Solus Christus & The Doctrines of Grace

Chapter Two

solus Christus &

DEFINITE ATONEMENT
REDEEMED IN CHRIST


For it was the entirely free plan and very gracious will and intention of God the Father that
the enlivening and saving effectiveness of his Son’s costly death should work itself out in all
his chosen ones, in order that he might grant justifying faith to them only and thereby lead
them without fail to salvation. In other words, it was God’s will that Christ through the
blood of the cross (by which he confirmed the new covenant) should effectively redeem
from every people, tribe, nation, and language all those and only those who were chosen
from eternity to salvation and given to him by the Father; that he should grant them faith
(which, like the Holy Spirit’s other saving gifts, he acquired for them by his death); that he
should cleanse them by his blood from all their sins, both original and actual, whether
committed before or after their coming to faith; that he should faithfully preserve them to
the very end; and that he should finally present them to himself, a glorious people, without
spot or wrinkle.

Canons of Dordt, II. Article 81

1 Canons of Dordt © 1987, CRC Publications, Grand Rapids MI. www.crcna.org. URL:
http://www.ligonier.org/about_community_creedsandconfessions_canonsofdordt.php

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
In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches
of His grace 1:8 which He lavished on us.
Ephesians 1:7-8

We come now to what is the most controversial, most hated, and most understood points of
Reformed theology: Limited atonement. You’ll notice, however, that I have used another term: Definite
atonement. Another term for this point of Reformed theology is also “particular redemption.” We’ll
discuss these terms and see how they together form a biblical doctrine of the atonement. As Joel R. Beeke
observes, the atonement is central to the Christian message:

The Christian church always has recognized that the atonement, which Christ accomplished at
the cross, is the central theme of the Christian message. To atone is to ‘make at one.’ Through
Christ’s atoning blood, a holy God and sinful men and women are reconciled. The atonement
brings unity and fellowship between God the Holy One and man the sinner. This is the
central doctrine of Christianity because Christianity is preeminently a religion of redemption.2

The atonement is as essential to the gospel as is election. The atonement speaks of the role of Christ as
the Mediator between a holy God and sinful human beings. It is because of the atonement that Paul can
write “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses.” It is because of
the atonement that God is both just and the Justifier of the ungodly (Rom. 3:23f).

2 Joel R. Beeke, Living for God’s Glory: An Introduction to Calvinism. (Mary Lake, Florida: Reformation Trust), 2008. 75

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As with election, several different views or “theories” of the atonement have been advanced. Here
we will not produce a survey of all these theories; rather we are concerned here to understand the purpose
and extent of the atonement, as this is the issue between the Reformed and non-Reformed views. Beeke
observes that “There are at least four views of the extent of Christ’s atonement.”3 These are the unlimited
universal redemption, limited universal redemption, hypothetical universalism, and limited or particular redemption.
Between the four views, only two posit an unlimited or universal atonement, while the other two posit a
limited atonement. The first is the universalist view - everyone will be saved. The second is the modern
Arminian position - not everyone will be saved even though Christ paid for the sins of everyone. The
third view is named Amyraldianism after the theologian who first advance this position - Christ died for
everyone hypothetically, but only the elect will believe. Lastly, the fourth view is the historic
Reformed/Calvinist position - Christ only died for the elect.
Related to the extent of the atonement is the design of the atonement. In other words, the extent
of the atonement must be discussed in terms of what the atonement was designed or intended to do and
how. The questions that must be asked are: what did Christ accomplish in His atoning work? Does
Christ’s sacrifice accomplish redemption for those on whose behalf He died? Does Christ’s death save
sinners or merely make sinners salvable? The bottom-line question is this: “Is Christ a real Savior or
merely a ‘potential’ Savior?”4

Limited Atonement 
While universalists and Arminians may have a peculiar distain for using terms like “particular” or “limited”
to describe redemption, the fact of the matter is the language of redemption in Scripture is everywhere
particular. Any biblical view of atonement is going to be limited in some aspect. Only the universalist
who believes everyone will be saved need put up any resistance to terms of particularity.
The modern Arminian view of the atonement is itself limited; perhaps more so than the Reformed
view. Christ died for every single individual, says the Arminian. Christ’s death atones universally. Yet, not
everyone receives the full benefits of that atonement unless, by the power of their own unregenerate will,
they choose the accept Christ and His sacrifice on their behalf. In other words, not only is the atonement
limited in its extent (only those who believe will be saved by it) but also in its efficacy; it does not provide
for regeneration whereby the will is freed so that it can and does choose Christ. Thus, not only is the
3 Ibid. 76
4 R.C. Sproul, What is Reformed Theology? (Grand Rapids: Baker), 1997. 164

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Arminian view of atonement limited, it is also indefinite. Christ’s atonement does not guarantee the
redemption of those for whom it was made; otherwise, since Christ is said to have died for all, everyone
would be saved.
The difficulty with the Arminian view as is widely held at present is that modern Arminians have
adopted the Calvinistic view that Christ’s death pays for our sins. In other words, Arminians today (and I
write as a former Arminian) hold to a substitutionary view of the atonement as opposed to the historic
Arminian position (i.e. the governmental theory). One Arminian scholar observes,

