himself the shame and reproach of our iniquities, and in return clothed us with his purity. . . . The Father destroyed the force of sin when the curse of sin was transferred to Christ's flesh. Here, then, is the meaning of this saying: Christ was offered to the Father in death as an expiatory sacrifice that when he discharged all satisfaction through his sacrifice, we might cease to be afraid of God's wrath. . . . Yet we must not understand that he fell under a curse that overwhelmed him; rather--in taking the curse upon himself--he crushed, broke, and scattered its whole force. Hence faith apprehends an acquittal in the condemnation of Christ, a blessing in his curse. . . . But that these things may take root firmly and deeply in our hearts, let us keep sacrifice and cleansing constantly in mind. For we could not believe with assurance that Christ is our redemption, ransom, and propitiation unless he had been a sacrificial victim. Blood is accordingly mentioned wherever Scripture discusses the mode of redemption. Yet Christ's shed blood served, not only as a satisfaction, but also as a laver to wash away our corruption.
John Calvin, Calvin: Institutes of the Christian Religion, trans. from the 1559 Latin ed. by Ford Lewis Battles, 2 vols., in Library of Christian Classics, ed. John T. McNeill (Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1960), Book II, chapter 16, section 6 (volume 1, pp. 510-511).
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