“Jesus Christ the righteous: and he is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for the whole world” (1 John 2:1-2)
Who does John mean by the “our”? There can be no doubt from this Letter, that it is addressed to all Christians, both Jews and Gentiles. There is no indication anywhere, that John wrote this Letter only to Jewish believers, as some argue. There are many verses that are clear, that every true believer is being addressed in 1 John.
Here we have “our”, the entire Christian community, contrasted with “ολου του κοσμου”, the whole world. True believers, with non believers. The saved, with the unsaved. The two classes in this world. Either a person is with Jesus Christ, and truly saved, or they are against Jesus Christ, and they are truly lost. There is no way that this can be limited in any way, to mean “a few”, or even “the many”, in the world. If, as we have seen, that the “our” means born-again believers, then the “ἀλλά”, “but”, as used in “contrast”; referring to “the whole world”, is that which is outside of these Christians, and refers to the lost world of sinners. This is further seen in the use of the same words, in the fifth chapter of this Letter. In verse 19 we read, “We know that we are of God, and the whole world (ο κοσμος ολος) lies in the evil one”. Here we have the contrast again, “we are of God”, which can only refer to the truly born again believer. In verse 18 these are referred to as, “born of God”, impossible to refer to any unsaved person. Then we have the same phrase used in 2:2, “the whole world”, which can only mean, as this passage shows, unsaved, as they are said to “lie in the evil one”, that is, in his power. If, as some would argue for, the “our” in 2:2, as referring to Jewish believers, and “the whole world”, to the Gentile believers. Then, are we to suppose, that the “our” in 2:2, being the same as the “we” in 5:19, as Jewish Christian, who are “of God”; that the Gentile Christains, who are “the whole world”, are “in the power of the devil”? There is no reason why “the whole world” should be any different in both these places in this Letter of John, other than for “theology”!
What does John mean by “ιλασμος” in 2:2? Some Bible versions chose the word “propitiation”, which means, “appeasement, conciliation”, also “A propitiatory gift, offering, or sacrifice” (Oxford).
In Ezekiel 44:27, the Hebrew has, “he shall offer his sin-offering (חטּאה), declares the Lord GOD”. And the LXX, “they shall bring a propitiation (ιλασμον), saith the Lord God. In the NT, the Greek “ιλασμος”, late substantive from “ιλασκομα”, is also used for “merciful”, where it is used in Luke 18:13, “God be merciful to me a sinner”. Here neither the meanings “propitiate”, or “sin-offering”, would do. In Romans 3:25, Paul writes, “whom God set forth ιλαστηριον ”. “set forth” (προτίθεμαι), here has the meaning, “offered, provided”. “ἱλαστήριος”, meaning “the Mercy Seat”, from where the “sin offering” comes.
“it answers in Septuagint to Hebrew kaapar, to effect an atonement or reconciliation with God; in Eze 44:27, to the sin-offering” (Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown, Commentary)
Jesus Christ is the “sin-offering”, and the One Who “reconciles” the sinner by being “Merciful”, to God. This “sin-offering” is for the entire human race, every single person, as it very clear from 1 John 2:2, with 5:19. But, this does not mean, that every person is “saved”, which would be “universal salvation”, something that is no where taught in the Bible. Romans 3:26 tells us, “To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus” (KJV). The Sacrifice of Jesus’ Death is indeed universal, but the “effects” of this “Sacrifice”, is only when the sinner is “justified” with God, when they “believe in Jesus”. Paul makes this very clear in Ephesians 1:13, “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit”.
