Hi Fred,

Back to John 2:2 you wrote:

> "For example, in another thread on the atonement, you mention 1 John 2:2 as some proof text against actual atonement, but you do not demonstrate how the actual atonement view is disproven by the text. "World" in John's writings can mean many things, but primarily he has the idea of the world of humanity other than the nation of Israel (John 11:51, 52; Revelation 5:9,10)"

Correct, "world" (Gk. kosmos) has a variety of meanings in John's writings. It may mean Gentile nations in John 11:51-52 and Revelation 5:9-10, but there is no indication of this usage in John's first epistle. Instead, John uses the term to denote the condition of the human race in opposition to God: the sinful desires of the flesh (2:15-17), separated from God and hostile to the children of God (3:1, 13), belonging to the hostile forces of deceiving spirits (4:1ff), under the control of the evil one (5:19). It is to this "world", John writes, that God the Father sent his Son, Jesus Christ, to be the Saviour of it (4:9) and to die as an atoning sacrifice for their sins (2:2; 4:10). John repeats: "And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Saviour of the world" (4:14).

Therefore, to interpret "world" in 1 John as referring to non-Jewish people (the elected Gentiles) is to distort the whole message of 1 John.


> "The Arminian argument against Calvinism has always been driven by emotionalism, rather than the text."

I would say that the Calvinian argument for "world" has always been driven by exegetical gymnastics, viz. taking a few passages out of this book and that one, and then forcing that meaning in a totally different text and setting.

Michael