John Stott- The Cross of Christ (why do I only blog on the atonement)

I know I only tend to blog on the atonement. but I will not apologise.(no!!!)

Having to re-read John Stott's Classic text on penal substitution, I found to my surprise that the key point that I had been trying to convince Adrian of was in fact made by Stott:

We must not, then, speak of God punishing Jesus or of Jesus persuading God, for to do so is to set them over against each other as if they acted independently of each other or were even in conflict with each other.(pg 151)


and further

There is no question new either of the Father inflicting punishment on the Son or of the Son intervening on our behalf with the Father, for it is the Father himself ho takes the initiative in his love, bears the penalty of sin himself and so dies. (pg 152)]


where perhaps I must differ from Stott is his claim in a strife in the attributes of God such that:

Divine love triumphed over divine wrath by divine self-sacrifice (pg 159 and see further pg129)

It would seem, at least to me, that the divine wrath never triumphed so much in the vindication on God's holiness which is Jesus death. As Piper puts it:

So when the Son willingly took the suffering of that recompense on himself, every footfall on the way to Calvary echoed through the universe with this message: The glory of God is of infinite value! The glory of God is of infinite value! [pleasures of God 176]

There is no triumph of one attribute over another for they all aim at one thing the glory of God. Solo deo gloria!