SOVEREIGN PARTICULAR GRACE DEFENDED

(An exegesis of Scripture texts commonly used to support common grace and the universal love and desire of God for the salvation of all men)

 

INTRODUCTION

 

It is our purpose, God willing, in this paper to consider passages of Scripture that are commonly appealed to as proof for “common grace” and the “well-meant offer of the gospel.” It is our conviction that the positive teaching of these passages of Scripture shows, contrary to popular opinion, that God’s grace in Christ is always particular. In the Biblical offer of the gospel God desires and pursues the salvation of only the elect.

 

By way of introduction, it is necessary that the issues be explained and the terms defined.

 

What ought the reader understand us to mean by “grace” in this discussion? Grace is always “particular saving grace toward the elect in Christ.” This is the only ‘species’ of grace there is. This discussion is primarily concerned with God’s grace ad-extra, that is, with the free expression of God’s essentially gracious nature outside Himself toward sinners. God’s “grace” according to Scripture is His free favour and saving power put forth toward elect sinners, contrary to all deserving, through and for the sake of Christ alone. Grace flows out of God’s eternal election as the fountain of all grace (II Timothy l:9; Romans 8:28; Ephesians 1:5-6), and is always particular in Christ (Ephesians 2:7) who is the Mediator of the Covenant of Grace (Romans 5:15). Grace is God’s powerful application of all the blessings of Christ’s mediatorial work by the Spirit unto the elect (Ephesians 2:5, 8; 3:7-8; Acts 15:11) making them gracious and pleasing in God’s sight (Titus 3:7, Hebrews 13:20, 21, 25) and issuing always in their eternal salvation (I Peter 1:13, Ephesians 2:8). There is no room for any grace that is “common” and non-saving. God’s grace in Christ, as revealed in Scripture, is decidedly “uncommon.”

 

This means that, although God’s grace in Christ must be set forth in all its beauty and clarity before all men in the call of the gospel, God’s grace is not for the reprobate but is particular for the elect. In the preaching of the gospel Christ is held up before all men as the only saviour of sinners. All are called to believe in Him as the only way of salvation. God’s particular promise of full and free salvation in Christ is made to those who repent and believe. God, in this same gospel message, promises unconditionally to give His Spirit to enable all His elect to believe. Now, because none can or will repent and believe but the elect (John 6:44), the promise is particular to the believing elect. Our confession is that God: “freely offereth unto (displays before) sinners life and salvation by Jesus Christ, requiring of them faith in Him, that they may be saved; and promiseth to give unto all those that are ordained unto life his Holy Spirit, to make them willing and able to believe” (WCF VII:3). In this there is an outward call to all, and an effectual call (which is irresistible grace) to the elect alone.

 

What is meant by “common grace” in Reformed circles? Historically there are three views that ought to be described.

In the first place, there was the use of the term “common grace” in classical Reformed theology. This, however, ought to be sharply distinguished from modern usage of the term. It was at times used to express God’s good and perfect dealings with fallen mankind in providence, both within and without the instituted church for the sake of His elect. God’s goodness is indeed clearly set forth before all men in providence as He executes His eternal decree of election and reprobation in time. The term “grace” was often used to express the fact that in His providential dealings with men, the God of pure goodness does good in relation to the undeserving and rebellious creature. God’s good providence is, of course, over all creation: rocks, animals, men and devils. The term “common grace” (when carefully qualified so as to distinguish it clearly from saving grace) was thought to be a suitable description of God’s dealing with the creature by some Reformed fathers whom we hold in high regard. They taught, however, that God’s good works of providence (common grace) implied no favourable attitude of God toward the reprobate.[1] This meant, of course, that the term “grace” when used in this way was not designed to describe “grace” as favour of God in Christ. What is more, in the current theological climate, the term “common grace” to refer to this conception becomes confusing and even dangerous.

 

In the second place, “common grace” to some means that there is a “non- saving” grace, which is nevertheless the expression of a favourable, loving attitude of God toward the reprobate. This universal favourable attitude of God is manifest, it is thought, in such things as rain, sunshine, health and strength, etc., which are bestowed by God upon man as an undeserving creature. This “common grace” also preserves a vestige of the good in fallen man thus restraining him from becoming “absolutely” depraved and even rendering him capable of performing good in the way of civil righteousness. Louis Berkhof is representative of this school of thought. Prof. Berkhof defines his view of common grace as:

1. Those general operations of the Holy Spirit whereby He, without renewing the heart, exercises such a moral influence on man through His general or special revelation, that sin is restrained, order is maintained in social life, and civil righteousness is promoted; or,
2. Those general blessings, such as rain and sunshine, food and drink, clothing and shelter, which God imparts to all men indiscriminately where and in what measure it seems good to Him.

This view sees these things as God’s love and grace to all men.

 

The above view of common grace leads to a third species. Out of this view arises the so called “well-meant” offer. All that needed to happen for this development was that God’s gracious attitude toward the non-elect (in temporal things – rain and sunshine) be applied to the outward call of the gospel to all men. When this happens common “non-saving” grace is translated into the sphere of saving grace in Christ. God no longer offers salvation in Christ to all in the gospel with the one purpose, desire and intention of saving only the elect in Christ, as Reformed theology once vigorously maintained. Now “common grace” determines that God has a favourable attitude toward all men. Now the preaching of the gospel becomes an expression of God’s sincere desire, earnest wish and revealed will that all men be saved. Thus, “common grace” becomes the basis for theologians and preachers, even in Reformed churches, to speak of a “well-meant” offer that stands in flat contradiction to God’s eternal decree of election and reprobation. To demonstrate the fairness of this assessment one need only listen to Prof’s. J. Murray and N. Stonehouse:

We have found that God himself expresses an ardent desire for the fulfilment of certain things which he has not decreed in his inscrutable counsel to come to pass. . . . This means that there is a will to the realisation of what he has not decretively willed, a pleasure towards that which he has not been pleased to decree.

 

And again, concerning the application of common grace to the reprobate in the offer of the gospel, the professors write:

We must conclude . . . The full and free offer of the gospel is a grace bestowed upon all [common grace – Ed]. Such grace is necessarily a manifestation of love or loving-kindness in the heart of God… The grace offered is nothing less than salvation in its richness and fullness… The loving and benevolent will that is the source of that offer and that grounds its veracity and reality is the will to the possession of Christ and the enjoyment of the salvation that resides in him.

 

Over against this seriously compromised Calvinism, the doctrines of sovereign particular grace, flowing from the fountain of grace in God’s eternal decree of double predestination, must be held as determinative for the offer of the gospel. God’s eternal decree of election in Christ determines God’s attitude toward all men, elect and non-elect. This means that God’s grace is in all things to the elect, but in nothing to the reprobate. This applies to both the good things that come from God to all men in His providence and to the preaching of the gospel. To the elect all is grace in Christ, to the reprobate nothing is grace for they are never in Christ, not in time, nor from all eternity.

 

 

 

EXEGESIS OF THE TEXTS.

 

The texts considered in this paper are:

1. Genesis 6:3
2. II Kings 10:29 ff.
3. Psalm 145:9
4. Ezekiel 18:23; 18:31-32; & 33:11
5. Matthew 5:43-45 (and the parallel passage, Luke 6:27-36)
6. Matthew 23:37(c.f. Luke 13:34)
7. John 3:16
8. Romans 2:4
9. I Timothy 2:4
10. I Timothy 4:10
11. II Peter 3:9
12. I John 2:2

 

 

 

TEXT 1

 

GENESIS 6:3 – “And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.”

 

ISSUES RAISED IN THE TEXT

 

This verse, it is argued, teaches that there is a general operation of the Spirit of God upon the unregenerate that retains good and restrains sin. This general operation of the Spirit is said to be a manifestation of God’s favourable attitude toward the reprobate – “common grace.” It restrains man’s wickedness, makes totally depraved man capable of good, and holds back the development of sin. Because the text says that God’s Spirit shall not always strive with man, there was a time when He did strive with man. That striving with man is interpreted by some to mean that the Holy Spirit was in the hearts of all men, striving within them, restraining their sin, attempting to lead them to repentance. Those supporters of common grace who appeal to this verse for their doctrine, would thus read Genesis 6:3 in the following way: “And the Lord said: My Spirit shall not always restrain sin in the heart of man so as to improve him or lead him to repentance.”

 

The question we must face in the text is not whether there are common operations of the Spirit. We confess without hesitation that Scripture clearly reveals the general or common operation of the Spirit (WCF X:4). It is the Spirit who creates and sustains all creaturely life of every kind (Genesis 2:7, Job 32:8, Isaiah 42: 5). Further, it is understood that apart from the Spirit’s active power in creation and every moment of it, all that is creature would cease to exist. Nor is the question whether God restrains sinners by His providence from carrying out their evil desires to the fullest extent. Certainly God holds men’s hearts in His hand and turns them wherever He will by His Spirit in a way that we cannot even begin to comprehend (Proverbs 21:1). God also in His wise providence limits men by their character, capacity and opportunity to do evil. God even uses man’s pride, self-love, and fear of the evil consequences of sin to restrain him. The remnants of the moral law within the conscience of man also has a restraining effect, (Romans 1:20 & 2:14-15). But those who hold to “common” grace go further. They argue that there is a non-saving yet “gracious” inward work of the Spirit that restrains wickedness by preserving and nurturing a remnant of original “good” in fallen man. This remnant of good is what enables man to “do good.” We must clearly understand that the question raised by “common” grace in our text is this: Is the general operation of the Spirit a token that God has a gracious and favourable disposition toward the reprobate? We deny this and the proponents of “common” grace affirm it.

 

EXEGESIS OF THE TEXT

 

The verse appears in the context of a description of the exceeding wickedness of mankind that precipitated God’s judgment in the deluge. When God looked upon the conduct of men “the wickedness of man was great” (vs 5). The antithesis between godliness and wickedness was utterly lost. The seed which was historically the seed of the woman had abandoned God and united itself spiritually and ethically with the seed of the serpent in mixed marriages, (vs 1-2 & 4). When God looked on the hearts of men “every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (vs 5). The response of the Lord to this was that “it repented the Lord that He had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at His heart” (vs 6).

 

Mid-way through this description of the woeful condition of mankind our verse occurs. It is the expression of the grieved heart of the forbearing God over against the wickedness of His rebellious creature. Calvin with usual insight says of our verse:

 

“Since God’s judgment would be a terrible example of divine anger, at the bare hearing of which we are even now afraid, it was necessary to be declared, that God had not been impelled by the heat of his anger into precipitation, nor had been more severe than was right; but was almost compelled, by necessity, utterly to destroy the whole world, except one single family. For men commonly do not refrain from accusing God of excessive haste; nay, they will even deem him cruel for taking vengeance of the sins of men.”

 

God’s forbearing to destroy the wicked, and longsuffering in holding back the deliverance of His people, is revealed in that even though the whole earth was so wicked, still God spared it for another 120 years because the ark had to be prepared. During this period, time for repentance was extended to the wicked as the Spirit strove with men. For such is the meaning of the clause: “yet his days shall be and hundred and twenty years.” In this 120 years the cup of iniquity was filled to the brim, and the earth became fully ripe for the deluge of Divine vengeance. Similarly in our day, as long as the ark of Christ, the Church is a preparing, God stretches time and history of nations and the world, allowing space for repentance. Indeed this longsuffering and forbearance is the goodness of God which itself requires repentance of sinners (Romans 2:4).

 

But God declares, “My Spirit shall not always strive with man,” and the reason this is so, “for that he also is flesh.” What is the “spirit” in our text? The KJV translates with a ‘small s’ spirit. The word is a construct noun and means “the Spirit of me.” That is, the Spirit of God. It is not the spirit of which God is the source, the spirit of life as the principle of physical and spiritual life, as Keil asserts. It makes no sense to say that man’s life received from God strives with, or judges man. Furthermore, this is still the power of the Holy Spirit at work in man. Thus, our text speaks of the Holy Spirit, the third Person of the Trinity who stands over against man to strive and judge. That the reference is to the Holy Spirit is clear when we compare our text with 1 Peter 3:18b-20:

 

“… but quickened by the Spirit: By which also he went and preached unto the spirits (which are now) in prison: … when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing…”

 

In 1 Peter, we are taught that the Holy Spirit is the agent through which God the Son as Mediator preached unto (strive with) the spirits of men in the days of Noah. This is the reference also of our text in Genesis 6:3.

 

What is meant by the Spirit’s “striving with man?” The word translated “strive” is “yadon”, the Kal future from the root “doon” or “din” from which come the noun, “judgment” and “lord”. The meaning is almost identical to “shaphat” – to judge. It signifies to rule, and judge, as the consequence of ruling, then to contend or strive as a judge against evildoers. In the context of our passage it means to contend with the wicked, to judge and to condemn.

 

The preposition “with” is used with verbs of ruling, judging etc, to designate the object of the action. God contended “with” man, not now in a favourable sense, but “against” the wicked as a righteous judge contends against evildoers. God contended in speech with wicked man as opponents condemning all his thoughts and actions. In this sense the word strive must be understood. It was with “man” who is “flesh” that the Spirit of God strove. Flesh signifies the carnal nature of man according to which he is opposite to the Spirit and is closer to a beast than true man as he ought to be in consequence of his creation. God’s Spirit contended with fallen, totally depraved “man” as described in the context. He strove with “man” who was, and still is, one in whose heart there is only evil continually.

 

How then does the Spirit “strive” with man? In the first place, it is not, as “common grace” would have us believe, a gracious though non-saving work of the Holy Spirit in man by which unregenerated man is restrained from being as wicked as he would otherwise be. Such a view does not deal honestly with the passage. The text says, “strive,” not “restrained sin in man.” But, it might be argued, the Spirit’s striving served as the means to restrain sin. Again this is not true to the text or the context. The wickedness of man developed at an amazing rate till it became “great.” But this happened exactly while the Spirit strove with man. What is more, the Spirit strove with wicked mankind right up until the door of the ark was shut. He did not stop 120 years before to allow sin to develop! From the fall till this point the Spirit had been striving against man and all the while sin had been developing as an astounding rate. After all, had not the world come to the point of universal and total depravity manifest to its full extent? If the Spirit was trying to restrain sin by striving with man something went badly awry. But this is of course foolish. Without any doubt, what God purposes to do, He does; and “none can stay His hand or say unto Him what doest thou” (Dan. 4:35). Thus, if the Holy Spirit within man is striving to bring man to repentance, not only is the Spirit presented as being totally unable to accomplish His will, but He must finally give up in despair because of the obstinacy of man which He is singularly unable to overcome. This presents the Spirit as weak and helpless before the mighty power of man’s sin. No reformed believer could accept this conclusion of the Almighty.

 

There is no such dualistic struggle between God and sin. Sin is not some independent power that stands over against God with which He must struggle by “common grace” and ultimately conquer by destroying the ungodly world in a catastrophic flood of judgment. Rather, sin, sinners and even Satan himself are servants, albeit unwillingly, to execute the sovereign will of almighty God. God actively realises His eternal purposes in sovereign omnipotent power. He does so quickly, with no delay caused by a struggle against sin! Indeed, sin itself is that which serves the purpose of and hastens the coming of the Great Judge. “He that testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly” (Rev. 22:20).

 

God rules, governs and controls sinners and the development of sin by His providence, in the service of grace. Providence is not grace to the wicked reprobate. Providence and grace are not the same thing. God’s providence can be said to be gracious only as it is on behalf of the elect as object of God’s favour for whom all things work together for good (Romans 8:28), and as it is sanctification in His elect as the Holy Spirit’s work (Philippians 2:13). In this way Jesus Christ as King rules by “restraining and conquering all His and our enemies” (WSC 26). They are HIS enemies, they are not restrained because He is gracious toward THEM, but because He loves those whom He has (and will) “subdued unto Himself.”

 

In the second place, we consider the positively the “striving” of the Spirit of God. A careful consideration of the facts of the text shows that this striving, rather than restraining sin, is, in large part, the reason for the rapid development of sin.

 

This striving of the Spirit may not be conceived as some mystical working, separated from the Word, within the heart of the reprobate to hold back evil thoughts and foster the good in its place. After all, “every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually,” (v. 5). This “every” leaves no room for the “good” worked by the Spirit! There is no ethical neutrality. Every motion of the mind and will is either evil or good. But even while the Spirit “strives” there is only evil in man.

 

Rather, it must be understood as the Spirit’s objective testimony to, and subjective testimony within the wicked by the word of God. Always the Spirit reveals and testifies to the Word as the revelation of God. This speech of God is that revelation that comes to all men in all ages through creation and the wonder of special revelation. The content of the word is that God is, (Hebrews 11:6), that He is good, righteous law-giver and just judge, (Jude 14,15) and He alone is to be worshiped and served (Romans 1:21, Deuteronomy 5:7-10). Through this testimony God continually convicts of sin and leads creatures to repentance (Romans 2:4). It was exactly through this Word that the Spirit “strove” with the Prediluvian world, and through which He strives still today. As Calvin put it:

For as long as the Lord suspends punishment, he, in a certain sense, strives with men, especially if either by threats, or by examples of gentle chastisement, he invites them to repentance.

 

This word of God through which the Spirit strives with man came to men in the days of Noah in several ways.

1. It came through creation and providence in which “that which may be known of God was manifest in them … even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse,” (Romans 1:19- 20). In the heathen world God “left not himself without witness, in that he did good, and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness,” (Acts 14:17).
2. It came through the saints as they shone as lights in the world of darkness. Consider righteous Abel, the church which “called upon the name of Jehovah” (Genesis 4:26), those who walked with God like Enoch and Noah. Through the holy witness of the saints the Spirit continuously testified to the truth and convicted and reproved the wicked for their sin.
3. It came through the prophets and preachers of righteousness. Think of Enoch, the seventh from Adam who prophesied of the coming of the Lord for righteous judgment, (Jude 14-15), and of Noah himself who was “a preacher of righteousness,” (II Peter 2:5).
4. The word at that time also came through the direct revelation of God as to Adam in the garden (Genesis 3:14ff), Cain when he slew his brother (Genesis 4:9), and Noah in our text. In all these ways the Spirit of the Lord strove through the word in the days of Noah.

 

As well as this objective testimony to the truth there was the subjective striving of the Spirit within man by the word. This striving is always in closest connection with the speech of God in the word. The Spirit of God takes the objective word of God and convicts the wicked’s conscience of its truth. The Spirit confronts the wicked reprobate in their sin with the word of truth. Through this confrontation they receive a real “knowledge of God” (Romans 1:21), and are forced to recognise it as true.

