OF REDEMPTION.

DR.WHITBY says, that the confirmation of the doctrine of universal redemption, from the suffrage of all antiquity, is sufficiently done by Vossius, in his Historia Pelagiana, where he lays down these two positions 1. That “the sense of the ancient church was, that God wills the conversion and salvation of all.” 2. That “it was the judgment of the ancient church, that Christ had provided an universal remedy for the universal fault of men, by paying a ransom of infinite value, lest any one should perish through the defect of it.”

He further observes, that this is more copiously done by Mr. Dally (he means Monsieur Daille) by producing the testimonies of the ancients from the first to the twelfth century; and concluding thus, “Certainly I do not find one in the first eight ages of Christianity that has said absolutely, and in terms, as is commonly said, that Christ died only for the elect.” Here the Doctor rests, and would have his readers trust to and depend upon the conclusions and assertions of these two men. Vossius’s Pelagian History must be allowed to be a very considerable performance, and is the fund and magazine of antiquity for the Arminians. Dr. Twisse intended an answer to it, and in one of his books says, he had entered upon it; but death I suppose prevented his design, at least it never was published; such a work, by so learned a hand, might have been of great service. But why should we trust to Vossius’s account of the judgment of the ancient church in this point, since Dr. Whitby himself would not trust him in another? namely, original sin; though he was so very positive as to say “The catholic church always so judged;” and the Doctor tells us, that “upon an impartial search he found that all the passages he had collected were impertinent, or at least insufficient to prove the point.” This gives no encouragement to depend on him. And inasmuch as the several passages cited by Vossius are also, with many others, produced by Monsieur Daille, I shall only attend to the latter, and to those only of the first four centuries; and though he observes, that in these and the four following ages, none ever said absolutely, and in express terms, that Christ died only for the elect; yet it does not follow, but that some might say it, in other terms and words equivalent, of the same signification, and which amounted to the same sense. It must be owned, that Monsieur Daille has collected a large number of testimonies indeed; but when it is considered, that multitudes of them are only expressed in Scripture language, and so capable of the same sense the Scriptures are; others regard men of all sorts, ranks, and degrees; others Jews and Gentiles; others the sufficiency of Christ’s death for all; and others, some general benefit by it, as the resurrection of the dead; their number will be greatly reduced, and very few left to be of any service to the cause for which they are brought; besides, it will be made to appear in the following Sections, that the ancients often describe the persons for whom Christ died by such characters as cannot agree with all men.

SECTION 1.

CLEMENS ROMANUS. A. D. 69.

CLEMENT, as he believed there was a certain number of elect persons, which has been proved in the preceding chapter, so he plainly intimates, that these are the persons for whom Christ shed his blood; for having observed, that all the elect of God are made perfect in love, he adds, f1023 “Without love nothing is well-pleasing to God; in love the Lord assumed us to himself; because of the love which Christ our Lord hath towards us, to aima autou adwken uper hmwn , he hath given his blood for us, his flesh for our flesh, and his soul for our souls.” The sense of which is manifestly this, that the persons for whose sake Christ assumed human nature, and shed his precious blood, are the elect of God, and such who have a special and peculiar share in the love of Christ. And besides his saying, that the blood of Christ was given, uper hmwn, for us, he restrains redemption to them that have faith and hope in God; for speaking of the spies that came into Rahab’s house, ordering her to hang out a scarlet thread, thereby says he, “making it manifest, oti dia tou aimatos Kuriou lutrosis estai pasi tois pisteuousin kai elpizousin epi ton Theon, that through the blood of the Lord there should be redemption for all those that believe and hope in God.” Monsieur Daille has cited a passage from this writer in favor of general redemption, which is this, “Let us,” says Clement, f1027 “look to the blood of Christ, and see how precious his blood is to God, which being shed for our salvation, panti to kosmo metanoias Charin upenegken, ‘hath brought the grace of repentance to all the world.’” But his meaning is evidently this, that the blood of Christ, shed for the salvation of sinners, has laid a foundation for the preaching of the doctrine of repentance in all ages of the world; for he goes on to instance in the preaching of Noah to the old world; of Jonah to the Ninevites; and in God’s declarations of his regard to repenting sinners in the times of Isaiah and Ezekiel; which he closes with this observation, pantas oun tous agapetous autou boulomenos metanoias metechien, “God therefore willing that his beloved ones should partake of repentance.” In which he suggests, that God’s grand design in having the doctrine of repentance preached in all ages was, that those who were the objects of his love might be brought unto it; which is so far from militating against, that it is a confirmation of the doctrine of special grace and redemption through the blood of Christ.

SECTION 2.

BARNABAS. A. D. 70.

BARNABAS was a Levite, of the country of Cyprus, ( Acts 4:36.) and a companion of the apostle Paul; there is an epistle extant which goes under his name, and is thought to have been written after the destruction of the temple at Jerusalem, and about A. D. 70, in which he not only says, “that the Son of God being Lord, and who also shall judge the quick and the dead, epathen ina e plege autou zoopoiete emas, suffered that by his stripes he might quicken us;” that he could not suffer ei me dis emas, “but for us;” and that he offered the vessels of the Spirit a sacrifice, uper ton emereron amartion, “for our sins,”but also introduces Christ f1030 thus speaking of his sufferings, “I see that I shall thus offer my flesh, uper amartion tou laou tou kainou, for the sins of the new people; meaning a special and peculiar people that should be taken out from among the Gentiles under the New Testament dispensation, called a new people, to distinguish them from God’s ancient people the Jews.

SECTION 3.

IGNATIUS. A. D. 110.

IGNATIUS never makes use of any general expressions when he speaks of the sufferings and death of Christ; but either says, that he suffered, uper emo, di emas , “for us, that we might be saved;” or uper amartion emon, “for our sins;” and sometimes describes the persons he means, as when he says, that “Jesus Christ died for us,” ina pisteusantes eis ton thanaton autou, to apothaneine ekphug ete, “that believing in his death, you may escape dying.” And in another place he says, that “Jesus is” e zor ton piston, “the life of believers.” Monsieur Daille has not attempted to give us one instance for general redemption out of this writer, nor the former.

