WHOM GOD DISPLAYED PUBLICLY: on proetheto (3SAMI) o theos: (Acts 2:23; 3:18; 4:28; 15:18; 1Pet 1:18-20; Rev 13:8)

Remember to study Romans 3:23-26 as a unit for in the Greek text these 4 verses in our Bible are actually a single sentence.

Calvin wrote

“There is not probably in the whole Bible a passage which sets forth more profoundly the righteousness of God in Christ.”

The Amplified Bible translates this verse as...

Whom God put forward [before the eyes of all] as a mercy seat and propitiation by His blood [the cleansing and life-giving sacrifice of atonement and reconciliation, to be received] through faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in His divine forbearance He had passed over and ignored former sins without punishment. (Amplified Bible - Lockman)

Displayed publicly (4388) (protithemai from pró = before, forth + títhemi = place) means literally place before oneself, to set forth, to set before the eyes, to set forth so as to be looked at and to expose to public view.

Robertson writes that...

God set before himself (purposed) and did it publicly before (pro) the whole world. (Greek Word Studies)

In secular Greek this word was the technical term  referring to the bodies of the dead that were to be lain in state.

Vine comments on protithemai in this verse writing that it...

may mean either “to determine,” to “purpose” or “to set forth,” so as to be manifest. Either sense would convey a scriptural view here, but the context bears out the latter meaning. The verb is in the middle voice, which lays stress upon the personal interest which God had in doing what is said, as predetermined in His eternal purpose. The aorist tense indicates the definiteness of the act in the past. (Vine, W. Collected writings of W. E. Vine. Nashville: Thomas Nelson )

Protithemai is found 3 times in the NT (Ro 1:13; 3:25 ; Eph 1:9) and is translated in the NASB as: displayed publicly, 1; planned, 1; purposed, 1

Protithemai is found 8 times in the Septuagint (LXX) (Ex 29:23; 40:4, 23; Lev 24:8; Ps 54:3; 86:14; 101:3; Pr 29:24)

Paul used protithemai earlier in Romans writing...

And I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that often I have planned (protithemai) to come to you (and have been prevented thus far) in order that I might obtain some fruit among you also, even as among the rest of the Gentiles. (see note Romans 1:13)

In Ephesians Paul writes...

He (God the Father) made known to us the mystery of His will (we could never have learned these things. We did not desire to learn these things. In fact, we hated God.), according to His kind intention which He purposed (protithemai) in Him (Eph 1:9)

Vincent says this word means

"Publicly, openly, correlated with to declare. He brought Him forth and put Him before the public." Bengel, “placed before the eyes of all;” unlike the ark of the covenant which was veiled and approached only by the high-priest. The word is used by Herodotus of exposing corpses (5:8); by Thucydides of exposing the bones of the dead (2:34). Compare the shew-bread, the loaves of the setting-forth (tes protheseos. See on Mark 2:26. Paul refers not to preaching, but to the work of atonement itself, in which God’s righteousness is displayed. Some render purposed or determined, as Ro 1:13; Eph 1:9, and according to the usual meaning of prothesis, purpose, in the New Testament. But the meaning adopted here is fixed by to declare.

The idea is that Christ was placed before the eyes of all unlike the ark of the covenant which was veiled and approached only by the high priest.

John Piper writes that:

"Ro 3:25,26 are, perhaps, the most central or most important words in the Bible - especially if you consider them along with Ro 3:23,24...What happens in Ro 3:25-26 is that we penetrate through the issue of "justification" (v24) and through the issue of "redemption" or ransom (v24) to what C.E.B. Cranfield calls "the innermost meaning of the cross"

"Whom God displayed publicly [put forth] as a propitiation [in context means "the turning away of...wrath"] in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness [Note: this is the purpose of Christ's death that hasn't been mentioned yet - to demonstrate God's righteousness. Now why does God need to demonstrate his righteousness?], because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; [then he repeats this aim lest we miss it] for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus." Why did God face the problem of needing to give a public vindication of his righteousness? The answer is in the last phrase of v25 and at the end of v26:

"because in his divine forbearance he had passed over the sins previously committed;" and because he is "the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus."

 Now what do those two phrases mean? They mean that now and for centuries God has been doing what Ps 103:10 says,

"He does not deal with us according to our sins or repay us according to our iniquities."

He has been passing over thousands of sins...not punishing them as fully as they justly deserve.

King David is a good example. In 2Sa 12 he is confronted by the prophet Nathan for committing adultery with Bathsheba and then having her husband killed. Nathan says, "Why have you despised the word of the Lord?" (2Sa 12:9).