 

But what is the purpose of God in this? What is its result? How is this word received by the ungodly world and what fruit does it bring forth? Obviously, in the days of Noah the testimony of the truth brought to men by the Spirit did not purify and bring forth fruits of righteousness. This striving did not change the spiritual nature of man for the better. He remained totally depraved, unable to receive the things of God, hating God and every conscience-troubling mention of Him. The sinner of himself can and will only hate God, suppress, pervert and deny His truth as it confronts him with truth and strives with him. This becomes the occasion for unrighteousness (Romans 1:18). As this striving becomes stronger and clearer it provokes the wicked heart to greater hatred and wickedness in response. In this way the striving of the Spirit of God “hardens” the wicked in sin and the truth is held under in unrighteousness until finally they are given over to a mind totally void of judgment (Romans 1:18, 28). Rather than “restraining” wickedness, the Spirit’s striving provokes wicked man to greater efforts in his rebellion against God.

 

God’s purpose in this is evident. It is that through the instrument of the Spirit striving through the Word the wicked fill the cup of iniquity and become fully ripe for the just judgment that is to fall upon all except God’s elect. In this hardening God is sovereign while man as a rational moral creature reacts to the Spirit’s striving as one who hears and wilfully rejects the truth. In this dealing of God with wicked men they remain morally responsible and are held personally accountable for their sin of despising God’s word. But it is to the glory of God that the striving of the Spirit through the word which hardens the reprobate and provokes him to greater efforts in wickedness is the very means of grace to the elect. It is the effectual means to subdue the elect unto Christ and transform them in the depths of their being into spiritual conformity to the image of God in true knowledge, righteousness and holiness. The Spirit’s striving either melts sinners like wax, humbling them to the dust in true conviction of sin and repentance, or, it provokes them to pride and wicked rebellion. The difference is grace. To the elect is applied the irresistible grace of God with the striving of the Spirit, but to the reprobate there is no grace. This is the eternal purpose of God according to predestination in every striving of the Spirit with man. This was true even of the Spirit’s striving with men through the apostle Paul in the gospel itself, “For we are unto God a sweet smelling savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish. To the one we are a savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life.” (II Cor. 2:15-16).

 

That God will cease to judge the world of Noah’s day, by the preaching of the Word, when He visits judgment on that world by destroying it with the flood, is the explanation that fits the context. There is a reason given to explain why God will not always strive with man: “for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.” This reason begins with an unusual compound word, “geshagam.” This is a compound word, literally meaning, “in which also” and provides a reason for something. The meaning then is thus, God’s Spirit will not always judge men in the peaching of the Word. Why? Because man is flesh; and as man is flesh his days are limited. And the lives of the people in the world at this time were going to be limited to no more than another 120 years. The flood would then come. God would then cease to judge by the preaching of the Word, and would judge with the deluge. We should note that it is not merely that God would cease to judge (strive with) men, by the preaching of the Word, at the end of 120 years. That is the negative import and meaning of the text. But the text positively teaches the fearful truth that the preaching of the Word would serve to fill up the measure of iniquity of the reprobate world, thus making it ripe for judgement in the flood.

 

The idea of the text then, is that God was in the days of Noah judging the pre-diluvian world with the preaching of His Word. He, by His Word and Spirit, was reproving them, condemning their sins and hardening their hearts. But God would not continue doing this for ever. Another 120 years would pass before the reprobate, pre-diluvian world became so hardened under this judging of the Spirit by the Word, that they and it would be ripe for judgment.

 

In this world of sin in which we live, the question sometimes arises, Why does not God come in judgment upon this wicked world? The answer to that question is: God will not come yet in judgment because there are elect in the world who must be born and saved before judgment can come. This is the clear teaching of Scripture, eg. 2 Peter 3:9. When the last elect is born and saved, then God comes in His holy and perfect justice and wrath against all the workers of iniquity. But, for the sake of the elect, He bears the wickedness of the world and does not immediately destroy them. So it was in the days before the flood. For the sake of the elect, and ark had to be built in order that the church might be saved. That task took 120 years. And so God waited 120 years while the ark was being built, bearing the wickedness of an earth which was filled with violence, in order that when the judgment of the flood came, the elect church of God would be saved.

 

Why does God continue His witness while waiting for that time when He will save the elect? The answer to that question is, God continues His witness to the wicked so that they may be completely without excuse. they have repeatedly heard the witness of God against them and their sin. They have no excuse for their wickedness and unbelief. When the flood came to destroy them, they were justly destroyed. And when, at the end of the world, those who have rejected the witness of God in His word to them appear before the great white throne, they will nave no excuse for their wickedness.

 

That the above interpretation of the word “strive” is correct, is further seen by considering the two other places where it occurs in the Scriptures. The first place it occurs is Ecclesiastes 6:10 and is translated “contend” – “Neither may he contend with him that is mightier than he.” The idea of “strive” is, therefore, the idea of “contend” and is a far cry from the idea of “attempting to lead to salvation”.

 

The second passage is more important. It is found in Nehemiah 9:30: “Yet many years didst thou forbear them, and testifiedst against them by thy spirit in thy prophets: yet would they not give ear: therefore gavest thou them into the hand of the people of the lands.”

 

The word which is translated, “testifiedst against” is the same word as is used in Genesis 6:3 where it is translated “strive”, This “testifying against” is said to be “by thy spirit in thy prophets”. That is, this testifying against the wicked is done by the Holy Spirit and through the prophets; i.e. through their preaching. The reference in these words of Nehemiah is to the incessant rebellion of the children of Israel throughout their history by which they constantly disobeyed God’s commandments and sinned against Him (vs. 29). The “testifying against them” was to warn them of the consequences of their sin and to condemn their evil. These warnings and condemnations came through the prophets who were inspired in what they said by the Holy Spirit.

 

If we take these two passages into consideration in our explanation of Genesis 6:3, it immediately becomes obvious that the word “strive” in Genesis cannot possibly be interpreted as “seeking the salvation of all men, of restraining sin by a gracious internal work of the Spirit.” As we have observed the days prior to the flood were days of terrible wickedness (see V55 5-7 & 11-13). God testified against the wicked and contended with them in their wickedness. But, taking the other passages into account, it is clear that God did this through the testimony of the “prophets” of that time who spoke the Word of God, inspired by the Holy Spirit. One such passage is Jude 13, 14, where Enoch is described as proclaiming the Word of God that God would come in judgement upon all these wicked people. The same truth is taught in Hebrews 11:7 where Noah is described as “condemning the world.” We conclude that Genesis 6:3 refers to the preaching of Enoch and Noah, which preaching God used to testify against the wicked prior to the flood.

 

Still the Spirit strives today as the return of Christ and the great day of the wrath of the Lamb, of which the flood of judgment was but a warning, draws near. Still there is the true preaching of the word by God’s faithful preachers today. There is clear warning for us in this passage. As sinners we too, according to our own sinful natures are “flesh”, and thus inclined to naturally despise God’s word and Spirit. We must be absolutely sure of our place in the ark of God’s mercy through living faith in Jesus Christ if we would not be swept away in the “flood” of God’s judgement which is yet to overwhelm the world at the second coming of Christ Jesus!

 

The text demands that we, each one, ask ourselves: Does the testimony of the Spirit through the word of God soften and melt my heart so that I hate my sin and flee for refuge to Christ from the wrath to come; or, do I despise that word which even now hardens and deadens my heart so that I imagine that I can sin with impunity? Do I take seriously the word, its warnings and its call to repent and believe? Let us heed this warning. For it is THIS word of God through which the Spirit strives with us. Let us be diligent to seek the Lord while He may be found! Let us cling tightly to Him when found. Let us remember that the Spirit will not always strive with us, for we too are flesh and the end draws nigh.

(Return to list of texts)

TEXT 2

 

II KINGS 10:29 ff. “— And the LORD said unto Jehu, Because thou hast done well in executing that which is right in mine eyes, and hast done unto the house of Ahab according to all that was in mine heart,…”

 

ISSUES RAISED IN THE TEXT.

 

This passage which represents several like passages is claimed, by to the proponents of “common” grace, to teach that the unregenerate, though incapable of any saving good are, through “common grace” capable of performing civic righteousness. This “civic righteousness” is a good work apart from faith in Christ, and is made possible through the operations of God’s Spirit in “common” grace. Jehu, though an unregenerate, reprobate man, is seen as doing true good in the sight of God.

 

EXEGESIS OF THE TEXT.

 

The question here is, does this passage teach that Jehu performed a good work under the power of common grace? Is this text a proof of the doctrine of “common grace”?

 

In the first place we must note that Jehu was an ungodly and lawless man and a stranger to God’s grace. This is evident from verses 29 and 31. Though “Jehu destroyed Baal out of Israel” he had no true concern for God’s covenant, law or worship. He clung to the sins of Jeroboam retaining the golden calves and the false worship at Dan and Bethel (vs 28-29). Verse 29 & 31 says, “Howbeit from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, Jehu departed not from after them, to wit, the golden calves that were in Bethel, and that were in Dan. But Jehu took no heed to walk in the law of the Lord God of Israel with all his heart: for he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam, which made Israel to sin.” In other words, he was willing to go so far in external conformity to God’s law so that he which put away gross sins if it was to his advantage, but he refused to engage in true reformation. Note the expressed wording of Vs 31: “Jehu took no heed to walk in the law of the Jehovah God of Israel with all his heart …” Jehu both as a private person and as king in Israel embraced an institutionalised idolatry and rebellion, rather than walk carefully and soberly in Jehovah’s covenant law.

 

In the second place, we must note that God declares that Jehu “has done well in executing that which is right in mine eyes, and hast done . . . according to all that was in mine heart …” God declares that the ungodly king “did well.” This is the key expression.

 

The adjective “well” always carries an ethical connotation. It literally means that which is level, straight, right or pleasing to God as in conformity to His revealed will as the perfect standard and rule for the rational moral creatures. “If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee . . .” (Exodus 15:26). Thus to “do well” is to hear and keep God’s commandments and statutes.

 

The word is used to express the attribute of God’s impeccable righteousness in all His ways (Hosea 14:10), government (Deut. 32:4), and judgments (Psalm 119: 137). It is also used in parallel construction to describe the righteous, the holy and the perfect man (Psalm 33:1, Job 1:1,8). In these instances it necessarily includes the quality of the heart as well as careful outward conformity. This use of the word in its full sense is limited to saints in whom God’s image is restored by the work of His grace in Christ. But we must carefully note, the word is used in our text in a limited sense. It describes the action of an unregenerate man that was formally correct, that is, it was in outward conformity to God’s revealed will while the heart was far from God. This is clearly the case with Jehu. He “took no heed to walk in the law of Jehovah with all his heart!” (II Kings 10:31). He loved the sin of Jeroboam and would not depart from it (vs 29). Clearly, the “well doing” of Jehu must be strictly limited to the outward “executing that which was right in God’s eyes,” (vs 30).

 

Jehu’s was a self-righteous, legalistic obedience to the express command of God found in II Kings 9:7-10. Jehu was commanded by God to smite the whole house of Ahab so that not one is left alive. This he did with great efficiency, skill and (as he vainly boasted) in “zeal for the Lord” (II Kings 10:16). Indeed, his zeal carried him still further into fulfilling all that was in God’s heart. He proceeded immediately to root out all Baal worship from Israel. He slaughtered all the worshippers of Baal. He burnt all the idols, and he turning the temple of Baal into a public latrine (II Kings 10: 18-28). Jehu not only was full of zeal, but he had a wry humour as well. In this Jehu did according to all that was in God’s heart to do to the house of Ahab and to the house of Baal.

 

When we read that Jehu did what was in God’s heart, we must not think that this is a reference to God’s secret or decretive will. Rather, the reference is to what God had revealed ought to be done both in regard to Ahab’s house and to Baal worship. Jehu outwardly obeyed the 2nd commandment in rooting out Baal worship, and he obeyed God’s express command from Elijah in executing every last one of Ahab’s house. In both instances his actions were in outward conformity to God’s revealed will for him as king of Israel. In this sense it is said to be according to all that was in the heart of God to be done to Ahab. In this sense Jehu did well!

 

True as this is, it does not follow that what Jehu did can be properly called a righteous or a good work! All that Jehu did, he did as an ungodly reprobate. How then can his well doing in conformity to God’s will be explained? Was it a fruit of “common grace” at work in Jehu? Or can it be explained as the fruit of his own wicked graceless heart? It is the latter which is true.

 

Jehu obeyed God’s law for all the wrong reasons. He did not treasure God’s covenant, worship and glory. Rather, he saw obedience as a means to achieve his own wicked desire to be king. He aimed at his own glory in his boastful “zeal for the Lord.” He delighted in the slaughter of Ahab’s house to rid himself of opposition. He threw himself into the destruction of Baal worship with zeal because it was in his own interests to annihilate Ahab’s religion and friends from the land. This prepared the way for his dynasty of four generations. What is more, he valued his own life too much to risk disobeying the direct command of God through Elijah, the prophet of fire. There was no ethical or spiritual “good” in Jehu’s well doing. And there certainly was no “righteousness” in his heart and mind. Jehu acted without faith and whatever is not of faith is sin (Romans 14: 23). Jehu had not faith and “without faith it is impossible to please God”! (Heb. 11:6). The fact is, Jehu was wicked and his works were displeasing in God’s sight even while he “did well” in outwardly executing God’s will. Jehu’s motives behind his actions were wrong. The end of his actions was not the glory of God, but what would benefit his own selfish plans.

 

Of this type of obedience, the Westminster Confession declares that:

 

“Works done by unregenerate men, although, for the matter of them, they may be things which God commands, they proceed not from an heart purified by faith; nor are done in a right manner, according to the word; nor to a right end, the glory of God; they are therefore sinful, and cannot please God, or make a man meet to receive grace from God, And yet, their neglect of them is more sinful, and displeasing unto God. (W.C.F. XVI. 7).

 

What about the reward that Jehu received from God? Does not that indicate that Jehu himself was pleasing to God?

 

Certainly the conjunction ya’and used with ‘asher is causal meaning “on account of”, or, “because of”. Thus Jehu’s house would retain the throne to the fourth generation because of, or as a consequence following from his actions. It is an inviolable rule in this world that God rewards every man according to his deeds. What is more, God sees to it that the reward each individual receives in this life is in accord with the nature of his deeds. All things being equal, a talented and industrious man will succeed, make a name for himself, and grow in this world’s goods; while a sluggard will be brought to poverty. The hard-working labourer will be in demand. The manufacturer with the best product at the cheapest price will capture the market. A talented politician will gain most votes and will win election. A ruthless and ferocious Jehu who utterly annihilates a king’s house will rule in his stead.

 

But in his success, or his reward (for want of a better term), Jehu received no spiritual blessing or benefit at all from God. Like the hypocrites who do alms before men, Jehu “had his reward.” It was the glory of men (Matt. 6:12). Jehu’s reward was his own success in this world. Jehu was a man who used his natural abilities to the full, pressed home his advantage and success crowned his efforts. But gaining his heart’s desire was in itself a curse of God to him and to his house and to Israel.

 

Further, the reward of Jehu was in fact the reward of the wicked.

In Hosea 1:4 we read, “And the Lord said unto him, Call his name Jezreel, for yet a little while and I will avenge the blood of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu, and will cause to cease the kingdom of the house of Israel.” Thus, the work that Jehu did “well”, he was punished for as a matter of blood-guiltiness. He certainly received a reward, but not a gracious one. Yes, in his sons for four generations he would sit on the throne of Israel, but the end of it all was the end of the wicked.

 

When Jehu knew that he was “secure” as king he saw no further need for God’s law. It was no longer to his advantage to obey God with zeal. Now obedience would cost something and have no profit! The spiritual result of his meteoric rise to power and security was that Jehu took no heed to walk in God’s law, nor did he give a thought to the condition of his own heart (II Kings 10:31). He had his carnal heart’s desire! He had his earthly reward! But this reward brought greater responsibility and condemned Jehu for his idolatry, disobedience and unthankfulness (Luke 12:48). As a public person – the king, he was responsible to cleanse Israel from ALL false worship. Privately he had a duty to walk in humble thankfulness before God, confessing sin, walking soberly in God’s covenant law, and giving God all the glory. But for Jehu success and fulfilled ambitions simply increased his guilt. This was a means of his ultimate and greater condemnation and damnation.

 

Make no mistake here! Jehu’s rise and its consequences to him were “all that was in God’s heart” as his secret will concerning Jehu and his house as the means of their just condemnation and ultimate damnation. There is no “attitude of favour” (grace) here. Nor can it be said that there was any “blessing” from God in this for Jehu. But “the wicked spring as the grass, and when all the workers of iniquity do flourish; it is that they shall be destroyed for ever.” (Psalm 92: 7).

 

Therefore, Jehu’s obedience to God was an example of a wicked man doing what agreed with God’s command that must be explained, not by resorting to the theory of “common grace”, but by recognising that the wicked may outwardly conform to a degree to God’s “do well”, while that “doing well” agrees with their own wicked ends. The sovereign God who orders all things according to Nis own counsel for His own glory rewards even the wicked according to his deeds as the means to prepare them for their just and awful eternal reward! Thus, God executes His eternal decree of predestination concerning all men in His amazing providence by giving what is in a man’s heart to have and use in the service of sin. The “reward of grace” however, always and necessarily looks to the end, the eternal blessedness of God’s elect in heaven’s glory. Jehu had no part either in grace or in its reward.

 

For Jehu, and a great multitude like him who live and die outside of God’s grace in unbelief and rebellion, all this world’s temporal goods and vain glories are just so many woes. They are heaped up as curses around them till they are fully ripe for judgment. Everything is cursed to their touch and comes to them as such from God. This is the solemn truth of Psalm 73. But for God’s elect saints, things are far different. The saints of God in this life may be, and often are, poor and despised. But regardless of whether we perceive a godly man’s circumstances as good or evil, pleasant or grievous, all of those circumstances come to the elect out of pure grace, and are to them a spiritual and eternal blessing. Thus believers may joyfully and peacefully rest in the certain knowledge: “All things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28). Though often their lot be suffering, by this there is blessing and abundant life, and the end is salvation!

 

When we consider Jehu, we must be humbled for our sins, for we are of ourselves no different by nature. Let us ask ourselves: for what do my temporal rewards, possessions, position, prepare me? Do I find in them powerful reasons to thank God, and motivation to praise and magnify His name? Or are they a curse to me? Brethren, if we confess that Christ has exalted us to be kings and priests in His house how ought we to “take heed to walk in the law of the Lord God of Israel with all our hearts”? May we not be like Jehu, but follow hard after our great King Jesus Christ, in whom we are more than conquerors if we hold fast our profession to the end, and because of whom Jehovah will one day say, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant: –enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.” (Matthew 25:21).

