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
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 means every
single human beings on the face of the earth were mourning? No,
only a limited number.
Grammatically
"all" is used in only three ways: (1) As a pronoun. (2) As an adjective. Or, (3) As an adverb. But in whichever way
it is used it cannot stand alone, but refers to the part of speech that it
defines or modifies, and by which it is limited. Hence, in any context, it
is limited in its application to that noun, pronoun, verb, adjective or adverb
that it modifies. Now it is readily acknowledged that the word that it
modifies is not always expressed. Sometimes the word is only implied, and the
context must determine what it is. But never does the word alone mean or refer
to all mankind without exception unless the governing word does. But
many make the very serious mistaken assumption that "all"
automatically refers to all mankind in many contexts. In most instances in the
Bible the context itself will
show that this word is limited in its application to a distinct class of
beings. We must always allow the context to interpret the application of any
given word, for if we do not, we shall be guilty of "going beyond what is
written," and therefore teaching falsehood.
Now let us take the following scriptures in context.
1Ti 2:4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.