Avoiding the Hermeneutical Trap of Arminianism: Part 2 – A Look at John 1:29

By Mark W. Christy, PhD

(This series has been adapted from several sermons that covered verses relied upon by Arminians to defend their stance. In order to properly undergird their position, the Arminians are tasked with finding clear biblical support for the human will being an active part (and therefore, completely free and beyond the control of God’s sovereign will) of the salvation process. If this can be accomplished, then they must, of necessity, engage the verses that appear to directly support the Calvinistic position that salvation is wholly based upon God’s sovereign, elective will. These verses include (but are not limited to) Matthew 11:25-27, John 5:21 and 12:37-40, Romans 8:28-9:33, and Ephesians 1:4-7.)

John 1:29 – “The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” – John the Baptist

On the surface, it appears that John, quoting John the Baptist, has provided solid support for universalism, and thus both Arminians and Calvinists would be forced to reconsider their theological positions unless contextual clues can be found to support either of their particular stances or at least not refute them. Once again (as it was mentioned in Part 1 of this series), the Arminians are ultimately seeking proof that Jesus died for all people such that all may freely respond of their own freewill apart from any efficacious (also known as irresistible) grace.

In John 1:29, John the Baptist employs the word “world,” which, as Part 1 of this series noted, is used throughout John’s writings anywhere between 10 to 14 different ways. When the Arminians point to this verse to defend their position, they immediately define “world” as meaning every single person. This interpretation, however, should not be arrived at without some degree of hermeneutical work as a cursory look at John 17:9 will easily demonstrate. In this verse, John records Jesus words: “I ask on their behalf; I do not ask on behalf of the world, but of those whom You have given Me; for they are Yours.” Here, Jesus is praying on behalf “all whom [God has] given Him”. Whereas Jesus prays for those whom have been given to Him, He does not pray for the world. This being the case, “world,” as it is used in this context, excludes those who are saved.

Since “world” can be limited to those who do not believe, one must consider whether John the Baptist, in John 1:29, means to say that Jesus died for those who rejected Him and not those whom God has given Him. To this end, one must look beyond the confines of this verse and explore the immediate context. Earlier in this same chapter, John had already mentioned that “the world did not know [Jesus]” and that “His own,” that is the Jews, “did not receive Him” (vv.10-11). These rejectors failed to receive the Savior of the world, and so John the Baptist could have not been proclaiming a universalistic salvation or even some form of particular redemption only for non-believers. This, however, does not prove or disprove either the Calvinistic or the Arminian position.

To find evidence to solve this theological disagreement, one must review vv.12-13 which state, “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.” From these verses, it is clear that there are some who receive Jesus as Savior of the world and are this saved. Moreover, John adds that they are saved (i.e., born again) “not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.” This short declaration of John makes certain that God’s will is the only active factor in one’s salvation, and so the will of the saved person must therefore be passive.

Obviously, vv.12-13 offer solid support for the Calvinistic position that must be overcome by Arminians if they are to find any hope from v.29 to undergird their views. Since this evidence is largely ignored by the Arminians, this article will simply focus on how these contextual clues from vv.10-13 help the reader better understand the words of John the Baptist in v.29.

In regard to John the Baptist, Jesus must have been viewed as the Savior of the world in the sense that He “takes away the sins of the world” without distinction and without exception. In other words, Jesus is the world’s only Savior. As John has already commented, the saved “children of God” believed and received Christ via God’s will (vv.12-13). These children, according to his own words, were to be distinguished from others who rejected Jesus (vv.10-11).

In conclusion, it would seem that the Arminians, by pointing to John 1:29 as proof for their theological stance, have become guilty of stripping a verse out of its context to such an extent that the door becomes wide open for those who adhere to universalism. To combat this, one needs only to employ sound hermeneutics to find that John and John the Baptist would never affirm universalism nor does it appear that they are intending to support the Arminian standpoint. Should the Arminian wish to somehow overcome this argumentation from the first chapter of John, they would first need to demonstrate how vv.12-13 are not Calvinistic as this endeavor is critical if one is to avoid a universalistic interpretation of v.29.