约壹四10　不是我们爱神，乃是神爱我们，差祂的儿子，为我们的罪作了平息的祭物，在此就是爱了。

　　来二17　所以祂凡事该与祂的弟兄一样，为要在关于神的事上，成为怜悯、忠信的大祭司，好为百姓的罪成就平息。
　　在路加十八章十三节，我们看见那被藐视、受控告、被定罪的税吏，降卑自己到极点的祷告：“那税吏却远远地站着，连举目望天也不敢，只捶着胸说，神啊，宽恕我这个罪人！”这话含示他需要救赎主，也需要平息。税吏晓得自己犯罪，何等得罪神，因此向神求平息，借着遮罪的祭物得神宽恕，使神能怜悯并恩待他。
　　主耶稣基督为我们的罪，将自己当作祭物献给神（来九18），不仅为救赎我们，更为着满足神的要求，平息我们与神之间的关系。因此，祂是我们在神面前平息的祭物（路加福音生命读经，四〇六至四〇七页）。

　　1 John 4:10 Herein is love, not that we have loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son as a propitiation for our sins.

　　Heb. 2:17 Hence He should have been made like His brothers in all things that He might become a merciful and faithful High Priest in the things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.

　　In Luke 18:13 we see that the despised, accused, and condemned tax collector prayed in the way of humbling himself to the uttermost: "But the tax collector, standing at a distance, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, God, be propitiated to me, the sinner!" This word implies the need of a Redeemer and also the need of propitiation. The tax collector realized how his sinfulness offended God. Hence, he asked God to be propitiated, to be appeased toward him by a propitiation, so that God may be merciful and gracious to him.

　　The Lord offered Himself to God as a sacrifice for our sins (Heb. 9:28), not only for our redemption but also for God's satisfaction. In Him as our Substitute, through His vicarious death, God is satisfied and appeased. Hence, He is the propitiation between God and us. (Life-study of Luke, p. 354)

　　基督……是平息的祭物，也是神与祂所救赎之人相会的平息处。平息处是由出埃及二十五章十七节约柜上的遮罪盖所预表的。约柜是神与人相会的地方，约柜的盖下放着十条诫命的律法，暴露人的罪并定罪人。约柜的盖上有两个基路伯，代表神的荣耀并注视人的每一行动。暴露并定罪人的律法，表征照着律法而有之神的圣别与公义的要求；注视人的基路伯，表征照着神的彰显而有之神荣耀的要求。除非这些要求得以履行，神得着满足，否则罪人就无法接触神，神也无法与人来往。然而，借着约柜的盖，连同遮罪日洒在其上遮罪的血，罪人的整个光景就完全得着遮盖（新约总论第十册，一六至一七页）。
　　在希伯来二章十七节保罗用hilaskomai，希拉斯哥迈这字，意思是成就平息，满足一方的要求，而使双方和息相安，因此是指平息的事。按照十七节，主耶稣为我们的罪成就平息，满足神对我们公义的要求，而使我们与神和好。
　　有时候译者对希拉斯特利昂、希拉斯模斯、希拉斯哥迈这些字感到为难。希拉斯特利昂是指平息的地方；希拉斯模斯是指平息的祭物；而希拉斯哥迈的意思是成就平息。当一方欠了另一方的债，而无法满足该方的要求与条件时，就需要平息。假设第三方出现了，偿还了头一方所欠的，使第二方满意于这项偿付，他就可以在两造之间解决问题。这正是主耶稣所作的：把祂自己献上作为平息的祭物，以解决我们与神之间的难处（出埃及记生命读经，一一九七页）。
　　平息的意思是使我们与神成为一，因为我们与神之间有了间隔。使我们离开神，使我们不可能与神有直接交通的问题，乃是我们的罪。我们的罪使我们离开神的同在，并拦阻神临到我们。所以，我们需要平息，满足神的要求。基督为我们的罪在十字架上成就了平息，满足了神对我们公义的要求，为使我们与神和好（来二17）。祂在十字架上为我们献上自己作平息的祭物，解决我们与神之间的难处（约壹二2，四10）。基督在祂的死里为我们成就了平息，并带我们归向神，使我们与神成为一（新约总论第十册，一六页）。
　　参读：出埃及记生命读经，第八十六至八十八篇。

　　Christ is the propitiatory sacrifice, and He is also the propitiation place where God can meet with His redeemed people. The propitiation place is typified in Exodus 25:17 by the sin-covering lid on the Ark. The Ark was the place where God met with people. Underneath the lid of the Ark was the law of the Ten Commandments exposing the sinfulness of the people and condemning them; above the lid of the Ark were the two cherubim representing God's glory and observing every action of the people. The exposing and condemning law signifies the requirements of God's holiness and His righteousness according to the law, and the observing cherubim signify the requirements of God's glory according to the expression of God. Unless these requirements were fulfilled and God was satisfied, there was no way for sinners to contact God and for God to communicate with them. However, by the lid of the Ark with the propitiating blood sprinkled on it on the Day of Expiation, the entire situation on the sinner's side was fully covered. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, p. 3026)

　　In Hebrews 2:17 Paul uses the Greek word hilaskomai, which means to appease, to reconcile one by satisfying the other's demand; hence, it means to propitiate. According to Hebrews 2:17, the Lord Jesus made propitiation for our sins to reconcile us to God by satisfying God's righteous demands on us.

　　Translators sometimes have had difficulty with the words hilasterion, hilasmos, and hilaskomai. Hilasterion denotes the place of propitiation; hilasmos denotes a propitiatory sacrifice; and hilaskomai means to propitiate. Propitiation is needed when one party is indebted to another and unable to meet that party's demands and requirements. Should a third party appear on the scene, he may solve the problem between the first two parties by paying what the first party owes and causing the second party to be satisfied with this payment. This is precisely what the Lord Jesus did in offering Himself as the propitiatory sacrifice to solve our problems with God. (Life-study of Exodus, pp. 1034-1035)

　　Propitiation means to make us one with God because there had been a separation between us and God. The problem that kept us from God, that made it impossible for us to have direct fellowship with Him, was our sins. Our sins kept us away from God's presence and hindered God from coming to us. Therefore, we needed propitiation to appease God's demands. Christ accomplished this on the cross when He made propitiation for our sins in order to reconcile us to God by satisfying God's righteous demands on us (Heb. 2:17). On the cross He offered Himself as the propitiatory sacrifice for our sins to solve our problems with God (1 John 2:2; 4:10). In His death He propitiated for us and brought us back to God, making us one with God. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, pp. 3025-3026)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of Exodus, msgs. 86-87