"World" Must Mean Only A Few!

In his latest article the heretic and false teacher James Flanders once more attempts to demonstrate that Christ is not the Savior of a few, but is in reality the Savior of All.

Those of us who have been within the church our entire lives know without even having to explore Scripture for ourselves that Christ is only the Savior of a small few. This is what we have always been taught and what we will continue to teach regardless of what anyone might show us from the Scripture. Our creeds and statements of faith will not allow for any other view. Therefore our ears are closed to any who would attempt to teach otherwise.

With that being said, in the new article from the previously mentioned (so called teacher), he uses Jesus interaction with the Samaritan woman at the well and the subsequent response of the people of the city, and their conclusion regarding who Christ is as the basis for demonstrating that Christ ultimately reconciles not just all things on earth, but all things in the heavenlies (the spiritual realm) with God.

He builds his argument in this article based on one statement from John 4:42 which was made by ungodly Samaritans. By the way the statement would have carried more weight with me if it had been made by the Pharisees or other recognized religious authorities, but it was instead made by dirty Samaritans.

Then they said to the woman, "Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard Him and we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world."

The author goes to great length to explain that the word translated as world means more than world. He claims it comes from the Greek word Kosmos (Cosmos), which supposedly refers to all creation.

How can Christ be the Savior of all creation without destroying the doctrine of eternal torment in hell which is so near and dear to my heart (and yours I hope).

In my view the word world actually means much less than the world. If I could re-translate it, I would use the word "few" in its place (regardless of what the Greek supposedly uses) in order to mold the passage to fit my belief system. Doesn't that make more sense?

The Good News is that Christ will only save a small minority whom God the Father predestined beforehand and the rest will burn alive forever and eternally with no hope of relief.

The very idea of the Gospel being better than that is ridiculous nonsense! I have never heard a single sermon in my entire life which has portrayed Christ as being the Savior of All!

I believe that anyone who takes literally the statements about Christ saving/reconciling the Kosmos to God is a dangerous person who will receive the most horrific eternal correction from our loving God.

After all, what could be worse than foolishly proclaiming that God loves all of His creation enough to assume responsibility for it and make things right in the end? The very thought is horrific!

Please read the following article for educational purposes only while keeping your mind as closed as possible, so as to shield yourself from the drivel called universal reconciliation. Or as Flanders is fond of referring to it, the doctrine of Christ being the successful Savior.

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Were The Samaritans Correct Or Were They Missing Something?      

In the Gospel of John chapter 4 we read about Jesus interacting with a particular Samaritan woman whose mind was absolutely blown by Christ.

After their talk, she goes into town and begins telling the people about her conversation with the Lord. What was the result? We find out in John chapter 4 starting in verses 39 through 42.

And many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, "He told me all that I ever did." So when the Samaritans had come to Him, they urged Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days. And many more believed because of His own word. Then they said to the woman, "Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard Him and we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world."

What did these people believe about Jesus? They believed that He "is indeed the Christ, the Savior or the World."

They didn't believe He was the Savior of some. Nope, they believed Christ is the Savior of the world!

The word translated as word in this verse is the Greek word Kosmos. Although we looked at this word in a recent article, It might serve us well to look at it again so that we aren't missing anything.

Here is how the word Kosmos is defined by Strong's.

Kosmos: the world, the universe, the circle of the earth, the earth, the inhabitants of the earth, men, the human family, the ungodly multitude; the whole mass of men alienated from God, and therefore hostile to the cause of Christ, world affairs, the aggregate of things earthly, the whole circle of earthly goods, endowments riches, advantages, pleasures, etc, which although hollow and frail and fleeting, stir desire, seduce from God and are obstacles to the cause of Christ, any aggregate or general collection of particulars of any sort, the Gentiles as contrasted to the Jews. I don't know about you, but to me that word seems to be all encompassing. It seems to be, dare I say it, universal! The statement made by these Samaritans paints an amazingly grand and glorious picture of the Only Begotten Son of God than what is painted by most of the religious institutions of the world. It seems these Samaritans, a group looked down upon by the religious establishment of the day held a much higher view of Jesus than the religious professionals then and now.

They said, "Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard Him and we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world."

Realizing that the word translated as world is Kosmos, let me ask you something. If Christ is indeed the Savior of the Kosmos, what could possibly be left out of that? What being in all of creation could ultimately be left out of his work upon the bloody cross of Calvary? It's interesting to me that as John records the words of these people, he doesn't follow it up with a disclaimer. He doesn't explain it away. He doesn't try to limit the work of Christ. He simply lets their statement stand.

