The Propitiation For The Sins Of Who?
In my last several articles we have been looking at passages of Scripture that are chock full of good news but which far too often are ignored, glossed over, or flat out explained away because they do not line up with traditional teaching within the church.
In this article we are going to be looking at a short little verse which is tall in content. It was written by the Apostle John in chapter 2 verse 2 of his first letter.
As John speaks of Christ he says: "He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world."
Propitiation is a strange word that most of us have probably never used in everyday conversation. It comes from the Greek word hilasmos. Here's how it is defined.
Hilasmos:
1) an appeasing, propitiating
2) the means of appeasing, a propitiation
Christ is the appeasing. You could say He is the one who paid the full and total price for our sin. He is the propitiation for our sins.
What is sin? I'm glad you asked.
The word translated as sin in this verse is the word hamartia. It simply means to miss the mark, not hit the target to be in err, to make a mistake or to wander off the path. If you've ever wondered what sin means, now you know.
The truth is that you, me, and every other woman and man on the planet have sinned. The Apostle Paul tells us that "all have sinned and fallen short." The good news is that Christ is the propitiation for our sins! Aren't you glad? Please take a moment to read this verse again.
"He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world."
The whole world? Can that be?
Does this square at all with the Calvinist view of limited atonement? Is the idea some hold of the blood of Christ only paying for and removing the sin of only a few true? Is this verse showing us that the work of Christ is greater than we've ever imagined? Have we been missing something? Let's find out.
The word translated as "whole" is the word holos.
And amazingly enough, here's what it means according to Strong's.
Holos: All, whole, completely
Let that sink in.
Christ is the propitiation for the sins of all the world, the whole world, the complete world!
As if that in itself was not good enough news, it gets even better!
The word translated as world is we looked at together in an earlier article. It's the Greek word Kosmos. Do you remember Carl Sagan and his television show Cosmos? It's the same thing.
Here's what it means according to Strong's; the world, the universe, the circle of the earth, the earth, the inhabitants of the earth, men, the human family, the ungodly multitude; the whole mass of men alienated from God, and therefore hostile to the cause of Christ, world affairs, the aggregate of things earthly, the whole circle of earthly goods, endowments riches, advantages, pleasures, etc, which although hollow and frail and fleeting, stir desire, seduce from God and are obstacles to the cause of Christ, any aggregate or general collection of particulars of any sort, the Gentiles as contrasted to the Jews.
Do you think the Holy Spirit of God knew what He was doing when He inspired John to use the words he used when writing about the blood sacrifice of Christ upon the cross of Calvary?
John tells us that Christ "Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world."
The whole world! The complete Cosmos!
When I read that verse, I can't help but think about what the Apostle Paul wrote in Colossians chapter 1 verses 19 and 20.
"For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross."
Let those words sink in. Through Christ, the Father was reconciling all things to Himself. How many things? All things. All things where? All things on earth and in heaven!
In other words, Paul is saying the same thing John was saying. The work of Christ is greater than the work of the Adversary and greater than the work of Adam in the Garden of Eden. Christ is the instrument by which all things in the Cosmos will ultimately be set right. The blood of Christ has a universal impact.
For way too many years, I have seen Christ as much less of a Savior then He truly is. How about you?
I pray that you and I by the grace of God would stand more in awe of Jesus each and every day. That we would give him the honor and reverence that is His due. That we would live our lives with the peace and joy of knowing that Jesus is the epitome of success and that one day we will see the full fruit of His labor at the end of the ages.
In this article we are going to be looking at a short little verse which is tall in content. It was written by the Apostle John in chapter 2 verse 2 of his first letter.
As John speaks of Christ he says: "He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world."
Propitiation is a strange word that most of us have probably never used in everyday conversation. It comes from the Greek word hilasmos. Here's how it is defined.
Hilasmos:
1) an appeasing, propitiating
2) the means of appeasing, a propitiation
Christ is the appeasing. You could say He is the one who paid the full and total price for our sin. He is the propitiation for our sins.
What is sin? I'm glad you asked.
The word translated as sin in this verse is the word hamartia. It simply means to miss the mark, not hit the target to be in err, to make a mistake or to wander off the path. If you've ever wondered what sin means, now you know.
The truth is that you, me, and every other woman and man on the planet have sinned. The Apostle Paul tells us that "all have sinned and fallen short." The good news is that Christ is the propitiation for our sins! Aren't you glad? Please take a moment to read this verse again.
"He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world."
The whole world? Can that be?
Does this square at all with the Calvinist view of limited atonement? Is the idea some hold of the blood of Christ only paying for and removing the sin of only a few true? Is this verse showing us that the work of Christ is greater than we've ever imagined? Have we been missing something? Let's find out.
The word translated as "whole" is the word holos.
And amazingly enough, here's what it means according to Strong's.
Holos: All, whole, completely
Let that sink in.
Christ is the propitiation for the sins of all the world, the whole world, the complete world!
As if that in itself was not good enough news, it gets even better!
The word translated as world is we looked at together in an earlier article. It's the Greek word Kosmos. Do you remember Carl Sagan and his television show Cosmos? It's the same thing.
Here's what it means according to Strong's; the world, the universe, the circle of the earth, the earth, the inhabitants of the earth, men, the human family, the ungodly multitude; the whole mass of men alienated from God, and therefore hostile to the cause of Christ, world affairs, the aggregate of things earthly, the whole circle of earthly goods, endowments riches, advantages, pleasures, etc, which although hollow and frail and fleeting, stir desire, seduce from God and are obstacles to the cause of Christ, any aggregate or general collection of particulars of any sort, the Gentiles as contrasted to the Jews.
Do you think the Holy Spirit of God knew what He was doing when He inspired John to use the words he used when writing about the blood sacrifice of Christ upon the cross of Calvary?
John tells us that Christ "Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world."
The whole world! The complete Cosmos!
When I read that verse, I can't help but think about what the Apostle Paul wrote in Colossians chapter 1 verses 19 and 20.
"For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross."
Let those words sink in. Through Christ, the Father was reconciling all things to Himself. How many things? All things. All things where? All things on earth and in heaven!
In other words, Paul is saying the same thing John was saying. The work of Christ is greater than the work of the Adversary and greater than the work of Adam in the Garden of Eden. Christ is the instrument by which all things in the Cosmos will ultimately be set right. The blood of Christ has a universal impact.
For way too many years, I have seen Christ as much less of a Savior then He truly is. How about you?
I pray that you and I by the grace of God would stand more in awe of Jesus each and every day. That we would give him the honor and reverence that is His due. That we would live our lives with the peace and joy of knowing that Jesus is the epitome of success and that one day we will see the full fruit of His labor at the end of the ages.