FOR GOD SO LOVED...WHO? (part 10)

 

 

“…even unto the end of the world…” (Matt. 28:20), world here means eon, or “an unbroken age”, as it does in the following verse: “And the cares of this world…” (Mk. 4:19). “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world…” (Mk. 8:36), again, please refer back to the description of world given for Matt. 4:8). “…and in the world to come eternal life” (Mk. 10:30), means eon, or “an unbroken age”. “…this Gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world…” (Mk. 14:9), here, again, the meaning is the same as that given for Matt. 4:8, as it is in the following verse: “…go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel…” (Mk. 16:15). “…which have been since the world began” (Lk. 1:70), again, the meaning for world here is eon, or “an unbroken age”. “…that all the world should be taxed” (Lk. 2:1), the inhabited earth, (see description given for Matt. 24:14), as it is in the next verse: “…shewed unto Him all the kingdoms of the world” (Lk. 4:5). “…what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world…” (Lk. 9:25) for the meaning of world in this Scripture, and the following two verses, please refer to description given for Matt. 4:8. “…from the foundation of the world…” (Lk. 11:50); “For all these things do the nations of the world…” (Lk. 12:30). “…for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light” (Lk. 16:8), world here means eon, or “an unbroken age” as it does also in the next three verses. By ‘the children of this world’ is meant “Those who are ‘devoted’ to this world; who live for this world only; who are careful only to obtain property, and to provide for their temporal necessities. It does not mean that they are especially wicked and profligate, but only that they are ‘worldly’, and anxious about earthly things (see Matt. 13:22; 2 Tim. 4:10)." Notice, too, how the children of this world are contrasted with the children of light, hence, the children of this world cannot be all the children that were ever born. “…and in the world to come life everlasting” (Lk. 18:30), "The Greeks contrasted that which came to an end with that which was expressed by this phrase, which shows that they conceived of it as expressing interminable duration. “the children of this world marry…” (Lk. 20:34), notice the phrase is not children of the world, but children of this world, meaning those who live in this world. “The children of this world refers here to those who live in this world, and not those that are wholly given to the world (and therefore contrary to the children of light), as in Luke 16:8”; “But they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world…” (Lk. 20:35). “That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world” (Jn. 1:9), please refer back to the description given for Matt. 4:8, and for the following 3 instances of world as it appears in John 1:10: “He was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not”, and also in the following thirteen verses: “…Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (Jn. 1:29), (this verse was discussed in detail earlier in the book); “For God so loved the world…” (Jn. 3:16) (vide), the Latin abbreviation vide, refers the reader back to a previous statement, or statements in the book); there are three instances of the word world in the following verse: “For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved” (Jn. 3:17) (vide); For the following 3 verses please refer back to the meaning given for world in Matthew 4:8: “…light is come into the world…” (Jn. 3:19); “…this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world” (Jn. 4:42); “…This is of a truth that Prophet that should come into the world” (Jn. 6:14); “…and giveth life unto the world” (Jn. 6:33) (vide); “…the bread that I give is My flesh, which I will give for the life of the world” (Jn. 6:51) (vide); “…if Thou do these things, shew Thyself to the world” (Jn. 7:4) (vide); “The world cannot hate you…” (Jn. 7:7) (vide); “I am the Light of the world…” (Jn. 8:12) (vide); The word world appears twice in this next verse: “…ye are of this world; I am not of this world” (Jn. 8:23), here Christ is directing His words to the Pharisees of whom He says, “…they were, as they were born into the world, sinful, carnal, and corrupt; they were in it, and belonged to it, had never been chosen, or called out of it; they had their conversation according to the course of it, and conformed to its evil customs and manners; they were under the influence of the god of the world, and were taken with the sinful and sensual lusts thereof; they were men of worldly spirits; they minded earth, and earthly things, and had their portion in this world, and might be truly called the men of it…He was in it, but not of it; He was come into it to save the chief of sinners, but He did not belong to it, nor did He conform to it”; “…and I speak to the world those things which I have heard of Him” (Jn. 8:26) (vide); world appears twice in this next verse: “As long as I am in the world, I am the Light of the world” (Jn. 9:5), please refer back to the description given for Matt. 4:8. A more detailed explanation of world in this verse is provided later in the book.