SECTION 4.

JUSTIN. A. D. 150.

JUSTIN MARTYR, in many places of his writings, limits an incarnation, sufferings, death, and sacrifice of Christ, and redemption by him, to certain persons whom he describes by repenting sinners, believers, etc. when he says, that Christ “was born according to the will of God the Father uper ton pisteuonton anthropon, for men that believe;” that is, in order to procure salvation, and obtain eternal redemption for such persons, as he elsewhere explains it; saying, that he “became man of a virgin, according to the will of the Father, uper soterias ton pistenonton auto, for the salvation of them that believe in him.” And in another place, having cited Isaiah 33:16, Bread shall be given him; he observes, “that is a prophecy concerning that bread which our Christ hath delivered to us in commemoration of his being embodied; dia tous pisteuontas eis auton, di ous kai, pathetos gegone, for the sake of them that believe in him, for whom also he became subject to sufferings.” And elsewhere he says, | f1037 that “the offering of fine flour for the leper, was a figure of the bread of the eucharist, which Jesus Christ our Lord hath delivered unto us to do in commemoration of his sufferings; which he endured uper ton kathairomenon tas psuchas ape pases ponerias anthropon, for those men whose souls are purified from all iniquity;” and this he supposed was done by the blood of Christ; for more than once explaining that text in Genesis 49:11, He washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes; he says, it “foretold, and manifestly declared the sufferings which Christ should endure, di animatos kathairon tous pisteuontas auto, purifying by his blood them that believe in him.” These, he often intimates, share the benefits of, Christ’s blood, sufferings, and death; “as,” says he, “the blood of the passover saved them that were in Egypt, so the blood of Christ tous pisteuontas rusetai ek thanatou, delivers from death those that believe.” In like manner he asserts, that Christ was an offering or sacrifice, uper panton metanoein boulomenon amartolon, “for all sinners that are willing to repent.” Yea, that a pallagin de tou thanatou tois metaginoskousin apo ton phaulon kai pisteuousin auto ergazetai , “he has wrought out deliverance from death for those that repent of their evils and believe in him.” Now had Justin been of opinion that Christ died for every individual of mankind, would he have used such limitations and restrictions, when treatings of the extent of his sufferings and death? Monsieur Daille indeed cites some passages from him as favoring the doctrine of universal redemption; but his first instance only proves, that Christ was born and crucified uper tou genous ton anthropon, “for the generation of men,” or for mankind; but not that he was born and crucified for every individual of mankind. Justin’s sense in other places is clear, and his meaning is that Christ died for some of all sorts of men; as when speaking of the scarlet thread that Rahab the harlot was directed to bind to her window, he says, F1043 it was a “symbol of the blood of Christ, by which are saved the fornicators of old, and unrighteous persons, ek pantwn twn eqnwn , out of all nations; receiving forgiveness of sins, and sinning no more.” And in another place he thus expresses himself, “As Jacob served Laban for the cattle that were spotted, and of various forms, so Christ served even to the cross, uper twn ek pantov genouv poikilwn kai polneidwn anqrwpwn , for men of every kind, of many and various shapes, procuring them by his blood, and the mystery of the cross.” Monsieur Daille’s second instance only declares that kind and tender manner in which God sent his Son into the world. His third sets forth Justin’s sentiments concerning the heathens, which will be considered in a proper place. And his fourth and last only shows, that it is the will of God that all should be saved; meaning, that all men shall be raised from the dead; against those that deny the doctrine of the resurrection; or that it is the will of God that some of all sorts should be saved, referring to the apostle’s words and sense in 1 Timothy 2:4.

SECTION 5.

ECCLESIA SMYRNENSIS. A. D. 169.

THE church at Smyrna wrote a letter to the churches in Pontus, and to the church at Philomelium, as it is thought, about the year 169, giving an account of the sufferings of some martyrs, and particularly of Polycarp, their former bishop; in which they take notice of the stupidity of some persons, who used their interest to prevent the Christians having the dead body of Polycarp given them; lest leaving their crucified Christ, they should begin to worship him; being ignorant, say they, that we can never leave that Christ, ton uper tes tou pantos kosmou ton sozomenon soterias pathonta , “who suffered for the salvation of the whole world of them that are saved, nor worship any other.” This passage Monsieur Daille f1046 thinks makes nothing to the purpose, since it does not deny that Christ died for others besides those who are really saved. But surely if these pious Christians had believed that Christ died for all men, for them that are saved, and for them that are not saved, they would never have expressed themselves in this restrictive manner; but would have chose to have carried the extent of Christ’s sufferings and death to the utmost, when they were declaring their great regard for him, and the great benefit of salvation men receive by him. Besides, these words manifestly show, in what sense this very ancient church understood those universal phrases, the world, the whole world , and all men, in Scripture, for whom Christ is said to give himself and die, and for whose sins he is said to be a propitiation; that these design a certain number of men that are and will be saved. As to the version of Ruffinus, urged by this author, rendering the passage thus, “who endured death for the salvation of the whole world;” it is not worthy of regard, since it is an imperfect one, omitting the words ton sozomenon.

