Did Jesus Really Die for the Whole World? | Part 1

What 1 John 2:2 Reveals About the Scope of Christ’s Atonement

For Whom Did Christ Die?

Throughout Christian history, there has been much discussion concerning the nature of Christ’s atonement—its purpose, coherence, biblical basis, and so on. Part of this conversation concerns the scope of Jesus’s atonement. That is, for whom did Christ die? It is to answer the question of exactly whose sins Christ bore and experienced punishment for. Is he the propitiation for the sins of all persons (universal atonement), or merely for the unconditionally elect (limited atonement)? In light of 1 John 2:2’s teaching, I will articulate and defend a universal and provisionary model.

A Text That Seems to Say It All

1 John 2:2 reads, “and He [Jesus] Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.”¹ The prima facie reading of this text appears unequivocal: Jesus is the propitiation for the sins of believers, many of whom John is addressing (‘for our sins’); furthermore, he is the propitiation for the sins of ‘the whole world,’ meaning unbelievers to whom John is not directly writing.

Succinctly put, the atonement’s scope is for everyone, the whole world. Even advocates of limited atonement admit the apparent support this passage lends to universal atonement. R.C. Sproul writes, “On the surface, this text seems to demolish limited atonement.”² John Murray explains, “Perhaps no text in Scripture presents more plausible support to the doctrine of universal atonement than 1 John 2:2.”³

Taken together—the believers and unbelievers of whom John speaks—this verse comprises an incredibly vivid picture demonstrating a universal atonement by Christ. Robert Lightner says, “One finds it hard to imagine how John could have been any clearer in stating the universal aspect of the atonement than he was in this passage.”⁴ Jesus is the propitiation for ‘our sins,’ that is, for believers to whom John is speaking, and he is the propitiation for the sins of the ‘whole world,’ meaning all unbelievers, the rest of humanity, currently under Satanic dominion.

Letting John Define His Own Terms

This interpretation is compelling due to the use of κόσμος (‘world’) elsewhere in 1 John. If there is doubt about what a word or phrase means in a given passage, it is hermeneutically prudent to examine how the same word or phrase is used elsewhere in the biblical data. William Klein, Craig Blomberg, and Robert Hubbard write, “Since we can determine the intended meaning [of a biblical word] only from assessing the related ideas within the text, we need to check an author’s use of a given word in other places in the same writing and in other works.”⁵ This principle is particularly relevant when the same author uses the same word repeatedly within the same book: “So how the author uses words in the same book has more relevance than how that author uses the same words in other books.”⁶

What is quite helpful about John’s first letter is how he uses ‘world’ twenty-three times.⁷ If the same word carries a similar meaning in nearly two dozen cases, it would be immensely peculiar (without strong evidence) to suggest the author uses that same word in an entirely different way just one time. I believe it is quite clear that John uses ‘world’ to mean unbelievers, or spiritual forces opposed to Christianity, or the world as a whole. Never does he use ‘world’ to refer to merely believers, or Gentiles, or the elect scattered around the globe at various times. Let us look at John’s own examples.

Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever (1 John 2:15-17).

Here the ‘world’ is described as all forces opposed to God and is said to be passing away and not to be loved by those who have the Father in them. The world is comprised of ungodly lust and pride.

…the world does not know us [the children of God], because it did not know Him…. Do not be surprised, brethren, if the world hates you (1 John 3:1, 13).

The ‘world’ is said not to know the children of God (as mentioned in v. 1a) and not to know God. This is surely a reference both to unbelievers and forces opposed to Christianity. Salvation requires knowing God (John 17:3), so the ‘world’ here is speaking of unbelievers. John tells his fellow believers to expect hatred from the world, the forces opposed to God who hated him beforehand (15:18).

You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world. They are from the world; therefore they speak as from the world, and the world listens to them. (1 John 4:4-5).

The contrast given by John here is between those who are from God and his children, and those who are from the ‘world’ who are not God’s children—they are children of the Devil (John 8:44).

By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him (1 John 4:9).

John views Jesus as sent into the world of unbelievers (John 1:10), to save those who believe (John 3:16-17). Jesus’s mission was to the world as a whole, specifically for unbelievers to respond in faith.

The Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world (1 John 4:14).

Jesus came into the ‘world’ to save it (John 3:17) and was the Lamb who took away the world’s sin (1:29). But only those who receive him become children of God (1:12). Jesus offers his bread of life to the world (6:33), but it must be eaten to obtain eternal life (v. 51). The Son is the Savior of the world in that he offers himself for the whole world and saves only those who believe (cf. 3:16-17).

For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? (1 John 5:4-5).

These verses would be quite bizarre if ‘world’ here was spoken of in any way but forces in opposition to God. The faith of those born of God is said to overcome the ‘world,’ surely speaking of those individuals and spiritual forces opposed to God.

We know that we are of God, and that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one (1 John 5:19).

This is perhaps the most unequivocal case of John’s use of ‘world.’ In 5:19, the contrast is between those of God and the ‘whole world,’ which lies in the power of Satan and certainly includes unbelievers. In fact, one sees the same wording of the ‘whole world’ used here and in 1 John 2:2.⁸

Thus, there is nothing to suggest that the ‘world’ or the ‘whole world’ is meant merely to speak of other believers or the elect outside of John’s audience. Rather, the consistent meaning of ‘world’ is all of unbelieving humanity, the whole world, or forces under Satanic dominion. In these uses, John consistently uses the word in an antithetical, oppositional relationship to God and Christians.⁹ One need only go through the passages above and substitute ‘believers’ or ‘elect’ in the place of ‘world’ to see how absurd the passages would read. For example, 1 John 5:4-5 would say, “For whatever is born of God overcomes the [elect]; and this is the victory that has overcome the [elect]—our faith. Who is the one who overcomes the [elect], but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” Or, “We know that we [the elect] are of God, and that the [elect] lies in the power of the evil one” (5:19). This would be nonsensical. John clearly contrasts the world in opposition to God with persons who believe in him.

Even in John’s own Gospel, Jesus consistently contrasts his followers with the ‘world.’ For example, he says, “I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you” (John 15:19). Or in 17:14-16, “I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.” Believers are not of the world, but of God. As in 1 John, God’s people are consistently distinguished from the unbelieving world.

Beyond John’s writings, the ‘world’ in the New Testament virtually never means other believers, the elect, or the Church in part or whole. After surveying several lexicons, Norman Douty writes, “But amid all the divisions and sub-divisions listed, the word [κόσμος, ‘world’] is never said to denote the ‘elect.’ These lexicons know nothing of such a use of kosmos in the New Testament.”¹⁰ For example, in Joseph Thayer’s Greek-English lexicon, κόσμος is cited in 1 John 2:2 under “the inhabitants of the earth, men, the human race.”¹¹ In the Analytical Lexicon of the Greek New Testament, κόσμος is listed as meaning either the entire universe, all mankind, or mankind as alienated from God.¹² Nothing is mentioned about merely believers or the elect. G. Abbott-Smith in his lexicon defines κόσμος as either the world at large or the ungodly in particular.¹³

God’s People & the Whole World

This contrast between believers and the world of unbelievers fits perfectly with the common motif in 1 John of diametrical oppositions. For example, John speaks of light versus darkness (1:5-7, 2:9-11), love versus hate (2:9-10, 3:13-15, 4:20), truth versus lies (2:4, 2:21, 4:6), and likewise those who are of God versus those who are of the world.

This reading is made all the more likely given that John clarifies that Christ is the propitiation for the whole world (ὅλου τοῦ κόσμου). Ὅλου means all, whole, or entire. John, as if predicting possible confusion, makes the point as clear as he can when he says the whole (or entire) world is the scope of the atoning sacrifice. Just as the ‘whole world’ is, by default, in the power of Satan (1 John 5:19), as he possesses all the kingdoms (Luke 4:5-7), and he is the “god of this world” (2 Corinthians 4:4), so too Christ is the propitiation for the whole world (1 John 2:2), for everyone.