Some who believe that Christ is only the Savior of a few might argue that perhaps the word Savior in this verse doesn't truly mean savior. Perhaps this word simply means Jesus intended to save the world or it was His goal, but the free will of man keeps him from ultimately at the end of the ages reconciling all to the Father. OK. Let's look at the word translated as Savior. It's the word soter. Look at how it is defined.

Soter: 1) saviour, deliverer, preserver

Wow! It actually means Savior. Not potential Savior.

So what do you think? We're these Samaritans onto something or were they wrong?

Should John have tried to explain their statement away or is Christ truly the Savior of the world?

A few more quick questions to ponder. If five children were drowning in a swimming pool and the lifeguard only saved one, would you dare call that man or woman the rescuer of them all? Or would you call him one who attempted to rescue them all?

Did Christ succeed at His mission? Or did He fail at His attempt?

Will He ever see the fruit of His labors? Will He receive all that He purchased with His blood?

In the Gospel of John chapter 4 we read about Jesus interacting with a particular Samaritan woman whose mind was absolutely blown by Christ.

After their talk, she goes into town and begins telling the people about her conversation with the Lord. What was the result? We find out in John chapter 4 starting in verses 39 through 42.

And many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, "He told me all that I ever did." So when the Samaritans had come to Him, they urged Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days. And many more believed because of His own word. Then they said to the woman, "Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard Him and we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world."

What did these people believe about Jesus? They believed that He "is indeed the Christ, the Savior or the World."

They didn't believe He was the Savior of some. Nope, they believed Christ is the Savior of the world!

The word translated as word in this verse is the Greek word Kosmos. Although we looked at this word in a recent article, It might serve us well to look at it again so that we aren't missing anything.

Here is how the word Kosmos is defined by Strong's.

Kosmos: the world, the universe, the circle of the earth, the earth, the inhabitants of the earth, men, the human family, the ungodly multitude; the whole mass of men alienated from God, and therefore hostile to the cause of Christ, world affairs, the aggregate of things earthly, the whole circle of earthly goods, endowments riches, advantages, pleasures, etc, which although hollow and frail and fleeting, stir desire, seduce from God and are obstacles to the cause of Christ, any aggregate or general collection of particulars of any sort, the Gentiles as contrasted to the Jews. I don't know about you, but to me that word seems to be all encompassing. It seems to be, dare I say it, universal! The statement made by these Samaritans paints an amazingly grand and glorious picture of the Only Begotten Son of God than what is painted by most of the religious institutions of the world. It seems these Samaritans, a group looked down upon by the religious establishment of the day held a much higher view of Jesus than the religious professionals then and now.

They said, "Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard Him and we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world."

Realizing that the word translated as world is Kosmos, let me ask you something. If Christ is indeed the Savior of the Kosmos, what could possibly be left out of that? What being in all of creation could ultimately be left out of his work upon the bloody cross of Calvary? It's interesting to me that as John records the words of these people, he doesn't follow it up with a disclaimer. He doesn't explain it away. He doesn't try to limit the work of Christ. He simply lets their statement stand.

Some who believe that Christ is only the Savior of a few might argue that perhaps the word Savior in this verse doesn't truly mean savior. Perhaps this word simply means Jesus intended to save the world or it was His goal, but the free will of man keeps him from ultimately at the end of the ages reconciling all to the Father. OK. Let's look at the word translated as Savior. It's the word soter. Look at how it is defined.

Soter: 1) saviour, deliverer, preserver

Wow! It actually means Savior. Not potential Savior.

So what do you think? We're these Samaritans onto something or were they wrong?

Should John have tried to explain their statement away or is Christ truly the Savior of the world?

A few more quick questions to ponder. If five children were drowning in a swimming pool and the lifeguard only saved one, would you dare call that man or woman the rescuer of them all? Or would you call him one who attempted to rescue them all?

Did Christ succeed at His mission? Or did He fail at His attempt?

Will He ever see the fruit of His labors? Will He receive all that He purchased with His blood?

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James Flanders is a student and teacher who has spent most of his life missing out on the reality of Christ being the successful Savior of the World. Since he is not a pastor or part of a denomination he is free to tackle issues normally not dealt with in traditional religious gatherings such as the universal impact of the work of Christ on the cross of Calvary.

http://www.jamesflanders.com/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1ZTzb0Jwuo

http://jamesflanders.bandcamp.com/