 

“Since the world began…” (Jn. 9:32), here the word world is referring to eon, or “an unbroken age”. “…I am come into this world…” (Jn. 9:39), please refer back to the description given for Matt. 4:8 for the meaning of world in this verse, and for the following forty one verses: “…and sent into the world…” (Jn. 10:36); “…because he seeth the light of this world” (Jn. 11:9); “…which should come into the world” (Jn. 11:27); “…behold, the world is gone after Him” (Jn. 12:19) (vide); “…he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal” (Jn. 12:25); The word world appears twice in this next verse: “Now is the judgement of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out” (Jn. 12:31); “I am come a Light into the world…” (Jn. 12:46); world appears twice in this next verse: “…I came not to judge the world, but to save the world” (Jn. 12:47), for a proper understanding of the word world in this Scripture please refer back to comments on John 3:16. "In John 12:47a, ‘world’ means either the created order, or the human race non-specifically, that is to say that Jesus saves both the universe and the human race by saving a remnant of humanity and destroying the rest. The concept of ‘saving the world’ is often shorthand in the Bible for ‘purifying the world by saving the good and purging the evil’. In the case of people, this does not mean that every individual will be purified and saved, but rather that the believers will be purified and the unbelievers will be ‘purged’ by being destroyed and removed from the world. Compare, e.g., the freeing of the creation from its slavery to corruption (see Rom. 8:21) by its destruction (see 2 Pet. 3:7) and subsequent renewal (see Rev. 21:1-5). Many elements of the fallen world will not be present in the renewed world—the purging and renewal will remove the evil elements from the world”; The following verse also contains the word world twice: “…that He should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved His own which were in the world…” (Jn. 13:1) (vide); "Even the Spirit of truth; Whom the world cannot receive…” (Jn. 14:17) (vide); “Yet a little while, and the world seeth Me no more…” (Jn. 14:19); “…how is it that Thou wilt manifest Thyself unto us, and not unto the world” (Jn. 14:22), here again we see a clear distinction made between Christ’s disciples, and those of the world; “Peace I leave with you, My peace give I unto you: not as the world giveth…” (Jn. 14:27); “…for the prince of this world cometh…” (Jn. 14:30); “But that the world may know that I love the Father…” (Jn. 14:31); “If the world hate you…” (Jn. 15:18); the following verse contains world 5times: “If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you” (Jn. 15:19); “And when He is come, He will reprove the world of sin…” (Jn. 16:8); “…because the prince of this world is judged” (Jn. 16:11); “…that ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice…” (Jn. 16:20), notice again the distinction made between Christ’s disciples, and those who are of the world; “…for joy that a man is born into the world” (Jn. 16:21); world appears twice in the following 2 verses “I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I leave the world, and go to the Father” (Jn. 16:28); “…In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world” (Jn. 16:33); “…which I had with Thee before the world was” (Jn. 17:5); “I have manifested Thy name unto the men which Thou gavest Me out of the world…” (Jn. 17:6); “I pray for them: I pray not for the world…” (Jn. 17:9), is still another verse where we see a clear distinction made between the chosen of God, and those who are of the world; world appears twice in the next verse: “And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world…” (Jn. 17:11); “While I was with them in the world…” (Jn. 17:12); “…these things I speak in the world…” (Jn.17:13); world appears 3 times in the following verse: “I have given them Thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world” (Jn. 17:14); “I pray not that Thou shouldest take them out of the world…” (Jn. 17:15); world appears twice in the next 2 verses: “They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world” (Jn. 17:16); “As thou hast sent Me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world” (Jn.17:18); “…that the world may believe that Thou hast sent Me” (Jn. 17:21); “…and that the world may know that Thou hast sent Me...” (Jn. 17:23); “…Thou lovedst Me before the foundation of the world” (Jn. 17:24); “O Righteous Father, the world hath not known Thee…” (Jn. 17:25); “…I spake openly to the world…” (Jn. 18:20); the following verse contains the word world twice: “Jesus answered, My Kingdom is not of this world: if My Kingdom were of this world, then would My servants fight…” (Jn.18:36); “…for this cause came I into the world…” (Jn. 18:37); “…I suppose that even the world itself…” (Jn. 21:25).

