What does 'the whole world' mean in 1 John 2:2?
John says Jesus is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the whole world, and he uses the word world elsewhere for humanity in its rebellion against God. So the phrase reaches past the church and past Israel to the widest possible reach of people. Scripture holds two things without embarrassment: the sacrifice is worth more than every person who has ever lived and is offered to every person, and it certainly saves the people it was given to save.
This question arose from studying For whom did Christ die? and Did God choose me to be saved before I chose Him?.
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Not a summary of these passages: the passages themselves. Read them, then come back to the study below.
The study
What the Scripture says
John states the breadth on purpose
The sentence is built to widen as it goes: 'And he is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the whole world.' John writes it to comfort anxious believers, and he reaches past the church to say what the sacrifice is worth and whom it is held out to. The same author records the same widening from Caiaphas, the high priest who condemned Jesus: he 'prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, and not for the nation only, but that he might also gather together into one the children of God who are scattered abroad.' The scope of the sacrifice is not a doctrinal afterthought in this letter; it is the ground of the assurance John is giving.
And he is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the whole world.
My little children, I write these things to you so that you may not sin. If anyone sins, we have a Counselor with the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous.
Now he didn’t say this of himself, but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, and not for the nation only, but that he might also gather together into one the children of God who are scattered abroad.
What John means when he says 'the world'
In John's letters, the world is not the church and not Israel; it is the fallen human order in its hostility to God. 'We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.' 'They are of the world. Therefore they speak of the world.' John tells his readers, 'Don't be surprised, my brothers, if the world hates you.' He warns them, 'Don't love the world, neither the things that are in the world,' and describes it as 'the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.' So when John says the sacrifice reaches the whole world, he is not quietly meaning a subset of believers. He is naming the very world that hates God and lies under the evil one, the widest reach of humanity there is, and saying the sacrifice is for that.
We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.
They are of the world. Therefore they speak of the world, and the world hears them.
Don’t be surprised, my brothers, if the world hates you.
Don’t love the world, neither the things that are in the world. If anyone loves the world, the Father’s love isn’t in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, isn’t the Father’s, but is the world’s. The world is passing away with its lusts, but he who does God’s will remains forever.
The same breadth runs through the letters
Paul tells Timothy to pray for all men and gives the reason: God 'desires all people to be saved and come to full knowledge of the truth,' and there is 'one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all.' He says the grace of God 'has appeared, bringing salvation to all men,' and calls God 'the Savior of all men, especially of those who believe.' Hebrews says Jesus was crowned with glory and honor 'that by the grace of God he should taste of death for everyone.' Paul's summary of the two Adams has the same shape: as one trespass led to condemnation for all, so one act of righteousness leads toward justification for all. Read together, these texts will not let us shrink the sacrifice into a private transaction for a nameless few.
who desires all people to be saved and come to full knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all; the testimony in its own times;
For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men,
For to this end we both labor and suffer reproach, because we have set our trust in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of those who believe.
But we see him who has been made a little lower than the angels, Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that by the grace of God he should taste of death for everyone.
So then as through one trespass, all men were condemned; even so through one act of righteousness, all men were justified to life.
And yet the same Bible names a definite people
The Bible is just as definite in the other direction. Jesus says, 'I lay down my life for the sheep,' and tells others plainly, 'you don't believe, because you are not of my sheep.' On the night before He died He prays for those the Father gave Him, and says, 'I don't pray for the world.' The angel's announcement is not conditional: 'it is he who shall save his people from their sins.' Paul tells the Ephesian elders to shepherd 'the assembly of the Lord and God which he purchased with his own blood,' and Hebrews says He was 'offered once to bear the sins of many.' If the first set of texts shows how wide the sacrifice reaches, this set shows that it certainly accomplishes what it was given to accomplish. Scripture will not let us drop either set.
even as the Father knows me, and I know the Father. I lay down my life for the sheep.
But you don’t believe, because you are not of my sheep, as I told you.
I pray for them. I don’t pray for the world, but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours.
She shall give birth to a son. You shall call his name Jesus, for it is he who shall save his people from their sins.”
Take heed, therefore, to yourselves, and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the assembly of the Lord and God which he purchased with his own blood.
so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, without sin, to those who are eagerly waiting for him for salvation.
who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify for himself a people for his own possession, zealous for good works.
Two readings, and why we take this one
Christians have read these texts in two ways, and it is worth saying so plainly. Some conclude that the breadth of the all texts means Christ's death accomplished salvation for every person without exception, and that the whole difference lies in whether a person believes. Others conclude that those texts declare the worth of the sacrifice and the freeness of the offer, while the death actually secures and keeps the people it was given to save. We take the second, for three reasons. First, the texts themselves: John can say the sacrifice is for the whole world, and in the same letter can say that those who are born of God are kept and that Jesus prays for the ones the Father gave Him. Second, breadth language in Scripture usually means all without distinction rather than all without exception, the same way the gospel goes to all nations and John sees a multitude out of every tribe, language, people, and nation. Third, the alternative leaves the same sins paid for twice, once at the cross and again in judgment. But notice what both readings affirm, which is the part that matters to you: the offer is genuine, and nobody is barred from it by a hidden list.
And he is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the whole world.
I have other sheep, which are not of this fold.I must bring them also, and they will hear my voice. They will become one flock with one shepherd.
For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
They sang a new song, saying, “You are worthy to take the book, and to open its seals: for you were killed, and bought us for God with your blood, out of every tribe, language, people, and nation,
The times of ignorance therefore God overlooked. But now he commands that all people everywhere should repent,
What the breadth is for: come and see
The scope of the atonement was never given to us as a ledger to inspect; it was given as a door to walk through. 'For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, and is rich to all who call on him. For, whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.' Paul's conclusion from the whole argument is an entreaty, not a classification: 'We are therefore ambassadors on behalf of Christ, as though God were entreating by us: we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.' If you are asking whether the sacrifice is enough for you and whether it is held out to you, the answer Scripture gives is not a doctrine about lists but a person to come to. 'He who comes to me I will in no way throw out.' And the last page of the Bible says, 'He who is thirsty, let him come. He who desires, let him take the water of life freely.'
For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, and is rich to all who call on him. For, “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
We are therefore ambassadors on behalf of Christ, as though God were entreating by us: we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
All those whom the Father gives me will come to me. He who comes to me I will in no way throw out.
The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” He who hears, let him say, “Come!” He who is thirsty, let him come. He who desires, let him take the water of life freely.
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us the sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
As you read, you may wonder…
Scripture raises the next question
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Doesn't God want everyone to be saved?→The Gospel trail“Tell them, As I live, says the Lord Yahweh, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn, turn from your evil ways; for why will you die, house of Israel?”Can anyone resist God's grace?→The Gospel trail“No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up in the last day.”We haven't written this one yet. Take it to your church or small group: the Word answers it wherever it is asked. If we study it here later, all the better.
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Verses to meditate on
And he is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the whole world.
and not for the nation only, but that he might also gather together into one the children of God who are scattered abroad.
who desires all people to be saved and come to full knowledge of the truth.
But we see him who has been made a little lower than the angels, Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that by the grace of God he should taste of death for everyone.
All those whom the Father gives me will come to me. He who comes to me I will in no way throw out.
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