3. Heb. ii. 9, " That he by the grace of God should taste death for every man."
Ans. That Wsp rravrog, "for every one," is here used for v'Trsp 'ffdvTO}]/, " for all," by an enallage of the number, is by all acknow- ledged. The whole question is, who these all are, whether all men universally, or only all those of whom the apostle there treateth. That this expression, every man, is commonly in the Scripture used to signify men under some restriction, cannot be denied. So in that of the apostle, " Warning every man, and teaching every man," Col. i. 28 ; that is, all those to whom he preached the gospel, of whom he is there speaking. " The manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal," 1 Cor. xii. 7 ; namely, to all and every one of those who were endued with the gifts there mentioned, whether in the church at Corioth or elsewhere. The present place I have frequently met withal produced in the behalf of universal redemption, but never once had the happiness to find any endeavour to prove from the text, or any other way, that all here is to be taken for all and every one, although they cannot but know that the usual acceptation of the word is against their purpose. Mr More spends a whole chapter about this place ; which I seriously considered, to see if I could pick out any thing which might seem in the least measure to tend that way, — namely, to the proving that all and every one are in that place by the apostle intended, — but concerning any such endeavour you have deep silence. So that, with abundance of smooth words, he doth nothing in that chapter but humbly and heartily beg the thing in question ; unto which his petition, though he be exceed- ing earnest, we cannot consent, and that because of these following reasons: —
First, To taste death, being to drinJc up the cup due to sinners, certainly for whomsoever our Saviour did taste of it, he left not one drop for them to drink after him ; he tasted or underwent death in their stead, that the cup might pass from them which passed not from him. Now, the cup of death passeth only from the elect, from
350 THE DEATH OF DEATH. [BOOK IV.
believers; for whomsoever our Saviour tasted death, he swallowed it up into victory.
Secondly, We see an evident appearing cause that should move the apostle here to call those for whom Christ died all, — namely, because he wrote to the Hebrews, who were deej)ly tainted with an erroneous persuasion that all the benefits purchased by Messiah be- longed alone to men of their nation, excluding all others; to root out which pernicious opinion, it behoved the apostle to mention the extent of free grace under the gospel, and to hold out a universality of God's elect throughout the world.
Thirdly, The present description of the all for whom Christ tasted death by the grace of God will not suit to all and every one, or any but only the elect of God. For, verse 10, they are called, " many sons to be brought to glory;" verse 11, those that are "sanctified," his "brethren;" verse 13, the "children that God gave him;" verse 15, those that are " delivered from the bondage of death;" — none of which can be affirmed of them who are born, live, and die the " children of the wicked one." Christ is not a captain of salvation, as he is here styled, to any but those that " obey him," Heb. v. 9 ; righteousness coming by him " unto all and upon all them that be- lieve," Rom. iii. 22. For these and the like reasons we cannot be in- duced to hearken to our adversaries' petition, being fully persuaded that by every one here is meant all and only God's elect, in whose stead Christ, by the grace of God, tasted death.
4. Another place is 2 Cor. v. 14, 15, " For the love of Christ con- straineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead : and that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him that died for them." "Here," say they, " verse 14, you have two alls, which must be both of an equal extent. If all were dead, then Christ died for all, — that is, for as many as were dead. Again; he died for all that must live unto him ; but that is the duty of every one in the world : and there- fore he died for them all. Farther; that all are all individuals is clear from verse 10, where they are affirmed to be all that must 'appear before the judgment-seat of Christ;' from which aj^pearance not any shall be exempted."
Ans. 1. Taking the words, as to this particular, in the sense of some of our adversaries, yet it doth not appear from the texture of the apostle's arguing that the two alls of verse 14 are of equal extent. He doth not say that Christ died for all that were dead; but only, that all were dead which Christ died for: which proves no more than this, that all they for whom Christ died for were dead, with that kind of" death of which he speaks. The extent of the words is to be taken from the first all, and not the latter. The apostle affirms so many to be dead as Christ died for; not that Christ died