Chapter 33. Of God's Reconciling the World to Himself
Chapter 33 Of God's Reconciling the World to Himself The next point, being the seventh proposed in the first chapter, is that God was reconciling the world to Himself. As the text states,
God has been reconciling the world to Himself. This statement, found here in the text, is essentially the same in meaning as what we have in John 3:16: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."
The world, you may ask—how is that? Did God reconcile all the world to Himself?
No, we are to understand this statement here as an indefinite proposition, not as if it were a universal proposition. The correct understanding of the difference between a universal and an indefinite proposition is of great importance to us, both in this and many other points of divinity.
A universal proposition speaks of the general in such a way that it includes every particular under it. An indefinite proposition, however, speaks only of the general and does not include every particular, but only many. For example, if one were to say, "Such a man teaches all the children in such a town," we do not mean that there is no individual child who is not taught—for there are infants, and there may be some who are not taught at all. What we mean is that he teaches those children who come to him to be taught; he is there, ready and prepared to teach them. In this sense, he may be said to teach all the children in the town—that is, there is a general proposition without a specific restriction, even though every
individual is not contained within it. This is an indefinite proposition or expression.
However, when we speak of a universal proposition, we refer to all particulars, and none can be excluded; all must fall under that proposition. Understanding this distinction will be helpful in other areas of divinity. For instance, regarding the promise, "I will be your
God and the God of your seed," we must understand this as an indefinite proposition, and so all who comprehend it rightly understand it.
Many who do not understand the difference between these two types of propositions believe they have a strong objection, saying, "This promise cannot apply to the godly, for then all the children of the godly would be godly too." No, it is not a universal proposition that includes every particular, but rather an indefinite one. It means this:
God promises to be the God of His people and their seed—that is, He will show mercy to their seed rather than to the seed of others. He will more likely draw the line of election through their lineage than through that of others. He will take them—not every individual one of them—but take them indefinitely, without revealing which specific person He will take, whether this one or that one. He speaks indefinitely, meaning that those who are the seed of His people shall be brought into a closer circle, into a nearer limit of God's grace than the seed of others, and He will be gracious to their seed rather than to others.
In the same way, when we read that God saved the world or reconciled the world, these propositions are to be understood alike, as indefinite statements. It does not mean that He loves or reconciles every individual person in the world, just as He is the God of the seed of the saints. It should not be understood that He is the God of every