The Children of God Scattered Abroad
A key text that describes exactly who all “the world” are for whom Christ was going to die is found in John 11:50-52, which reads: “Nor do you take into account that it is expedient for you that one man die for the people, and that the whole nation not perish. Now he did not say this on his own initiative, but being high priest that year, he [Caiaphas] prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation, and not for the nation only, but in order that He might also gather together into one the children of God who are scattered abroad” (NAS).
What is said concerning the Gentiles here that He would die for “the children of God who are scattered abroad”, is similarly to be understood of the Jewish nation—that Christ would die for all the remnant who were in that nation. Christ did not die for the entire nation of Israel, just as John says that He wasn’t to die for every Gentile in the world. What is true for all the elect Gentiles “scattered” throughout all the nations, is true also for all the elect Jews scattered within their nation. This is not an idle notion of ones own making. Paul, in Romans 9-11, clearly articulates this idea regarding both the Jews and the Gentiles, that “a remnant” out of each according to God’s election and grace were to be chosen by God (9:24, 28-29; 11:2-5). Similarly, Christ said, “I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep [Gentiles] that are not of this sheep pen [Israelites]. I must bring them also. They [the Gentiles] too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd” (Jhn. 10:15-16). And Paul again affirms for us in Eph. 5:25 that, “Christ loved the Church [Jews and Gentiles] and gave himself up for her.”
The promise to Abraham in Gen. 18:18 and 22:18 in the LXX that he would be a father of “all the nations” (Gk. panta ta ethneh) is likewise to be understood as John understood it above and as Paul has clearly demonstrated for us in Rom. 4:13, 16-18 and Gal. 3:29. And this Abrahamic promise was repeated verbatim when Christ told his disciples in Mat. 28:19 to make disciples of “all the nations” (panta ta ethneh). It was never understood in the mind of God that an atonement would be made for the entire world as all the verses above have attested to. Even the Day of Atonement in the OT was an institution that was only for God’s people (not the entire world), and was a “type” of what God was going to do only for His elect people. God’s plan was always to save a “remnant” according to the promise of His electing grace from out of both the Jews and the Gentiles, and no more. To make it for any “more” other than His elect is the mere sentiment and inventions of man. It was never so in the past before the cross, so why should it be any different after the cross? A strange love indeed this would be if God is said to die for all of the world after the cross and yet did not do anything for those prior to the cross. Did Christ die for all of those who were already in hell? Where was God’s love for them, if such a love for all the world is to be demonstrated?
Who Gets to Love Who?
Probably the greatest rebuttal of this idea of God’s omnibenevolence is this: Those of the Arminian persuasion should well consider why they demand that God have less freedom in His actions and His love than they grant to His created beings, man. The key problem here is that it demands that God’s love be indiscriminate. While man has the freedom to show “discriminating” love only to those closest to him with a particular love that is not given to anyone else; whereas God, on the other hand, is not granted such freedom. If He is to be “all loving,” so they say, then His love is to have no distinctions, no freedom, no particularity. “Love all the same, or love none at all,” is their motto. Such a notion is not to be found in the Bible.
Such an omnibenevolence is both unwarranted and unbiblical. Such a definition demands that God’s love be: 1) equally distributed to all men without any consideration of their actions or behavior (His prerogative for choosing justice as opposed to showing mercy is completely disregarded); 2) be of the same kind to all men indiscriminately (i.e., God cannot show His redemptive love to one and not to another). So, for such people, there cannot be any free choice in God choosing to love only some, as opposed to loving all. If He loves one, He must love all, equally, and in the same manner. Such a “free choice” to be allowed of God is considered despicable, while, on the other hand, it is completely acceptable for us to have. Who do we really think that we are to dictate to God how He should act, when we don’t even do the same things ourselves? Isn’t this being a bit (to put it mildly) hypocritical?
Just notice for one minute how such a notion is entirely unwarranted. Let’s just replace the word “love” with the word “grace”. Is God all gracious? Should He be? By the same definitions given above God would have to show equal grace to every single individual in the world. In such a scenario, God could not say as He has done so, “I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy” if this understanding of God’s grace and love were true, since it demands that all receive equal love, equal grace, equal mercy, equal justice, etc., etc. But such an ideology removes from God an attribute that others freely demand be given to themselves: the freedom of choice. Such a view is unwarranted, because it denies to the Master Potter what is rightfully His and conversely gives it only to His clay pots. Do clay pots have rights that the Potter isn’t suppose to have? The words of the Lord through Isaiah the prophet would be apropos here, “…will you command Me concerning My children and the work of My hands?” (45:11, ESV). This is not a statement by God as some have supposed that God is saying to “command Him” of Him to do something, but is understood more as a question towards those who would question God’s sovereignty. For in the context God is again referring to the pots who question the work of the Potter, “Woe to him who quarrels with his Maker, to him who is but a potsherd among the potsherds on the ground. Does the clay say to the Potter, ‘What are you making?’ Does your work say, ‘He has no hands?’ Woe to him who says to his father, ‘What have you begotten?’ or to his mother, ‘What have you brought to birth?’” (vv. 9-10, NIV). Even Wesley, who was an arminian, wrote concerning this verse: “Thus [He] saith - Will you not allow me that liberty which yourselves take, of disposing of my own children and works, as I see fit?
God has created us with the ability to love. We love those who are closest to us with a special, discriminating love. It is our right to do so. A mother loves her children with a love utterly unlike that which she might have for her cousins or co-workers. Even the love for her husband (or a husband for his wife) is similarly a different kind of a love, as is the love for brothers and sisters, and even with that of our closest friends. We exercise freedom of choice in our love relationships. We love in different capacities, and we know how costly true love can be sometimes. Even the Lord Jesus exercised the right to have special relationships among His disciples. The Scriptures even speak of the disciple whom “Jesus loved” (Jhn. 20:2). Mary and Martha told Jesus concerning Lazerus, that “the one You love is sick” (Jhn. 11:3). Clearly, this shows His freedom to have a closer relationship with some more so rather than others.
But, interestingly, what is commonly acceptable for human beings to exercise, is seemingly denied to God. While people argue all the while that humans have the ability, or desire, to discriminate and choose whom they will love more so than others, such a notion of God having the very same abilities, is denied to Him. How anyone can make the claim that unless God loves each and every individual indiscriminately with His redeeming love, then He can’t love any at all, is absolutely unconscionable and unscriptural. With such a worldview, God cannot have grace upon whom He chooses to have grace upon, and cannot have mercy upon whom He will have mercy upon—let alone harden those whom He wants to harden (Rom. 9:18).
John Murray wrote:
Finally, we have the most cogent consideration of all. “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ ?…For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 8:35-39). Paul is here affirming in the most emphatic way, in one of the most rhetorical conclusions of his epistles, the security of those of whom he has been speaking. The guarantee of this security is the love of God which is in Christ Jesus. And the love here spoken of is undoubtedly the love of God towards those who are embraced in it [“us all”, v. 32]. Now the inevitable inference is that the love from which it is impossible to be separated and which guarantees the bliss of those who are embraced in it is the same love that must be alluded to earlier in the passage when Paul says, “He that spared not his own Son but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? “ (v. 32). It is surely the same love, called in verse 39 “the love of God which is in Christ Jesus,” that constrained the Father to deliver up his own son. This means that the love implied in verse 32, the love of giving the Son, cannot be given a wider reference than the love which, according to verses 35-39, insures the eternal security of those who are its objects [the “elect”, v. 33]. If not all men enjoy this security, how can that which is the source of this security and guarantee of its possession embrace those who enjoy no such security? We see, therefore, that the security of which Paul here speaks is a security restricted to those who are the objects of the love which was exhibited on Calvary’s accursed tree, and therefore the love exhibited on Calvary is itself a distinguishing love and not a love that is indiscriminately universal. It is a love that insures the eternal security of those who are its objects and Calvary itself is that which secures for them the justifying righteousness through which eternal life reigns. And this is just saying that the atonement which Calvary accomplished is not itself universal (Redemption Accomplished and Applied, pp. 68-69).
The Verses in Question
Now every verse that says Christ “died” or “gave” Himself up for “all,” “many,” or the “world,” must be understood in the light of all that has been said above. It is a mistake to work outwardly from these verses in determining what they mean, and then inwardly to determine whether or not one should believe in the doctrine of divine election or in the fact that Christ died only for His sheep, or not. One should first work inwardly from all the clear passages of Scripture that teach on the doctrine of God’s divine election, and then outwardly to ascertain what “all,“ “world,” and “many” are indeed referring to. Even a cursory view of some of the Scriptures bulleted below show that not everyone is always necessarily intended. When one begins to work from the clear teachings of Scripture on this subject, to the vague and obscure passages of Scripture, one will begin to realize that such verses are only written for our benefit and to let us know what God has done for us; for His elect Gentiles, as well as His elect Jews. And furthermore, it is to show the Jews that the promise of the Abrahamic covenant was not just for them. So to try and make many of these verses apply to the entire world is doing the world no favors (except for the elect understanding these things, the world could care less), but it is doing all believers a great disfavor by taking what rightfully belongs to them and handing it over to what the bible denotes as “dogs.” And it seems that many Christians are doing this in order to make the gospel more palatable to the whole world. They want to make God’s promises and love more inclusive of a world in which God has not included. But again, these verses are not for the world. They are for us, in order to encourage all of us Gentiles who were at one time outside the covenant of promise, but are now included. We Gentiles are “the world,” beyond the elect Jews within the nation of Israel, that God has also now “so loved.” Just as He loved Jacob over Esau, so too does He now love many of us over others. God “so loved” is not quantitative, but qualitative. It goes beyond His common grace and love that provides rain on both the just and the unjust; to His elected wife He spreads His garment over us of whom the Israelites were a type (Ezk. 16:8).
Before exegeting a number of passages of Scripture where the words “all,” “world,” and “many” are used, below is a list of some verses that will serve to show us clearly that “all” doesn’t always mean every single individual on earth, and “world” doesn’t always mean the entire world:
- Mat. 26:13, “shall be preached in the whole world.” (many have never heard).
- Mk. 1:5, “And there went out unto him all the country of Judea, and all they of Jerusalem; and they were baptized of him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.” (many scribes and Pharisees didn’t go out to John the Baptist to be baptized. And neither did any Gentiles).
- Lke. 2:1, “that all the world should be taxed.” (those countries outside of Rome’s rule were not taxed).
- Lke. 3:15, “and all men mused in their hearts.” (not everyone; even Gentiles could not be included here).
- Lke. 21:17, Jesus told His disciples that they would be “hated of all men” for His name’s sake, but this wasn't true of every single person in the world. Many received them with open arms. Jesus could only be talking about all kinds of men.
- Jhn. 3:26, “and all men come unto him [ie. John the Baptist].” (some didn’t: Jhn. 7:30).
- Jhn. 8:2, “and all people came unto Him [Jesus].” (not all: many scribes and Pharisees did not come unto Jesus).
- Jhn. 12:19, “Behold, the world is gone after Him.” (many of the scribes and Pharisees didn’t; even the Gentiles hadn’t gone after Him at this time).
- Jhn. 12:32, “I will draw all men unto Me.” (not all men are drawn. In fact, it was Jesus who said that only those given to Him by the Father would be “drawn”, Jhn. 6:37, 44, 65).
- Jhn. 18:20, “I have spoken openly to the world.” (the entire world was not openly spoken to).
- Acts 4:21, “all men glorified God for that which was done.” (many of the scribes and Pharisees didn’t. And neither did all men from all over the world glorify God for the healing of this lame man).
- Acts 21:28, Paul was accused of “teaching all men everywhere against the people, and the law, and this place.” (we are not to believe that every single Jew on the earth heard Paul teaching these things, and neither are we to suppose this to be true of all Gentiles.
1. Mat. 1:21: “She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins” (NIV).
This does not refer only to the Jewish nation, for Christ’s people (or sheep) were never the Jews as a race, but only all those (Jews and Gentiles) who would exercise the same faith as Abraham (Jhn. 8:39-47; Rom. 4:16-17; Gal. 3:29). This verse also says that Christ is going to do something which clearly wasn’t to happen to all (i.e., “he will save”), otherwise this verse would be teaching universalism. It can only be speaking of those whom He truly saves. This is also why Christ was called “Jesus”. It wasn’t just to make people savable, but to actually save. He was not to be a Savior in name only, but in deed and in power. “I will call them My people who were not My people, and I will call her My loved one who is not My loved one” (Rom. 8:25). He is the God “who calls those things that are not, as though they were” (Rom. 4:17), only for the reason that it is His good pleasure to do so. It is not according to him who wills (chooses) or runs (makes any self efforts), but according to Him who shows mercy. To God be all the glory! Amen and amen.
2. Mat. 23:37: “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing” (NIV).
Often this verse is quoted to say that Christ had longed to gather the scribes and Pharisees, but that they were not “willing” to come to Him, thereby showing that it was their wills that kept them out of the kingdom of God, not God. First of all, for someone to “will” not to come to Christ says nothing of God’s ability to make any of us willing to come to Him in the day of His power (Psm. 110:3; Jer. 31:18; Jhn. 6:44, 65). Without His Holy Spirit graciously acting upon our unregenerated hearts none of us would seek after God (Rom. 3:11-12; 8:7-8). We can no more “will” to come of our own volition than an Ethiopian can change the color of his skin, or a leopard his spots (Jer. 13:23).
Secondly, Jesus did not say He was longing to gather these rebellious scribes and Pharisees, but only their “children”. This passage comes on the heels of the proclamations of judgments upon these leaders of Israel, and especially verse 13, which reads, “Woe to you teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to.”
