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God inspires the hearts of the good to pray for the salvation of all men, and say, as Jesus said, “Thy will be done.” (Matt. 6:10).
“Because he wills the salvation of all men, therefore he wills that all men should be prayed for; as in (1 Tim. 2:1)." -Adam Clarke-
“I exhort, therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men.” Would God inspire the hearts of his saints to pray for the salvation of all mankind, if he knew they would not all be saved? -Thomas Whittemore-
Jesus came to do the will of God.
“My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.” (John 4:34)
“Lo, I come to do they will, O God.” (Heb. 10:9)
The will of God is, that all men be saved.
This is his will, by way of distinction and preeminence. Jesus came to do this will.
He came as the Savior, as the Savior of all men. He came as the good Shepherd, to seek and save that which was lost.
He came to save all men, not only those who lived on the earth while he was here, but all who lived before, and all who have since lived, and all who shall live.
Jesus gave himself a ransom for all; he tasted death for every man; and unto him, at last, every knee shall bow, and every tongue shall confess him Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Such is the way in which Jesus does the will of God.
"Heaven must receive him until the time comes for God to restore everything, as he promised long ago through his holy prophets." -Acts 3:21-
What does "restitution" mean in koine in this passage?
Restitution = apokatastasis =
Restoration to the rightful owner.
Back again by repair.
A balancing of accounts.
Our God has promised to restore absolutely everything back to Himself. He has promised it long ago through the holy prophets and sages!
As a result of sin we have become separated from our rightful Owner. That separation requires intervention and a balancing of accounts.
Please welcome the Last Adam, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Adam1 = "many made sinners"
The balancing of accounts =
Last Adam = "many made righteous."
"Restoration is not restoring man so that man can have a better sense of himself, but restoration is restoring God in a people. Man is not being restored, God is being restored in man!" -Dr. Kay Fairchild-
“Forasmuch, then, as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He, also, Himself took part of the same, that through death He might destroy him that had the power of death – that is, the devil.” Heb. 2:14.
Jesus will not only destroy the devil, He will destroy all his works.
“For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.” I John 3:8.
The reign of all evil shall cease!
The Prince of Peace is conqueror.
Jesus Christ is good news to all people.
“Fear not for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.” Luke 2:10.
If any of mankind should not be saved by Jesus, could His coming be an occasion of great joy to them?
The angelic host, at the birth of our Redeemer, cried, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” Luke 2:14.
Jesus Christ the Lord is the messenger of peace to all men!
The Gospel = good news & glad tidings to ALL mankind!
No more let sin and sorrow grow
Nor thorns infest the ground
He comes to make His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found.
"And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven."
"Having made peace" = eirēnopoieō =
To make peace / establish harmony.
"To reconcile" = apokatallassō =
To reconcile completely/ back again.
To bring back a state of harmony.
Earth = gē =
The whole earth / abode of mankind.
Heaven = ouranos =
The world / universe.
"The Father willed through Christ to reconcile the universe once more unto Himself, and so to restore all things whatsoever and wheresoever they be. "– Dr. John Lightfoot-
"This sublime revelation of the extent of redemption as commuensurate with the whole creation is brought out especially in Philippians 2:9-10, Colossians 1:20-21. The solitary prisoner, Paul, could see farthest into the glory of the Divine Counsels." -B.F. Westcott (Westcott and Hort)
"The redemption of men from every tribe, tongue, people and race is far from being the whole story of Christ's work of atonement as John understands it. For he hears the choirs of heaven joined by the voices of the whole creation in a final outburst of praise. This should not be dismissed as mere hyperbole. John knows only too well that there is much on earth and under the earth and in the sea which has no inclination to join in the worship of Christ, and that these hostile elements are represented even in heaven. But such is his confidence in the universality of of Christ's achievement that his vision cannot stop short of universal response. He agrees with Paul that God has already in the Cross reconciled the whole universe to himself (Col 1:20), and that to make His act of amnesty and reconciliation known to the world is the royal and priestly task of the church, the success of which is already anticipated in the heavenly Amen." -George Bradford Caird-
The character of God is exhibited by the spirit, the works, and the entire life of Christ.
Jesus the Christ appeared on earth in the character of Saviour, not of a destroyer; a friend, not a foe of mankind; an impartial and kind benefactor of all, not a capricious revenger of pretended or real wrongs.
