Atonement | John Owen

Deep Dive into Atonement by John Owen This text presents John Owen's theological refutation of universal redemption, specifically responding to Thomas More's defense of that doctrine. Owen argues for limited atonement, the belief that Christ died intentionally and effectively only for the elect, rather than for every individual. His critique focuses on More's logical fallacies, particularly the error of turning indefinite biblical expressions into universal claims. Owen first addresses the use of terms like "every man" or "all" in passages such as Hebrews 2:9 and 1 Timothy 2:6. He explains that scripture must be interpreted by its plain sense, not just literal phrasing, which is often figurative or restricted. In biblical usage, "all" frequently refers to some of all sorts or all of a specific class, such as all believers or the elect, rather than every single person in the world. Next, Owen refutes the idea that Christ's universal lordship and role as judge over all mankind implies he died as a ransom for all. While Christ has dominion over everyone, including the reprobate and even devils, his saving death was intended strictly for his sheep and church. The purpose of his death was to secure the actual salvation of his people, not to provide an ineffectual, hypothetical redemption for those who perish. Furthermore, Owen rejects the notion of universal sufficient grace. He states that the universal preaching of the gospel does not require a universal atonement. Instead, the gospel invitation is grounded in the infinite sufficiency of Christ's sacrifice, which is of unlimited value but applied only to those who believe. Finally, he argues that comparisons in scripture between Adam and Christ do not mean they represent the exact same number of people, but rather show that both are covenant heads communicating their respective inheritances to their specific seed. Reformed Theologian GPT: https://chat.openai.com/g/g-XXwzX1gnv-reformed-theologian Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@ReformedExplainer Worship Music: https://suno.com/playlist/3a498d0f-c90e-4981-8aa7-59834e7239f7 https://buymeacoffee.com/edi2730