Who is Jerusalem? The context shows us that it is not the entire nation of Israel that Jesus had in mind, but only these Jewish leaders who represented the nation of Israel and of whom Paul also said is in bondage with her children (Gal. 4:25). Jesus is condemning these Jewish leaders, and it is them that He is referring to, not their children. The ones the Lord said He desired to gather were not the ones whom He said were “not willing”. These leaders would not allow Him “to gather” their children who were willing to come to Him. These “children” were being hindered from coming to Christ and it was some of those that He was longing to gather. The common people seemed inclined to want to follow after Christ, but the chief priests and rulers did all that they could to prevent it, even passing judgment that all those who confess Jesus as the Messiah be put out of their synagogues (Jhn. 12:43-43). There is no proof here of men resisting the operations of the Holy Spirit, but only of obstructions by these Jewish leaders that were thrown in the way of the people to prevent them from following Christ.
3. Mk. 10:45: “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (NIV). Included with this verse is also Mat. 20:28 and 26:28.
This is the same “many” that are “made righteous” by the one work of Christ in Rom. 5:19, as opposed to the “many” that are “made sinners” by the one work of Adam. The “many” in Adam are not the same “many” that are in Christ. Refer to the commentary of those passages for a better understanding on all of this. Also see commentary on Isaiah 53 below for the “many” who are justified.
4. Jhn. 1:7: “He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all [Gk. pantes] men might believe” (NIV).
The subject for which the pronoun “him” here in verse 7, and in verse 8, refers to is John the Baptist. John the Baptist came not as a witness to testify concerning the Light to the Gentiles, but to only the Jews. So at a maximum the “all men” could only be the Jews. So “all men” here does not mean every single person in the world. And this can’t even infer that all Jews even personally heard him, for there were Jews in other countries who did not live in the regions where John preached. So the “all men” who “might believe” can only mean at best, all those of the Jews who would believe; both rich or poor, bond or free, old men as well as young men, and even children.
- Jhn. 1:9: “The true light that gives light to every man [Gk. panta anthropon] was coming into the world” (NIV). Just as “all” of the Jews were not to believe out of the Jews under John the Baptist’s ministry, so too under Christ’s ministry each and “every man” is not to be understood of every single human being that has ever lived since the time of Christ. This is very clearly understood with regards to John’s ministry, and it should be no less clear with regards to Christ’s ministry. The idea here being of not that which is collective of the whole, but personal for the few; while yet still being universal in scope, and while not now just being necessarily restrictive to the Jews.
In contradistinction to John, the Light of Christ was to go out unto all the nations in fulfillment of the Abrahamic promise in order that many of the Gentiles, as well as of those of the Jews, might be partakers of this Light. Even as Simeon declared in Lke. 2:31-32, “which You have prepared in the sight of all people, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to Your people Israel.” The words “every man” can only be understood, at the most, as every man to whom this light is given to. The text says no more, and no less, than that.
The Expositor’s Bible Commentary notes: “The text should be understood to mean, not that He had already illumined everyone, but that His function would be to give the light of truth to all whom His ministry would affect, whether in greater or lesser degree” (by Merrill C. Tenney, vol. 9, p. 31).
“The phrase coming into the world…must not be understood as modifying every man…, as the A. V. renders it. The Gospel of John does not contain any undisputed passage in which the expression coming into the world refers to the birth of an ordinary human being. On the other hand, it is customary for the apostle to speak of Christ as the One who came into the world: 3:19; 9:39; 11:27; 12:46; 16:28 and 18:37 [see also 6:14]. Also note that in verse 10 the subject is still Christ” (William Hendriksen, New Testament Comm., John, vol. 1, p. 79).
5. Jhn. 1:29: “The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (NIV)
In the context of John’s gospel, especially chapter 11:52, “the world” can only mean “the children of God that were scattered abroad” throughout the world, Christ’s “other sheep” (Jhn. 10:16) besides those out of the nation of Israel, that He knew, chose, and predestined in Himself from the foundation of the world to save (Rom. 8:29; Eph. 1:4-6).
6. Jhn. 3:16: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (NIV).
In the context of Jhn. 11:52, “the world” can only mean “the children of God that were scattered abroad”. Again, “the world” does not mean the entire world, for not everyone in the world hears of such love, but all those who are Christ’s sheep will hear His voice (Jhn. 10:16, 26). In fact, the Holy Spirit on occasion even forbid Paul to enter some countries and cities (Acts 16:6-8). Again, what a strange love that some say is “for all” that forbids such a love to be proclaimed to only some individuals, while restricting it to others. But, on the other hand, the gospel was proclaimed where God said He had “much people in this city” (Acts 18:10). And Luke tells us of some Gentiles that “all those who were appointed to eternal life believed” (Acts 13:48). There’s your “all”. It is “all those who were appointed to eternal life.” And what about all those before the cross 4,000 years earlier? Where was such a love from God to them? You cannot find it. There is no such love prior to the cross for the entire world, and neither is there such a love for all after the cross, for all just do not hear. And we know in Paul’s case that some were even forbidden to hear. So is this love something that God supposedly loves the entire world with? Clearly, it is not.
Although pointless to even argue after all that is said above, there are those who would try to make a case where the word “world” in verses 17 and thereon seems to denote the world of all the ungodly from both the elect and non-elect, and therefore must be similarly understood in verse 16. But such an inversion of the usage and meanings of this word “world” are not uncommon with John, even within their very same contexts. A couple of examples are in Jhn. 1:10 and 17:5-14. In Jhn. 17:5 its first usage is in the entire created order; secondly, in v. 9 it is referring to the unsaved; thirdly, in v. 13 it is a part of the world; and, fourthly, in v. 14 “they are not of the world”, is to be understood as John similarly used the word in 1Jhn. 2:15-17 of the worldly system of lust and pleasures. Then in Jhn. 4:42, there is even a fifth usage by John. The Samaritans understood that Christ was not just a Savior to Jews, but to other people in the world outside of the Jewish system. It refers to a people as depicted in Rev. 5:9 who are out of every kindred, nation, tribe and tongue. It is the same group that John mentions later from out of all the Gentiles who were not even saved, and yet called “the children of God that were scattered abroad” (Jhn. 11:52). Jesus had said in Jhn. 6:37 that all that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and whoever [of these given to Him by the Father] comes to Me I will never drive away” and “no one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him” (v. 44), and again, “no one can come to Me unless the Father has enabled him” (v. 65). In getting back to chapter seventeen, and all these who are to come out of the world, Jesus says, “For you granted Him authority over all people that He might give eternal life to all those You have given Him” (v. 2). So who are the “whoever” in 6:37 and who are the “all people” here in 17:2 that come to Christ and for which to them only He gives “eternal life” to? It is all these “children of God [the Father] scattered abroad”, given to Christ by the Father. Not one other individual is destined to receive it. This is “the world” in which God through Christ loves. And every one of them will come into the fold. And Jesus says He lays down His life for none other in the world, but for them only (Jhn. 10:11, 15). And again, in verse 29, He reiterates of these sheep whom He lays down His life for that it is, “My Father who has given them to Me…”
According to Romans chapter eight, all those whom God foreknew in eternity past, He predestines to be conformed to the image of His Son; and all those whom He predestined, He calls to such a privilege; all those He calls to such a privilege, He justifies; and all those He justifies, He glorifies. “What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God [the Father] is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave Him up for us all—how will He not also, along with Him, graciously give us all [these] things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen [elect]? It is God who justifies….For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight. In love He predestined us to be adopted as His sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will—to the praise of his glorious grace, which He has freely given us in the One He loves” (Rom. 8:31-33; Eph. 1:4-6). The word of God speaks for itself. His is that last word on all of this. He freely loves whom He wants to love. And He freely bestows grace and mercy upon those whom He has chosen. We who deserved wrath and condemnation He has freely chosen to clothe in righteousness. We didn’t decide to choose to receive His mercy and grace, but out of His mercy and grace He chose us. “So it is God who decides to show mercy. We can neither choose it nor work for it” (Rom. 9:16 NLT).
It was even so that God’s purpose according to His choice would stand, not because of works or anything done good or bad, but because of Him who calls, that it was said to Rebekah, “the older will serve the younger. Just as it is written, ‘Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated’” (Rom. 9:10-13). And this free choice of God’s was decided before either one had even been born. Furthermore, these verses negate the idea that God’s foreknowledge is just foreseeing on into the future what actions we will take. God’s choice is said here not to be based on any foreseen actions. “All that the Father gives” to Jesus, “will come to Him” based upon the sole purpose of Him choosing it to be so, even as with choosing Jacob over Esau, even before the foundation of the world—and even before we were born or had done anything good or evil. Paul even affirmed this very idea concerning himself when he said that God set him apart, even from birth (Gal. 1:15). John the Baptist is just another prime example. David likewise affirmed the very same thing (Psm. 139:16). The same thing is said of Jeremiah (1:5). When Christ said, “you did not choose Me, but I chose you”, He meant what He said and said what He meant. We chose Christ because the Father enabled us to do so based upon His free decision to give us unto His Son, and nothing more. That is exactly what John chapter six, verses 37-65 affirms. And in the day of such power upon us we willingly come (Psm. 110:3). He turns us, and we turn (Jer. 31:18). Alleluia for this amazing love wherewith He has loved us!
7. Jhn. 4:42: “They said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world” (NIV).
These Samaritans knew they were unworthy of Christ’s appearance unto them, for they had no dealings with the Jews, and even worshipped at their own mountain and not in Jerusalem. So for them to say that Christ was the Savior of the World, they understood that salvation wasn’t just for the Jews. The Messiah spoken about in the prophets that was to be the Savior of the world was being realized with these Samaritans, and they understood it as such by making this proclamation. They were in no way affirming by making this proclamation that Christ was the Savior of the entire world, but only that His saving grace was extending beyond just the naturally born Jews encompassing the Abrahamic promise that he would be the father of many nations, and not just of one nation.
8. Jhn. 12:32: “But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto Myself” (NIV).
Of course, not “all men” are drawn unto Christ, so “all men” can only be understood how John understood it in 11:52 and 1Jhn. 2:2. It was to be from all kinds of people throughout the whole world and not just from an isolated and select group of people. This was in fulfillment of the promise made to Abraham that he would be a father of many nations, not just of one nation or ethnicity.
9. Jhn. 17:2: “For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him” (NIV).
The “all people” are “all those you [the Father] have given Him [Jesus].” This also agrees with Jhn. 6:37, which says: “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and whoever comes to Me I will never drive away.” The “whoever” that comes is “all” that the Father gives. “Whoever” can’t just be anyone, for then Jesus would be contradicting the statement He just made of “all that the Father gives Me.” So when we see verses like Jhn. 3:16 that say “whoever” believes in Him, we can clearly see from passages like Jhn. 6:37 and 17:2 that such people are limited to only “whoever” is given to Christ by the Father. These verses clearly reveal that it is not whosoever “can” come (as if anyone can just come of their own volition), but only whosoever is given by the Father, drawn, and enabled to come (Jhn. 6:44, 65).
Paul seems to elaborate on this idea of what “whoever” means in Rom. 10:11-13. There he clearly articulated who the “anyone” and “everyone” are. Salvation was not just of the Jews, “for there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on Him” (v. 12). The commands for all to come doesn’t annul the fact that all cannot come unless enabled by the Father to do so. For those who do not wish to come it shows them for whom they really are, and they are all judged on the basis of their obedience or disobedience to God’s commands. Augustine said it this way, “Grant what You command, and command what You will.” Everyone is responsible to observe God’s holy commands, but the ability to actually keep such commands can only come from God. This is graphically portrayed for us in 2 Chr. 30:6-12. In verses 8-9 king Hezekiah commands the Israelites to “not be stiff-necked”, to “submit to the Lord”, to “come to the sanctuary”, and to “return to the Lord.” Couriers are sent forth “from town to town in Ephraim and Manasseh, as far as Zebulun, but the people scorned and ridiculed them” (v. 10). But nevertheless, “some men of Asher, Manasseh and Zebulun humbled themselves and went to Jerusalem. Also in Judah the hand of God was on the people to give them unity of mind to carry out what the king and his officials had ordered, following the word of the Lord” (vv. 11-12). The king commanded what he willed, which was also “the word of the Lord”, and God granted to some to keep the command. It’s just that simple. This is the truth of the Scriptures taught throughout the Bible.
Even those who are said to have worked in all manner of craftsmanship in the tabernacle of Moses are said to have been “filled with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability and knowledge in all kinds of crafts….And He has given both him [Bezalel] and Oholiab…the ability to teach others. He has filled them with skill to do all kinds of work as craftsmen, designers, embroiderers in blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen, and weavers—all of them master craftsmen and designers. So Bezalel, Oholiab and every skilled person to whom the LORD has given skill and ability to know how to carry out all the work of constructing the sanctuary are to do the work just as the LORD has commanded. Then Moses summoned Bezalel and Oholiab and every skilled person to whom the LORD had given ability and who was willing to come and do the work” (Ex. 35:30-35; 36:1). Again, God “commanded” what He willed, and granted “ability” for some to do the work He had commanded. The Bible in Basic English reads concerning the last part of this verse, “even everyone who was moved by the impulse of his heart to come and take part in the work.” No one would dare to believe that such an “impulse” was not that which was prompted by the Holy Spirit. These men’s wills were moved upon by the Holy Spirit and they willingly stepped up to the plate to the task in which God had called them to do. God was moving upon these men’s hearts to prompt them to do things that they could not do of themselves. Paul says in Romans 12 that we all have different gifts that God has given to us, and that we exercise these gifts according to a measure of faith that God has also granted to us in order to exercise these gifts (vv. 3, 6). Some of these gifts include “prophesying”, “serving”, “teaching”, “encouraging”, “giving”, “leadership”, and “showing mercy”. It was Paul who also said, “What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not” (1 Cor. 4:7).