(Return to list of texts)

TEXT 3

 

PSALM 145:9: “The Lord is good to all; and His tender mercies are over al1 His works.”

 

ISSUES RAISED IN THE TEXT.

 

The argument of those who would find a “common grace” of God here, is that God’s goodness is put forth as grace, mercy, longsuffering etc. Here God is said to be good to all men without distinction, and the parallel statements in the verse show that God’s mercy is over elect and reprobate alike. God in His goodness (say they) is in some way favourably disposed (gracious) toward all, otherwise He would not so manifest His mercy toward them.

 

We believe that this Psalm does not teach this view of common grace and common mercy, any more than it teaches common salvation.

 

EXEGESIS.

 

In this verse, we deal here with Hebrew parallelism. The thought of first clause is further explained by the second clause. When we confess in song that “the Lord is good to all,” we understand this to mean that “His tender mercies are over all His works.”

 

This is a Psalm of praise to be sung by the redeemed unto Jehovah, Israel’s God and King (vs 1). Praise unto the mighty King who reigns over all in supreme authority and power for His church is the central thought (vs 11-13). He is the God of unsearchable greatness (vs 1-3). This unsearchable greatness is manifest in His mighty and terrible acts (vs 4-6), which acts are all most righteous and holy (vs 17). But it is especially manifest in God’s abundant goodness, righteousness, grace, compassion, longsuffering, and mercy (vs 8-10). For these great works, all His saints shall bless Jehovah (vs 10).

 

What is meant in Scripture by goodness and mercy, and what is the relationship between the two in our text? Before we address this important question, there is one point that must be made. We must allow Scripture to interpret Scripture. We believe there are no contradictions in Scripture for it is the revelation of the will of God. Therefore, we may not imagine that our text teaches one side of a “paradox.” By this we mean, if Scripture clearly teaches in other places that God has mercy upon only the elect in Christ then our text cannot teach that He is merciful in Christ to all men. Scripture does not teach contradictory “truths.” A necessary contradiction cannot be truth.

 

What is God’s goodness? God’s goodness in Scripture denotes the sum total of the unsearchable perfections of the Divine being. God is most pure holiness and all perfections are in all His being. The Eternal, the Self-sufficient, the Independent God is abundant goodness! (Exodus 34:6). He is the only Good (Matt.19:17). Therefore, all God’s mighty works outside Himself toward the creature are necessarily “very good” (Gen.1:31). God’s goodness is manifest in all His attributes and actions, in His holiness, righteousness, love, grace, mercy, and longsuffering, but also let us note, in His perfect justice, wrath and hatred.

 

What is God’s mercy? “Mercy” in the text comes from the verb meaning: love deeply, have mercy, or be compassionate. (Rachamahyw from rachamlym). This is the deep love that is rooted in a natural bond, such as that of a father or mother for a beloved child. In this sense it is used of God’s deep love and compassion for His elect children (Psalm 103:13). The noun joins God’s deep love with the idea expressed in the noun “womb” (from the same root) as the seat of one’s affections. Thus it signifies God’s tender mercies which move the bowels of His compassion, or His loving kindnesses. This word expresses the strongest or deepest movement of God’s heart to bless His people. This tender mercy is one glorious manifestation of God’s goodness within the covenant of grace. It is goodness put forth to lift His vessels of mercy together with the whole of God’s redeemed creation out of the condition of sin and misery and bring them into the blessedness of salvation by a Redeemer. Mercy is God’s goodness manifest through Christ Jesus as Mediator. Mercy is goodness toward the miserable sinful creature as the object of God’s everlasting love. Mercy is a wonderful and sweet blessing of God who alone can provide and bless miserable creatures.

 

What is the relation between goodness and mercy? Our text requires that we understand that the “good to all” of the first clause is explained by the second clause as “mercy upon (over) all His works.” First, we must note that God maintains His goodness over against the creature in every condition and circumstance. In the unspoiled creation, prior to the defilement of sin, God’s goodness was directly upon all creation, filling it to overflowing according to its nature and capacity. But sin, according to God’s good and unsearchable wisdom, has intervened. Now God must also maintain His goodness over against sin. This He does through holiness, righteousness and justice (Psalm 145:7). Let it be clearly understood, God’s word of judgment, curse and punishment upon sin, is a manifestation of God’s unimpaired goodness (Psalm 145:20). Mercy is also a manifestation of God’s goodness, but now through Christ to remove sin and guilt and bless through a Mediator who is the Redeemer of God’s elect. Mercy and justice are various expressions of the one goodness of God. Mercy cannot be shown at the expense of justice. Rather, righteous judgment and mercy meet in Christ and are sweetly harmonised in His atoning death. Out of God’s satisfied justice radiates the tender mercy of the heavenly Father for His beloved children in Christ. The only way these tender mercies could be directed as blessings to all men, including the reprobate, is if Christ died for all and reconciled all to God.

 

We must bear in mind, furthermore, that the relationship between goodness and mercy must be traced to the eternal will and decree of God. The manifestation of God’s essential goodness in mercy may not be cut loose from God’s sovereign good pleasure and decree of predestination as “common grace” seeks to cut it loose. God’s eternal decree is the expression of God’s mercy and is the one and only fountain of God’s mercy. Exodus 33:19 makes clear the fact that God’s goodness as manifest in grace and mercy is particular to the elect. Jehovah declares the truth concerning His goodness, grace and mercy:

 

Exodus 33:19, “I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.”

 

This verse together with Romans 9:15 (where Exodus 33:19 is quoted), is explained in detail by Paul. He shows that the objects to whom God’s goodness is manifest as grace and mercy, are wholly determined by God’s sovereign unconditional election. In the eternal decree, God, from all eternity, according to His own good pleasure, and in His abundant goodness, purposed either to bestow or withhold grace and mercy upon particular men.

 

This means that the “mercy upon (over) all His works” cannot contradict the clear teaching of the rest of Scripture. Nor does it, for the psalmist’s attention is not on “all men” and certainly not upon the reprobate, but upon all God’s works. God is good in respect to these works and His tender mercies are over them. This “all” includes “all” God’s works and purposes in creation and in His works of providence. It includes “all” or the whole of the creation which God has purpose to reconcile to Himself in Christ (Col.1:20, Rom. 8:19-23). Calvin says on this point: “Our sins have involved the whole world in the curse of God, there is everywhere an opportunity for the exercise of God’s mercy, even in helping the brute creation.”

 

God loves and provides for this creation as the work of His own hands and as the object of His Fatherly love in mercy for Christ’s sake. But this does not mean that God has a gracious disposition toward the reprobate wicked who live for a time in organic connection to this world as “the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction” (Rom.9:22), and whom “He will destroy” (Psalm 145: 20). These vessels of wrath partake of the temporal provisions of God, but they do so as strangers to God’s grace and tender mercy. The reprobate see that goodness and mercy displayed all around them, and it sweeps them along for a time in this world, but they never are its objects, nor do they receive any blessing from temporal goodness. Though “their eyes stand out with fatness and they have more than the heart could desire” of temporal things (Psalm 73:7), God has by this very means set them in slippery places, and casts them down into destruction, (Psalm 73: 17-18). God’s goodness is toward all His works for the sake of the elect, to whom alone it is a blessing and mercy in Christ. God in His goodness causes the rain to fall and sun to rise upon the good and the wicked (Matt. 5:45) so that the church might be born, preserved and glorified. As Thomas Watson put it:

 

“The creation is but a theatre to act the great work of redemption upon. The World is the Field, the saints are the corn, death is the sickle that cuts it down, the angels are the Harvesters that carry it into the barn. The world is yours; God would never have made this field, were it not for the corn growing in it. What use then is there for the wicked? They are as an hedge to keep the corn from foreign invasions, though oftimes they are a thorn hedge. . . . “Every mercy a child of God hath, swims to him in Christ’s blood, and this sauce makes its relish the sweeter.”

 

Therefore, we insist that although the good things of God’s providence that are mercies in Christ to the elect, come also upon the wicked reprobate. The good sun that melts the elect’s heart as wax actually hardens the clay, the good rain that brings forth fruit in the elect causes the dead wood to rot. To use the illustration of Jesus, though there be tares in the field along with the wheat, God’s goodness and mercy over that field is for the sake of and directed toward only the wheat, the elect. The reprobate tares, though they develop and grow to maturity in sin according to their nature along with the wheat under God’s goodness, shall be separated from the wheat in the judgment and cast into the furnace of fire, (Matt.13: 24-43). This parable is the divine explanation of the relation between goodness to all and mercy upon all. The one thing, perfectly good as it comes from the hand of Jehovah God, is a blessing to the elect and at the same time a ‘curse to the blessing’ of the reprobate wicked: “If ye will not hear, and if ye will not lay it to heart, to give glory unto my name, saith the LORD of hosts, I will even send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings: —” (Malachi 2: 2). To the one God curses the very thing that is a merciful blessing to the other.

 

Thus God’s goodness is manifest in providing things good to all and satisfying the desire of every living thing (Psalm 145: 16). On one hand, His goodness is manifest toward the elect in that every good thing is a to them blessing and a tender mercy; while on the other hand, to the reprobate that exact same thing is designed to manifest the goodness of God’s righteous anger and justice. It works the salvation of the one in the way of faith and thankfulness; it works the damnation of the other in the way of unbelief and unthankfulness. This too is God’s unsearchably good work. This truth is clearly taught in Romans 9: 15-18. “He saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion of whom I will have compassion. So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy. For the Scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this purpose have I raised thee up, that I might show my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth. Therefore, hath He mercy on whom He will have mercy and whom He will He hardeneth.”

 

Who does not see that this is exactly what is confessed in closing this great doxology on God’s goodness to all in His mighty works! “The Lord preserveth all them that love him, but all the wicked will he destroy.” (Psalm 145: 20)

(Return to list of texts)

TEXT 4

 

EZEKIEL 18:23, “Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith the Lord GOD: and not that he should return from his ways, and live?”

EZEKIEL 18: 31-32, “Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will ye die O house of Israel for I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord GOD: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye.”

EZEKIEL 33:11, “Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?”

 

ISSUES.

 

The “well-meant” offer position deduces from these verses that it is God’s nature to delight in men turning to Him and His abhorrence that they die. By this, these men are not saying God by nature abhors death and loves life: this is the position of all Christendom. Rather, they say that this is evidence that God delights in all men head for head, and He delights in their individual and personal salvation and in their eternal life. In other words, they contend that these verses speak not about God’s delight in life manifest in the precept, but about a particular will of delight within God toward the salvation of all men, other than His decree in Christ! These texts teach no such thing.

 

EXEGESIS.

 

Ezekiel prophesied to the exiles during the Babylonian captivity (1:1). He was commissioned to be God’s watchman to call Judah to repentance by “saying to the wicked: thou shalt surely die,” (3:17-18). The prophecy brings hope for the remnant of God in their seeming hopelessness and despair, for it sets before them the way of death and the way of life. It teaches sinners the truth of God’s righteousness and justice, the reality of personal sin and guilt, the truth that death is the wages of sin, the truth that God has not shut up His mercy and that there is forgiveness and life for all who turn from their sins unto Him. For those who turn there is life, for those who refuse there is only death. This theme is summarised in our verses which are God’s call to sinners. They present the way of life and the way of death and call us into the way of life through repentance and faith.

 

God called apostate Judah, who had played the harlot against Him, to account (15:1-17:24). Immanent judgment upon Judah’s sins was foretold. When Judah heard of God’s judgment they found fault, not with themselves, but with God. They accused God of injustice, of punishing them as innocent children for their fathers’ sins. This wicked denial of their own guilt and God’s justice came to expression in the proverb: “The fathers have eaten sour grapes and the children’s teeth are set on edge” (18:2). Israel was claiming that God’s ways were not equal, or just (18: 19, 25, 29). Our fathers sinned, said they, and now we must suffer. God is unfair!

 

This was of course a wicked lie against God. Jehovah as the covenant God had always said:

 

“It shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before thee, and thou shalt call them to mind among all the nations wither the Lord thy God hath driven thee, And shalt return unto the Lord thy God, and shalt obey his voice according to all that I commanded thee this day, thou and thy children, with all thine heart and thy soul: That then the Lord thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the nations wither the Lord the God hath scattered thee.” (Deut. 30:1-3)

 

The question at issue for Judah and for sinners today is this: “If our transgressions and our sins be upon us, and we pine away in them how should we then live?” To this question God replies with the words of our texts. Once again God declares His covenant law to Israel: “If the wicked will turn from his sins that he hath committed and keep all my statutes and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die.” (18:21). This covenant command demonstrates that Jehovah God has no fiendish delight that Judah dies in its wickedness rather than that it turn and live (18:23). God sets the way of life before responsible, rational, moral creatures: “Repent and turn yourselves from your transgressions; so your iniquity shall not be your ruin” (v.30). To remove all hindrances and to give ground for the encourage all and every heavy laden sinner in Judah, God declares: “For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord God: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye” (18: 23, 32; 33:11). No sinner can say that he perished because God delighted in death rather than life, and that He gave no place for repentance. God now commands all men everywhere to repent (Acts 17:30).

 

The emphasis in our passages clearly falls upon the command and call for Judah to repent. This command is universal , coming to the nation of Judah, the elect and the reprobate without distinction. God declares that His delight is in life in the way of repentance, therefore, He commands that the wicked turn and live. There is a promise of life given, but that promise is directed particularly and exclusively to those who turn. It may not be inferred from the universal command to repent that there is any universal desire, active delight or will in God that all men do in fact come to repentance. Such a universal attitude of delight can not exist alongside God’s decree of election. We must distinguish the delight of God to call all men to life through the outward call from God’s delight to actually bestow life through the inward call. As Turretin rightly says:

 

God wills preceptively with respect to the reprobate the means to salvation in its material, but does not will them effectively in their formal. God wills to teach the reprobate what means for salvation are furnished, but does not will to effect them, (so that they should be performed by them as undoubted means to salvation to be attained).

 

God delights in the life of all who repent because that repentance is a benefit of Christ’s work of redemption bestowed as a gift to the sinner. “Repentance unto life” is “an evangelical grace,” a gift of God in Christ Jesus bestowed only upon the elect. This being granted (and surely it can not be denied by a Reformed believer), the passages in Ezekiel cannot refer to an active delight within God Himself that all men actually repent and be saved; but rather the passages speak of God’s preceptive will and His delight in repentance and faith as the way of life.

 

Secondly, it must be emphasised that in these passages God deals with sinners as rational, moral creatures. The texts approach the question of life through repentance from the ethical view point. Ezekiel speaks of the wicked who turn and the wicked who do not turn. For all the wicked it is true that life can be found only in the way of turning from sin, guilt and death unto God, righteousness and life. The righteous God continues to deal with man as the creature created after His own image in Adam, who has fallen into sin and thereby made himself worthy of death. He requires nothing more than that the wicked turn from sin to Himself and live. That the wicked love sin and hate God is the root of the problem. But it is man’s problem, and it remains true that in communion with God there is life, and repentance is the way to that life.

God is pleased with and delights in repentance and will therefore always, without fail bestow life upon the sinner who repents. God is displeased with non-repentance by which the wicked brings death upon himself and God will always, without fail, bestow the wages of sin upon it, death. This truth is a warning not only, but a great encouragement and incentive for sinners to flee from sin unto God in the way of true repentance. Therefore, with Calvin it must be held:

 

“The prophet’s instruction that the death of the sinner is not pleasing to God is designed to assure believers that God is ready to pardon them as soon as they are touched by repentance, but to make the wicked feel that their transgression is doubled because they do not respond to God’s great kindness and goodness. God’s mercy will always, accordingly, go to meet repentance, but all the prophets and all the apostles, as well as Ezekiel himself, clearly teach to whom repentance is given.”

 

Thirdly, the passages open to our view a window into the very nature of the God of steadfast covenant love. “I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth,” (18:32). And again: “As I live saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked,” (33:11).

 

Negatively, the passages do not teach that God has an active pleasure, delight or desire that all men should receive life through repentance. Such an active principle of delight within God Himself necessarily remains unfulfilled. This would mean that God is less than perfectly blessed in Himself, which can never be. Therefore, it is not correct to say, as do the proponents of the “well-meant” offer, that there is a principle “in” God that determines that God desires that the reprobate turn and live. This is to confuse the universal precept with the active will and essence of God.

 

Positively, however, God reveals Himself in a way that is full of encouragement to guilt laden sinners. Does God really delight in bestowing life upon those who repent? Will God really receive me, the sinner if I repent? Can this really be true? The answer is, Yes. Yes God will receive the wicked in the way of repentance, this is His delight! The gospel assures contrite sinners that “God has no pleasure in the death of the wicked: but that the wicked turn from his way and live!” This is true because of who and what God is in Himself. God is life and the source of all life in and of Himself. As such He actively and necessarily delights in life and only in life, never in death. This means that God delights in that perfect, all blessed life of communion within Himself. This is Divine life as all blessed fellowship in and of Himself as Father, Son and Holy Ghost. God’s perfect life of infinite blessedness lacks nothing, can know no increase or decrease to all eternity. Life and blessedness belong with the “I AM THAT I AM.” It is into this life of communion with Himself through Christ that God delights to bring lost sinners, as sons, in the way of repentance. God delights in life and in bestowing life upon every sinner who turns. The Lord rejoices with perfect delight and the hosts of heaven join with Him in rejoicing over every sinner that repents. In the highest sense of the word, God delights in bestowing heavenly life upon the redeemed, sanctified and glorified sinner. Thus He brings His adopted children into the full fruition of blessedness in communion with Himself through Jesus Christ. This delight is in the life of the glorified saint as a precious son or daughter with whom God fellowships and communes. This life in the experience and fruition of all good in Him is blessedness which we can not even begin to comprehend. But it is possible because God delights in life, that is, God delights that the sinner who turns should live. God delights in the life of those who turn.

 

God does not delight in death as death, but God delights in the sentence of death as the wages of sin. Death is the consequence of sin, which sin God hates with a perfect hatred. God declares that He does not delight in non-repentance and sin. But God who delights in life in the way of repentance is also just and righteous and cannot deny Himself. God insists time and again in these verses that “the soul that sinneth it shall die.” God delights perfectly in His righteousness and the vindication of that righteousness in justice and condemnation. God does not delight in sin, death and hell, except as they answer to the manifestation of His glorious justice and as they fulfil His eternal good pleasure.

