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That the value of Christ’s death is sufficient for all is clear from a number of passages such as: “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way; and Jehovah hath laid upon him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:6); “Jesus,... by the grace of God he should taste death for every thing (or ‘every one’)” (Hebrews 2:9); “And he is the propitiation for our sins; but not for ours alone, but also for the whole world” (1 John 2:2). See also John 1:29. |
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God’s love extends to all the world: “ God so loved the world” (John 3 :16) and then we have: “The kindness and love to man of our Saviour God” (Titus 3:4). In accord with this we find that God “desires that all men should be saved and come to [the] knowledge of [the] truth” (1 Timothy 2:4). “The grace of God... carries with it salvation for all men” (Titus 2:11). It would appear that Christ’s love is rather restricted to his own (John 13:1; 15:13/14; Ephesians 5:25). In accord with this Christ spoke of his blood being shed for many (Matthew 26:28; Mark 14:24) and his life being given a ransom for many (Matthew 20:28; Mark 10:45). On the other hand Paul speaks of Christ Jesus who gave himself a ransom for (in place of) all (1 Timothy 2:6) following his speaking of the desires of our Saviour God for all men. |
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Although what is said above is of course true, it is also true that it is only those that avail themselves of God’s grace that get the benefit of it. Practically this means that although Christ has died as a sacrifice for our sins we can only get the benefit of his death if we believe (Romans 3:22). In the Old Testament the blood had to be applied in various ways for the death of the sacrificial animals to be efficacious for the atonement (covering) of sins (Hebrews 9:19-22; Leviticus 17:11). This is the significance of the blood as compared with the actual death of the animal. Both were necessary. Without the death of the animal there would be no blood to sprinkle. |
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It will be apparent from the above that what I have said does not properly agree with either the idea of universal atonement or that of limited atonement. In 2 Corinthians 5:14/15 it is said: “ Having judged this: that one died for all, then all have died”. The JND note to this reads: “Or ‘had died.’ It is the aorist, and |