Calvin:

1)

“But the Lord is not slack,” or, delays not. He checks extreme and unreasonable haste by another reason, that is, that the Lord defers his coming that he might invite all mankind to repentance. For our minds are always prurient, and a doubt often creeps in, why he does not come sooner. But when we hear that the Lord, in delaying, shows a concern for our salvation, and that he defers the time because he has a care for us, there is no reason why we should any longer complain of tardiness. He is tardy who allows an occasion to pass by through slothfulness: there is nothing like this in God, who in the best manner regulates time to promote our salvation. And as to the duration of the whole world, we must think exactly the same as of the life of every individual; for God by prolonging time to each, sustains him that he may repent. In the like manner he does not hasten the end of the world, in order to give to all time to repent. This is a very necessary admonition, so that we may learn to employ time aright, as we shall otherwise suffer a just punishment for our idleness.

“Not willing that any should perish.” So wonderful is his love towards mankind, that he would have them all to be saved, and is of his own self prepared to bestow salvation on the lost. But the order is to be noticed, that God is ready to receive all to repentance, so that none may perish; for in these words the way and manner of obtaining salvation is pointed out. Every one of us, therefore, who is desirous of salvation, must learn to enter in by this way. But it may be asked, If God wishes none to perish, why is it that so many do perish? To this my answer is, that no mention is here made of the hidden purpose of God, according to which the reprobate are doomed to their own ruin, but only of his will as made known to us in the gospel. For God there stretches forth his hand without a difference to all, but lays hold only of those, to lead them to himself, whom he has chosen before the foundation of the world.

But as the verb choresai is often taken passively by the Greeks, no less suitable to this passage is the verb which I have put in the margin, that God would have all, who had been before wandering and scattered, to be gathered or come together to repentance.

Calvin, Commentary, 2 Peter 3:9

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Calvin:

Though Christ may be denied in various ways, yet Peter, as I think, refers here to what is expressed by Jude, that is, when the grace of God is turned into lasciviousness; for Christ redeemed us, that he might have a people separated from all the pollutions of the world, and devoted to holiness ,and innocency. They, then, who throw off the bridle, and give themselves up to all kinds of licentiousness, are not unjustly said to deny Christ by whom they have been redeemed. Calvin, 2 Peter 2:1.

“The only Lord God,” or, God who alone is Lord. Some old copies have, “Christ, who alone is God and Lord.” And, indeed, in the Second Epistle of Peter, Christ alone is mentioned, and there he is called Lord. But He means that Christ is denied, when they who had been redeemed by his blood, become again the vassals of the Devil, and thus render void as far as they can that incomparable price. Calvin, Jude 4.

Prosper:

Unlimited Redemption:

1)

OBJECTION: The Saviour was not crucified for the redemption of the entire world.”