 

In this regard we must remember that the attributes of God may be distinguished but never divided. God’s delight in the life of those who turn is in perfect harmony with his delight in the administration of the penalty of death as demanded by His righteous justice. In both instances it is the one being of God manifest in bestowing life and administering death. God is no less gloriously good in manifesting His justice than in bestowing mercy. The perfect harmony that exists between mercy and justice is seen in the death of Christ. God’s justice is satisfied and death is turned into life for the elect in the person and work of Jesus Christ. His death purchases life for sinners who repent in that He satisfies the justice of God by suffering death in their stead. Therefore, it must be maintained that God’s delight in life is displayed in its highest and most glorious light in the person and work of Jesus Christ on behalf of His elect. Christ and His elect body can not be separated. God’s delight in life is focused upon the living of His elect people in Christ. Still God is one, as is His purpose, as is the ultimate object of His delight.

 

The passages are therefore, full of sweet comfort and encouragement to the guilt laden sinner who longs for deliverance and fears to approach the holy God. Is there forgiveness with God even for a sinner like me? The way of life is thrown open before sinners. We must repent and believe that according to God’s faithful testimony and promise, when we turn from our wicked way we will find God to be abundant in mercy, and will be met with open arms by the heavenly Father. Turn and live! These passages deal with the relationship of repentance to life within the covenant of grace. They are perfectly designed to encourage and draw heavy-laden sinners to rest and life with God through faith and repentance. They say nothing of a desire of God to save all men. But it says everything about the love of God for His elect in Jesus Christ and the way in which He brings them into His own covenant life.

(Return to list of texts)

TEXT 5

 

MATTHEW 5:43-48 “Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for He maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love them which love you, what reward have ye? Do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? Do not even the publicans so? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.”

LUKE 6:27-36 – “But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you. And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloke forbid not to take thy coat also. Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again. And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise. For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them. And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same. And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye? for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again.
But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil. Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.”

 

ISSUE:

 

Our passage is cited as proof for the first point of “common” grace adopted by the Christian Reformed Church in 1924. This first point reads: “There is besides the saving grace of God, shown only to those chosen to eternal life, also a certain favour or grace of God which He shows to His creatures in general.” This statement is received as the touch stone of orthodoxy by most in the Reformed church world today. It teaches that God is graciously disposed toward the non-elect because He is gracious to them in things (rain and sunshine) and in the gospel. By these things, which are intrinsically good in themselves, God desires to do good to men: earthly-temporal good and spiritual-eternal good. Thus, God shows that He loves and desires the salvation of all men, so it is argued. We deny that our passage teaches any such “favour or grace of God to all creatures in general.” The text speaks of God’s universal goodness, but not of God’s grace. It commands us to love all men and gives God’s impartiality in bestowing good things upon those who hate Him as the pattern.

 

EXEGESIS.

 

Our passage appears in the context of the Sermon on the Mount with its theme of the kingdom of heaven and its spiritual character. Our Lord has described the citizens of the kingdom, their spiritual characteristics, blessedness and calling (5:1-16). He then proceeds to show that the righteousness Christ establishes in His kingdom is to be distinguished from the tradition of the elders which was then widely accepted. The Lord cites a series of examples of that tradition and shows how the righteousness required of the kingdom of heaven far surpasses it and is fundamentally different (5:17-48). Our text is the concluding example which Jesus gives and brings this portion of His instruction to its conclusion with the command: “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.”

 

With this context in view it is helpful at the outset to follow our Lord’s reasoning in our passage. As we do this the text unfolds itself in the following way. Firstly, our Lord describes the false teaching which He now intends to refute: “Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.” Secondly, the perfect rule of life and conduct for the citizens of God’s kingdom is asserted over against this error: “But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.” Thirdly, the purpose or end in view in this command is that the citizens of His kingdom might show that they are the children of their Father who is impartial in showing His goodness to all: “That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.”

 

Fourthly, our Lord shows that the false teaching falls far short because it reflects the character of the most self centred and despicable sinners rather than the goodness of God in His impartial bestowing of good things upon all men: “For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?” Finally, as the ultimate standard and motive of obedience in the kingdom Jesus shows that conformity to, and reflection of, the perfection of God is required in order to fulfil the commandment: “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.”

 

The calling of the citizens of the kingdom of heaven is to “love your enemies and … be perfect even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect, (Matt. 5:48). Jesus says “even as.” This means not only that the Father’s perfection is set forth as the standard of our conduct, but more specifically that the way God manifests His perfection toward all men in goodness is the pattern for us in our dealings with our fellow men.

 

“Be perfect even as our Father which is in heaven” requires us as children to reflect our Father’s perfection and to imitate His example. This is a kingdom command. As citizens of the kingdom of heaven we must emulate (be as) our Father who is in heaven, manifesting His heavenly life and perfection by our walk in this world. Obviously the purpose clause of verse 45 “that ye may be the children of God” does not describe the way one becomes a child of God. Entry into the kingdom as sons is according to eternal predestination unto sons (Eph.1:5), redemption (Gal.4:6) regeneration (John 3:5), effectual calling (John 1:12-13), and saving faith (Gal.3:26). Rather, it is in the way of reflecting and imitating God’s perfection that a believer shows that he is a child of God. The life of loving the neighbour belongs to the life of the “new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him” (Col.3:10), “which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness” (Eph.4:23), when God commanded the light to shine into the heart “to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (II Cor.4:6). This perfection of love, then, is to be a reflection of the nature of the Father in His children.

 

What is the “perfection” of the Father that must be our pattern? Verse 44 says: “He maketh his sun to rise of the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and the unjust.” This perfection is God’s doing good to all. Jesus here is describing, not God’s love and grace, but God’s goodness, the infinite perfection of the Divine nature. That it is God’s goodness to which our Lord refers is made clear by Paul, when he says: “… he left not himself without witness, in that he did good, and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness,” (Acts 14:17). And again by the Psalmist: “The Lord is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all His works,” (Psalm 145:9). The Scriptural conception of God’s goodness is not simply a propensity within God toward doing good to the creature. It is that, but it is far more. Goodness is the sum total of God’s all glorious perfections or attributes. First, as God is within Himself, but then also as God freely determines to reveal His perfect nature outside of Himself to the creature. Thus goodness is first the absolute, ultimate ethical perfection of the Divine being, and then it is the revelation of God to the creature (Exodus 33:19). Because God is absolute and ultimate good to the exclusion of the least shadow of evil (I John 1:5), God is the ONLY good (Mat.19:17). Therefore, all God does outside Himself is necessarily good (Psalm 145:9). Thus God’s goodness is presented in our text as our standard for perfection also. We must be as God is, good to all men and thereby be perfect. God freely manifests His goodness according to His eternal good pleasure, His decree. We, however, are given God’s will for us as our only rule of perfection, His law.

 

Furthermore, God’s goodness is the pattern for our love of our neighbour. As Jesus taught in the parable of the Good Samaritan, my neighbour is every man with whom I am brought into contact in God’s providence. Be he good or evil, friend or enemy, he is my neighbour and is to be loved. Jesus holds up God’s goodness as the perfect pattern. Because God is perfect He does nothing but good to men, ALL men, and that continually. God gives good things without partiality to both the evil and the good, to the just and unjust. The point of the text is that God in bestowing good gifts makes no distinction between His friends and those who are His enemies, the just and the unjust. This goodness is universal and the hatred of men does not change it or cause it to turn into evil. God is good. This means that God is emphatically not like the publicans who are good only to those who love and respect them. God is good to all men, those who love and respect Him and those who do not. Thus He showers upon them good things. These good things in this case are those that tend to maintain life and oft times by their very nature relieve the misery of all creatures – good and evil. This impartial giving of good things to all is the pattern and rule for us as children of God. We must do good to all men, not only to those who love and respect us, but to our enemies, those that curse us, those that hate us and persecute us. In every case, at all times, no matter what the attitude and action of the neighbour is to us we must do good to every man with whom we come into contact. Only then do we live as children of God and citizens of heaven. This is the standard of our love to the neighbour.

 

It does not follow, however that the children’s rule for manifesting goodness is identical to that of the Father. It belongs to the Father’s infinite goodness and perfection to sovereignly distinguish the elect from the reprobate, to bestow mercy and bless the elect with grace in Christ. It also belongs to God’s goodness to withhold mercy, curse the non-elect in their sins, and to punish them with eternal torment. This distinguishing goodness is unique to the sovereign God as the means by which He determines to manifest both His glorious grace and justice. Obviously, this being the case, God’s good gifts to all do not indicate that God is gracious or has a favourable attitude toward the non-elect. The grace of God as a particular manifestation of goodness is not “necessary to God, but is a free act according to His own good pleasure” (Ephesians 1:4-5). God’s mercy, love and grace are goodness manifest now as saving favour to sinners as blessings IN CHRIST (Ephesians 1:3). Grace as the unique, saving goodness of God flows to vessels of mercy, the elect in Christ. When Jehovah God would reveal His glory and name to Moses He said: “I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before thee” (Exodus 33:19). God reveals Himself as God of sovereign discriminating mercy to His vessels of mercy (Exodus 33:19). In Roman 9:13-23 Paul shows God’s goodness to have been manifest in love of Jacob as a vessel of mercy afore prepared unto glory (v. 23), and hatred of Esau as a vessel of wrath fitted to destruction (v. 22). To the vessels of mercy God reveals His goodness as “the Jehovah God who is merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth …” (Exodus 34:6). God’s goodness revealed as grace is ultimately Jesus Christ Himself – Jehovah Salvation. To know the goodness of God in Christ is life eternal (John 17:3). Therefore, it is evident that God’s attitude toward the individual man is not revealed in sunshine and rain which He sends upon elect and non-elect alike. To the non-elect who despise the riches of God’s goodness, turning it to self-indulgence and idolatry, good things become a dreadful curse. Good things grease the slippery places in which God has set the wicked whose end is destruction (Psalm 73:16-20). Where is the favour in good things that prepare the wicked for destruction? This must be a warning to us. We may not take God’s goodness in itself as a sign that He is propitious toward us. Sinners may be assured of God’s favour only in the way of living faith.

 

Though the heavenly Father as the sovereign Lord withholds love, mercy and grace from some according to His own good pleasure and for His own sovereign ends, He is good to all. We however, as children of God have the Father’s law as the absolute rule for our perfection and goodness toward our neighbour. God’s word and law is the only rule for faith and life. It is the law of love that must flow from love and thankfulness to God and thereby govern our whole life in attitude and action in relation to our fellow man. Obedience to the second table of the law, as summed up in love of the neighbour, is the God-ordained way believers must fulfil their calling to do good to all men. Thus love of God and love of the neighbour is the sum of the law and the prophets (Matthew 22:37-40, Romans 13:9). Specifically, as to the character and objects of love, our text demands that this love be a impartial, to those who behave toward us as enemies as well as our friends.

 

The text presses several compelling reasons why we must love all men. First, there is the direct command of our Lord that demands impartial love for our neighbour. This command is the law of love and the requirement of holiness for every citizen of the kingdom.

 

It is a perfect standard demanding perfect conformity. As always, this perfect law of love convinces us of sin and as our schoolmaster directs us to flee for refuge to Christ to lay hold of Him by faith and to rest under the wings of His perfect righteousness, there to draw forth strength and grace to walk in the way of holiness. In Christ we must find not only our imputed righteousness, but also imparted righteousness for living according to this law of the kingdom. Second, when we are addressed as “children of the Father which is in heaven” we are reminded that God so loved us that He gave His beloved Son to die for us while we were actively setting ourselves against Him in enmity and hatred (Romans 5:10). In this impartial, overcoming love: “ God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8). How then ought this love of God for us unworthy sinners inspire us to love our enemies and those who persecute the reflection of God’s perfection of love they see in us? God’s love saved us, and therefore our aim in all our dealings with our fellow men ought to be their salvation. We do not know, but that God may use our disinterested love to draw another elect hater of God to His bosom in Christ. Thus our aim in love as the fulfilling of the law must be the ultimate blessedness of our neighbour, even when he behaves toward us as an enemy and persecutor.

 

Second, as children of God redeemed by Christ’s blood we are compelled by love to obey. It is this Jesus who as God and man in one person for ever is THE revelation of the goodness of God to us. He lived, suffered and died by this perfect command that He might fulfil the law on our behalf. In this He fulfilled all righteousness that we might receive the righteousness of God, live and follow His perfect example. “For even hereunto were ye called; because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow His steps …” (1 Peter 2:21).

 

A third reason is “that we might be perfect even as our Father which is in heaven is perfect.” This call to perfect holiness draws forth a willing response from the child of God. There is no more powerful motive to strive for perfection than that God has taken us into His covenant and family as our heavenly Father so that we as His children might show forth His glory in the world of darkness and sin. As children we have the Spirit of Christ, are renewed after the image of God, in order that we might show forth the glory of our Father’s perfections of love, mercy and grace. We must do so by the way we live and conduct ourselves toward our neighbour. We must take our pattern from God’s dealings with us as children in love, and from His dealings with all men in goodness. In this way of perfection the children of God become a living word and an epistle to be known and read of all men (II Corinthians 3:2).

(Return to list of texts)

 

TEXT 6

 

MATTHEW 23:37, “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not.”

 

ISSUES.

 

By way of introduction we must note that our text is cited in support of a universal love and desire in God to the salvation of all men. The Roman Catholic, Semi-Pelagian and Arminian interpret the passage to teach a universal desire in God to the salvation of all men, conditional election and salvation dependent upon free will. Thus God desires and wills to gather all men (Jerusalem) to Christ if they will just fulfil the gospel condition of believing. The difficulty of such an interpretation is that most sinners thwart God’s will by refusing to be gathered and refusing to believe. To this notion Reformed believer should immediately respond: “You deny man’s total depravity. You deny God’s sovereign election. You deny Christ’s substitutionary atonement. You deny the Spirit’s irresistible grace.”

 

It was for these very reasons that the universal conditional grace of Arminianism is rejected and condemned by all the Reformed Creeds. Universalism, however, not to be deterred, has crept into the Reformed camp disguised as “common grace” despite the mighty confessional bulwarks. Many have entered into an unequa1 yoke with this false doctrine and produced a third thing, neither consistently Reformed nor openly Arminian, a “modified-Calvinism.” This hybrid now teaches that God has two wills, a will of predestination according to which He wills the salvation of only the elect (Calvinism), and at the same time a will of desire or delight revealed in the precept according to which He wills the salvation of all conditionally (Arminianism). More and more the universal will to the conditional salvation of all is emphasised and God’s eternal will of unconditional election is held under, in silence. The result is that a great deal of preaching is Reformed in name, but Arminian in content and presentation. Our text, it is supposed, presents the encouraging “universal” aspect of God’s will, while such passages as Romans 9:13-23 present the dark and foreboding secret will of sovereign predestination. That both are true yet in flat contradiction is supposedly a “paradox” which this “modified-Calvinism” says must be accepted without question. Belief in this “paradox” is supposed to be of the essence of true piety, while to question it is “rationalism.” Such a notion is nonsense. Although the truth of Scripture far transcends our finite understanding, it never contradicts itself. There can be no contradiction in God or Scripture. God is one, God’s will is one, and God’s word partakes of God’s unity and wisdom. Therefore it does not and cannot embrace necessary contradictions. To say it does, we believe, is blasphemous.

 

 

EXEGESIS.

 

Our Lord Jesus is in the last weeks of His ministry and approaches Jerusalem for the last time. Jesus has set his face, as the Lamb of God, to go to Jerusalem and to His death. As this event draws nearer, Jesus exposes the wicked hypocrisy of the leaders of the Jews more clearly than ever. The result was that the hatred of the scribes, chief priests and Pharisees toward Jesus was whipped up to fever pitch. Now they sought to lay hands on him (21:46), to entangle him in his talk (22:15), and ultimately to crucify Him.

 

In this context our chapter appears as Jesus’ explicit and relentless condemnation of the leaders of Jerusalem. Jesus theme is judgment and condemnation upon Jerusalem and its leaders. He pronounces a series of dreadful “woes” upon them as hypocrites, blind guides and fools, and culminates with the judgment: “Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?” (23:33). Well aware of their evil intention to kill him, Jesus declares that, by that very act, they fill the cup of iniquity of their fathers’ who have slain God’s prophets. They will kill the great prophet as their fathers killed his servants (23:34).

 

By so doing they serve God’s sovereign purpose, namely, that (ἵνα with the subjunctive) “upon them may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias …” (23:35). Then Jesus turns His attention to the judgment of God upon Jerusalem for its wickedness. “All these things,” the judgments of chapter 24, “shall come upon this generation!” (23:36). “Your house is left unto you desolate,” (23:38). This judgment is the immediate context in which Jesus utters the words of our text: “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets…” As Calvin declares:

 

“Christ utters a pathetic exclamation at a sight so monstrous, as that the holy city of God should have arrived at such a pitch of madness, that it had long endeavoured to extinguish the saving doctrine of God by shedding the blood of the prophets.

 

“This madness and monstrosity of sin in God’s covenant people is the immediate and provoking cause of Jerusalem’s utter destruction. Woe to Jerusalem who wilfully destroy themselves and “commit great evil against their own souls” by despising God’s word, (Jer.44:7).

 

Two things ought to be noted at the outset. In the first place, “Jerusalem” represents national Israel from the point of view of its religious centre in which God’s word and worship resided. More precisely yet, “Jerusalem” is Israel as represented in its leadership by the priests, scribes and Pharisees. More will be said on this later. What Jesus says of Jerusalem, her children and His dealings with her is true for the nation of Israel as the covenant people of God as a whole. OT Jerusalem corresponds to the church of Christ and this text must be applied to the apostate church of today. Christ wills to gather her children and she, through her leaders, stands opposed, wills it not, rejects and seeks to destroy the truth.

 

In the second place, Jesus speaks in the passage not merely as perfect humanity, but as the person of the Son of God in His human nature. Though he thinks, wills and speaks as perfect man, all Jesus does in his human nature as Mediator is the personal action of the Son of God, 2nd person of the trinity (John 1:14, 10:30, 12:49-50, 14:10,24, 17:8). Therefore, Christ’s will to gather not only corresponds to, but IS the will of God. It is clear from the context of our verse that this will of God to gather Jerusalem’s children, through the prophetic word, was operative throughout the entire OT dispensation. This active willing, which spans the history of the world from Abel to the present, can be predicated to none but the person of the eternal Son of God appointed as Mediator, who came in the fullness of time to reveal and to do the will of the Father (John 5:30). And not only this, but His infallible will has been and will be done, perfectly and completely.

