Among the scholarly debates about Paul’s theology, one question is whether Paul’s model for salvation is primarily rooted in Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross, or if the central point is about becoming a new creation through Christ’s death and resurrection. This paper will briefly discuss the key distinctions between the two positions, as well as conclude that being a new creation in Christ is the ultimate point in Paul’s soteriology.
Beginning with sacrifice as having spiritual significance and involving atonement, this concept is not unique to Christian theology. Judaism, which set the stage for Christian belief, has its own roots in sacrifice as a means to have transgressions forgiven. One example is the requirement in Leviticus 5:17-19 to sacrifice an animal at the temple, suggesting that the animal is a sacrificial substitute for the transgression (Sanders 92). In addition, and as commonly linked to Exodus 12, the Passover lamb is likened to a substitutionary sacrifice, though Jews in the first century may not have shared this belief. It is clear, however, that Paul does make the connection between the Passover lamb and Jesus, even proclaiming in 1 Cor 5:7 that ‘Christ is our paschal lamb!’ (Soards 177).
Moreover, Paul makes multiple references to Christ’s sacrifice in blood, that Christ’s substitutionary death expiated sin (1 Cor 15:3; Rom 3:23, 5:9; Sanders 92). Also, Paul refers to Jesus as the one whom God made ‘to be sin who knew no sin’ (2 Cor 5:21). When connecting this to Rom 8:3, Jesus’ sacrifice is further cemented as substitutionary: It is the one-time, eternally atoning event to free humankind from sin (Sanders 92, 93). Furthermore, Christ’s sacrifice brings about the new covenant (1 Cor 11:25), which ends the Law-based atonement practices under the old covenant and thereby delivers all humankind, including both Jews and Gentiles, from the power of Sin as a cosmic force (Soards 177, 178; Sanders 93).
In fact, being that Paul’s view of sin is not only about individual transgressions, but also being enslaved by the power of Sin as said cosmic force, this leads to the alternate position in Paul’s soteriology: what it means to participate in Christ’s death and resurrection — that is, to become a new creation in Christ. Part of this meaning involves redemption: Jesus went to the Cross to purchase humankind’s salvation (1 Cor 6:20; Gal 3:13; Soards 178) and to empower believers with Holy Spirit (3:14), once they have been baptized into Christ’s death and given new life through his resurrection (Rom 6:4). Then, as a new creation freed from the power of Sin, believers are to live out a devoted, transformed life in the Spirit. (Sanders 93, 94).
Therefore, when comparing the two models of salvation presented above, it appears that Paul is ultimately more concerned about the end goal of Christ’s sacrifice — becoming a transformed believer through Christ’s death and resurrection. Yet Paul also ensures not to diminish the sacrifice itself, emphasizing that without the sacrificial act on the Cross, the cosmic power of Sin would keep humankind enslaved in both spiritual and physical death (Sanders 93).
Above all, and as Soards well summarizes, it takes both the sacrifice and the resurrection to lead to the new creation. “One without the other is meaningless and, when either element is forced, distortion results” (176).