ANSWER: There is not one among men whose nature was not taken by Christ our Lord, though He was born in the likeness of sinful flesh only, while every other man is born in sinful flesh. Thus, the Son of God, who was God Himself, becoming partaker of our mortal nature without partaking in its sin, granted to sinful and mortal men the grace that those who by regeneration would share in His nativity could be freed from the bonds of sin and death. Accordingly, just as it is not enough that Jesus Christ was born for men to be renewed, but they must be reborn in Him through the same Spirit from whom He was born, so also it is not enough that Christ our Lord was crucified for men to be redeemed, but they must die with Him and be buried with Him in baptism. If that were not so, then after our Saviour was born in the flesh of our own nature and crucified for us all, there would be no need for us to be reborn and to be planted together in the likeness of His death. But because no man attains to eternal life without the sacrament of baptism, one who is not crucified in Christ cannot be saved by the cross of Christ; and he who is not a member of the Body of Christ is not crucified in Christ. And he is not a member of the Body of Christ who does not put on Christ through water and the Holy Spirit. For Christ in the weakness of our flesh underwent the common lot of death, that we by virtue of His death be made partakers of His resurrection. Accordingly, though it is right to say that the Saviour was crucified for the redemption of the entire world, because He truly took our human nature and because all men were lost in the first man, yet it may also be said that He was crucified only for those who were to profit by His death. For St. John the Evangelist says: “Jesus should die for the nation and not only for the nation, but to gather together in one the children of God that were dispersed.” He came into His own, and His own received Him not. But as many as received Him, He gave the power to be made sons of God, to them who are born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. Their condition, therefore, is different from that of men counted among those of whom he said: The world knew Him not. In that sense we may say: the Redeemer of the world shed His blood for the world, and the world refused to be redeemed, because the darkness did not comprehend the light. Yet, there was a darkness which did comprehend the light, that, namely, of which the Apostle says: You were heretofore darkness, but now light in the Lord. The Lord Jesus Himself, who said He came to seek and to save that which was lost, also says: “I did not come but to the sheep that are lost of the house of Israel.” And St. Paul explains who are those sheep of the house of Israel: For all are not Israelites that are of Israel, neither are all they that are the seed of Abraham children; but in Isaac shall thy seed be called. That is to say, not they that are the children of the flesh are the children of God, but they that are the children of the promise are accounted for the seed. Among them are counted those to whom refers what we quoted above: Jesus should die for the nation, and not only for the nation, but to gather in one the children of God that were dispersed. It is not only from among the Jews but also from the Gentiles that the sons of God, the sons of the promise, are gathered into the one Church by Him who calleth those things that are not, as those that are, and who gathers together the dispersed of Israel, in order to fulfil the promise of God to Abraham, that in his seed all the tribes of the earth would be blessed. Prosper of Aquitaine: Defense of St. Augustine, trans., by P. De letter, (New York: Newman Press, 1963), 149-151.

2)

QUALIFICATION ARTICLE 9: Likewise, he who says that the Saviour was not crucified for the redemption of the entire world does not take into account the power of the mystery of the cross, but considers only the portion of mankind who have no faith.

For it is certain that the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ is the price for the redemption of the entire world. But they do not share in the application of this price who either cherishing their captivity refused to be liberated or having been liberated returned to their captivity. The word of the Lord did not fail to be accomplished, nor was the redemption of the world frustrated of its effect. For though the world considered in the vessels of wrath did not know God, yet the same world considered in the vessels of mercy knew God liberated the second, without any previous merit on their part, from the power of darkness and translated them into the kingdom of the Son of His love. Prosper of Aquitaine: Defense of St. Augustine, trans., by P. De letter, (New York: Newman Press, 1963), 159-160

3)

OBJECTION Our Lord Jesus Christ did not suffer for the salvation and redemption of all men.

ANSWER: The truly effectual and unique remedy for the wound of original sin, by which the common nature of all men was vitiated in Adam and condemned to death and which is the source of the three forms of concupiscence, is the death of the Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ, who being free from all necessity to die and the only sinless one, died for sinful men, who are condemned to die. Considering, then, on the one hand the greatness and value of the price paid for us, and on the other the common lot of the whole human race, one must say that the blood of Christ is the redemption of the entire world. But they who pass through this world without coming to the faith and without having been reborn in baptism, remain untouched by the redemption. Accordingly, since our Lord in very truth took upon Himself the one nature and condition which is common to all men, it is right to say that all have been redeemed, and that nevertheless not all are actually liberated from the slavery of sin. It is beyond doubt that the redemption is actually applied only to those from whom the prince of the World has been cast out,’ those who are no longer vessels of the devil but members of Christ. His death did not act on the whole human race in such a manner that even those who would never have been reborn in baptism would share in the redemption, but so that the mystery accomplished once for all in the person of Christ should be renewed in each and every man by the sacrament of baptism which he is to receive once also. The beverage of immortality prepared from our weakness and God’s power is apt to restore health to all men, but it cannot cure anyone unless he drink it. Prosper of Aquitaine, Defense of St. Augustine, trans., by P. De letter, (New York: Newman Press, 1963), 64.

