Christ did not pray for the World
Did you ever notice that Calvinists make a big deal that Christ did not pray for the "world" in John 17? this is rather unusual since they define, or essentially define, the word "world" at John 1:29 and 3:16 as "the elect." So in those passages they claim the word "world" refers to the elect but in this passage the word "world" definitely refers to "not the elect." The have the same word being an antonym of itself, that is, the same word with opposite meanings and written by the very same person - John! This itself illustrates their own folly with the word "world" in John.
Now let us look at John 17:9 passage further.
"I pray for them, I do not pray for the world but for those you gave me for they are yours"
(John 17:9)
Calvinists claim here an allusion to Limited Atonement. They will say, "Look here, Jesus does not pray for the "world," he only prays for those the Father gave to him and these must be the elect God chose before the foundation of the world. Jesus only died for the sins of the elect.
Interestingly, Calvinists also forget these passages written by the very same person:
"Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world (John 3:16)
"For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever should believe in him might not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16)."
"Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world (John 3:16)
"We know that this is indeed the Savior of the world." (John 4:42).
"I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. " (John 12:47).
"He is the propitation for our sins and not only for ours only but for the whole world." (1 John 2:2)
Now at this point, many Calvinists will tell you that "world" here means something different than it does at John 17:9. In fact, they might even tell you that the word here refers to "the elect." So in John 17:9, the word means "definitely not the elect," but here they want it to mean "the elect," and give the very same word exactly opposite meanings. It is interesting that when Calvinists see the word "world" at John 17:9 they understand it like most of us do. But when they are confronted with John 1:29 and John 3:16, they suddenly decide to give it a different definition. Why do they decide to do this? The answer is obvious. They want to redefine the word "world" at John 1:29 and 3:16 because it does not fit their doctrine of Limited Atonement nor does it fit their interpretation of John 17:9 which they have just presented to you.
So, the first thing they will do is point to all the ways the word "world" is used by the apostle John thinking this somehow grants them a license to define the word "world" at John 1:29 and 3:16 however they like. The Greek word in question in all three passages is the word kosmos. It is the noun form of the verb kosmeo which means "to garnish or adorn." Note, the relationship between the noun form and verb form in 1 Peter:
"Let not yours be the outward adornment [kosmos] with braiding of hair, decoration of gold, and wearing of fine clothing, but let it be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable jewel of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious. So once the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn [kosmeo] themselves and were submissive to their husbands"
(1 Peter 3:3-5).
So what is the connection here? Well, the ancients perceived the world and all the stars and planets to be the adornment of the universe. For this reason, ancient middle eastern women often adorned themselves with jewellry which resembled stars and moons and such things of the creation. The word kosmos most basically means "the created order."
So, the Calvinist will try to claim that that word "world" means different things so they he can define it how he likes at John 1:29 and 3:16. But this is not how we define words honestly. In order to define a word honestly we do not try to find a way to justify defining it how we like to fit our denominational creed, but to discover how the user of that word intends it. Now lest we be perceived to be missing something, take a look at every single occurrence of the world "world (kosmos) in John's gospel and letters. See how you think John uses the word "world."
Not all Calvinists however will first bother to claim "world" means "the elect" at John 1:29 and 3:16. Others will get you to focus upon John 3:16 and then try to claim that it does indeed mean what it means everywhere else but now he tries to tell you that only the elect of the world will actually believe. These elect are in fact the "whosoever" who will believe he claims. See what he does here? He shifts the argument from a discussion on Limited Atonement to a discussion on Total Depravity and the ability to believe. In other words, he is saying nothing other than, "My theology says so" without regard for what John really intended. Now he will give you rounds of ammunition on the subject of Total Depravity and the discussion concering Limited Atonment and John 3:16 comes to an end. It is simply a distraction tactic. But we are not going to let him do this.
