Hardy:

1) 1. That God did inflict death on Christ is undeniable, and who may question the justice of his actions, whenas things are therefore just, because he wills them to be done, whose will is the supreme rule of justice!

2. There cannot be a more necessitating reason of God’s afflicting Christ by death than this; so that if it be not just for God to inflict it upon him on this ground, it is much less upon any other. That Christ should die for the confirmation of his doctrine was needless; it was done sufficiently by miracles. To make way by death to his glory was not necessary; he might have been translated, as were Enoch and Elijah. To die only as an example of patience and fortitude to his followers, is a far less cogent cause than to die as an example of God’s justice and severity against sin; nor need he have died for that end, since the death of any of his apostles might have been exemplary in that kind. Finally, had he died only for the declaration of God’s immense love to us, and not for the demonstration of his severe justice against sin, whilst he had been so loving to us, he had been little other than cruel to Christ . There wanted not other ways to declare his tender affection to mankind, but there was no other way to declare his impartial justice against sin; so that, since the inflicting of death on Christ as a punishment carrieth with it a more urging inducement than any other cause assigned, and since the less cause there is of inflicting death upon any, the greater must needs be the injustice in the inflicter; it evidently followeth that there is nothing can so much clear the justice of God in this act, as (that which the orthodox asserts to be the cause of it) his undergoing the penalty due to our sins.  Nathanael Hardy, The First General Epistle of St John the Apostle, Unfolded and Applied (Edinburgh: James Nichol, 1865), 113.  [Underlining mine.]

2) Suitably hereunto it is that divines conceive a double covenant to be intimated in Scripture—the one universal and conditional, the other special and absolute; the one made with all, and every man, upon these terms, ‘Whosoever believeth in Christ shall not perish,’ John iii. 16; the other made with Christ concerning a seed which he should see upon making his soul an offering for sin, Isa. liii. 10, to whom he promiseth not only salvation by Christ upon condition of believing, but the writing his law in their hearts, Heb. x. 16, whereby they are enabled to perform the condition, and so infallibly partake of that salvation. By all which, it appeareth that notwithstanding God’s special affection, and decree of election whereby he hath purposed this propitiation shall be actually conferred upon some, we may truly assert, God hath a general love whereby he hath ordained the death of Christ an universal remedy applicable to every man as a propitiation for his sins, if he believe and repent. And hence it is that this propitiation, as it is applicable, so it is annunciable to every man. Indeed, as God hath not intended it should be actually applied, so neither that it should be so much as actually revealed to many men; but yet it is, as applicable, so annunciable, both by virtue of the general covenant God hath made with all, and that general mandate he hath given to his ministers of preaching the gospel to all, so that if any minister could go through all the parts of the world, and in those parts singly, from man to man, he might not only with a conjectural hope, but with a certain faith, say to him, God hath so loved thee that he gave his only son, that if thou believe in him, thou shalt not perish; and that this is not barely founded upon the innate sufficiency of Christ’s death, but the ordination of God, appeareth in that we cannot, may not, say so to any of the fallen angels, for whom yet, as you have already heard, Christ’s death is instrinsically sufficient.

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Kimedoncius:

The 8, Testimony,
Musculus.

The same thing I say of Musculus, whose judgment who so looked into, I know very well he will marvel at Huber’s wit, and at his desire and captious kind of speaking to pervert all things. These are his words: “That the grace of remission of sins is appointed for all mortal men,” [De remiss. pecc. q.2. Thes. 86.] This Huber catching at greedily, sets in his book in great letters: but maliciously altogether pulled away from the words following, wherein lies the meaning of that saying: to wit, that, “the grace of remission of sins is appointed for all mortal men, as far forth as the Gospel is to be preached to every creature, and the mercy of God is to be set forth to all.”  And so Musculus understands the sayings: “So God loved the world,” “Christ is the propitiation for the sins of the whole word: not that remission of sins by the grace of God befalls all, without difference of believers and unbelievers:” which is the opinion of the adversary, and not of Musculus. Nay thus he testifies openly: “If we consider them, who by the grace of God obtain remision of their sins, as of the elect: so of those also there is a small number in respect of the reprobates, whose sins he says are for ever retained.” Let the same man also be weighed, loco de Redemp. where he says: “We know that all men are not partakers of this redemption.” Again says he: “Men reprobate and desparately wicked recieve not redemption.” The contrary hereof  Huber with full mouth avouches, “that all by Christ are made partakers of redemption: that all receive it, but that the reprobates havin once received it do lose it again.”

Three reasons
of Musculus
why redemption
is universal.

Nevertheless, according to the reasons assigned of Musculus, this redemption is rightly termed universal. 1. Because it comes not to pass by the defect of grace, that many do perish, but by the defect of faith, seeing grace is prepared for all, to wit that do not refuse it, as all things were ready for the marriage. 2. Because all are called unto it. 3. Because so it is appointed for all, that no man without it can be redeemed. Where now he does understand this appointing otherwise than before: yet rightly, because albeit many are not redeemed nor justified, yet all by Christ are redeemed and justified, because no man is redeemed but by him. Of all which things plainly appears, that Musculus, as well as others, is against the adversary, and nothing at all on his side.