4)

Now, then, the Apostle Paul, teacher of the Gentiles, writing to Timothy, says: desire, therefore, first of all, that supplications, intercessions, thanksgivings be made for all men, for kings and for all that are in high station: that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all piety and chastity. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour, who will have all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one Mediator of God and men, the man Christ Jesus who gave Himself a redemption for all. St Prosper of Aquitaine, The Call of the Nations, trans., & annot., by P. De Letter. (Westminster Maryland: The Newman Press, 1952), 51.¹

5)

Our Lord in His deep mercy wishes to save all nations and is actually working for their salvation, yet it is true that no one accepts His word. In this His deep mercy, the Lord wishes not only to redeem one people but to save all nations, as the Evangelist says: That Jesus should die for the nation. And not only for the nation, but also to gather together in one the dispersed children of God. That is the meaning of our Lord’s great proclamation which, like a trumpet resounding with His loving-kindness throughout the world, invites and summons all men. St Prosper of Aquitaine, The Call of the Nations, trans., & annot., by P. De Letter. (Westminster Maryland: The Newman Press, 1952), 65-66.

6)

Christ died for all sinners.

There can, therefore, be no reason to doubt that Jesus Christ our Lord died for the unbelievers and the sinners. If there had been any one who did not belong to these, then Christ would not have died for all. But He did die for all men without exception. There is no one, therefore, in all mankind who was not, before the reconciliation which Christ effected in His blood, either a sinner or an unbeliever. The Apostle says: For why did Christ, when as yet we were weak, according to the time, die for the ungodly? For scarce for a just man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man one would dare to die. But God commendeth His charity towards us, because if when as yet we were sinners, Christ died for us, much more, being justified by His blood, shall we be saved from wrath through Him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, being reconciled, shall we be saved by His life. The same Apostle says in his Second Epistle to the Corinthians: For the charity of Christ presseth us, judging this, that if One died for all, then all were dead. And He died for all, that they also who live, may not live to themselves, but unto Him who died for them and rose again. And let us hear what he says of himself. A faithful saying, he states, and worthy of all acceptation: that Christ Jesus came into this world to save sinners, of whom I am the chief. But for this cause have I obtained mercy: that in me first Christ Jesus might show forth all patience, for the information of them that shall believe in Him unto life everlasting.St Prosper of Aquitaine, The Call of the Nations, trans., & annot., by P. De Letter. (Westminster Maryland: The Newman Press, 1952), 118-119.

Reputable supporting documentation, see:

W.R., Godfrey, Tensions Within International Calvinism: The Debate on the Atonement at the Synod of Dort, 1618-1619. (Ph.D diss., Stanford University, 1974), 74-76.

and

Owen Thomas, The Atonement Controversy: In Welsh Theological Literature and Debate, 1707-1841.(Edinburgh: The Banner of Truth, 2002), 112-116.

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¹ Note: I am working from the assumption is that Prosper is the true author of this work.

The Matthew Henry Commentaries, completed by Benjamin Andrews Atkinson, 1 Tim 2:1-6:

