W. G. T. Shedd on Unlimited Atonement and Limited Redemption

1 John 2:2 has always been a source of difficulty for Calvinists; perhaps less so for the theologian and scholar than for the laity who has to live with the arguments and exegesis proposed by the theologians and scholars. The difficulty is this: while Calvinists hold that Christ is the propitiation only for the elect, 1 John 2:2 says that Christ is the propitiation for the world. If you’re reading this and you're a Calvinist, you likely have been in the position where your Arminian friend contemplates you smugly while you finger your collar, squirming under the pressure of the "kosmos" in this verse.

We have, of course, our talking points on passages such as this. All doesn’t mean all, "kosmos" refers to the elect rather than all men, John was addressing elect believers, etc.: such arguments are the stock in trade for the modern evangelical Calvinist.

James White, in a recent brief article on Revelation 5:9-10, says this of the Arminian and Calvinist understanding of 1 John 2:2:

The understanding presented by the Arminian is as follows: Christ is the propitiation for the sins of all Christians, and not for Christians only, but also for every single person in all places and at all times. The Reformed understanding is that Jesus Christ is the propitiation for the sins of all the Christians to which John was writing, and not only them, but for all Christians throughout the world, Jew and Gentile, at all times and in all places.

In this first series of essays, I hope to show that the "Reformed" understanding of 1John 2:2 is not monolithic; there is a minority report, which offers a sensible alternative to the interpretation offered by many modern reformed theologians.

W. G. T. Shedd, a Presbyterian Pastor and theologian of the 19th century, wrote a 3-volume work entitled Dogmatic Theology. In this work, Shedd affirms a species of limited atonement, though he quarrels with the ambiguous use of certain terms associated with the dispute, and thus affirms, to be precise, limited redemption. I quote from the third edition, a much-improved one-volume edition of Shedd's work, issued by P&R Publishing in 2003.

Since redemption implies the application of Christ’s atonement, universal or unlimited redemption cannot logically be affirmed by any who hold that faith is wholly the gift of God and that saving grace is bestowed solely by election. The use of the term redemption, consequently, is attended with less ambiguity than that of "atonement," and it is the term most commonly employed in controversial theology. Atonement is unlimited, and redemption is limited. This statement includes all the scriptural texts: those which assert that Christ died for all men, and those which assert that he died for his people. He who asserts unlimited atonement and limited redemption cannot well be misconceived. He is understood to hold that the sacrifice of Christ is unlimited in value, sufficiency, and publication, but limited in its effectual application.

Page 743.

Thus, for Shedd, there are both universal and particular aspects of Christ's work, and that helps us to understand the texts that speak universally. As Calvinists we ought not to overstate our case or take alarm at the idea that Christ died for all. More to come from Shedd soon.