First, let us see what Jesus intended. He says, "whoseover believes." He does not say, "so when the elect believe." The Calvinist has now granted himself a license to define "whosoever" here as "the elect." Where did he get this license? Secondly, let us go back to John 1:29. Here John the Baptist says Jesus is the Lamb who takes away the sins of the world! Now the Calvinist is trapped. Having agreed "world" does indeed mean "all the world" or "all the people of the world" he is now trapped. John tells us that Jesus takes away all the sins of the world. So that Calvinist tactic is foiled by John 1:29.
Now instead of accepting this passage, he will seek to nullify it for the sake of his tradition. He will argue, "Well, if that verse really means Jesus takes away the sins of all the world then everyone will be saved!" Now, he has just gotten himself even into deeper trouble. The Bible teaches that Jesus is in the process of taking away the sins of the world. He is putting all this under his feet. This process of taking away the sins of the world is why he forgives you after you commit a sin and repent of it. Matthew 13 also illuminates this passage:
"The field is the world, and the good seed means the sons of the kingdom; the weeds are the sons of the evil one, and the enemy who sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the close of the age, and the reapers are angels. Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the consummation of the age. The Son of man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers." (Matthew 13:42).
Yep, that's right. When Jesus returns the "world" will finally be totally purged of sin by the fire of his truth. Jesus is already doing this. That is why Peter says judgment begins with the people of God. Christians are already in the process of being purged, cleansed, of their sins by the fire and our fiery trials.
Now, we are not here done yet. There is still 1 John 2:2 (not to mention the others). Here John tells us that Jesus is the atoning sacrifice for the "whole world." Now what more do we need? The Calvinist claims Jesus is the atoning sacrifice only for some people but not all people. John tells us otherwise. One wonders how much more plain it can be.
However, the Calvinist, seeking to preserve his beliefs will try something else. Here he will say that "our sins" refers to the Jews and "the whole world" refers to the rest of the nations of the world. Now, he claims that this verse does not mean that Jesus was the atoning sacrifice for all people but all nations of the world in which the elect might be living. See what he did there?
Now one wonders where he got this idea. Where is this idea in the context? It is nowhere to be found. There is not even a hint of it in the whole letter. It is rather obvious to thinking people that John means "not only we Christians but all the people of the world." But the Calvinist grants himelf a license to practice eisegesis, that is, reading his theology into the text. However, he rants and raves if anyone but himself tries to do anything like that.
Now if we are reasonable people, we can see what is going on here. It is blatently obvious to any thinking person the Calvinist is trying to avoid the truth of the matter. He does not want to find out what John 1:29 and 3:16 and 1 John 2:2 really mean. He only wants to concoct an interpretation which he feels allows him to continue following TULIP. These passages obvoiusly mean all people of the world. The Calvinist will deny it. If so, let him. You cannot force anyone to accept the truth. That's God's job and everyone will have to accept the truth sooner or later.
Now, we have taken a big detour from our original passage in question - John 17:9. Let us notice something very, very obvious. First, Jesus prays for his disciples whom he took out of the world. But notice verse 20 where Jesus says he is not only praying for his disciples but for all people who will come to believe in him. So, we can see clearly that first he is saying that he is praying for his disciples but now he is praying for everyone else that will come to believes in him. These are people of the "world." Jesus as the disciples were taken out of the world when they believed in Jesus, so now there will be others who will be taken out of the world when they believe in Jesus. Essentially, all Jesus is doing is praying for the unity of his church, his bride.
We must understand what the Calvinist is thinking when he reads these passages. First he wants to believe John 17:9 means Jesus is praying for ALL the elect. Then when you show him verse 20, he wants to believe that Jesus is only praying for some people God chose before the foundation of the world - the elect disciples. Then at 17:20 he wants to believe that Jesus is praying for the yet unsaved elect that will come to believe in him later. Therefore, Jesus is not praying for just anyone but is praying for all the elect in John 17. But wait minute. This does not make any sense.
