Jonathan Edwards on Ezekiel 18:23, 32 and 33:11 (With Reference to 1 Timothy 2:3–4 and 2 Peter 3:9)

[Prop.] I. God oftentimes uses many means with wicked men to bring ’em to forsake their sins. This is what God declares in his Word, that he hath no pleasure in death of a sinner, but that he should forsake his sins, and live. Ezek. 18:23, “Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith the Lord God: and not that he should return from his ways, and live?” And again in the thirty-second verse, “For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord God: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye.” And ch. 33, [v.] 11, there God swears the same thing: “Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, Ye house of Israel?” Surely it would be horrid presumption in us to call this in question, after God has sworn by his life to the truth of it. The same we are told in the New Testament by the Apostle. 1 Tim. 2:3–4, “For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior; who will have all men to be saved, and come to the knowledge of the truth.” 2 Pet. 3:9, “The Lord is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” And therefore God appears in his providence slow to wrath, and is wont to use many means with sinners to bring them to forsake their sins, before he gives them up. Thus God’s Spirit strove long with the old world, before he destroyed them. Gen. 6:3, “My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.” For God sent Lot, a preacher of righteousness,⁴ to turn the inhabitants of Sodom from their sins, before he destroyed them. So he did not destroy hardhearted Pharaoh, till he had used many means to make him willing to comply with God’s commands.

So God did not destroy Jerusalem and Judah by Nebuchadnezzar, till he long used means with them to turn them from their sins, sending one Prophet after another, rising early, and sending and using corrections and providential warnings, and all manner of means.

So Christ did not give up the Jews in his time to judicial blindness, till he had used great means with them; often taught them, and warned them, and wrought many and great miracles before them.

And still God is wont to be using many and great means with many wicked men to bring them to forsake their sins, and continues using means with them for a long time. He commands them to forsake their sins, and uses the authority of a lord and sovereign. He makes glorious promises to them to win and draw them, promises them eternal honor, and riches, and pleasures. He denounces awful threatenings to their continuing in sin, threatenings of misery infinitely dreadful.

He counsels and exhorts with the kindness of a friend, tells them of the advantages of a way of obedience, and is much in warning them, and tells them of the danger of going on in sin. Sometimes he corrects them for their sins, that they may be made sick of them. He lays them under sore afflictions, that they may see the ill consequences of sin, and to bring them to be more solemn and thoughtful. Sometimes he heaps mercies and good things upon them to draw them.

And sometimes he takes away their neighbors by death. Sometimes he takes away persons in the midst of their youth to warn [them]. Sometimes he sets before them instances of sudden death. Sometimes God sets before them the dreadful effects of other men’s sins: he causes them to see instances of the death of wicked men: he lays men on a deathbed in a Christless condition, and in dreadful fear and terror in apprehension of approaching death, to warn them to get ready for death. And sometimes he sets before them instances of the death of those that die in the Lord, that die comfortably and joyfully, and are willing to leave the world to whom death is no terror, [and] depart in a sweet peace and composure, to draw them to seek to get into a like happy state, that their last end may be like theirs.

Besides the warning they have from the written and preached word and providence, they have many counsels and friendly reproofs from their godly friends and neighbors. And sometimes God gives them the warnings of dying persons that have their dying circumstances to enforce and give solemnity to their warnings. And sometimes God converts others of their neighbors and companions to give an example to stir them up. And sometimes he pours out his Spirit on many round about them, that they may be moved by it to seek salvation for themselves.

And besides this, he from time to time moves in their consciences. They have a great deal of opposition from their consciences in going on in sin: their consciences don’t let them alone, but are often reproving them and chastising them: they have many inward goads and stinging reflections.
———————————————
4 The phrase, found only in 2 Pet. 2:5, applies to Noah, not Lot, though the latter is called “that righteous man” (v. 8).

Jonathan Edwards, “The Dreadful Silence of the Lord (Jeremiah 44:26),” in Sermons and Discourses, 1734–1738, ed. M. X. Lesser and Harry S. Stout, vol. 19 of The Works of Jonathan Edwards (New Haven; London: Yale University Press, 2001), 111–13. See also here (click).

Original post here (click).

Louis Berkhof (1873–1957) on the Will of God for Salvation of All Men

b. It is a bona fide calling. The external calling is a calling in good faith, a calling that is seriously meant. It is not an invitation coupled with the hope that it will not be accepted. When God calls the sinner to accept Christ by faith, He earnestly desires this; and when He promises those who repent and believe eternal life, His promise is dependable. This follows from the very nature, from the veracity, of God. It is blasphemous to think that God would be guilty of equivocation and deception, that He would say one thing and mean another, that He would earnestly plead with the sinner to repent and believe unto salvation, and at the same time not desire it in any sense of the word. The bona fide character of the external call is proved by the following passages of Scripture: Num. 23:19; Ps. 81:13–16; Prov. 1:24; Isa. 1:18–20; Ezek. 18:23, 32; 33:11; Matt. 21:37; 2 Tim. 2:13. The Canons of Dort also assert it explicitly in III and IV, 8.

