John 1:29
Today we are looking at Christ's Actual Atonement. Atonement defined is the expiation of sin made by the obedience and personal sufferings of Christ. "Expiation" is the act of atoning for a crime; the act of making satisfaction for an offense, by which the guilt is done away, and the obligation of the offended person to punish the crime is canceled; atonement; satisfaction. Expiation for our sins is made only by the obedience and sufferings of Christ. A real simple definition is reconciliation. Christ is the means of reconciling us to God. There is no other way. "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved," Acts 4:12. "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me," John 14:6. God ordained it this way. Lord willing next week we will look more at the atoning work of Jesus Christ. We will look at its effect.
The question we will look at this week is, "For whom did Christ die". There has been much debate concerning these five words, and there has been much confusion because of people not rightly dividing the Word of God. The doctrine of Christ's Actual Atonement is a hated doctrine. "Actual" means real or effective, as opposed to that which is virtual or potential. The Atonement of Christ is actual, not potential. It is an actual salvation, not a potential salvation. A potential atonement is out of character with who God is. Remember, God does everything decently and in order. He does everything on time, and at the precise moment. He is the God of all hope, yet He never hopes. God is not in heaven hoping someone chooses His Son so He can save them. That would make God not God. The Atonement of Christ is an actual atonement.
Let us briefly return to Ephesians 1:4. If you remember from last week we learned that God chose to love all whom He would save from before the foundation of the world. He did this without any influence from any one. He made this decision before He created anything. This brings up questions about what certain verses mean. Let us take a look at these verses.
"The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world," John 1:29. When we read this verse the first thing that we think of is Jesus taking away the sin of the whole world. When we see the word world we think of everyone. Our minds have been programed to believe that this means that Jesus potentially paid the sin debt of the whole world. This makes Jesus a potential Saviour. Let us do a quick word study on this verse. "Taketh away" means to expiate sin; to take away sin, meaning the imputation or punishment of sin. This is also in the present tense and means that Jesus is continually and repeatedly taking away sins. If we apply this definition to the way most people interpret this verse then Jesus is constantly paying the sin debt of all the people, ever since ever. This view leaves us with a major doctrinal problem. If this is the case then we have a discrepancy in the Bible. If all the sins of the entire world are paid for, then no one can go to hell. This would make us universalist. Or even worse, all who are in hell are there even though their sins have been paid for. This would make God unjust. Simply look back at the definitions for the words expiate and atonement. Again, apply these definitions with the "whole world". If we rightly divide this verse then we do not have a doctrinal discrepancy.
Let us continue by looking at the word "world". World, Kosmos- this one word has many different definitions. We cannot apply one meaning to every verse of Scripture. This shows us the importance of rightly dividing each verse in context. Here are some examples: Matthew 13:35; 24:21; Luke 11:50; John 17:5, 24; Acts 17:24; Romans 1:20; Hebrews 4:3. These verses refer to the universe, heavens, and earth. Look in James 3:6. Here it is used as an aggregate.
Mark 16:15; John 3:19; 16:21, 28; 21:25; I Timothy 3:16; I Peter 5:9; II Peter 3:6. Here the word world is speaking of this lower world as the abode of man. This is the place where we dwell. When people adamantly say that the world means all the people it is obvious they have not rightly divided the Word of God.
Matthew 5:14; 13:38; Romans 3:6, 19; I Corinthians 4:13; II Corinthians 5:19; Hebrews 11:7; II Peter 2:5. Here in these verses the word world means the inhabitants of the earth, men, and mankind. Sometimes the word world is used as a hyperbole. What this means is that when the word world is used this way it is not speaking of everybody, but a smaller group. John 12:19; 7:4; 3:16; 1:29; I John 2:2.
John 15:18-19; the men of this world as opposed to the saved. Keep this in mind that at one time we were all part of this world system. At the appointed time, God saved us. We were elect from before the foundation of the world, but were saved at the exact time God ordained to save us.
Do we see how simply doing word studies these things are cleared up? Look again at John 3:16; then turn to Romans 9:13. God loved whom He chose to save, and Christ died for all whom have been and will be saved. No one whose sin debt is paid will be cast into hell. With this in mind let us turn to II Peter 3:9. The "all" are the "usward". The "usward" are the ones for whom Christ died for. No one for whom Christ died for will "perish". Perish is speaking of being deprived of eternal life. Every one whose sin debt has been paid will be saved. Many people have a problem with this doctrine. They say that God doesn't limit the atonement. That all the sin debt has been paid for all the people, and you have to accept it or reject it. Can you think of one Scripture that says that? You can't because there is not any. This kind of teaching puts man in charge, and makes man as the one who limits the atonement. It also makes God unjust in sending people to hell whose sin debt has been paid for. God is not unjust. He works everything after the counsel of His own will according to His good pleasure.
So when we rightly divide the Scriptures we see that all for whom Christ died for will be saved. Christ made an actual atonement for all who have been and will be saved. It is true that we must believe, but remember that we believe by faith by the grace of God. Look again at John 3:16, 18, and 36. Look again in John 17. Let us turn again to Romans 9:13-26; Romans 10:9-13. Those who truly believe the Sovereignty of God in salvation can with assurance plead with the "whosoever".
We will close with this question in preparation for next week. How many of our sins were paid for? Can anyone lay a charge against God's elect? All of our sins have been paid for and no one can lay a charge against God's elect because God is the One that justifies us. Christ is our propitiation. To God be the glory.
