Kosmos

Let's revisit John 3:16. Let's decide on whom the burden of proof lies!

Noman F. Douty in his book, "The Death of Christ," states thse works:

Trench's Synonyms of the New Testament
Kittel's Theological Dictionary of the New Testament
Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words
Vincent's Word Studies in the New Testament
Robinson's A Greek and English Lexicon of the New Testament
Souter's Pocket Lexicon of the Greek New Testament
Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament
Ardnt-Gingrich's A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament
Abbott-Smith's Manual Greek Lexicon of the NEw Testament
The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge
Hastings' Bible Dictionary and Dictionary of the Apostolic Church
The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
Tasker's New Bible Dictionary
Harrison in Baker's Dictionary of Theology
John Davis in his Dictionary of the Bible (both Harrison and Davis list John 3:16 as referring to mankind, though both are Presbyterians)

Then Douty says,

"But amid all the divisions and sub-divisions listed, the word for world is never said to denote "the elect." These lexicons know nothing of such a use of kosmos in the New Testament, under which to tabulate John 1:29, 3:16-18; 4:42; 6:33, 51; 12:47; 14:31; 16:-8-11; 17-21, 23; II Corinthians 5:19; John 2:2; and 4:14."

He goes on to say,

"All of this is disastrous for advocates of Limited atonement. They have ventured to set themselves above the combined scholarship of lexicons, encyclopedias and dictionaries when they ascribe a different meaning of the word kosmos which will support their theological system."

In fact, I challenge anyone to find any kind of use in ancient or koine Greek outside the NT where "kosoms" is translated "the elect."

Guess what? Scholars haven't found such use yet.

It IS possible for Christ to be Saviour of the world while some still die without a knowledge of Christ. One day, every knee will bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is LORD - even those in Hell.

 

Absturzen said:John 1:29
The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. For Sovereign Grace people this is no problem because the doctrine of Election puts this verse in proper perspective. The scriptures state time and time again he died for those the Father gave him in eternity. If you take the doctrine of Election and say it doesn't exist only then can you include those according to God that were NEVER included in Salvation... The Salvation of the whole Adamic world which is not only unbiblical but one doctrine Jesus Christ never claimed. All the Father giveth me shall come to me and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. I come from Heaven not to do mine own will but the will of him that hath sent me. And this is the will of the Father that hath sent me of all the Father hath given me I should nothing but raise it up again at the last day!... Brother Glen

 

ScottEmerson...in order to understand the usage of Kosmos to mean "the world of the elect", it is necessary to "connect the dots", to put two and two together. Then you will see! Christ died to save the "sheep", not the "goats". And it was God the Father Who named them, okay?

If Christ had come intending to save the world of mankind, without exception, then were He a miserable failure, only a "wanna-be" saviour.

He came to "save His people from their sins", and HE DID, without exception. Not one of His sheep, which were given to Him by His Father, is lost!!

The King is Totally Victorious. None He loved from all eternity, and for whom He died, can ever be lost again. In acuality All of the sheep have been found by the Good Shepherd!!

Regards, in the Name of Him Who has saved everyone that His Father intended Him to save, The rest were lost, and still are, forever!!

conniemsn

[ August 06, 2002, 01:55 AM: Message edited by: connieman ]

 

It is my understanding that the word world (kosmos) was used to open the idea to the Jewish people that not only the Jew, but also the Gentile, also the heathen... in fact, "elect" of every tribe, tongue, and nation were to be saved. If a limited word for world had been used here, the exclusion of the non-jew would have been considered with more radicalism.

 

I would agree partway here with Calvin - at he is academically honest about the use of world. We draw different conclusions, but he agrees that kosmos doesn't mean "elect."

I'm still waiting for evidence that kosmos equalled elect in koine Greek outside Biblical sources.

 

Scott Emmerson,

If your list of contributors does not convince our readers, nothing will.

 

The one you posted states that, "Greek lexicon based on Thayer's and Smith's Bible Dictionary plus others; this is keyed to the large Kittel and the "Theological Dictionary of the New Testament." These files are public domain." The part about believers comes straight from Strongs (the plus others). Thayers doesn't have the believers definition.

The reason for strongs including this is theological more than exegetical. The question was if you could show an outside source (from contemporary koine) that has kosmos as meaning elect.

 

From Strong's concordance at blueletterbible.com

"8) any aggregate or general collection of particulars of any sort
8a) the Gentiles as contrasted to the Jews (Rom. 11:12 etc)
8b) of believers only, John 1:29; 3:16; 3:17; 6:33; 12:47
1 Cor. 4:9; 2 Cor. 5:19"

Look familiar?