If Jesus is not praying for all those God chose before the foundation of the world at verse 9, because he is praying for the rest of the elect at verse 20, then he can only be praying for his present disciples. Therefore, he is only praying for some of the elect and not all of the elect and the Calvinist can no longer claim this passage is a prayer for all the elect, saved and yet unsaved. Therefore, we can conclude that John 17:9 is not a prayer for all the elect in general, but for his disciples, men who were already following him.
And we are not finished yet. There is more. If Jesus is praying for the yet unsaved elect at verse 20, the same is true. The Calvinist cannot claim that verse 9 is a prayer for all the elect if he is praying for the yet unsaved elect at verse 20. Therefore, Jesus is not praying for "the elect" at verse 9; he is praying for his disciples, not for anyone else.
And there is even more. The Calvinist was once "in the world" says Jesus in this very gospel. Was Jesus not praying for him at verse 9 then? Now the Calvinist has a real big problem on his hands. He is claiming that Jesus did not pray for the world but for the elect. But now he has to claim that verse 20 concerns the yet unsaved elect who are yet "in the world." Oh, oh, then that means Jesus was praying for the elect who are yet in the world and he is therefore NOT praying for these guys at verse 9. Therefore, Jesus was praying for those of the world who have yet not been taken out of the world at verse 20. The only way out now is to claim the elect were never part of the world which of course is getting quite preposterous since the disciples themselves were taken out of the world.
So we can see here the Calvinist has cornered himself on all sides. It is plainly obvious the Calvinist is trying to dream up ways to read his doctrines into John's words. It is also plainly obvious what these passages really mean. At John 17:9 Jesus is praying for his disciples and at John 17:20 he is praying for anyone who will later come to be his disciples. He is praying for the unity of his church. Thus, there is no hint of Limited Atonement here. And not only so, John tells us in several other passages that Jesus was the Lamb of God who is the atoning sacrifice for the "whole world." Thus, the Calvinist doctrine of Limited Atonment is again shown to be a false doctrine.
Did you ever notice that Calvinists make a big deal that Christ did not pray for the "world" in John 17? this is rather unusual since they define, or essentially define, the word "world" at John 1:29 and 3:16 as "the elect." So in those passages they claim the word "world" refers to the elect but in this passage the word "world" definitely refers to "not the elect." The have the same word being an antonym of itself, that is, the same word with opposite meanings and written by the very same person - John! This itself illustrates their own folly with the word "world" in John.
Now let us look at John 17:9 passage further.
"I pray for them, I do not pray for the world but for those you gave me for they are yours"
(John 17:9)
Calvinists claim here an allusion to Limited Atonement. They will say, "Look here, Jesus does not pray for the "world," he only prays for those the Father gave to him and these must be the elect God chose before the foundation of the world. Jesus only died for the sins of the elect.
Interestingly, Calvinists also forget these passages written by the very same person:
"Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world (John 3:16)
"For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever should believe in him might not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16)."
"Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world (John 3:16)
"We know that this is indeed the Savior of the world." (John 4:42).
"I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. " (John 12:47).
"He is the propitation for our sins and not only for ours only but for the whole world." (1 John 2:2)
Now at this point, many Calvinists will tell you that "world" here means something different than it does at John 17:9. In fact, they might even tell you that the word here refers to "the elect." So in John 17:9, the word means "definitely not the elect," but here they want it to mean "the elect," and give the very same word exactly opposite meanings. It is interesting that when Calvinists see the word "world" at John 17:9 they understand it like most of us do. But when they are confronted with John 1:29 and John 3:16, they suddenly decide to give it a different definition. Why do they decide to do this? The answer is obvious. They want to redefine the word "world" at John 1:29 and 3:16 because it does not fit their doctrine of Limited Atonement nor does it fit their interpretation of John 17:9 which they have just presented to you.