A spillover from Calvinism into Arminianism has occurred in recent decades. Thus many
Arminians whose theology is not very precise say that Christ paid the penalty for our sins. Yet
such a view is foreign to Arminianism, which teaches instead that Christ suffered for us.
Arminians teach that what Christ did could not have been to pay the penalty, since no one
would then even go into eternal perdition. Arminianism teaches that Christ suffered for
everyone so that the Father could forgive the ones who repent and believe; his death is such that
all will see forgiveness is costly and will strive to cease from anarchy in the world God governs.
This view is called the governmental theory of the atonement.5

For Arminians today to hold to a substitutionary view of the atonement presents a bit of a dilemma. If
Christ did pay the penalty for our sins, as modern Arminians believe (and as I believed as an Arminian),
and if Christ died for all men universally and without exception, then why does anyone “go into eternal
perdition.” That is to say, if modern Arminians are to be consistent on the atonement, they must either
revert to the historic Arminian theory or accept universalism. If Christ paid the penalty for our sins, and if
He died for every single person, then everyone would be saved. Otherwise, many people are going “into
perdition” whose punishment has already been taken by Christ.
The Reformed view of the atonement is unashamedly particular and absolutely definite. Calvinists
believe that Jesus Christ is an actual Savior, or in the words of James White, “a powerful Savior.”6 Christ’s
death, which was of infinite value, did pay the penalty for sin, and it does secure the redemption of His

5 J. Kenneth Grider, “Arminianism” in Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, Walter Elwell, ed., (Grand Rapids: Baker),
1984. 80. Quoted in James R. White, The Potter’s Freedom, (Amityville, NY: Calvary Press), 2000. 233-34
6 James White vs. George Bryson. “Who Controls Salvation?” In his closing statement for the debate, White lamented, “I
am tired of seeing Jesus presented as a weak beggar. He is a powerful Savior and the gospel is not a suggestion, it is a
command.”

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people. Jesus’ own name signifies this purpose. To Joseph an angel told, “[Mary] will bear a Son; and you
shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” (Matt. 1:21; emphasis mine) Calvinists
believe, according to Scripture, that everyone for whom Christ died will be saved and that no one for
whom Christ died will “go down to perdition.”
As we survey the biblical doctrine of the atonement we will see that. as asserted before, the
language of redemption in Scripture is everywhere particular - even in places where the language would
appear universal (e.g. 2 Cor. 5:14-15 “one died for all…He died for all”), a careful reading of the text
shows otherwise.7

The Language of Redemption

When Paul writes to the Ephesians “In Him we have redemption through His blood” we should notice
three things. First, redemption is located “in Him,” that is, in Christ. Second is the term redemption itself.
Finally the phrase “through His blood.” Let’s look at a passage that parallels what Paul said in Ephesian
1:7.

…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 3:24 being justified as a gift by His grace
through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; 3:25 whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation
in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance
of God He passed over the sins previously committed; 3:26 for the demonstration, I say, of His
righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has
faith in Jesus.
Romans 3:23-26

In this passage we see two more important terms, “justified” and “propitiation.” How are these related to
“redemption” and “through His blood.” The term redemption, in both passages, translates the Greek
word apolutrôsis, which means “to redeem one by paying a price.” This term carries with it the idea of
deliverance or ransoming as well as acquittal. While biblical redemption certainly involves a purchase of a
people (Rev. 5:10), Paul’s use in these two passages seem to place emphasis on acquittal. In Eph. 1:7,
having redemption through Christ’s blood is connect to “the forgiveness of sins.” In Rom. 3:24

7 We will deal specifically with passages like these in Appendix B.

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redemption is connected with “being justified.” Believers are justified freely, “as a gift of His grace”
through the redemption that is in Christ. That is, through that redemption believers have been acquitted
and their sins forgiven on the basis of “His blood” by which He purchased our freedom from sin and our
acquittal.
The blood of Christ, in Rom. 3:25, is said to be a propitiation. The underlying Greek term,
hilastêrion, can mean either propitiation (meaning appeasement) or expiation (to atone or make amends).
John Stott observes that “Many Christian people are embarrassed and even shocked by this word…because
to ‘propitiate’ somebody means to placate his or her anger, and it seems to them an unworthy concept of
God (more heathen than Christian) to suppose that he gets angry and needs to be appeased.” 8 James
White similarly notes that some “object to the translation ‘propitiation’ because this word refers to a
sacrifice that both takes away the guilt of sin and that assuages wrath. Contemporary liberal theology has
no place for wrath, only love.”9 Stott argues for that “propitiation” is the meaning in view on grounds of
the context. “In these verses Paul is describing God’s solution to the human predicament, which is not
only sin but God’s wrath upon sin [see Rom. 1:18; 2:5; 3:5]. And where there is divine wrath, there is need
to avert it.”10 Stott also argues well that the propitiation Paul is speaking of is different from the pagan
concept of propitiation and summarizes,