Louis Berkhof, Systematic Theology (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1938), 462.

Original post here (click).

John Calvin (1509–1564) on 2 Peter 3:9

Commentary

1a. Baker edition:

But the Lord is not slack, or, delays not. He checks extreme and unreasonable haste by another reason, that is, that the Lord defers his coming, that he might invite all mankind to repentance. For our minds are always prurient, and a doubt often creeps in, why he does not come sooner. But when we hear that the Lord, in delaying, shews a concern for our salvation, and that he defers the time because he has a care for us, there is no reason why we should any longer complain of tardiness. He is tardy who allows an occasion to pass by through slothfulness: there is nothing like this in God, who in the best manner regulates time to promote our salvation. And as to the duration of the whole world, we must think exactly the same as of the life of every individual; for God by prolonging time to each, sustains him that he may repent. In the like manner he does not hasten the end of the world, in order to give to all time to repent.

This is a very necessary admonition, so that we may learn to employ time aright, as we shall otherwise suffer a just punishment for our idleness.

Not willing that any should perish. So wonderful is his love towards mankind, that he would have them all to be saved, and is of his own self prepared to bestow salvation on the lost. But the order is to be noticed, that God is ready to receive all to repentance, so that none may perish; for in these words the way and manner of obtaining salvation is pointed out. Every one of us, therefore, who is desirous of salvation, must learn to enter in by this way.

But it may be asked, If God wishes none to perish, why is it that so many do perish? To this my answer is, that no mention is here made of the hidden purpose of God, according to which the reprobate are doomed to their own ruin, but only of his will as made known to us in the gospel. For God there stretches forth his hand without a difference to all, but lays hold only of those, to lead them to himself, whom he has chosen before the foundation of the world.

But as the verb χωρῆσαι is often taken passively by the Greeks, no less suitable to this passage is the verb which I have put in the margin, that God would have all, who had been before wandering and scattered, to be gathered or come together to repentance.

John Calvin, “Commentaries on the Catholic Epistles,” in Calvin’s Commentaries, ed. J. Owen, 22 vols. (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1984), 22:419–420; 2 Peter 3:9.

1b. Torrance edition:

The Lord is not slack. He checks haste that is overmuch and unreasonable by this other line of argument, that God puts off His advent so as to call the whole human race to repentance. Our minds are always itching, and there often creeps in the doubt why He does not come more quickly. But when we hear that, when He delays, God is having regard for our salvation, and delays because He is concerned for us, there is no ground for further questioning His tardiness. He is said to be slack who allows opportunity to slip by his laziness, but there is nothing like this in God, who knows best how to accommodate the pattern of time to our salvation. We must think in the same way about the duration of the whole world as of any single human life. God sustains men by prolonging each man’s time for him to repent. Likewise He refrains from bringing forward the end of the world, so as to give everyone time for repentance. This is a very useful admonition, so that we may learn to use time properly, otherwise we shall justly pay the penalty of our laziness.

Not wishing that any should perish. This is His wondrous love towards the human race, that He desires all men to be saved, and is prepared to bring even the perishing to safety. We must notice the order, that God is prepared to receive all men into repentance, so that none may perish. These words indicate the means of obtaining salvation, and whoever of us seeks salvation must learn to follow in this way.

It could be asked here, if God does not want any to perish, why do so many in fact perish? My reply is that no mention is made here of the secret decree of God by which the wicked are doomed to their own ruin, but only of His loving-kindness as it is made known to us in the Gospel. There God stretches out His hand to all alike, but He only grasps those (in such a way as to lead to Himself) whom He has chosen before the foundation of the world.

Since the verb χωρῆσαι is often taken as middle in Greek, what I have put in parenthesis in this passage will be equally apt, in that God desires all who had formerly been wandering and scattered to come together in repentance.

John Calvin, “The Epistle of Paul to the Hebrews and First and Second Epistles of St. Peter,” in Calvin’s New Testament Commentaries, trans. W. B. Johnston, ed. D. W. Torrance and T. F. Torrance, 12 vols. (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1994), 12:364; 2 Peter 3:9.

Institutes

2a. Battles edition:

They seem to raise a stronger objection on the basis of a passage in Peter: “God does not will that any should perish but that he should receive all to repentance” [2 Peter 3:9 p.]. But the solution of the difficulty occurs immediately in the second phrase, because the will to receive to repentance can only be understood in the sense generally taught. Conversion is obviously in God’s hand: when he promises that he will give a certain few a heart of flesh but leave the rest with a heart of stone [Ezek. 36:26], let him be asked whether he wills to convert all. It is indeed true that unless he were ready to receive those who call upon his mercy, this statement would be out of place: “Be converted to me … and I shall be converted to you” [Zech. 1:3]. But I assert that no mortal man approaches God unless God anticipates him. And, if repentance had been man’s to choose, Paul would not have said: “In case God may grant them repentance” [2 Tim. 2:25]. Indeed, unless the same God who urges all to repentance with his own voice also drew the elect to himself by the secret moving of his spirit, Jeremiah would not have said: “Convert me, O Lord, and I will be converted.… For when thou didst convert me, I repented” [Jer. 31:18–19, cf. Vg.].

