1 John 2:2 (LSB): and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.
An Arminian brother and friend made the statement on X back before Christmas that 1 John 2:2 is the single verse that destroys Limited Atonement single-handedly. I argue that he is wrong and that it is actually one of the most powerful verses in support of Limited Atonement. How so? I’m so glad you asked. 1 John 2:2, when read out of its context, may sound like a trouble passage for Limited Atonement. But let’s go back to verse one and consider its context — especially seeing that the verse begins with the conjunctive “and”.
1 John 2:1–3 (LSB): 2:1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous;
2 and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.
3 And by this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments.
Yes, I included verse three, but it was not by accident as you will soon see. The chapter begins with the phrase, “My little children”. In his pastoral language, John is writing to believers in hopes that they do not sin. However if they do sin, they have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. Here we clearly see Christ’s intercession work of praying for believers as he sits at the right hand of the Father. This is intercession is only available to believers — not unbelievers. John immediately continues that thought without breaking and connects that intercessory work of Christ to the sacrificial work of Christ that is the propitiation for the sins of the believers. In that statement, we have the inseparable sacrifice and intercessory work of Christ. Thus, when John says it is not for our sins only but for those of the whole world, he is talking about believers in the whole world outside of his immediate audience.
But, but, but, it says also for the whole world. If John is saying that Christ is the propitiation even for unbelievers, then Christ must also be advocating or interceding on behalf of those same unbelievers because John inextricably unites those two aspects of Christ’s redemptive work. It also means that we must change the definition of what propitiation means. Has Christ really satisfied the wrath of God for unbelieving rebel sinners? If so, then why do unbelieving rebel sinners face eternal judgment? The only way to reconcile that discrepancy is to water down propitiation. It can no longer be a real propitiation, but only a potential propitiation. But that just ins’t what John says. His language is clear.
I argue that those who wish to use 1 John 2:2 in opposition to Limited Atonement are misusing the word “world”. Calvinists will readily make mention of John’s various ways of using “world” in his literature. This can be seen even within 1 John.
1 John 5:18–19 (LSB): We know that no one who has been born of God sins; but He who was begotten of God keeps him, and the evil one does not touch him.
19 We know that we are of God, and that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.
In 1 John 5:18, we see that anyone of is born of God is kept by God and the evil one doesn’t touch him. Yet in the very next verse, we see that we (believers) are of God and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. World here obviously does not mean every single person without exception. John distinguishes believers who are kept from the evil one from the world that lies in the power of the evil one.
Propitiation has only one consistent meaning in the scripture. World, as I just demonstrated, has a semantic domain that does not always mean every single person without exception. Therefore, we should not try to change the meaning of propitiation, but rather properly understand the contextual meaning of “kosmos” or “world” in 1 John 2:2. And when you do, you will see a powerful statement in defense of the limited intent of Christ’s intercessory work and his sacrifice.
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