I mentioned last week that, in scripture, predestination is a positive doctrine (e.g. Eph. 1:4-5 says, “In love he predestined…”) and should be applied pastorally like the following:
“God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.”
1 John 4:16-18, ESV
In this beautiful passage about the heart of God toward those in Christ, notice the unbelievably, precious, positional statement (in bold above). It’s sandwiched right between the underlined themes of perfecting (maturing) in love, and not being afraid of judgment and punishment. What does “because as he is so also are we in the world” mean?
It means that in Christ, our standing with God is secure. Because we are viewed positionally in him, “we enjoy the same privileged place with the Father” as Jesus did when he was on earth![1] Eugene Peterson’s translation in The Message nails it: “Our standing in the world is identical with Christ’s.”
Friend, do you believe that? If you did, just think how strong you’d be!
[Please don’t read on unless you’ve let the powerful truths of the last few paragraphs soak in. Without question, these few verses– maybe more than in any other place in the Bible– clearly teach that the essence of God is holy love and that what you believe about his heart toward you will largely determine whether you live in confidence or fear (see these words italicized and contrasted above).]We know from the greater context of 1 John that this secure place in the Father’s heart is related to the fact that Jesus is the “propitiation” (4:10) for our sins; that is, the “full satisfaction of the wrath of God.” This same rich word is repeated in 1 John 2:2—this time with implications for, not just us, but all of humanity including our loved ones:
“He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.”
This amazing promise has historically meant one of three things in the church[2]:
- he really is the full satisfaction of the wrath of God for every person who has ever lived and ever will live. (Universalism)
- he really is the full satisfaction of the wrath of God for the elect; however, because we are talking about the sacrifice of the infinite son of God, his sacrifice is sufficient or ample to cover the sins of any who would ever come to him. (Calvinism)
- he potentially is the full satisfaction of the wrath of God for every person who has ever lived or ever will live; our acceptance or rejection is what determines the outcome or seals the deal. (Arminianism)
Although I’m most persuaded by the second option above, 1 John 2:2 clearly says Jesus’ sacrifice really is offered and available to everyone in the world. Be assured, this really is God’s heart toward those you love. As John tells us in another place:
“But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.”
John 1:12-13, ESV
In conclusion, here are two excellent quotes about God’s saving love for all without exception:
“It is true that Christ offers Himself freely to all men as their Saviour, and guarantees to bring to glory everyone who trusts in him as such…The invitations of Christ are words of God. They are true. They are meant. They are genuine invitations… Nothing that we may believe about God’s sovereignty in grace makes any difference to this.”[3]
J.I. Packer
“We win hearts for Jesus by love, by sympathy with their sorrows, by anxiety lest they should perish, by pleading with God for them with all our hearts that they would not be left to die unsaved, by pleading with them for God, that, for their own sake, they would seek mercy and find grace.”[4]
C.H. Spurgeon
[1] Gary Burge, NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids, Zondervan).
[2] Of course, along with these three major options, there are nuances, combinations, and variances in between: universalish, “Calminian,” etc.
[3] J.I. Packer, Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God (Downers Grove, IL:IVP, 1961), 102-104.
[4] Quoted in Murray, Spurgeon vs. Hyper-Calvinism, 94.