Many believers raised in traditional evangelical settings were taught a single dominant explanation of the cross, usually Penal Substitutionary Atonement. It became the framework through which sin, salvation, prayer, and even God’s character were understood. When people later encounter Christus Victor or other historic atonement models, the shift can feel disorienting, like choosing between competing versions of Christianity. But the Bible never asks us to make that choice. It presents the atonement as a multifaceted work that cannot be confined to a single model. The problem was never that PSA existed. The problem was that it became the whole story.
The Bible Uses Many Images for a Reason
The New Testament describes the work of Christ through several metaphors. It uses sacrificial language, legal language, military imagery, temple imagery, ransom themes, and the language of liberation and deliverance. Each of these highlights a different aspect of one unified event. The atonement is too large and too complex to be captured by a single metaphor. When one model becomes dominant, the others are pushed to the margins, even though the biblical writers freely used all of them.
Christus Victor does not contradict sacrificial or substitutionary language. It restores the cosmic dimension of the cross that was central to the early church. Christ defeats the powers that enslaved humanity, breaks the dominion of death, and disarms the hostile spiritual beings that opposed God’s creation.
How the Early Church Understood the Cross
For the earliest generations of Christians, the cross was first and foremost a victory. Their world was steeped in the reality of hostile spiritual powers, cosmic rulers, and the rebellion of the nations. When they spoke of the atonement, they spoke primarily of liberation, triumph, and the overthrow of death. This is the framework behind Paul’s language about principalities, rulers, and the powers of darkness. It is the worldview behind Hebrews and the imagery of Revelation. Christus Victor was not a novel theory. It was the assumed backdrop of the biblical authors and the earliest church.
The later Western emphasis on legal atonement did not replace this view, but it did overshadow it. Recovering it brings believers back into the thought world of the first and second-century church.
Why It Is Not a Binary Choice
Some assume that embracing Christus Victor requires rejecting PSA, or that acknowledging courtroom imagery requires minimizing the victory theme. This creates a false choice. The early church held multiple models without difficulty. They saw each as a window into the same event. They understood that sin is both guilt and bondage, and that the cross addresses both realities. When believers rediscover a neglected dimension of the atonement, they are not abandoning the faith they grew up with. They are recovering the fuller biblical picture.
Why PSA Became Dominant in the Western Church
The rise of PSA dominance was historical rather than biblical. During the Reformation, the legal metaphors of scripture resonated deeply with a culture shaped by law courts, civic reform, and disputes with medieval abuses. Protestants emphasized the forensic side of the cross because it addressed the controversies of their era. Over time, this legal framework became the default lens for many Western Christians. But its dominance was shaped by history, not theological necessity. Recognizing this frees believers to receive the other biblical images without feeling that they are abandoning their tradition.
Substitution Still Matters
Shifting emphasis does not mean losing substitution. Christ stands in our place. He gives Himself for His people. In Christus Victor, substitution takes on a different focus. Christ acts on behalf of humanity to defeat the powers we could not defeat and to break a curse we could not break. It is still substitution, but it is framed within liberation rather than divine retribution. The question is not whether substitution is biblical. The question is how the Bible applies it within the larger story of rebellion, bondage, and redemption.
How This Shift Changes Faith and Prayer
For many believers, the shift begins with a new understanding of God’s posture toward them. PSA can subtly create the impression that God accepts believers only after His wrath has been satisfied. Christus Victor reorients that picture. God has always been for His people. The cross is not the moment God becomes loving. It is the moment God defeats the forces that held humanity captive and demonstrates His commitment to restoring His creation.
Prayer also takes on a different character. Instead of approaching God as a judge whose anger has been appeased, believers speak with a King who has already won and who invites them to share in His authority. Spiritual conflict becomes clearer. The New Testament’s emphasis on hostile powers, principalities, and the dominion of death gains renewed weight. Faith becomes participation in the ongoing victory of Christ rather than a purely legal transaction.
The Divine Council and the Cosmic Victory of Christ
A fuller understanding of the atonement also illuminates the Divine Council worldview woven through scripture. The cross is the moment when the hostile elohim who rebelled were judged, disarmed, and stripped of their authority over the nations. The rebellion of Genesis 6, the division of the nations in Deuteronomy 32, and the judgment of the gods in Psalm 82 form the backdrop to the work of Christ. Christus Victor situates the cross within this cosmic story and makes sense of the biblical claim that Christ triumphed openly over the rulers of this age.