 

The point at issue in the text is the fact that the will of Christ is set over against the will of Jerusalem. In order to clearly describe the view of common grace in the well-meant offer we quote Murray-Stonehouse on this point:

 

“In this passage there should be no dispute that the will of Christ in the direction of a certain benign result is set in contrast with the will of those who are contemplated as subjects of such blessing. These two stand in opposition to each other – I have willed (or wished), ye have not willed (or wished). Not only so. The will of Christ to a certain end is opposed to that which actually occurred. Jesus says he often wished the occurrence of something which did not come to pass and therefore willed (or wished) the occurrence of that which God had not secretly willed. … So we have the most emphatic declaration on the part of Christ of his having yearned for the conversion and salvation of the people of Jerusalem. . . . Our Lord in the exercise of his most specific and unique function as the God-man gives expression to a yearning will in his part that responsiveness on the part of the people of Jerusalem would have provided the necessary condition for the bestowal of his saving and protecting love, a responsiveness, nevertheless, which it was not the decretive will of God to create in their hearts.”

 

There are several elements of the text that the professors ignore in this exegesis that show their interpretation to be erroneous.

 

First, there is a clear distinction made in the text between Jerusalem and the children of Jerusalem whom Christ wills to gather. Jerusalem on the one hand is precisely defined as that which killed the prophets and stoned the ones sent by God with the word. Certainly this includes all unbelievers (Acts 3:13-15), but Christ has been to great pains in the context to show that it is the leaders and false prophets, the scribes and Pharisees that He has in view: “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees . . . ye are witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets. Fill up then the measure of your fathers,” (23:29-32). Clearly it is these spiritual leaders that are even now plotting Christ’s death and stirring up the city who are denominated as the Jerusalem that resists God’s will to gather.

 

Certainly it was not the rulers – the serpents and vipers who can not escape the damnation of hell – whom Christ willed to gather, but Jerusalem’s children. These children, the chickens and brood of Christ the hen, are the objects of Christ’s will to gather. They are thus clearly distinguished from Jerusalem, from the non-elect rulers. Christ does not say “I will to gather as a hen all Jerusalem head for head, elect and non-elect,” but “I will to gather as a hen gathers Jerusalem’s children who are my own chickens.” In the farm yard one can learn that, when danger threatens, each hen calls her own chicks, they hear her distinctive call and come running to shelter under the protection of her wings. Other chicks hear other calls and flee to other hens! As Scripture interprets Scripture (and never contradicts itself) we can see that Paul expressed this same truth when he said: “Not as though the word of God (call of the hen) hath taken none effect. For they are not all Israel (chicks of Christ), which are of Israel (Jerusalem)” (Romans 9:6).

 

Secondly, there is a violent clash of wills described in the text. The “well-meant” offer removes the power from God’s will. The word θέλω in our text translated “would have” and “would not” is literally “have willed” and “have not willed.” This word can mean either “purpose or resolve,” or, “will, wish, desire or delight.” In every case, however, it denominates volitional activity, be it weaker of stronger. Murray-Stonehouse and the “well-meant” offer want to translate the verb in reference to Christ’s willing in its weakest possible sense as “wish” or “desire.” So weak, in fact, that it is nothing more than an ineffectual wish in reference to the non-elect in Jerusalem. To weaken the will of God to unfulfilled desires is absolutely unacceptable. Over against this tampering with God’s will we insist that God’s will (or wish) is one as He is one. To divide God’s will is to divide God. If it is His living, almighty, efficacious will (or wish), it is never ineffectual and can never be frustrated by mere creatures, be they ever so wicked. Let it be understood that God would no longer be God if He had even one unfulfilled desire or wish: “He doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto Him: What doest thou?” (Daniel 4:35). “Who hath resisted His will?” No one! (Romans 9:l9). Sovereignty and irresistibility of will is “necessary” to God’s Godhead. Man’s will on the other hand is wholly conditional, often frustrated, and invariably compelled by circumstances out of its control to adapt and change. Consequently, man suffers the frustration of unfulfilled desires and unachievable wishes. But not so God!

 

The efficacious will of God is clearly taught in our text. Christ’s will was and is to gather Jerusalem’s children to Himself through the word of the prophets. This will to gather is nothing less than God’s will to save to the uttermost those who come unto Him through Christ. It is a will to gather as a mother hen gathers her chicks closely to her side under the protection of her wings. Christ is saying that he has wills to gather Jerusalem’s children into His loving embrace and under the shelter of His eternal love and compassion. This will to gather is an irresistible gathering of every single sinner whom Christ has redeemed by His own blood, and no others. Christ wills to suffer and die for their sins and to gather them to His bosom as their Saviour so that they shelter under the wings of His righteousness to be kept by His power through faith unto salvation. It is inconceivable that this “I will” should fail or be thwarted by the “will not” of the rulers of Jerusalem.

 

The efficacy of God’s will to gather and the futility of Jerusalem’s will to oppose was nowhere more clearly demonstrated than in the crucifixion of Christ, the great Prophet. Even in the very culmination of wickedness – the “unwillingness” that crucified Christ – Jerusalem did “whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done” (Acts 4:28). This was the ultimate act of resistance and opposition to Christ and His prophetic word. In this definitive moment when redemptive history is gathered into one act we see that Christ’s will to gather Jerusalem’s children is irresistible and efficacious. We also learn just how that will is realised. God wills that the death of THE Prophet becomes the very means by which Jerusalem’s children are gathered. “Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me” (John 12:31-32). This is the gathering of Jerusalem’s children. No man, no matter how wickedly determined, can halt or frustrate this will to gather: Christ WILL gather. It is to and by Christ crucified that the children of Jerusalem are gathered in effectual calling to shelter under the wings of His righteousness received through faith. This gathering is salvation. It is effectual calling, justification, adoption, sanctification, preservation and glorification. It delivers the elect children of Jerusalem out from under the dreadful sense of condemnation, guilt and terror of conscience worked by the law as a covenant of works. It shelters them under Christ’s righteousness with the consciousness of sins forgiven through the blood of Christ. It is the state of blessed peace with God and rest for the soul that is provided in Christ Jesus (Matt. 11:28). “Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, (Romans 5:3). Sheltering under the wings of God’s grace in Christ the predestinated, called, justified sinner can but cry: “If God be for me, who can be against me!” (Romans 8:30-31). Christ certainly gathers His chicks to His protection under the wings of His grace!

 

The professors, however (to our amazement) prefer not to find God’s sovereign purpose (His will of decree) in the text at all. They think that “Jesus says he often wished the occurrence of something which did not come to pass and therefore willed (or wished) the occurrence of that which God had not secretly willed.” The point of the “well meant” offer is that Jesus’ active will to universal salvation is manifest in the gospel call, the preceptive will that all men repent and believe. But at the same time (it is thought) God wills this universal salvation according to His eternal decree. Quite clearly, according to this view, there are two volitional wills active here. What is more, they are in flat contradiction! This contradiction comes about because this view takes the duty God requires of sinners and turns it into an active will of Christ that all men be saved. There is no such confusion in the sovereign God of steadfast covenant love. God’s living will was to command Jerusalem’s duty through the prophets. This command was heard also by the “generation of vipers that can not escape the damnation of hell” to whom Jesus preached. God’s will (in regard to the actual salvation of sinners – “Jerusalem’s children”), through that prophetic word, is that He himself will gather all the elect children of Jerusalem despite the rulers antagonism, and He does. It is nonsense to assert that Christ often willed something which Christ did not will! Can the immutable, all-wise God be willing what He is not willing and not willing what He is willing?! This “paradox” turns God’s will into nonsense!

 

Thankfully no sinner need cast himself blindly by a leap in the dark under the wings of such a paradoxical hen, for our text teaches something quite different. The clash of wills is not within God but between God’s will and the sinner’s will. Jesus says “how often,” which is to say, Jesus constantly, continually and unchangeably willed to gather Jerusalem’s children while Jerusalem constantly willed that they not be gathered. Is not this the case also with every totally-depraved, God hating, hell-deserving sinner? Was it not true of us in our sins that we “would not” be saved? Is it not true that the will of man can and will choose only to sin apart from grace? How then could any Reformed man assume that God is frustrated by sinful Jerusalem in His will to gather His elect from among them? Does not God subdue the rebellious sinner by irresistible grace and sweetly draw to Himself ALL His elect children out of Jerusalem down through the ages? Did not he call out His elect from under the wicked oppression of the false teachers and from the curse of the law? Christ said He did: “All (the children of Jerusalem) that the Father giveth me shall come unto me and him that cometh unto me I will in no wise cast out,” (John 6:37). As the great Shepherd He said” “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand,” (John10:27-28). So much then for the resistance of the vipers in Jerusalem. They are vanquished by the omnipotent will of the living God, and Jerusalem’s children are gathered.

 

The fact is that Christ did gather the children of Jerusalem. Christ gathered all the children of Jerusalem, all the children of Israel and all the seed of Abraham according to his will, every last one. The answer to this (supposed) contradiction is that not all natural Israel were God’s elect, not all the natural seed of Abraham were the spiritual seed of promise. Faith can be assured from the testimony of Scripture that although Jerusalem resisted it was “not as though the word of God had taken none effect [which would be the case if Christ’s will was frustrated] for they are not all Israel which are of Israel.” The children of the flesh in Israel were never the children of God, but “the children of the promise are counted for the seed” (Romans 9:6-8). This was true within Jerusalem and it is true within the church today. Therefore, the text is not teaching that when Christ sent His prophets with His word of salvation to gather Jerusalem’s children His will was thwarted. On the contrary it teaches that Christ gathered every last one of the children of the promise who were counted for the seed. Furthermore, that same word was a savour of death unto death to those who heard it and despised it. Thus Jerusalem showed itself to be unworthy of its privileged position, filled up the cup of iniquity and became ripe for judgment. “Behold, your house is left unto you desolate” (Matt. 23:38).

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TEXT 7

 

JOHN 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

 

THE ISSUE.

 

Many Christians believe that God loves each man woman and child in the world. The beautiful verse of John 3:16 is often quoted to prove that this is so. Let us, who love the Lord and the truths of His Word, and who would be faithful to Him and His Word, examine whether this verse is teaching that God loves all men. We believe that it does not, and that God’s wonderful love and grace in the Lord Jesus Christ are for His elect children.

 

EXEGESIS.

 

Obviously, the word world is appealed to as the proof that God loves all men. Is not the world all mankind? The verse is thus understood to be really saying, “For God so loved all men, that He gave His only begotten Son …” We ask however, does the term world actually mean all men? We need to note something very important. It is this: the Bible does not use the term world to mean all men. It simply is not used in that sense. Let us look at some verses of Scripture to show the truth of what we mean, and that its use here does not mean all men.

 

In the High Priestly prayer of Christ Jesus in John 17:8-9 we read the Lord Jesus saying, “For I have given unto them the words which Thou gavest Me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from Thee, and they have believed that Thou didst send me. I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which Thou hast given me; for they are thine.” Evidently the term “world” here is not the same as in John 3:16. This is evident from the Lord Jesus not praying for this world. The world He loves of John 3:16, (and by implication prays for here), is obviously different from the world for which He does not pray. Obviously world here cannot mean all men. The Lord Jesus makes it very clear that there is a distinction between His disciples, who believed that the Father had sent Him, who had been given unto the Saviour, and who are the Father’s, on the one hand, and the world of men who are not given unto the Saviour on the other hand.

 

We may also look at 1 John 2:15-17, where we read: “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. and the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.” We note again that the term world here obviously cannot mean all men. A distinction is drawn between those who have the love of the Father in them and the worldly who do not. The same is true of 1 John 5:19, “And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness.”  The term world here is obviously not the world of John 3:16 that God loves and for which He sent His Son to die.

 

That the word world does not mean all men without exception we also see when we turn to such passages as John 1:29, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.”  If world here means all men, then it means all men are no longer sinners, and so are all saved. This is, of course, not true. It means the world of His people. John 6:33 “For the bread of God is He which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.” Again, if world here means all men, then it means that Christ gives life to all men – that all men without exception are saved. Again, this is not true.

 

From the above passages it is obvious that the Bible uses the term world in different senses, yet it never uses it to mean “all men.”

 

We also must not forget that the Lord in His Word not only speaks of His love but also of His holy and just hatred. Now if it is true that God loves all men, head for head, then it must also be true that He hates no man. This is not so however, for we read for example in Psalm 5:4-5 and Psalm 11:5, the following: “For Thou are not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with Thee. The foolish shall not stand in Thy sight: Thou hatest all workers of iniquity.” & “The Lord trieth the righteous: but the wicked and him that loveth violence His soul hateth.” In Romans 9:10-13, we read “And not only this; but when Rebecca also had conceived by one, even by our father Isaac; for the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of Him that calleth; it was said unto her, ‘The elder shall serve the younger.” As it is written, ‘Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.’“

 

From these passages about the Lord’s just and holy hatred as well as the earlier ones about His love, we can see that it is incorrect to understand “world” in John 3:16 to mean “all men”. God has clearly said that there are some men for whom He has a holy and righteous hatred. There are some men who are the object of the Lord’s love and some that are the object of His divine hatred.

 

We thus conclude that God does not love all men. He loves His Church – those for whom He died and who come in time, by His grace, to believe on Him. (See John 10:11 & Ephesians 5:25)

 

John 3:16 speaks not just of love, but of divine love; God’s love. The Lord’s love is not merely a type of limited human love. It is the saving love of the almighty God, the sovereign unchangeable God. We thus ask, if this almighty God places His inseparable love (Romans 8: 35-39) upon any, is it possible they could be lost? This cannot be, for Christ plainly tells us in John 6:39, 10:27-28 & 17:12, “ And this is the Father’s will which hath sent Me, that of all which He hath given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.”; “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me: and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand.,” & “… those that Thou gavest Me I have kept, and none of them is lost …”

 

We really have to choose between two possibilities. Either God loves all men, and then accept that this love is powerless to search out and save. Or, that His love is so almighty as well as particular for His people, that He loves only them and truly and effectively saves only them. We, in the light and teaching of Scripture, choose the latter.

 

What does John 3:16 mean then? When it says, “God so loved the world”, the word “world” must mean the created universe. (Greek: κόσμος (kosmos), referring to “orderly, harmonious, systematic universe”). Many individual men may be lost; but mankind, as represented in His elect, is saved. John calls this new human race the world to show and emphasise that it is not from the Jewish people alone, but from all nations and peoples of the world God calls His people. The people who make up the world of John 3:16 are all those, and those only, who will become believers.

 

God does not merely save a number of individual men, He saves a race – the whole world! With the salvation of God’s elect, the whole creation is saved, as we can read in Romans 8:19-23. This explains why, though some men are lost, the world is nevertheless saved. Not those who are lost, but those who are saved, constitute, together with the rest of creation, the world of God’s love.

 

Arthur Pink, the well-known Bible commentator, puts the matter thus: “Turning now to John 3:16, it should be evident from the passages just quoted that this verse will not bear the construction usually put upon it. “God so loved the world.” Many suppose that this means the entire human race. But “the entire human race” includes all mankind from Adam till the close of earth’s history: it reaches backward as well as forward! Consider the history of mankind before Christ was born. Unnumbered millions lived and died before the Saviour came to the earth, lived here “having no hope and without God in the world, “and therefore passed out into an eternity of woe. If God “loved” them, where is the slightest proof thereof? Scripture declares “Who (God) in times past (from the tower of Babel till after Pentecost) suffered all nations to walk in their own ways” (Acts 14:16). Scripture declares that “And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient.” (Romans 1:28). To Israel God said, “You only have I known of all the families of the earth.” (Amos 3:2) In view of these plain passages who will be so foolish as to insist that God in the past loved all mankind! The same applies with equal force to the future … But the objector comes back to John 3:16 and says, “World means world.” True, but we have shown that “the world” does not mean the whole human family. The fact is that “the world” is used in a general way … Now the first thing to note about John 3:16 is that our Lord was there speaking to Nicodemus, a man who believed that God’s mercies were confined to his own nation. Christ there announced that God’s love in giving His Son had a larger object in view, that it flowed beyond the boundary of Palestine, reaching out to “regions beyond”. In other words, this was Christ’s announcement that God had a purpose of grace toward Gentiles as well as Jews. “God so loved the world,” then, signifies, God’s love is international in its scope. But does this mean that God loves every individual among the Gentiles? Not necessarily, for as we have seen the term “world” is general rather than specific, relative rather than absolute … the “world” in John 3:16 must, in the final analysis refer to the world of God’s people. Must we say, for there is no other alternative solution. It cannot mean the whole human race, for one half of the race was already in hell when Christ came to earth. It is unfair to insist that it means every human being now living, for every other passage in the New Testament where God’s love is mentioned it to His own people –search and see! The objects of God’s love in John 3:16 are precisely the same as the objects of Christ’s love in John 13:1: “Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His time was come, that He should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved His own which were in the world, He loved them unto the end.” We may admit that our interpretation of John 3:16 is no novel one invented by us, but one almost uniformly given by the Reformers and Puritans, and many others since them.” (The Sovereignty of God).

(Return to list of texts)

 

TEXT 8

 

ROMANS 2:4, “Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance.”

 

THE ISSUE.

 

In this text, it is said, God’s goodness acts generally, and leads to men repenting and being saved. As God’s goodness is poured out upon all men indiscriminately, then necessarily this is God’s purpose and desire that all men be saved, and in fact some do come to repentance and salvation through this goodness of God. This, it is asserted, is common grace.

 

EXEGESIS.

 

In the context of this verse the apostle sets forth the glorious gospel of Christ that is the power of God unto salvation to every person who believes, for the Jew and the Greek, antithetically over against all unbelief that holds under the truth in unrighteousness, (Romans 1:16-18). The contrast is between faith and unbelief. The just shall live by faith (1:17), whereas the ungodly live in wicked denial of God and His truth with its fruit in every abominable sin, (1:18-32). Our text appears in the context of Paul’s extensive treatment of the guilt and inexcusability of sinners before the holy God. God has revealed to all men the truth of His eternal power and Godhead. The Gentiles have creation and the work of the law in their hearts (1:20, 2:15). Added to this, the self-righteous Jews have the Law and the Prophets (2:12).