It would be hard to exaggerate the differences between the pagan and the Christian views of
propitiation. In the pagan perspective, human beings try to placate their bad-tempered deities
with their own paltry offerings. According to the Christian revelation, God’s own great love
propitiated his own holy wrath through the gift of his own dear Son, who took our place, bore
our sin and died our death. Thus God himself gave himself to save us from himself.11

The blood of Christ offered on behalf of believe both expiated (atoned for, took away) sin and assuaged
the holy wrath of God. Thus Paul can go on to say in Romans 5, “having been justified by faith, we have
peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” and “Much more then, having now been justified by His
blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.”(5:1, 9) And moreover, “Therefore there is
now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus

8 Stott, The Message of Romans. 113

9 James R. White, The God Who Justifies, (Minneapolis: Bethany House), 2001. 194
10 Stott, The Message of Romans. 114
11 Ibid. 115

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has set you free from the law of sin and of death. For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through
the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He
condemned sin in the flesh.” (Rom. 8:1-3) Believers are no longer under the condemnation of God’s
wrath because of sin - for Christ’s blood has satisfied both the debt that sin held against them as well as
God’s wrath against their sin.
We now come to discuss what Paul means when He says “This was to demonstrate His
righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; for the
demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of
the one who has faith in Jesus.” (Rom. 3:25b-26) It is easy enough to see how a causual reading of this
passage might support the governmental theory of the atonement; the language of that theory is certainly
present, “demonstrate His righteousness” specifically, and in v. 25a “God displayed publicly.” However, a
more careful reading shows that this is not the case. James White summarizes the apostle’s argument well:

The apostle goes on to assert the righteousness of God in having entered into relationship with
men (such as Abraham) who had faith in Him even before the sacrifice of Christ. God “passed
over” the sins “previously committed,” not simply dismissing them, but by exercising forbearance
in light of the certainty of the sacrifice of Christ. The public display of the propitiatory death of
Christ, then, becomes a “demonstration” that God has been righteous to “forbear” His
punishment of the sins of those who lived before Christ and had faith in the promises of God.12

The atoning sacrifice of Christ is to demonstrate that God is “just and the justifier of those who have faith
in Jesus.” It is God who justifies and does so by means of His grace. Many today have the misconception
that by doing good deeds or just being penitent for one’s sins is enough to make one right before God; that
because of these things God will (or even must) grant forgiveness. Some live with the mistaken
assumption that God is just all-loving and will just forgive them. This is not at all the case! God is holy
and righteous and just. No one can just “come to God” as they are. If anyone comes to God it must be
through Christ, for redemption is itself in Christ. “Redemption is located in Christ Jesus…The concept of
redemption existing outside of Christ is foreign to Christianity. There is no room for the idea of pluralism,
‘many roads to heaven,’ for those who flee to Christ for redemption.”13

12 White, The God Who Justifies. 197

13 Ibid. 193

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While there is certainly a foresic or legal aspect to redemption, there is still a very personal aspect as
well. Christ’s sacrifice did not simple purchase an acquittal, but His sacrifice also purchased those for
whom sin was atoned. John Stott comments of the use of the Greek term apolutrôsis, “It is a commercial
term borrowed from the marketplace…In the Old Testament it was used of slaves, who were purchased in
order to be set free.”14 The psalmist Asaph wrote, “Remember Your congregation, which You have
purchased of old, Which You have redeemed to be the tribe or Your inheritance.” (Ps. 74:2) Paul in his
warning to the elders in Ephesus said, “Be on your guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which
the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own
blood.” (Acts 20:28) He writes to the Corinthians that they “were bought with a price.” (1 Cor. 6:20; 7:23)
To Titus he wrote that Christ “gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify
for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good works.” (Titus 2:14) In Revelation the four
living creatures and twenty-four elders sing in worship of Christ, “Worthy are You to take the book and
break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and
tongue and people and nation.” (Rev. 5:9) In purchasing a people, God has in Christ delivered them from
slavery to sin, for as Christ said, “everyone who commits a sin is the slave of sin.” This is the state of
every person, for all sin. Only through the redemption that is in Christ alone can anyone be free from sin.
Freedom from sin, however, does not make us “free agents.” We have been freed from sin if we are
redeemed, but we now belong to Christ. We are His possession.
In Ephesians 1:13-14 Paul writes, “you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is
given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God's own possession, to the praise
of His glory.” (Eph. 1:13-14) That is, in Christ believers are sealed with the Holy Spirit as a pledge
guaranteeing that they with Christ will inherit the promises of God, and that with a view the redemption
of God’s own possession. While believers are in fact redeemed there is a “day of redemption.” Believers
are “sealed” by the Spirit as a pledge that when that day comes their redemption will be fully realized. Paul
states this another way in Romans 8.

For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. 8:15 For you have not
received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons
by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!” 8:16 The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are
children of God, 8:17 and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed
14 Stott. The Message of Romans. 113

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we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him…And not only this, but also we
ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting
eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body. 8:24 For in hope we have been saved,
but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees? 8:25 But if we hope for
what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it.

