How can we reconcile the doctrine of limited atonement with 1 John 2:2?

In 1 John 2:2, the Apostle tells his readers that Jesus “is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.” Does this verse reject the doctrine of limited atonement? From one of our Ask Ligonier events, Derek Thomas reflects on how John often uses the word “world” in his writings.

[christophersnedeker]

The problem with limited atonement isn't "world" the problem is "not ours only".

[sooner]

Calvinist definition of whosoever = the elect, all = the elect, everyone = the elect, and now, the world = the elect. I pray that God will remove the scales from their eyes.

[ike]

The text literally says, that Jesus is the sacrifice for the sins of the WHOLE world, ὅλου τοῦ κόσμου. Similarly 1 Tim 2:4 says that God wants ALL men to be saved, ὃς πάντας ἀνθρώπους.

[jeffscottkennedy]

This interview is a great example of why the proponent of limited atonement cannot, in good faith, offer Christ’s salvation to the world. An evangelist who affirmed LA could never appeal to these passages in their evangelistic preaching. You could never say “Christ died for your sins” because you aren’t sure that Christ has actually paid for that sinner’s redemption. As such, the doctrine remains esoteric and hidden only in the mind of God, discernible only in retrospect.

[mattgates]

Genuine question to my Calvinist brothers: what would you need the text to say to believe the Scriptures were teaching an unlimited extent of the atonement?

[thomasglass]

Is not that difficult. When John says “And he is the propitiation for our sins“, that means to the already saved. But when John says “and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world“. That means the elect of every tribe and nation who’s not yet saved.

That’s what the video implies also. 1 John 2:2 is tied with John 3:16.

[jackspates]

Sadly, though the New Testament speaks in so many verses and diverse contexts about God's love and saving desire for all men, calvinists, not because of exegesis but because of theological presuppositions distort most of those to mean that God loves and truly desires only some men to be saved.

[Joshuaengels]

He died for all….it is up to the person to accept or reject (that whosoever might believe). Salvation is available to all if they are willing to receive

[barrygaynor]

If we understand the verse in the context of First John, there is no difficulty. First John is addressing Gnostic views. Good study (good exegesis) is necessary and helpful; taking Scriptures out of context creates problems.

[samuelrosenbalm]

I used to hold to limited atonement. I reasoned that because all of salvation is God's doing, the implications of unlimited atonement were completely unacceptable in that whether or not the atonement was efficacious would then depend on the individual. Not to mention, how could people go to hell if Jesus payed the price? But I was overthinking it! The problem is the way I understood "payment", being understood as "so much of this will purchase so much of that". But that is not the case with the atonement. I was seriously overcomplicating it, when it really is very simple: Jesus Christ offered Himself as a sacrifice for sin. It's not like the degree of suffering was greater the more sin He took upon Himself, or that it took an x amount of blood for an x amount of sins. He was simply slain - a one time offering for all sin. Whether or not this offering is efficacious depends on whether or not a person comes to Christ, and whether or not a person comes to Christ is dependent upon whether or not they are chosen by the Father. There is no reason to complicate things. This does not mean that Jesus merely died to make salvation possible. He obeyed the will of God, died as an offering for all sin, and knew the result would be salvation for His sheep. Therefore, the sacrifice was not limited in it's redemptive potential. On the contrary, it's scope was universal - one sacrifice made for all sin. But the redemptive effects are limited by the election of God the Father and NOT by human acceptance/rejection. This is why 1 John 2:2 means exactly what it says, and in no way conflicts with total depravity and unconditional election.

[danielroberts]

I (sarcastically speaking) like how he does not say what the text really means but rather what it DOES NOT mean (to support his calvinist perspective) ...very circular reasoning if you ask me as his biased beliefs requires of him to interpret the text in that manner..

[tomm]

Romans 9-11 has a very happy ending:
"God has consigned all to disobedience, that He may have mercy on all. … From Him, and through Him and to Him are all things." (Romans 11:32, 36a)

[Arman_Kaymakcian]

Not even close to an answer that reconciles that verse 1 John 2:2

[SojournerDidimus]

"For God so loved the world" does *not* mean "God loved the world so much", it means "This is the way God demonstrated His love to the world". So *how* did God demonstrate His love? By sending His unique Son into it that *whomever keeps believing in Him* will not perish but have life everlasting.
Nowhere does that verse promise that all people in the world are saved or even loved, just that God demonstrated His love for us for all to see, the redemption is still through faith as the latter half of the verse says.

[denonjoka]

Thanks Pst. Derek Thomas *4 Answer This Powerful Question of "How Can We Reconcile The Doctrine of Limited Atonement With 1st John 2:2 ?" Where I Say That I Disagree With Pst. Derek Thomas When He Says That 1st John 2:2 Which Says "& He Is The Propitiation 4 Our Sins & Not 4 Ours Only, But Also 4 The Sins of The Whole World" Where I Say That When Our Great LORD Jesus Christ Told Nicodemus John 3:16 Which Says "4 God So Loved The World That He Gave His Only Begotten Son That Whatsoever Believes In Him Should Not Perish But Have Everlasting Life" Where I Say That The Whole World Refers 2 Every Race, Tribe, Colours & Nations 4 It's Not That We Loved Him But That He Loved Us That He Became The Propitiation 4 Our Sins 4 We Love Him Because He First Loved Us Written In 1st John 4:10 & 1st John 4:19 4 The World Refers 2 Every Tribe, Race, Colour & Nations 4 Our Great LORD Jesus Christ Did Not Come 4 The Righteous But 4 The Sinners Written In Matthew 9:13* & May Our Great Almighty God Bless Yu Pst. Derek Thomas & Ligonier Ministries So Very Much.

