Edwards:

Particular Redemption:

Miscellanies:

1) 21. Limited Atonement. God did not intend to save those, by the death of Christ, that he knew, from all eternity, he should not save by his death. If he intended to save any, it was those he knew would be saved.

2) 424. Atonement Is Sufficient. Christ did die for all in this sense: that all by his death have an opportunity of being saved. He had that design in dying that they should have that opportunity by it, for it is a thing that God designed that all men should have such an opportunity, or they would not have it, and they have it by the death of Christ. This however is no designing of the atonement but only for the preservation of their being. Paul uses the term in a similar way in 1 Tim. 4:10, “For to this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of those who believe.

3) These earnest prayers and strong cries of Christ to the Father in his agony, show the greatness of his love to sinners. For, as has been shown, these strong cries of Jesus Christ were what he offered up to God as a public person, in the capacity of high priest, and in the behalf of those who priest he was. When he offered up his sacrifice for sinners whom he had loved from eternity, he withal offered up earnest prayers. His strong cries, his tears, and his blood were all offered up together to God, and they were all offered up for the same end, for the glory of God in the salvation of the elect. They were all offered up for the same persons, viz. for his people. For them he shed his blood in that bloody sweat, when it fell down in clotted lumps to the ground. And for them he so earnestly cried to God at the same time. It was that the will of God might be done in the success of his sufferings, in the success of that blood, in the salvation of those for whom that blood was shed, and therefore this strong crying shows his strong love. It shows how greatly he desired the salvation of sinners. He cried to God that he might not sink and fail in that great undertaking, because if he did so, sinners could not be saved, but all must perish. [Banner of Truth, Christ’s Agony, in Works vol, 2, p., 875.]

Redemption of Mankind:

1) Section I. Wonderful things done, by which salvation is procured

We will consider the choice of the person to be our redeemer. When God designed the redemption of mankind, his great wisdom appears in that he pitched upon his own, his only-begotten, Son, to be the person to perform the work. He was a redeemer of God’s own choosing, and therefore he is called in Scripture, God’s elect (Isa. 42:1). The wisdom of choosing this person to be the redeemer, appears in his being every way a fit person for this undertaking. It was necessary that the person that is the redeemer should be a divine person.—None but a divine person was sufficient for this great work. The work is infinitely unequal to any creature. It was requisite that the redeemer of sinners should be himself infinitely holy. None could take away the infinite evil of sin, but one that infinitely far from and contrary to sin himself. Christ is a fit person upon this account. [Jonathan Edwards, “The Wisdom of God, Displayed on the Way of Salvation,” in Works, Banner of Truth, vol, 2, p., 142.]

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WILLIAM BUCANUS

Served as professor of theology at Lausanne from 1591 to 1603. He was called to teach at the new academy at Samur in 1603 but died before he could accept the post. His major dogmatic work is the Institutiones theologicae su locorum communium christianae religionis (1602):- Source, Richard Muller, Post-Reformation Reformed Dogmatcs (first edition).

[Note: Some marginal references from the copy I have cannot be read. I have included the references I can read.]

Love to mankind:

1) “What is Christ?”

He is the only begotten Son of God (Joh. 1:14), who of his mere love towards mankind ((Tit. 3:4-5), did create unto himself of the seed (Heb. 2:16) of the Virgin Mary (Luk. 1:31), being sanctified by the Holy Ghost (Luk. 1:35), and by creating did assume (Heb. 2;16), and did personally and inseparably for ever unite a true human body (Heb. 2:14), endued with a reasonable (Matt. 26:38), soul. And so being true God, became true man like to us in all things (heb. 1:17&c), sin only accepted. William Bucanus, Institutions of Christian Religion, Framed Our of God’s Word, and the Writings of the Best Divines, Methodically Handled by Questions and Answers, Fit For All Such as Desirous to Know, or Practice the Will of God, trans., by Robert Hill (Printed in London by George Snowden, 1606), 14.