And here I choose to take notice of a citation made by Monsieur Daille, and after him by Dr. Whitby, out of an epistle of Polycarp, bishop of this church at Smyrna, said to be written A.D. 107, to the Philippians, in which he thus speaks concerning Christ, “who,” says he, “will come to judge the quick and the dead; on to aima ekzetesei o Theos apo ton apeithounton auto, whose blood God will require of them that believed not in him;” from whence they conclude, that according to this ancient venerable bishop, Christ died for them that perish, as well as those that are saved. It is something strange, that Monsieur Daille should cite a passage out of an epistle, the genuineness of which he himself has called in question; and, should it appear to be genuine, as it is thought to be by many learned men, it will be of no service to him, or to the Doctor, or to the cause they espoused, since God may be said to require, as he certainly will require, the blood of Christ of the unbelieving Jews who shed it; and indeed of them only, who said, His blood be on us and on our children; without supposing that his blood was shed for them; yea, on the contrary it appears, that his blood was not shed for them, both from their final unbelief, and from its being required of them. And of as little service are his citations from Minutius Felix, Athenagoras, Tatian, and Theophilus of Antioch; since they only express the patience, goodness, power, and wisdom of God in creation and providence, and his great regard to repenting sinners; but not a syllable of Christ’s dying for men, much less for every individual of mankind.

SECTION 6.

IRENAEUS. A.D. 180.

IRENAEUS, when speaking of the incarnation and passion of Christ, and of redemption by his blood, frequently restrains them to certain persons of such and such characters; which evidently shows, that he did not think that these belong to all the individuals of mankind in common. Thus, treating of the coming of Christ, and of the end of his coming into the world, he says, that “he came to save all by himself, omnes inquam, qui per eum renascuntur in Deum, all, I say, who through him are born again unto God, infants, and little ones, and children, and young men, and old men.” And in another place, taking notice of God’s suffering Jonah to be swallowed up by a whale, and of his after deliverance; “So,” says he, “God from the beginning suffered man to be swallowed up by the great whale, who was the author of transgression; not that being swallowed up he should wholly perish, but providing and preparing a plan of salvation which is effected by the word, through the sin of Jonah; his qui eandem cum Jona de Deo sententiam habuerunt for them who have the same sentiments concerning God with Jonah; and have confessed and said, I am the Lord’s servant, I worship the Lord God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land; that man enjoying the unhoped-for salvation from God, might rise from the dead and glorify him.” And elsewhere proving, that the Father of Christ is the same that was spoken of by the prophets; and that when Christ came he acknowledged no other but him, who was declared from the beginning. He adds, a quo libertatem detulit his qui legitime et prono animo, et toto corde deserviunt ei , “from whom he brought deliverance to them who serve him truly, with a ready mind, and with all their hearts;” but to the despisers of him, and such who are not subject to God, sempiternam attulit perditionem abscindens eos a vita,” he hath brought everlasting destruction, cutting them off from life.” So far was he from thinking that Christ died to redeem all mankind, that he expressly says, that the death of Christ is the damnation of some; his words are these; “As they (the Israelites) through the blindness of the Egyptians, so we, through the blindness of Jews, receive salvation; siquidem mors Domino, eorum quidem qui cruci eum fixerunt et non crediderunt ejus adventum, damnatio est: seeing the death of the Lord is indeed the damnation of them that crucified him, and did not believe his coming; but the salvation of them that believe in him.” And in another place, where he makes Jacob a type of Christ, and Rachel of the church, he confines the obedience and sufferings of Christ to his church: “All things,” says he, “he did for the younger Rachel, who had good eyes, quae praefigurabat ecclesiam, propter quam sustinuit Christus, who prefigured the church, for whom Christ endured, that is, sufferings and death.” And a little after he has these words, “Christ came not for the sake of them only who believed in him, in the times of Tiberius Caesar; nor did the Father provide for those men only who now are, but for all men entirely; qui ab initio secundum virtutem suam in sua generatione, et timuerunt et dilexerunt Deum, et juste et pie conversati sunt erga proximos, et concupierunt videre Christum et audire vocem ejus; who from the beginning, according to their virtue or ability, have feared and loved God in their generation, and have righteously and piously conversed with their neighbors, and have desired to see Christ, and hear his voice.” The passages cited from this writer, by M.

Daille, for general redemption, have not one word about it, and at most only prove, that man is endued with free will, which, in some sense, is not denied; and that man, and not God, is the cause of his own imperfection, blindness, and destruction, which is readily agreed to.

The citations made by the same author out of Clemens Alexandrinus, do, indeed, express, in very general terms, the care of God and Christ over mankind, and their great regard unto and desire after their salvation; and also assert our Lord to be the Savior of all men, and seem to carry the point further than what is in controversy, even to the salvation of all; which, if it could once be established, we should readily come into the notion of general redemption, though in all these large expressions, Clement seems only to refer to the texts in Jude 1:3, 1 Timothy 2:4, and 1 Timothy 4:10, in the first of which the apostle speaks of the common salvation, all the saved ones share alike; in the next, of the will of God, that some of all sorts should be saved; and in the last, of God, as the preserver of all men, in a way of common, and particularly of believers, in a way of special providence; and after all, Clement distinguishes between Christ’s being a Savior of some, and a Lord of others; for he says, that he is ton pepis teukoton Soter, ton de apeithesanton Kurios, “the Savior of them that believe; but the Lord of them that believe not.” And in one place he has these words; “Wherefore, he (Christ,) is introduced in the gospel weary, who was weary for us, and promising to give his life a ransom, and polton, in the room of many.”

SECTION 7.

TERTULLIAN. A.D. 200.

