Greetings,
When you corrupt the clear statements and teachings from God's Word with personal philosophy you can only end up with beliefs which are unsupported by Scripture.
Where in scripture does it say Almighty God had to die (or even could die) for puny humans? Where does it indicate that a ransom had to be *in excess* of that which was lost?
Even more important the ideas expressed in your comments are directly contradicted by what the Bible says about the ransom. The Bible holds no implication of "theocide." Scripture always says God's *Son,* came as a *human* and died as the ransom, never Jehovah God. It also explicitly states that this *one* human death paid the ransom for *all* humankind.
Let's examine what the Scriptures say was required, according to justice, to pay the ransom.
First Rom. 5:12ff says that "Sin came into the world through ONE MAN...For if the many died by the trespass of the *one man*, how much more did God's grace and the gift that came by the grace of the ONE MAN, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many...For if, by the trespass of the ONE MAN, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the ONE MAN, Jesus Christ. 18. Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for ALL MEN, so also the result of *one act* of righteousness was justification that brings life for ALL MEN. For just as through the disobedience of the ONE MAN the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the ONE MAN the many will be made righteous." -NIV
Now, what was the ransom price according to this Scripture? It was not Almighty God himself but was ONE MAN who corresponded exactly to Adam. It says explicitly that "death spread to ALL humans" through ONE MAN and then through ONE MAN life was restored to ALL humans!
Next, 1Cor.15:44-45 irrefutably equates Christ to "the first man Adam" calling him the "last Adam." Again, just as the one man Adam lost life for all humans, the one perfect man Christ gained it back for all humans. 1Corinthians 15:22 confirms this: "For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. "
2 Corinthians 5:14 also disputes any idea that it would take a divine being to pay the ransom price. Because *one man* died it was equal to all men dying. The price for all men was paid because of the perfect man Jesus dying.
All these verses show that if all men could lose life through one man then it is obvious that all men would regain life through one man.
Other scriptures confirm that when the "ONE MAN" Christ died it was as if all humans had died (2Cor.5:21).
That is why the ransom is called a "substitute" or "corresponding" (ANTILUTRON) one. Because it was a substitute for all human life and it corresponded exactly to what the perfect man Adam lost.
"For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, A MAN, Christ Jesus, who gave himself a corresponding ransom for ALL..."--1Tim.2:5-6
Here again it clearly states that "ONE MAN" paid the equivalent price for ALL. The Almighty God and creator was not the ANTILUTRON for puny humans.
Hebrews 2:7-9 says that Christ as a human and "less than angels" still "tasted death for EVERY human."
The Bible repeatedly states that it was "flesh and blood" or "human life" that he gave to ransom ALL mankind not a divine nature (Jn. 6:50-58; Mt.20:28; Heb. 2:14-15).
Isa.53:11-12 says it was not "God" but God's "servant" who would pay the ransom. Again, ONE individual would carry the sins of many by his death (Cf. Isa.53:4-6).
What do we see from these? Again, according to explicit Scripture, and not some personal assumptions, the ransom was paid by "ONE MAN." It doesn't say some god-man or even an angel, but "flesh and blood," a human.
The Scriptures clearly state that ONE HUMAN lost eternal life, and ONE HUMAN life bought it back. A perfect human provided the ransom which met the legal requirements of divine justice. The one man Christ could provide the Ransom because he was a *perfect* man like Adam, but without sin (1Pet.1:18,19; 2:22; Heb.4:15; 7:26; 9:14; 2Cor.5:21).
God made the requirements and saw to it that they were met. How could one man ransom millions? The same way one man could condemned millions. Just as Adam had innumerable millions within his genes, Jesus also had innumerable millions within his genes, and so the price of divine justice was paid. "A life for a life."
The scriptures never say Almighty GOD had to die. The term "ransom" denotes an "equal payment," not an over- payment. Justice does not demand more to be paid than necessary. Really, can we reasonably elevate humans to the level that it would require God, the Almighty Creator to die as a ransom? How presumptuous this would be! Please explain to me how justice would require the Almighty to die as a propitiation for any creatures. Show me any Scripture that even insinuates such an idea. Show me how this would not be a contradiction of God's Word: "Surely you, Yahweh, are from ancient times, my holy God, who never dies!"-- Hab.1:12 JER (Dan.6:26; Ps. 90:1, 2 etc.)
Thus Almighty God cannot die, yet Jesus did die. Thus Jesus is Not God (Acts 5:30; 1Cor. 15:3; cf. Nu 23:19).
If Jesus died, he cannot be God, for God cannot die. If Jesus is God, he cannot have died, for God cannot die. If Jesus did not in fact die then the ransom for mankind has not been paid. The Biblical teaching that Jesus died and was resurrected by God proves that Jesus and God are distinct and not equal in essence or ontologically
Many Trinitarians try to avoid the contradiction in their belief by resorting to a "two nature" theory. However, the argument that only the human part of Jesus died is a denial that God died for us. So the doctrine of the double nature of Christ not only conflicts with Scripture, it conflicts with the Trinitarian doctrine itself. If Jesus is the whole person and Jesus died, he cannot be immortal Deity. Trinitarians argue that only Deity is sufficient to provide the necessary atonement. But if the divine nature did not die, the ransom for mankind could not have been paid according to Trinitarian belief.
Jesus Christ, ONE perfect *human*, satisfied all the conditions required to balance God's scales of justice. Since Christ corresponded to the perfect pre-fall Adam he could pay the price of redemption that would release ALL of Adam's offspring from the enslavement to sin which came through the first human. This is a clear and easily understood teaching from God's own Word.
Yours,
BAR-ANERGES