The doctrine of the atonement is central in the Bible. When Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, they broke the close fellowship they had with God. To restore that fellowship, it was necessary for God to accomplish the atonement. The Hebrew word used in the Old Testament for atonement means “to cover.” The Greek word used in the New Testament is a word that means “reconciliation.” Our English word implies a restoration of fellowship, being “at one.” For man to have his sins covered, to be reconciled or at one with God, the atonement was necessary.

The ultimate accomplishment of the atonement could come about only through God’s actions. The whole Bible describes this activity, culminating in the sacrifice of Christ as an atonement for man’s sins. God put everything in place to make this possible. “When the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons” (Galatians 4:4-5).

Adam and Eve rebelled against God’s will, bringing sin into the world. God gave them the choice of all trees in the garden, with one exception: “Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die” (Genesis 2:16-17). Like Adam and Eve, we must bear the consequences of sin—not for their sin, but for our own. “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). We deserve spiritual death because of our sin, but through Christ we can live.

From the beginning, God showed that because of the serious nature of sin, the atonement could come about only through the shedding of blood, the giving of life for life. “Almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission” (Hebrews 9:22). God shed the blood of animals to cover Adam and Eve when they left the garden (Genesis 3:21). From Abel to Noah to Job to other patriarchs, faithful men offered sacrifices to God, requiring the shedding of blood.

God told Abraham, “Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of” (Genesis 22:2). As he was about to kill Isaac, the angel of the Lord stopped him, saying, “I know that thou fearest God, seeing that thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.” Though he did not kill Isaac, it was still necessary to offer a sacrifice, so God provided a ram for the sacrifice, for the shedding of blood (Genesis 22:11-14). The sacrifices of the patriarchs, as well as the sacrifices under the Mosaic system, were in preparation for the ultimate sacrifice of Christ. “For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life” (Romans 5:10). For this cause, “We preach Christ crucified” (1 Corinthians 1:22).