“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 53:11
What was God’s intention from all eternity in the atonement? What did
He intend for Christ to accomplish by His death on the cross?
Orthodox Christians are not universalists (universalism is the
ancient heresy that teaches that all people will eventually be
redeemed). Instead, we are particularists, believing that only some (and
not all) will be saved. The Bible makes it clear that some people will
in fact be lost, ultimately lost, in a place of weeping, darkness and
gnashing of teeth. Some people will in fact spend eternity in hell.
Knowing this, all of us as Christians limit the atonement in some
sense because we agree that not everyone will be saved by the work of
Christ. Amongst particularists then there are two main views; the first
being what is called “universal redemption” (the view that Christ died
to try to save everybody in human history, past, present and future,
though His work by itself did not actually accomplish this unless man
does something to cooperate).
JESUS THE PERFECT AND POWERFUL SAVIOR
The second and I believe biblical view is called “particular
redemption” (Christ actually propitiated the Father’s wrath for a
specific group of people – securing redemption for them and providing
even the faith that will call upon Him to save them – Jesus being the
author and perfector of our faith. The Good Shepherd laid down His life
for the sheep, Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her (Eph
5:25). Continue at John Samsom
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