2) 2. The infinite mercy of God who would rather have his son to die a most shameful death, then destroy mankind created by himself.

3.. The exceeding humility of the eternal son of God, the Lord of all things who was debased and cast down lower than all creatures, by which humiliation he testified his love toward mankind, in suffering so great things for the redemption thereof. William Bucanus, Institutions of Christian Religion, Framed Our of God’s Word, and the Writings of the Best Divines, Methodically Handled by Questions and Answers, Fit For All Such as Desirous to Know, or Practice the Will of God, trans., by Robert Hill (Printed in London by George Snowden, 1606), 237.

Unlimited Redemption:

1) Whether was neither the Father nor the Holy Ghost incarnate, but the Son?

1.Because it was meet that the world should be redeemed, and all things restored by him, by whom all things were created, or that man should be redeemed from death by him, by whom he was first created, and should have been brought unto life eternal if he had not sinned.

2. It would have been inconvenient, that there should be two sons, one in the divine nature, another in the human nature.

3. It was the eternal decree of the Father, whereby he purposed to save mankind by the Son (Heb. 2:10).

William Bucanus, Institutions of Christian Religion, Framed Our of God’s Word, and the Writings of the Best Divines, Methodically Handled by Questions and Answers, Fit For All Such as Desirous to Know, or Practice the Will of God, trans., by Robert Hill (Printed in London by George Snowden, 1606), 18.

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Aquinas:

Summa Theologica

1) Objection 1. It would seem that Christ’s Passion did not bring about our salvation by way of atonement. For it seems that to make the atonement devolves on him who commits the sin; as is clear in the other parts of penance, because he who has done the wrong must grieve over it and confess it. But Christ never sinned, according to 1 Pt. 2:22: “Who did no sin.” Therefore He made no atonement by His personal suffering.

Objection 2. Further, no atonement is made to another by committing a graver offense. But in Christ’s Passion the gravest of all offenses was perpetrated, because those who slew Him sinned most grievously, as stated above (47, 6). Consequently it seems that atonement could not be made to God by Christ’s Passion.

Objection 3. Further, atonement implies equality with the trespass, since it is an act of justice. But Christ’s Passion does not appear equal to all the sins of the human race, because Christ did not suffer in His Godhead, but in His flesh, according to 1 Pt. 4:1: “Christ therefore having suffered in the flesh.” Now the soul, which is the subject of sin, is of greater account than the flesh. Therefore Christ did not atone for our sins by His Passion.

On the contrary, It is written (Ps. 68:5) in Christ’s person: “Then did I pay that which I took not away.” But he has not paid who has not fully atoned. Therefore it appears that Christ by His suffering has fully atoned for our sins.

I answer that, He properly atones for an offense who offers something which the offended one loves equally, or even more than he detested the offense. But by suffering out of love and obedience, Christ gave more to God than was required to compensate for the offense of the whole human race. First of all, because of the exceeding charity from which He suffered; secondly, on account of the dignity of His life which He laid down in atonement, for it was the life of one who was God and man; thirdly, on account of the extent of the Passion, and the greatness of the grief endured, as stated above (46, 6). And therefore Christ’s Passion was not only a sufficient but a superabundant atonement for the sins of the human race; according to 1 John 2:2: “He is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.”

Reply to Objection 1. The head and members are as one mystic person; and therefore Christ’s satisfaction belongs to all the faithful as being His members. Also, in so far as any two men are one in charity, the one can atone for the other as shall be shown later (XP, 13, 2). But the same reason does not hold good of confession and contrition, because atonement consists in an outward action, for which helps may be used, among which friends are to be computed.

Reply to Objection 2. Christ’s love was greater than His slayers’ malice: and therefore the value of His Passion in atoning surpassed the murderous guilt of those who crucified Him: so much so that Christ’s suffering was sufficient and superabundant atonement for His murderer’s crime.