Salvation Has Always Been About Loyalty to Yahweh
Understanding the atonement also requires recovering a central biblical truth. From Genesis to Revelation, salvation is about covenant loyalty to Yahweh. Sin matters because it is an act of disloyalty. It aligns humanity with rival powers and hostile elohim who seek to rule the nations. Scripture consistently describes redemption as turning, returning, or giving allegiance to the one true God.
The legal dimension of sin explains the guilt that must be forgiven, but guilt is not the center of the story. The deeper issue is misplaced loyalty. Humanity’s rebellion in Eden, the cosmic rebellion of the sons of God, and the division of the nations all revolve around people drifting toward other rulers. The cross addresses this at the root. Christ breaks the power of those hostile beings, removes the guilt of disloyalty, and restores people to the God they were created to serve.
A Biblical Example: David’s Loyalty
David provides a clear example of the centrality of loyalty. Scripture never hides his sins. They were serious, and they carried real consequences. Yet he is consistently described as a man after God’s own heart. The reason is not moral flawlessness, but unwavering allegiance. David never gave himself to another god. Even in failure, he returned to Yahweh, recognizing that sin was disloyalty rather than mere moral error. Psalm 51 shows that his repentance was a restoration of covenant faithfulness. This distinguishes David from Saul and Solomon, whose compromises involved divided allegiance, not isolated moral lapses. His life demonstrates that loyalty to Yahweh has always been the heart of salvation.
How This Deepens Daily Discipleship
A broader view of the atonement changes how believers understand temptation, suffering, and mission. Followers of Christ are not simply forgiven people waiting for heaven. They are participants in the restoration of creation. The powers have been defeated, but not yet removed. Believers live in the tension of a world where the decisive victory has been won and the final renewal is coming. Discipleship becomes more than moral improvement. It becomes alignment with the reign of Christ against the spiritual forces that oppose Him.
A Lifetime of Faith Refined, Not Replaced
Those who were shaped by traditional evangelical theology sometimes fear that embracing other models means discarding their past. In reality, this process is refinement rather than rejection. The core truths remain. Christ died for our sins. Christ rose from the dead. Christ reconciled us to God. What changes is the depth and dimension of that understanding. The legal dimension remains, but it is joined by the cosmic, relational, and restorative dimensions that scripture also emphasizes.
Conclusion
The atonement is not a puzzle with only one correct piece. It is a diamond whose facets catch the light from different angles. Understanding that the cross cannot be reduced to a single model frees believers from unnecessary either-or thinking. It allows them to see the victory of Christ, the sacrifice of Christ, the ransom of Christ, and the restoration accomplished through Christ as part of the same saving work. The goal is not choosing sides between PSA and Christus Victor. The goal is allowing scripture to speak in the fullness of the images it gives and letting that fuller picture reshape our prayers, our confidence, and our understanding of God’s relentless love.
Discussion Questions
- How has your understanding of the cross been shaped by the atonement model you were raised with, and what happens when other biblical images are brought back into the conversation?
- In what ways does seeing the atonement through a cosmic lens change how you view spiritual conflict, discipleship, and daily Christian living?
- Why do you think one model of the atonement became dominant in the Western church, and how does recognizing that history open space for a fuller biblical picture?
- What differences do you notice in your view of God’s character when shifting from a primarily legal framework to one centered on liberation and victory?
- How does connecting the atonement to the Divine Council worldview help make sense of the language in scripture about rulers, powers, and principalities?
Want to Know More?
- Aulén, Gustaf. Christus Victor. Macmillan, 1969.
A classic historical study explaining how the early church understood the atonement primarily as Christ’s victory over the powers of darkness. It remains one of the most important works for grasping the roots of the Christus Victor model. - Wright, N. T. The Day the Revolution Began. HarperOne, 2016.
Wright argues that the atonement is about God reclaiming creation and defeating the forces of sin and death. He broadens the discussion beyond narrow legal categories and helps readers see the cross within the full biblical story. - Green, Joel B., and Baker, Mark D. Recovering the Scandal of the Cross. InterVarsity Press, 2000.
A careful examination of the various biblical metaphors for the atonement. The authors show why no single model captures the fullness of the cross and invite readers to reclaim neglected biblical themes. - Stott, John. The Cross of Christ. InterVarsity Press, 1986.
A respected evangelical treatment of the atonement that affirms substitution but also explores the pastoral, cosmic, and relational implications of the cross. It provides balance for readers coming from a PSA-dominant background. - Gorman, Michael J. The Death of the Messiah and the Birth of the Church. Baker Academic, 2014.
Gorman presents the atonement as participatory and transformative. His work helps readers see how the crucifixion confronts spiritual powers and draws believers into the cruciform life of Christ.
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