Did Jesus die for every single individual or for his
sheep only?
By Nick Bibile
What about the following scriptures?
1Ti 2:4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
1Ti
1Ti 2:6 Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.
Isa 53:6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
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 honor; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.
Joh
1Jo 2:2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.
Ro 5:6 For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.
When
you look at the above scriptures it looks pretty clear that Christ Jesus died
for all people, meaning every single individual who has been born on this earth
right? Yes, looks pretty convincing. Even the Greek word for all is pav pas pas. It means all men, each, every, the whole,
everyone, every man.
Did
you know when it comes to Hermeneutics which is the science of the correct
interpretation of the Bible, context always rules in interpretation, whether you are studying a single word,
one verse or a larger section of Scripture. The word "context" is derived from a Latin word meaning
"to weave together"
Now this is what I mean, let us take the
same word ‘all’ and see the following scriptures.
Lu 2:1 And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a
decree from Caesar Augustus, that all
the world should be taxed.
Here we see the
same Greek word pas is used meaning every single individual in the world. Was
the whole world taxed?
Mt 3:5 Then went out to him
6 And were baptized of him in
Again the Greek
word pas is used to mean every single individual. Was all
Lu
Again the Greek word pas is used
for every single person. Now let’s take in context, was good tidings of great
joy for King Herod, no he wanted kill Jesus when he was an infant, was it for
Pilate, the Pharisees? No it is only for those who believe.
Joh
Does it mean every single person in the
entire region including old the young, children, people in hospitals, jails
every single individual go after him? No certainly not. Let me give you and
example. When Pope John Paul II died the news media said, the whole world is
mourning. Does it mean every single human being on the face of the earth was
mourning? No, only a limited number.
Now let us take the following scriptures in context.
Question
1Ti 2:4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
Answer
In this context, the will of God is efficacious, meaning effectual and
productive. His will is for his good pleasure. It is based on thy will be done.
Therefore, what is accomplished is his effectual will.
The Antichrist is not saved and his followers are not saved.
1Ti 2:1 I exhort therefore, that, first
of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made
for all men;
2 For kings and for all that are in authority;
that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.
3 For this is good and acceptable in
the sight of God our Savior;
4 Who will have all men to be saved,
and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
5 For there is
one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.
Apostle says that prayers and
thanksgivings be made for all men, then he goes on to say for kings, and for
all in authority. This means not men who are only in low class of life but also
to men who are in high class of life. It is clear that the word all here is to
be interpreted as not every single individual but different classes
of people. Let me give a good scripture that goes along with this to
understand.
Ge
When Noah and family went to the
If someone still does not believe then
he has a problem with verse five. The mediator came only for his people. If the all people are not saved then the mediator failed in his
work to save his people. On the other hand we received the promised of
eternal inheritance because of our mediator.
Heb 9:15 And for this cause he is the
mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of
the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called
might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.
By the way this confirms even more if
you read I
1Ti 2:6 Who
gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.
Again, we know that Christ did not pay
the ransom price for every single individual; if all would be ransomed then all
would be saved. Again, the context of this passage is all classes of people.
The ransom price was paid for all classes of people. We notice that Paul was
ordained to preach for the Gentiles. The ransom price was paid not only to the
believing Jew but also for the believing Gentile. If the ransom price is paid
for every single individual and if they are not saved, then the price that was
paid is in vain, it has no value, as they are not all ransomed. The ransom
price that Christ paid has infinite value as it satisfied the Father. The
ransom price was paid for many for a limited number of people of all classes
including the Gentiles.
Mt
Question
What about 1 Tim 4:10?
Answer
1Ti
First, I would like you to see how Paul
made it clear as he distinguished between two. The word especially in Greek
here is malista it means chiefly or above all.
1.
Savior of all men.
2.
Specially of those that believe.
I would like you to use common logic
that both cannot be the same and true. If he is the Savior of all men, then why
did Paul say especially of those that believe? They should be included in
Savior of all men, because he is the Savior of those believe. However, Paul
distinguished by saying especially of those that believe that means there is a
difference of those that believe and the first statement Savior of all men. The
meaning Savior of all men should be different or else it does not make any
sense. If Christ is the Savior of all people, including all unbelievers then
all must be saved, but some are lost and go to hell so he cannot be the Savior
of all people.
The word Savior in Greek is sotare
means a deliverer, one who saves from danger, also it means preserver.
The word Savior here in context is
preserver. God is the preserver of all men, he gives them life and supplies
them the needs, and he sends rain and the sunshine upon the righteous and the
unrighteous. He supplies them the necessaries of life, but he takes particular care
and special care of those who are his, the believers. They are his portion, his
inheritance and the apple of his eye. They are distinguished from the
unbelievers.
Question
Isa 53:6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
Answer
Again
this scripture need to be taken in context. See the previous verse 5.
Isa
53:5 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.
See
the word our, it is referring not to every single individual but to a limited
number, it does not say every single individual is healed but we are healed.
Question
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 honor; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.
Answer
Taste
in Greek geuo
"To make to taste,"
is used in the Middle Voice, signifying "to taste" (a) naturally, Mt.
27:34; Lu.
Look at the context again and it will explain what it means.
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 honor; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.
10 For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.
11 For both he that
sanctified and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is
not ashamed to call them brethren,
12 Saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee.
Who is everyone here in context? When you read in context verse 11 everyone is called his brethren and not every single individual. 'I WILL PROCLAIM YOUR NAME TO MY BRETHREN; IN THE MIDST OF THE CONGREGATION I WILL SING YOUR PRAISE.'" When read in context it can be seen that the passage has reference to sons; it has reference to the church; it has reference to the brethren; it has reference to those who are the children of God.