Only a truly humble person will acknowledge that it is only in Him that we live, move, and have our being. The arrogant self-made thinking man will only shake his head and fists at such notions. Like the king of Assyria, “for the willful pride of his heart and the a haughty look in his eyes…he says, “By the strength of my hand I have done this, and by my wisdom, because I have understanding. I removed the boundaries of nations, I plundered their treasures; like a mighty one I subdued their kings…my hand reached for the wealth…I gathered all the countries”. But God said, “Does the ax raise itself above Him who swings it, or the saw boast against Him who uses it? The king of Assyria was a vessel of wrath in the hands of the Master Potter whose ability came only from Him who was “swinging” him and “using” him for His own ends, and the king didn’t even know it (vv. 5-7). If God can use “vessels of wrath” in such a way, how much more those of us who are His “vessels of mercy”? Would we really want it any other way? I don’t know about you, but I am glad that He makes me willing in the day of His power. For I know what I am capable of doing without such power, and I am thankful.
10. Acts 2:17 with Joel 2:28: “In the last days, God says, I will pour out My Spirit on all people” (NIV).
Clearly, not every single person in the world has God’s Spirit poured upon them. “All people” here means, as it does everywhere else where God actually does something for someone, means all kinds of people, from every kindred, nation, tribe, and tongue.
11. Acts 17:30: “In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent” (NIV).
Not all people everywhere are commanded to repent. This is a fact of life, and is also clearly seen in the book of Acts (Acts 16:6-7). God is really only interested in gathering His sheep, or His children, that are “scattered abroad” throughout the world (Jhn. 11:52). And so it is in this way that we are to understand that God really only commands all kinds of people everywhere throughout the world to repent. That others hear the message to repent is secondary to those whom God wants to gather that are His sheep. The command that those other than His sheep hear the message to repent is just as sincere to them as any command in the Bible which exhorts people to obey. But one cannot obey the message or come to Christ unless enabled to come by Father. Dead sinners do not come or obey the command to repent and be saved. They have to be quickened by the Father in order to come to Christ.
Augustine had coined the phrase to God, “Grant what you command, and command what you will,” understanding that it is only by a sovereign act of God’s grace upon our stony, lifeless hearts that we can do anything. This statement agrees with Jeremiah, who said: “Turn me, and I shall be turned” (31:18), the NT likewise affirming that it is only God who grants repentance (Acts 5:31; 11:18; 2Tim. 2:25).
As mentioned earlier, this truth is wonderfully illustrated for us in 2 Chr. 30:6-12. Hezekiah orders letters to be sent by couriers throughout the land to command the people to “not be stiff-necked”, to “submit to the Lord”, to “come to the sanctuary”, to “serve the Lord”, and to “return to the Lord” (vv. 8-9). So “the couriers went from city to city through the country of Ephraim and Manasseh, and as far as Zebulun; but they laughed them to scorn, and mocked them. Only a few men of Asher, of Manasseh, and of Zebulun humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem. The hand of God was also upon Judah to give them one heart to do what the king and the princes commanded by the word of the LORD” (vv. 10-11 ASV). The ones who only submitted themselves were those whom the Scriptures tell us that “the hand of God was upon” to do so. All others rebelled, doing only what their own hearts without the help of God could only do, and nothing more. Another example of this is seen in Acts 16:14 where it says the Lord opened Lydia’s heart to believe those things Paul was preaching. All those whom God stirs to respond do respond.
12. Rom. 5:14-19: “Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who was a pattern of the one to come. But the gift is not like the trespass. 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! Again, the gift of God is not like the result of the one man's sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. 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. 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).
In Adam, as the federal head and representative of all mankind (as is clearly the case by the fact that death reigns through that one act of sin) from the creation of the world, his forensic sin has been imputed to all by no meritorious work of their own, and so all have been constituted sinners and therefore are dead, both spiritually and eventually physically (Rom. 5:12, 15a, 16b, 17a, 18a, 19a; 1Cor. 15:22a; Heb. 9:27). Whereas in Christ, the federal head and representative of all that belong to Him from before the foundation of the world, His forensic righteousness is likewise imputed to them by no meritorious work of their own, and as such, these individuals are made spiritually alive and resurrected together with Him.
Paul uses the terms “all” and “many” in a two-fold sense here throughout these passages. The “all” and “many” in Adam are not the same “all” and “many” in Christ, for not “all” in Adam who received the imputation of Adam’s sin receive the imputation of Christ’s righteousness; but “all” for whom Christ died (His sheep, Jhn. 10:15), do indeed receive it. Not one of His sheep goes missing, and everyone of them will be raised up on the last day (Jhn. 6:37-39, 44, 65). This analogy fits perfectly in accordance with what Paul described of Adam as being a “pattern” or “type” of the One to come when he says, “death reigned…even over those who did not sin by breaking a command” (Rom. 5:14). Thus Adam is the “type”, Christ is the Antitype. The similarities are striking: 1) In both cases Adam and Christ are federal heads or representatives of a certain progeny; 2) In both cases each one does something respectively for “many” as the other does, and; 3) In both cases no one has any choice in the matter.
That we know this is to be the case is illustrated for us in Rom. 9:11, where the two destinations of Jacob and Esau are predetermined by God before they were even born, and before either one had done any good or evil; and in order that it also could be said, “not by works, but by him who calls” (v. 12). In Adam it was “not by works”, but by him who destined all to be sinners; in Christ, it was “not by works”, but by Him who destined all who belonged to Him from the foundation of the world to be righteous. So, in understanding Adam to be a “type” in this sense of Christ is of no “private interpretation”, but is rooted and grounded in Scripture and the overarching rule and actions of Adam and Christ over their individual progeny’s. There is no denying this, unless one just wants to believe an outright lie to the contrary. If all this is true of Adam (a mere man), how much more so the work of God through the Christ-man (the last Adam), and the free gift that comes by Him? When one be-cries, “free-will” as an argument against all of this, where then is the “free-will” of all those who are said to die in Adam based upon no “free” choice of their own? We accept this in the case of Adam, but not for Christ? We can attribute such a work to a mere man, but not to the God-man, Christ? If not for this work of grace by Christ we would all be left to die in our sins; as many still do who throughout history who never hear the gospel. “Who are you, O man, to talk back to God? Shall what is formed say to Him who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?’” (Rom. 9:20). Thank God that He decided to extend His mercy and grace to save any of us!
Now if this likeness in “type” is not the case, and not followed through to this logical conclusion, then there would be no true comparison; there would be no type vs. antitype, but only contrasts. “Types” in Scripture are indicative of similarities, not dissimilarities. So if we did nothing in ourselves to get in Adam (which v. 14 states), then it stands to reason that in order for Adam to be a “type” we do nothing in ourselves to get in Christ. If this is so with Adam, then how much more so with Christ! Thus the saying of Paul, “What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?” (1Cor. 4:7). And again, “it is not of works lest any man should boast” (Eph. 2:8). And again, “Do not boast against the branches; and if thou dost boast, thou dost not bear the root, but the root thee!” (Rom. 11:18 YLT), for “no flesh shall glory in His presence” (1Cor. 1:29).
Now we know that this is the only comparison that is to be understood between Adam and Christ as noted above in Rom. 5:14, because in the very next verse Paul starts to list contrasts by stating, “But the gift is not like…”, and again, in v.16, “Again, the gift of God is not like…” Christ was “like” Adam in the sense that “the one man” (vv. 15, 19) became a federal head and representative for all those that the Father gives to Him, imputing His righteousness to them by no meritorious work of their own, and as Adam is said to have “made” people sinners, Christ is said to have “made” people righteous. While on the other hand, He “is not like” Adam, in that, instead trespassing God’s law and bringing death to many, He was obedient to God’s law and brought eternal life (the “gift”) by grace to many (v. 15); instead of condemnation, He wrought justification (v. 16, 18); instead of death reigning, life reigns (v. 17); instead of making many sinners, He makes many righteous” (v. 19).
It is also of interest to note something about this last verse above where it says “many were made sinners” and “many will be made righteous”. Now no one will argue that we were all “made” or constituted sinners in Adam. Every child of Adam reflects this “image” of his. It’s a done deal. No one had any say so in the matter. By no work on our part are we thus “made” sinners in Adam. Adam did it all. It was the sole work and act of the one man Adam. So then why is it that we have a problem with Christ in the same way making many righteous from start to finish? I see no one complaining about what Adam did and crying, “Not fair!”, so why then about what Christ has done for some? If not for this good deed of His we would all be left in our miserable state of sin, condemned to hell forevermore. Instead of grumbling, we should be rejoicing. Instead of complaining of how it somehow violates our free-will or unfairly condemns sinners to hell, we should be happy that He has made us willing in the day of His favor and power toward us. Instead of saying that it isn’t fair, we should be rejoicing in the fact that He was gracious and merciful to save even some of us. His justice just as well could have been to condemn Adam and Eve to hell and never allow the human race to be born, and you and I would not be here today. It is not ours to question the Master Potter, but to be thankful that He has not made us vessels of wrath (Rom. 9:16-21).
Now the English word “made” occurs 24 times in this epistle in the KJV, and interestingly enough, it translates 15 different Greek verbs, but the Greek word used here, kathistemi, although found twenty times elsewhere in the New Testament, is found in Romans only here concerning what Adam and Christ have done in their respective works. In Mat. 24:44-47, it is used twice of the Lord when He says, “whom His Lord has made ruler” and “He shall make him ruler over all”. It is found in Mat. 25:21, 23, where it twice says, “I will make you ruler over many things”. In Acts 7:10 it is said of Joseph, “he [Pharoah] made him governor over Egypt and all his house”, and also of Moses in vv. 27 and 35, it is twice said, “Who made thee a ruler and a judge over us?” In Tit. 1:5 it is used of “ordaining” or appointing or making elders in every city. In Heb. 5:1; 7:28 and 8:3 it is used of “ordaining” or “making” priests. And in Heb. 2:7 it is used of man being “made a little lower than the angels”. Now the point being in all this is that we are all (using an Italian saying) “made” people one way or another. It is not a “possibility”, it is a probability based on fact. In other words, it is an impossibility that cannot be otherwise. As from the beginning of the world and the creation of man we are all fallen in Adam; similarly from before the foundation of the world, all those chosen and elected by God unto salvation, are risen in Christ. That is the truth that is being taught here. As was with the one (Adam), so it is with the other (Christ). Allelujah for this great mercy wherein He has loved us.
So in summary: What is typical of the one, can only be what is similar of the other. And it cannot be only an absolute fact for the one that many are made sinners, while only a “possibility” for the other that many are made righteous (as some erroneously teach in the Church). And so, all the human race in Adam cannot be the same entire human race in Christ, for then this would teach universalism. Therefore, “the many” who die in Adam are not, and cannot be, the same “many” who are made alive in Christ. Similarly, if all are made sinners in Adam by no act on their part, then also are all those in Christ made righteous by no act on their part. Thus when the Bible says we are “chosen” in Christ before the foundation of the world, this is what it is referring to. Like Adam, Christ has become the federal head (not possibly), in actuality with all those whom He has determined beforehand that it should be done for. Those two works, of Adam and of Christ, are done completely outside of ourselves. And in neither case is the decision to be in either one based upon our own free choice. We chose not to be in Adam, we choose not to be in Christ. We only choose Christ because He first chose us to believe on His name, and “no one can come” to Christ unless the Father has “enabled” them to do so (Jhn. 6:65; 5:21; 15:16; Php. 1:29; 2Tim. 1:9; Eph. 2:8; 2Pet. 1:1).
13. Rom. 11:12, 15: “But if their transgression means riches for the world, and their loss means riches for the Gentiles, how much greater riches will their fullness bring!…For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?” (NIV).
Again, in the context, Paul is speaking of a remnant of Gentiles taken from all over the world. The biblical doctrine of election, from start to finish in the Scriptures demands that we understand such terminology this way. Unless one believes in this doctrine they will never understand such statements, and their hearts will rebel at such a concept. In Rom. 4:13, Paul likewise uses the term “world” in speaking of the Gentiles when he speaks of Abraham as being the “heir of the world.” In the context there it has to do with “all Abraham’s offspring” (v. 16) and him being the “father of many nations” (vv. 17-18 twice) of all who exercise the same faith as his own (vv. 11b, 16b). This idea of “the world” that Abraham is heir of is also seen in the book of Heb. 6:13-17, which reads:
“When God made His promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for Him to swear by, he swore by Himself, saying, “I will surely bless you and give you many descendants.” And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised. Men swear by someone greater than themselves, and the oath confirms what is said and puts an end to all argument. Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, He confirmed it with an oath.”Here the text says that God made a “promise” to Abraham that He would bless him with “many descendents”. Then it says he “received what was promised” through the token of his son Isaac being born (a son of promise, like us; Gal. 4:28). Then later in these verses it talks about “the heirs of what was promised”. Well, “what was promised” in this case is clearly the “descendents” and the text also concludes that this is what the “heirs” are heirs of. Who are these “heirs”, plural? It is those for whom this promise was initially made and repeated to: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It was made to Abraham (Gen. 12:3; 15:5; 17:4-6; 18:18; 22:15-18), confirmed to Isaac (26:2-4), and later reaffirmed to Jacob (28:13-14; 35:11-12). Rom. 4:13 buttresses all this by stating: “And it was not through law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world.”
