what a concept “all means all”
1 John 2:2 “and He is the expiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world”
whole means whole
The Epistles were written to encourage Christians and are meant to be understood as listener would understand it when it was read. This twisting words to mean something the listener would not understand is quite sinful.
Wow. There’s a lot of bad logic going on here.
1. God knew Adam was going to eat of the apple, and he put it there anyway. Why? As the Church Fathers incorporated into the Easter Liturgy: “O Necessary Sin of Adam, which hath gained for us a redeemer!”
2. Whole means “all portions thereof.” When Matthew uses the same word to say, “And Jesus about all of Gallilee,” does Matthew mean that Jesus trod through every closet and cellar and over every promentory, and through every thicket? Jesus meant that his salvation would come to every nation, and every people, not that each individual would be saved. The purpose was to spread the gospel, not just to Israel, or who the disciples with their human judgment presume might be saved.
3. “All” does not mean “every one.” In some places, its meaning is closer to “every group.” In some places, its meaning is closer to “the entirety of whoever this is relevant to.” Due to the rampant misunderstanding caused by the Eucharistic prayer, “for the sins of all,” the new translation is “for the sins of the many.” (Latin: “pro multi”)
4. Free will does not mean God doesn’t know what our choices will make. It means that our choices are intrinsic to ourselves, and not to extrinsic factors. When we are slaves to sin, we lack free will, but instead are compelled by fear, addiction, concupiscence (habit of evil), or ignorance. When we put our trust in God, we have nothing to fear, our addictions are broken, we know the right path to take, we can overcome our concupiscence (even though we still have it). We are restored to the innocence of our creation, without the taint of original sin.
Freedom is not capriciousness; the free man dies not act on vain whims. The man who is liberated in Christ acts with purpose and determination, because he knows what he ought to do, and is empowered by Christ to do it.
This language gets Catholics and Calvinists caught up in misunderstanding. Because a saved person acts in conformity to the will of God, Calvinists emphasize that he is a servant of God, and therefore sees this as not free will. Instead, they see free will as willfulness. The point is that when we are in sin, we do the will of Satan, when we are saved, we do the will of Christ.
*side note: Why is it so easy for modern Calvinists to understand that “all” means only the entire audience in some passages of the bible, but they get so caught up with the notion that Mary must have sinned because Paul tells his audience that they all have sinned? I say “modern Calvinists” because Calvin’s immediate followers sure thought she was sinless and forever virgin.
Jesus did pay the price for the sins of the whole world. Yet not all are saved.
The sacrifice for all the sins of the whole world was made once for all. The pardon has been offered. But men still have to accept it. There remains one sin, failure to accept Jesus as Savior.
If they refuse, it will not take Jesus down from the cross, but it will make his sacrifice on their behalf in vain.