Question
Joh
Answer
Again the context, Jesus is speaking to a Jewish Rabbi, Nicodemus, to Nicodemus the world means Gentiles. A good example is when we are in the church we say we are of Christ but those outside are of the world, it is the same concept the Jews had. They were the children of Abraham and the world was the Gentiles.
When Jesus said, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” He is speaking to the believers, Jews and Gentiles scattered all over the world.
Ac
See the fulfillment of this scripture.
Ac
Now again context rules over word studies. Take the word
world and see what I mean.
Mt 18:7 Woe unto the world because of offences!
Here we see just the opposite of God so
loved the world.
Lu 2:1 And it came
to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed.
Was whole world taxed? Including
Joh
Did the whole world go after Jesus? Yes,
the people from
Joh
Here again we see the believers are taken
out of the world by Christ and the world hates the true believers.
Joh 17:9 I pray for them: I pray not for
the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine.
We need to take John 3:16 in context, we
see Jesus saying God so loved the world and in John as we see 17:9 He is not praying for the world. If God loves everyone then how come Jesus
is not praying for all but only to the believers? Jesus did not pray only for his disciples but
for all the believers.
Joh
However he did not pray for those who will
not believe. Does it mean that God hates unbelievers?
God
does not hate all men as creatures but as sinners. God has a general love to
all his creatures as he gives the rain, the sunshine to all. But Gods
particular, intimate love is with the true believers.
Question
1Jo 2:2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.
Answer.
Again the context gives the answer.
The word propitiation has enormous value to atonement. Now in simple terms what does it means? It means to appease, meaning to pacify, to make quiet, to make still, and to calm a person’s anger.
The question comes when it says very clearly that he is the propitiation not only for our sins, but also for the sins of the whole world. The author apostle John is a Jew. According to the Jewish mind, there were only two groups of people. The Jew and the Gentile. The world here is the Jew and the Gentile.
1Jo 4:10 Herein is love, not that we loved
God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our
sins.
Here we see clearly that cause of
propitiation was because of his love for us, us are the Jewish believers and
the Gentile believers. We did not love him first but God loved us first.
However, without grace we cannot believe in Christ. This grace was given to us
in Christ Jesus before the world began. (2 Tim 1:9)
The following is from John Gill. By the way
John Gill at the age of 10 read through the entire Greek New Testament.
“The whole world," in Scripture, unless
when it signifies the whole universe, or the habitable earth, is always used in
a limited sense, either for the Roman empire, or the churches of Christ in the
world, or believers, or the present inhabitants of the world, or a part of them
only, Luke 2:1; and so it is in this epistle, 1 John 5:19; where the whole
world lying in wickedness is manifestly distinguished from the saints, who are
of God, and belong not to the world; and therefore cannot be understood of all
the individuals in the world.”
Question
Ro 5:6 For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.
Answer
Read the context again. Begin from verse
one.
Ro 5:1 Therefore being justified by faith,
we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Only the believers are justified. Read all
the way through it is speaking to the believers, and then verse six is past
tense. When we were still without strength. We were
ungodly before. Yes, Christ died for us when we were ungodly.
See Ephesians 2:3 past tense.
Eph 2:3 Among whom
also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh,
fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.
We were no different than all the other
unbelievers in the past until God saved us by his grace alone.
His people
are called:
The seed of the woman - Genesis 3:15. (Note, not all
mankind as there is a
difference between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent.)
The seed of Abraham - Ge 9:9 And I behold, I establish my covenant with
you, and with your seed after you;
God remembered the elect seed when they were in
Isa 41:8 But thou,
seed of Abraham my friend.
Elect of God - Isa 65:9 And I will bring forth a seed out of Jacob, and out
of Judah an inheritor of my mountains: and mine elect shall inherit it, and
my servants shall dwell there.
elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the
uttermost part of heaven.
My People - Ro 9:25 As he saith also in Osee, I
will call them my people,
which were not my people; and her beloved, which was not beloved.
Ro
them, Ye are not my people; there shall they be called the children of the
living God.
Peculiar People - Tit 2:14 Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us
from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of
good works.
My Sheep - Joh 10:26 But ye believe not, because ye
are not of my sheep, as
I said unto you.
27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish,
neither
shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able
to pluck them out of my Father's hand.
Body of Christ - 1Co
Lamb's wife - Re 21:9 And there came unto me one of the seven angels
which
had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me,
saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb's wife.
Holy nation - 1Pe 2:9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an
holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him
who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light:
Jesus Commanded to preach the gospel. The gospel call is universal to every
creature as we do not know who is elect and who is not, so we are to preach
the gospel to everyone. The elect will hear and will respond, as Jesus said,
"My sheep hears my voice."
Joh
Finally here is what John Owen have to say.
FOR WHOM DID CHRIST
DIE?
John Owen
John Owen,
pastor, theologian, statesman, the prince of the Puritans (1616-1683), theologian, was born of
Puritan parents at Stadham in Oxfordshire
in 1616. At twelve years of age he was admitted at Queen's College,
The Father imposed His wrath due unto, and the Son
underwent punishment for, either:
1. All the sins of all men.
2. All the sins of some men, or
3. Some of the sins of all men.
In which case it may be said:
1. That if the last be true,
all men have some sins to answer for, and so,
none are saved.
2. That if the second be true,
then Christ, in their stead suffered for all
the sins of all the elect in the
whole world, and this is the truth.
3. But if the first be the
case, why are not all men free from the
punishment due unto their sins?
You answer, "Because of unbelief."
I ask, Is
this unbelief a sin, or is it not? If it be, then Christ
suffered the punishment due unto it, or
He did not. If He did,
why must that hinder them more
than their other sins for
which He died? If He did not, He did
not die for all their
sins!"