TERTULLIAN is a writer, it must be owned, who expresses himself in somewhat general terms, when he speaks of the incarnation, death and sacrifice of Christ, which are yet capable of being understood in a sense agreeable to the doctrine of particular redemption; as when he says, f1061 that “we who believe that God was here on earth, and took upon him the humility of a human habit, ex causa humanae salutis, ‘for the sake of man’s salvation,’ are far from their opinion, who think that God takes no care of any thing;” which may be truly said, without supposing that Christ assumed human nature, for the sake of the salvation of every individual of mankind; so when he says, in another place, that “Christ ought to make a sacrifice pro omnibus gentibus , ‘for all nations;’ his meaning may be, that it was necessary that he should be a propitiation, not for the Jews only, but for the Gentiles also;” and elsewhere having observed that the Marcionites concluded from the words of God to Moses, in Exodus 32:10, that Moses was better than his God, he thus addresses them, f1063 “You are also to be pitied, with the people, who do not acknowledge Christ, figured in the person of Moses, the advocate with the Father, and the offerer up of his own soul, pro populi salute , ‘for the salvation of the people;’” by which people may very well be understood, the special and peculiar people of God’s elect, of whom the people of Israel was a type and figure. Besides, in some places, Tertullian manifestly restrains the death of Christ, and the benefits of it, to some persons only, to the church, and to believers. This having cited Deuteronomy 33:17, His glory is like the firstling of his bullock; and his horns are like the horns of unicorns; with them he shall push the people together to the ends of the earth; gives this interpretation of the words; “not the rhinoceros, which has but one horn, is intended; nor the minotaurus, which has two horns; but Christ is signified hereby; a bullock is he called, because of both his dispositions aliis ferus ut judex, allis mansuetus ut Salvator, ‘to some fierce as a judge, to others mild as a Savior,’ whose horns would be the extremities of the cross. Moreover, by this virtue of the cross, and being horned in this manner, nunc ventilar, per fidem, ‘he now pushes all the nations;’ by faith, taking them up from earth to heaven, and by the judgment, will then push them, casting them down from heaven to earth.”

And a little after, in the same place, speaking of the brazen serpent,, he Says, that “it designed the virtue and efficacy of our Lord’s cross, by which the serpent the devil was made public, and to every one that is hurt by the spiritual serpents, intuenti tamen et credenti in eam, only looking upon it, and believing in it, healing of the bites of sin and salvation are immediately pronounced.” And so as he observes in another place, quod perierat olim per lignum in Adam, id restitueretur per lignum Christi, what was of old lost through the tree in Adam, that is restored through the tree of Christ.” Again he observes, that the apostle says, that we are reconciled in his body through death; on which he thus descants: “Yea, in that body in which he could die through the flesh, he died, not through the church, plane propter ecclesiam, but verily for the church, by changing body for body, and that which is fleshly for that which is spiritual.” M.

Daille has produced a passage or two from this writer in favor of the universal extent of Christ’s death and redemption, in which not one word is mentioned concerning either of them; and only declare, that man was not originally made to die; that God is not negligent of man’s salvation; that he desires his restoration to life, willing rather the repentance than the death of a sinner, which, as they do not militate against the doctrine of particular, so cannot serve to establish that of general redemption. Two testimonies from Hippolitus, bishop of Portua, a disciple of Clement of Alexandria, and a martyr, who is said to flourish about, A. D. 220, are next cited at second hand; the first of which is, that “the God of the universe became man for this purpose; that by suffering in passible flesh, our whole kind, which was sold unto death, might be redeemed;” that is, from death, a corporal death; the general resurrection from the dead being thought to be the fruit of Christ’s sufferings and death. The other is, that “the Son of God, through flesh, naturally weak of himself, wrought out the salvation of the whole;” which may be understood of the salvation of the whole body of Christ, the church, or of every one of his people, his sheep, his children, and his chosen, and not of every individual of mankind; since all are not saved, as they undoubtedly would be, if Christ had wrought out the salvation of all.

SECTION 8.

ORIGINES ALEXANDRINUS. A.D. 230.

ORIGEN is represented as holding, that Christ suffered and died for the salvation of all rational creatures, in heaven and in earth, devils as well as men; and that all in the issue will be saved: and there are passages in his writings which favor this notion. Could our universalists give into, and prove such an assertion, that all mankind will be saved, the controversy about general redemption would soon be at an end. It is no wonder that a writer, who had imbibed such a notion, should express himself in very general terms about the sufferings and death of Christ, and assert him to be the Savior of all men, which is the substance of the citations out of him by M. Daille; nevertheless, as it is very probable, he was not always of this mind; and it is certain, that when this notion of his was not in view, he says many things which not only contradict that, but very much countenance the doctrine of particular redemption, as will appear from the following observations. 1. He expressly affirms, that the sufferings and death of Christ are of no use and service to some persons; and that the fruit and effect of them only belong to others, whom he describes; his words are these: “The sufferings of Christ, indeed, confer life on them that believe, but death on them that believe not: for though the Gentiles have salvation and justification by his cross, yet is it destruction and condemnation to the Jews; for so it is written in the Gospel; This child is born for the fall and rising again of many.” And in another place; “If any would be saved, let him come to the house,” says he, “in which the blood of Christ is for a sign of redemption; for with them who said, His blood be upon us and upon our children, Christi sanguis in condemnatione est, ‘the blood of Christ is for condemnation;’ for Jesus was set for the fall and rising again of many ; and therefore to them that speak against his sign efficitur sanguis ejus ad paenam, ‘his blood is for punishment;’ but to them that believe, for salvation.” And elsewhere, mentioning. these words, the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world, he adds, by way of explanation, ou panton de e amartia apo tou amnou airetai, “the sin of all is not indeed taken away by the Lamb, even of those who do not grieve, nor are afflicted until it be taken away.” 2. Though he sometimes speaks of Christ’s procuring salvation, redemption, and remission of sin, for all men, for the whole world: yet from other passages of his it appears, that he is to be understood of the sufficiency of the price of Christ’s blood to procure these things for all men, which is not denied. In one place, taking notice of the legal sacrifices, he has these expressions: “Among all these there is one Lamb which is able to take away the sins of the whole world; for such was this sacrifice, ut una sola sufficieret pro totius mundi salute, ‘that that alone was sufficient for the salvation of the whole world.’” And in another place he thus expresses himself, “Until the blood of Jesus was given, which was so precious, ut solus pro omnium redemptione sufficieret, ‘that it alone was sufficient for the redemption of all;’ it was necessary, that they who were brought up in the law, should every one for himself, in imitation of the future redemption, give his own blood,” meaning the blood of circumcision. 3. It may be further observed, that Origen, by the world, sometimes understands the church, for which, he frequently says, Christ suffered and died. The apostle Paul says, that God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself; where, by the world, is not to be understood the whole world, that is, those who are in the whole world, as Origen in one place observes; and in another place having cited the same passage, adds, “the sin of which world Christ has took away, peri gar tou kosmou thv ekklhsiav ‘ for of the world of the church is this word written;’” and immediately subjoins John 1:29, as to be understood in the same sense. And elsewhere, in the same work, he not only mentions it as the sense of a certain expositor, that by the world is meant the church, which is the ornament and beauty of the world, an inquires whether it may be called so, and also light, but affirms it to be so, legesqw toinon h ekklhsia kosmov , “therefore,” says he, “let the church be called the world because it is enlightened by the Savior; and cites several passages of Scripture, a Matthew 5:14, John 1:29,1 John 2:2, 1 Timothy 4:10, to be interpreted in the same way And it is easy to observe, that Origen often speaks of Christ’s suffering and dying for the church: in one place, speaking of Christ and the church as bridegroom and bride, he says “First the bride prays, and immediately, in the midst of her prayers she is heard, she sees the bridegroom present, she sees the virgins joined in company with him. Moreover the Bridegroom answers her, and after his words, dum ille pro ejus patitur salute, ‘while he suffers for her salvation,’ the companions answer, until the bridegroom is in bed, and rises from suffering, they will make some ornaments for the bride.”