John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, ed. John T. McNeill, trans. Ford Lewis Battles, 2 vols. The Library of Christian Classics XXI (Philadelphia, 1960; repr., Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2011), 1:984–985; 3.24.16.

2b. Beveridge edition:

A stronger objection seems to be founded on the passage in Peter; the Lord is “not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance,” (2 Pet. 3:9). But the solution of the difficulty is to be found in the second branch of the sentence, for his will that they should come to repentance cannot be used in any other sense than that which is uniformly employed. Conversion is undoubtedly in the hand of God, whether he designs to convert all can be learned from himself, when he promises that he will give some a heart of flesh, and leave to others a heart of stone (Ezek. 36:26). It is true, that if he were not disposed to receive those who implore his mercy, it could not have been said, “Turn ye unto me, saith the Lord of Hosts, and I will turn unto you, saith the Lord of Hosts,” (Zech. 1:3); but I hold that no man approaches God unless previously influenced from above. And if repentance were placed at the will of man, Paul would not say, “If God per adventure will give them repentance,” (2 Tim. 2:25). Nay, did not God at the very time when he is verbally exhorting all to repentance, influence the elect by the secret movement of his Spirit, Jeremiah would not say, “Turn thou me, and I shall be turned; for thou art the Lord my God. Surely after that I was turned, I repented,” (Jer. 31:18).

John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, trans. Henry Beveridge, 2 vols. (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1979), 2:255–56; 3.24.16.

2c. Latin edition:

Videntur fortius urgere obiecto Petri loco, Deum neminem velle perire, sed omnes recipere ad poenitentiam (2 Pet. 3:9.). Verum nodi solutio iam mox in secundo verbo occurrit: quia voluntas recipiendi ad poenitentiam non alia intelligi potest nisi quae passim traditur. Sane conversio in Dei manu est: an velit omnes convertere, interrogetur ipse: dum paucis quibusdam se daturum promittit cor carneum, aliis cor lapideum relinquendo (Ezech. 36:26.). Verum quidem est, nisi recipere paratus esset qui eius misericordiam implorant, concidere illam sententiam (Zach. 1:3.): “Convertimini ad me, et convertar ad vos:” sed dico neminem mortalium ad Deum accedere, nisi qui divinitus praevenitur. Ac, si in hominis arbitrio esset poenitentia, non diceret Paulus (2 Tim. 2:25.): “Si forte det illis poenitentiam.” Imo nisi idem Deus, qui ad poenitentiam omnes voce hortatur, arcano Spiritus motu electos adduceret, non diceret Ieremias (31:18.): “Converte me, Domine, et convertar: ubi enim convertisti me, egi poenitentiam.”

John Calvin, Institutio Christianae Religionis, 2 vols. (Berolini: Gustavum Eichler, 1834–35), 2:170.

2d. French edition:

Il sembleroit bien de prime face, que le passage de sainct Pierre nous fust contraire: c’est que Dieu ne veut point que personne perisse, mais qu’il reçoit tous à penitence (2 Pierre 3:9): sinon qu’en ce dernier mot le nœud est solu, veu qu’on ne peut dire que Dieu veuille recevoir à repentance, sinon à la façon qui est monstrée par toute l’Escriture. Certes la conversion des hommes est en sa main. Qn’on l’interrogue s’il les veut tous convertir, veu qu’il promet seulement à un petit nombre de leur donner un cœur de chair, laissant les autres avec leur cœur de pierre (Ezech. 36:26). Vray est que s’ils n’estoit prest et appareillé de recevoir ceux qui ont leur refuge à sa misericorde, ceste sentence ne consisteroit pas, Convertissezvous à moy, et je me convertiray à vous (Zach. 1:3). Mais je dy que nul n’approche jamais de Dieu, sans estre prevenu et attiré de luy. Et de fait, si la penitence estoit au propre mouvement et arbitre de l’homme, sainct Paul ne diroit pas qu’il faut essayer si Dieu donnera repentance à ceux qui ont esté endurcis (2 Tim. 2:25)? Mesme si ce n’estoit Dieu qui attirast par secrete inspiration ses esleus à repentance, à laquelle il convie tout le monde, Jeremie ne diroit pas, Seigneur, converti-moy, et je seray converti. Car depuis que tu m’as converti, je me suis amendé (Jer. 31:18).

Jean Calvin, Institution de La Religion Chrétienne (Genève: E. Beroud & C., 1888), 456.