Romans 8:14-17, 23-25

The biblical picture of redemption is this: All of humanity is a slave of sin (which we will look at in depth
in the next chapter) because our federal head, Adam the first man, disobeyed the first commandment. We
all are held captive to depravity, a depravity that affects every part of us. Christ has paid the ransom with
His blood and thereby purchased many from slavery. Those who have been freed from slavery to sin no
longer belong to sin. These now belong to Christ - given to Him by God the Father - and He seals them
by the Spirit as a pledge. This seal is a seal of ownership; they are His possession. Yet their relationship to
Him is not that of slaves, though they live to serve Him. The Holy Spirit not only acts as a seal of
owneship, He is also called the “Spirit of sonship” or the “Spirit of adoption.” The redeemed are no
longer slaves, but are now children of God. God has purchased them with the blood of Christ and, rather
than leaving them to their lonesome, takes them in as His own beloved children.

Particular Redemption 
It was earlier asserted that the language of redemption in Scripture is everywhere particular. Now we come
to demonstrate that this is so. In this next section we want to explore not only the particularity of
redemption but also the definitness of the atonement, as the two concepts are inexorably linked.

Everyone Believing
In the debate over “limited atonement” those who oppose this point of Reformed theology will inevitably
quote one of the most familiar and misquoted verses in the Bible. “For God so loved the world that He
gave His only begotten Son, so that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John
3:16) This is something like how it is usually quoted, with emphasis on the “whosoever,” as if that
somehow disproves particularity. However this verse truly smacks of particularity. The underlying Greek

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phrase translated variously as “whosoever believeth” (KJV, GNV), “whoever believes” (NKJV, NIV,
NASB, RSV, ESV), and “everyone who believes” (CSB, NET, YLT, NRSV, NLT, NJB) is pas ho pisteuôn,
literally, “every one believing” or “every believing one.” There is particularity in that. The Son was not
given so that every single person would have eternal life - but so that only those - and all of those - who
believe in Him will have eternal life. Even if we grant that is possible for anyone to come spontaneously,
without being drawn by the Father, it is still only the ones believing in the Son who will inherit eternal life.
The Greek term pisteuôn (lit. believing) is the participle form (nominative case, present tense, active
voice, indicative mood, masculine) of the verb pisteuô (to believe). This form is used 24 times in the Greek
NT and 15 of those occurrances are in John’s Gospel. Jesus says in John 5:24, “Truly, truly, I say to you, he
who hears My word, and believes [pisteuôn] Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into
judgment, but has passed out of death into life.” In John 6:35 He says, “I am the bread of life; he who
comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes [pisteuôn] in Me will never thirst.” And further in 6:40,
“For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes [pisteuôn] in Him will
have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.” The significance of the use of this form is
that this form indicates a continuous action. Contrast this with what John says in 8:30-33. “As He spoke
these things, many came to believe [episteusan] in Him. So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed
[pepisteukotas] Him, ‘If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know
the truth, and the truth will make you free.’ They answered Him, ‘We are Abraham's descendants and have
never yet been enslaved to anyone; how is it that You say, “You will become free?”’” First note the
different forms of pisteuô indicated in brackets, episteusan and pepisteukotas. These forms are in the aorist and
perfect tenses, respectively. The aorist indicates a simple past action, while the perfect indicates a
completed past action. This particular group of Jews Jesus was address had come to believe, but when
Jesus started telling them “If you continue in My word…you will know the truth, and the truth will set you
free” these same Jews who “came to believe” made a complete 180 degree turn and demonstated that their
“faith” was not true saving faith. For these Jews faith went from “they believed” to “they had believed” so
that Jesus would say to them, “Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot hear
My word. You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a
murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever
he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies. But because I speak the
truth, you do not believe Me.” (John 8:43-45) These Jews went from believing His words to wanting to kill
Him because of His words in mere minutes. They were not children of God, but were children of the

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devil - the father of lies.

The phrase pas ho pisteuôn is itself used a few other places besides John 3. In John 12:46 Jesus says,
“I have come as a light into the world, so that everyone who believes [pas ho pisteuôn] in Me would not
remain in darkness.” (CSB) In Acts 13 Paul preached the gospel in a synogogue at Pisidian Antioch and
said, “Therefore, let it be known to you, brothers, that through this man forgiveness of sins is being
proclaimed to you, and everyone who believes [pas ho pisteuôn] in Him is justified from everything, which
you could not be justified from through the law of Moses.” (Acts 13:38-39 CSB) A variant of this phrase
occurs in Romans 1:16, where Paul says, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is God's power
for salvation to everyone who believes [panti tô pisteuonti - this is the same phrase in the dative case;
salvation (Gk. sôtêrian; accusative) is the direct object and “everyone who believes” is the indirect object],
first to the Jew, and also to the Greek.” (CSB) In Romans 10 Paul writes, “With the heart one believes,
resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth one confesses, resulting in salvation. Now the Scripture says,
No one who believes [pas ho pisteuôn - literally everyone believing on Him will not be put to shame] on Him will be
put to shame, for there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, since the same Lord of all is rich to all
who call on Him. For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Rom. 10:10-13 CSB)
John in his first letter writes, Everyone who believes [pas ho pisteuôn] that Jesus is the Messiah has been born
of God, and everyone who loves the parent also loves his child. This is how we know that we love God's
children when we love God and obey His commands.” (1 John 5:1-2 CSB)

Unless the Father Draws Them

The words of Jesus in passages like John 6:26ff and John 10:1-30 bear great biblical testimony to the
particularity (and the certainty) of the atonement.