[His-Story.ForHisGlory]

John 3:16 KJV
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.

"Loved" is also past tense.

[Raynisha]

““Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭10‬:‭34‬-‭39‬ ‭ESV

[timothy]

No offense, but I don't think Derek Thomas answered this thoroughly. 1 John 2:2 is difficult because when it is read at first glance without context, it would seem to completely go against limited atonement. Yet the question about 1 John 2:2 that must be asked is what is the definition of the words propitiation and world. That is where you're going to get an answer. The word propitiation means the satisfaction of God's wrath against the penalty of sin (which is eternal punishment). There has to be a someone who satisfies the wrath of God against sinners, and that is Jesus Christ. It isn't a possible satisfaction or atonement, but an actual one. 1 John 2:1 provides the context because this verse begins with "My little children, " which John is addressing the believers he is writing this epistle to. In verse 1 it says that these things were written that you sin not. Who shouldn't sin? Those same believers. This goes back to the promise in 1 John 1:9. And then verse 1 says if any man sins, they have an advocate (or Comforter, the same word used for the Spirit in John 14:16) with the Father, that is Jesus Christ the righteous.

Notice Jesus Christ is the advocate for the believer if they sin. Jesus Christ is not an advocate for the unbeliever if they sin because they haven't trusted in Christ yet. In verse 2 it begins "And..." showing that it is still addressed to believers and is about Christ. It says, "And he (that pronoun speaks of Christ) is the propitiation for our (that addresses those same believers, as well as all believers): and not for ours (the believers) only, but also for the sins of the whole world." So now the question has to be asked, is Christ the satisfaction of the wrath of God for the whole world if the whole world includes the unsaved that never repents and believes? The answer is no because then either no one would go to hell or Christ satisfied the wrath of God for an unbeliever who would now incur God's absolute wrath shown in Revelation 20:11-15. Either answer would be unbiblical.

In addition, verse 2 can't have propitiation mean God's wrath is satisfied for us, but only potentially satisfies the wrath of unbelievers in the world. A word can't have different meanings in a text when it says for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. And the meaning of the word world has to have a different meaning than "Everyone in the whole world who ever existed." Many times in scripture the world can mean different things. In John 15:18-23, it means unbelievers. In John 3:19 and 4:42 it speaks of mankind in general. In John 2:15-16 it speaks of the system of the world. This Greek word for world can have many meanings. And many times it speaks of Gentiles as a contrast with the Jews. You see an example of that in Romans 11:15. And that is the same contrast Jesus speaks of to Nicodemus in John 3:16, Him telling a Jewish leader that God so loves the world (not just Jews, but Gentiles as well as it pertains to humanity as a whole). In 1 John 2:2, I believe the Apostle John is making the same distinction, talking about Gentile believers outside of the Jewish believers he addresses in the epistle.

Paul is the apostle to the Gentiles (Romans 11:13) while James, Peter, and John speak more so to Jewish believers. All epistles are applicable to us today, but notice James' epistle is addressed to the twelve tribes spread abroad (James 1:1). The whole epistle of Hebrews is addressed to primarily Jewish believers. Notice 1 Peter is directed to the strangers (sojourners) scattered throughout different regions (1 Peter 1:1) and not to a specific church. There is even a different style and tone between Paul's epistles (directed to the Gentiles primarily) and James, Peter, and John's (which is primarily directed to Jewish believers). Paul goes into more details about our position in Christ (indicatives) before going into our duties (imperatives). Notice James, Peter, and John tend to be more imperative driven (this seems to be the pattern of their epistles as it pertains to addressing the Jews). And in John's use of the word "world, " it is used many times to denote unbelievers, Gentiles, or all of humanity. In 1 John 2:2, unless propitiation means everyone's wrath is satisfied, it makes logical and contextual sense that those in the "whole world" means Gentile believers that are out in the world.

[dirkbradford]

if calvinism is not evil i dont know what is, the word WORLD can mean all image bearers of God or not, however it must be determined by the context of the verse, chapter, book and even the bible as a whole, so for the main fact John made a distinction between "OUR" sins ( those who are saved since he included himself) and the sins of the WHOLE WORLD ( those who are not saved) destroy the false teaching of Limited atonement .

[kennethmagnus]

Related to "the propitiation for sins", I'm developing a position that differs. The sin payment is due to God. Jesus paid that debt. Regardless of person, Jesus stands either as Savior or Ultimate Judge. His blood, being the propitiation for all sin, means He and He alone can be the only one who can fulfill the role of Savior, providing grace and forgiveness of sin to the elect, and Judge of the non-elect who reject Jesus and will be judged accordingly.