The apostle John writing in his first epistle in chapter two, verse two stated “And he is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for the whole world.” Paul was writing to his readers and assuring them that Christ is their advocate with God the Father and the only satisfactory propitiation (i.e., satisfactory payment) for their sins. But John didn’t stop there. He continued to state something in the nature of the universality of Christ propitiatory sacrifice.
Universalism in Christianity is a concept of universal reconciliation that asserts the eventual salvation of all human beings. This doctrinal assertion is un-biblical at its core. Nevertheless, universalism exists today in some form among Arminians[i] who use 1 John 2:2 as the basis for their theological view of universal redemption, which holds that all people can be saved, though not everyone will be saved. Arminians believe that John is teaching that Jesus is the propitiation for the sins of every human being in all the world. However, this understanding of 1 John 2:2 is unsound.
So, what did the apostle John mean when he wrote these words “and not for ours only, but also for the whole world.” Was he teaching a kind of universalism?
The key words here are “whole world” and more particularly the word “world.” A review of the New Testament reveals that the word “world” is the English word translated from three different Greek words, namely, αἰών (aion), κόσμος (kosmos), and οἰκουμένη (oikoumené). Of these three Greek words, the one most commonly seen in the New Testament is κόσμος (kosmos) and it is the Greek word appearing in 1 John 2:2 that is translated as “world.”
According to Strong’s Concordance of the Bible,[ii] the Greek word kosmos is used in the New Testament seven different ways, all of which are translated as the English word “world.” The meaning is “earth” in Matthew 13:35; John 21:25; Acts 17:24; Romans 1:20 [as “universe”]; 1 Timothy 6:7; Hebrews 4:3; and Hebrews 9:26. In 1 John 3:17 it means “the earth in contrast with heaven.” Here in 1 John 2:2, it has the meaning “human race.” This same meaning also appears elsewhere in the New Testament (Matt. 5:14; John 1:9, 10; 3:16, 17, 19; 4:42 and often in Rom., 1 Cor., and 1 John). The word “world” means “Gentiles” (as distinguished from Jews) in Romans 11:12, 15. It has the meaning “present condition of human affairs” in John 7:7; 8:23; 14:30; 1 Corinthians 2:12; Galatians 4:3; 6:14; Colossians 2:8; James 1:27; and 1 John 4:5; 5:19. “World” means “sum of temporal possessions” in Matthew 16:26 and the first part of 1 Corinthians 7:31. In James 3:6, it means “a world of iniquity.”
One can see that to properly understand a particular verse of scripture in the New Testament that contains the word “world,” it is critical that one understand what this word means in that particular context. Our focus here is the meaning of the word “world” in 1 John 2:2, which is “human race” or “humankind.”
John is speaking to a particular group of Christians with whom he was familiar and he is telling them that not only are their sins expiated by the blood of Christ but in the same way the sins of believers, Jew and Gentile, in all the world have had their sins expiated by the blood of Christ. John is assuring Christians that the expiation of sins extends to all humankind who embrace the gospel through faith. John is not saying that not only are Christians’ sins expiated but also everybody else, believers or not, have their sins expiated. To say that would be promoting pure universalism.
Jesus taught John and the other apostles and all Christians “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few” (Matt. 7:13-14). John, like the other apostles, understood that Jesus was talking about entering the kingdom of God. That the narrow gate may be entered only by faith alone through Christ alone. This is the gate to salvation and eternal life. The wide gate is the gate for all other religions and peoples that are not believers in Jesus Christ. The narrow gate is the only way to heaven and eternal life. The wide gate is the gate to hell. John, with this understanding of Christ’s teaching, cannot be understood as teaching universal salvation in 1 John 2:2 or elsewhere (e.g., John 1:29; 3:16).
In 1 John 2:2, John uses the term “ours” referring to his target audience who we are certain were the Christian communities in Asia Minor. So, it is logical, since he is specifically writing to Christians, that he is referring to Christians throughout the world when he uses the term “whole world.” Calvin understood the term “the whole world” to mean humankind in the “whole church”[iii] dispersed throughout the world.
B. B. Warfield wrote about this issue.
In declaring that Jesus Christ is a propitiation for the whole world, John certainly does not mean to assert that Christ has made expiation for all the sins of every individual man who has come or will come into being, from the beginning of the race in Adam to its end at the last day.”[iv]
John is teaching, in 1 John 2:2 and elsewhere (e.g., John 1:29; 3:16), that Jesus is the propitiation of the sins of the whole church (i.e., the body of all true believers in Christ Jesus) throughout the world wherever located, as consummated on the Day of the Lord. He is speaking of the whole world of believers because in the end the whole world will be only believers in Jesus Christ. Looking at the world from the point of view of the completion of His propitiatory work, Christ who came to save the world will have a saved world of believers to present to God the Father (1 Cor. 15:24).
[i] Arminians generally believe in unlimited or universal atonement, that Christ’s death expiated the sins of all human beings, not just the elect. They believe that God elects for salvation those who he foresees becoming believers in Christ of their own free will.
[ii] The New Strong’s Expanded Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, Red Letter Edition, Greek Dictionary of the New Testament. James Strong, Thomas Nelson, 2001, no. 2889.
[iii] John Calvin, John Calvin’s Complete Commentaries: The Acts of the Apostles, Kindle Edition, ed. Henry Beveridge (The Ephesians Four Group, 2013), 1 John 2:2.
[iv] Benjamin B Warfield, Benjamin B. Warfield Selected Shorter Writings, vol. 1, ed. John E. Meeter (P & R Publishing, 1970), 174.