14. Rom. 11:32: “For God has bound all men over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all” (NIV).
The “all” in the first part of the verse is not the same “all” in the latter part of the verse, for God does not extend mercy to all, and neither does He attempt to, as seen above in Acts 16:6-8, otherwise this verse in Romans would teach universalism. Some suppose that it is mercy being extended to all who will choose to receive it, God offering such mercy and grace on the condition of their foreseen faith. But then grace would not be grace, and mercy would not be mercy. We do not “choose” to receive mercy and grace, they are freely given by God. Rom. 9:16 in the New Living Translation reads:
“So it is God who decides to show mercy. We can neither choose it nor work for it.”This one verse settles that argument once and for all. Most translations say that it does not depend on man’s “desire” or “will”, and so to “will” something is clearly to decide or to make a choice to do something. And so Paul is saying in no uncertain terms that we don’t “choose” or make a concerted effort of our own “will” to receive God’s mercy. We have no self induced choice in the matter whatsoever. So then how do any of us become saved if our choice doesn‘t determine whether or not we receive His grace and mercy? The answer is in the miracle of resurrection of the new birth! At a moment in time upon hearing God’s word, God in His mercy and grace chooses to awaken (quickens) our ears to hear, resurrecting us from our spiritual death to respond in faith whereby as newborn babies we cry out with this new breath of life, “Abba” that is “Father”. Who are born “not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God” (Jhn. 1:13). That is what being “born of God” is. It is all “of God”. It is all of God that we are in Christ Jesus. In John chapter three the term “born-again” literally means “born from above” (AMP, ISV, GWT, YLT).
In 1Jhn. 5:1, John writes, “Every one that believes that Jesus is the Christ is begotten of God; and every one that loves Him that has begotten loves also him that is begotten of Him” (DBT). The verb “believes” is a present active participle and the first verb “begotten” in this verse is a perfect passive indicative, while the second “begotten” is a perfect passive participle.
- The verb “believes” is: 1) in the “present” tense, meaning its an ongoing action and not just a one-time event; 2) it is in the “active” tense, meaning it is the action of the individual believing.
- The verb “begotten”, which is the actual conception of the new birth itself, is: 1) in the “perfect” tense, meaning that it was an action completed sometime in the past; 2) by being “indicative” this means it is an event that has really occurred in a persons life evidenced by the continual believing, and; 3) it is in the “passive” form, meaning that it occurred outside of ourselves as an action that was entirely and wholly of God.
That is also why Paul said in Eph. 2:8 that everything that had to do with our salvation “is the gift of God.” Someone may try to argue that the phrase, “this is not from yourselves,” in Eph. 2:8, refers only to the salvation and not also to the faith in this passage. But the Greek demonstrative pronoun touto, “this,” in “this not from yourselves,” and even the phrase “it is the gift of God,” are both in the nominative singular neuter form. And the basic rule of thumb is to look for a singular neuter noun in the immediate context as the antecedent to the demonstrative pronoun “this.” Now notice this: “Faith” is a genitive singular feminine noun; “saved” is a perfect passive participle verb, nominative plural masculine; and “grace” is a dative singular feminine noun. As one can very well see, there are no “singular neuter nouns.” In fact, the word “saved” isn’t even a noun, but a verb, so the demonstrative pronoun cannot even by the slightest stretch of the imagination refer to just the word “saved” alone. And furthermore, wouldn’t it have been redundant for Paul to say, “and this salvation is not of yourselves,” when he just got through saying that salvation was in the “passive” voice which denotes that it isn’t? His readers would have immediately already known that! But what they wouldn’t be so readily aware of is that faith is also not of themselves and a gift from God. So Paul wraps up all that he has just said by basically saying, “and all this is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not by works lest anyone should boast”; lest anyone should boast and say, “My faith is what actually saves me, not God’s grace; I responded to His grace and it is that response that saved me. He didn’t elect me to be saved and instill in me the power to respond, I responded to Him of my own power and volition, and He thus chose or elected me based upon Him foreseeing me choosing Him. Now we know that isn’t biblical. And what of the saying, “I was found by those who did not seek Me; I revealed Myself to those who were not asking for Me”? (Rom. 10:20). Or, there is “no one who seeks God” in Rom. 3:11? It is because we didn’t choose Him, but He chose us (Jhn. 15:16), and ordained us that we should bring forth fruit (ibid).
Furthermore, for those to argue that “and this” is in the nominative and that “saved” is in the nominative (while grace and faith are in the genitive and dative), and thus proving that “and this” refers to “saved,” is not a valid argument at all. Greek “nominative” demonstrative pronouns often have as their antecedent a word, or a group of words, that are not necessarily in the “nominative” form, as seen in the case of Php. 1:28; for there its antecedents are all in the genitive. All that the nominative case indicates is normally, but not always, a subject of a sentence; while the genitive expresses chiefly possession; and the dative denotes the indirect object. And as said before, “saved” isn’t a singular neuter noun to match the pronoun “this,” but a masculine plural verb. This idea that is seen in Eph. 2:8 and Php. 1:28, is also seen in Php. 1:9; Col. 2:4; Heb. 6:3 and Rom. 13:11, where, again, the singular neuter “and this” has as its antecedent the entire thought in the sentence preceding made up of feminine/masculine, singular/plural words.
Now it is a common ploy for those who do not want to believe that faith is also a gift from God, to point out that since the word “faith” is feminine and “this” is neuter, then this demonstrative pronoun cannot be referring to faith as also a gift from God. And yet this same person would have to admit that grace is a gift from God, right? But this word “grace” is feminine as well; so, if they were to consistently follow through with their reasoning, they would have to also conclude that grace is no more a gift from God than faith is. And so as one can very well see, such an argument only refutes itself. For these individuals to rule out “faith” as a gift from God, they would also have to rule out “grace” as a gift from God, an action that Paul says elsewhere in Scripture is indeed a free gift from God (Rom. 3:24; 4:4; 5:15; 1Cor. 2:12; Eph. 3:7), and so they then try to attach “this” only to “have been saved.” But as we have seen, this won’t do either, because “saved” is a verb, not a noun; and neither neuter or singular, but masculine and plural as well. And besides, it is already denoted as coming from God by being in the “passive” voice.
The noted Greek scholar, A. T. Robertson, says with regards to this verse that, “in general,” the demonstrative “agrees with its substantive in gender and number,”[1] but then he departs from this rule because his theology will not allow him to believe that our faith to believe is a gift from God also, as he asserts: “Grace is God’s part, faith ours.”[2] So we see here how one cannot trust a Greek expositor entirely just because he is a Greek expositor, but must adhere more closely to the rules of grammar that correctly guide and lead us along to a more perfect understanding.
And so then, to what does “this” refer to? All of the aforementioned in this verse. The entire phrase is its antecedent. “It is good Greek grammar to use a neuter pronoun to ‘wrap up’ a phrase or a series of thoughts into a single whole.”[3] Paul left it “neuter” because he didn’t want his statement to refer to just one of these events, but to all of them. It includes the whole package: salvation, grace, and faith. It is the entire process of salvation, which includes the faith to believe. All of these are included as the “the gift of God.” And this would not be the first time in Scripture where even the faith to believe for salvation is seen as something given to us by God (cp. Acts 3:13; Php. 1:29; 2Pet. 1:1b, “obtained” here in the KJV literally means, “allotted”; 1Jhn. 5:1[4]).
Such an idea of this entire work being “all of God” is affirmed throughout this entire context in Ephesians chapter two: In verse one, we “were dead,” and then we are “made alive” (v. 5). On the heels of this we were “raised up” from that death (v. 6), and in verse 10 we are said to be God’s continual “workmanship [or lit., God made], after having been created” (aorist passive participle) on the heels of Paul having just said that the whole process was, “not by works so that no one can boast” (v. 9). Dead people cannot save themselves, reach out for grace—let alone exercise faith! So where is such boasting? Not here! Even the faith to exercise our several ministries are all said to be by a faith that is given to us by God (Rom. 12:3-8; 1Cor. 12:6-11). Truly, what do we have that we have not received? says Paul. We owe our entire being, natural gifts, spiritual life, and ministry, all to God and to God alone.
15. 1Cor. 15:22: “For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive” (NIV).
Often we quote this verse as referring to spiritual death in Adam, verses spiritual life in Christ, but this is not what it is referring to. In context, this verse is speaking about physical death via Adam, verses physical resurrection life via Christ. In verse 21 Paul had said that physical death came “through a man” and that the resurrection of the dead also came “through a man”. Now, in verse 22, he puts names to these two men in order to let us know exactly through whom each of these experiences came from. In the one, Adam, people go on dying. In the other, Christ, people in the end and on the last day, are made alive (or resurrected). R. C. H. Lenski does an excellent job in showing the tenses of these verbs “all dying” (present active indicative: “all go on dying”) and “all made alive” (future passive indicative: “shall be made”). The New Living Translation reads: Just as everyone dies because we all belong to Adam, everyone who belongs to Christ will be given new life.” I refer the reader to his commentary in establishing the fact that we are speaking of physical death and physical life, verses spiritual death and spiritual life that is upheld by Charles Hodge and others. The context clearly is about the physical resurrection.
Again, the “all” in Adam are not the “all” in Christ. The “all” who keep dying as a result of being “in Adam” are not “all” who are given resurrection life. Neither is the one “actual” (in Adam), whereas the other only “potential” (in Christ). What each does for their progeny they do as the federal representative heads of each. All die in Adam from the creation of the world, just as all are made alive in Christ before the creation of the world. Our futures, either way, are determined by no choice of our own. No one determines their own destinies. And just as we do not take on Adam’s sinful nature until physically born in time, so too we do not take on the new spiritual nature until spiritually reborn in time. But the results of each are inevitable and are determined before any of us were born. Just as sure as we are all dead in Adam since creation, so too all who have been chosen by the Father to be in Christ before the creation of the world are just as sure as made alive in Christ in time. This is how Adam can be said to be a “type” of Christ. What each does they really do for a set amount of people. See Rom. 5:14-19 above for further commentary on all of this.
16. 2Cor. 5:14-15: “For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And He died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for Him who died for them and was raised again” (NIV).
This is to be understood the same way as is understood in Rom. 5:14-19. As “in Adam” all from the creation of the world are “made” sinners, so too all those who are “in Christ” before the foundation of the world are “made” righteous (5:19), and both by no choice of our own. In Corinthians here, the “all” for whom Christ died are His elect sheep, and therefore when He died, they died too, though not fully realized until we all have faith. And even this faith is not of ourselves, but is the gift of God (see comments on Eph. 2:8 above under Rom. 11:32 above).
Some suppose the phrase as it is written in the KJV, “If one died for all, then were all dead”, implies that Christ died for all who were in a state of condemnation through Adam. But this suits neither the meaning or the context. It is not Paul’s purpose here to prove that all mankind is in a state of death and condemnation in Adam. The tense of the verb is not what they “were”, but what the death of Christ has caused such individuals to become. “Died” (Gk. apethanon) is an aorist active indicative verb, which means that it is a fact or reality that occurred at a specific time in the past accomplished by the subject of this verb, which is Christ. So it is an event that does not occur in Adam, but in Christ. Simply put, when Christ died, we died. That is the force of the words here. The Scriptures teach that the relation between Christ and those whom the Father gave unto him is analogous to that between Adam and his posterity. The apostasy of Adam was the apostasy of all united to him; so too the work of Christ was the work of all those united to him. In the one, all die spiritually and physically; in the other, all are spiritually and physically made alive. As the sin of Adam was legally and effectively the sin of his race; so too the death of Christ was legally and effectively the death of His people. Christ’s people chosen in Him before the foundation of the world are so united to Him, that His death is their death, and His life is their life, “if we died with Him, we shall also live with Him” (Rom. 6:8). The simple meaning of “if one died for all, then all died” is that Christ’s death was indeed the death of all who are destined to be His people.
In addition, if we were to suppose that the expression, “those who live” is restrictive and does not have the same extent as the “all” for whom Christ died, this would bring us into conflict with the explicit affirmations of Paul in Rom. 6:5, 8 to the effect that those who have been planted in the likeness of Christ’s death will be also in the likeness of his resurrection and that those who died with him will also live with him. The analogy of Paul’s teaching in Rom. 6:4-8 must be applied to 2Cor. 5:14, 15. Hence those referred to as “those who live” must have the same extent as those embraced in the preceding clause, “he died for all. “ And since “those who live” do not embrace the whole human race, neither can the “all” referred to in the clause, “he died for all” embrace the entire human family. This is substantiated from the concluding words of verse 15, “but to him who died for them and rose again.”
17. Gal. 3:28: “There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (NIV).
This verse should be self-explanatory. The “all” who are one in Christ are all kinds of people: Jew, Greek, slave, free, male and female. Again, this is in agreement with the entire testimony of Scripture concerning God’s elect, a remnant chosen by His mercy and grace and the promises made to Abraham. In fact, this verse even helps us to qualify what “all” should mean for us elsewhere in Scripture. It defines who the “all” are. It is not every single person on the planet earth. To say that this is so today would be unprecedented in Scripture, for never was such a thing prior to the cross, and so neither is it now.
18. Col. 3:11: “Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all” (NIV).
Same as the verse immediately above. Christ is in “all kinds” of people, not just the Jews.
