Jesus: Saviour for All

The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

(John 1:29)

We established in the previous section that it is God’s perfect will for all people to be saved. We also established, through the simple reading of His Word, that God has made His will of salvation known to all. It would therefore make God appear unjust—and perhaps even cruel—if He declared that it is His desire for all to be saved but made no provision for that to happen. Fortunately for mankind, God is neither unjust nor cruel. In fact, He is the complete opposite, for God is love.

In this section, we aim to establish from God’s Word that not only is it the perfect will of God the Father that everyone be saved, but that He has, in fact, made provision for exactly that. In other words, God has provided a way for every person to be saved. To confirm this truth, I have once again quoted four witnesses who all affirm the same message: God has provided for the salvation of all people. The four witnesses are John the Baptist, the Lord Jesus Christ, the apostle Paul, and the apostle John.

The first witness quoted above is John the Baptist. In this passage, John, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, tells us that Jesus, as the Lamb of God, takes away the sin of the world. In other words, when Jesus died on the cross for our sins (1 Corinthians 15:3), He died for the sins of the entire world—meaning no one was excluded. Clearly, from this passage, we see that through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, God has made provision for the removal of everyone’s sins, so that all may be saved.

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

(John 3:16-17)

The second witness quoted above is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. In the above passage of Scripture, our Lord Jesus makes it very clear why God sent Him into the world: so that the whole world could be saved through Him. Jesus tells us that God loved the entire world and that whoever chooses to believe in Him will be saved. Once again, this means that no one is excluded.

In this passage, Jesus clearly identifies who will be saved—namely, those who believe in Him. However, that is not the main point under discussion in this section. Rather, the focus here is on the fact that God’s clear intention in sending His Son into the world was so that everyone could have the opportunity to be saved. Therefore, it is evident that through faith in Jesus, God has made provision for the salvation of all.

For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time,

(1 Timothy 2:3-6)

The third witness quoted above is the apostle Paul. We have already examined this passage of Scripture to demonstrate that it is God’s perfect will for all people to be saved. However, the latter part of the passage also reveals that God not only desires all to be saved but has also made provision for it. The Scripture says that Jesus gave Himself as a ransom for all. In other words, Jesus paid the price for all of humanity—not just a select few. Once again, this means that no one is excluded. Therefore, it is clear that through the ransom Jesus paid, God has made provision for everyone to be saved.

And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Saviour of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.

(1 John 4:14-15)

The final witness quoted above is the apostle John. In this passage, the Holy Spirit, through the apostle John, clearly confirms to us whom Jesus came to save, for he tells us that Jesus came as the Saviour of the whole world. Once again, this means that no one is excluded. Therefore, through the Son as the Saviour of the world, God has clearly made provision for everyone to be saved.

Without a doubt, all four witnesses quoted in this section agree on the same point: that God has made it possible for every person to be saved. Sadly, however, many believers stumble at this point, because in their natural thinking, they cannot comprehend how God could allow His Son to suffer for the sins of those He knew would reject His salvation. For example, consider those who were already in hell by the time Jesus went to the cross. The question is often asked: why would God do such a thing?

The answer is twofold. First, God is good. As a perfect God, He causes His sun to rise on both the evil and the good (Matthew 5:45–48). In the same way, His Son died for the sins of both the righteous and the wicked. Second, God is honest. Throughout human history, God has left Himself a witness so that all nations might seek Him (Acts 17:26–28). Furthermore, for God to command His Church to proclaim the gospel of salvation to all nations (Matthew 24:14), while knowing that there was no salvation available to those nations because His Son had only died for a select few, would make Him dishonest. But God is not dishonest—for it is impossible for God to lie (Hebrews 6:18).

And so, God, who is love, sent His Son to die even for those He knew would never accept Him. The natural mind cannot comprehend that level of sacrificial love, but the spiritual mind understands it completely. As I stated in the previous section, there are some in the Church who try to twist the Scriptures quoted here, claiming they mean something other than what is plainly written. But once again, to make that argument, they must depart from the simplicity of God’s Word.

Michael E.B. Maher

Predestined to His Purpose

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