And in the same work on these words, Arise, fair one, he thus comments; “Why does he say, arise? Why hasten? I have sustained for thee the rage of tempests; I have received the floods which were due to thee; my soul is made sorrowful unto death for thee.” In another place he says, “The church of Christ is strengthened by the grace of him who was crucified for her.” And elsewhere we call the fat, that is, of the sacrifices, the life of Christ, which is the church of his friends, pro quibus animam suam posuit, “for whom he laid down his life.” Again, “He has delivered him for all, not only for the saints, not only for the great ones, but the Father delivered his own Son for them who are altogether the least in the church.” 4. Origen sometimes calls the world for whom Christ died, the believing world, and the people of believers, and describes those for whom h e suffered by such distinguishing characters: his words in one place are these, “If any one is ashamed of the cross of Christ, he is ashamed of that economy by which these (powers) are triumphant over; for he that knows and believes these things ought to glory in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which Christ being stauroumenou to kosmo to pisteuonti , ‘crucified for the world that believes,’ the principalities are made a show of, and triumphed over.” And in another place, “because he (Christ) took upon him the sins tou laou ton pisteuonton els auton, ‘of the people of those that believe in him,’ he often says, what he does in Psalm 22:1, and 64:5.” And elsewhere, speaking of Christ, he says, “This is the live goat sent into the wilderness; and this is the goat which is offered to the Lord a sacrifice to expiate sin; and he hath made a true propitiation in himself, credentibus populis, ‘for the believing people.’” Again, “The Son of God is come, and hath given himself a ransom; that is, he hath delivered himself for enemies, and for them that thirst he hath shed his blood; el haec est credentibus facta redemptio, “ and this becomes redemption to them that believe.” He interprets that text in Matthew 20:21, “And to give his life a ransom for many,” thus, and pollon ton pisteusanton eis auton , “for the many that believed on him.” He adds indeed, “And by way of hypothesis, if all believe in him, he gave his life a ransom for all.” To which may be added the following passage, “The true purification was not before, but in the passover, when Jesus died uper ton agnizomenon, ‘for them that are purified,’ as the Lamb of God, and took away the sin of the world.” Monsieur Daille next cites a passage as from Gregory of Neocaesarea, a hearer of Origen, but the work from whence it is taken is judged by learned men to be none of his; and this writer himself seems to question it, since he adds, “or whoever is the author of the anathemas which are carried about under his name.” And besides, this testimony only shows, that Christ is the “Savior of the world, and the light of the world;” which nobody denies, for they are the express words of the Scripture; but the question is, in what sense these phrases are to be understood.

SECTION 9.

CYPRIAN. A. D. 250.

CYPRIAN, in many places of his writings, very expressly limits Christ’s sufferings and death to certain persons described by him; as when he says, “Though we are many shepherds, yet we feed but one flock; and ought to gather together and cherish oves universas quas Christus sanguine suo et passione quaesivit ‘all the sheep which Christ hath sought up by his blood and sufferings;’ nor should we suffer our supplicant and grieving brethren to be cruelly despised and trodden down by the proud presumption of some persons.” And in another place he asks, “What can be a greater sin, or what a fouler spot, than to stand against Christ, than to scatter his church? quam ille sanguine suo praeparabit et condidit, ‘which he has prepared and obtained by his own blood?’” And elsewhere he says, ‘Christ is the bread off life; et panis hic omnium non est, sed noster est; and this bread does not belong to all, but is ours;’ and as we say, our Father, because he is the Father of them that understand and believe, so we call Christ our bread, qui corpus contigimus, ‘who have touched his body;’” in which words all but believers are excluded from having any share in Christ, the bread of life. And having in another place mentioned Ezekiel 9:4, where a mark is ordered to be set upon the foreheads. of the men that sigh and cry for the abominations of Jerusalem, he makes this observation; “This sign belongs to the passion and blood of Christ; et quisquis in hoc signo invenitur, ‘and whosoever is found with this sign shall be preserved safe and whole?’”which is approved by the testimony of God, saying, And the blood shall be for a sign upon the houses where you are, etc. What preceded in type before the Lamb was slain, is fulfilled in Christ, the truth following after; as there Egypt being smitten, the Jewish people could not escape but by the blood and token of the Lamb; so when the world shall begin to be wasted and smitten, quisquis in sanguine et signo Christi inventus fuerit, solus evadet, “whosoever shall be found in the blood, and with the mark of Christ, shall only escape.” From whence it is evident, that Cyprian did not think that every individual of mankind is interested in the blood and death of Christ.