II. As a reason why we should in our prayers concern ourselves for all men, he shows God’s love to mankind in general, v. 4. 1. One reason why all men are to be prayed for is because there is one God, and that God bears a good will to all mankind. There is one God (v. 5), and one only, there is no other, there can be no other, for there can be but one infinite. This one God will have all men to be saved; he desires not the death and destruction of any (Ezek. xxxiii. 11), but the welfare and salvation of all. Not that he has decreed the salvation of all. for then all men would be saved ; but he has a good will to the salvation of all, and none perish but by their own fault, Matt. xxiii. 37. He will have all to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth, to be saved in the way that he has appointed and not otherwise. It concerns us to get the know ledge of the truth, because that is the way to be saved; Christ is the way and the truth, and so he is the life. 2. There is one Mediator, and that Mediator gave himself a ransom for all. As the mercy of God extends itself to all his works, so the mediation of Christ extends itself thus far to all the children of men that he paid a price sufficient for the salvation of all mankind; he brought mankind to stand upon new terms with God, so that they are not now under the law as a covenant of works, but as a rule of life. They are under grace; not under the covenant of innocence, but under a new covenant: He gave himself a ransom. Observe, The death of Christ was a ransom, a counter-price. We deserved to have died. Christ died for us, to save us from death and hell; he gave himself a ransom voluntarily, a ransom for all; so that all mankind are put in a better condition than that of devils. He died to work out a common salvation: in order hereunto, he put himself into the office of Mediator between God and man. A mediator supposes a controversy. Sin had made a quarrel between us and God; Jesus Christ is a Mediator who undertakes to make peace, to bring God and man together, in the nature of an umpire or arbitrator, a days-man who lays his hand upon us both, Job ix. 33. He is a ransom that was to be testified in due time; that is in the Old-Testament times, his sufferings and the glory that should follow were spoken of as things to be revealed in the last times, 1 Pet. i. 10,11. And they are accordingly revealed, Paul himself having been ordained a preacher and an apostle, to publish to Gentiles the glad tidings of redemption led salvation by Jesus Christ. This doctrine of Christ’s mediation Paul was entrusted  preach to every creature, Mark xvi. 15. He was appointed to be a teacher of the Gentiles ; besides his general call to the apostleship, he was commissioned particularly to preach to the Gentiles, in faith and truth, or faithfully and truly. Note, (1.) It is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior that we pray for kings and for all men, and also that we lead a peaceable and quiet life ; and this is a very good reason why we should do the one as well as the other. (2.) God has a good will to the salvation of all; so that it is not so much the want of a will in God to save them as it is a want of will in themselves to be saved in God’s way. Here our blessed Lord charges the fault : You will not come unto me that you may have life, John v. 40. I would have gathered you, and you would not. (3.) Those who are saved must come to the knowledge of the truth, for this is God’s appointed way to save sinners. Without the cannot be good; if we do not know the truth, we cannot be ruled b it. (4.) It is observable that the unity of God is asserted, and joined with the unity of the Mediator; and the church of Rome might as well maintain a plurality of gods as a plurality of mediators. (5.) He that is a Mediator in the New-Testament sense, gave himself a ransom. Vain then is the pretense of the Romanists that there is but one Mediator of satisfaction, but many of intercession; for, according to Paul, Christ’s giving himself a ransom was a necessary part of the Mediator’s office ; and indeed this lays the foundation for his intercession. (6.) Paul was ordained a minister, to declare this to the Gentiles, that Christ is the one Mediator between God and men, who gave himself a ransom for all. This is the substance of which all ministers are to preach, to the end of the world; and Paul magnified his office, as he was the apostle of the Gentiles, Rom. xi. 13. (7.) Ministers must preach the truth, what they apprehend to be so, and they must believe it themselves ; they are, like our apostle, to preach in faith and verity, and they must also be faithful and trusty.

Supplementum:

The Matthew Henry Commentaries, completed by Benjamin Andrews Atkinson, 1 Timothy 4:10:

2. Those who labor and suffer reproach in the service of God and the work of religion may depend upon the living God that they shall not lose by it. Let this encourage them, We trust in the living God. The consideration of this, that the God who has undertaken to be our pay-master is the living God, who does himself live for ever and is the fountain of life to all who serve him, should encourage us in all our services and in all our sufferings for him, especially considering that he is the Savior of all men. (1.) By his providences he protects the persons, and prolongs the lives, of the children of men. (2.) He has a general good-will to the eternal salvation of all men thus far that he is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. He desires not the death of sinners; he is thus far the Savior of all men that none are left in the same desperate condition that fallen angels are in. Now, if he be thus the Savior of all men, we may hence infer that much more he will be the rewarder of those who seek and serve him; if he has such a good-will for all his creatures, much more will he provide well for those who are new creatures, who are born again. He is the Savior of all men, but especially of those that believe; and the salvation he has in store for those that believe is sufficient to recompense them for all their services and sufferings. Here we see, [1.] The life of a Christian is a life of labor and suffering: We labor and suffer. [2.] The best we can expect to suffer in the present life is reproach for our well-doing, for our work of faith and labor of love. [3.] True Christians trust in the living God; for cursed is the man that trusts in man, or in any but the living God; and those that trust in him shall never be ashamed. Trust in him at all times. [4.] God is the general Savior of all men, as he has put them into a salvable state; but he is in a particular manner the Saviour of true believers; there is then a general and a special redemption. [Credit to Tony for the find.]

From Matthew Henry:

1) 1. We must pray for the whole world of mankind, the lost world and thus we must honour all men, and according to our capacity do good to all men.

We pray, as we are taught, for all men, believing that this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth, and of Jesus Christ, who gave himself a ransom forall. Matthew Henry, “Method of Prayer,” in The Complete Works of Matthew Henry, (Grand Rapids Michigan: Baker, 1978), 2:48