19. 1Tim. 2:6: “I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone–for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men—the testimony given in its proper time” (NIV).
First of all, the request of Paul that prayers be made for “everyone” can hardly be understood that we are to pray for every single individual on the planet earth. Such a notion would be silly, for who ever reading this has understood Paul to mean this and has thus prayed for every single person in the world? None of us do. So why should we insist so now, unless for some other ulterior motive? It was John who even told us not to pray for certain individuals (1Jhn. 5:16). The Jews had a difficult time submitting to ungodly kings and leaders (Jer. 27:8-17; 40:9), let alone praying for them. Even some Christians have a difficult time with leaders that are not to their liking. So Paul is saying “pray” for them in order that it go well with you, not just for yourselves and your brethren. Paul then cites two examples to show how that prayer is not to be exclusively inclusive of only ourselves: 1) the fact that Christ gave himself as a ransom for all kinds of people, and not just a select few (v. 6), and; 2) Paul was himself an apostle not only to the Jews, but “to the Gentiles” as well (v. 7). As God does not discriminate between those whom He saves, so we likewise are not to discriminate between whom we are to pray for, or not to pray for. We are not to limit our prayers to one ethnicity or group.
In verse 8 Paul also wants “men everywhere” to life up holy hands in prayer. Of course, this does not mean every man in the world, but all the men only in the church.
20. 1Tim. 4:10: “For it is for this we labor and strive, because we have fixed our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of believers” (NAS).
First of all, an alternate translation to this verse reads: “To this end we work hard and struggle, because we have set our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, that is, of those who believe” (ISV).
If this alternate translation is to be accepted, then the text just speaks for itself. This Greek word for “especially”, malista, has been known in some extra-biblical Greek writings to be possibly understood this way, and so the ISV above takes the liberty to translate it as such.
George Knight III writes:
“Skeet (“Especially the Parchments”) argues persuasively that malista in some cases (2Tim. 4:15; Tit. 1:10; and here) should be understood as providing a further definition or identification of that which precedes it and thus renders it by such words as “that is.” He cites several examples from papyrus letters that would seem to require this sense and that would in their particular cases rule out the otherwise legitimate alternate sense. If this proposal is correct here, which seems most likely, then the phrase malista piston should be rendered “that is, believers.” This understanding is also in line with Paul’s assertion that all sorts and conditions of people are in Christ (even at times using pantes [“all”]) and with his insistence in those contexts that all such are in Christ and have salvation by faith (cf., e.g., Gal. 3:26-28).” (The Pastoral Epistles: A Commentary on the Greek Text, pp. 203-204); Bracketed word mine for understanding.If this above understanding of the Greek text is not to be the case, then the verse cannot be pointing to Christ as only the possible Savior of all men, as opposed to being an actual Savior especially of those of us who believe. Christ’s purpose in coming was never to be a “possible” Savior to anyone, but only an actual Savior. He came to actually redeem people from being slaves to sin in order to become slaves unto God. When Peter says in Acts 4:12, that “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved;” here the idea is to be understood that there is no other proffered Savior in the world whereby men can be saved, other than through Jesus Christ. Christ is the only hope for men to be saved. But this verse in no way implies that He died for all men; and even less so that such a message will eventually be heard by every single individual in the earth (for not all hear of such a Savior); nor that they even have an ability within themselves to believe. All this verse states is that salvation is found in no other person, and that no other name is given under heaven whereby men can be saved. It doesn’t say which men, or how many men; but only that there is salvation for men. Nothing more is to be inferred.
Secondly, another idea to be presented here with regards to this verse is that in which God is said to be a Savior to all mankind in a non-salvific sense, and yet even “more so” (in a salvific sense) to those of us who believe. This was surely the case of Israel in the OT where God was a Redeemer and Savior, but not necessarily in a spiritual sense (Ex. 15:13; Deut. 13:5; 32:6; 1Chr. 16:35; Isa. 43:11; 45:15, 21; Jer. 50:34). Homer Kent writes regarding these verses in Timothy:
“As applied to unbelievers it includes preservation and deliverance from various evils and the bestowal of many blessings during this life. To believers, however, this salvation does not end with earthly life but goes on for all eternity. Purdy explains, ‘God is the Savior of all men in that on a temporal basis he gives them life and strength, awakens within them high ideals, provides for their pleasure and sustenance, and graciously allows them to live for a time in the light of His countenance. God is specially the Savior of believers in that He has a special call for them, answers their prayers, and provides for their well-being, not only in this life, but also in the life which is to come’” (The Pastoral Epistles, p. 154).Thirdly, one more idea to be presented here is in understanding this phrase as a proclamation of for whom Christ came to die for. While it is no less true that He came to die for His sheep amongst the Israelites, He also came to die for His “other sheep” (Jhn. 10:15-16; 17:9, 20); i.e., His elect Gentiles throughout the world, not just for those of the Jewish race. So the sense of this verse here would be that He’s the Savior of the all men for whom He came to die for, but not yet experientially. Whereas, He is “experientially” (or “especially”) a Savior to all of us who have at some point in time put our faith in Him.
As said before, if the first explanation of the Greek malista in being understood to mean “that is,” is true, then this would naturally be the preferred explanation. If not, then the second explanation is not without some merit also, especially when one sees and understands that God was a Savior to the world in a temporal sense as He is truly portrayed in the OT records noted above. But I tend to prefer the last, or third explanation. In John 4:42, the Samaritans in seeing Christ reach out to them, understood Him to be the promised “Savior of the world;” i.e., not just a Savior to Jews. But, if one will notice, this statement holds out the promise or idea that Christ’s salvation was for all the world; of course, not experientially as of yet, but potentially and even eventually to all of His elect sheep throughout the world until the end of the age (John’s “children of God scattered abroad” in Jhn. 11:52 who had not come to know their Savior as yet). He is their Savior, but not yet. And He is especially such a Savior to usward who have now come to believe.
No one doubts that all men are not saved (nor intended to be); and neither should anyone doubt that all men are not told about such a Savior of the world, because they just aren’t! So how can Christ be said to be a Savior to those who are never told about such a Savior? The answer to this question can only be understood by the fact that “the world” in which Christ was to die for was only in fulfillment of the Abrahamic promise to all of Abraham’s children who are given the same like faith. They, like Isaac, are children “of promise” and all destined to be as such. It is for their purpose, and their purpose alone, that the gospel is preached. And it is for their purpose alone that Christ came to die. It was in fulfillment of this “promise” (or purpose) that there would be multitudes of children according to God’s promise made to Abraham, the father of us all. It would not make any sense at all to say that Christ is the Savior of the entire world, and then to not make sure that the entire world hears about such a Savior. And this is indeed the case in the book of Acts 16:6-10; 18:10, and even throughout history, that not everyone is given the opportunity to hear the gospel.
21. Heb. 2:9: “But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour: that, through the grace of God, he might taste death for all” (Douay-Rheims Bible).
Again, in Jhn. 11:52 it speaks of Christ dying not only for Jews of the nation of Israel, but also for Gentiles scattered throughout the world, “the children of God scattered abroad.” John calls them God’s children before they are even saved and says that Christ was to die for them. Jesus in Jhn. 10 calls them His sheep whom the Father gives to Him (v. 29), and again affirming that it was for those whom He was going to die for (vv. 15-16). In Jhn. 17:2 Christ again says that the Father granted Him authority over “all people that He might give eternal life to all those You have given Him.” These “all people” that He is granted authority over are “all those You have given Him”. Christ is not talking about two different groups of people here. So we see here Christ defining for us who the “all people” are. In Jhn. 6:37 Christ repeated the same thing: “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and whoever comes to Me I will never drive away.” The “whoever” is defined as “all” the Father gives to Christ. There is no contradiction or confliction of terms here. One doesn’t cancel out the other or say anything more or less than what the other asserts. Christ was not saying “whoever”, as if any or all had the power or will within themselves to come, but only “whoever” is given to Him by the Father. Therefore, they are also the “everyone who looks to the Son and believes” in verse 40. These statements of Christ’s are to always qualify the phrase whenever we see it “whosoever believes” may have eternal life, as in Jhn. 3:16. As in Jhn. 3:16, “all the ones believing” (literal Greek) have eternal life; and only those granted to be given to Christ by the father are such believers who come to Christ, and none of them are lost. These are all “the children God has given” to Christ, and chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world before they were ever saved, and whom “in love He predestined us to be adopted as His sons” in time “in accordance with His pleasure and will—to the praise of His glorious grace, which He has freely given us…” (Heb. 2:13b; Eph. 1:4-6, NIV). Dare we add to Christ’s words and say anymore than what He has told us about whom He was to die for and give eternal life to? So Hebrews here cannot be asserting anything more than what is affirmed above.
Just as Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were all children of promise and elected by the grace and mercy of God before having been born or having done anything good or evil, so we too, “like Isaac, are children of promise” (Gal. 3:28). We are all “children of God scattered abroad,” before having even come into being, and who “will come from east and west and north and south, and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God” with “Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and all the prophets” (Lke. 13:28-29). These are all “the children of God scattered abroad” who are predestined to come. Such people who reduce God to just “foreseeing” who comes to Christ in the future do not have the Spirit of God and neither know the power of God.
All these scattered children of promise are the “all” for whom Christ tastes death for here in Hebrews, and no more. In the context of Hebrews chapter two here, they are said to be those whom He “sanctifies” (v. 11), “My brethren” (v. 12), “the children God gave Me” (v. 13, again, agreeing with what was said above), “the seed of Abraham” (v. 16), and “His brethren” (v. 17).
22. 2Pet. 2:1: “But there arose false prophets also among the people, as among you also there shall be false teachers, who shall privily bring in destructive heresies, denying even the Master that bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction” (ERV).
The Greek agorazo, meaning “buy” or “redeemed”, is used some thirty times in the New Testament, with twenty-four of the uses restricted to either a literal or metaphorical non-redemptive context. And it is used five times in what are clear redemptive contexts. The majority of references in the New Testament are non-redemptive though. So the question is: In which sense is Peter using the term here? Redemptive or non-redemptive? Some have supposed that the false teachers are the ones being referred to as “bought”, or redeemed and saved by the Lord, and then fall away to only eventually lose their salvation. Such a view of a believer being bought or redeemed and perishing or “losing” their salvation is just not taught in the Scriptures (cf. Jhn. 6:39; 10:28-29).
Some have also inferred that this is what the false teachers were saying about themselves, but that there lives depicted otherwise.
Another idea presented is that the pronoun “them” refers to the Israelites in the first part of the verse and not to the false teachers that immediately precedes it. Though rare, it is not uncommon for a pronoun to have a more distant antecedent as its subject. This idea would be even more plausible if Peter was introducing a parenthetical thought about false teachers amongst us, and then picks up the subject again about the false prophets among the children of Israel who by their actions are in complete denial of the Lord who is said to have “redeemed” (or “bought”) the Israelites out of Egypt in a non-salvific sense, as in Duet. 13:1-5, which reads:
“If a prophet, or one who foretells by dreams, appears among you and announces to you a miraculous sign or wonder, and if the sign or wonder of which he has spoken takes place, and he says, ‘Let us follow other gods’ (gods you have not known) ‘and let us worship them,’ you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer. The Lord your God is testing you to find out whether you love him with all your heart and with all your soul. It is the Lord your God you must follow, and him you must revere. Keep his commands and obey him; serve him and hold fast to him. That prophet or dreamer must be put to death, because he preached rebellion against the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt and redeemed you from the land of slavery; he has tried to turn you from the way the Lord your God commanded you to follow. You must purge the evil from among you.”Clearly, Peter is referring to this passage of Scripture in the OT. He is not addressing Christ’s atonement at all. Peter is drawing an analogy (or comparison) between the past false prophets who were amongst the “redeemed” (or “bought”) Israelites out of the land of Egypt, and the false teachers who are amongst us. And so he introduces a parenthetical thought of the false teachers amongst us, in the greater context of there being false prophets who were amongst God’s people in the OT times.
The verse would better read like this:
“But there arose false prophets also among the people (as among you also there shall be false teachers, who shall privily bring in destructive heresies) , denying even the Master that bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction” (ERV; parenthesis mine).All translations use parenthesis where they deem it to be useful. They are not in the original Greek text, but are added by all translators for added clarity. So to insert parenthesis marks “( )” here in Peter would be no different than what many translations already do. There is no mistaking the fact that Peter is referencing the passage in Deut. 13. Another text that is often used to illustrate this idea of Israel being “redeemed” in a non-salvific sense is in Deut. 32:6 (KJV, NAS, ERV). Everywhere that “agorazo” is used in the salvific sense in the NT it speaks of God actually doing something for His true believers, the Church, who always follow the lamb withersoever He goes (Jhn. 10:4-5, 27; Rev. 14:4). These “false teachers” (like the false prophets of old), on the other hand, are “bold and arrogant” (v. 10), they “blaspheme” (v. 12), and are “born only to be caught and destroyed” (v. 12b), “their idea of pleasure is to carouse” (v. 13), they have “eyes full of adultery, they never stop sinning” (v. 14), and they have “left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam son of Beor” (v. 15), they are “springs without water…appealing to the lustful desires of the sinful human nature” (vv. 17-18), etc., etc.