David feels the rebuke of Nathan, and in (2Sa 12:13) he says, "I have sinned against the Lord." To this, Nathan responds, "The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die." Just like that! Adultery and murder are "PASSED OVER" It is almost incredible. Our sense of justice screams out, "No! You can't just let it go like that. He deserves to die or be imprisoned for life!" But Nathan does not say that. He says, "The Lord has PUT AWAY your sin; you shall not die."  (Read full sermon text Did Christ Die for Us or for God?)

The prophet Micah (name = "Who is like Jehovah?") uses the same Hebrew verb (put away) in Mic 7:18

"Who is a God like Thee, who pardons iniquity And PASSES OVER the rebellious act of the remnant of His possession? He does not retain His anger forever, Because He delights in unchanging love"

AS A PROPITIATION: hilasterion: (Ex 25:17-22; Lev 16:15; Heb 9:5:; 1Jn 2:2; 4:10) (21/27 uses of hilasterion in Lxx = "mercy seat") (see dictionary articles Propitiation; Expiation, Propitiation)

"WE COME O CHRIST TO YOU"
You are the Way to God,
Your blood our ransom paid;
In You we face our Judge and Maker unafraid.
Before the throne absolved we stand,
Your love has met Your law's demand.

---E. Margaret Clarkson

Propitiation (2435) (hilasterion from hiláskomai = propitiate, expiate <> from hileos = appeased, merciful, propitious) to appease and render favorable, to conciliate.

Hilasterion can refer to the place of propitiation (see mercy seat below).  Although some might say that Jesus Christ is the "mercy seat" per se, most authorities agree that Paul's intended meaning of hilasterion in Romans 3:25 is the means of gaining the favor of God through Jesus Christ.

Hilasterion is used twice in the NAS (Ro 3:25; Heb 9:5) and is translated once as mercy seat and once as propitiation.

Hilasterion is used 16 times in the Septuagint (LXX) (Ex 25:17-22 = 7x; 31:7; 35:12; 37:6, 8f; Lev 16:2, 13ff; Nu 7:89; Ezek 43:14, 17, 20; Am 9:1) and all 16 times are translated "mercy seat" (note) .

Note that hilasterion although used only twice in the NT is one of four closely related words used in the NT:

(1) hilaskomai (2433) propitiate, conciliate, make gracious, be gracious in Lu 18:13 and Heb 2:17;

(2) hileos (2436) gracious, merciful Mt 16:22 and Heb 8:12;

(3) hilasmos (2434) propitiation, propitiatory sacrifice (1Jn 2:2, 4:10);

(4) hilasterion (2435) that which propitiates, means of propitiation, mercy-seat in Ro 3:25, Heb 9:5.

"Satisfaction" is used as a synonym for propitiation, the concept of satisfaction being that the moral requirement of God has been completely met by the death of His Son on behalf of the believer and  therefore has satisfied or propitiated God.

Hilasterion means a sacrifice that bears God's wrath to the end and in so doing changes God's wrath toward us into favor. God has set the sinner free through Christ, but He has not done so by setting aside the rules. He has set the sinner free in Christ by satisfying the demands of God’s justice in Christ. Due to sin, a penalty was to be meted out and a price was to be paid. Christ paid that price and suffered that penalty (“redemption”). God’s divine wrath had to be appeased, due to man’s sin; Christ has appeased that wrath (“propitiation”).

A closely related word is hilasmos which refers to that which propitiates or that which appeases. John uses this word writing that Jesus

"Himself is the propitiation (hilasmos - appeasement, satisfaction) for our sins..." (1Jn 2:2)

The sacrifice of Jesus on the cross satisfied the demands of God’s holiness for the punishment of sin. So Jesus propitiated or satisfied God.

MacDonald adds that

"This means that by dying for us, He freed us from the guilt of our sins and restored us to God by providing the needed satisfaction and by removing every barrier to fellowship (Ed note: compare to "atonement" = "at-one-ment"). God can show mercy to us because Christ has satisfied the claims of justice. It is not often that an advocate (or lawyer) pays for his client’s sins; yet that is what our Lord has done, and most remarkable of all, He paid for them by the sacrifice of Himself." (MacDonald, W., & Farstad, A. Believer's Bible Commentary: Old and New Testaments. Nashville: Thomas Nelson)

Propitiation is not placating a vengeful God but, rather, it is satisfying the righteousness and just wrath of a holy God, thereby making it possible for Him to show mercy righteously. God can now be just (His law says sin demands death) and can deal with men graciously and benevolently (Justifier). The concepts of “redemption” and “propitiation” are used to demonstrate and draw our attention to the justice of God. God has set the sinner free through Christ, but He has not done so by setting aside the rules (His justice). He has set the sinner free in Christ by satisfying the demands of God’s justice in Christ. Due to sin, a penalty was to be meted out and a price was to be paid. Christ paid that price and suffered that penalty (“redemption”). God’s divine wrath had to be appeased, due to man’s sin; Christ has appeased that wrath (“propitiation”).