 

In chapter one the Gentile world has been shown to have despised God’s truth by holding it under in all manner of unrighteousness (1: 18, 28). In this “they are without excuse,” (1:18-20). Sin was punished with greater sin and men having denied the truth are given over to reprobate minds and vile affections, to be filled with all unrighteousness, delighting in vile sin and those that commit them, (1:28-32). Paul, in chapter two, turns his attention to the self-righteous Jew who, while condemning the Gentile world, is himself guilty of the same sins. Paul, while not losing sight of Gentiles, refers to the Jews primarily in chapter two. This is apparent when the thought in verses 1-3 is compared with that of verses 17-23. Having the Jew as the privileged covenant people primarily in mind he builds his case until in verse 17 he names him directly. The Jews having far greater privileges and manifestations of God’s goodness in the law and covenant are the clearest example of despising God’s goodness.

 

Over against both the Gentile and the Jew the righteous God will “judge according to truth.” No self-righteous sinner may deceive himself to imagine “that he shall escape the judgment of God,” (Romans 2:2-3). God will render to every man, Jew and Gentile alike, according to His deeds (2:6), for there is no respect of persons with God,” (2:10-11). Every sinner, even while he secretly delights in sin and denying the truth of God, stands before the great Judge of heaven and earth. There is no escaping God’s judgment for unrepentant sinners!

 

Now, in verse 4 Paul anticipates an objection. As John Calvin says: “For as the hypocrites are commonly transported with prosperity, as though they had merited the Lord’s kindness by their good deeds, and become thus more hardened in their contempt of God, the Apostle anticipates their arrogance, and proves, by an argument taken from reason of an opposite kind, that there is no ground for them to think that God on account of their outward prosperity, is propitious to them since the design of his benevolence is far different, and that is, to convert sinners to Himself.” (Calvin’s Commentary on Romans 2). God’s goodness leads to repentance. Only those who repent can be assured of God’s favour in His goodness. The hypocrite in mere outward relation to God’s covenant is doubly guilty because he despises the riches of God’s goodness of God manifest in that covenant, which manifestation of goodness far exceeded anything known by the Gentile world.

 

Firstly, consider that it is “the riches of His goodness, forbearance and longsuffering” that are despised.

 

What is God’s Goodness? God’s goodness in Scripture is not, as common grace would teach, some kind of ultimate attribute or will of desire within the Divine nature (alongside His eternal will of decree) according to which God earnestly desires to communicate His grace to every sinner and therefore pursues the salvation of all men through general goodness (common grace) and the well-meant-offer. This would be a universal desire to save all, which contradicts God’s decretive will in which He has eternally determined to lead to repentance and save only His elect in Christ (Ephesians 1:4-10). This view sets God’s goodness over against His good pleasure in the decree, as if the decree of double predestination is somehow less good than the free expression of God’s nature in common grace. Our text says God’s goodness leads to repentance. This is salvation in Christ and nothing less. Nor is it adequate to say: “Goodness is that in accordance with which God is inclined to benefit and not to punish.” There is a certain element of truth in this definition in so far as God is in Himself the fountain of every good and benefit to the creature, while punishment is the revelation of goodness as what could be called God’s “strange work” (Isaiah 28:21) in relation to sin. However, this definition also tends to set goodness over against holiness and justice. This is not valid because God’s attributes are all in perfect harmony and equality as the constituent elements of His divine nature. The free expression of God’s goodness toward the creature flows forth according to His eternal good pleasure or decree.

 

The Scriptural term “goodness” is a broad term which denotes the sum total of the unsearchable perfections which together constitute the Divine nature. God’s goodness is the sum total of His wisdom, power, holiness, justice, truth, love, mercy, grace, righteousness, wrath, hatred, forbearance, longsuffering, etc. Infinitely perfect, overflowing goodness is manifest in all God’s works outside Himself toward the creature. God is in Himself abundant goodness! (Exodus 34:6). He is pure Goodness, Light, Truth, the only Good (Matt.19:17). Therefore, all God’s works outside Himself toward the creature as Creator and as Saviour are always and necessarily “very good” also (Genesis 1:31). But it is important to understand that the manifestation of this goodness in regard to salvation as grace is according to God’s good pleasure: His eternal purpose or decree, the decree of election and reprobation. Therefore goodness is manifest in God as He stands in His relation to men as Creator-Judge and then as Saviour Redeemer in Christ. As to the relation of goodness to patience, God’s goodness “respects things in a capacity, or state of creation, and brings them forth into creation, and nurses and supports them as creatures. Patience considers them already created, and fallen short of the duty of creatures; it considers them as sinners, or in relation to sinners. . . . So then, goodness respects persons as creatures, patience as transgressors; mercy eyes men as miserable and obnoxious to punishment; patience considers men as sinful, and provoking to punishment.” (Stephen Charnock, The Existence and Attributes of God).

 

In our text it is the goodness of God that men despise by refusing to repent. God surrounds men on every side, nurturing and sustaining them in life, and thereby displays that He is a God of super-abounding goodness. God’s goodness is also manifest in temporal judgments and calamities such as famine, flood, earthquake etc. all of which warn of the wrath to come and serve as a call to repentance. This providential goodness, together with the testimony of the work of the law upon the heart and conscience, calls all to turn from their unthankful ways of idolatry to acknowledge God. It is this goodness that the Gentiles despise. The hypocritical Jews despise not only God’s goodness as creator but also His goodness as Saviour in the covenant of grace which called them explicitly and constantly to repentance.

 

Then, over against this despising God’s goodness and wicked persistence in hard hearted rebellion and refusal to repent God holds back His wrath, stretches out the history of this world, delays His judgment and thus allows sinners time for repentance. By this manner of dealing with sinners God shows that “He doth not afflict willingly the children of men” (Lamentations 3:33). He declares in all His works and words to sinners that He “has no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live,” (Ezekiel 33:11). Though sinners must know Him as the God who “will by no means clear the guilty,” repenting sinners find Him to be a God who according to His very nature is “merciful, gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth” (Exodus 34:6,7). But God and His dealings with sinners are despised by those who, in the blindness of their totally depraved hearts, imagine that they will escape the judgment of God.

 

What is the forbearance and longsuffering of God? In short, it is God’s goodness manifest as patience. The word “forbearance” (ἀνοχῆς) is derived from the verb “ἀνέχω” meaning “to hold up.” In the middle voice it means to keep oneself erect, to remain firm and unmoved in spite of opposition, then to sustain, bear with and endure for a time that will come to an end. Its only other use in the noun form is Romans 3:25 where God “held back His wrath” from the Old Testament saints, because He would pour it out without measure upon Christ as their substitute. God was “propitious” toward them in view of the righteousness that was theirs through faith looking to the promised manifestation of “the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world” (Revelation 13:8). Jesus remained with the faithless generation in forbearance of their unbelief with a view to the salvation of His own (Mark 9:19, 23). God’s people must exercise forbearance in persecution, (I Corinthians 4:12; II Thessalonians 1:4). Forbearance is patience that endures while looking to the end.

 

In our text the forbearance is God holding back, or suspending judgment of the ungodly for a time. It represents a suspension of wrath that must eventually be exercised upon all who do not repent. This forbearance (as Calvin rightly says) is no indication that God is propitious toward sinners. God is propitious only toward repentant sinners. God’s forbearing to punish sin is no basis for the view that God loves and is favourably disposed toward and pursues the salvation of the reprobate.

 

Longsuffering (μακροθυμία) is used in reference to God’s patience toward the unconverted elect, toward the righteous and toward the reprobate. First, in reference to the unconverted elect: “For this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first, Jesus Christ might show forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting” (I Timothy 1:16). Jesus Christ the Mediator of the covenant of grace, into whose hands are committed the dominion of God’s providence, clearly displays through His longsuffering with Paul (the chief of sinners and persecutor of the church) that His longsuffering indeed “leadeth to repentance.” This longsuffering of Christ is a sweet encouragement for even the greatest sinner to flee to Him in faith for life everlasting. None who come unto Him in faith shall ever be turned away. O! how great is the encouragement in Christ for the weary, guilt laden sinner to “seek the Lord while He may be found, and call upon Him while He is near” (Isaiah 55:6). This “while” is God’s goodness in His longsuffering. No labouring and heavy laden sinner need ever fear to come unto Him, for Christ Jesus came into the world sinners to save (I Timothy 1:15). This Christ is assuredly “longsuffering to usward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (II Peter 3:9). He comes to all His sheep in their sins and through the gospel calls: “Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest!” (Matt. 11:28). Here is an immutable promise based upon God’s eternal decree of election and the shed blood of Christ to all who believe. O man! Do not despise it!

 

Second, in reference to the righteous, we read: “And shall not God avenge His own elect, which cry day and night unto Him, though He bear long (μακροθυμία) with them?” (Luke 18:7). God, who loves His saints, seems to “suffer long” or delay to avenge them though they cry day and night. In this suffering God’s elect by faith must “wait with patience” (longsuffering) unto Christ’s return (James 5:7-11). This longsuffering of God holds back, as it were, for a time, the ultimate blessedness of His elect in their suffering, forbearing to punish the wicked persecutors. This longsuffering is God’s steadfast covenant love manifest toward His elect even in their suffering, whereby He constantly wills their ultimate blessedness and final perfection in their suffering, and so orders all things that the suffering itself becomes the means unto that ultimate blessedness.

 

Third, it is also used in relation to the reprobate: “What if God, willing to show His wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction?” (Romans 9:22). The longsuffering of the reprobate serves God’s purpose to “make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory,” (Romans 9:23). This longsuffering “makes His power known” as He holds back His flood of wrath from immediately destroying out of hand the wicked, even while He is actively and continually willing to unveil His wrath in due time. This stretching out of days to the ungodly itself brings an inescapable duty both to acknowledge God who sustains in goodness rather than consuming outright and to turn to Him in repentance.

 

Therefore we can say that “the Divine patience is that power or control which God exercises over Himself, causing Him to bear with the wicked and forebear so long in punishing them.” (AW Pink, The Attributes of God). “God does not deliver His people because He would try them, and takes not revenge upon the unrighteous, because in patience He doth bear with them; patience is the life of His providence.” (Stephen Charnock, The Existence and Attributes of God).

 

It must be stressed that this goodness actually “leadeth thee to repentance!” The text says “leads” (ἄγει). This is very strong language. It describes what actually happens. For, “as many as are led of the Spirit of God they are the sons of God,” (Romans 8:14); “If ye be led by the Spirit, ye are not under the law,” (Galatians 5:18), that is to say are not under condemnation of the law as a covenant of works. God’s leading never fails to reach its destination. The word in our text is in the indicative not the subjunctive, so that it does not say “ought to” or “tends to lead”, nor does it say “is a constraining influence that ought to lead,” but “leadeth thee.” The idea of this leading is that God by His goodness takes the sinner by the hand, as it were, and leading him to repentance. To limit this leading to the elect who alone repent fails to do justice to the general “O man whosoever thou art” (v:1,3) indicated by “thee” in our text. But if God’s leading is effectual, and it is, then how is it that all can be led and many or most not actually be brought to repentance?

 

In answer to this we put forward two possibilities. The first alternative is that God’s goodness in our text is restricted to a leading to repentance as to the act completed. But the second alternative is that God’s goodness actually leads all men to repentance as to the duty, and through that means (always now together with the gospel and irresistible grace), lead the elect to repentance as to the act? The latter is the clear teaching of Scripture. Two points ought to be made here. God’s providential goodness manifest to the heathen apart from the gospel never works repentance as to the act, it leads only to the proposing in general terms of the duty.

 

Even when God’s good providence bears in its arms the Gospel of salvation in Christ for all who repent and believe, a clear distinction is still to be maintained between outward and inward calling, between being led to the duty and led to the fulfilment of the duty. Though the command is to come, “no man can come unto me except the Father which hath sent me draw him” (John 6:44). The dealings of God with all men in the riches of His goodness lead to repentance as to a duty required. This is an external outward leading which achieves its purpose without fail, though by the ignorant and impenitent heart it is despised by most. This outward operation in God’s providence by itself never leads to repentance as to the act. This requires the internal saving call that comes only through the preaching of the gospel as applied effectually by the Holy Spirit – the work of grace. When God in His providence brings the proclamation of the gospel to men outwardly, still it requires the “leading of the Spirit” to bring to the ACT of repentance. For this is a gracious gift of God through Christ worked in the heart by the Spirit of Christ.

 

Thus, God achieves His purpose with all men in the outward manifestation of His goodness in providence. But this is not grace to all men. It leads to duty not to execution. The goodness of God confronts men with their duty to bow in humble submission before their good creator. This duty is wickedly despised by the hard and impenitent heart. God shows that His goodness is exceedingly rich in that He exercises it holding back His wrath and giving men time for repentance. This too is despised and “after the hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God” (Romans 2:5). The despised goodness of God is heaped together in unthankful idolatry and heaped up by the wicked so that it becomes the kindling for the fire of their own punishment. The greater the light and manifestation of God’s goodness to the wicked reprobate, the greater the judgment. This also is God’s purpose (Romans 9:22). By that same outward means of the gospel which reveals His goodness to men in Christ, God leads His elect by His Spirit irresistibly and efficaciously through repentance to Himself. This leading to the act is God’s goodness as saving grace, while leading to the duty cannot be said to indicate any gracious attitude to all. It leadeth “thee” O man, both Gentile and the Jew, sinners all.

 

Over against God’s goodness which “leadeth thee” is set the action of wicked men, “despisest thou” (καταφρονεῖς). This is the same “O man” in view. He disdains, or thinks little of it, counts it as a small thing and thus despises God’s goodness and God Himself who gives it. In wicked presumption men say: “Where is the promise of his coming? For since the fathers fell asleep all things continue as they were from the beginning of the world” (II Peter 3:4). In this way the wicked presume upon God’s patience and use it as the occasion for greater wickedness. But the text says this is because of their “not knowing” (ἀγνοῶν). This word is the verb “to know” with the alpha prefix. It means devoid of knowledge, to be spiritually blind. This is a spiritual blindness because it is that which renders the natural man incapable of seeing God’s goodness, his own sinfulness and the urgency of repentance. This is the spiritual ignorance described in I Corinthians 2:14: “But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him, neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” The despiser of God hears and knows in the formal sense, but what he hears is utter foolishness to his blinded mind. Because he cannot and will not receive it, he despises it. Wilful ignorance governs the totally depraved sinner apart from the illumination of the Spirit through regeneration.

 

This ignorance is inseparably related to the sin of despising God’s goodness. This “not knowing” is an adverbial modifier of the verb “despisest.” It is a present active causal participle standing in a present time relationship with the verb. It therefore gives the continual condition of spiritual ignorance of mind and heart that is the immediate cause of men’s despising of God’s goodness. Unless this blindness of mind be overcome by the Holy Spirit there can be nothing but despising of God and refusal to entertain the need of repentance. “No man can come unto me…” (John 6:44). “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3). This being the case, it is evident that the leading to the duty of repentance is one that leaves the despiser of God’s goodness without excuse, and is a leading of the regenerated elect by the Spirit that brings them to see their personal need of repentance and to actually repent and be saved.

 

Forbearance and longsuffering are God’s goodness manifested as patience towards men. This goodness reveals that just so long as this world is upheld and time remains there is indeed hope of salvation for sinners who repent. But this marvellous display of goodness is not grace to all (thus not “common grace”), for God’s good pleasure is designed to achieve diverse ends. Through this goodness some, according to election, are led to repentance as to the act, whereas many are left in their sins as despisers of their duty of life. God exercises patience in holding back immediate and ultimate punishment from the reprobate despisers of His goodness in order that He might lead all elect sinners to repentance. On the other hand He holds back the avenging and ultimate blessing of the righteous for a time that the elect might be gathered, their cup of suffering filled even by that wickedness that fills the cup of iniquity. When all is fulfilled Christ shall return in glory to judgment. With this purpose in view God’s goodness is manifest in forbearance and longsuffering that proposes to every man the duty of repentance.

(Return to list of texts)

TEXT 9

 

1 TIMOTHY 2:4 “Who will have all men to be saved and to come unto a knowledge of the truth.”

 

ISSUE.

 

This text is brought forward as proof that God has a favourable attitude toward the elect and reprobate alike and has a desire for the salvation of all men. God “wills” all men be saved: God is (or desires to be) the “Saviour” of all men. It is claimed that these verses provide proof of God’s “common” grace, love and delight that issues in a desire to save all men. This view is to be rejected as contrary to the teaching of this verse in its context, and contrary to the whole of Scripture.

 

EXEGESIS.

 

Having, in chapter one, charged Timothy to rebuke false teachers and hold fast to the pure gospel, the Apostle instructs Timothy concerning behaviour in “the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth” (3:15). “First of all” he addresses the matter of public prayer (v. l) offered up by male members (v. 8). Our verse appears in the context of this exhortation “that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men” (v. l). The passage gives both the purpose and reason for this exhortation. The immediate purpose is “that we (the church) may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty” (v. 2b). The reason is that “this” (the church’s prayers for all men) is “good and acceptable to God our Saviour” (v. 3). God is here describes as “our Saviour” because He is the God of sovereign mercy and grace whom we, the elect, redeemed, called, justified and sanctified church know, love and confess to be our Saviour through Christ Jesus. “Our Saviour” is the cry of faith that exults in the saving grace of God in Christ.

 

Why prayer for all men is required of us and acceptable to our Saviour God is explained in our verse. Prayer must be offered up for all men because God is a God who “will have all men to be saved.” The prayers of the church then are in perfect harmony with God’s saving will and purpose in Christ. In obedience to God’s revealed will the church is praying for God’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. Verse 4 in its entirety is a relative clause having as its antecedent “God our Saviour” (v. 3). It explains the will of “God our Saviour” that is the basis for this exhortation to pray for all men. We must pray for all men because God wills that all men be saved. Without doubt, it is the same “all men” who are prayed for in the public worship (v. l) that God wills to be saved (v. 4).

 

Firstly, who are the “all men?” The word translated “all” is the Greek indefinite adjective πᾶς (all, every, etc.). It can mean “all or any that are of the class designated by the noun.” But this cannot be the meaning here, because then it proves far too much. Then it would prove that God wills that all men, head for head, must be saved. This would mean that all ARE saved and the Pelagian heresy prevails. Very often, however, πᾶς means “all manner,” or “some of every kind designated by the noun.” E.g., Christ healed “all manner of disease” (Matthew 4:23). Christ did not heal every diseased person, nor every disease, but all manner of disease in all manner of persons. This is the case also in our text. When the context is allowed to speak it shows that the meaning is “all manner of men.” The command to pray “for all men” in this context means pray “for kings, and for all that are in authority,” (v. 2a), Gentile as well as Jew (v. 7). That is, pray for men of every class including kings, magistrates, Gentiles, Jews etc. Therefore, the context requires us to understand that we must pray for all manner of men for it is God’s will to save men from every station in life, from every nation, tribe and tongue (Romans 1:14). God’s saving purpose in Christ Jesus includes the elect ditch-digger and King, the elect maid and magistrate, etc. This, of course implies a certain view of all men that the church must have in her praying and preaching. God has not revealed the names of His elect whom He will call out of every station in life. The church must pray for all men, because all men are sinners and the elect of God are nothing but dead sinners also. We must pray for all in faith because God has His elect among every class and nation and will call them unto Himself in His own time, according to His eternal purpose in Christ (II Timothy l:9).