No, these are not “redeemed” individuals. The only thing that makes sense here is that Peter is using this OT example for illustrative purposes, wherein just as there were false prophets amongst the “redeemed” community of Israelites in the OT, so too there will be false teachers amongst us, the redeemed community of believers of the NT era. There is nothing in this text that intimates that Christ laid down His life for, or paid a price for, the sins of these individuals. He did not redeem them; their lives attesting to that fact. A redemption that doesn’t redeem is no redemption at all. Everywhere in the OT where it says God “redeemed” Israel, was it only a “potential” redemption or an actual one? No one would be admitting of the former. If God actually did this in a non-salvific way, how much more so in a salvific one which is the antitype of the type? In the OT it often speaks also of the Lord “selling” the children of Israel into the hands of the heathen for their sins (Jdg. 2:14; 3:8; 4:2; 10:7). Is this “selling” or being “sold” into the hands of the enemy to be considered only a “potential” selling, and not an “actual” selling? Who would even begin to imagine such a thing? When the bible says God redeems, it means just exactly that—He redeems! So wherever it says Christ “redeems” His people in a salvific sense we are to understand it no less than we would understand the term anywhere else when used of God redeeming people. And the wonderful thing about a salvific redemption is that we are never “sold” back to Satan and become unregenerate again with a sinful nature. In a non-salvific redemption this can very well be the case, but not in a true spiritual salvific one. In such a case, the new birth would have to be reversed, making us spiritually dead all over again. Saints, once they are born-again, do not become un-born-again. They are all raised up on the last day, and not one of them goes lost (Jhn. 6:39).
In conclusion, the Greek despotes (lit. “lord, Master, or Sovereign”) is used about thirty times throughout the Bible. It is used twenty times in the Greek Septuagint translation of the Old Testament and ten times in the New Testament. But never does it refer to the Father or the Son as a mediator, unless II Peter 2:1 be the exception. And if this be the case, then the burden of proof rests upon those who wish to make it the exception. And as noted above, the “Lord, Master, or Sovereign” is clearly what God was to the Israelites when He led them out of Egypt. He was not acting as a “mediator” in a spiritually salvific sense. In Jude, it is Christ who is seen there also, in a non-mediatorial/salfific sense, and who is said to be “our only Sovereign and Lord” (v. 4), whom “certain men whose condemnation was written about long ago” deny. Jude basically affirms the very same thing that Peter is saying, even helping us to better understand Peter thoughts, by saying “certain men…deny our Lord, not theirs.
23. 2Pet. 3:9: “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance” (ESV).
Peter limited his use of “all”, “any”, “us”, and “your” to a specific audience: his brothers, friends, and all who have received the same faith as himself (1:1), and for whom he exhorted to make their calling and election sure. This epistle, and all the epistles, is not written to the general masses of unsaved people, but are written for the soul encouragement of God’s elect. That the unsaved receive anything from the reading of them is only a side benefit and ultimately to spur them on to salvation. The “wishing” or willing “that all should reach repentance” cannot mean every single person in the world, for not everyone has known of such a longsuffering of God in order to bring them to such a state. Some people just never hear of such things. And God wasn’t willing for any to come to repentance in the province of Asia or in Bythinia (Acts 16:6-7). And what about before the cross of Christ? Where was the longsuffering of God for all the world to come to repentance then? You just cannot find it. Way back in Abraham’s time, he alone was called out of the Ur of the Chaldees. No other Gentile was graciously called out and established in a covenantal relationship with God. Only one out of, let’s say, “a few million” was called? No effort is made by God to establish His covenant with anyone else. Surely this is solely the work of God’s grace and mercy, even as with Noah and the seven souls who were saved in the ark.
When someone makes the assertion that the people God is willing to come to repentance cannot be the “beloved” of God in this epistle because they have already repented, is a baseless assertion. For at the time of Peter’s writing of his epistle the repentance of every single individual reading his epistle (which includes us) was to be yet saved in the future, right up until the time of the second coming of Christ.
24. 1Jhn. 2:2: “and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world” (NAS).
A little later, 1Jhn. 4:10, 14-15 also states: “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins…We have seen [in the conversion of the Gentiles through Peter, Paul and others] and testify that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. Whoever [not just an isolated few such as the Jews] confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God” (NAS; bracketed words mine).
Is 1Jhn. 4:10 only speaking of a potential atonement (or “propitiation”) for us, or an actual atonement? Everyone would argue, “Of course not, it is an actual atonement for us.” So then why should we look upon the verse in 1Jhn. 2:2 any differently? It is because then we would have to say He is doing something for the entire world (if that is how the word “world” there is to be understood), which the Armenian would deny He is doing, and so they say John can only be talking about a “potential” atonement for them, but an “actual” atonement for us. But this is assuming too much, and is only an attempt to skirt around the truth that what John is actually saying with regards to us he is also “actually” saying for all those who are “the children of God scattered” abroad throughout the world in Jhn. 11:52.
Therefore, in 1Jhn. 2:2, when John is speaking of a “propitiation” for the world’s sins, it can only be understood in the sense of how John understood it when speaking of Christ dying for the world in John 11:52. And due to the fact that John was indeed an apostle to Jewish Christians (see Gal. 2:9), it stands to reason that his epistle here was written with these Jewish brethren in mind. The statement in John’s gospel in 11:52 is saying the very same thing that John is saying here in his epistle: "not only for that nation, but also for the scattered children of God." It shouldn’t take a rocket scientist to see that! They are both saying one and the very self-same thing. To say anything more than this we would then be affirming of the term “world” here something that even John himself in his gospel did not affirm. Again, when one notices the parallel between Jhn. 11:52 and with 1Jhn. 2:2 and 4:10-15, they can very well see that what John said in 11:52 is arguably the very same thing that he is writing about here in his epistle.
Concerning the word “world” here, Gary Long in his book entitled Definite Atonement writes:
“Concerning the possible usage of kosmos to mean all mankind without exception in the redemptive context of 1 John 2:2, let the reader observe that kosmos is used differently at least 21 out of 23 time elsewhere in the epistle. As a matter of fact, the identical term “whole world” is used in 1 John 5:19 where it cannot possibly mean all mankind absolutely. John writes: “we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness (in the wicked one).” Can this be true of the believer who is in Christ? Let the reader judge. If the term “whole world” in 1 John 2:2 means all mankind generically, it is an exceptional usage in the epistle (objectively, only in 1 John 2:2 and 4:14 could it possibly refer to all mankind without exception—two times out of 23 occurrences). Therefore, it is the writer’s contention that the burden of proof rests upon those who interpret “whole world” generically to establish that the term means all mankind in any redemptive context, let alone in 1 John 2:2.” [5]
25. Isaiah 52-53[6] : Awake, awake, put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city: for henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean. Shake thyself from the dust; arise, sit [on thy throne], O Jerusalem: loose thyself from the bonds of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion. For thus saith Jehovah, Ye were sold for nought; and ye shall be redeemed without money. For thus saith the Lord Jehovah, My people went down at the first into Egypt to sojourn there: and the Assyrian hath oppressed them without cause. Now therefore, what do I here, saith Jehovah, seeing that my people is taken away for nought? they that rule over them do howl, saith Jehovah, and my name continually all the day is blasphemed. Therefore my people shall know my name: therefore [they shall know] in that day that I am he that doth speak; behold, it is I. How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace, that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation, that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth! The voice of thy watchmen! they lift up the voice, together do they sing; for they shall see eye to eye, when Jehovah returneth to Zion. Break forth into joy, sing together, ye waste places of Jerusalem; for Jehovah hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed Jerusalem. Jehovah hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, touch no unclean thing; go ye out of the midst of her; cleanse yourselves, ye that bear the vessels of Jehovah. For ye shall not go out in haste, neither shall ye go by flight: for Jehovah will go before you; and the God of Israel will be your rearward. Behold, my servant shall deal wisely, he shall be exalted and lifted up, and shall be very high. Like as many were astonished at thee (his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men), so shall he sprinkle many nations; kings shall shut their mouths at him: for that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they understand. Who hath believed our message? and to whom hath the arm of Jehovah been revealed [see 52:7]? For he grew up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. He was despised, and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and as one from whom men hide their face he was despised; and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our [7] griefs, and carried our sorrows; yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and Jehovah hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, yet when he was afflicted he opened not his mouth; as a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and as a sheep that before its shearers is dumb, so he opened not his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who [among them] considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living for the transgression of My people to whom the stroke [was due]? And they made his grave with the wicked, and with a rich man in his death; although he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. Yet it pleased Jehovah to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see [his] seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of Jehovah shall prosper in his hand. He shall see of the travail of his soul, [and] shall be satisfied: by the knowledge of himself shall My Righteous Servant justify many; and he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he poured out his soul unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors: yet he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors” (ASV).
I left Isaiah 53 for last, because it is one the most difficult and controversial of all the passages of Scripture on this subject for many to interpret. But if one keeps into focus all that has already been discussed above, then they should have no difficulty with Isaiah chapter 53. In this chapter the prophet Isaiah speaks as the representative of God’s elect. This is not a prophecy to every single Jew, neither is it written to all the world, but only to those who have an ear to hear what the Spirit is saying to Christ’s (or God’s) true remnant or people. God has always all along only been concerned about His remnant out of both the Jews and the Gentiles chosen by His grace and mercy. Even to Elijah God said, “I have reserved for Myself seven thousand who have not bowed their knee to Baal” (Rom. 11:4). And so too, “at this present time there is a remnant chosen by grace” (v. 5).
Some Preliminary Thoughts
Verse one of Isaiah chapter 53 starts out with “Who has believed our report”? It is not the report of the naturally born Jew, but of God’s elect to whom the arm of the Lord is made “bare” (or “revealed”)that only some Jews, as well as only some Gentiles from out of “all the nations and all the ends of the earth will see” (52:10). They are told the good news of salvation by “watchmen” (52:7-8) such as all the prophets, OT saints, and all NT saints. These are all those who believed, and who end up proclaiming the message, or good news, even as Paul, who as one inspired by God, also affirms to us in Rom. 10:15-16 this prophecy of Isaiah’s. As such, it is just as much as “our” report, as just as well as it is also to us, and only to us, and to whom God has “revealed” Himself. Thus when Isaiah continues to say, “He took our infirmities, carried our sorrows…He was pierced for our iniquities and the punishment that brought our peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed”, he is still speaking to all those who have believe in, and who give what is termed “our report”. It is no one else’s report but that of the elects. Isaiah continues to use this personal pronoun in the same way it is to be understood of in this phrase. Only those who are truly saved by God can make the statement, “who has believed our report.”
In chapter 52 God says that He “has” comforted them, He “has” redeemed them (52:9); and they “will see” His salvation (52:10). What they were not told “they will see” and what they have not heard, “they will” understand (52:15). Here Isaiah says “we all” (the ones with the report) like sheep have gone astray…and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity “of us all” (53:6). “Who can speak of His descendants…for the transgression of My people He was stricken” (53:8). This wasn’t just Jews, otherwise this verse would be saying He was stricken only for them. “He will see His seed” (v. 10), i.e., all us who are in Christ, and are by such a union are Abraham’s seed and heirs according to this promise (Gal. 3:29). By “his knowledge My Righteous Servant will justify the many, and He will bear their iniquities…He bore the sin of the many and made intercession for the transgressors” (vv. 11-12; cf. also Jhn. 10:15-16; 17:1-26). Isaiah chapters 54 and thereon continue along the same theme. In 56:8 “the Sovereign Lord declares—He who gathers the exiles of Israel; ‘I will gather still others to them besides those already gathered.’” He will “remove the obstacles out of the way” of His people (57:14). His “afflicted city, lashed by storms and not comforted, I will build with stones of turquoise, your foundations with sapphires. I will make your battlements of rubies, your gates of sparkling jewels, and you walls of precious stones. All your sons will be taught by the Lord, and great will be your children’s peace” (54:11-12). For as Isa. 54:1 and Paul affirms, “For it is written: ‘Be glad, O barren woman, who bears no children; break forth and cry aloud, you who have no labor pains; because more are the children of the desolate woman than of her who has a husband’” (Gal. 4:27). It is God’s church, or people, that birth us into the kingdom, and it is all we who in turn give birth to one another. This is why it is said in Psm. 87:5, “Indeed, of Zion it will be said, ‘This one and that one were born in her, and the Most High himself will establish her.” And in v. 4 Rahab, Babylon, Philistia, Tyre, along with Cush, will be also “born in Zion”. This is how Paul could say, “she is the Mother of us all” (Gal. 3:26). This wonderful city, God’s people, is likened unto a bride in Revelation, beautifully dressed and adorned for her husband (21:2), Isaiah affirming the same thing, “For your Maker is your husband” (54:5). Isaiah goes on to say that we were as “a wife deserted and distressed in spirit—a wife who married young, only to be rejected…” (v. 6). This wonderful bride, “the wife of the Lamb” (Rev. 21:9-10, shines with the glory and brilliance of God, whose brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel (v. 10).
