VI. For Whom Did Christ Die? (Sufficiency vs. Intention)
In light of the previous posts defining the nature of the atonement and some benefits of the death of Christ for non-believers (4/21/09 and 4/22/09) the question comes to mind, “for whom did Christ die?” That’s where we started right? The answer to that is that Christ’s death is sufficient for all men. That means that (hypothetically) if God had elected one more person than He has it would not have added an hour or 5 minutes or 2 more lashings to Christ’s suffering. The infinite value of the death of Christ is enough to save all of humanity. However, the death of Christ was intended for the salvation of a specific group, namely, those who would have faith in Him. Every person for whom the atonement was intended will come to faith in Christ at which time the benefits of the death of Christ will be applied to them.
So we can agree with Paul when he says, “[God is the] savior of all people, especially of those who believe” (1 Timothy 4:10).
Grace and Peace,
Stephen
No comments:
Post a Comment