“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). Read the entire passage in John 3:1-21.
Today we will deal with two common objections to the doctrine of limited or particular atonement. The first objection is the assertion that the atonement of Christ is contingent on the faith and repentance of man, that Christ died for those who put their faith in Him. While it is certainly true that Christ died for those who put their faith in Him, the question is: “Who puts their faith in Him?” The answer to this question is: “Those for whom Christ died.” This is because it is by His death that Christ purchased faith and repentance. The Atonement itself makes it certain that these conditions will be met, not the other way around.
The second objection is the assertion that various “universal” passages such as John 3:16 prove that Christ died for all men, thus making a limited atonement false. This objection, however, is based on a wrong understanding of the word “world” in such passages. “World” in John 3:16, for instance, does not mean “all the individuals that constitute the entire human race.” If this were so, every individual would be saved. It is evident from Scripture that the term “world” has various meanings. If the term “world” always meant “all men” then John 6:33, 51 would teach that Christ actually gives eternal life to all men. We know, however, that this is not true. In Romans 11:12, 15, “world” cannot be all-inclusive since the context excludes Israel.
We do learn from Scripture that the term “world” refers to the Gospel going out from Israel to include all nations (Matt. 24:14; Mark 16:16; Rom. 1:5). According to the context of John 3:16 and 17, this is how we should interpret this use of the word “world.” When Jesus said that God loved the “world” and that through Him all the “world” would be saved, He was not talking about every individual in the human race. He was talking about nations other than Israel. The Israelites had a difficult time understanding that redemption would include the Gentiles. They wanted to believe eternal life was promised to them exclusively. But it wasn’t. The Gospel would go out into all the world, be preached to all nations, and salvation would come to those outside the camp of Israel, to “sheep” in another sheepfold. Jesus taught that He would lay down His life for the sheep, both in Israel and in other nations.
Read the passage for today very carefully. To whom is Christ speaking? Why is it significant that He is talking to a leader in Israel? How, then, would Nicodemus, as an Israelite, understand the term “world” as it is used in this passage? Why can this not mean every human being ever to exist?