Isaiah 52
I begin with Isaiah 52, rather than chapter 53, because it forms the backdrop for what Isaiah is about to say in chapter 53:1 and thereon. In chapter 52:1, Isaiah speaks of Jerusalem, the holy city, that “the uncircumcised and defiled will not enter you again”. This agrees with what the Lord says through Zechariah, Ezekiel and John, that “on that day there will no longer be a Canaanite in the house of the Lord Almighty” (Zech. 14:21); “no foreigner uncircumcised in heart and flesh is to enter My sanctuary…” (Ezk. 44:9); and “Nothing impure will ever enter into it, not will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful….Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they…may go through the gates into the city. Outside are the dogs…” (Rev. 22:14). These “washed robes” that John refers to are what Isaiah says Zion here in 52:1 is suppose to do: “clothe yourself with strength, put on your garments of splendor”. This is not to be understood literally, but spiritually speaking, as in Revelation. Such white “robes” of linen (Rev. 7:14; 19:7-8, 14) are the “garments of splendor.” Albert Barnes notes here:
“The uncircumcised are emblems of the impure, the unconverted, and the idolatrous; and the meaning is, that in future times the church would be pure and holy. It cannot mean that no uncircumcised man or idolater would ever again enter the city of Jerusalem, for this would not be true. It was a fact that Antiochus and his armies, and Titus and his army entered Jerusalem, and undoubtedly hosts of others did also who were not circumcised. But this refers to the future times, when the church of God would be pure. Its members would, in the main, be possessors of the true religion, and would adorn it. Probably, therefore, the view of the prophet extended to the purer and happier times under the Messiah, when the church should be characteristically and eminently holy, and when, as a great law of that church, none should be admitted, who did not profess that they were converted.”Zechariah also mentions “living water” flowing out of this Jerusalem (14:8). This “Jerusalem” can only be that Jerusalem which Ezekiel (Ezk. 47:1-12), Jesus (Jhn. 7:37-39), Paul (Gal. 4:25-26), Hebrews (11:10; 12:22), and John (Rev. 21:2, 9-10; 22:1-2, 17) referred to as that spiritual Jerusalem which is from above and not the natural, carnal one which is below and in bondage with her children. This Jerusalem that is from above (i.e. born from above) is made up of all of God’s chosen people from out of all the Jews and Gentiles chosen by grace. This is the teaching of the Bible, and only false teachers, the unbelieving, and the unregenerate would argue otherwise. They are all enemies of the cross of Christ, attempting to seek a salvation based upon their own faith, merits, and good works. They all walk and talk like ducks, and put up a facade, but inwardly they are like ravening wolves, biting, devouring, and gnashing their teeth at these very words that are being spoken, being very angry over such things being said here, but which are of the most comfort and encouragement to all of God’s true saints and sheep.
In verse 2, God tells this Jerusalem to “sit enthroned” and to “free yourself from the chains on your neck, O captive daughter”. In Ephesians 2 such a position of honor of being “enthroned” is given to all such saints who are endued with this name “Jerusalem”, not just for a select few in the natural Davidic line. We have arisen from being prostrate and dead “in the dust” to being seated with Christ in heavenly places. Verse 3 says we were all sold “for nothing” in Adam, and “without money” we will be redeemed (cp. Isa. 55:1). He who has no money comes to Christ by the power, drawing, and enablement of God the Father to buy and eat (Jhn. 6:44, 65). Some suppose that verse 3 speaks of the Jews being sold into slavery and exile, quoting such passages as Isa. 50:1; Jer. 15:13 and Psm. 44:12, but the redemption here “without money” goes beyond being redeemed from out of anything physical by the good news of salvation and peace through the ministers of Christ (v. 7). In verse 5 where it says God’s people “have been taken for nothing”, it is not the same Hebrew word as found in verse 3. Here in verse 5, the Hebrew “ephes” denotes the idea of being taken “without reason or right” by the Assyrians and Babylonians, in verse 3, the Hebrew “chinnam” denotes “without cost or pay”, and since they are to be spiritually redeemed “without money” it follows that they were spiritually in bondage by no fault or payment of their own, as Rom. 5:14 affirms. Jamieson, Faucett, and Brown note here that such a thought is not highly unlikely, seeing in this prophecy an allusion to the era of the Messiah and state: “So the spiritual Israel sold under sin (Rom. 7:14) gratuitously, shall be redeemed also gratuitously (Isa. 55:1).”
In verse 4 God refers to His chosen people (not all Israelites) as “My people” who “went down to Egypt to live”. One can only think of Jacob, Joseph, and his sons who were, strictly speaking, His people at that time. In verse 5, God says “My people” have been taken (by the Assyrians) for nothing (or “without right”, at least not with the “rights” by which they claimed to take Israel, see Isa. 10:5-12). Not all Israel is Israel, or God’s covenantal people according to “promise”, and many of His true saints, such as Daniel, Jeremiah, Habakkuk, Ezekiel, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther, etc., were just as much a part of those who went into exile, as were many who were really not God’s covenantal people according to promise. But such “covenantal” people were not sinless either, and God had to change their hearts just as much as He had to change ours. But nevertheless, such individuals are His chosen seed of Israel’s race, the ransomed from the fall. And all hail Him who saved them by His grace, and crown Him Lord of all.
In verse 6 God says that “My people” (all His sheep called by His name) “will know My name”. Edward Young notes here regarding this phrase that “the knowledge referred to is not merely intellectual, but comprises an experience of the manifestation of God’s self-revelation, insofar as He shows Himself to be the true Deliverer and Redeemer of Israel.” Edwards also adds that the phrase “in that day tells when the people will know.” Amos spoke of “in that day” as the day when God would restore David’s ruined tent (9:11) which was in the early days of the Church (Acts 15:16-17). Zechariah likewise spoke of “in that day” that living water would flow out of Jerusalem (14:8). In Acts 2:17 Peter said, “this is that” day which was spoken of by the prophet Joel. And when Joel said that “in those days and at that time, when I [God] restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem” (3:1), he is speaking of the reign of the current Messianic kingdom of Christ during the outpouring of His Holy Spirit upon all peoples (2:28-32). "In that day" is a term commonly used for the days of Christ's messianic reign which began upon His ascension to His throne at the right hand of God. So whenever we see this phrase being used, we can be sure that it is speaking of the time that we are in now. And Joel even reiterates what I mentioned just earlier, that during this time “never again will foreigners invade her” (i.e., Christ’s church), and that “a fountain will flow out of the Lord’s house and water the valley of acacias” (3:17-18).
Much of the furniture in the tabernacle of Moses was made out of the wood of the “acacias” (Ex. 25-38 NIV), which tabernacle, or temple, we are; and which houses, upholds, cares for, and proclaims the presence and glories of Christ. And Isaiah even depicts a time in the “desert” places where the Lord will succor the poor and needy, making “rivers flow on barren heights, and springs within the valleys”. He will “turn the desert into pools of water, and the parched ground into springs”. And He “will put in the desert the cedar and the acacia, the myrtle and the olive. I will set pines in the wasteland, the fir and the cypress together” (Isa. 41:17-19). Such types of trees, as well as the palm tree, are used many times over by the prophets as figurative language to describe God’s people as stately trees which grow in desert and arid places sustained by springs of living water. Solomon similarly had “palm trees” carved into the walls of the temple, with “pine” and “olive wood” doors (1Ki. 6:29-35). Ezekiel likewise envisions Christ’s temple and Church with figurative expressions of “palm trees” carved all around the temple and on doors (40:16, 22, 26, 31; 41:18-26). In Neh. 8:15-17, the people celebrated the Festival of Booths with booths built out of “olive and wild olive trees, and from myrtles, palms and shade trees.” And Paul said that in Christ this “whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple…a dwelling in which God lives” (Eph. 2:21-22). Peter likewise affirmed that we “like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house…offering spiritual sacrifices” (1Pet. 2:5).
Now this idea above of “acacias” or trees being watered in a desert valley depicts the lowly, humble, and contrite state of all God’s servants. The Psalmist says the righteous are “like a tree planted by the streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season and whose leaf does not wither” (1:3), they will “flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God. They will still bear fruit in old age, and will stay fresh and green” (92:12-14). Jeremiah likewise says, “He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in drought and never fails to bear fruit” (17:8). When one reads such verses about God’s people one can only think of the visions of Ezekiel and John which depict trees that are aligned up and down the living river and water of life bearing fruit all year round, and whose life in its “green” (not “dry”) leaves that do not “whither” due to lack of strength or vitality are for the healing of many peoples in many nations.
Verse 7-8 in Isaiah 52 mentions, “How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, and who say to Zion, ‘Your God reigns’. Listen! Your watchmen [the holy prophets and all true disciples of the Lord] lift up their voices.” The apostle Paul applied this verse along with 53:1 to the preaching of the Gospel and the denial of some as opposed to the acceptance of others concerning this message. He writes, “And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news! But not all the Israelites accepted the good news. For Isaiah says, ‘Lord, who has believed our message? Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message [about Christ] is heard through the word of Christ” (Rom. 10:15). And again Paul quoting Isaiah 52:15 says, “It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known, so that I would not be building on someone else’s foundation. Rather, as it is written: ‘Those who were not told about him will see, and those who have not heard will understand’” (Rom. 15:21). Matthew Poole adds here on all these words, “something further and better is here intended than the deliverance out of Babylon [as some suppose]…yet extended much further, even to the coming of Christ…” Edward Young concurs, “there is no reason to assume that the announcement has to do with the return of exiles from Babylon” (The Book of Isaiah, vol. 3, p. 329).
Regarding the phrase “your God reigns”, Edward Young again writes: “Should we interpret Thy God Reigneth or Thy God has become king? The thought is essentially the same as that announced in the New Testament, that the kingdom of God is at hand. There is no thought that God has abdicated the throne during the period of the exile, although to Israel it may at times have seemed that such was the case. What the messenger declares is that Israel’s God will now manifest the fact that He is upon the throne” (ibid, p. 330).
Verses 8-9 continue to say that many “will see it with their own eyes and burst into songs of joy together, for the “ruins of Jerusalem”, which is akin to the tabernacle of David which is fallen down, will no longer be (Acts 15:16-17), “for the Lord has comforted His people, He has redeemed Jerusalem” (v. 9). “The Lord will lay bare His arm in the sight of all the nations [the Gentiles are inclusive of God’s blessing], and all the ends of the earth will see the salvation of our God” (v. 10). This agrees with 53:1 which says, “to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?” It is “revealed” to those whom He wants to lay it bare to, they “will see” it.
Verses 11-12 follow with the usual exhortations for all of God’s people to separate themselves from world. “Depart, depart, go out from there! Touch no unclean thing. Come out from it and be pure, you who carry the vessels of the Lord .” This exhortation to not to be unequally yoked with unbelievers was to “you who carry the vessels of the Lord” (v. 11b) made up of both Jews and Gentiles from “all the nations” (v. 10) and the “many nations” He would “sprinkle” with His blood and clean water (v. 15; cf. also Ezk. 36:25; Heb. 10:22; 1Pet. 1:2). Again, Paul quotes this verse, applying it to the gospel dispensation and to all the elect, such as in the church at Corinth. He tells them not to “be yoked together with unbelievers….‘Therefore come out from them and be separate’, says the Lord. ‘Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you’” (2Cor. 6:17). In Rev. 18:4, John likewise speaks with regards to the Church, God’s people, “Come out of her, My people, so that you will not share in her [Babylon’s] sins.” In verse 12 of chapter 52 in Isaiah, God promises that the Lord will be the one who will lead all of us out and also be our rear guard.
In light of what Paul says above, the phrase in verse 11 which says, “Come out…you who carry the vessels of the Lord” could very well be God telling His Church who are, spiritually speaking priests in His House, to be separate from unbelievers as Paul exhorts us to do. Because in Isaiah 66:19-21, God speaks of elect Jews (such as that of Paul) being sent “to Tarshish, to the Libyans, to Tubal and Greece, and to the distant islands that have not heard of My fame or seen My glory. They will proclaim My glory among the nations. And they will bring all your brothers, from all the nations, to my holy mountain in Jerusalem as an offering to the LORD—on horses, in chariots and wagons, and on mules and camels,’ says the LORD. ‘They will bring them, as the Israelites bring their grain offerings, to the temple of the LORD in ceremonially clean vessels. And I will select some of them also to be priests and Levites,’ says the LORD.” Paul similarly spoke of having “the priestly duty of proclaiming the gospel of God, so that the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit” (Rom. 15:16). So here in Isaiah we see Gentiles being brought into the house of the Lord as vessels, and also referred to as “priests” and figuratively as “Levites”, which makes us think of the “Levites” who are said to minister in Ezekiel’s vision of the temple of the Lord from which “living water” or the water “of life” is to flow out from (Ezk. 44; 47:1-12; Rev. 7:17; 22:1). Zechariah similarly states, “On that day HOLY TO THE LORD will be inscribed on the bells of the horses, and the cooking pots in the LORD’s house will be like the sacred bowls in front of the altar. Every pot in Jerusalem and Judah will be holy to the LORD Almighty, and all who come to sacrifice will take some of the pots and cook in them. And on that day there will no longer be a Canaanite in the house of the LORD Almighty” (14:20-21).
John Gill also writes concerning Isaiah 52:11,
“Not the vessels of the Lord’s sanctuary, as the Targum, restored by Cyrus to the Jews, at their return from the Babylonish captivity, Ezr 1:7, and so Jarchi interprets it of the priests and Levites that bore the vessels of the Lord in the wilderness; but Kimchi of the mercies and kindnesses of the Lord; Aben Ezra of the law: but it may much better be understood of the ministers of the Gospel, and of the treasure of the Gospel which they have in their earthen vessels; or the name of the Lord, which they are chosen vessels to bear and carry in the world; who ought to be pure from false doctrine, superstitious worship, and an evil conversation: though it may be applied to every Christian, since all true believers are priests under the Gospel dispensation…”In verses 13-15 and the rest of chapter 53, the Lord speaks of His Suffering Servant who will be the redeemer for the transgressions of God’s people, His chosen ones. As said earlier, this Redeemer will “sprinkle many nations”, and “for what they were not told, they will see, and what they have not heard, they will understand” (52:15). He is a Redeemer who really redeems men, and not just make them redeemable. Again, as noted above, this was the verse Paul used as a word from the Lord that he was to take the gospel to all those who had not heard of the message about the Redeemer. It would be for all those whom the Lord had told Paul, “I have much people in this city” (Acts 18:10; cf. 16:9-10 also). They were those who had not heard, but “will” understand. And Luke states that all such as were ordained to eternal life, believed (Acts 13:48), the same ones that Jesus said He was to “give eternal life to all those You [the Father] have given Him” (Jhn. 17:2).
