The Great Commission and the extent of the atonement¶

The argument¶

The risen Christ sends his church to "all nations" (Matt 28:19), to "the whole creation" (Mark 16:15), to "the end of the earth" (Acts 1:8). The message is "repentance and forgiveness of sins... proclaimed in his name to all nations" (Luke 24:47). The scope of the mission is universal.

This is an argument for a universal atonement, not a proof, but it is a strong one: the commission's scope matches the atonement's scope. If the church is sent to all, the message she carries must be true for all.

The texts¶

Matthew 28:18-20¶

"All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."

"All authority" grounds "all nations." The risen Lord's universal reign is the warrant for a universal mission. The command is to make disciples — not to find the elect, but to make disciples of those who hear.

Mark 16:15¶

"Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation."

"Every creature" is as universal as language allows. The gospel is news for the whole creation.

Luke 24:46-47¶

"Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem."

The content of the proclamation is forgiveness of sins — for all nations. If the atonement were definite, the content would have to be "forgiveness for the elect among all nations," which is not what Luke says.

Acts 1:8¶

"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."

The geographical expansion of Acts is the outworking of the commission. The gospel goes to the ends of the earth because the Savior is the Savior of the world (John 4:42).

The problem for definite atonement¶

If Christ died only for the elect, then the church's mission is not the proclamation of a finished work for all; it is the discovery of a people for whom the work was done. The message becomes: "Christ died for a definite number; we do not know who they are; hear the gospel, and if you believe, you may be among them."

That is not the message of the New Testament. The apostolic preaching is:

"Christ died for our sins" (1 Cor 15:3) — a statement about the hearers.
"God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them" (2 Cor 5:19) — a statement about the world.
"Be reconciled to God" (2 Cor 5:20) — an appeal grounded in the reconciliation already accomplished.
"Whoever believes in him will not perish" (John 3:16) — a promise to whoever hears.

The mission's universal scope and the message's universal content are of a piece. A limited atonement breaks the first from the second.

The Reformed reply¶

The commission is about the offer, not the extent. The church offers the gospel to all because God commands all to repent; the internal call gathers the elect. The offer is sincere because the command is sincere.
The mission is the means of gathering the elect. God uses the proclamation to bring his people in (Rom 10:14-17). The fact that the church does not know who they are is irrelevant; she preaches to all.
"All nations" is about peoples, not individuals. The point is the inclusion of the Gentiles, not a statement about every person.
The apostolic "for our sins" is spoken to the church, not to the world. The "world" texts are about the inclusion of the nations.

These replies are coherent, and the casebook takes them seriously. The response is that (1) and (2) make the offer instrumental rather than truthful, (3) is true but does not relieve the problem for individuals within the nations, and (4) does not explain the universal "world" language of 2 Cor 5:19 and 1 John 2:2.

The non-Calvinist reading¶

The commission is universal because the atonement is universal. The church can go to all because Christ died for all.
The message is true for every hearer. "Christ died for you" is not a guess; it is the content of the gospel.
The mission is urgent because people are lost. They are lost for unbelief (John 3:18), not for lack of a provision.
The church is the means, not the message. She proclaims; God gives the increase (1 Cor 3:6-7).

This is the missionary logic of the New Testament: "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son... and whoever believes in him..." (John 3:16). The universal love grounds the universal giving, which grounds the universal offer, which grounds the universal mission.

What this does and does not prove¶

It proves: that the commission's scope is universal; that the apostolic message is universal in content; and that a definite atonement makes the church's message uncertain for the individual hearer.

It does not prove: that Calvinists do not do missions (they have, heroically), or that the non-Calvinist is more faithful in mission. It proves that the non-Calvinist's message is the one the commission authorizes.