So, the first thing they will do is point to all the ways the word "world" is used by the apostle John thinking this somehow grants them a license to define the word "world" at John 1:29 and 3:16 however they like. The Greek word in question in all three passages is the word kosmos. It is the noun form of the verb kosmeo which means "to garnish or adorn." Note, the relationship between the noun form and verb form in 1 Peter:
"Let not yours be the outward adornment [kosmos] with braiding of hair, decoration of gold, and wearing of fine clothing, but let it be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable jewel of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious. So once the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn [kosmeo] themselves and were submissive to their husbands"
(1 Peter 3:3-5).
So what is the connection here? Well, the ancients perceived the world and all the stars and planets to be the adornment of the universe. For this reason, ancient middle eastern women often adorned themselves with jewellry which resembled stars and moons and such things of the creation. The word kosmos most basically means "the created order."
So, the Calvinist will try to claim that that word "world" means different things so they he can define it how he likes at John 1:29 and 3:16. But this is not how we define words honestly. In order to define a word honestly we do not try to find a way to justify defining it how we like to fit our denominational creed, but to discover how the user of that word intends it. Now lest we be perceived to be missing something, take a look at every single occurrence of the world "world (kosmos) in John's gospel and letters. See how you think John uses the word "world."
Not all Calvinists however will first bother to claim "world" means "the elect" at John 1:29 and 3:16. Others will get you to focus upon John 3:16 and then try to claim that it does indeed mean what it means everywhere else but now he tries to tell you that only the elect of the world will actually believe. These elect are in fact the "whosoever" who will believe he claims. See what he does here? He shifts the argument from a discussion on Limited Atonement to a discussion on Total Depravity and the ability to believe. In other words, he is saying nothing other than, "My theology says so" without regard for what John really intended. Now he will give you rounds of ammunition on the subject of Total Depravity and the discussion concering Limited Atonment and John 3:16 comes to an end. It is simply a distraction tactic. But we are not going to let him do this.
First, let us see what Jesus intended. He says, "whoseover believes." He does not say, "so when the elect believe." The Calvinist has now granted himself a license to define "whosoever" here as "the elect." Where did he get this license? Secondly, let us go back to John 1:29. Here John the Baptist says Jesus is the Lamb who takes away the sins of the world! Now the Calvinist is trapped. Having agreed "world" does indeed mean "all the world" or "all the people of the world" he is now trapped. John tells us that Jesus takes away all the sins of the world. So that Calvinist tactic is foiled by John 1:29.
Now instead of accepting this passage, he will seek to nullify it for the sake of his tradition. He will argue, "Well, if that verse really means Jesus takes away the sins of all the world then everyone will be saved!" Now, he has just gotten himself even into deeper trouble. The Bible teaches that Jesus is in the process of taking away the sins of the world. He is putting all this under his feet. This process of taking away the sins of the world is why he forgives you after you commit a sin and repent of it. Matthew 13 also illuminates this passage:
"The field is the world, and the good seed means the sons of the kingdom; the weeds are the sons of the evil one, and the enemy who sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the close of the age, and the reapers are angels. Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the consummation of the age. The Son of man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers." (Matthew 13:42).
Yep, that's right. When Jesus returns the "world" will finally be totally purged of sin by the fire of his truth. Jesus is already doing this. That is why Peter says judgment begins with the people of God. Christians are already in the process of being purged, cleansed, of their sins by the fire and our fiery trials.
Now, we are not here done yet. There is still 1 John 2:2 (not to mention the others). Here John tells us that Jesus is the atoning sacrifice for the "whole world." Now what more do we need? The Calvinist claims Jesus is the atoning sacrifice only for some people but not all people. John tells us otherwise. One wonders how much more plain it can be.
However, the Calvinist, seeking to preserve his beliefs will try something else. Here he will say that "our sins" refers to the Jews and "the whole world" refers to the rest of the nations of the world. Now, he claims that this verse does not mean that Jesus was the atoning sacrifice for all people but all nations of the world in which the elect might be living. See what he did there?