 

“…which God hath spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began” (Acts 3:21), world here means eon, or ‘an unbroken age’; “…great dearth throughout the world…” (Acts 11:28), world here means the inhabited globe, see description given for Matt. 24:14; “Known unto God are all His works from the beginning of the world” (Acts 15:18), world here means eon, or 'an unbroken age'; “…These that have turned the world upside down…” (Acts 17:6), world here means the inhabited globe, see description given for Matt. 24:14. For the meaning of world in the following verse, please refer back to the description given for Matt. 4:8: “God that made the world and all things therein…” (Acts 17:24); “…in the which He will judge the world…” (Acts 17:31), world here means the inhabited globe, as it also does in the following two verses: “…whom all Asia and the world worshippeth” (Acts 19:27), this verse speaks of all the world worshipping Diana. It is yet another example of the world, indeed all the world, not meaning all without exception, for it is obvious that Christians did not worship her; “…among all the Jews throughout the world…” (Acts 24:5), this speaks with specific reference to “several parts of the Roman empire”. Please refer back to the description given for Matt. 4:8 for the following seven verses: “…is spoken of throughout the whole world” (Rom. 1:8); “…from the creation of the world…” (Rom. 1:20); “…for then how shall God judge the world” (Rom. 3:6); “…and all the world may become guilty before God” (Rom. 3:19); “…that he should be the heir of the world…” (Rom. 4:13); “…as by one man sin entered into the world…” (Rom. 5:12); “(For until the law sin was in the world…” (Rom. 5:13). “…and their words unto the ends of the world” (Rom. 10:18), world here means the habitable globe; “…if the fall of them be the riches of the world…” (Rom. 11:12), for the meaning of world in this Scripture and the following verse, please refer back to the description given for Matt. 4:8; “…if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world…” (Rom. 11:15). “And be not conformed to this world…” (Rom. 12:2), world here means eon, or 'an unbroken age'; “…which was kept secret since the world began” (Rom. 16:25), the word for world here is chronos meaning time. The following verse contains the word world twice, its first usage means eon, or 'an unbroken age', and for the latter’s meaning, as well as the following three verses, please refer back to the description given for Matt. 4:8: “Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?” (1 Cor.1:20); “…the world by wisdom knew not God…” (1 Cor. 1:21); “But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty” (1 Cor.1:27); “And base things of the world…” (1 Cor. 1:28).

 

“…yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought” (1 Cor. 2:6), both instances of the word world here, and in the following three verses, mean an eon, or 'an unbroken age'; “…God ordained before the world unto our glory” (1 Cor. 2:7); “Which none of the princes of this world knew…” (1 Cor. 2:8) “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world…” (1 Cor. 2:12). “…seemeth to be wise in this world…” (1 Cor. 3:18), world here means eon, or 'an unbroken age'. For the meaning of world in the following ten verses please refer back to the description given for Matt.4:8: “For the wisdom of the world is foolishness with God…” (1 Cor. 3:19); “…or the world, or life…” (1 Cor. 3:22); “…we are made a spectacle unto the world…” (1 Cor. 4:9); “…we are made as the filth of the world…” (1 Cor. 4:13); “Yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or with idolaters; for then must ye needs go out of the world” (1 Cor. 5:10); “Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you…” (1 Cor. 6:2); “…for the fashion of this world passeth away” (1 Cor. 7:31); “…for the things that are of the world…” (1 Cor. 7:33); “…for the things of the world…” (1 Cor. 7:34); “…an idol is nothing in the world…” (1 Cor. 8:4). “…I will eat no flesh while the world standeth…” (1 Cor. 8:13), world here means eon, or 'an unbroken age' as it does in the following verse: “…upon whom the ends of the world are come” (1 Cor. 10:11). “…not be condemned with the world” (1 Cor. 11:32), for the meaning of the world here, and in the following two verses, please refer back to the description given for Matt. 4:8; “…so many kinds of voices in the world…” (1 Cor. 14:10); “…we have had our conversation in the world…” (2 Cor. 1:12). “In whom the god of this world…” (2 Cor. 4:4), world here means eon, or 'an unbroken age'; for the meaning of the word world in the next two verses, please refer back to the description given for Matt.4:8: “…God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself…” (2 Cor. 5:19) (vide); “…but the sorrow of the world worketh death” (2 Cor. 7:10). “…that He might deliver us from this present evil world” (Gal. 1:4), world here means eon, or 'an unbroken age'; “…were in bondage under the elements of the world” (Gal. 4:3), for the meaning of the world here, and in the following two verses, please refer back to the description given for Matt. 4:8; “…by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world” (Gal. 6:14); “…He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world…” (Eph.1:4). “…not only in this world…” (Eph. 1:21), world here means eon, or 'an unbroken age'; “…according to the course of this world…” (Eph. 2:2), for the meaning of the world here, and in the following verse, please refer back to the description given for Matt. 4:8; “…and without God in the world” (Eph. 2:12). “…which from the beginning of the world…” (Eph. 3:9), world here, and in the following two verses, means eon, or 'an unbroken age'; “…throughout all ages, world without end” (Eph. 3:21); “…the rulers of the darkness of this world…” (Eph. 6:12). “…among whom ye shine as lights in the world” (Phil. 2:15), for the meaning of the world here, and in the following six verses, please refer back to the description given for Matt. 4:8; “…as it is in all the world…” (Col.1:6); “…after the rudiments of the world…” (Col. 2:8); “…from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world…” (Col. 2:20); “…that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners…” (1 Tim.1:15); “…believed on in the world” (1 Tim. 3:16), not by the world; “For we brought nothing into this world…” (1 Tim. 6:7).