Iacob Kimedoncius, Of The Redemption of Mankind (London: Imprinted by Felix Kingston for Hvmfrey Lownes, 1598),  144-145.      [Some reformatting, some spelling modernized, marginal comments and citations included, underlining mine.]

[Notes: While Musculus does not directly speak of a conditonal predestination, the idea here flows from the same theological sentiment. All men are appointed to life by the revealed will and that through the call of the Gospel. Grace and remission of sins have been prepared for all. Regarding Huber (otherwise known as Huberus), he was a Universalist advocating that all men will finally be saved. Kimedoncius (as with Ursinus in his time) confronted this heresy. Huber for his part attempted to cite various orthodox Reformed and Lutheran theologians to sustain his argument. In this work, Kimedoncius seeks to demonstrate how Huber has misquoted the good men he cites.  For more from Musculus go here for the main file, and here for Marlorate’s numerous quotations from Musculus.]

Bucer:

The nature of predestination, then, should now be clear. In general it is the divine assigning of each thing to its own purpose, but the predestination of the saints, which is the apostle’s subject here, is the election and destining of the saints for eternal salvation.

Now to the second part of our inquiry: why should we consider predestination? The teaching of Philip Melanchthon answers this very devoutly and faithfully: it is solely in order that you may be more certain of your salvation and may cleave more firmly to the promises of God.²⁰ The first demand God makes of us is to believe that he is God, that is, the Saviour, so that when we hear him summoning to himself all who are afflicted and distressed²¹ we hasten eagerly to him. Now if those whom God calls heed his call, he has assuredly predestined and foreknown them, and will also justify and glorify them. Therefore, the first duty you owe to God is to believe that you have been predestined by him, because unless you believe that, you represent him as making sport of you when he calls you to salvation through the gospel. For by the gospel he summons you to justification and to share his glory, but these can be experienced only by those who have been predestined, foreknown and elected to do so. All God’s works are wrought in wisdom, and therefore by predetermined design. Consequently, if you doubt that you are predestined, you are also bound to doubt that you have been called to salvation, that you are justified, and that finally you are to be glorified; which means and to doubt the gospel itself, that is to say, to believe God for nothing at all of what he offers you in the gospel. For it is true believers who have eternal life, and they can no more doubt that they have it than doubt the Lord’s promise that ‘He who believes in me has eternal life.’²²

From these comments, then, it will be quite evident that the reason why we and others should reflect upon God’s predestination is so that our faith in the promise of God may be strengthened by the knowledge that, as the apostle here affirms, the saints may have complete certainty that those whom God has predestined he will also call, justify and glorify. and those whom he has already called he has also undoubtedly foreknown and predetermined. This is the purpose behind every mention by the apostle of election and predestination, wherever it occurs. If we ponder this carefully with regard to ourselves, our confidence in God will be increased and with it our love for him and for every good thing, just as, when we entertain doubt as to our predestination, along with disregard and enmity for God all kinds of evil find an entrance. Therefore, we must reject as the source of every damaging temptation the question ‘Are we predestined?’ For as we have said, the person who is doubtful on this score will be unable to believe that he has been called and justified, which means that he cannot be a Christian. We must confidently trust, therefore, as the foundation of faith, that we have all been foreknown, predetermined, separated from the rest and chosen by God to this end, that we may enjoy eternal salvation, and this is God’s immutable purpose. Hence we must direct our whole attention and concern [412] to our response to this predestination and calling of God, so that we may work together with God unto eternal life, according to the strength which the Lord has ever supplied and for whose increase we ought unceasingly to pray.

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2 Peter 2:1:

Denying] By total apostasy, or evil life, unbelieving the servants of Christ, Tit. 1:16. See more on Jude 4.

The Lord that bought them] That gave a price sufficient for them, even his own precious Blood, Acts, 20:27; 1 Cor. 6:20; 1 Pet. 1:18, 19. Or, by whom they professed that they were redeemed: and therefore they should not have denied him.

Annotations Upon all the Books of the Old and New Testament: This Second Edition so enlarged, As they make an entire Commentary on the Sacred Scripture: The like never before published in English. Wherein The Text is Explained, Doubts Resolved, Scriptures Paralleled (London: Printed by John Legat, 1651). [No pagination.]

Jude 4:

ungodly men] Such as worship God not aright; or have no fear of God at all, Gen. 20:11; Psa. 30:1; Rom. 3;18.

turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness] The grace of God invites us to sobriety, Tit. 2:11,12, but they turn it to a contrary end.

Denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ] Denying Christ to be God, who was their master by profession (for the professed themselves to be of his household) and their Lord by public authority over them. Or, by their deeds denying Christ.

Annotations Upon all the Books of the Old and New Testament: This Second Edition so enlarged, As they make an entire Commentary on the Sacred Scripture: The like never before published in English. Wherein  The Text is Explained, Doubts Resolved, Scriptures Paralleled (London: Printed by John Legat, 1651). [No pagination.]

[Notes: These two brief comments demonstrate that the early Reformed theology was able to interpret these verses in such a way that Christ, as Lord and Master, is the subject, while also allowing that the “buying” was by way of a sufficient redemptive price for them.]