God the Father is spiritually pure, incorruptible, and undefiled, while humanity is corrupt and defiled, creating a chasm of judgment and wrath that separates man from God. Propitiation is the provision God offers through the atoning blood and sacrifice of Jesus Christ to bridge this formidable divide. It signifies what Christ became for all mankind—a sacrifice capable of bearing and absorbing God's judgment while turning His justifiable wrath to favor. Propitiation is necessary because humanity's sinful nature stands in defiance of God's sacred law and holiness, earning the death penalty and causing separation from Him. Jesus Christ, sinless and held in the highest regard by God, was required to intercede for humanity, atoning for human sin and guilt to alter mankind's standing before God and God's disposition toward humanity. His perfect, sacrificial life and death satisfied the law's legal requirement that there is a price for every person's sins, paid once for all by His shed blood. As the antitype of the unblemished sin offering, only a sinless Christ could appeal to God the Father as our Advocate without compromising His righteousness or law, thereby reconciling the repentant person to God. Propitiation originates with God the Father, who foreordained Christ from before the foundation of the world to provide this special means of salvation, knowing man would sin. This process does not change God, who remains immutable, but alters His disposition by appeasing His wrath and providing the means to restore the relationship that existed before sin between Him and humanity. For a sinner to take advantage of Christ's propitiatory sacrifice, repentance, acceptance of Jesus Christ as personal Savior, and baptism are required to receive the benefit of this sacrifice, which has rendered God propitious toward all men, converted and unconverted.

From the moment of Adam's and Eve's first sins, mankind was separated from his divine Creator, and the friendly relationship that existed between them was destroyed. However, long before the creation took place, in anticipation of mankind's sinful ways, God had instituted a means to satisfy the righteous demands of His law and restore the favorable relationship, without which there could be no legal provision for their salvation from an inevitable judgment of death. Continuing the study of propitiation, the focus turns to three closely related Greek terms used by New Testament authors, alternately translated as propitiation, mercy seat, or merciful. These terms—hilasterion, hilasmos, and hilaskomai—point to the foundational elements behind God's will to cover and forgive mankind's sins: His grace and mercy. Each term, derived from the Greek word hileos, defined as cheerful or propitious, reflects God's gracious and merciful nature. The term hilasterion refers to the lid of the Ark of the Covenant, known as the Mercy Seat, where on the Day of Atonement, the high priest sprinkled blood as the original manner of atonement. In another usage, hilasterion describes Jesus Christ's atoning sacrifice and reconciliation by His blood. The term hilasmos describes Christ as the propitiation for sins, indicating that His sacrifice satisfied the legal requirements of God's law and holiness for the punishment of sin, making Him our Advocate through an ultimate act of mercy and grace. Finally, hilaskomai, translated as be merciful or to make propitiation for, underscores God's willingness to display grace and be mercifully reconciled to His repentant creation through the blood of His only begotten Son. From before the foundation of the world, God the Father and the Word, who became Jesus Christ, prepared a perfect plan allowing the demands of the law and the Father's holiness to be satisfied through Christ's propitiatory sacrifice as the payment for all of mankind's sins.