The Saviour of the World

In the Lord Jesus Christ’s encounter with rabbi Nicodemus, he said, “For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved” (John 3:17). Elsewhere, the apostle John says that Jesus is “the Saviour of the world” (John 4:42; 1 John 4:14), and that he is “the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). In his first epistle, John writes that Christ is “the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 2:2). Consider also Paul’s statement that “God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them” (2 Corinthians 5:19; compare also Colossians 1:20). To these examples can be added other places where Paul asserts that God is the Saviour of the “world” or of “all men” (e.g. 1 Timothy 2:3-4; 4:10).

Arminians interpret these verses as teaching that Christ’s atonement has hypothetically covered every member of the human race, and therefore, in some sense Christ is the would-be Saviour of every fallen human being (past, present and future). Whereas Calvinists interpret these verses as teaching that Christ’s salvation extends all around the world—so that it includes Gentiles as well as Jews, and that Christ’s death has actually atoned for the sins of those whom he saves.

The False Hypothesis of Hypothetical Universalism

The main problem for Arminians who look to the “Saviour of the world” verses to prove their hypothetical universalism is that, in each case, the context of the word “world” does not speak of a hypothetical salvation but of an actual salvation—an actual taking away of sins. Simply put:

• If Christ is the Saviour of the world, then the world is saved.
• If Christ takes away the sin of the world, then the sin of the world is taken away.
• If God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, then the world is reconciled to God by Christ.
• If Christ is the propitiation for the sins of the whole world, then God’s justice is appeased for the sins of the whole world, so that the whole world no longer incurs God’s wrath against its sins.

Arminians insist that, in the verses quoted at the start of this article, “world means world—meaning each and every fallen sinner of mankind.” However, not wanting to be full-on universalists, they immediately insert an idea that is not found either in these verses, or in their contexts: they want a hypothetical effect of Christ’s sacrifice, that requires a person to believe in it to “make it real.”

“World” Does Not Mean Each and Every Human Being

In the the Bible, however, the word “world” does not always, and does not necessarily, mean each and every fallen human being. We must look at the context in order to see who (or what) is meant by “world.” We must consider who the original speaker or author was referring to, whom he meant to include (and exclude) when he used in the word “world.”

The are a few New Testament Greek words translated “world” in the English Bible, the King James Version. The word used in the passages in John’s Gospel, quoted above, is the most frequently used: it is the Greek word κόσμος (kosmos). This word means order, arrangement, ornament, adornment,¹ and it is used to refer to:

• Planet earth (e.g. Matthew 13:35; Acts 17:24)
• The earth, in contrast to heaven (e.g. 1 John 3:17)
• Mankind in general (e.g. Matthew 5:14; John 3:16-17; 2 Corinthians 5:19)
• “Gentiles” as distinguished from Jews (e.g. Romans 11:12,15)
• The “present condition of human affairs,” in alienation from and opposition to God (e.g. John 7:7; 1 John 5:19)
• The “sum of temporal possessions” (e.g. Matthew 16:26)

The word “world” (whichever Greek word it translates) does not necessarily mean each and every human being in particular.

John’s Gospel uses the word “world” (κόσμος, kosmos) in a variety of ways. In John 1:29 (“…Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world”), and John 4:42 (“…the Christ, the Saviour of the world”), the word “world” is used to emphasise the fact that Christ came to save not only Jews but Gentiles too.

Similarly In John 3:16-17, (“…God so loved the world…that the world through him might be saved”), the word “world” means all mankind in general (Gentiles as well as Jews). God’s love for the world (in general) was such that he sent his only begotten Son to save those (in particular) who would believe in him. Christ came to save the world (in general) by saving those who will believe in him (in particular).

The Good Shepherd Gave His Life for His Sheep

The truth is that Christ died for the sins of particular sinners from all around the world: God’s elect.