Now one wonders where he got this idea. Where is this idea in the context? It is nowhere to be found. There is not even a hint of it in the whole letter. It is rather obvious to thinking people that John means "not only we Christians but all the people of the world." But the Calvinist grants himelf a license to practice eisegesis, that is, reading his theology into the text. However, he rants and raves if anyone but himself tries to do anything like that.
Now if we are reasonable people, we can see what is going on here. It is blatently obvious to any thinking person the Calvinist is trying to avoid the truth of the matter. He does not want to find out what John 1:29 and 3:16 and 1 John 2:2 really mean. He only wants to concoct an interpretation which he feels allows him to continue following TULIP. These passages obvoiusly mean all people of the world. The Calvinist will deny it. If so, let him. You cannot force anyone to accept the truth. That's God's job and everyone will have to accept the truth sooner or later.
Now, we have taken a big detour from our original passage in question - John 17:9. Let us notice something very, very obvious. First, Jesus prays for his disciples whom he took out of the world. But notice verse 20 where Jesus says he is not only praying for his disciples but for all people who will come to believe in him. So, we can see clearly that first he is saying that he is praying for his disciples but now he is praying for everyone else that will come to believes in him. These are people of the "world." Jesus as the disciples were taken out of the world when they believed in Jesus, so now there will be others who will be taken out of the world when they believe in Jesus. Essentially, all Jesus is doing is praying for the unity of his church, his bride.
We must understand what the Calvinist is thinking when he reads these passages. First he wants to believe John 17:9 means Jesus is praying for ALL the elect. Then when you show him verse 20, he wants to believe that Jesus is only praying for some people God chose before the foundation of the world - the elect disciples. Then at 17:20 he wants to believe that Jesus is praying for the yet unsaved elect that will come to believe in him later. Therefore, Jesus is not praying for just anyone but is praying for all the elect in John 17. But wait minute. This does not make any sense.
If Jesus is not praying for all those God chose before the foundation of the world at verse 9, because he is praying for the rest of the elect at verse 20, then he can only be praying for his present disciples. Therefore, he is only praying for some of the elect and not all of the elect and the Calvinist can no longer claim this passage is a prayer for all the elect, saved and yet unsaved. Therefore, we can conclude that John 17:9 is not a prayer for all the elect in general, but for his disciples, men who were already following him.
And we are not finished yet. There is more. If Jesus is praying for the yet unsaved elect at verse 20, the same is true. The Calvinist cannot claim that verse 9 is a prayer for all the elect if he is praying for the yet unsaved elect at verse 20. Therefore, Jesus is not praying for "the elect" at verse 9; he is praying for his disciples, not for anyone else.
And there is even more. The Calvinist was once "in the world" says Jesus in this very gospel. Was Jesus not praying for him at verse 9 then? Now the Calvinist has a real big problem on his hands. He is claiming that Jesus did not pray for the world but for the elect. But now he has to claim that verse 20 concerns the yet unsaved elect who are yet "in the world." Oh, oh, then that means Jesus was praying for the elect who are yet in the world and he is therefore NOT praying for these guys at verse 9. Therefore, Jesus was praying for those of the world who have yet not been taken out of the world at verse 20. The only way out now is to claim the elect were never part of the world which of course is getting quite preposterous since the disciples themselves were taken out of the world.
So we can see here the Calvinist has cornered himself on all sides. It is plainly obvious the Calvinist is trying to dream up ways to read his doctrines into John's words. It is also plainly obvious what these passages really mean. At John 17:9 Jesus is praying for his disciples and at John 17:20 he is praying for anyone who will later come to be his disciples. He is praying for the unity of his church. Thus, there is no hint of Limited Atonement here. And not only so, John tells us in several other passages that Jesus was the Lamb of God who is the atoning sacrifice for the "whole world." Thus, the Calvinist doctrine of Limited Atonment is again shown to be a false doctrine.