Reply to Objection 3. The dignity of Christ’s flesh is not to be estimated solely from the nature of flesh, but also from the Person assuming it–namely, inasmuch as it was God’s flesh, the result of which was that it was of infinite worth. Summa Theologica, Part 3, Q 48.2.

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John Howe (1630-1705)

[All citations from the Hunt edition, 1822.]

Shed his blood to redeem the world:

1) By deputation from Christ, as if they were his deputies, in doing such monstrous work as this! as if Christ had deputed them to destroy Christianity, to render it a ridiculous thing, by their inserted fooleries; and odious, by their barbarous cruelties! That He, who was the light of the world, should appoint them to over spread it with darkness! That he, who so freely shed his blood to redeem it, had commissioned them so copiously to shed human, and Christian blood. To make even his church, the temple of the living God a shambles and slaughter-house, and aftright the rest of mankind from coming near it who yet could be as little safe in declining it, if they were within the reach of their arm! What fearful havock did they make, un provoked in America, as soon as they could get any footing there; destroying multitudes of (towards them) harmless, innocent creatures, and who (as strangers) received them with all possible kindness, even to the number of no less than forty millions; as hath been acknowledged by some of their own historians. Their kings and princes were put to death, with most exquisite torture, upon the unjustifiable pretence of their teing infidels; but with design to make them confess their gold and treasure, which they did but suspect they concealed. John Howe, “Deliverance from the Power of Darkness” in Works, (Hunt edition, 1822), 4:174.

Redeemer of man:

1) Inference. That it is a great thing to die. The Son of God, the Redeemer of man, hath an immediate presidency over this affair. He signalizes himself by it, who could not sup pose that he should be magnified by a trifle! John Howe, “Redeemer’s Dominion Over the Invisible World,” in Works, (Hunt edition, 1822) 1: 21.

2) To instance somewhat concerning the redemption of man by Christ; as that man, being in so lost and forlorn a condition, God did send his own Son down into this world to be a Redeemer and Saviour to him. This is a thing, not evident at first sight; it was not upon the first proposal discovered; it is not as soon as we hear it evident to any of us; but it may admit to be clothed with that evidence wherewith it must recommend itself to the consciences of such as shall consider. There is enough to make it plain, both who he was that came under the notion of a Redeemer into this world, and what he came for; that doing the part of a Redeemer, was really the design and end of his coming. John Howe, “The Gospel Commends Itself,” in Works, (Hunt edition, 1822), 8:52.

Redeemer of a lost world:

1) “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. By him were all things made : and without him was not any thing made that was made.” And I will not undertake to exclude that from the signification and meaning of the text. By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, the essential Word, the divine Logos. Though, I would not lay a stress upon a thing that is not plainly and manifestly intended yet, to take it in, is very suitable to the current of other texts of Scripture. The eternal Word had its hand and part in the creation; and it was by IT, that these worlds were made. And thereupon, by a right of creation as natural, as well as by the acquired right of a Redeemer of a lost world, by the effusion of his blood, and the sacrifice of himself, he comes to have a governing power over all this world: being ascended and gone up far above all heavens, he hath all power given into his hands, both in heaven and in earth. John Howe, “The Principles of the Oracle of God,” in Works, (Hunt edition, 1822), 7:283.

2) And further, too, because the lapsed world of mankind is, as such, thereupon, manifestly put into the hands, and under the government of the Redeemer, who died, and revived, and rose again, that he might be Lord of the living and dead: yea, and not only the lapsed world of mankind, but even the whole creation, as a surplusage of remunerative dignity arid glory, for that free and voluntary susception and undertaking of his, it will be, thereupon, most suitable to my design, to bring in the consideration of providence, under the mediatory kingdom of our Lord, and as it belongs to that vicegerency of his which he holds now, not only over this lapsed world, but over the whole creation, as by whom all things consist and are held together. And so, the discourse of the fall, in reference to this design of mine, very fitly intervening, I have chosen to pitch it on this place, from this text of Scripture now read. John Howe, “The Principles of the Oracle of God,” in Works, (Hunt edition, 1822), 7:340.

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