Revelation 5:9, Worthy art thou to take the scroll and to open its seals, for thou wast slain and by thy blood didst ransom men for God from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. In accordance with John 10:16 John does not say that the death of Christ ransomed all men but that it ransomed men from all the tribes of the world. This is the way we understand texts like 1 John 2:2 which says, He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. This does not mean that Christ died with the intention to appease the wrath of God for every person in the world, but that the sheep, the children of God scattered throughout the whole world, from every tongue and tribe and people and nation are intended by the propitiation of Christ. In fact the grammatical parallel between John 11:51-52 and 1 John 2:2 is so close it is difficult to escape the conviction that the same thing is intended by John in both verses. John 11:51-52, He prophesied that Jesus should die for the nation, and not for the nation only, but to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad. 1 John 2:2, He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. The whole world refers to the children of God scattered throughout the whole world. If the whole world referred to every individual in the world, we would be forced to say that John is teaching that all people will be saved, which he does not believe (Revelation 14:9-11). The reason we would be forced to say this is that the term propitiation refers to a real removal of wrath from sinners. When Gods wrath against a sinner is propitiated, it is removed from that sinner. And the result is that all Gods power now flows in the service of his mercy, with the result that nothing can stop him from saving that sinner. Propitiated sins cannot be punished. Otherwise propitiation loses its meaning. Therefore if Christ is the propitiation for all the sins of every individual in the world, they cannot be punished, and must be saved. But John does not believe in such universalism (John 5:29). Therefore it is very unlikely that 1 John 2:2 teaches that Jesus is the propitiation of every person in the world. Mark 10:45, in accord with Revelation 5:9,does not say that Jesus came to ransom all men. It says, For the Son of man also came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. Similarly in Matthew 26:28 Jesus says, This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. Hebrews 9:28, So Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him. (See also 13:20; Isaiah 53:11-12.) One of the clearest passages on the intention of the death of Christ is Ephesians 5:25-27. Here Paul not only says that the intended beneficiary of the death of Christ is the Church, but also that the intended effect of the death of Christ is the sanctification and glorification of the church. This is the truth we want very much to preserve: that the cross was not intended to give all men the opportunity to save themselves, but was intended to actually save the church. Paul says, Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that he might present the church to himself in splendor. Similarly in Titus 2:14 Paul describes the purpose of Christs death like this: He gave himself for us to redeem us from all iniquity and to purify for himself a people of his own who are zealous for good deeds. If Paul were an Arminian would he not have said, He gave himself to redeem all men from iniquity and purify all men for himself? But Paul says that the design of the atonement is to purify for Christ a people out from the world. This is just what John said in John 10:15; 11:51f; and Revelation 5:9. One of the most crucial texts on this issue is Romans 8:32. It is one of the most precious promises for Gods people in all the Bible. Paul says, He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, will he not also give us all things with him? The crucial thing to see here is how Paul bases the certainty of our inheritance on the death of Christ. He says, God will most certainly give you all things because he did not spare his own Son but gave him up for you. What becomes of this precious argument if Christ is given for those who do not in fact receive all things but instead are lost? The argument vanishes. If God gave his own Son for unbelievers who in the end are lost, then he cannot say that the giving of the Son guarantees all things for the those for whom he died. But this is what he does say! If God gave his Son for you, then he most certainly will give you all things. The structure of Pauls thought here is simply destroyed by introducing the idea that Christ died for all men in the same way. -- Piper
Posted on: Sat, 15 Mar 2014 13:15:27 +0000
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