Most Christians believe in vicarious atonement, meaning they believe we are redeemed by Jesus taking the punishment for our sins. But the Bible clearly says that everyone will be punished for their own sins (Exodus 32:31-33, Ezekiel 18:20). There is also very little support for vicarious atonement among the stories and parables of the Bible.
A more Biblical view of atonement has been hidden by a heresy in the early centuries of Christianity. The Gnostics had some blasphemous ideas, but not everything they believed should be completely disregarded.
The Gnostics believe there is a struggle between the spirit (which is good) and the flesh (which is evil). This is wrong because God said that the world, including the flesh, was good before the fall of Adam and Eve. After the fall of Adam and Eve, Jesus said that the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. The flesh is not evil; it is weak and manipulated by evil spiritual forces. The spirit is good and without sin, but the spirit and flesh are permanently and completely attached.
If the Lord becomes human and lives a perfect life, His resurrection to eternal life is justified. He can discard His flesh on the Day of Judgment, and this will break the bonds between the spirit and flesh. This will justify discarding the flesh of all the children of God. This is called separation atonement, and it means all the children of God are redeemed by Christ, even the ones who are not Christians.
Vicarious atonement has little Biblical support, but separation is a dominant theme in the Bible. God created the world by separating things. God separated the Hebrews from the Egyptians by separating the water of the Red Sea. Circumcision, the sprinkling of blood, separating goats and lambs, separating wheat and tares, it all points to separation atonement.
Jesus said, if your eye offends, then pluck it out. If a person is part evil, remove the part that is evil and keep the part that is good.
But separation is only part of our redemption. The Lord must also destroy the evil spirits, and that required Him to suffer on the cross.
The bread of the Last Supper represents the body of Christ that is given up for us (separation atonement), but the wine of the Last Supper represents the crucifixion which destroys evil.
Water is associated with separation in both Genesis and Exodus. The water that flowed from the side of Christ represents the separation of flesh and spirit. The blood that flowed from the side of Christ represents the crucifixion which destroys evil.
How did the suffering of Christ on the cross destroy evil? That is the subject of another article.