Isaiah 53
Chapter 53 begins, “Who has believed our message, to whom has the arm [the strength] of the Lord been revealed?” It is all those mentioned in 52:6-11 and 15. These are the ones to whom “the arm of the Lord is revealed”. It is for these that the Suffering Servant comes to redeem and “reveal” Himself to. He is not “revealed” to everyone, but only those whom the Father has given unto the Lamb (Jhn. 6:37, 39, 44, 65; 10:26-29). Also, when Isaiah says, “Who has believed our message”, it was not the message of those Jews who walked in unbelief, but the message of all God’s prophets, apostles, and all those to whom the arm of the Lord had been revealed to.
Verse 4 affirms likewise to such, “Surely he hath borne our [5] griefs, and carried our sorrows; yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and Jehovah hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. ” (compare with 1Pet. 2:24-25: “who our sins Himself did bear in His body, upon the tree, that to the sins having died, to the righteousness we may live; for ye were as sheep going astray, but ye turned back now to the shepherd and overseer of your souls.” YLT). Here the apostle Peter clearly applies this prophecy to Christ’s elect sheep. None of the epistles are written to unbelievers, but believers only. Peter becomes our authoritative interpreter of Isaiah’s words here. It is “we” who all like sheep have gone astray here. This prophecy is speaking specifically of Christ’s sheep. Is this idea of going astray true of all people? Yes, but here God is speaking concerning His lost sheep. They are called His “sheep” even before they have come into the fold, because in His eyes they are already His sheep and His children. In Jhn. 11:52, John called them “the children of God scattered abroad”. In chapter 10:15-16, Christ says He lays down His life for these sheep before they are even yet His sheep, and even refers to “other sheep” (Gentiles) “that are not of this sheep pen” (Israelites). In verse 26 He tells some of the Jews that “you do not believe because you are not My sheep”. He doesn’t say they are not His sheep because they do not believe, but that they do not believe because they are not His sheep. In verse 29 they are those whom He said in chapter six that the Father had given unto Him.
Simon Escobedo III of James White’s Alpha and Omega Ministries says here with regard to Peter’s words above:
“Now what does Peter say was the result of that offering? ‘That WE (notice the pronoun) having died to sins.’ Here the aorist [middle] participle, apogenomenoi [“having died”], is used to describe that which took place at the time of the main verb anehnegken [himself “bore” or “carried” our sins]. Since the main verb is also aorist [middle participle], ‘bore our sins,’ then in this sense Peter is saying that we died, that is as to sins penalty, WHEN Christ died as OUR Substitute. It would be my contention that the grammar of the text suggests that our dying to sin was related, in strict substitution, to the death of Christ” (http://vintage.aomin.org/WaiteAtone.html).As Young’s Literal Translation (YLT) above affirms along with Simon Escobedo’s analysis, “that to the sins having died” we died, when Christ bore our sins. This also agrees with 2Cor. 5:15 mentioned earlier above which stated “if Christ died for all, then all died” right then and there (just as all mankind died in Adam the moment he sinned in the garden of Eden), and both actions of both men are only to be realized in time. Peter is affirming here above that Christ actually bore “our”, i.e. the churches, sins. The “our” here is restricted to “us” here in this epistle, or Christ’s sheep, and no more.
In Isaiah 53:6, the prophet says that “Jehovah hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.” For whom was this done? “Us all.” Who is “us all”?
- “Us all” to whom the arm of the Lord is “revealed”.
- “Us all” who were chosen by grace to “see it with their own eyes” .
- “Us all” who are “justified” by His grace.
- “Us all” who have been chosen to believe on Him and His report.
- “Us all” who were “sprinkled”.
- ‘Us all” who are actually and really made free from sin and death.
- “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Rom. 5:8, NIV).
- “Who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father” (Gal. 1:4, NIV).
- “Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her” (Eph.5:25).
- “Who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good” (Tit. 2:14, NIV).
- “Hereby know we love, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren” (1Jhn. 3:16, ASV).
Here is the parallel to John 3:16: God so loved, because He laid down his life “for us”. And notice this, that therefore “we ought to lay down our own lives for the brethren”—not for the world. Christ “for us” and “us” for “them” also. No one else is included in this denial of ones self for one another. It is a special love that we are to have towards our brothers in Christ, similarly to what Christ exemplified to us. Did God so love the entire world? Not so fast. I don’t think so! Is that what we are exhorted to do here for those beyond our own brethren? John is keeping it all in the family here.
“My people” are “His descendants” mentioned here in the same verse, just as “all people” that Christ gives eternal life to in Jhn. 17:2 are “all those You [the Father] have given Him [Christ].” Such “descendants” as we all very well know are all those who are of the same faith as Abraham and are considered Abraham’s seed and are children of promise like Isaac (Gal. 3:29; 4:28). They are the same seed that Christ spoke of and of whom many of the Jews were not a part of (Jhn. 8:39-47; Lke. 13:28-30). This “seed” is again referred to in verse 10, “he shall see [his] seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of Jehovah shall prosper in his hand. He shall see of the travail of his soul, [and] shall be satisfied.” This “travail” was for all those whom He would see the Father give unto Him.
Edward Young says on this verse here:
“My people—the people who belong to Me—have transgressed, and because they have transgressed, the terrible stroke has fallen upon Him. It was, therefore, not the sin of all mankind, but the sin of My people—the elect—which cause the stroke to come upon Him. At first sight it might seem that the words “my people” constituted a reference merely to the historical nation of Israel. However, in the light of the context it becomes clear that those who are designated, are a people whose sins have been expiated, who have received a spiritual salvation, and who have received the righteousness of the righteous Servant. They are God’s people in a peculiar sense. They are the redeemed, because of whose sins the Servant was smitten” (Isaiah 53. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans Pub., 1953. pp. 66-67).Isaiah 53:11-12 then reads, “by the knowledge of himself shall My righteous servant justify many; and he shall bear their iniquities….he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.”
These “many” are the same many as mentioned earlier in all the verses above, but they are not the same “many” that are all made sinners in Adam. For not all “in Adam” are made righteous (Rom. 5:19) and justified. And neither is this a “potential” justification as some suppose to make men only savable, but an actual and real one. Also, all the verses above have already shown that Christ died to redeem “us” and to bear “our” sins and iniquities. He is a Redeemer who really redeems, just as Israel (in type) was really redeemed every time from their terrible ordeals. If such temporal redemptions actually redeemed, how much more so God’s spiritual redemption of His people. The Scriptures also say that God “sold” Israel to the heathen nations for their sin and idolatry. This too was no “potential” selling, but was just as real as them being “redeemed” or “bought” out of such circumstances. Again, how much more so we being “redeemed” by the precious blood of Christ from the bondage and ravages of sin? Those whom God foreknew (not prescience) He predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son. And those whom He predestined, He also called; those He called, He also justified; those He justified, He also glorified” (Rom. 8:29-30). All of these verbs: foreknew, predestined (twice), called, justified, and glorified, are all aorist active indicatives, which means like the word “died” in 2Cor. 5:14 above, that it is a fact or reality that occurred in the past and accomplished by the subject of these verbs, which is God the Father. They are not to be understood as something that He saw us do, but they are actions which He acted upon us, irregardless of us. It was all determined as “finished” or “done” before any of them came to be. And the words “foreknew” and “predestined” even lend further weight to this idea. We were foreknown and chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world to be “called”, “justified”, and “glorified” before time began for any of us. Paul goes on to say, “What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously [freely] give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us” (vv. 31-34). Here also is the “intercession” that Isaiah speaks above about, and Paul says it is all for God’s “chosen” (or “elect”). Note the connection between those for whom atonement is made and those for whom intercession is made. Upon what basis does Christ intercede? His work upon the cross. For whom then does He intercede? Clearly, it is for His people. You cannot separate Christ’s work of sacrifice from His work of intercession; they are a concerted effort and joint work of His office as our High Priest.
A look at the context of Isaiah and other related passages of Scripture, the Apostle Peter’s own exegesis of this text, Paul’s own application to the church using the quotations from Isaiah, and the emphasis on the work of Christ in Christ’s own words clearly refutes the presentation that Christ bore the sins of all mankind.
If one is looking for a specific treatment of the universality of sin then one should turn to Romans chapter 3. If, however, one is looking for the substitutionary work of Christ on the behalf of His own people whom the Father gave unto Him, then one will find a wonderful treasure of comfort and consolation for oneself in Isaiah chapters 52-53.
And, furthermore, if someone wants to argue that “foreknow” means to only “foresee” on down into the future what will transpire, let them consider that Peter uses the same word in 1Pet. 1:20 of Christ having been “foreknown before the creation of the world”. Does anyone really believe that God the Father, who was sitting in counsel right there with the Son in eternity past and determining all of this, only “foresaw” Himself doing what He was going to do and then determined from that point on to choose Himself to the task for which He had called Himself to do? Is that when Christ was “elected” by God to be crucified? If anyone believes that then there is truly no hope for such people. They are blind guides only to be left to themselves. With such a one we are to have no fellowship with. They are the blind leading the blind and are all falling headlong into a ditch.
Footnotes:
[1] A Grammar of the Greek New Testament in the Light of Historical Research, p. 704.
[2] Word Pictures in the New Testament, vol. 4, p. 525.
[3] White, James R. The Potter’s Freedom. Amityville, NY: Calvary Press, p. 296.
[4] 1Jhn. 5:1, reads: “Everyone who believes…has been born of God.” In the Greek it says that our being born of God preceded our believing, and that our believing is a result of our having been quickened, or being regenerated by God. He quickens our spirit to respond in faith, just like He quickened Lazarus from the dead enabling him to come forth of his own volition from the tomb. Two other places is this Greek construction found: In 1Jhn. 2:29 and 4:7. In 2:29, it is, “everyone who does what is right has been born of Him.” Thus, we see here that the new birth precedes everyone doing righteousness. In 4:7, it is, “everyone who loves has been born of God.” Again, the new birth precedes everyone who loves. Did any biblical love and righteousness towards God and others precede the new birth? No, of course not! The cause of both was preceded by the effect of being born-again. So, it stands to reason that the same can only be said for believing in Christ. Like Lydia in Acts 16, the Lord opens our heart to respond and to believe in Christ. Those ordained to eternal life…believe (cf. Acts 13:48).
[5] p. 89.
[6] Matthew Henry writes concerning chapter 52:1-12:
“The gospel proclaims liberty to those bound with fears. Let those weary and heavy laden under the burden of sin, find relief in Christ, shake themselves from the dust of their doubts and fears, and loose themselves from those bands. The price paid by the Redeemer for our salvation, was not silver or gold, or corruptible things, but his own precious blood. Considering the freeness of this salvation, and how hurtful to temporal comfort sins are, we shall more value the redemption which is in Christ. Do we seek victory over every sin, recollecting that the glory of God requires holiness in every follower of Christ? The good news is, that the Lord Jesus reigns. Christ himself brought these tidings first. His ministers proclaim these good tidings: keeping themselves clean from the pollutions of the world, they are beautiful to those to whom they are sent. Zion's watchmen could scarcely discern any thing of God's favour through the dark cloud of their afflictions; but now the cloud is scattered, they shall plainly see the performance. Zion's waste places shall then rejoice; all the world will have the benefit. This is applied to our salvation by Christ. Babylon is no place for Israelites. And it is a call to all in the bondage of sin and Satan, to use the liberty Christ has proclaimed. They were to go with diligent haste, not to lose time nor linger; but they were not to go with distrustful haste. Those in the way of duty, are under God's special protection; and he that believes this, will not hasten for fear.
John Gill affirms the same thing:
“This chapter is a prophecy of the glorious state of the church in the latter day, typified by the deliverance of the Jews from Babylon. The church, under the names of Zion and Jerusalem, is exhorted to awake and clothe herself with strength, and with beautiful garments, to shake off her dust, and loose her bands, since she should become a pure and separate people, Isa. 52:1. and whereas the Lord's people had been afflicted formerly by the Egyptians, and more lately by the Assyrians, a free redemption is promised them; and the rather they might expect it, since the Lord was no gainer by their affliction, but a loser in his name and honour, as well as they distressed, Isa. 52:3. And it is suggested, that the knowledge of the Lord should be spread, the good tidings of peace and salvation be delightfully published, and that the ministers of the Gospel should have clear light, and be harmonious and unanimous in the publishing of it, Isa. 52:6. Upon which the waste places of Jerusalem are called upon to rejoice, both because of the restoration of the Jews, and the conversion of the Gentiles, Isa. 52:9. And the people of God are called to go out of Babylon, the manner of their departure is directed, and something said for their encouragement, Isa. 52:11. And the chapter is concluded with some account of the Messiah, of his humiliation and exaltation, and of his work and office, Isa. 52:13, and which are enlarged upon in the next chapter, which ought properly to begin with these last verses.”
[7] “our”, “we”, and “us all” are all those “to whom the arm [or the strength] of the Lord has been revealed” (53:1). They have believed the report which is mentioned also earlier in 52:7.
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