And a little after, in the same epistle, speaking of immortality, he has these words; “This grace Christ imparts, this gift of his mercy he gives, by subduing death through the victory of the cross; redimendo credentem pretio sauguinis sui, ‘by redeeming the believer with the price of his blood;’ by reconciling man to God the Father, and by quickening the dead with the heavenly regeneration.” And in one of his tracts, animating the saints against the fears of death, he says, “Let him be afraid to die qui non Christi cruce et passione censetur, ‘who is not reckoned to have any part in the cross and sufferings of Christ;’ let him be afraid to die who will pass from this death to a second death.” And a little after, “We who live in hope, and believe in God, and trust, Christum passum esse pro nobis , ‘that Christ has suffered for us, and rose again;’ abiding in him, and rising again by him and in him, why should we be unwilling to depart hence out of this world? or, why should we mourn over and grieve for our departed friends, as if they were lost. And in another place, giving an account of our Lord’s behavior before Pilate, makes this remark, “This is he, who when he held his peace in his passion, will not be silent afterwards in his vengeance: this is our God; id est, omnium, sed fidelium el credentium Deus, that is, not the God of all, but of the faithful and believers.” To all which may be added another passage of his, which runs thus, “Writing to the seven churches, and intimating to each of them their sins and transgressions, he said repent; to whom? but quos pretio magno sui samguinis redemerat, ‘whom he had redeemed with the great price of his blood.’” This last passage is indeed taken out of an epistle which Erasmus thought was not Cyprianbut Cornelius’s, bishop of Rome; however, he afterwards judged it to be a learned piece, and not unworthy of Cyprian; Gravius and Palemius affirm it to be his; and if it was Cornelius’s, the citation may be properly enough made here, since he was contemporary with Cyprian. The passages cited by Monsieur Daille f1104 from this writer, as being on the side of universal redemption, only set forth either the great encouragement given by God to penitent sinners, or that Christ came to be the Savior of mankind, to be given unto men, and that he came for the sake of all; which Cyprian explains in the very same passage, of all sorts of men, learned and unlearned, of every age and sex; as in another of them, by a simile taken from the general and equal diffusion of the sun’s light, he shows, that Christ, the sun and true day, equally gives the light of eternal life in sua ecclesia , “in his own church;” and that the Israelites had an equal measure of the manna, without any difference of age or sex; so the heavenly grace is equally divided to all without any difference of sex or years, and without respect of persons; and the gift of spiritual grace poured forth super omnem Dei populum , “upon all the people of God.”

Some testimonies are next produced by Monsieur Daille out of Novatian, Medhodius, and Arnobius; the first of these writers, in one of the passages cited, signifies that, there is hope of salvation for men in Christ: which is not at all against us; for hope is not taken away, but established upon better grounds by the doctrine of particular, than by that of general redemption; since according to the latter, all men are indeed redeemed by Christ, but it was possible that none might be saved by him; whereas the former secures the certain salvation of all the redeemed ones: and in the other of them he suggests, that the anger, hatred, and threatenings of God, are for the good of men, and in order to move upon them, and bring them to that which is right and good; but not a word does he say concerning the death of Christ, and redemption by it. The second of these authors referred to, explains the text in Romans 9:21, one vessel to honor, and another to dishonor, thus, “not that God makes some good and others evil, but that is to be understood of the power God has of doing what he will.” Nor do we say that God makes any man evil, but that man made himself so; though we think none are good but whom God makes good. This writer indeed suggests, that it is the will of God that all men should be good, virtuous, and faithful, which is true of his approving but not of his determining will; and also intimates that all the good things of God are common to all, which in some sense holds good of the common bounties of providence, but not of the riches of grace. The third proposes a pagan objection, formed thus; “If Christ came to be the Savior of mankind, why does he not, with equal bounty, deliver all alike?” This objection, supposes, that according to the Christian scheme, all men were not delivered or redeemed by Christ.

Arnobius answers to it, not by asserting a deliverance or redemption of every individual of mankind, but by putting another question thus, “Does not he equally deliver, who equally calls all?” In which he argues indeed, from the extent of the call to the extent of the deliverance; but then the call he speaks of seems to be not of every individual person, but of some of all sorts; a grant from Christ of coming to him to some of all sorts, sublimibus, infimis, servis, faeminis, pueris, “high and low, servants, women, and children;” which are his own words; and consequently the deliverance he argues from hence must be only of some of all sorts; which is what we contend for.

SECTION 10.

LACTANTIUS. A.D. 320.

LUCIUS COELIUS was called Firmianus from his country, Firmium in Italy, and Lactantius from his smooth and milky way of speaking; he was an auditor of Arnobins, and preceptor to Crispus, son of Constantine the Great, who died A.D. 326. He wrote seven books of Divine Institutions, besides some other treatises, in which he says some things which limit the sufferings and death of Christ, and the benefits thereof, to certain persons.

