One Has Died for All

Excerpt

How many people are covered by the “all”? Texts such as Col 1:20, which speaks of God reconciling “to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross,” and Rom 8:32 which affirms, “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all,” suggest that God intended that the benefits of Christ’s death reach everyone (see also Heb 2:9; 1 John 2:2). The “all” would encompass all humanity. The benefits of Christ’s death are not limited to his fellow Jews but extend beyond accepted boundaries to include male and female, slave and free, Jew and Gentile.753 But those who stubbornly refuse to submit to Christ and rebuff God’s reconciliation choose to remain in condemnation. Consequently, only believers profit from Christ’s death. More

Garland, David E. 2 Corinthians. Vol. 29. Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1999. Print. The New American Commentary