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. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.
John 3:16-18
This passage makes clear that God loves us; that he loves everyone in the world, not just a select few. It is also clear from this passage that God did what was needed to provide salvation for those that he loved. God gave his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for the whole world (1 John 2:2), in order to taste death for everyone (Heb. 2:9). Jesus was our sacrificial lamb (John 1:29) who delivers us from the wrath of God (1 Thess. 1:10) that we justly deserved. Over and over in the Scripture we see that Jesus died for the sins of the world. His sacrifice was made for everyone, not just for a few.
But while Christ’s death was for all people, the benefits of his sacrifice are effective only for those who will believe in Christ. As the passage above from John 3:16-18 makes clear, the sacrifice of Jesus was for the whole world. But only those who believe will obtain eternal life. And, those who do not believe remain in a state of condemnation. This is repeated in John 3:36; those who believe have eternal life.
Limiting the scope of ‘all the world’ to ‘all of the
elect from around the world’ would seem to be a case of interpreting these passages in a way to support a specific doctrine, limited atonement, rather than allowing the Scripture to define the doctrine.
Two passages would seem to be clear that atonement was made for everyone, although not everyone experiences it. 1 John 2:2 says that Jesus “
is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.” His sacrifice was for all; for the whole world.
And 1 Timothy 4:10 expresses that the living God “
is the Savior of all people, and especially of those who believe.” This distinguishes believers from unbelievers in salvation, but still says that Christ is the savior of all people. The expression “
especially of those who believe” in that passage really supports the idea that the sacrifice made for all people is only applicable for those who believe.
To deny the universality of the atonement is to deny the clear teaching of Scripture. Scripture teaches that God wants all men to be saved (1 Tim. 2:4). And that he desires no one to perish (2 Pet. 3:9).
- God . . .
- . . . loves all of humanity – John 3:16
- . . . desires all to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth – 1 Tim. 2:4
- . . . does not wish that any perish but that all should repent – 2 Pet. 3:9
- Christ . . .
- . . . has tasted death for everyone – Heb. 2:9
- . . . is the atoning sacrifice for the sins of the whole world – 1 John 2:2
- . . . gave himself as a ransom for all people – 1 Tim. 2:5-6
- . . . is the savior of all people – 1 Tim. 4:10
- . . . died for all – 1 Cor. 5:15
- The grace of God offers salvation to all people – Tit. 2:11
- Only those who believe are saved – John 3:16-18
- Those who believe in the Son have eternal life, those who reject him face the wrath of God – John 3:36
- God’s righteousness comes by faith to all who believe in Christ – Rom. 3:22
- Believe in your heart to be saved – Rom. 10:9-10
- Those who believe are saved – 1 Cor. 1:21
- Justified, not by works, but by faith in Jesus – Gal. 2:16
- Saved by grace through faith – Eph. 2:8-9
- Christ, the savior of all, especially those who believe – 1 Tim. 4:10