Secret Providence

3a. Lillie edition:

There is perhaps more color in the words of Peter, that “God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance;” if, however, there is any ambiguity in the former clause, it is removed by the explanation, which is immediately subjoined. Certainly in so far as God would receive all to repentance, he would have no one perish. But in order to be received they must come. Now, the Spirit every where proclaims, that divine grace first comes to men, who till they are drawn remain the willing slaves of carnal contumacy. If had the smallest judgment remaining, would you not perceive the wide difference between these two: that the stony hearts of men, become hearts of flesh, so as to lose all self-complacency, and suppliantly entreat for pardon; then, when they are thus changed, that pardon is received. God declares that the these are the gifts of his kindness, the new heart for repentance and the gracious pardon of the suppliants. Unless God were ready to receive all who truly implore his mercy, he would not say, “return unto me, and I will return unto you.” But if repentance were the effect of the will of man, Paul would not say. “if peradventure God may give them repentance.” Nay, unless the same God, who with his own voice calls all to repentance, drew his elect by the secret influences of his Spirit, Jeremiah would not say, “Turn me, Oh Lord, and I shall be turned; for when thou turned me, I repented.”

John Calvin, The Secret Providence of God, trans. John Lillie (New York: Carter Brothers, 1840), 29–30.

3b. Cole edition:

There is, perhaps, a stronger colour in some of the words of Peter, which might have better suited your purposes, where he says that God is “not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Pet. 3:9). And if there be anything in the first member of the passage that seems difficult of comprehension at first sight, it is made perfectly plain by the explanation which follows. For, in as far as God “willeth that all should come unto repentance,” in so far He willeth that no one should perish; but, in order that they may thus be received of God, they must “come.” But the Scripture everywhere affirms, that in order that they may “come,” they must be prevented of God; that is, God must come first to them to draw them; for until they are drawn of God, they will remain where they are, given up to the obstinacy of the flesh. Now if there were one single particle of right judgment in you, you would, in a moment, acknowledge that there is a wide and wonderful difference between these two things—that the hearts of men are made of God “fleshly” out of “stony” hearts, and that it is thus that they are made to be displeased and dissatisfied with themselves, and are brought, as suppliants, to beg of God mercy and pardon; and that after they are thus changed, they are received into all grace.

Now God declares that both these things are of His pure goodness and mercy; that He gives us hearts that we may repent, and then pardons us graciously upon our repentance and supplication. For if God were not ready to receive us when we do truly implore His mercy, He would not say, “Turn ye unto Me, and I will turn unto you” (Zech. 1:3). But if repentance were in the power of the free-will of man, Paul would not say, “If peradventure God will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth” (2 Tim. 2:26). Nay, if God Himself, who exhorts all men to repentance by His voice—if God Himself, I repeat, who thus exhorts, did not draw His elect by the secret operation of His Spirit, Jeremiah would not thus describe those who do return: “Turn Thou me, and I shall be turned; for Thou art the Lord my God. Surely after that I was turned, I repented” (Jer. 31:19).

John Calvin, Calvin’s Calvinism. Part Second. A Defence of the Secret Providence of God […], trans. Henry Cole (Wertheim and Macintosh, 1857), 56–57; repr., Calvin’s Calvinism: Treatises on the Eternal Predestination of God and the Secret Providence of God (Grand Rapid, MI: Reformed Free Publishing Association, n.d. [1987?]), 276. See also, Calvin’s Calvinism: God’s Eternal Predestination and Secret Providence together with A Brief Reply and Reply to the Slanderous Reports, ed. Russell J. Dykstra, 2nd ed. (Jenison, MI: Reformed Free Publishing Association, 2009), 246–47.

3c. Goad edition:

Perhaps more to the point are the words of Peter, “God does not wish that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance” (2 Pet. 3:9). If there was any ambiguity in the first clause, it is clarified by the explanation in the second clause. Of course, to the extent that God wills all to be received by repentance, he wills that no one perishes. But it is necessary to come in order to be received. Throughout Scripture the Spirit of God proclaims that this first comes from God, that until men are drawn by God they will remain enslaved to their carnal disobedience. If the smallest amount of judgment remained in you, you might at least realize that there is a difference between these two—hearts of men are made from stone into flesh so that they are to be displeased with themselves and to ask God for his favor and to pray for his mercy; and after which they are changed and are received into grace. God declares that both of these things are gifts from his kindness; he gives us hearts that we might repent and he graciously forgives those who ask. Unless God were prepared to receive those who truly ask for his mercy, he would not declare, “Return to me, says the Lord of Hosts, and I will return to you” (Zech. 1:3). Truly, if repenting was in the power of man’s will, Paul would not have said, “God may perhaps grant them repentance” (2 Tim. 2:25). Indeed, unless God himself exhorts all men to repentance by his own voice, and leads the elect by the secret stirring of his Spirit, Jeremiah would not have said, “Bring me back that I may be restored, for you are the Lord my God. For after I had turned away, I relented” (Jer. 31:18–19).

John Calvin, The Secret Providence of God, trans. Kieth Goad, ed. Paul Helm (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2010), 72–73.

Original Post Here (click). Significantly updated by Tony.

Prosper of Aquitaine (c.390–c.455) on Redemption

Sources on Unlimited Redemption:

1.

