The PARTICULAR Atonement Of Christ. There are verses of the scriptures which present the death of Jesus as having a truly universal aspect. Thus: God so loved THE WORLD that He gave His only Son (Jn 3: 16), Who is the saviour of ALL men, especially those who believe (1 Tim 4:10),Who gave Himself as a ransom for ALL (1 Tim 2:6), Who is the atoning sacrifice for our sins -and not ours only, but for the WHOLE WORLD (1 Jn 2:2) etc; and also numerous others which present the death of Christ as having a specific (some call it limited) or particular purpose. Thus: Husbands love your wives as Christ loved the CHURCH and gave Himself up FOR HER (Eph 5:25), He will save HIS PEOPLE from their sins (Matt 1:21), By His knowledge shall My Righteous Servant justify MANY, for He will bear THEIR iniquities (Isa 53:11), the Son of Man came to give His life as a ransom FOR many (Mk 10:45), This is My blood which is poured out FOR YOU (the disciples) and for MANY (Matt 26:28), I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down His life FOR the sheep (Jn 10:1), Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life FOR his FRIENDS (Jn 15:13). Having loved His OWN who were in the world, He loved THEM to the end (Jn 13:1) Q. Is is possible that Jesus TRULY died FOR all men in general and only the elect in particular? Q. Can BOTH be simultaneously literally true? Q. OR, must we understand the first group of scriptures only in the light of the second? EITHER Jesus death TRULY atoned for: 1. ALL the sins of ALL humanity, 2. SOME of the sins of ALL humanity 3. ALL the sins of ALL the elect. 4. NONE of the sins of any. The scripture does NOT present the atonement of Jesus in merely theoretical, hypothetical, abstract or merely potential terms. His atonment was a definite action on His part, which produced a very definite, actual, concrete, practical result. ANY view therefore, which renders the atoning death of Christ to be anything less than actual, definite, accomplishing something real, is and must be suspect and disregarded! There is NO single doctrine in all scripture more holy or necessary than the DEATH of the Son of God. There is NO OTHER possible option than these. So, if number 1 is correct, then ALL humanity MUST be saved! In which case universalism is and must be true. For IF Christ TRULY atoned for all sin of all humanity, then it is NOT possible for any human to die lost BECAUSE of sin! That would mean God accepted Jesus sacrifice as true payment for all sin and also requires the sinner also pay the price for their sins in eternal fire. God therefore takes payment TWICE, from BOTH the Guarantor of the new covenant and the one indebted to Him. This type of fraud CANNOT be possible for God! Since unbelief is a SIN, someone CANNOT claim that Jesus death atoned for ALL sin and also claim EXCEPT the sin of unbelief. Nor can it be evaded by saying God ACTIVATES forgiveness ONLY when we choose to believe. If a Co-Signer for my mortgage agrees to pay my mortgage in full after I default on my payment, and they actually DO render that full payment for my debt, the Bank CANNOT legally accept that payment made by my surety and still come after me for it as well! Nor can the bank ACCEPT the payment made by the surety on my behalf, but only activate it after I do something! Such an idea is a preposterous lie! It is to charge God with the most grevious of sin, to say He is an UN-just creditor who seeks full payment from BOTH the surety and the indebted! Once my mortgage is paid in full, it is paid in full! If the bank TRIED to collect payment twice, my surety would come before the Judge and show the proof of HIS payment of my debt on my behalf. And the Judge would rule PAID IN FULL! In fact, he would likely reprimand or worse, the bank for such a fraudulent action on its part! If number 2 is correct, then those who accuse us of UN-biblical error who believe in the particular atonement of Christ, (CLEARLY taught by the afore-mentioned verses), are themselves guilty of the same error! For IF the death of Christ TRULY atoned for only SOME sins, but not all sin (like unbelief), then those who claim to deny a limited atonement, in point of fact, believe in one themselves! If number 3 is correct, then we have the ONLY view which harmonizes ALL the facts together. For it alone declares that Christs death TRULY - not merely potentially atoned for ALL sin of ALL the elect! That it truly, actually atoned for ALL the sin of ALL for whom it was intended -the elect who are composed of people from every race, nation, tongue and tribe -hence the WORLD. That God TRULY accepted the substitutionary death of Jesus as FULL payment for those for whom He was the substitute! Thus, God CANNOT justly require payment from BOTH the surety/guarantor AND also the one for whom surety was offered! But based on the accepted payment made by the surety on behalf of His own, God CAN justly accept and forgive them on that basis :) The scriptures present the CURRENT, ON-GOING ministry of Jesus as one of Intercession FOR the elect (Rom 8:29-31; Heb 7:24-26). For THIS SPECIFIC REASON, it is said that NO ONE can condemn those for whom Jesus intercedes, and that He is able to completely SAVE those for whom He intercedes. Q. On WHAT BASIS can or does Christ intercede FOR His own? A. On the basis of HIS work of atonement FOR them. Both the Romans 8 and the Hebrews 7 passage make it clear that Jesus FULLY SAVES those for whom He intercedes. And there is NO OTHER SACRIFICE for sin that Jesus appeals to but His own. Thus when He intercedes FOR someone, He does so AS the surety/guarantor of their sin-debt (Heb 7:22). Because He Himself is and paid their ransom in full, His intercession will always be 100% effective in securing its desired end. Since it is evident that I. Jesus DOES intercede specifically FOR the elect II. Jesus SAVES those for whom He actually intercedes III. Jesus intercedes on the basis of HIS atoning-death for their sin IV. Jesus does NOT pray for the (whole) world, but for those GOD gives Him out of the world (Jn 17:9; cf, 6:37) V. Jesus prays FOR those FOR whom He died... Therefore, I can and must conclude, that: VI. God the Father and the Son INTENDED that the Son TRULY atone for the sins of ALL who would become the church. He died to TRULY SAVE them FROM their sins (Matt 1:21). This salvation is REAL, not theoretical. It is actual, not potential. It atoned for ALL their sin - not just some of it. So it is that we read, For by ONE OFFERING, He has MADE PERFECT FOREVER those who come to God by Him, BECAUSE He always lives to MAKE INTERCESSION *FOR* THEM. To truly ATONE for ANY sin, sin itself must be atoned for. To truly redeem ANY human, humanity itself needed to be redeemed. There is simply no other way to do the math so to speak. To truly atone for SOME of adams race (clearly the intent of God), Jesus HAD to atone for all, even though it was only His intention to save SOME - those who by grace believe.
Posted on: Mon, 27 Jan 2014 14:19:45 +0000
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