“Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;”
God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished. The hilastērion (mercy seat, place of propitiation, or expiation) is set forth through Christ's blood (haima). The sacrifice functions to demonstrate God's righteousness—his commitment to justice and covenant faithfulness. Through forbearance, God had temporarily overlooked prior sins, yet his justice demanded ultimate satisfaction.
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