Thus speaking of Christ, he says, “which as he knew what would be, so he would ever and anon say oportare se pati atque interfici pro salute multorum, that he ought to suffer and be slain for the salvation of many;” and if for the salvation of many, then not of all. And in another place says he, f1110 ”The Jews use the Old Testament, we the New, but yet they are not different; for the New is the fulfilling of the Old, and in both the same testator is Christ; qui pro nobis morte suscepta, nos haeredes regni aeterni fecit; who having suffered death for us, hath made us heirs of the everlasting kingdom, having abdicted and disinherited the people of the Jews.” From whence it is plain, that this writer thought that all those for whom Christ died are made heirs of everlasting glory: but all men are not made heirs, whence it must follow, that he did not die for all men; though Lactantius by us means the Gentiles, in opposition to the Jews, yet not all the Gentiles, but only some of them, who are called by the grace of God from among them: as appears from a passage of his a little after in the same chapter, where having mentioned the new covenant made with the house of Judah and Israel, he observes, that “the house of Judah and Israel truly do not signify the Jews, whom he has cast off, but qui ab ea convocati ex gentibus, who are called by him (Christ) from among the Gentiles, who succeed in their room in the adoption, and are called the children of the Jews.” And elsewhere, speaking of the crucifixion of Christ, he says,” He stretched out his hands in his passion and measured the world, that he might at that very time show, that from the rising of sun to the setting of it, magnum populum ex omnibus linguis, et tribubus congregatum, a large people, gathered out of all languages and tribes, should come under his wings, and receive the most great and sublime sign in their foreheads.” And a little after in the same place, having taken notice of the passover lamb, and the sprinkling of its blood upon the door-post, whereby the Israelites were safe, when the Egyptians were destroyed, he observes, that “this was a figure of things to come; for Christ is a Lamb, white, without spot, that is, innocent, just, and holy, who being sacrificed by the same Jews, saluti est omnibus qui signum sanguinis, id est crucis qua sanguinem fudit in sua fronte conscripserunt, is for salvation to all who have written in their forehead the sign of the blood; that is, of the cross on which he shed his blood.” Monsieur Daille claims this writer on his side of the question, and produces several passages out of him on the behalf of the general scheme; and true it is that Factantius says, that “the most abundant and full fountain of God is open to all, and the heavenly light arises to all; but then he, adds quicunque oculos habent, who have eyes to see;” but every individual of mankind has not eyes to see the well of living water the gospel points out, or that heavenly light which breaks forth through it. He also says, that because God is gracious and merciful, that is to say, towards his own (that is, whom he has loved and chosen for himself), he sent him (his Son) to them whom he had hated (that is, the Gentiles, who by his neglect of them in former ages seemed to be the objects of his hatred), lest he should for ever shut up the way of salvation to them; but would give them free liberty of following God, that they might obtain the reward of life, if they would follow him; quod plurimi eorum faciunt atque fecerant, which very many of them do, and have done.”

Again he also says, that “because of this humility, or low estate of Christ, they (the Jews) not knowing their God, entered into detestable counsel to take away his life; qui ut eos vivificaret advenerat, who came that he might quicken them;” which he might very well say, without having any notion of general redemption; since many of those who had a hand in the death of Christ, were afterwards converted and quickened by his grace.

And in another place, giving the reasons why Christ died the death of the cross, he mentions this in the first place, that “he who came mean to help the mean and weak, and point out the hope of salvation to all, was to suffer this kind of death, which the mean and weak were wont to do, lest there should be any who could not imitate him.” His meaning is this, Christ has humbled himself so low, even to the death of the cross, that all sorts of men might have hope of salvation, even those of the lowest and meanest rank and form; which well consists with the doctrine of particular redemption; and accordingly he says, that “we of every sex, descent, and age, enter into the heavenly road, because God who is the guide of the way, denies immortality to no man that is born,” wherefore all sorts of men may hope for it.

SECTION 11.

PAULINUS TYRIUS. X.D. 325.

PAULINUS was first presbyter of the church at Antioch, then bishop of Tyre, and after that bishop of Antioch. He died A. D. 325. He composed a Panegyric Oration upon the building of churches, in the time of Constantine; in which he says many things concerning the church of Christ, and among the rest, that it was for her sake that Christ assumed human nature, and suffered death in it; which, had he thought were done for all the world, he would not have mentioned as peculiar favors to her.

His words are these: “For it must needs follow, that when her (the church’s) shepherd and Lord, apax ton uper autes thanaton katadexamenou , ‘had once suffered death for her,’ and after his sufferings had changed that body which he put on mean and sordid, charin autes, ‘for her sake,’ into a bright and glorious one, and led the flesh that was dissolved out of corruption into incorruption, that she also should enjoy the dispensations of the Savior,” that is, and become glorious also. And elsewhere, in the sameo ration, he represents Christ as a Savior of some particular persons, though of a large number; as when he calls him “a leader into the knowledge of God, a teacher of true religion, a destroyer of the ungodly, and tyrants, and tonSotera emon ton apegnosmenon, ‘the Savior of us, who were in a deplorable and desperate condition,’” and us, who were not only diseased with ulcers, and pressed with putrifying wounds, but lay among the dead, he, by himself, saved out of these depths of death; for in none of the heavenly was there such strength, wv th twn tosoutwn ablabwv diakonhsaqai sothria , “as without hurt to procure the salvation, of so many; he alone touched our miserable corruption, he alone bore our labors, he alone took upon him the punishment of our iniquities.”

SECTION 12.

EUSEBIUS PAMPHILUS CAESARIENSIS. A.D. 330.

EUSEBIUS took the name of Pamphilus from Pamphilus the martyr, his intimate friend and acquaintance: he lived in the time of Constantine the Great, and was very dear unto and highly esteemed of by that emperor He was made bishop of Caesarea in Palestine about A.D. 315, and died A.