OBJECTION: The Saviour was not crucified for the redemption of the entire world.

ANSWER: There is not one among men whose nature was not taken by Christ our Lord, though He was born in the likeness of sinful flesh only, while every other man is born in sinful flesh. Thus, the Son of God, who was God Himself, becoming partaker of our mortal nature without partaking in its sin, granted to sinful and mortal men the grace that those who by regeneration would share in His nativity could be freed from the bonds of sin and death. Accordingly, just as it is not enough that Jesus Christ was born for men to be renewed, but they must be reborn in Him through the same Spirit from whom He was born, so also it is not enough that Christ our Lord was crucified for men to be redeemed, but they must die with Him and be buried with Him in baptism. If that were not so, then after our Saviour was born in the flesh of our own nature and crucified for us all, there would be no need for us to be reborn and to be planted together in the likeness of His death. But because no man attains to eternal life without the sacrament of baptism, one who is not crucified in Christ cannot be saved by the cross of Christ; and he who is not a member of the Body of Christ is not crucified in Christ. And he is not a member of the Body of Christ who does not put on Christ through water and the Holy Spirit. For Christ in the weakness of our flesh underwent the common lot of death, that we by virtue of His death be made partakers of His resurrection.

Accordingly, though it is right to say that the Saviour was crucified for the redemption of the entire world, because He truly took our human nature and because all men were lost in the first man, yet it may also be said that He was crucified only for those who were to profit by His death. For St. John the Evangelist says: Jesus should die for the nation and not only for the nation, but to gather together in one the children of God that were dispersed. He came into His own, and His own received Him not. But as many as received Him, He gave the power to be made sons of God, to them who are born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. Their condition, therefore, is different from that of men counted among those of whom he said: The world knew Him not. In that sense we may say: the Redeemer of the world shed His blood for the world, and the world refused to be redeemed, because the darkness did not comprehend the light. Yet, there was a darkness which did comprehend the light, that, namely, of which the Apostle says: You were heretofore darkness, but now light in the Lord. The Lord Jesus Himself, who said He came to seek and to save that which was lost, also says: I did not come but to the sheep that are lost of the house of Israel. And St. Paul explains who are those sheep of the house of Israel: For all are not Israelites that are of Israel, neither are all they that are the seed of Abraham children; but in Isaac shall thy seed be called. That is to say, not they that are the children of the flesh are the children of God, but they that are the children of the promise are accounted for the seed. Among them are counted those to whom refers what we quoted above: Jesus should die for the nation, and not only for the nation, but to gather in one the children of God that were dispersed. It is not only from among the Jews but also from the Gentiles that the sons of God, the sons of the promise, are gathered into the one Church by Him who calleth those things that are not, as those that are, and who gathereth together the dispersed of Israel, in order to fulfil the promise of God to Abraham, that in his seed all the tribes of the earth would be blessed.

Prosper of Aquitaine, “Answers to the Objections of the Gauls,” in Defense of St. Augustine, trans. P. De letter (New York: Newman Press, 1963), 149–151; Responsiones ad capitula objectionum Gallorum calumniantium, art. 9. Italics original.

2.

QUALIFICATION ARTICLE 9: Likewise, he who says that the Saviour was not crucified for the redemption of the entire world does not take into account the power of the mystery of the cross, but considers only the portion of mankind who have no faith.

For it is certain that the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ is the price for the redemption of the entire world. But they do not share in the application of this price who either cherishing their captivity refused to be liberated or having been liberated returned to their captivity. The word of the Lord did not fail to be accomplished, nor was the redemption of the world frustrated of its effect. For though the world considered in the vessels of wrath did not know God, yet the same world considered in the vessels of mercy knew God liberated the second, without any previous merit on their part, from the power of darkness and translated them into the kingdom of the Son of His love.

Prosper of Aquitaine, “Answers to the objections of the Gauls,” in Defense of St. Augustine, trans. P. De letter (New York: Newman Press, 1963), 159–160; Responsiones ad capitula objectionum Gallorum calumniantium, resp. ad art. 9. Italics original.

3.

OBJECTION Our Lord Jesus Christ did not suffer for the salvation and redemption of all men.

ANSWER: The truly effectual and unique remedy for the wound of original sin, by which the common nature of all men was vitiated in Adam and condemned to death and which is the source of the three forms of concupiscence, is the death of the Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ, who being free from all necessity to die and the only sinless one, died for sinful men, who are condemned to die. Considering, then, on the one hand the greatness and value of the price paid for us, and on the other the common lot of the whole human race, one must say that the blood of Christ is the redemption of the entire world. But they who pass through this world without coming to the faith and without having been reborn in baptism, remain untouched by the redemption. Accordingly, since our Lord in very truth took upon Himself the one nature and condition which is common to all men, it is right to say that all have been redeemed, and that nevertheless not all are actually liberated from the slavery of sin. It is beyond doubt that the redemption is actually applied only to those from whom the prince of the World has been cast out,’ those who are no longer vessels of the devil but members of Christ. His death did not act on the whole human race in such a manner that even those who would never have been reborn in baptism would share in the redemption, but so that the mystery accomplished once for all in the person of Christ should be renewed in each and every man by the sacrament of baptism which he is to receive once also. The beverage of immortality prepared from our weakness and God’s power is apt to restore health to all men, but it cannot cure anyone unless he drink it.