John 6
In John 6:1-14 we read of the account where Jesus miraculously feeds a crowd of about five thousand with
only five loaves of bread and two fish. Jesus withdrew to a mountain, perceiving that the crowd was about
to “come and take him by force to make him king.” (v. 15 ESV) In John 6:16-21 we have the account of
Jesus walking on water to meet His disciples as they made their way to Capernaum across the Sea of
Galilee. After arriving in Capernaum, the crowd Jesus had fed the day soon followed. Jesus says to them,
“Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of

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the loaves. Do not labor for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the
Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal. (John 6:26-27 ESV) This leads
into a discourse which reaches a critical point when Jesus says,

I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall
never thirst. 6:36 But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. 6:37 All that the
Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. 6:38 For I have
come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. 6:39 And this
is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it
up on the last day. 6:40 For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and
believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.

John 6:35-40 ESV

The crowd was looking for “bread from heaven” which they expected Jesus to give them like God had
given the Israelites manna in the days of the Exodus. Jesus asserted that “it was not Moses who gave you
the bread from heaven, but my Father gives the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is him who
comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” (6:32-33 ESV) Jesus exhorted them to seek this
bread and not the bread that perishes. Jesus goes on to explain in the passage above that He is the true
bread from heaven - He is the bread of God. To “work for” that bread, to “eat” of that bread means to
come and believe in Him, so He says literally, “the one coming to Me will not hunger, and the one believing in Me will
not ever thirst.” But what does He say to them? “But I say to you that even as you have seen Me, yet you do not
believe.” Why does He say this? What Jesus asserts next is that “All that the Father gives me will come to
me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.” What Jesus is telling them is that anyone who
believes in Him will be filled and never be thirsty - they will have eternal life - nor will He ever cast them
out. This is because these are given to Jesus by the Father, who has given the Son charge to gather them
and to keep them and to raise them up at the last day. Jesus says to them, “you don’t believe in Me because
the Father has not given you to Me. If you were of the Father then you would believe and I would receive
you and you would have eternal life.”

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John 10
We’ve looked at what John 10 says regarding the personal nature of God’s election, how Jesus knows His
sheep - His people - by name and knows them intimately as He knows the Father. John 6 is a vivid
demonstration of this truth - Jesus knew that those in the crowd (or many of them) we not His, and their
unbelief was evidence of that. In His discourse on the good shepherd and His sheep, Jesus also gives clear
testimony to the particularity of His atoning work.

I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, 10:15 just as the Father knows
me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. 10:16 And I have other sheep
that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be
one flock, one shepherd. 10:17 For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life
that I may take it up again. 10:18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I
have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have
received from my Father.

John 10:14-18 ESV

Jesus as the good shepherd knows who His sheep are and of them He says, “I place my life in behalf of the
sheep.” He lays down His life and takes it up again on behalf of the sheep. Recall the discussion in the last
chapter about the union of the elect with Christ. They were crucified with Christ and made alive together with
Christ, risen together with Christ, and seated together with Christ. To see the fuller picture let’s bring in another
section.

So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If
you are the Christ, tell us plainly.” 10:25 Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe.
The works that I do in my Father's name bear witness about me, 10:26 but you do not believe
because you are not part of my flock. 10:27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they
follow me. 10:28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them
out of my hand. 10:29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is

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able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. 10:30 I and the Father are one.”

John 10:24-30 ESV

Recall that Jesus had said, “I am the door. If anyone enters by me [that is, if anyone believes in Me], he will be
saved and will go in and out and find pasture.” (John 10:9 ESV) Jesus was telling these Jews that He was
the Christ. “If you are the Christ, just tells us already!” they were saying. Christ replied (in paraphrase), “I
am telling you! The reason you don’t hear what I’m saying is that you are not of my flock. You are not my
sheep! If you were you would hear what I am saying and you would believe. My sheep know who I am
and hear My voice; I am going to die for their sins and they will follow Me. The Father has chosen them
and has given them to Me. He has changed Me with the task of laying down my life for them and giving
them eternal life. He has given them to Me and I will not fail in gathering them and no one can take them
from Me.”
Everyone believing in Christ will be saved. This is something upon which both particularists and
generalists agree. Only univeralist would say “everyone will be saved.” The question that creates
contention between those who accept particular redemption verses a universal atonement is whether
Christ’s death only atones for those who believe. The question is, did Jesus come to lay His life down on
behalf of those who are not His sheep? Did Christ lay His life down to give eternal life to those Jews who
did not believe. The Arminian would say He did. The Calvinist says, no, He laid His life down on behalf
of His flock, for all the ones the Father has given Him. The real contention between the two is not the
particularity of the effect of the atonement, but over the particularity of the intent of the atonement as
well as the real efficacy of the atonement in securing the salvation of those for whom Christ died. Does
the atonement actually save those for whom it was made or does it merely make them savable? That is the
question we consider next.