 

There is good reason for the church to pray especially for the enlightenment and salvation of rulers. The rulers and magistrates, more than any other class of men, influence and determine the attitude of the state toward the church of Christ. Under the Roman Empire, at the time Paul wrote to Timothy, there were hardships and even persecutions against the church which arose out of ignorance, false religion and idolatry of the Roman rulers and citizenry. Though the church can exist and even thrive under such conditions, it remains true that in time of peace the Church has greater freedom to preach the gospel to every creature and so fulfil her great calling (Matthew 28:18-20) Thus the immediate benefit for the church that is in view through this prayer is that: “we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty” (v. 2).

 

Secondly, there is the matter of the “will” of God that all manner of men be saved and come unto the knowledge of the truth. Salvation and coming to the knowledge of the truth are one thought, but can be distinguished as end and means. God wills that men be saved by coming to the knowledge of the truth. This truth is summarised in verses 5 and 6. This knowledge is the spiritual knowledge of faith as “the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). It is life eternal, in the knowledge of the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom He has sent (John 17:3). Salvation is used in its broadest sense as participation in every blessing of the covenant of grace through spiritual union with Christ Jesus by faith. This salvation is a gift of God’s grace (Ephesians 2:8). This encompasses regeneration, effectual calling, justification, adoption, sanctification, and glorification. It is the great and glorious task of the church, as “the pillar and ground of the truth” (3:16) to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. This preaching of the gospel is the means by which the Spirit effectually calls God’s elect, who are dead in trespasses and sins and are haters of God, unto the knowledge of the truth and thereby unto salvation. Furthermore, it ought not escape our attention that the Spirit declares that sinners must “BE saved.” This is because we are incapable of saving ourselves and must be born again by the irresistible grace of God and the power of the Spirit (John 3:3-8, Titus 3:4-7). With its great calling in view, and in order that the preaching of the gospel might have free course, the church prays for all men.

 

That there is no “common grace” in this text is evident in the fact that this will of God is unto salvation. This grace is anything but common: it is particular, purposeful, and all-powerful. The “will” of God is His living, working power which can never fail to achieve its purposeful end. As God is one sovereign almighty God, so is His will. But this salvation is for none but God’s elect who are drawn from all kinds of men as has been said. It is a will according to which He has “predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will” (Ephesians 1:5). It is the will according to which “he hath mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth” (Romans 9:18). It is such a glorious will that man can but say: “Who hath resisted his will?” (Romans 9:19). “Our God is in the heavens, He hath done whatsoever He hath pleased” (Psalm 115:3). This will of God has the salvation of elect sinners in Jesus Christ as its purposed end. This end is always reached (John 6:39:-40). Nor can it be argued that God wills the salvation of all conditionally if only they will believe. That would be to deny the sovereignty of God by placing the will of fallen man above the will of God. This is of course a denial of the Reformed doctrine of total depravity. “It is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy” (Romans 9:16).

 

The “all men” of our text whom God wills to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth will all confess with one heart and voice: “God hath saved us and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began” (II Timothy 1:10). Where is there room for any “common” grace here? Let us give the glory to God that is due to His sovereign, particular grace in saving us who were dead sinners through Christ Jesus. This is grace!

(Return to list of texts)

TEXT 10

 

1 TIMOTHY 4:10 “Therefore we labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe.”

 

ISSUES.

 

That this verse is brought forward as teaching “common grace” by professedly Reformed men seems decidedly odd. One would expect this from universalists and Arminians (for whom it has always been a central text for their heresies), but not from Reformed men. Nevertheless it is adduced as proof, as indeed it was by the 1924 Synod of the Christian Reformed Church for their Three Points of Common Grace. This text, among others, is supposed to prove that “God has a favourable attitude towards humanity in general, and not only towards the elect.”

 

Paul encourages Timothy by his own example and labour that as ministers of the gospel of Christ they can bear hard labour and reproach because they do not serve dead idols and vain imaginations that can never save, but they serve the living God. Their trust is firmly based because they know that this living God, as the Saviour of all manner of men through Jesus Christ, is able to save even the chief of sinners (I Timothy 1:15).

 

In I Timothy 4:10 the support for “common grace” seems to be somewhat bolstered by the word “especially.” If God is Saviour “specially” of those who believe does it not mean He is Saviour also in a lesser sense of those who do not believe? It is argued that the word “saviour” can be used to describe God’s delivering men from various calamities and showering temporal “blessings” upon all men without distinction. “Common grace” is slotted in to explain this “less-than-full” love, grace and salvation that is confined to this life, but then somehow changes into wrath, hatred and destruction at death, remaining to all eternity! But to the elect, those who believe, God is the Saviour in the “full sense.” But, as always, we ought to examine and exegete this text in its context, and in the light of the rest of Scripture.

 

EXEGESIS.

 

The context is the apostasy of the latter times. Many will depart from the faith giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils (4:1). Timothy, as a minister of the gospel, must refuse their false doctrines which teach that godliness consists in “bodily exercise.” This bodily exercise is abstaining from all manner of lawful things like marriage, meats, etc. (4:2-3). Timothy must reject this wicked dichotomy, receive God’s good gifts with prayer and thanks and exercise himself unto the true godliness required by faith and good doctrine (4:6). He must also teach others to do the same (4:4-6). He must also realise, however, that faithfulness to God is always the way that leads through suffering and reproach of men (4:10).

 

The duty to live godly over against false teachings, and the struggle it involves, gives rise to one of Paul’s “faithful sayings.” “Godliness,” declares Paul, “is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come” (4:8). This faithful saying is designed to encourage believers in their steadfast pursuit and adherence to godliness. We must be encouraged because the promise of godliness is not limited to this life as is that of the false teachers. They have their reward in this life. True godliness however, has the promise of life which now is and of the life which is to come (4:8). Therefore, we can certainly labour and suffer reproach of foolish men in this life having this promise of life before us.

 

Now, in our verse Paul gives the basis, or the ground, of this faithful saying. That ground is twofold. First, our God is the “living” God who preserves men and promises the life to come to those who believe. Only a “living God” can promise, give, and preserve life now and for eternity. Second, our “living God” is not only the Saviour (Preserver) of all men in this present life, but is Saviour especially of those who believe. This ground answers exactly to both aspects of the faithful saying. “The living God who is the Saviour of all men” is the ground of “the promise of the life that now is,” while “especially of those that believe” is the ground for the promise “of that life which is to come.”

 

The utter folly of the false teachers was that they not only despised and forbade the God given means to preserve and propagate physical life, but they thereby sought to work their own righteousness and salvation through “physical exercise.” They taught another gospel. In so doing they despised the means of eternal life. They despised the Saviour, Jesus Christ, in whom alone is the righteousness of God which when received by faith gives the promise and hope of eternal life. This false teaching condemns those who do not believe in the death that now is, and which is to come. God preserves the spiritually dead sinner in physical life, until physical death casts him down to the pit of hell. Outside of living faith in Christ, which is a gift of God’s grace (Ephesians 2:8), there is no promise and no hope of life. We find no “common grace” at work in the lives of these false teachers.

 

There are two quite consistent interpretations of our verse apart from the theory of “common grace.”

 

Firstly, there is a widely accepted explanation of the verse which has the support of many, including Calvin. That is, that the word “Saviour” here means “Preserver of all men and creatures through His good providence.” As Preserver God, the creator of all things, upholds, directs, disposes, and governs all creatures, actions, and things from the greatest even to the least; but He is Preserver specially of believers because He preserves each one in His faithful covenant love and grace to all eternity, for the sake of Jesus Christ.

 

This interpretation is in harmony with the whole of Scripture. Paul, in chapter 6, verse 13 of I Timothy expresses the same idea of God as Preserver when he says: “I give thee charge in the sight of God, who quickeneth all things, and before Christ Jesus …” God can quicken all things exactly because He is the “living God” who is in Himself life, and therefore the giver and sustainer of life in the creature. The “all things” of chapter 6:13 encompasses the “all men” of our text as a class of creatures preserved by God. Paul emphasises the fact that it is the “living God” who is Preserver and “causes all things to live.” The same idea is clearly expressed in Psalm 36:6. The context is God’s preservation of the wicked and the righteous alike. But the wicked, on the one hand, has “no fear of God before His eyes” (v. l). He flatters himself that he preserves himself until his iniquity is found to be hateful by God (v. 2-4) and he is cast down and unable to rise (v. 12). On the other hand, under that same preservation of God the believer confesses: “O Lord! thou preservest man and beast.”

 

A consideration of the glory of God’s goodness as Preserver of all men leads naturally to a confession of His Preservation “especially of those who believe.” For the Psalmist cries: “How excellent is thy loving kindness, O God! therefore the children of men (believers) put their trust (faith) under the shadow of thy wings (grace and love in Christ)” (Psalm 36:7). Confession of the living God as Preserver inspires confidence in God as Saviour: “For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light” (v. 8-9). The work of God as Saviour is preceded by the work of God as Creator and Preserver. Creation is the background and stage for the revelation of God as Saviour. It is no surprise then that confession of the truth of God so often follows this order as well. It is most probable that Paul is applying this truth to the case of ministers of the gospel in their trials in order to encourage Timothy. If God is able to preserve this whole creation and every man in it, he argues, then surely we, who are His sent messengers to proclaim the Gospel of salvation to men will also be preserved. Yes indeed we shall, and that not only in this life but to all eternity, for we are those who believe. This is the force and purpose of the argument.

 

A few words must be said about the relation between providence and grace because this verse has been twisted to teach “common” grace. Providence is not grace. Nor is it possible to argue from God’s goodness in His providence over all to a desire within God to save all. God’s preservation of all men as creatures must be carefully distinguished from “common grace.” Providence reaches all men in common and preserves every creature according to God’s will, but it is not in itself grace. God is gracious only toward His elect in His providence. Providence is God’s act toward the sinner, grace is God’s favourable attitude and purpose for the sinner in that action. God’s grace, however, is directed only toward the elect in all His works of providence. God has no favourable disposition toward those who are outside of Christ according to eternal predestination. Toward the non-elect God has only a disposition of disfavour, wrath and hatred (Romans 9:13), even while they are objects of His good and mighty preservation. The good things God bestows upon the non-elect are not grace toward them, nor is their preservation. Rather, they are preserved in life and go on wilfully and wickedly in their sins and ingratitude, “being disobedient, whereunto also they were appointed” (I Peter 2:8). Their end, according to God’s eternal purpose, is to show forth God’s glorious justice.

 

Indeed, God in His providence brings many things upon elect and reprobate alike, but grace is not in things. Grace is not in rain, sunshine, food and wine that preserve and prospers the reprobate for a time in this world. After all, the wicked often have far more of this world’s riches and glory than the godly. Their “eyes stand out in fatness, and they have more than the heart could wish” (Psalm 73:7). This earthly prosperity can even seem to God’s people, as it did to Asaph, as if the wicked are favoured and blessed of God above the righteous! Then we are like foolish and ignorant beasts of the field who judge with their bellies and do not see spiritually to the end of the matter (Psalm 73:22). The truth is that all these things work together to the ultimate and eternal ruin of the reprobate. For God “set them in slippery places.” “When the wicked spring as the grass, and when all the workers of iniquity do flourish; it us that they shall be destroyed for ever.” (Psalm 73:18, 92:7). God is gracious in His providence toward the elect for whom “all things work together for good” (Romans 8:28). This is so because He has “loved them with an everlasting love and draws them with loving kindness” (Jeremiah 31:3). God as Preserver in His wise and good providence preserves the earthly existence of all men, bringing the same things upon all. For this preservation all men are required to thank and glorify God. But to those from whom God has sovereignly withheld His mercy and grace (Romans 9:18), these things harden them in sin and are the very means to “preserve” them in chains of sin and guilt unto the day of judgment. Obviously, when we consider the latter end, the purpose of God, there is no room in providence for grace toward the reprobate.

 

There is, as we have mentioned, a second biblically-consistent interpretation of this text. This second interpretation of the verse understands that God as “Saviour” refers to Him being the Saviour of all men who are the elect in Jesus Christ. These are then further specified as “specially those that believe.” Paul uses the term “Saviour” 3 times in this letter (1:1, 2:3 and here in 4:10). In both prior references the term is obviously limited to God being the Saviour of His elect. This would seem to favour the view that here again the terms “all men” and “Saviour” are used in the same way as in 2:4. Then the verse teaches that God is the Saviour in Jesus Christ of men of every class, nation, tribe and tongue, more especially by speaking of those who are manifest in time as believers.

 

According to this interpretation, God is “Saviour” especially of the elect from among all manner of men, and they are distinguished as those who are believing. “Saviour” is then used in reference to “all” as in the angels announcement of “tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people,” for the Saviour was born, Christ the Lord (Luke 2:10-11). And again in I John 4:14 – “the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world.” The idea then would not be that there is a lesser type or degree of salvation that belongs to all men apart from Christ. Rather, that God as Saviour belongs uniquely to “believers” who firmly “trust in the living God,” not only for preservation in life, but as personal Saviour from sin and the sting of death, and so draw from Him that strength, comfort and hope experienced by Paul and Timothy. Surely, argues Paul, because God is the living God and Saviour of all kinds of men out of every walk, nation, tribe and tongue in Christ Jesus, we believers, who so firmly trust in Him that we are willing even to labour and suffer reproach for Him, and thereby clearly evidence the veracity of our calling and election, may especially take our encouragement from Him as our God and Saviour.

 

The problem with this latter interpretation is that the word “especially” is used elsewhere by the Holy Spirit in Scripture to draw a clear distinction between believers and non-believers. An example is Galatians 6:10 – “… do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.” It is most likely that it is used in this way here also. Therefore, we prefer the first interpretation as that which is most in harmony with the force of the passage and the whole of Scripture.

 

Regardless of which of the two interpretations one prefers, it is evident that there is no room here for the theory of “common grace.” Only if providence itself and “things” were grace could the verse lend any support to “common grace.” But such is not the case. Grace is God’s attitude of favour and love through Christ Jesus toward His elect alone unto salvation.

 

This verse is full of comfort for “those who believe.” Believers have the sure testimony that God is their Preserver not only in this life through providence, but to all eternity through grace in Christ Jesus. God not only watches over His saints in this world with His almighty power and might, but He tenderly gathers them under the wings of His grace in Christ so that they shelter under the righteousness of their Saviour. The great encouragement for believers, as they labour and suffer reproach for their testimony to Christ, is that their faith in the living God “has the promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come” (I Timothy 4:8). Yes, God preserves us now along with all men, but we who believe are not like unbelievers who have no hope in the life to come. We have the living God as our Saviour in Christ to all eternity. Christ has conquered sin and death for us and has ascended into the heavens. Death has no power over Him, He is the “living God.” This gives us the promise of the preservation of God through life, through death itself and on through all eternity. We alone among men, as those who believe, have the promise of life which is to come because the living God is our Saviour.

(Return to list of texts)

 

TEXT 11

 

II PETER 3:9 “The Lord is not slack as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”

 

ISSUE.

 

This beautiful text is claimed by universalists of every stripe as a basis for their doctrine that God loves all men, is graciously disposed toward all men, and desires the salvation of all men. “Look at the text!” they insist with shock horror that you would dare question the idea. “It says God wants all men to come to repentance; to come to repentance is to be saved, and therefore God wants all men to be saved – what could be clearer than that?”

Well no, that is not clear to us at all. In fact, it is quite wrong to read the text this way. To do so is to take the text out of its context, making it say what you want. Let us explain why we say this.

 

EXEGESIS.

 

First, we will put the text in its context – that will clear some of the confusion. Secondly we will show why the text cannot be understood as teaching universalism; and thirdly we will mention what this beautiful passage does teach.

 

Firstly, consider the context. In the broader context, the apostle Peter writes to the church and is concerned to put the saints in remembrance of the truth they have received, and to fortify their knowledge of, and adherence to, that truth. They must be prepared to withstand the attack of errors of false teachers who deny Christ (chapter 2) and those who will scoff at promise of Christ’s return (3:1-4). In this connection, Peter describes two distinct groups of people and their different ends. On the one hand, there are those undeserving sinners who God “knows how to deliver out of temptation” – that is, the elect of God. On the other hand, there are those whose “judgment now of a long time lingers not, and their damnation slumbers not” (2:3), and who God “knows… how to reserve unto the day of judgment to be punished” (2:9) – that is, the reprobate wicked. God has reserved some to “judgment, punishment and damnation” – as were reprobate angels, the world in Noah’s time, and the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorra (2:4-6). The eternal destiny of these sinners is foreordained and they will arrive at that end in the way of their sin – unrepentant.

The apostle writes to those whom God is pleased to deliver from sin and temptation. He describes them as, “them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ” (1:1). As with the first epistle, Peter is writing to those he views as the elect of God chosen unto eternal life in the way of faith in Christ. These people Peter addresses as “beloved.” When he instructs and exhorts them he uses the second person singular pronouns “ye” and “you.” And notice carefully that Peter associates himself, and the whole Church of Jesus Christ, with them by saying they “have obtained like precious faith with us…” (1:1). From this point on, whenever he speaks of blessings that are common to all God’s elect and called saints, he uses the first person plural pronouns “we” and “us” (see 1:3, 4, 16, 19; and 3:9, 13, 15). In contrast, he uses the pronouns “they” and “them” whenever he speaks of those whose end is damnation (see chapter 2 throughout, and 3:5, 16). At no time does he say “we” or “us” with reference to those whom God has reserved to judgment. When he says “us” he is speaking of the body of Christ – the elect, redeemed, effectually called, believing Church.

 

Obviously, therefore, without compelling evidence in the immediate context that shows that Peter has changed his usage of these pronouns, it will not be possible to extend the reference of the pronoun “us” to include any more than the elect church of Jesus Christ.

 

Then in chapter three, the immediate context is a warning against those who will arise in the last days to scoff at the promise of Christ’s second coming (3:3-4), as do the modernists and evolutionists of our day. They laugh at the idea that Christ can come again, overrule the uniform laws of creation, raise the dead, judge the world, and bring it all to a fiery end. Confronted by this jeering ridicule, the question quite naturally arises for the Church: “Why does the Lord delay? Why doesn’t He come immediately to silence these scoffers? Is it slackness? Why doesn’t Christ return to deliver his church through judgment? Why the delay– now over 2000 years?”