The Lord Jesus Christ, who “was made flesh, and dwelt among us,” lived a life of perfect and entire obedience to the law of God; and then, being the Good Shepherd that he was, he gave his life for his sheep (John 10:11,14-16).

Not every individual human being is included among Christ’s “sheep.” Only the Lord’s people have following things to be true of themselves: “Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:4-6).

The name Jesus means Jehovah is Saviour, and the Lord Jesus Christ really is the Saviour! Of this we can be certain: “He shall save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21; see also Luke 19:10; 1 Timothy 1:15).

That blood which Christ shed on the cross at Calvary outside Jerusalem two thousand years ago was the blood of God. John understood who the Lord Jesus Christ is: “Hereby perceive we the love of God,² because he laid down his life for us…” (1 John 3:16). Paul likewise understood this, and he emphasised the Divinity of Christ when he urged the overseers of the church at Ephesus to continue their pastoral charge: “feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.” (Acts 20:28).

The precious blood of Christ does not fail to redeem, atone for, purge away the sins of—or, in a word, save—any of those for whom it was poured out.

Appendix

The Canons of Dort, Head 2 Article 5.

…The promise of the gospel is that whosoever believes in Christ crucified shall not perish, but have eternal life. This promise, together with the command to repent and believe, ought to be declared and published to all nations, and to all persons promiscuously and without distinction, to whom God out of His good pleasure sends the gospel.

The Canons of Dort, Head 2 Article 8.

This was the sovereign counsel and most gracious will and purpose of God the Father that the quickening and saving efficacy of the most precious death of His Son should extend to all the elect, for bestowing upon them alone the gift of justifying faith, thereby to bring them infallibly to salvation; that is, it was the will of God that Christ by the blood of the cross, whereby He confirmed the new covenant, should effectually redeem out of every people, tribe, nation, and language, all those, and those only, who were from eternity chosen to salvation and given to Him by the Father; that He should confer upon them faith, which, together with all the other saving gifts of the Holy Spirit, He purchased for them by His death; should purge them from all sin, both original and actual, whether committed before or after believing; and having faithfully preserved them even to the end, should at last bring them, free from every spot and blemish, to the enjoyment of glory in His own presence forever.

James Fisher et al., An Exposition of the Shorter Catechism, Questions 43 & 44:26-29 (supplemental to Q. 43 & 44 of the Westminster Shorter Catechism).

Q. 43&44:26. How do you prove that the elect only, and not all mankind, were redeemed by Christ?
A. From the Father’s gift of them to him from eternity (John 17:6); from his representing them in his death (John 10:11): and from his intercession within the veil for them only (John 17:9): “I pray for them; I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me.”

Q. 43&44:27. Are the purchase and intercession of Christ precisely of the same extent?
A. Surely they are; for, his intercession being founded on his purchase, and consisting in a presentation of the merit of it before the throne (Hebrews 9:24), it clearly follows, that the one can be no more extensive than the other (John 17:24): “Father, I will that they also whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am”.

Q. 43&44:28. How then are those scriptures to be explained, which seem to speak of a universal purchase of all mankind; such as, that Christ died for all (2 Corinthians 5:15); that he tasted death for every man (Hebrews 2:9); that he is the propitiation also for the sins of the whole world (1 John 2:2); and the like?
A. They are to be explained in a limited sense, of some only, and not of every individual of mankind; as the like general terms are undoubtedly to be understood in other places of scripture; such as Colossians 1:6, and Revelation 13:3; for, if it is alleged, that the above scripture expressions prove a universal purchase, it may be said, with the same parity of reason, that they prove a universal application of it, which few will assert.

Q. 43&44:29. Does not the universal offer of Christ prove the universal redemption of all, at least within the visible church?
A. No: it only proves the unquestionable duty of all to believe, upon the call and command of God (1 John 3:23); and the infinite intrinsic worth of the satisfaction of Christ for the salvation of all, had it been so designed (1 John 4:14).