The only other NT use of hilasterion is found in Hebrews where the writer records that above the ark of the covenant

"were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat (hilasterion) but of these things we cannot now speak in detail." (Heb 9:5)

Moses records God's instruction to Israel regarding the ark of the covenant to cover it with

"a mercy seat (Hebrew = click kapporet for 27 uses or click here for explanatory note; Septuagint = hilasterion) of pure gold, two and a half cubits long and one and a half cubits wide. And you shall make two cherubim of gold, make them of hammered work at the two ends of the mercy seat. And make one cherub at one end and one cherub at the other end; you shall make the cherubim of one piece with the mercy seat at its two ends. And the cherubim shall have their wings spread upward, covering the mercy seat with their wings and facing one another; the faces of the cherubim are to be turned toward the mercy seat. And you shall put the mercy seat on top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the testimony which I shall give to you. And there I will meet with you; ("I will keep an appointment with you there” for the word has idea of prearranged meeting) and from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are upon the ark of the testimony, I will speak to you about all that I will give you in commandment for the sons of Israel." (Ex 25:17-22;  cf Nu 7:89)

God added the promise that 

“there I will meet with you ; and from above the mercy seat (kapporet,  Lxx = hilasterion) , from between the two cherubim which are upon the ark of the testimony, I will speak to you about all that I will give you in commandment for the sons of Israel." (Ex 25:22,).

Hilasterion describes the "mercy seat" or cover of the ark of the covenant in the Holy of Holies. It was upon this "mercy seat" that the High Priest would sprinkle the blood of the sacrifice once each year on the Day of Atonement (described in Lev 16), which corresponds to the modern day Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur that is held on the tenth day of the seventh month, Tishri (7th month of the Jewish year corresponding to September/October). On that day only would the high priest enter within the inner veil bearing the blood of the sin offering (cf. Heb 9:7).

A second goat was released as an escape goat to symbolize the total removal of sin (aza'zel = scapegoat). This solemn day was the only day of fasting prescribed for Israel. It was celebrated by a special sin offering for the whole nation. All the sins of the people were brought symbolically to the Holy of Holies, where blood was sprinkled on the mercy seat as a sacrifice to atone (supply satisfaction for - atonement = making of God and sinners “at one” by the offering of sacrifice and providing a way for humankind to come back into harmonious relation with Him) for them.

Atonement is the act by which God restores a relationship of harmony and unity between Himself and human beings. The word can be broken into three parts that express this great truth in simple but profound terms: “at-one-ment.” Although Old Testament believers were truly forgiven and received genuine atonement through animal sacrifice, the New Testament clearly states that during the Old Testament period God’s justice was not served

“For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins” (Heb 10:4).

Atonement was possible

“because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed” (Ro 3:25).

However, God’s justice was served in the death of Jesus Christ as a substitute, Hebrews recording that

“not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He (both as our Substitute Sacrifice and as our Great High Priest) entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption (lutrosis - ransoming and release from penalty, power and ultimately some day from the presence and pleasure of sin) (Heb 9:12).

"And for this reason He (Jesus Christ our Great High Priest) is the Mediator of a new covenant, in order that since a death has taken place for the redemption (apolutrosis - payment of a price to ransom and emancipate slaves of sin) of the transgressions that were committed under the first covenant, those who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance." (Heb 9:15).

We see a parallel teaching by Jesus Who describes

"Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee, and the other a tax-gatherer. The Pharisee stood and was praying thus to himself, ‘God, I thank Thee that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax-gatherer. ‘I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.’ “But the tax-gatherer, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’ “I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself shall be humbled, but he who humbles himself shall be exalted." (Lu 18:10-14)

The verb for "be merciful" is hilaskomai, which is of the same word group as hilasterion and means be merciful, make reconciliation for, be propitious, be gracious or be favorably inclined. The idea in this verb is to show compassion and concern for someone in difficulty despite that person having committed a moral offense.

