Beyond the Walls with Jeremy Thomas
Jeremy approaches Bible teaching with a passion for getting the basic doctrines explained so that the individual can understand them and then apply them to circumstances in their life. These basic and important lessons are nestled in a framework of history and progression of revelation from the Bible so the whole of Scripture can be applied to your physical and spiritual life.
Beyond the Walls with Jeremy Thomas
NT Framework - Limited Propitiation for a Few?
Jeremy explores how Jesus is our advocate and propitiation, how that shapes confession and fellowship, and what “the whole world” means for atonement.
More information about Beyond the Walls, including additional resources can be found at www.beyondthewalls-ministry.com
This series included graphics to illustrate what is being taught, if you would like to watch the teachings you can do so on Rumble (https://rumble.com/user/SpokaneBibleChurch) or on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtV_KhFVZ_waBcnuywiRKIyEcDkiujRqP).
Jeremy Thomas is the pastor at Spokane Bible Church in Spokane, Washington and a professor at Chafer Theological Seminary. He has been teaching the Bible for over 20 years, always seeking to present its truths in a clear and understandable manner.
Welcome to Beyond the Walls with Jeremy Thomas and our series on the New Testament framework. Today, a smaller, bite-sized piece from the larger lesson. We hope you enjoy it.
SPEAKER_00:Let's just read it out of context. That's the best way to do it first and then back off. And he himself is the propitiation for our sins and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world, or also for the whole world. Now, in context, you know, we could back up. And he says in verse 1, My little children, I'm writing these things to you so that you may not sin. So there's a purpose clause. Why is Paul right, or John right? So you may not sin as believers, you know, little children. But he says, and if anyone does sin, you know, believers do sin, right? And if you do, he says, We have an advocate with the Father. That's like an attorney, okay? Someone who uh hears our and handles our case on our behalf. We have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He's the righteous one. And he himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not ours only, but for those of the whole world. So it's basically saying we have a legal attorney representing us in heaven. Whenever we sin, he represents us, and he basically says, Hey, look, I when we confess, he says, I paid for that. Because we have an accuser, Satan, right? And Satan is every time a believer sins, Satan is like, ah, did you see that? Ah, did you see that? You can see this is going on a lot because believers sin. And so this is constantly going on. He still has access to the third heaven, he still accuses us day and night, right? But every time he makes accusation, Christ says, Well, I paid for that. I paid for that. I paid for that. And the Father, of course, forgives us when we confess. And so this is what's going on. So in that context, 1 John 2.2, Christ made propitiation for our sins as well, it sounds like, as all people's sins, the whole world, right? And the purpose was to encourage John's audience to go to their advocate, Christ, and confess their sins for fellowship. I mean, if he's the propitiation for our sins, he will do that for us. But I mean, it's even more than that, right? He's the propitiation for the whole world's sins, so we really should have no reticence going to him and confessing. Because we can be confident, then of course he will forgive us and restore us to fellowship. So that seems to be the idea in 1 John 2. Their counterview, which is the Calvinists, they're going to come along and they're going to say, well, the world can be used in a limited sense. That Greek word cosmos, world. And because it can be used in a limited sense, it must be used here in a limited sense, because otherwise all people would be saved. That's their logic. I mean, if Christ died for them, then they will be saved. Therefore, if he died for the whole world, the whole world will be saved. That's obviously not true, so therefore, world must be limited. Now, world can be limited, but we know that in from a context. We know if world is limited from a surrounding context. This is just like English. I don't know why I know why people have a hard time studying the Bible. Um, but it is really quite simple. Uh all words in the English language have typically several meanings. Just look them up in the dictionary. Um you know, like somebody used to make I I would they would use the word run. Now, if I just say the word run and I say, what does run mean? Now you all have an idea in your mind right now about what the word run means. But you don't know any context of how I'm using I'm thinking of the word run, do you?
SPEAKER_01:I'm talking about a route. Run. You know the length of the run of a route. You probably weren't thinking that. You were probably thinking this.
SPEAKER_00:Or I say to my wife, I'm gonna run to the store.