Prosper of Aquitaine, “Answers to the Vincentian Articles,” in Defense of St. Augustine, trans. P. De letter (New York: Newman Press, 1963), 164; Responsiones ad capitula objectionum Vincentianarum, art. 1.

4.

Now, then, the Apostle Paul, teacher of the Gentiles, writing to Timothy, says: I desire, therefore, first of all, that supplications, intercessions, thanksgivings be made for all men, for kings and for all that are in high station: that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all piety and chastity. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour, who will have all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one Mediator of God and men, the man Christ Jesus who gave Himself a redemption for all. … There is no part of the world in which Christian peoples do not offer up these prayers. The Church, then, pleads before God everywhere, not only for the saints and those regenerated in Christ, but also for all worshippers of idols, for all who persecute Christ in His members, for the Jews whose blindness does not see the light of the gospel, for heretics and schismatics who are alien to the unity of faith and charity.

But what does she beg for them if not that they leave their errors and be converted to God, that they accept the faith, accept charity, that they be freed from the shadows of ignorance and come to the knowledge of the truth? They cannot do this by themselves: they are struggling under the weight of vicious habits and are ensnared by the bonds of Satan. They are powerless before their own deceptions; so stubbornly do they cling to them that they love falsehood in the measure truth should be loved. Hence the merciful and just Lord wishes that prayers be offered Him for all men.

Prosper of Aquitaine, The Call of the Nations, trans. P. De Letter (Westminster Maryland: The Newman Press, 1952), 51; De vocatione omnium gentium, b. 1, c. 12. Italics original. Note: I am working from the assumption that Prosper is the true author of this work.

5.

Our Lord in His deep mercy wishes to save all nations and is actually working for their salvation, yet it is true that no one accepts His word.

In this His deep mercy, the Lord wishes not only to redeem one people but to save all nations, as the Evangelist says: That Jesus should die for the nation. And not only for the nation, but also to gather together in one the dispersed children of God. That is the meaning of our Lord’s great proclamation which, like a trumpet resounding with His loving-kindness throughout the world, invites and summons all men.

Prosper of Aquitaine, The Call of the Nations, trans. P. De Letter (Westminster Maryland: The Newman Press, 1952), 65–66; De vocatione omnium gentium, b. 1, c. 20.

6.

Christ died for all sinners.

There can, therefore, be no reason to doubt that Jesus Christ our Lord died for the unbelievers and the sinners. If there had been any one who did not belong to these, then Christ would not have died for all. But He did die for all men without exception. There is no one, therefore, in all mankind who was not, before the reconciliation which Christ effected in His blood, either a sinner or an unbeliever. The Apostle says: For why did Christ, when as yet we were weak, according to the time, die for the ungodly? For scarce for a just man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man one would dare to die. But God commendeth His charity towards us, because if when as yet we were sinners, Christ died for us, much more, being justified by His blood, shall we be saved from wrath through Him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, being reconciled, shall we be saved by His life. The same Apostle says in his Second Epistle to the Corinthians: For the charity of Christ presseth us, judging this, that if One died for all, then all were dead. And He died for all, that they also who live, may not live to themselves, but unto Him who died for them and rose again. And let us hear what he says of himself. A faithful saying, he states, and worthy of all acceptation: that Christ Jesus came into this world to save sinners, of whom I am the chief. But for this cause have I obtained mercy: that in me first Christ Jesus might show forth all patience, for the information of them that shall believe in Him unto life everlasting.

Prosper of Aquitaine, The Call of the Nations, trans. P. De Letter (Westminster Maryland: The Newman Press, 1952), 118–119; De vocatione omnium gentium, b. 2, c. 16.

For reputable supporting documentation, see:

1. W. Robert Godfrey, “Tensions Within International Calvinism: The Debate on the Atonement at the Synod of Dort, 1618–1619” (PhD diss., Stanford University, 1974), 74–76.
2. Owen Thomas, The Atonement Controversy: In Welsh Theological Literature and Debate, 1707–1841 (Edinburgh: The Banner of Truth, 2002), 112–116.
3. Michael J. Lynch on John Davenant’s (1572–1641) Correction of Those Misreading Prosper of Aquitaine’s First Letter to Augustine (in John Davenant’s Hypothetical Universalism: A Defense of Catholic and Reformed Orthodoxy. Oxford Studies in Historical Theology, ed. R. A. Muller, et al. (New York: Oxford University Press, 2021), 38–40); and David L. Allen, “A Critique of Limited Atonement,” in Calvinism: A Biblical and Theological Critique, ed. D. L. Allen and S. W. Lemke (Nashville, TN: B&H Academic, 2022), 74–75, n. 8.