 

“Charge them that are rich in this world…” (1 Tim. 6:17), world here means eon, or 'an unbroken age'; “…given us in Christ Jesus before the world began” (2 Tim. 1:9), the word for world here is chronos meaning time. “…having loved this present world…” (2 Tim. 4:10), world here means eon, or 'an unbroken age'; “…promised before the world began” (Titus 1:2), world here means from eternity; “…in this present world” (Titus 2:12), world here means eon, or 'an unbroken age'; “…the first begotten into the world…” (Heb.1:6), world here means the habitable earth, as it does in the next verse: “…the world to come…” (Heb. 2:5). “…the works were finished from the foundation of the world” (Heb.4:3), for the meaning of the world here, please refer back to the description given for Matt. 4:8. “…the powers of the world to come” (Heb. 6:5), world here means eon, or 'an unbroken age'; “…since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world…” (Heb. 9:26), for the first appearance of the word world here please refer back to the description given for Matt. 4:8, the latter appearance of world in this verse means eon, or 'an unbroken age'. “…when He cometh into the world…” (Heb. 10:5), for the meaning of the world here, and in the following twenty nine verses, please refer back to the description given for Matt. 4:8; “…by the which he condemned the world…” (Heb.11:7); “(Of whom the world was not worthy:)…” (Heb. 11:38); “…and to keep himself unspotted from the world” (Jas. 1:27); “…hath not God chosen the poor of this world…” (Jas. 2:5), He has not chosen everyone; “…a world of iniquity…” (Jas. 3:6); “…the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God” (Jas. 4:4), this cannot mean all without exception; “…before the foundation of the world…” (1 Pet. 1:20); “…your brethren that are in the world” (1 Pet. 5:9); “…that is in the world through lust” (2 Pet. 1:4); “And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly” (2 Pet. 2:5); “…after they have escaped the pollutions of the world…” (2 Pet. 2:20); “Whereby the world that then was…” (2 Pet. 3:6); “…the sins of the whole world” (1 Jn. 2:2) (vide); “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him” (1 Jn. 2:15); “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world” (1 Jn. 2:16); “And the world passeth away…” (1 Jn. 2:17); “…therefore the world knoweth us not…” (1 Jn. 3:1); “Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you” (1 Jn. 3:13); “…many false prophets are gone out into the world” (1 Jn. 4:1); “…even now is it already in the world” (1 Jn. 4:3); “…than he that is in the world” (1 Jn. 4:4); “They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them” (1 Jn. 4:5); “…sent His only begotten Son into the world…” (1 Jn. 4:9); “…sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world” (1 Jn. 4:14) (vide); “…so are we in this world” (1 Jn. 4:17); “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith” (1 Jn. 5:4); “Who is he that overcometh the world…” (1 Jn. 5:5); “…we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness” (1 Jn. 5:19) (vide); “…many deceivers are entered into the world..” (2 Jn. 1:7).