Vine adds that hilaskomai

"was used amongst the Greeks with the significance to make the gods propitious, to appease, propitiate, inasmuch as their good will was not conceived as their natural attitude, but something to be earned first. This use of the word is foreign to the Greek Bible, with respect to God, whether in the Sept. or in the N. T. It is never used of any act whereby man brings God into a favorable attitude or gracious disposition. It is God who is propitiated by the vindication of His holy and righteous character, whereby, through the provision He has made in the vicarious and expiatory sacrifice of Christ, He has so dealt with sin that He can shew mercy to the believing sinner in the removal of his guilt and the remission of his sins. (Vine, W E: Vine's Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words. 1996. Nelson)

The Hebrew word for "mercy seat", kapporet,

"is not related to mercy and of course was not a seat. The word is derived from the root “to atone.” The Greek equivalent in the LXX is usually hilasterion, “place or object of propitiation,” a word which is applied to Christ in Ro 3:25. The translation “mercy seat” does not sufficiently express the fact that the lid of the ark was the place where the blood was sprinkled on the day of atonement. “Place of atonement” would perhaps be more expressive." (Harris, R. L., Harris, R. L., Archer, G. L., & Waltke, B. K. Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament Moody Press)

Hugh Stowell caught a vision of the sublime privilege we have to come before the mercy seat and find comfort in time of need. In 1828, he penned the words to a hymn that he originally entitled “Peace at the Mercy Seat,” but the title was later changed to...

From Every Stormy Wind
Click to play

From every stormy wind that blows,
From every swelling tide of woes,
There is a calm, a sure retreat:
’Tis found beneath the mercy seat.

There is a place where Jesus sheds
The oil of gladness on our heads;
A place than all besides more sweet:
It is the blood-bought mercy seat.

There is a scene where spirits blend,
Where friend holds fellowship with friend;
Though sundered far, by faith they meet
Around one common mercy seat.

There, there, on eagles’ wings we soar,
And time and sense seem all no more;
And heaven comes down, our souls to greet,
And glory crowns the mercy seat.

Oh, let my hand forget her skill,
My tongue be silent, cold, and still,
This bounding heart forget to beat,
If I forget the mercy seat!

Ray Pritchard says that

"To propitiate means to "turn away wrath by offering a gift." Pagan religions are built on the concept of propitiation, whereby a devotee brings a chicken, a goat, a lamb, or a plate of food and offers it to his god. I saw that very thing happen in Haiti and also in India. By bringing the blood of a chicken, the followers of voodoo hope to appease the evil spirits and turn away their wrath. On a completely different level, a husband does this after having a fight with his wife when he stops at the freeway off ramp and buys flowers on the way home. He hopes the offering of flowers will turn away wrath and restore a right relationship. In the Old Testament the High Priest would enter the Holy of Holies once a year—on the Day of Atonement—bringing with him the blood of a bull. When he sprinkled the blood on the Mercy Seat—the lid of the Ark of the Covenant—that blood was accept by God as an "atonement" or a "covering" for the sin of the people.

The New Testament picks up this idea of propitiation in 1 John 2:2,

"He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world."

The phrase "atoning sacrifice" translates the normal Greek word of propitiation. By the offering of himself, Jesus turned away God’s wrath forever. Let me give you three truths to summarize the effects of propitiation: (1) Because Jesus Christ died, God’s justice is now satisfied.

(2) Because Jesus Christ died, God’s wrath has now been turned away. The price for sin has been paid.

(3) Because Jesus Christ died, God’s mercy is now freely available to anyone who wants it. Justice satisfied … the price paid … mercy available. What an awesome thought. God’s wrath is real, but so is his mercy. He satisfied His Own wrath by offering his own Son on the cross. "Amazing love, how can it be, that thou, my God, shouldst die for me?" (Read full Sermon)

A WORD OF CAUTION REGARDING
"PROPITIATION"

Note that many theologians of the "liberal persuasion" strongly object to the truth that Jesus bore God's wrath against sin. In general, they tend to be uncomfortable with the truth of wrath, judgment, and hell, and so have fallaciously reasoned that "propitiation" is a translation that relegates theology to the mythology of the Greeks and slanders the character of God. This thinking has led these liberal theologians to translate hilasterion as "expiation", as for example in the Revised Standard Version ("whom God put forward as an expiation by his blood,"). Expiation means an action that cleanses from sin but includes no concept of appeasing God's wrath! To be sure the truth conveyed by "expiation" is certainly included in hilasterion, but as you can discern, expiation is not an adequate or accurate rendering of the truth conveyed by this Greek word.