Substitutionary Atonement
For whom did Christ die? That is the question. What did Christ’s death accomplish? That is the other
question. Evangelicals - both of Calvinist and non-Calvinist persuasions - have historically affirmed the
substitutionary nature of Christ’s atonement. John Stott frames the issue of substition this way:

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How then could God express his holiness in judgment and his love in pardon? Only by
providing a divine substitue for the sinner so that the substitute would receive the judgment and
the sinner the pardon. We sinners still of course have to suffer some of the personal,
psychological and social consequences of our sins, but the penal consequence, the deserved
penalty of alienation from God, has been borne by Another in our place, so that we may be
spared of it.15

Christ is the One who has borne the “penal consequence” and “deserved penalty” in the place of
undeserving sinners so that by grace they may receive pardon as Christ has received their just punishment.
Christ plainly took the punishment for sin, which as we observed earlier is a concept foreign to the historic
Arminian view of atonement where Christ only died for humanity as a demonstration of the costliness of
forgiveness. It is the Calvinist view of definite, substitutionary atonement that says Christ died in the place
of sinners in order to secure forgivenss of their sins.

He Bore Our Iniquities

Isaiah 53 is one of the clearest prophecies of Christ in the Old Testament. Christ is the “suffering
Servant” depicted in this oracle. This portion of Isaiah also speaks to the issue at hand. Listen carefully to
the words of God spoken by the prophet:

Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten
by God, and afflicted. 53:5 But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our
iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are
healed. 53:6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned--every one--to his own way; and
the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. 53:7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet
he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its
shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. 53:8 By oppression and judgment he was taken
away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the
living, stricken for the transgression of my people…53:10 Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush
him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring;

15 John R.W. Stott, The Cross of Christ. 20th Anniversary Edition. (Downers Grove: IVP), 1986, 2006. 134

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he shall prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. 53:11 Out of the anguish
of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant,
make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities.

Isaiah 53:4-8, 10-11 ESV

Christ, “the righteous one, my servant,” “shall bear their iniquities.” He was “wounded for our
transgressions” and “crushed for our iniquities.” He chastised to bring us peace. By His suffering our
spiritual infirmity is healed. The sheep have scattered, each on turning aside and going his own way; yet
He took on the just punishment for their iniquity. Thus He was oppressed and afflicted, and this willingly
so as to be as the Passover lamb to be slaughtered as a sin offering. Listen carefully to these words, “when
his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring…by his knowledge shall the righteous one,
my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities.”
These words speak plainly about the substitutionary suffering and death of Christ as well as the
definite nature of the atonement. The straying of the sheep and the turn of everyone to his own way is
the iniquity - the immorality of His people. Yet while they are astray and afar off, while they are helpless to
return, Christ bears the just punishment of their wickedness and so suffers the due penalty in their place.
He bears the iniquity upon Himself. Christ does indeed suffer and die for the sins of His sheep. This is
what Christ means when in John 10 He says that He lays down His life on behalf of the sheep - His sheep.
These are His “offspring,” the children God has given to Christ, and so “he shall see his offspring.” His
work on their behalf will not fail to save them; for He has taken the penalty of their transgressions in their
place, so they are at peace with God when they believe. Propitiation has been made in His chastisement
and this will not fail to be applied to His own.

Christ the Great High Priest

Christ’s role as high priest of the new covenant is vitally important for us to understand for a number of
reasons. Here we consider what the writer of Hebrews says of the work Christ has done as high priest.

But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the
greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) 9:12 he entered

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once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of
his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. 9:13 For if the blood of goats and bulls, and
the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the
flesh, 9:14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered
himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living
God. 9:15 Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may
receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the
transgressions committed under the first covenant.

Hebrews 9:11-15 ESV

Christ’s priestly work was not done in Herod’s temple in Jerusalem, but was done in “the greater and more
perfect tent,” that is, in heaven. Christ “entered once for all [i.e. for all time] into the holy places.” He did
not offer the blood of “goats and calves” but rather offered His own blood, “thus securing an eternal
redemption.” The writer brings out the force of this statement by contrasting the efficacy of the blood of
“goats and bulls” with that of the blood of Christ, “who through the eternal Spirit offered himself with
blemish to God.” If the of the blood of animals and the sprinkling of the ashes of a heifer upon “defiled
persons” sanctified them, how much more will the blood of Christ purify the consciences of those for
whom it was offered? F.F. Bruce comments, “The blood of slaughtered animals under the old order did
possess a certain efficacy, but it was an outward efficacy for the removal of ceremonial pollution…But it is
no mere ceremonial cleansing that is effected by the sacrifice of Christ…Those earlier rituals might effect
external purification, but the blood of Christ - his offering up of himself to God - cleanses the
conscience.”16 Bruce further observes, “Those earlier sacrifices were but token sacrifices; the sacrifice of
Christ was a real self-sacrifice, accomplished on the moral and spiritual plane…Behind our author’s
thinking lies the portrayal of the Isaianic Servant of the Lord, who yields up his life to God as a guilt
offering for many, bearing their sin and procuring their justification.” 17 In his prologue the writer had
already said, “Himself having made purification for sins He sat at the right hand of the Majesty on high.” (Heb. 1:3c)
He will further say,

16 F.F. Bruce, The Epistle to the Hebrews. (NICNT) 216

17 Ibid. 217

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And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can
never take away sins. 10:12 But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he
sat down at the right hand of God, 10:13 waiting from that time until his enemies should be made
a footstool for his feet. 10:14 For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are
being sanctified. 10:15 And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying, 10:16 “This is
the covenant that I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws
on their hearts, and write them on their minds,” 10:17 then he adds, “I will remember their sins
and their lawless deeds no more.” 10:18 Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer
any offering for sin.

