dhk
Thats what the Thread is doing, but now I cannot make you believe the proof !
(1Jn 2:2) And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.
John says that Christ is the propitiation for our sins.
He includes himself, and the believers to whom he is writing, that is the elect.
But John doesn't stop there. He then says, "Christ is the propitiation for the sins of the whole world."
He just covered the sins of the elect. Now he says he is also the propitiation for the sins of the whole world?
What world is that, if it is not the whole world of all ages?
If it is only the world that John lived in, then none of us today have salvation do we?
If it is any other exclusive world, none of us can be sure that we are part of that exclusive group. We don't know. Your theology is much like that of Islam. It is fatalism. It will be up to God in that fatal day, and he will decide if you are in that exclusive group or not. He will decide if you are in "that world". How would you know, if the world is limited according to your theology.
No, my friend, Jesus meant what he said. He gave his only begotten son for the whole world, not just a part of it.