 

“…which shall come upon all the world...” (Rev. 3:10), world here means the inhabited earth; “…the kingdoms of this world…” (Rev. 11:15), for the meaning of the world here, please refer back to the description given for Matt. 4:8. “…which deceiveth the whole world…” (Rev.12:9), world here means the inhabited earth; “…and all the world wondered after the beast” (Rev.13:3), world here means the arable land; "…the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world” (Rev. 13:8), for the meaning of the world here, please refer back to the description given for Matt. 4:8. “…and of the whole world…” (Rev. 16:14), world here means the habitable earth; “…from the foundation of the world…” (Rev. 17:8), for the meaning of the world here, please refer back to the description given for Matt. 4:8. And so we see from this study of the word world and where it appears in Scripture, and its meaning in each particular verse it appears in, that rarely do we see the word world referring to everyone in the world without exception. Moreover, NEVER do we EVER see a Scripture even hint at God loving the world, meaning everyone in the world without exception, except as it is falsely interpreted in one single verse, John 3:16. To attempt to build a doctrine, let alone an entire gospel, upon one lone verse of Scripture, is something which will always be exposed by the Word of God as an evil exercise in sheer folly. Those who do so are wresting the Scriptures, twisting them into saying what their Author never intended. Woe be unto those who care not for an accurate understanding of the Scriptures, and how they handle them, and to those who knowingly add, or take away from God’s Word: “…they that are unlearned and unstable wrest…the… Scriptures, unto their own destruction” (2 Pet. 3:16 cf. Prov. 30:5,6).

 

Before we return to John 3:16, let us take a closer look at several particular instances, in some of the more familiar verses, where the word Kosmos is used in Holy Scripture. The word Kosmos is used to refer to the universe in Acts 17:24: “God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that He is Lord of Heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands.” Kosmos refers to the earth in Ephesians 1:4: “According as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love” (cf. Job 38:4); and also in John 13:1: “…when Jesus knew that His hour was come that He should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved His own which were in the world, He loved them unto the end.” ‘Depart out of this world’, is a phrase frequently used by the Jews to refer to death. Notice also the clear distinction made between those Jesus loved who were in the world, but not of the world. Being in the world is far different to being of the world. The Word of God makes this quite clear: “Ye are of God, little children…They are of the world…We are of God…” (1 Jn. 4:4-6). “If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you” (Jn. 15:19 cf. 1 Jn. 4:5,6); “I have given them Thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world” (Jn. 17:14). “They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world” (Jn. 17:16). These Scriptures clearly do not allude to Christ’s having loved everyone in the world, for how could Christ love those who hate His disciples, indeed who hate Christ Himself (see Rev. 3:9,10). Christ Jesus the Lord emphasizes this in the following Scripture: “If the world hate you, ye know that it hated Me before it hated you” (Jn.15:18 cf. 1 Jn. 3:13). Christ does not love a single person who is of the world, but only those who have been chosen out of the world—the ones His Father has entrusted to Him. “…God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for His name” (Acts 15:14). No one whom God loves hates Him. All those who are loved by God, love Him (see 1 Jn. 4:19).

 