If the limited atonement advocate is to defend her position, the burden of proof is on her to provide evidence as to why this one example should be understood as an exception to John’s consistent pattern of using ‘world.’ The universal atonement position has the distinct advantage of taking the word as it is used numerous times in the same book by the same author, and as it is used most often elsewhere in the New Testament.¹⁴ Thus, based on this Johannine evidence, one can correctly conclude that Christ truly is the propitiation for all, both believers and unbelievers, offering reconciliation for all, effective by faith. As John Wesley writes, “Just as wide as sin extends, the propitiation extends also.”¹⁵

In part 2, I’ll look at some of the most common responses from advocates of limited atonement and see whether they give us good reason to read 1 John 2:2 differently. Be sure to subscribe and leave a comment! I’d love to hear from you.

1. Unless otherwise stated, all citations are from the New American Standard Bible (NASB). The word translated as ‘propitiation’ here is ἱλασμός (hilasmos) and has been the subject of some recent debate—a controversy that will not be opened here. Suffice to say, some reputable translations suggest ‘atoning sacrifice’ (CSB, NET, NIV, NRSV, etc.), while others opt for ‘propitiation’ (ESV, NASB, NKJV, etc.). Either translation is allowed for the argument that follows, and both will be used interchangeably.

2. Grace Unknown: The Heart of Reformed Theology (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1997), 176.

3. Redemption Accomplished and Applied (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2015), 72.

4. The Death Christ Died: A Biblical Case for Unlimited Atonement, Revised Edition (Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 1998), 81.

5. Introduction to Biblical Interpretation, Revised and Updated (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Inc., 2004), 256.

6. Introduction to Biblical Interpretation, 257.

7. 2:2, 2:15-17 (x6), 3:1, 3:13, 3:17, 4:1-5 (x6), 4:9, 4:14, 4:17, 5:4-5 (x3), 5:19.

8. 1 John 2:2 reads, “ὅλου τοῦ κόσμου,” literally, “all the world.” 5:19 reads, “ὁ κόσμος ὅλος,” literally, “the world whole.”

9. Robert Picirilli, Grace, Faith, Free Will: Contrasting Views of Salvation: Calvinism & Arminianism (Nashville: Randall House Publications, 2002), 125. Preston Sprinkle in Nonviolence: The Revolutionary Way of Jesus notes, “John uses the term world (kosmos) throughout his gospel and his letters to refer to the ‘systems of the world’ or ‘social construction of reality.’” He continues, “The ‘world’ refers to the worldly systems that run against God’s way of doing things” (Colorado Springs, CO: David C. Cook, 2021), 121-122.

10. Norman Douty, Did Christ Die Only for the Elect: A Treatise on the Extent of Christ’s Atonement (Eugene: Wipf & Stock Publications, 1998), 39. Douty explains that when κόσμος is used of men it does not always mean literally every single person, but it is “undeniable” that it usually means either every person or all unregenerate persons (58). Grant Osborne writes, “In John's writings kosmos occurs 105 times, always of the world of unbelievers who are hostile to God and yet are the object of God's love and mission” in Perspectives on the Extent of the Atonement: 3 Views, edited by Andrew Naselli & Mark Snoeberger (Nashville: B&H Publishing Group, 2015), 108. Daniel Treier and W.A. Elwell explain, “There is not one place in the entire NT where 'world' means 'church' or 'the elect.’” Daniel Treier & W.A. Elwell, Evangelical Dictionary of Theology (Grand Rapids: Baker Publishing Group, 2017), 116.

11. Joseph H. Thayer, Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Coded with Strong's Concordance Numbers (Peabody, Hendrickson Publishers, 1995), 357, emphasis in original.

12. Timothy Friberg, Barbara Friberg, & Neva F. Miller, Analytical Lexicon of the Greek New Testament (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2000), 235.

13. G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark Publishers, 1953), 255.

14. William Sailor notes, “The Arminian...need but a single passage indicating universal atonement in order to maintain his view.” “The Nature and Extent of the Atonement-A Wesleyan View.” Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society. Volume 10, Issue 4. (Fall, 1967): 192. Merely one verse showing a universal scope can encompass all other passages showing that Christ died for a certain group within that universal purview.

15. John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (New York: Carlton & Porter, n.d.), 631.