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NASB | Matthew 5:44 "But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Matthew 5:44 "But I say to you, love [that is, unselfishly seek the best or higher good for] your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, [Prov 25:21, 22] |
Subject: Praying for the 'World'. |
Bible Note: Greetings Doc! There is so much here, but I will try to respond in a manner that will do it justice. 1) The issue of 'you' (pl): This is a rather easy issue to deal with my friend. If I were to write to you that 'God loves you', would I necessarily mean that God loves no one else but you? Of course not! Neither does Peter limit his comments to just his readers. Were these the only believers - ever - with whom God was patient? But, even in the 'you' could be forced to refer only to those readers of Peter, it would in no way restrict the 'any' and 'everyone' to just the 'you'. God is patient with 'you' because He doesn't wish anyone to perish. 2) The charge of universalism: This verse could only be understood as a reference to universalism under the Calvinistic understanding of God's will and sovereignty. Calvin did not believe that God could will something that would not happen, yet there are plenty of examples of just this percise thing. Remember when Christ longed to gather the people of Jerusalem under His wings, but they would not. This verse makes perfect sense in my understanding of it (without resorting to changing the plain meaning of the words). God doesn't want anyone to perish. He died for the sins of the world, reconciling the world to Himself. He now offers salvation to all. If they will be reconciled, they will not perish. 3) Qualified 'alls': You are exactly right about your example of 'Are we all here'. There are times when 'all' or 'every' is limited by some other word. Some verses speak of all His disciples. This does not refer to every person. But, there is no limiting words in this verse, so the plain sense would be 'all' and 'everyone'. :-) If God had meant to limit it, He could have said 'all of you', instead of 'all'. Finally, speaking of eisgesis, where does the word 'elect' appear in this passage? :-( Your Brother in Christ, Tim Moran |