Hebrews 10:11-18 ESV

Here the writer contrasts the work of the former priesthood, which stood “daily at his service, offering
repeatedly the same sacrifices which can never take away sins.” Christ, however, offered Himself once “for
all time” and sat down at God’s right hand. That single offering of Himself, “has perfected for all time
those who are being sanctified.” Those “who are called” and “those who are being sanctified” are one and
the same group. These are the ones for who purification was made, for whom “eternal redemption” was
secured by Christ’s self-sacrifice. They are “the many” who are “accounted righteous” by virtue of the
“Isaianic Servant of the Lord” and His bearing of their transgressions and iniquities. Bruce comments on
Heb. 9:27-28, “Men and woman die once, by divine appointment, and in their case death is followed by
judgement. Christ died once, by divine appointment, and his death is followed by salvation for all his
people. This is so because in his death he bore the ‘sins of many,’ offering up his life to God as an
atonement on their behalf.”18
The efficacy of Christ’s atonement is not only in that He made such a sacrifice on behalf of His
people, but that He continually intercedes for them. “The former priests were many in number, because
they were prevented by death from continuing in office, but he holds his priesthood permanently, because
he continues forever. Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God
through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.” (Heb. 7:23-25 ESV) There is in the
intercession of Christ the great high priest a certainty. Bruce comments, “our Lord’s life in heaven is the
life of one who has been brought back from the death which he endured when he gave himself as a
18 Ibid. 231-232

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sacrifice for his people’s sins…The appearance in God’s presence of the Crucified One constitutes his
perpetual and prevalent intercession. His one-completed self-offering is utterly acceptable and efficacious;
his contact with the Father is immediate and unbroken; his priestly ministry on his people’s behalf is never
ending, and therefore the salvation which he secures to them is absolute.” 19 This is so that Paul can write
to the Romans, “Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to
condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died - more than that, who was raised--who is at the right hand of
God, who indeed is interceding for us.” (Rom. 8:33-34 ESV) Paul asks a rhetorical question - who can
bring a charge against the elect? No one can, for “It is God who justifies” the elect. No one can condemn
them. Why? Because in their place Christ died and was risen and seated at God’s right hand - and the elect
together with Him. Christ, who is the representative of His people intercedes for them.
We would be remiss if in considering the intercessory work of Christ we did not look at John 17,
of which Bruce observes “is well called (after David Chytraeus) his high priestly prayer, and…a careful
study of John 17 will help us considerably to understand what is intended here when our Lord is described
as making intercession for those who come to God through him.”20 The “high priestly prayer” of Jesus
begins thus,

Jesus spoke these things; and lifting up His eyes to heaven, He said, “Father, the hour has come;
glorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify You, 17:2 even as You gave Him authority over all flesh,
that to all whom You have given Him, He may give eternal life. 17:3 This is eternal life, that they
may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. 17:4 I glorified You on
the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do. 17:5 Now, Father, glorify
Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.
John 17:1-5

The Father give the Son “authority over all flesh” in order that He may give eternal life “to all whom” the
Father gives Him. This is language Jesus has used elsewhere in John’s Gospel, where in John 6 He stated
that all that Father give to Him will come to Him, that He would not lose any of them, and that He would
raise them on the last day. And, in John 10, Jesus is charged by the Father to gather His sheep, to call
them, to give His life for them, and that He should not lose any of them. That is, there are those whom

19 Ibid. 175
20 Ibid. 174

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that Father has given to the Son out of the world and to these the Son has been given authority to give
eternal life. These are the elect, the ones whom the Father draws to the Son, the sheep the good shepherd
call by name and for whom He lays down His life. It is for these that the Son, as the great high priest, lives
to intercede before the Father.