 

Vine's gives this definition for the Romans 11:12 and 15 and 2 Corinthians 5:19 verse: "Gentiles as distinguished from Jews...where the meaning is that all who will may be reconciled."

According to Vine's, the "world" reconciled in 2 Corinthians 5:19 is all the Gentiles who will to be reconciled. Sounds a bit like the "world of believers" to me.

[ August 06, 2002, 11:50 PM: Message edited by: russell55 ]

 

HUH? From Strongs NT:2889

kosmos (kos'-mos); probably from the base of NT:2865; orderly arrangement, i.e. decoration; by implication, the world (in a wide or narrow sense, including its inhabitants, literally or figuratively.</font>[/QUOTE]Okay, so Strongs has nothing about the elect. Good.

 

Vine's gives this definition for the Romans 11:12 and 15 and 2 Corinthians 5:19 verse: "Gentiles as distinguished from Jews...where the meaning is that all who will may be reconciled."

According to Vine's, the "world" reconciled in 2 Corinthians 5:19 is all the Gentiles who will to be reconciled. Sounds a bit like the "world of believers" to me.</font>[/QUOTE]Vines states that kosmos can mean, "(d) "Gentiles" as distinguished from Jews, e.g., Rom. 11:12,15, where the meaning is that all who will may be reconciled (cp. 2 Cor. 5:19)"

"ALL WHO WILL" - there's still an implication of all, and still have no meaning of elect. Romans 11:12 and 15 have a specific meaning of Gentiles - or "the rest of the world," since the writing is speaking specifically to the Jewish people. As for Corinthians, there is no mention anywhere in the context of Gentile - that is why I assume, he compares it with the Corithinians passage, instead of using it as an example.

 

Actually, it has not much bearing on the argument at all. The writers of the NT often gave "Christian" meanings to certain words, meanings different than you would find in other contemporary literature. Paul's use of "justification" and "flesh" are two examples.

Since unbelievers would have no concept of election outside of the nation of Israel, why would you expect to find "world" meaning "the elect throughout the world" in contemporary literature, even if certain NT authors had used the word in that way in their writings?

The word "world" is used, however, to mean "many people (but not every single person) throughout a large area", and I suggest to you that that is the meaning used in many of these passages. The "many people throughout a large area" are "all those who believe" or "all of the elect."

He compares the Corinthians verse because he thinks a "reconciled world" here also means "all who will may be reconciled." In other words, when Paul says, "...reconciling the world...not imputing their tresspasses", Vine believes that only those who will throughout the world are in the world that is actually reconciled.

There is never an implication of every single person in the world, because "all" is modified with "who will".
Even in the prescient view of election, doesn't "all who will" = "the elect"?

 

In Plato's writings, he uses sarx as a term for imperfection, similar to Paul's use of flesh as sinfulness. Sarx had both a positive and negative use there. Considering how common a word world was, it would seem that you could find some kind of "chosen people" identified with kosmos outside of Biblical teachings, since the Greeks did have such a concept regarding their own gods.

Any kind of chosen people would do. More evidence is needed on your side - to just say that "world" means "elect" is merely an assertion, with little or no proof behind it.

Kosmos at its core has to do with order, which one can see through the etymology of the word. It was used by the Pythagoreans referring to the whole universe to reflect what they saw as the orderliness of creation. It has no connotation at all about 'some of a whole.'

Yet some think that all are able to will. Others think that some are able to will. That's the distinction as I see it.

 

If anyone says that the word "world" actually means "elect", then they would be wrong. If they say that the word "world" sometimes is used to refer to the elect throughout the world, then they would not necessarily be wrong, although I would chose to phrase it differently. I think it is better to say that the word "world" sometimes refers to many people throughout the world, and that those many people are, in fact, the elect.

Ahhh... but the Hebrews did indeed use it that way. If they didn't, they what in the world does "The whole world has gone after Him" mean?

[ August 07, 2002, 02:49 PM: Message edited by: russell55 ]

 

And that would follow better logic than those who state that world equals elect. However, I disagree with the conclusion, but it's better than what I've heard around here before.

I would take that as a figure of speech there, in the same way that you and I would say, "The whole world is in love with NSYNC" or something like that. Because of the context of distraught Pharisees, such a figure of speech is understood, where such a reading as found in JOhn 3:16 is clearly not.

[ August 07, 2002, 03:15 PM: Message edited by: ScottEmerson ]