The Lord Jesus did not pray for the sanctification of everyone without exception, but only for those who are not of the world—His disciples: “They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through Thy truth: Thy word is truth…And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth” (Jn. 17:16,17,19). “For both He that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of One: for which cause He is not ashamed to call them brethren” (Heb. 2:11). Christ loves His own, He prays for His own and He died for His own. The people of God are not of the world, but are of the truth, for they all hear the voice of their Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and do follow Him: “…Every one that is of the truth heareth My voice” (Jn. 18:37 cf. Jn. 10:27; 1 Jn. 3:19). Christ has the following words for those that claim He was merely praying for those there with Him: “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on Me through their word” (Jn.17:20). In John 10:16 the Lord Jesus says: "…other sheep I HAVE, which are not of this fold (the Jewish fold): them also I must bring, and they shall hear My voice: and there shall be one fold, and one Shepherd." Notice that Christ says there are other sheep He HAS, not would have, or hoped to have. Christ already considered those for whom He prayed, and for whom He would die, His very sheep. Christ, continuing His High Priestly prayer, prays the following: “That they all may be one; as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one in Us: that the world may believe that Thou hast sent Me” Jn. 17:21). “…either the rest of God's chosen people in the world, not yet called; or rather the wicked and reprobate part of the world, particularly Jews and Deists: they shall see the concord and agreement of the saints in doctrine, worship, and affection in the latter day; and when all the elect shall be gathered together, and not only their union to each other, but to the Divine Persons, shall clearly appear; they will then believe, and be obliged to own, that Jesus is the true Messiah, was sent of God, and is no imposter.” Their believing is no saving knowledge, but a begrudging acknowledgement, for “…the world hath not known Thee: but I have known Thee, and these have known that Thou hast sent Me” (Jn.17:25). Christ loved His own who were in the world, but not of the world, for Christ does not love the world—those who are of the world are not His own. Likewise, he does not pray for those who are not His own, and so it is Biblically inconceivable to think that Christ would have loved and died for any who were not His own. The world, those whom the Lord Jesus does not love, hates Him, for they are without Him and His love. Those who love God do so only because He loved them first, because these are the ones God made His own, and gave unto His Son. These are not of the world, but are of God.

 

It does not take a professor of theology to realise that one of the overriding themes throughout the Scriptures is God loves His people, His chosen, and not all without exception. This is one of the major identifying traits of Almighty God seen in both the Old Testament and the New, and is flatly undeniable. It is a primary identifying characteristic which defines Who the true God is, and simultaneously, who He could not be. Deuteronomy 33:3 tells us: "Yea, He loved the people; all His saints…” (cf. Psa. 85:8). “The people of Israel, of which His giving the law to them in such a glorious manner was an instance, and was a distinguishing blessing which other nations were not favoured with, (see Deut.4:6,8; Rom. 9:4); how much more is the love of God shown to His spiritual Israel and special people, by giving them His Gospel, the precious truths, promises, and ordinances of it, and, above all, in giving them His Son to be the Redeemer and Saviour of them, as revealed therein! these He embraces in His arms and in His bosom, as the word here signifies; admitting them to great nearness and familiarity with Him, to commune with Father, Son, and Spirit, to a participation of all the blessings of grace here, and to the enjoyment of glory hereafter: ‘all His saints are in Thy hand’ (Deut. 33:3);  not the sons of Levi, who were round about the ark…rather all the people of Israel, who were chosen to be an holy people to the Lord above all people, and who were the care of His providence, protected by His power, and guided with His right hand; and were in a wonderful manner kept and preserved by Him, both at the time of the giving of the law, and in their passage through the wilderness; it is eminently true of the chosen people of God, who are given to Christ, and made His care and charge, as all such who are sanctified and set apart by God the Father are, they are '…preserved in Jesus Christ…', (Jd. 1:1 cf. Col. 3:3); and these are sanctified in and by Christ, and by the Spirit of Christ, and so may be truly called His saints; and they are in the hands of Christ, as dear to Him as His right hand, highly valued by Him, held in His right hand; they are in His possession, are His peculiar people, portion, and inheritance, they are at His dispose, under His guidance and direction; and are in His custody and under His protection, and where they are safe from every enemy, and can never be snatched, taken, or removed from thence; (see Jn.10:28,29); here they are put by the Father, as an instance of His love to them, and care of them, though not without the consent and desire of the Son, and this was done in eternity, when they were chosen in Him.”

 

