Quote of the Week: Berkhof

On the Purpose and Extent of the Atonement (pg 392)

It should be emphasized first of all that the atonement effected no change in the inner being of God, which is unchangeable.  The only change that was brought about was a change in the relation of God to the objects of His atoning love.  He was reconciled to those who were the objects of His judicial wrath.  This means that His wrath was warded off by the sacrificial covering of their sin.  The atonement should not be represented as the moving cause of the love of God, for it was already an expression of His love.  It is often represented as if, on the satisfaction theory, that God could not love the sinner until His just demands were met.  But then the fact is overlooked that Christ is already the gift of God's love, John 3:16.  At the same time it is perfectly true that the atonement did remove obstacles to the manifestation of God's redeeming love in the pardoning of sinners and in their sanctification, by satisfying the justice of God and the demands of the law. . .

Systematic Theology, Louis Berkof