I have manifested Your name to the men whom You gave Me out of the world; they were Yours
and You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word. 17:7 Now they have come to know that
everything You have given Me is from You; 17:8 the words which You gave Me I have given to them;
and they received them and truly understood that I came forth from You, and they believed that
You sent Me. 17:9 I ask on their behalf; I do not ask on behalf of the world, but of those whom
You have given Me; for they are Yours; 17:10 and all things that are Mine are Yours, and Yours are
Mine; and I have been glorified in them.
John 17:6-10

The men whom the Father had given the Son - here specifically referring to the disciples of Jesus - were
the Father’s and they kept His word, the words which the Father gave the Son, which the Son in turn gave
to them, which they received. They understood that Jesus came from the Father and believed that the
Father sent Him. Their reception and belief of Jesus and His message demonstrated that they were the
Father’s, that they were chosen. Belief in Jesus and His message is not what makes one of God, rather it is
a sign that one is of God that one believes (as we will consider in a later chapter, faith is itself a gift from
God). It is on behalf of these - the ones whom the Father gives to the Son “out of the world” - that the
Son now intercedes in this prayer. Later Jesus will pray, “I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for
those also who believe in Me through their word; that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me
and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.” (John 17:20-21)
Jesus is not interceding only for the disciples, but also on behalf of all that will believe in Him. The people
of God are certainly not limited to those original disciples of Christ, nor to their fellow Jews, rather God’s
people are “scattered abroad” among all peoples of the world.
Jesus is not interceding for the whole world in a universal sense. He is interceding for all those
whom the Father gives Him from out of all the world - not merely the disciples and not merely out of
nation Israel. When Jesus says “I do not ask on behalf of the world” and later prays “that the world may
believe that You sent Me” He is certainly not contradicting Himself or speaking with a forked tongue!

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When He prays “that the world may believe,” He is still praying on behalf of those whom the Father gives
Him out of the world. He is still interceding for His people.
Jesus is able to “save to the uttermost” those who draw near to God through Him. Why? Because
He “always lives to make intercession for them.” (Heb. 7:25 ESV) Who does Jesus intercede for? Those
who draw near to God through Him. Who draws near to God? Jesus Himself answered this question in
John 6, where He states, “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will
raise him up on the last day.” (John 6:44) If one must draw near to God through Christ (cf. John 14:6) then
it follows that the one who draws near to the Father through Christ is the one whom the Father Himself
draws to Christ. That is to say, those who draw near through Christ - those for whom He intercedes and
whom He saves completely - were themselves drawn to Christ by the Father. These are the ones whom the
Father has given to the Son and for whom He prayed in His high-priestly prayer in John 17.

Christ the Perfect Savior

For whom did Christ die? Hear Spurgeon’s plea to the sinner, “And, oh, dear friends, you that are not
saved, take care that you receive this message. Believe it. Go to God with this on your tongue - ‘Lord save
me, for Christ died for the ungodly, and I am of them.’ Fling yourself right on to this as a man commits
himself to his lifebelt amid the surging billows.” 21 And in another sermon, itself on the topic of particular
redemption, Spurgeon says,

Leaving controversy, however, I will now answer a question. Tell me, then, sir, whom did Christ die
for? Will you answer me a question or two, and I will tell you whether He died for you. Do you
want a Saviour? Do you feel that you need a Saviour? Are you this morning conscious of sin? Has
the Holy Spirit taught you that you are lost? Then Christ died for you and you will be saved. Are
you this morning conscious that you have no hope in the world but Christ? Do you feel that you of
yourself cannot offer an atonement that can satisfy God's justice? Have you given up all confidence
in yourselves? And can you say upon your bended knees, “Lord, save, or I perish“? Christ died for
you. If you are saying this morning, “I am as good as I ought to be; I can get to Heaven by my own
good works,” then, remember, the Scripture says of Jesus, “I came not to call the righteous, but
sinners to repentance.” So long as you are in that state I have no atonement to preach to you. But
21 Charles H. Spurgeon, “For Whom Did Christ Die?” Sermon 1191. Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit. Sept. 6, 1874 URL:
http://www.spurgeon.org/sermons/1191.htm

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if this morning you feel guilty, wretched, conscious of your guilt, and are ready to take Christ to be
your only Saviour, I can not only say to you that you may be saved, but what is better still, that you
will be saved.22

Is this a denial of particular redemption? Certainly not. Spurgeon understood what Jesus said in John 6
and John 10, that all those whom the Father gives and draws to Christ will come to Him and that Christ’s
sheep - the ungodly for whom He laid down His life, atoning for their sins - know and hear His voice
when He calls. Spurgeon also understood that Christ calls His own through the foolishness of the
preaching of the gospel. Spurgeon also understood that God commands all men everywhere to repent
(Acts 17:30).
Like Spurgeon we put the controversy aside and conclude this: That if anyone is redeemed, if
anyone receives forgiveness of sin, if anyone draws near to God and has peace with God who was once
the enemy of God it is through Christ alone. Christ alone as made atonement for sin, Christ alone has
satisfied the holy wrath of God, Christ alone lives always to make intercession for those who draw near
through Him. Christ is the only Mediator - the Mediator of the new covenant. There is no other way for
anyone to be saved who will be saved. Yet they will be saved, because not only is Christ the only Savior,
but He is a perfect Savior, able to save to the uttermost. We are powerless; we are helpless, we are slaves,
we are dead; we are sinners. Yet He is mighty to save, He helps us in our weakness, He sets us free, and He
raises us to life; in Him we are counted righteous. In Him these things are certain because it is God who
justifies and it is Christ who died in the place of His people.

22 Spurgeon, “Particular Redemption.” Sermon 181. New Park Street Pulpit. Feb. 28, 1857. (Music Hall, Royal Surrey
Gardens) URL: http://www.spurgeon.org/sermons/0181.htm

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