It is also notable that the NIV misses the true meaning, choosing to translate hilasterion as "atonement". In fairness, the NIV does have a marginal note which is more accurate - it reads

"as the one who would turn aside his wrath, taking away sin".

The difference between the doctrines of propitiation in Christianity and in Greek mythology is bound up in the character of God Himself. Being holy, perfect, and immutable, the living God is never ruled by changing moods as were the so-called gods of Greco-Roman mythology. Consequently, God's wrath is a settled disposition against evil. The just demands of God's holiness for the punishment and exclusion of sin must be satisfied or propitiated.

Propitiation is the work of Christ on the Cross in which He met the demands of the righteousness of God against sin, satisfying the requirements of God's justice and canceling the guilt of man's sin!

When I Survey the Wondrous Cross
by Isaac Watts, 1707
(play)

When I survey the wondrous cross
On which the Prince of glory died,
My richest gain I count but loss,
And pour contempt on all my pride.

Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast,
Save in the death of Christ my God!
All the vain things that charm me most,
I sacrifice them to His blood.

See from His head, His hands, His feet,
Sorrow and love flow mingled down!
Did e’er such love and sorrow meet,
Or thorns compose so rich a crown?

His dying crimson, like a robe,
Spreads o’er His body on the tree;
Then I am dead to all the globe,
And all the globe is dead to me.

Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were a present far too small;
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all.

IN HIS BLOOD THROUGH FAITH: dia (tes) pisteos en to autou haimati  (Ro 5:1,9,11; Isa 53:11; Jn 6:47,53-58; Col 1:20-23; Heb 10:19,20)

Blood (1298) (haima) is the basis of individual life, as the fluid that circulates in the heart, arteries, capillaries, and veins of a vertebrate animal carrying nourishment and oxygen to and bringing away waste products from all parts of the body. Blood carries life-sustaining elements to all parts of the body; therefore it represents the essence of life. In contrast, the shedding of blood represents the shedding of life, i.e., death (cf. Ge 9:4). Note that "blood" is used here to indicate a violent death.

Moses records that...

"the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement (from an Anglo-Saxon word which means ‘a making at one’ = it points to a process of bringing those who are estranged into a unity) for your souls; for it is the blood by reason of the life that makes atonement (the act by which God restores a relationship of harmony and unity between Himself and human beings)." (Lev 17:11) (Comment: The principle behind atonement is life for life. Since the wages of sin is death, symbolized by the shedding of blood, so “without the shedding of blood is no remission.” Shed blood (death) from a substitute atones for or covers the sinner, who is then allowed to live. Forgiveness does not come because the penalty of sin is excused, but because it is transferred to a sacrifice whose lifeblood is poured out.

When Jesus inaugurated the New Covenant He announced that...

this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for (huper = on behalf of = implies substitution = He died both for us and in our place!) many for forgiveness of sins. (Mt 26:28)

In Romans 5 Paul reiterates that justification is based on the blood of Jesus Christ writing...

Therefore having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ... Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. (see notes Romans 5:1, Ro 5:9)

Through (1223) (dia) is a marker of instrument by which something is accomplished, and so conveys the idea of "by means of". The sacrifice of Christ becomes effective through the faith which appropriates it.

Faith (1298) (pistis) (Click in depth study of pistis) is synonymous with trust or belief and is the conviction of the truth of anything, but in Scripture usually speaks of belief  respecting man's relationship to God and divine things, generally with the included idea of trust and holy fervor born of faith and joined with it. As pistis relates to God, it is the conviction that God exists and is the Creator and Ruler of all things well as the Provider and Bestower of eternal salvation through the sacrifice of His only Son Jesus Christ. As faith relates to Christ it represents a strong and welcome conviction or belief that Jesus is the Messiah, through Whom we obtain eternal salvation and entrance into the Kingdom of Heaven. Stated another way, eternal salvation comes only through belief in Jesus Christ and no other way.

Wayne Grudem defines faith that saves one's soul...

THIS WAS TO DEMONSTRATE HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS: eis endeixin tes dikaiosunes: (Ro 3:26; Ps 22:31; 40:10; 50:6; 97:6; 119:142; 1Jn 1:10)

Demonstrate (1732) (endeixis from endeíknumi = show forth <> en = in, to + deíknumi = expose to eyes and give proof, make known by visual, auditory, or linguistic means) means a pointing out (particularly with the finger). It is something that points to or serves as an indicator of something else and hence is synonymous with a sign, an indication, evidence, verification. It describes the means by which one knows that something is a fact. It is something that compels acceptance of something mentally or emotionally and thus serves as a demonstration or a proof.