When persecuted, He retaliated not; when reviled, He reviled not; when reproached and scoffed at, He did not curse His foes.
His whole life was one continued exhibition of love, benevolence, and compassion.
It is emphatically stated,
“He went about doing good.”
To the poor and needy He was condescending and humane. He gave health to the sick, feet to the lame, ears to the deaf, speech to the dumb, sanity to the lunatic, bread to the hungry, forgiveness to the sinful, salvation to the lost, and life to the dead.
Ever merciful and mild, He compassionated the sufferings of every condition. He wept at the grave of Lazarus, His friend, and also over the approaching woes of Jerusalem, where resided his bitterest foes; and even for His bloody and cruel murderers He prayed on the cross, and in the agonies of death at their unfeeling hands, sought His Father for their forgiveness.
If we would know the character of God, we must study the character of Jesus
If we would know how God will deal with those who love or hate him, his friends and foes, we should learn how Christ dealt with those classes, for He “was God manifested in the flesh,”
“was the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His person.”
The character of Christ is the character of God.
The tenderness and compassion that Jesus possessed for all men, the good & the evil, is that which God possesses for all mankind.
If our heavenly Father is as benevolent, compassionate, and forgiving, as His Son, will He bless or curse, save or damn our race? Will He be merciful or unmerciful to us? Will He favor us with everlasting life, or curse us with everlasting death? Will He take us home to Himself, or shut us up in hell?
Will he permit us to enjoy his presence, or put us in possession of the devil?
And when he's found the last little shriveling rebellious soul and has depopulated hell, then death will be swallowed up in victory, and Christ will turn over all things to the Father that he may be all and in all.
Then every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." -Clarence Jordan -
Note:
1. Jesus Christ swallows both death & hell in victory.
In the way of laying a foundation for understanding the relationship between God’s gift and His grace, I think we have to consider the relationship between those attributes of God that are particularly highlighted in scripture. It could be said that all the characteristics that are properly ascribed to the Divine Nature find their center in the truth that God is love, so that when God is described also, for instance, as light, spirit and consuming fire, such descriptions essentially explain the meaning and nature of divine love.
That God is light, speaks to us of the fact that it is the nature of love to enlighten, to give understanding. God’s love is self-revelatory. It shines out of its essence and needs nothing outside of itself to make itself known. That God is spirit confronts us with the truth, that in spite of the propensity of divine love to subject itself to all that is adversarial to its existence, love is still, underneath all that hostility, universally and constitutionally pervasive. It is the spirit that constitutes all being, all existence. It’s what “makes the world go around,” from within, and is what gives all things their cohesiveness.
That God is a consuming fire encourages us to trust that the inner love-spirit essence of all things, from the inside out, will cleanse itself from all that seeks to defile it. The divine nature of love can be afflicted by such defilement but it can never in its essence be defiled. On this foundation rests our salvation.
So it is with the gift of God, and the graciousness of God. As it is true that when we speak of God as spirit, light, and consuming fire, we are essentially explaining the nature of love — those other attributes do not stand alongside love, they explain love as they are the unfolding of love’s nature, so when we speak of the grace of God, we are, really redundantly, explaining the nature of His gift; that it is, in fact, free. We are emphasizing the obvious, that God’s gift cannot be earned. It is, as all gifts should be, freely given. It is what it is — His gift. The grace of God is, to my understanding, simply God’s givingness.
God’s gift and God’s grace do not stand alongside one another. As Jesus said of His relationship with the Father, “I and the Father are One,” so also, God’s gift (Christ) and His grace (His givingness) are one. He is graciously giving. He gifts us out from His nature of givingness. Finally understood, God only has one gift for mankind, and that is the gift of His Son.
In Him are all the riches of the glory of God’s grace. We need to see the obvious, that Paul’s expression, “the glory of His grace” simply means, His grace’s glory. God is gloriously gracious, and we see grace’s glory in the face of Jesus Christ. In Him we see summed up the givingness of God, and NO decision on the part of man can frustrate the givingness of God. He WILL give Himself, in His Son, to all creation until all creation is full of His glory, so that all creation will come to realize its true inner constitution. This is the essence of the Kingdom of God. -John Gavazzoni-
Are our broadest hopes broad enough? Shall there be a nook or abyss, in all the universe of God, finally unlightened by the Cross? Shall there be a sin, or sorrow, or pain unhealed? Is the very universe, is creation in all its extent, a field wide enough for the Son of God?