 

It is this question (in the context of God knowing how to deliver his people and reserve the wicked scoffers to judgment) which Peter addresses in verse 9. The delay is not caused by slackness, “the Lord is not slack as some men count slackness.” There is a good reason why the Lord stretches out the number of days – prolonging the history of the creation – “He is longsuffering to us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” His eternal counsel to save elect sinners from the present evil world and the judgment to come – through repentance – must first be realised. First, ALL must come to repentance – then He will return. That is the immutable will of God.

 

When this text is not taken in isolation, but read and understood in its true context, it begins to take on a very different complexion to that purported by the proponents of common grace.

 

Secondly, there are reasons why the text cannot be understood to mean that God wills that all men repent and be saved.

 

In the first place, “Us-ward” is the same first person plural pronoun we have mentioned before. It appears here with the preposition εἰς and means “to us”, or more precisely “with a view to us.” God’s longsuffering has reference to us, it is “with a view to his elect church.” God is holding back the full and final blessedness of his church because He is not willing that any should perish but that they all should come to repentance. That is the idea.

 

For the text to be interpreted to teach that God wills the repentance of all men requires that we understand the “to us-ward” to refer, not to the elect believing church, but to all men including all who God has reserved to judgment. To broaden out the reference from its specific reference to elect church to every single man requires a change of Peter’s uniform use of the pronoun. We remind the reader of what we have previously shown to be the way the pronoun is used throughout the book. If we are to accept that the reference is changed, there must be clear evidence of this in the immediate context. But there is nothing that even hints at such a change. Rather, verse 7 speaks of the “world kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.” Then verse 10 speaks of divine judgment upon the unrepentant wicked, saying “the works therein being burned up.” There is everything to indicate that the reference is unchanged, and nothing to indicate a change. Therefore, we must accept that “to us-ward” refers to the elect believing church which God wills to be saved.

 

In the second place, the three terms “us”, “any” and “all” which all appear in the verse refer to the same group of people. As is often the case in Scripture “all” is used with reference to “all of a certain sort or group” (see for example I Corinthians 15:22; Ephesians 4:6; Romans 5:18). In our verse, the apostle first establishes the extent of the reference when He says “to us-ward”, then still speaking of this same group, he says God wills that not “any” should perish, but “all” should come to repentance. This “all” is the same group distinguished by our Lord in John 6:37, “All that the Father hath given unto me, shall come unto me.” This interpretation is required also by the fact that the phrase “not willing that any should perish but that all…” is a participial phrase modifying the verb “is longsuffering to us-ward.” The activity of the verb “is longsuffering” is directed to a specific group “us,” and then the participle in subordination to its verb explains what this means with respect to the seeming delay. It is not possible to treat the participial phrase (and the “any” and “all” it contains) as if it has a different reference to the verb which it modifies. Therefore, the will of God to the repentance of “all” is to all of the group described as “us.” The meaning then is that God, who is longsuffering to us, does not will that any (of us) should perish, but that all (of us) come to repentance.

 

In the third place, there is a strong and compelling theological reason why the text cannot possibly be read in a universalistic sense. The text lays great emphasis on the will of God. The word used is boulomai, meaning either “to will deliberately, to have a purpose” or “to want or desire something.” Both meanings are involved in the will of God. Of course, God’s infinite self-sufficiency and blessedness allows for no ineffectual and unfulfilled desires. God is never left unfulfilled. Rather, God’s will is “his good pleasure … the good pleasure which He has purposed in himself … the purpose of him who works all things after the counsel of his own will” (Ephesians 1:5, 9, 11). In our text, by the use of a negative “God is not willing that any” and then the positive, “but (God is willing) that all…” the will of God is declared to be the decisive factor. The will of God explains why God’s longsuffering is being exercised, and Christ doesn’t come immediately. Thus, we must reckon honestly with what Scripture says of the will of God. We cannot gloss over such an important truth as the universalists are want to do.

 

Notice in this connection that the text does not speak of the revealed or preceptive will of God. Peter is not saying that Christ can’t yet return because God “commands” all men to repent. The command to repent comes in God’s revealed will to sinners. That revealed will is not what God himself, in his undivided and unchangeable being, is eternally willing to come to pass in time by his providence. The revealed will is different: it is what God commands man to do, and it is invariably disobeyed by unregenerate sinners. Obviously, Christ’s return cannot be suspended upon, and dependent upon, the response of spiritually dead sinners to God’s command! Peter is certainly not referring to the command to repentance when he says: “God is not willing …” If he was, then Christ would never return. If sinners’ refusal to yield obedience is delaying Christ’s return that delay would be indefinite!

 

Rather, Peter speaks of God willing. The verb is a present active participle – which indicates continuous action that is contemporaneous with God’s longsuffering. Thus, while God is exercising his longsuffering He himself is actively willing that all come to repentance. This will is God’s living, active, eternal, almighty, immutable will of decree. It is the eternal purpose of God that is described in Psalm 115:2-3 “Wherefore should the heathen say, Where is now their God? But our God is in the heavens: He hath done whatsoever He pleased.” This is the will which God himself describes in these terms: “My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure … yea I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass: I have purposed it, I will also do it” (Isaiah 46:10-11). This will cannot be frustrated. This will is immutable. This will is always and invariably fulfilled in time in the history of this world. God wills that ALL those whom he has given to Christ in the decree of unconditional election be brought to repentance by the Holy Spirit in effectual calling; wherein He makes them both willing and able to obey. God’s word concerning ALL repentant sinners is this: “By grace are ye saved, through faith, and that not of your selves, it is a gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8).

 

Therefore, we simply cannot entertain the idea that God wills the repentance of any sinner who in the end perishes because they will not repent. We cannot entertain the Pelagian / Arminian notion that God’s will to the repentance of all men is conditional upon the will of totally depraved sinners who are described by God as “dead in trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 1:1-5) and incapable of the least saving good, and will never seek after Him (Romans 3: 10ff). No, we must let God be God. God is sovereign – not man. Nor can we entertain the idea of the Well-Meant Offer advocates that the text speaks of a non-saving “delight” of God to the repentance of all, but not of the active “will” of God. This notion creates unfulfilled desires in God – an impossibility. It also kicks up a cloud of dust to allow for a universalist “aspect” to be inserted into God’s will, which, when the dust clears, is seen to have no power to save. When all is said and done, non-saving, non-effectual delight of God leaves the reprobate sinner as it found him – dead in sin, unrepentant, and under greater condemnation for denying the way of salvation. But this, of course, was always the will of God for them (I Peter 2:8).

 

Thirdly, and briefly, consider the true, beautiful, and positive teaching of the text. The text gives the divine explanation as to why God stretches out these last days and seems to delay the second coming. The reason is NOT that God is slack. God’s viewpoint is different to ours – with God 1000 years is as one day, and one day as 1000 years. God’s great purpose, toward which everything in the creation is working, is that Christ will return. But that return involves, indeed requires, that ALL those whom the Father has given to him in the eternal decree of election are first brought to Christ and salvation through repentance. When this is done, Christ will return –and not one day sooner. Yes, as believers we are saved by pure mercy (how we thank God for his free grace!), but we must never lose sight of the fact that there are more elect but perishing sinners yet to be saved. The elect Church, of which we are but a tiny part, is as the stars of heaven for multitude and as the sand by the sea shore innumerable – and our faithful Saviour God is not willing that any of them should perish, but that all should come to repentance! Some are alive and living as unconverted sinners even now. Others are not yet born, but God loves them all with an everlasting love, Christ gave himself for all their redemption, the Spirit is gifted to them all. They all will be saved in God’s good time – every single sheep and lamb. God’s glory is to be fully revealed through the salvation of His Church in Jesus Christ. This is THE great thing. We must let the full weight of this glorious truth sink into our minds and hearts. As we conform our agenda to what God has revealed to us as his great purpose in Jesus Christ, we will be prepared to wait upon God and to serve him in the patience of faith and hope.

 

We also need to see that God is not coldly unconcerned for his suffering church in the world, hard pressed by error, mockery and persecution. God is “longsuffering to us-ward.” God’s longsuffering is salvation for his Church! (II Peter 3:15). It is his patience with respect to his elect whom He wills to bless. God eagerly intends, desires, wants, wills to bring his church, through judgment, into the blessedness He has prepared for them in the new heaven and earth wherein dwelleth righteousness (II Peter 3:13) – but He holds it back for a time. That is God’s longsuffering. He holds back our full and final blessedness – because there are other elect sinners yet to be saved. The gospel must be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations: and then shall the end come (Matthew 24:14). When the last of “us” is delivered through repentance into the living fellowship of God in Jesus Christ – THEN Christ can return. God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance – and they WILL! Praise God – his counsel stands. Our victory in Christ Jesus is certain.

 

With this knowledge of His saving purposes God girds the Church of Jesus Christ with truth, so that we are enabled to stand fast in the patience of hope – praying: “Come Lord Jesus!” We know that God has not failed us; but rather, because He is faithful to his promise to Christ and ALL the elect in him He is holding back our promised reward until ALL are brought to repentance.

 

Finally, by this glorious truth, the Church is powerfully motivated to preach the gospel to every man, woman and child. God has his elect in all nations, tribes and tongues. He wills to bring them to repentance through the preaching of the gospel. He is able to do this because He is sovereign and his grace is irresistible to save even the hardest and seemingly most incorrigible sinner. This is our encouragement to preach the gospel and to witness to the power of Christ to every creature.

 

The Church that understands the truth of this text will be a truly evangelical, praying, preaching, witnessing, mission-orientated church, for it will understand that the Lord tarries because He wills “all of us” to come to repentance –through the gospel He has commissioned us to preach and teach!

 

We don’t need to conjure up some universalism in God and His word in order to give us concern for the souls of perishing sinners and mission zeal. Universalism, in any of its many forms, robs God and His gospel of its power, casting us back upon ourselves and other dead sinners; whereas the truth turns us from ourselves to the faithfulness and power of the one true and sovereign Covenant God in Jesus Christ – so that we might find all our strength and encouragement in Him – alone.

Soli Deo Gloria!

(Return to list of texts)

 

TEXT 12

 

I JOHN 2:2 – “And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.”

 

THE ISSUE.

 

Here once again, we have a favourite verse of the universalists, be they Arminian, or Amauraldian, or any other stripe. This verse appears (on the face of it and considered in isolation) to be very plain. The “he” in this text is Jesus Christ (2:1), and the “propitiation” (ἱλασμός) is an atoning sacrifice for sin. Surely then, our text states plainly that Jesus’ atoning work was not only for the sins of God’s people (“ours”), but it was also for the sins of the whole world (every man and woman, head for head)? What could be plainer than God stating that Jesus’ sacrifice paid for the sins of the whole world (either actually, hypothetically, or conditionally – however you like to put it)?

But we would deny such an interpretation, and insist that this verse be understood in the context of the rest of John’s letter and also the rest of Scripture. Let Scripture interpret Scripture – let God tell us what this means. Let us examine it in this way.

 

EXEGESIS.

 

This letter of the Apostle John is most likely written to the church(es) of Asia Minor. These congregations were the place where he predominantly served after the fall of Jerusalem. As a consequence, they were his “children” (2:1, 12, 18, etc.) because of his care and oversight of them, and because many had been led to the faith through his preaching and teaching. He tells us of the reason for his writing to them in 5:13 – “These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.” It seems that the people had been troubled by an early Jewish form of Gnosticism, with some trying to synthesise pagan and Christian thought. John writes in order that they may have a solid assurance in the essentials of the Christian faith and life – an assurance of their salvation in Jesus Christ, and thus of fellowship with God and with each other (1:3).

 

The immediate context of our verse is John telling these people that he is writing to encourage them to keep themselves from sin. But he also is quick to assure them, that though we do commit sin in this life, this cannot break our fellowship with God, because we have a Mediator, an advocate, Jesus Christ. We have the wonderful assurance that we may go to God, with a grief and repentance for our sin, and know of ongoing acceptance because of the life and work of our Saviour (1:9). Jesus is the propitiation (2:2), the atoning sacrifice, offered once for all time for our sins (Hebrews 9:28).

 

All this is clear so far. But now comes the statement that Jesus is the propitiation not only for our sins, but for the sins of the whole world. We have already dealt with the word and concept “world” in the exegesis of John 3:16, and we suggest you read this also. But briefly, we cannot simply assume that the word “world” means every single man and woman, head for head. It simply does not mean this. The Greek word “κόσμος” refers to a complete and whole system, an arrangement or constitution that fits together. The question then becomes – to what whole and complete arrangement is the Holy Spirit referring?

 

If we examine the rest of this epistle, we find that at times that John uses this word to mean the inhabited earth, containing both the elect and the reprobate, both believers and the enemies of God, such as in 4:9 – “In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.” But at other times, John is referring to the complete system of iniquity and sin, which is the antithesis of all that is holy and honouring to God, such as in 2:15-16 – “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.” What this means is that we cannot just generalise, and say – “we will take however John uses this word in the rest of his letter, and this is what it means” – if we did this, we would end up with very contradictory ideas.

 

Therefore, we ought to use the rest of Scripture to tell us for whom Christ died – for whom He was given as the atoning sacrifice. And the Scripture does reveal this. Jesus Himself said in John 10:14-16 (note: John’s gospel, same writer as the epistle) – “I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep. And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.” Christ tells us here – it is only the sheep for whom He lays down His life. And that is confirmed at that same time, because of what Jesus says in John 10:26, to the unbelieving Jews – “But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you.” Notice that they do not believe because they are not Jesus’ sheep. If it was the other way around, then we could say that we become sheep by believing, but that is not the case. The only way that any man, woman or child will ever believe, is because they were chosen as sheep before the world began (Ephesians 1:4). Therefore, Jesus knows exactly who His sheep are – He always has. And it is for those sheep, and no others, that He lays down His life.

 

As we bring this truth back to bear upon our text in I John 2, then we must say: “God’s Word does not contradict itself – this text must agree with John 10.” Therefore the “whole world” or the “whole and complete arrangement” of which the Holy Spirit here speaks, is the whole and complete body of elect saints. It is every single one who is of the seed of the woman (Genesis 3:15), gathered into that one body and one church of Jesus Christ in all ages – that whole kosmos. It is the whole church, from Abel who died in faith at the hands of his wicked brother, to the last sheep or lamb who will be gathered in before Jesus comes again.

 

This, you see, is a great comfort and assurance to the believers to whom John writes – and that is the whole point of this part of his letter. This is not a doctrinal setting forth of a fact that “Jesus potentially died for everyone, but that won’t save them – something else will have to do that, such as their choice.” That is no comfort or assurance at all! No – this is reminding them of the most wonderful truth that there is full, complete and guaranteed salvation for all who come in repentance and faith to the throne of grace. Not just potential salvation, but real, actual salvation, because Jesus knows every one of His sheep, and every one of their sins is already paid for. There is now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit (Romans 8:1). And they may know that they are in Christ Jesus by the faith He works in them, by the work of the Spirit so that they confess their sins, and they come to the Father through the advocate, Jesus Christ. This is the powerful and irresistible work of grace in their hearts, by which every single sheep for whom Christ has died will be drawn unto the Father (John 6:44-45).

 

This is truth indeed, and comfort indeed! May this truth comfort and encourage us today, even as God gave it to encourage his people in all ages.

[1] See, for example, Calvin’s Institutes Chapter 3, section 4 – “…How then will you laud the power of human nature for good, if, even where there is the highest semblance of integrity, a corrupt bias is always detected? Therefore, as you would not commend a man for virtue whose vices impose upon you by a show of virtue, so you will not attribute a power of choosing rectitude to the human will while rooted in depravity (see August. lib. 4, Cont. Julian). Still, the surest and easiest answer to the objection is, that those are not common endowments of nature, but special gifts of God, which he distributes in divers forms, and, in a definite measure, to men otherwise profane. For which reason, we hesitate not, in common language, to say, that one is of a good, another of a vicious nature; though we cease not to hold that both are placed under the universal condition of human depravity. All we mean is that God has conferred on the one a special grace which he has not seen it meet to confer on the other. When he was pleased to set Saul over the kingdom, he made him as it were a new man. This is the thing meant by Plato, when, alluding to a passage in the Iliad, he says, that the children of kings are distinguished at their birth by some special qualities—God, in kindness to the human race, often giving a spirit of heroism to those whom he destines for empire. In this way, the great leaders celebrated in history were formed. The same judgment must be given in the case of private individuals. But as those endued with the greatest talents were always impelled by the greatest ambitions (a stain which defiles all virtues and makes them lose all favour in the sight of God), so we cannot set any value on anything that seems praiseworthy in ungodly men…”

Compare this to Calvin’s Institutes Chapter 3, Section 10. – “…Nay, by our own ingratitude, we obscure and impair divine grace. The Apostle’s doctrine is not, that the grace of a good will is offered to us if we will accept of it, but that God himself is pleased so to work in us as to guide, turn, and govern our heart by his Spirit, and reign in it as his own possession. Ezekiel promises that a new spirit will be given to the elect, not merely that they may be able to walk in his precepts, but that they may really walk in them (Ezek. 11:19; 36:27). And the only meaning which can be given to our Saviour’s words, “Every man, therefore, that has heard and learned of the Father, cometh unto me,” (John 6:45), is, that the grace of God is effectual in itself. This Augustine maintains in his book De Prædestinatione Sancta. This grace is not bestowed on all promiscuously, according to the common brocard (of Occam, if I mistake not), that it is not denied to any one who does what in him lies. Men are indeed to be taught that the favour of God is offered, without exception, to all who ask it; but since those only begin to ask whom heaven by grace inspires, even this minute portion of praise must not be withheld from him. It is the privilege of the elect to be regenerated by the Spirit of God, and then placed under his guidance and government. Wherefore Augustine justly derides some who arrogate to themselves a certain power of willing, as well as censures others who imagine that that which is a special evidence of gratuitous election is given to all (August. de Verbis Apost. Serm. 21). He says, “Nature is common to all, but not grace;” and he calls it a showy acuteness “which shines by mere vanity, when that which God bestows on whom he will, is attributed generally to all.” Elsewhere he says, “How came you? By believing. Fear, lest by arrogating to yourself the merit of finding the right way, you perish from the right way. I came, you say, by free choice, came by my own will. Why do you boast? Would you know that even this was given you? Hear Christ exclaiming, ‘No man comes unto me, except the Father which has sent me draw him.’ …”