SPEAKER_01:That means I'm gonna drive. So run can mean drive.
SPEAKER_00:Um I run a four-to-one transfer case. Now, some of you don't even know what I'm talking about. Uh but that's that's a particular thing that I have on my vehicle, okay? And you're thinking, oh, that's what I have in my setup. That's what I mean there. Uh she has a run in her hose, if women still wear hose. I don't know. Um he hit a home run. You know, this word has like a hundred different meanings. And in the Bible, uh, words, they're there are words too in Greek and Hebrew. They guess what? They have lots of meaning usually. So you you do you have to go by the context, right? I'm just illustrating that. You just have to go by the context. There doesn't seem to be anything in this context which would limit the sense of world to just the elect, does it? But that's the Calvinist view of 1 John 2 2, because otherwise, then everybody would be saved, is their form of thinking. But see, my rebuttal to that is, of course, no one is saved automatically, the cross doesn't apply itself. People must believe in order to be saved, right? So faith, as I mentioned last week, in Calvinism, is kind of downplayed as far as its role. In fact, you have to be regenerated first, and then and only then can you believe, because in the regenerating work, they say that faith is given to the individual. And um so their view is that you know faith is the gift of God. Whereas I think the biblical view of Ephesians 2, 8 and 9 is that salvation is is the gift of God. 2.5 says, for by grace you have you been saved. And then 2.8 says, for by grace are you saved through faith, through faith. You're not saved by faith, you're saying through faith, and not not of yourselves, it's the gift of God. What's the gift of God? The salvation, the by grace salvation that comes to us through faith. That's the gift of God. But the Calvinists says, no, that's faith that's the gift. Um that has a lot of grammatical problems that I've covered in teaching elsewhere. But so lots of passages that talk about, you know, a person must believe, for God so loved the world, John 3.16, that whosoever believes in him believes. See, somebody has to you have to believe, right? Shall not perish but have everlasting life. It's not that you just automatically get saved by the cross. So 1 John 2.2 seems to say that yes, he's a propitiation for our sins, that is, believers, but also for the sins of the whole world, indicating the potentiality that others who are not believers can be saved. All right. Hebrews 2.9, let's turn over there because it's just a few pages to the left.
SPEAKER_01:Hebrews chapter 2, verse 9. I don't remember this one being used as a remonstrance, but it's in the it's in the discussion now. Nowadays.
SPEAKER_00:Hebrews 29. But we do see him who was made for a little while lower than the angels, namely Jesus in the incarnation, right? He uh came and was, so to speak, lower than the angels. Because of the suffering of death, that's his cross work, crowned with glory and honor in his exaltation after his death and resurrection, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. He might taste death for everyone. So everyone in the unlimited view is as well. I mean, Jesus came to die for you know everyone, like each and every person. The counterview is that when it says all or every person here, it is using it in a limited sense, as in the word many. Um we mentioned this last week. There's there are passages that says he would die for the many. People say, Well, the many, that's not everybody. That's just many of them. Um first of all, I looked up I did this word study on many. This is an aside, but I did this out of interest. If you do this word study, you find out that many is a term that you use in context of like most.
SPEAKER_01:I mean, you wouldn't say like many people got saved, you know, and it was only like two out of a hundred.
SPEAKER_00:Um but I mean like in in reality, how many people do you think are saved compared to the full population? If we have eight billion people, um wouldn't many be the majority of those eight billion people? It is in the Greek, because there's another word for some or few or the minority. This is the word for the majority. Do you think the majority of the human race are saved? On the Calvinist view, he died only for many, but that would still have to be the majority. And if that's actually true, then more than half of the human race must be elect. That does not seem right.
SPEAKER_02:You can find those on Rumble and on YouTube under Spoke and Bible Church. That is where Jeremy is the pastor and teacher. We hope you found today's lesson productive and useful in growing closer to God and walking more obediently with Him. If you found this podcast to be useful and helpful, then please consider rating us in your favorite podcast app. And until next time, we hope you have a blessed and wonderful day.