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NASB | 1 John 2:2 and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | 1 John 2:2 And He [that same Jesus] is the propitiation for our sins [the atoning sacrifice that holds back the wrath of God that would otherwise be directed at us because of our sinful nature--our worldliness, our lifestyle]; and not for ours alone, but also for [the sins of all believers throughout] the whole world. |
Bible Question (short): When is the World not the World? |
Question (full): Greetings Orthodoxy! I have to disagree with your first point. Theology and doctrine should be based upon sound exegesis of Scripture. While you definitely need to look at all of Scripture to formulate doctrine, you must understand the individual verses first. I think this is where so many people go wrong. They start quoting a bunch of verses without ever really dealing with what the verses are actuall saying. In terms of the extent of the atonement, I do believe that this is a decisive verse. It does not deal with everything relating to the atonement, but it does deal with the extent of the atonement. Allow me to briefly touch upon your points. 1) Does "world" refer to every individal? There is a comparison here. John is comparing the sins of us (obviously the Christians to who he is writing) and the sins of the whole world (the sins of everyone else). He doesn't say all Christians everywhere. He specifically says the sins of the world and then qualifies that further with the word 'whole.' If you are going to interpret this phrase in some other way, you must provide a rational to do so. There is no mention in 1 John of Jews and Gentiles, so that won't work either. Other than your doctrine, do you have contextual reasons to interpret the 'sins of the whole world' to mean something other than the sins of the whole world? 2) Hyperbole? Vague? It sounds clear to me! Hyperbole would definitely be a legitimate linguistic device, but what evidence is there that hyperbole is being used here? Simply listing three or four possible options without providing any evidence does not eliminate the plain reading (the most natural reading) of the text. 3) Your third point is only a problem if you hold to a Calvanistic viewpoint of Sovereignty and free will. From my standpoint, the atonement is an accompished fact for every individual. However, only those who receive the gift of salvation partake in the benefits of it. From a Calvanistic standpoint, Christ cannot have died for everyone, or everyone would be 'saved' simply because Calvin never allowed for any human freedom. 4) The unforgivable sin is more a problem for Calvanist than for Arminians. This is a good illustration of why we need to deal with individual passages. If Christ died for the 'sins of the whole world,' then the doctrine of the limited atonement cannot be Biblical. So, this key verse must be dealt with. |