Original Post here (click). Several page corrections and other additions made by Tony.

Consult Prosper’s Latin works here (click).

From the Matthew Henry Commentaries on 1 Timothy 2:1–6

The Matthew Henry Commentaries, completed by Benjamin Andrews Atkinson, 1 Tim 2:1–6:

II. As a reason why we should in our prayers concern ourselves for all men, he shows God’s love to mankind in general, v. 4.

1. One reason why all men are to be prayed for is because there is one God, and that God bears a good will to all mankind. There is one God (v. 5), and one only, there is no other, there can be no other, for there can be but one infinite. This one God will have all men to be saved; he desires not the death and destruction of any (Eze. 33:11), but the welfare and salvation of all. Not that he has decreed the salvation of all, for then all men would be saved; but he has a good will to the salvation of all, and none perish but by their own fault, Mt. 23:37. He will have all to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth, to be saved in the way that he has appointed and not otherwise. It concerns us to get the knowledge of the truth, because that is the way to be saved; Christ is the way and the truth, and so he is the life.

2. There is one Mediator, and that mediator gave himself a ransom for all. As the mercy of God extends itself to all his works, so the mediation of Christ extends itself thus far to all the children of men that he paid a price sufficient for the salvation of all mankind; he brought mankind to stand upon new terms with God, so that they are not now under the law as a covenant of works, but as a rule of life. They are under grace; not under the covenant of innocence, but under a new covenant: He gave himself a ransom. Observe, The death of Christ was a ransom, a counter-price. We deserved to have died. Christ died for us, to save us from death and hell; he gave himself a ransom voluntarily, a ransom for all; so that all mankind are put in a better condition than that of devils. He died to work out a common salvation: in order hereunto, he put himself into the office of Mediator between God and man. A mediator supposes a controversy. Sin had made a quarrel between us and God; Jesus Christ is a Mediator who undertakes to make peace, to bring God and man together, in the nature of an umpire or arbitrator, a days—man who lays his hand upon us both, Job 9:33. He is a ransom that was to be testified in due time; that is, in the Old-Testament times, his sufferings and the glory that should follow were spoken of as things to be revealed in the last times, 1 Pt. 1:10, 11. And they are accordingly revealed, Paul himself having been ordained a preacher and an apostle, to publish to the Gentiles the glad tidings of redemption and salvation by Jesus Christ. This doctrine of Christ’s mediation Paul was entrusted to preach to every creature, Mk. 16:15. He was appointed to be a teacher of the Gentiles; besides his general call to the apostleship, he was commissioned particularly to preach to the Gentiles, in faith and truth, or faithfully and truly. Note, (1.) It is good and acceptable in the sight of God and our Saviour that we pray for kings and for all men, and also that we lead a peaceable and quiet life; and this is a very good reason why we should do the one as well as the other. (2.) God has a good will to the salvation of all; so that it is not so much the want of a will in God to save them as it is a want of will in themselves to be saved in God’s way. Here our blessed Lord charges the fault: You will not come unto me that you may have life, Jn. 5:40. I would have gathered you, and you would not. (3.) Those who are saved must come to the knowledge of the truth, for this is God’s appointed way to save sinners. Without knowledge the heart cannot be good; if we do not know the truth, we cannot be ruled by it. (4.) It is observable that the unity of God is asserted, and joined with the unity of the Mediator; and the church of Rome might as well maintain a plurality of gods as a plurality of mediators. (5.) He that is a Mediator in the New-Testament sense, gave himself a ransom. Vain then is the pretence of the Romanists that there is but one Mediator of satisfaction, but many of intercession; for, according to Paul, Christ’s giving himself a ransom was a necessary part of the Mediator’s office; and indeed this lays the foundation for his intercession. (6.) Paul was ordained a minister, to declare this to the Gentiles, that Christ is the one Mediator between God and men, who gave himself a ransom for all. This is the substance of which all ministers are to preach, to the end of the world; and Paul magnified his office, as he was the apostle of the Gentiles, Rom. 11:13. (7.) Ministers must preach the truth, what they apprehend to be so, and they must believe it themselves; they are, like our apostle, to preach in faith and verity, and they must also be faithful and trusty.

Matthew Henry, Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible: Complete and Unabridged in One Volume (Peabody: Hendrickson, 1994), 2352; italics original.