D. 339 or 340. He was a man of great learning, and wrote much, and several of his works still remain. Some testimonies are taken from him by M. Daille showing that the sacrifice of Christ was offered up for all mankind, in the room and stead of all men, and is the expiation of the whole world. That he uses such expressions is not denied; but in what sense he used them should be considered. When he says, that the ransom of Christ is for the souls of all men, which he understands equally of Jews and Gentiles, he does not mean every individual of both, only some, as appears from what he immediately subjoins: “by whose (Christ’s) divine and, mystical doctrine, pantev hmeiv oi ex eqnwn , ‘all we who are from among the Gentiles,’ find the forgiveness of former sins; whence also those of the Jews, oi eis anton egpikotes, ‘who hope in him’ are freed from the curse of Moses.” And in another place, he says, monois tois dia Christon ex apanton ton ethnon, “to them only who are taken by Christ out of all nations, can the blessing made to Abraham concerning all nations agree. And as to the Jews, he observes, that “few of them believe in the Savior and our Lord, and thereby obtain the promised spiritual redemption; for God did not promise, that the coming of Christ should be salutary to the whole nation of the Jews without distinction; all’ oligois, to komide apantois, tois eis ton Sotera kai Kurion emon pepisteukosin, but to a few, and very scarce indeed, even to them that should believe on the Savior and our Lord.” Moreover, when he says that the sacrifice of Christ is the expiation of the whole world, it is plain, from other passages of his, that he means only them that believe for having cited John 1:29, John 2:2, 1 Corinthians 1:30, he adds, which “teach that his (Christ’s) coming is the filling up and finishing of the sin of those who have done wickedly against him; and also the removal and purgation of the sins, and the expiation of the unrighteousness, ton eis anton pepisteukoton , of those that should believe in him.” And in another place he says, “Wherefore his (Christ’s) mighty one left him, willing that he should go down to death, even the death of the cross, and be shown to be the ransom of the whole world, kai katharsion genesthai ten ton eis auton pisteusanton zoes, and become the expiation of the life of them that believe in him.” Besides, it is abundantly evident that he restrains the incarnation, sufferings, and death of Christ, and the salutary effects thereof, to the church, to them that believe in Christ, fear and obey him. Having mentioned those words in Isaiah 9:6, To us a child is born, etc., he puts this question: “To what us, e tois auton pepisteukosi, unless to them that believe in him? but to them that do not believe in him he is the author of fire and burning.” And in another place he says, that “the cause of Christ’s coming is the redemption ton di autou sothesomenon, of those that were to be saved by him.” And elsewhere he observes, that Isaiah preached the Gospel to the soul that was formerly barren and forsaken of God, or rather, ten ex ethnon ekklesian, “to the church from among the Gentiles; for seeing, ta panta di auten o Christos upemieinen , Christ endured all things for that, he rightly adds, after what he had foretold concerning him, Rejoice, O barren, etc. Again, he, having cited Genesis 49:11, makes this note upon it: “See how, as by things hidden, he signifies his mystical sufferings, in which, as in a laver, he hath washed away the ancient filth, ton eis auton pepisteukoton, of those that would believe in him.” On the text in Malachi 4:2, he makes this observation: “Whom the Father has begotten he promises shall arise, ou tois pasin, alla monois, not to them all, but to them only that fear his name.” In another place he says, “The everlasting High Priest, and who is called the Father’s Christ, takes the care of the whole, and is consecrated to the Father, uper ton upekoon apanton , ‘for all them that obey;’ and he alone shows himself mild and propitious unto all.” It is also very manifest, that Eusebius did not think that the effects of Christ’s death reach unto or were designed to reach unto many, or the same all, as the effects of Adam’s sin do; since he observes, that Christ “became obedient unto death, that as death by one man’s sinning has ruled over the whole kind, so likewise eternal life might reign by his grace ton eis auton pepisteuonton, over those that believe in him, and by him commended as known to God and to his Father.” Once more, in another work of his, he takes notice of a law that Constantine made, “that no Christian should serve the Jews; for,” says he, “it is not lawful tous upo tou Soteros lelutromenous, that those who are redeemed by the Savior should be under a yoke of bondage to the murderers of the prophets and of the Lord.”

Whence it appears that he thought the Jews were not redeemed by Christ, only such as are Christians.

As for the article in the creed drawn up by the Nicene fathers A.D. 395, which is next produced by M. Daille, and is thus expressed; “We believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who came down and became incarnate, and was made man, di emas tous anthropous kai did ten emeteran soterian, for us men and for our salvation;” it is no other than what every body believes and agrees to; and is so far from militating against the particular scheme, that it is rather a testimony for it, since the phrases us men and our salvation design those that believe in Christ the Son of God, to whom they relate. What is next cited from Juveneus, a Spanish presbyter, who flourished under Constantine, about A. D. 330, does not at all serve the general scheme, but the contrary, it being only a paraphrase of John 3:16, after this manner: “For God loved the world with such a love that his only offspring came down on earth, credentes Domino vitae junctura perenni, to join them that believe in the Lord to everlasting life.” Anthony, the patriarch of the Eremites, who died A.D. 358, is next mentioned; who, in one of his epistles, says, “that God appointed his only begotten Son for the salvation of the whole world, and did not spare him for our sakes, but delivered him up for the salvation of us all,” which are almost the very express words of the Scripture in 1 John 2:2, Romans 8:32, to which no doubt he refers, and are capable of being understood in the same sense with them; and that Anthony did not design every individual of mankind, but only some, appears by what he immediately adds “and hath gathered us by the word of his power, ex omnibus regionibus, out of all countries, from one end of the world to the other;” and could he be thought to mean all the individuals of human nature, for whom God appointed and delivered up his Son for the salvation of, yet the general benefit and salvation which all were to have by him, seems, according to him, to be no other than the resurrection from the dead; for a little after, he observes that “Christ is the resurrection of all, destroying him that had the power of death.”

SECTION 13.

JULIUS FIRMICUS. A.D. JULIUS FIRMICUS MATERNUS was a native of Sicily. He was brought up in the pagan religion, and wrote some books of astrology, A. D. 336 or 337, being still a heathen. After the year 340, he was converted to Christianity in his old age, and is thought to have wrote his book, Of the Error of Profane Religions, about A. D. 350, which is inscribed to the emperors Constantius and Constans; and in it are these words, speaking of Christ, the Lamb of God: “The reverend blood of this Lamb is shed for the salvation of men, ut sanctos suos Filius Dei profusione pretiosi sanguinis redimat , ‘that the Son of God, by the pouring out of his precious blood, might redeem his saints;’ ut qui Christi sanguine liberantur, ‘that those who are delivered by the blood of Christ’ might he first consecrated with the immortal majesty of that blood.” From whence it is evident, that he thought that some, and not all, are redeemed by the blood of Christ, and that those who are redeemed by it are his saints, who were set apart for himself, and are made holy by him, which cannot be said of all the sons and daughters of Adam. M. Daille has indeed cited two passages from this writer, as testimonies for general redemption, but neither to the purpose. In the first, Firmicus says, “Christ, the Son of God, that he might deliver humanum genus , ‘mankind from the snare of death, bore all these things;’ that he might remove the yoke of the grievous captivity, that he might restore homi