Curiously, the Arminian has no problem seeing, or accepting, the exclusive love of God in the Old Testament for the nation of Israel, but stumbles at the equally Biblical proposition of God’s love in the New Testament being exclusively for those whom He has chosen out of the world, and given to His Son. Along with certain people, God has also chosen for Himself, not all angels, but some angels to be His angels forever, to be His “…elect angels…” (1 Tim. 5:21). Obviously then, if there are elect angels, there must also be non-elect angels. God’s love is a covenant love, an exclusive love, expressed in election and salvation through His Son Who makes provision for all those whom the Father has entrusted to His care. Like marriage, where the man’s love is exclusively reserved for his bride, God’s love is exclusively reserved for His Bride—the Church. God’s love is for His own, His people, His children, His chosen. God’s love for His people is in Christ Jesus His Son with Whom He has made Covenant: “I have made a Covenant with My chosen…” (Psa. 89:3). “Not with Abraham, as the Targum expresses it: but with David, as in the following clause; not David, literally understood, though he was chosen of the Lord to be His servant, and a covenant was made with him, and a promise made to him of the perpetuity of his throne and kingdom in his family, (see Psa. 78:70; 2 Sam. 7:16) but mystical David, the Messiah, David's son and antitype; after, on this account, called David in Scripture, (see Ezek. 34:23,24; Hos. 3:5), and who is the Lord's ‘chosen’ One, foreordained to be the Redeemer of lost sinners, chosen to be the Mediator between God and them, to be the Head of the Church, the Covenant Head of the elect, and Saviour of the body; and His human nature was chosen to the grace of union to the Son of God, (see Psa. 89:19), hence He is called God's elect, (see Isa. 43:1), and with Him the covenant of grace was made from all eternity, and all the blessings and promises of it were put into His hands; He is the Mediator, Surety, and Messenger of it, and by His blood it is ratified and confirmed: the Septuagint renders it, in the plural number, ‘with mine elect ones’; and it is a truth, that the Covenant of Grace is made with all the elect, considered in Christ, and is made with them as such.” “But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and He that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art Mine” (Isa. 43:1). This Covenant love is manifested by God’s giving His chosen people, and no others, to His Son. Christ specifically expands on this in the Gospel of John by referring to His people as “MY sheep” in John 10:14,27: “I am the good Shepherd, and know My sheep, and am known of Mine…My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me” (see also 2 Tim. 2:19 & Psa. 4:3). Only those who are the Lord’s sheep know the Lord, for it is only they that are known of Him. None other than His sheep hear His voice. None but His sheep follow the true Shepherd. The rest are not of His sheep, for they are not His (see Jn. 10:26 cf. Matt. 7:23; Jn. 8:47). “The objects of Christ’s love are described by His property in them, ‘His own’; by whom are meant, not all mankind, who are His by creation; nor the Jews, who were His nation and countrymen according to the flesh; nor the twelve apostles only, whom He had chosen; but all the elect of God, who are His own, by His choice of them, by the Father's gift of them to Him, by the purchase He made of them with His blood, and by His effectual call of them by His grace: these are also described by their condition and situation, ‘which were in the world’; which is not said to distinguish them from the saints that were in Heaven, or to express their former state of unregeneracy, but their present situation in this vain and evil world, which is no objection to Christ's love to them.”

 

“And all Mine are Thine, and Thine are Mine; and I am glorified in them” (Jn. 17:10). God does not change, and so, His love does not change, for it has always been for His people (see Heb. 13:8). No one can rightly say God loved everyone without exception in the Old Testament for clearly He chose only Israel, and not all nations, to be His people, because He loved them, and no other: “...the LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto Himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth. The LORD did not set His love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people: But because the LORD loved you…” (Deut. 7:6-8). “And what one nation in the earth is like Thy people Israel, whom God went to redeem to be His own people…” (1 Chron. 17:21). God still has a people today, however, they are not a people from one nation only, but from all nations. God does not love all people from all nations, but only His children scattered among all nations (see Jn. 11:51,52). Just as some people are God’s people, others are not His people. Not all the angels are the angels of God, for there are many whom He has not elected to be His angels. These are fallen angels “…which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation…” These have not been chosen to be among God’s elect angels, but instead are those whom God has “…reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the Judgement of the great day” (Jd. 6). So it is with people. God has chosen, out of the quagmire of sin and sinners, some people to be His people, to enjoy the Lord and His Heaven forever. God has not appointed His people to Wrath “…but to obtain salvation by (their) Lord Jesus Christ, Who died for (them)” (1 Thess. 5:9,10). Clearly all others have been appointed to the Wrath of God. Christ’s death was for the salvation of the people God had appointed to obtain it. There are those who are made “…vessels of mercy, which He had afore prepared unto glory” (Rom. 9:23 cf. Col. 1:12), for whom Christ died, and others who are made “…vessels of Wrath fitted to destruction” (Rom. 9:22 cf. 1 Pet. 2:8). Clearly, in having chosen some to be His people, others have been equally chosen by God not to be among His people. The fact that none were at all worthy of being chosen to begin with shuts down every voice of protest that claims election is in any way unfair. What right does a damnable sinner have to protest, or appeal his, conviction whom God has ajudged guilty? (see Ex. 34:7; Rom. 3:19). There can be no unfairness in election, when being chosen by God according to His will and grace unto salvation is the only means of salvation.