Here is a God worthy of your worship and adoration!
Salvation of All
“For God locks up all together in stubbornness, that He should be merciful to all” (Romans 11:32).
“Our Savior, God, Who wills that all mankind be saved and come into a realization of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4).
“We rely on the living God, Who is the Savior of all mankind” (1 Timothy 4:10).
Justification of All
“Through one offense for all mankind for condemnation, thus also … through one just award for all mankind for life’s justifying” (Romans 5:18).
Vivification (making alive) of All
“For even as, in Adam, all are dying, thus also, in Christ, shall all be vivified” (1 Corinthians 15:22).
Reconciliation of All
“Through Him to reconcile all to Him, making peace through the blood of His cross” (Colossians 1:20).
The Word seems to me to lay down the doctrine of the perfect obliteration of wickedness, for if God shall be in all things that are, obviously wickedness shall not be in them. For it is necessary that at some time evil should be removed utterly and entirely from the realm of being. -St. Macrina the Blessed-
In the end and consummation of the Universe all are to be restored into their original harmonious state, and we all shall be made one body and be united once more into a perfect man and the prayer of our Savior shall be fulfilled that all may be one. -St. Jerome ( 331-420)
For it is evident that God will in truth be all in all when there shall be no evil in existence, when every created being is at harmony with itself and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord; when every creature shall have been made one body. -Gregory of Nyssa (335-390)
The following post is by another individual on another Board, but reflects why for me, the Restitution is not simply Scripture, but our Father healing our broken beings.
"My friend died suddenly a month ago of a brain aneurysm. She left behind a son, aged 26. He weighs 35 pounds and wears child-sized clothing. He was born with over 100 anomalies, one of which is that a portion of his brain never formed. His mentality is about that of a four-month old. His body is twisted. He is blind. He doesn't speak, he doesn't laugh, he doesn't cry. He occasionally makes some noise, for example, when the wind is blowing in his face, which he seems to enjoy. He will also reach for you and grasp your hand or finger.
Yet, when you hold this boy, you feel his spirit. There is someone in there, and it's my theory that you feel his spirit so strongly because he lacks the physical and mental defenses that the rest of us hide behind.
I think he's ahead of the rest of us spiritually. I also think he will follow his mother before too long. He was expected to die shortly after birth, then at two, and now it's anyone's guess. I believe that now that he does not hear the sound of her voice, he will leave."
This young lad is one of the reasons the Restitution of our Father is so glorious!
The crowning glory of the ˜good news" or evangel of the untraceable riches of Christ which Paul was granted the grace to bring to the gentiles or nations, is the revelation that He will reconcile all to God.
What a marvelous outcome of Gods purpose! What a wonderful Christ Who can accomplish such a complete and glorious reconciliation! All creatures, whether those on the earth or those in the heavens, reconciled in perfect peace to the great love of God through the Son of His love.
More of these untraceable honors and glories of Christ which Paul was granted the grace to reveal, could be pointed out with delight, but these will suffice to increase our faith, enrich our joy and brighten our expectation in Him in Whom our lot was cast also Christ Jesus our Lord, Life, and Head! -Adlai Loudy-
The Lord's Changeless Ways
It is argued that whatever be the meaning of the word aionios in the case of the lost, the same must be its meaning in the case of the saved; and our certainty of never-ending bliss for penitent believers is gone if the word bears not the same signification in the case of the impenitent and unbelieving. But the truth is that this word describes not the quantity or duration, but the quality of that which it is predicated.
The word which in Matt. 25:46 we translate punishment, in its primary sense means ˜pruning" and is always used for corrective discipline which is for the improvement of him who suffers it. Even those who hold the common view of the endlessness of punishment are obliged to confess this; and this of itself proves that their doctrine is untenable; for any punishment, be it for a longer or shorter time would not be corrective discipline, but quite another thing if it left those who were so corrected unimproved and lost forever. But from the fall till now the changeless way of the Lord is to make even the curse a blessing. -Andrew Jukes-
"He thought of everything, provided for everything we could possibly need, letting us in on the plans he took such delight in making. He set it all out before us in Christ, a long-range plan in which everything would be brought together and summed up in him, everything in deepest heaven, everything on planet earth. It’s in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, he had his eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living, part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and everyone."
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