A PARTICULAR REDEMPTION

JOHN 10:7–21

“… I lay down My life for the sheep”

(John 10:15).

The question “For whom did Christ die?” has to do with God’s purpose in the mission of Jesus Christ. It does not have to do with the nature of Christ’s work, which was a satisfaction for sin. It does not have to do with the value of Christ’s sacrifice, which everyone agrees is of infinite value. The dignity of Christ’s sacrifice and the value of His work are infinite because no limit can be assigned to the Eternal Son of God. Christ would have suffered just as much had only one person been saved, and nothing more would have been necessary had every person who had ever lived been saved.

The question therefore is “Was His suffering merely to make salvation possible for all men, or was His sacrifice designed to make the salvation of some people certain—in particular, those given to Him by the Father?” The idea that Christ died only for the elect is odious to some. Despite how this doctrine might make us feel, is it scriptural? Let’s consider some biblical concepts to find out.

The limited design of Christ’s atonement necessarily follows the biblical teaching of election, which teaches that God graciously chose some undeserving sinners to eternal life. Manifold verses in Scripture support this doctrine. Ephesians 5:25 and Acts 20:28 say He died for the church. He also died for His sheep (John 10:15), for His friends (15:13; Gal. 2:20), the children of God (John 11:52). Nowhere does the Scripture say that Christ died so that it might be possible for all men to be saved.

Christ, as the representative for God’s elect, acted on their behalf. If He had been the representative for all mankind, all mankind would be saved because His work, being an act of God, could not fail. We learn this from Romans 5:12–21, which teaches that as all men died in Adam, all are made alive in Christ. If the second all means the same as the first, then we must embrace universalism, which, of course, is unbiblical. Therefore, we are left with a limited atonement in which Christ died only for those He represents, and those He represents will certainly have eternal life. As the sin of our representative Adam makes certain the death of all men, so the righteousness of Christ makes certain the salvation of all those He represents.

CORAM DEO

Ezekiel 17–19

Hebrews 13

The most commonly used Scripture to argue against a limited atonement is John 3:16–17. Read that passage. Does it say that everyone will be saved? Does it say that Christ died for everyone? Does the word “world” necessarily mean every human being on the earth? Read all the verses in today’s study and those below.

For further study: John 10:27–29; 17:9, 20 • Rom. 5:6–11 • Eph 1:3–15

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november