Sufficient for all Efficient for some

The reason for the title is in regards to the atonement of Christ. It is indeed sufficient for all; meaning His death on the cross was so efficacious, that it is powerful enough to save everyone who will ever live in human history. Jesus atonement was a complete and a propitiatory sacrifice for sins.  God the Father was fully satisfied with Jesus substitutionary act.

Here is the compelling question, was this the intended purpose of our Lord; to die for every last human being that will ever live or to die for some?

Automatically if we say Jesus died for only some and not all God’s fairness comes into question does it not?

We need to always look at the atonement from two views – biblically and logically.

In the writer’s opinion these ideas are one and the same. The Bible is logical, and true logic is biblical in this area of the atonement.

My endeavor is to weave these two ideas together so they present a harmonious truth.

If one believes that Jesus died for those who will never believe the gospel, they die and go to hell, then one MUST conclude the following:

1.      

Jesus died for them, but due to unbelief they died in their sin so the atonement for them was potentially salvific, but not actually efficient to save them. This makes the atonement powerless to save.

2.      Jesus atoning work depends on spiritually dead men to activate it (Ephesians 2:1)

3.      That God gifted some men with better reasoning capabilities than others. Those who have the mental tenacity to grasp the gospel will be saved. The rest of humanity will be lost. Does this not predicate salvation on men instead of God?

4.      Jesus died for the non-elect and elect the same way

Passages used to support the view of Jesus dying for all inclusively are: John 1:29; John 3:16-17; I Tim 4:10; 1 John 2:2.

The writer would argue that this belief in the atonement of Christ in non-biblical; because you have a salvation plan that does not save. It’s reactive instead of proactive. In this plan, God lays out His plan, man surveys it, and then decides on his own if he will accept or reject it. This makes man the aggressor in the process and God is the subservient bystander waiting for approval or disapproval from man – His creation.

What is actually biblical is that the atonement of Christ saves every last person it was intended for – the elect of God chosen before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4).

Even the understanding of election gets tricky for many. I will explain.

There are those that say God chooses us based on foresight. In other words God in eternity past looks through the annals of time and sees who will respond in faith to the gospel message. God foresees the faith of man so based on that foreknown faith, God chooses him or her before they are ever born. Basically the foreseen faith of man causes God to choose that person.

This view is not biblical. Why? 1) The faith of man never dictates election. God does not choose based on foreseen faith. If he did then God is election based on what man does first. God in this belief system is a respecter of persons; He is choosing man based on what He has to offer. If that is the case, why does God need to save man at all? Since man is clearly the sovereign in this scenario, he should be able redeem himself for he is more powerful than God isn’t he? This view deifies man and humanizes God.

2) This is clearly salvation by works. Since man has something to offer to God, God is obligated to return the favor. This then becomes a horizontal reciprocal relationship. Just like the first point, God and man are on equal playing fields. God foresees man as spiritual alive and not spiritually dead before He’s born (Ephesians 2:1).

            Foresight is the incorrect way to view divine election.

The way the Bible says God view of election is based on foreknowledge.  

Romans 8:29-30 reads, “Those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the first born among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He called, and these He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.”

God’s choosing of some to electing grace is solely based on His sovereign will to love us; nothing more. There are no pre-conditions. It’s strictly unconditional love. This is God doing what He wants to do. Nothing and no one can stop that (Ephesians 1:5,11).

So, what’s more loving and effective? Jesus dying for every soul on the planet and actually saving no one; or Jesus dying for the elect, the chosen of God and saving every last one of them and securing their salvation forever?

The writer votes for the latter. The first case, Jesus dying for all yet saving no one falls into the “sufficient for all” category. The second case which is the biblical case is the “efficient for some” category.

As hard as it may be for us to accept the Father did not send Christ to die and save everyone; only those whom the Father gave to Him (John 6:37; 17:2); for if He did, everyone would be saved and that would make Jesus a Universalist and there would be no need for hell.

Why did God choose some and pass by others is a mystery to us. It is also none of our business. Almighty God is NEVER accountable to His creation for what He chooses to do.

Only God knows perfectly who the elect and non-elect are, but He has given us the gospel message to preach to both; to bring His chosen to regeneration, faith and salvation, and to expose the wicked to their degeneration, unbelief, and damnation.