 

A closer look at the word fair will provide us with considerable insight into just exactly what God is being accused of by those who oppose the doctrine of Sovereign election based solely upon the free will of God. To be fair means to be ‘free from discrimination or dishonesty’. To be fair also means to be ‘in conformity with rules or standards’. So, when the adherent to the doctrine of free will makes his unfounded claim that election according to the Sovereign will of God, and not the free will of man, is ‘just not fair’, he is saying that God would be dishonest if election were according to His Sovereign will alone, and that He would not be in conformity to the rules or standards of fair play. The question which every free willer needs to be asked at this point is ‘By whose rules, or standards, are you judging the God of the universe by? By whose rule do you judge the God of Sovereign election to be unfair? By His rule, or by your corrupt notions of what the rules and standards of fairness are that God should be abiding by?’ Is it not fair that God condemn all sinners to Hell? Is it not also fair for God to apply His mercy upon whomsoever He wills? Any reasonable person even remotely acquainted with the fact that whatever God does is right, can only answer yes to both questions, so then, why the problem with election, for no man has any hope without it? The false accusation that God is guilty of unfairly discriminating against those whom He has not chosen to salvation, but appointed to His Wrath—discrimination being a taboo word in western society, principally because it has lost all of its true meaning, and been kidnapped by those obsessed with political correctness—is one which the free willer often gives voice to in presenting his case against the God of Sovereign election. How can God be guilty of discriminating unfairly against those whom He has not chosen, but appointed to His Wrath, when Scripture states that those who are left in their sin are fully DESERVING of nothing but the Wrath of God? GOD HAS NOT DISCRIMINATED UNFAIRLY AGAINST ANYONE, BUT HAS ACTED MERCIFULLY TOWARD SOME, GIVING OTHERS ONLY WHAT THEY DESERVE! (for more on the subject of election, please see my book: ‘Election is Just Not Fair!’). Arminians and Universalists alike have taken a giant leap from their reading of the Word of God, and fallen headlong into an abyss of the grossest of errors in teaching that God loves everyone equally and without exception, for nothing of the kind is found in the Scriptures in which God reveals His love to be a covenant love, an exclusive love, that is always for His people, His chosen.

 

Returning now to further instances of the word kosmos which appear in the following Scriptures. The word “Kosmos  is also used of the world-system: John 12:31 etc. “Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out' (compare Matt. 4:8 & 1 Jn. 5:19). ‘Kosmos’ is used of the whole human race: Romans 3:19, 'Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.' ‘Kosmos’ is used of humanity minus believers (the world of the ungodly) in John 15:18: 'If the world hate you, ye know that it hated Me before it hated you.' Believers do not ‘hate’ Christ, so ‘the world’ here must signify the world of un-believers in contrast from believers who love Christ.” Hatred toward God is only manifested through unbelief, which in turn is a manifestation of disobedience, neither of which can be separated from hate, or be found in any of God’s chosen people. “Romans 3:6: ‘God forbid: for then how shall God judge the world?’ Here is another passage where ‘the world’ cannot mean ‘you, me, and everybody,’ for believers will not be ‘judged’ by God, (see Jn. 5:24). So that here, too, it must be the world of un-believers which is in view. Kosmos is used of Gentiles in contrast from Jews in Romans 11:12 etc. 'Now if the fall of them (Israel) be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them (Israel) the riches of the Gentiles; how much more their (Israel’s) fulness?' Note how the first clause in italics is defined by the latter clause placed in italics. Here, again, ‘the world’ cannot signify all humanity for it excludes Israel. ‘Kosmos’ is sometimes used of believers only: John 1:29; 3:16,17; 6:33; 12:47; 1 Cor. 4:9; 2 Cor. 5:19."