Supplementum:

The Matthew Henry Commentaries, completed by Benjamin Andrews Atkinson, 1 Timothy 4:10:

2. Those who labour and suffer reproach in the service of God and the work of religion may depend upon the living God that they shall not lose by it. Let this encourage them, We trust in the living God. The consideration of this, that the God who has undertaken to be our pay-master is the living God, who does himself live for ever and is the fountain of life to all who serve him, should encourage us in all our services and in all our sufferings for him, especially considering that he is the Saviour of all men. (1.) By his providences he protects the persons, and prolongs the lives, of the children of men. (2.) He has a general good-will to the eternal salvation of all men thus far that he is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. He desires not the death of sinners; he is thus far the Saviour of all men that none are left in the same desperate condition that fallen angels are in. Now, if he be thus the Saviour of all men, we may hence infer that much more he will be the rewarder of those who seek and serve him; if he has such a good-will for all his creatures, much more will he provide well for those who are new creatures, who are born again. He is the Saviour of all men, but especially of those that believe; and the salvation he has in store for those that believe is sufficient to recompense them for all their services and sufferings. Here we see, [1.] The life of a Christian is a life of labour and suffering: We labour and suffer. [2.] The best we can expect to suffer in the present life is reproach for our well-doing, for our work of faith and labour of love. [3.] True Christians trust in the living God; for cursed is the man that trusts in man, or in any but the living God; and those that trust in him shall never be ashamed. Trust in him at all times. [4.] God is the general Saviour of all men, as he has put them into a salvable state; but he is in a particular manner the Saviour of true believers; there is then a general and a special redemption.

Henry, Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible, 2355; italics original. Supplementum part originally posted here (click).

Also from Matthew Henry himself:

1) 1. We must pray for the whole world of mankind, the lost world and thus we must honour all men, and according to our capacity do good to all men.

We pray, as we are taught, for all men, believing that this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth, and of Jesus Christ, who gave himself a ransom for all.

Matthew Henry, “Method of Prayer,” in The Complete Works of Matthew Henry (Grand Rapids Michigan: Baker, 1978), 2:48.

Biographical Sketch of Atkinson:

Benjamin Andrew Atkinson [c.1680–1765].—Concerning this gentleman we can state but few particulars. He was son to the well-known author of “The Epitome of Navigation.” Mr. Fido being disabled by weakness, Mr. Atkinson was chosen his assistant, and ordained co-pastor. January 7, 1713. The celebrated Matthew Henry preached upon the occasion, and Mr. Jeremiah Smith gave the exhortation. For convenience, the service was conducted in Silver-street; and both discourses were published, together with Mr. Atkinson’s confession of faith. Upon the death of Mr. Fido, in January, 1715, he succeeded to the whole charge, and not long afterwards, removed his congregation to a new meeting-house in Great St. Thomas Apostle. At this time, it being proposed to finish the Exposition upon the New Testament, began by Mr. Henry, Mr. Atkinson was one of the ministers fixed upon for this work. The part he undertook was the two Epistles to Timothy. Mr. Atkinson continued pastor of his church a considerable number of years. He was a peaceable man, of moderate principles, and accounted a good practical preacher. His learning was very considerable, and he was uncommonly well skilled in the oriental languages. During the debate at Salters’-Hall synod, in 1719, he took part with the non-subscribing ministers; and re-printed his confession of faith, to which he added a preface, designed to satisfy the world, that he had not in the least given into any new notions concerning the Trinity. From thence it is to be inferred, that some suspicions on his head were preferred against him. About the year 1742, Mr. Atkinson left his people, and, after a few years retired to Leicester. There, for a space of 16 years, he resided in the house of his son-in-law, Mr. Hugh Worthington, father to Mr. Worthington, of Salters’-Hall; and in that retreat, finished his course at an advanced age, in the year 1765.

Mr. Atkinson published several single sermons, and some other pieces, which shall be enumerated below.

Works.—1. A Confession of Faith at his Ordination. 1713. Reprinted 1719.—2. An Exposition of the first and second Epistles to Timothy; in the Continuation of Matthew Henry.—3. A Sermon to the Societies for Reformation of Manners, June 29, 1726 [2].—4. Catholic Principles. 1729.—5. A Vindication of the literal Sense of three Miracles of Christ—his turning Water into Wine—his whipping the Buyers and Sellers out of the Temple—and his exorcising the Devils out of two Men. Against Woolston. 8vo. 1729.—6. Two Sermons against Popery.—7. The Decay of Practical Religion lamented, and the Scripture-method for reviving it considered. In four Sermons [2].—8. Christianity not older than the Gospel Promise. Against Tindal. 1731.—9. The Holy Scriptures a perfect Rule of Faith: a Sermon, preached January 26, 1734–5.—10. A Judgment of private Discretion vindicated; in a Sermon, February 9, 1734–5.—11. Good Princes nursing Fathers and nursing Mothers: a Sermon on the Marriage of the Prince of Wales with the Princess of Saxe Gotha; preached May 2.

Walter Wilson, The History and Antiquities of Dissenting Churches and Meeting Houses, in London, Westminster, and Southwark: Including the Lives of Their Ministers, from the Rise of Nonconformity to the Present Time. With An Appendix on the Origin, Progress, and Present State of Christianity in Britain, 4 vols. (London: Printed for the Author; Sold by W. Button and Son, Paternoster Row; T. Williams and Son, Stationers’ Court; J. Conder, St. Paul’s Church Yard; and A. Maxwell, Bell Yard, 1808), 2:101–102.

Original Post Here (click).  Significantly updated by Tony.