Bruce:

V. 3 among whom we also all once lived in the lusts of our flesh, doing the desires of the flesh and of the mind,

–Paul is writing to Christians of Gentile birth, but when he reminds them that they once lived in accordance with the standards accepted by the ‘sons of disobedience’, he makes haste to say that this was equally true of Christians of Jewish birth, not excluding himself. The ‘desires of the flesh’ may take many different forms, and Paul elsewhere lists the things in which he formerly took such patriotic and religious pride as samples of his ‘confidence in the flesh’ (Phil. 3. 4-6). For the ‘flesh’, the unregenerate nature of man, can manifest itself in respectable forms as well as in the disreputable pursuits of first-century paganism. For ‘the mind’ we might substitute ‘our minds’ or ‘our thoughts’, in order to indicate that the Greek word (dianoia) is plural here; these are minds, of course, which have not yet been renewed so as to approve the will of God (Rom. 12. 2).

and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest:

–We who were Jews by birth and upbringing, he says, were as much under the wrath of God as those who were born and reared as pagans. These few words sum up the argument of Rom. I. 18-2. 29, where Gentile and Jew alike are shown to have incurred the revelation of God’s wrath from heaven.

F.F. Bruce, The Epistle to the Ephesians: A Verse by Verse Exposition (New Jersey: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1970), 48-49.

Wycliffe:

THE SONDAI WITHNNE OCTAVE OF TWELTHE DAI.

[SERMON XXX]

Vidit Johannes Jesum venientem ad se.—JOH. i. [29.]

This gospel tellith a witnesse, how Baptist witnesside of Crist, both of his godhede and eke of his manhede. The storye seith thus, that Joon say Jesus comynge to him and saide thus of oure Lord, Lo the loomb of God; lo him that takith awey the synnes of this world, for he is bothe God and man. Crist is clepid Goddis lombe, for many resouns of the lawe. In the olde lawe weren thei wont to offre a lombe withouten wem, the whiche shulde be of o gere, for the synne of the puple. Thus Crist, that was with outen wem, and of o geer in mannis elde was offrid in the cros for the synne of al this worlde, and where siche lambren that weren offrid felden sum tyme to the preestis, this lombe that made ende of other felde¹ fulli to Goddis hond. And other lambren in a maner fordide the synne of o cuntre, but this lombe proprely fordide the synne of alle this worlde. And thus he was ende and figure of lambren of the olde lawe, and thus shewith Baptist by his double spekynge the manhede of Crist and his godhede; for oonly God mygte thus fordo synne, sith alle other lambren hadden wemmes, tha thei mygten not hem silfe fordo. And so, al if preestis have power to relese synne as Cristis vikeris, netheles thei have this power in as myche as thei acorden with Crist; so tha yif ther keies and Cristis wille be discording atwynne, thei feynen hem falsely to assoile, and than thei neither loosen ne bynden; so that in ech siche worchynge the godhede of Crist mut first wirche.

John Wyclif, Select English Works, ed. by Thomas Arnold (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1869), 1:77.

[Notes: 1), I have retained all the original font/type characters except for 2 characters. The original typeset character “Þ,” I have converted to “th” for the ease of reading. One other symbol I have replaced  either with “g” or “y” where appropriate. This symbol has no corresponding font or symbol that I can find on my font and symbol maps. 2), This is an extract from his sermon on John 1:29, and the only place he makes this remark. There is no attempt to delimit the meaning of world throughout the entire sermon. 3), No spelling modernized; footnote values original; underlining mine.]

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¹fel, C.

Proctor:

78. De Grat (Gen) 116-7.  In this way, Amyraut could say that Christ died equally for all. In the statement that Christ died pro omnibus equiliter (explained Daillé, Apologiae ii 632), the theologians of Saumur meant the adverb to signify that there is none for whom Christ did not die; it does not mean that all are equal in affection or will of God in giving Christ to die. Cf. Drost, Specimen 25: Amyraut and Testard explained the death of Christ for all equally in terms of sufficiency.

For the of the Synod on this matter, see Quick, Synod ii 354: “Whereupon, although the Assembly were well satisfied, yet nevertheless they decreed that for the future that the phrase of Jesus Christ’s dying equally for all, should be forborne, because the term equally was formerly, and might be so again, an occasion of stumbling for many.”

Amyraut explained the two uses of the adverb in De Grat (Gen) 223.

Lawrence Proctor, “The Theology of Moïse Amyraut Considered as a Reaction Against Seventeenth-Century Calvinism” (Ph.D. diss., University of Leeds, 1952),  footnote 78, p., 376. [Note: Proctor’s oringinal underlining converted to italics.]

Credit to Tony

Mayhew:

At present I will show, what is in Scripture affirmed, with Respect to the Extent of Christ’s Death, with Relation to the End and Object of it. And here, not to insist on what is said about his mediatorial Righteousness, in Rom. Chap. 5. betwixt the 12th and the 19th Verses, where his Righteousness is opposed to the Sin of the First Adam, as a sufficient Remedy against the Mischiefs and Miseries brought on Mankind by it; I shall only recite some of those Passages of Scripture, wherein the Universality of Christ’s Death, as it respects the Persons for whom he died, seems to be plainly and fully asserted. Thus we are told, that God so loved the World, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him, should not perish, but have everlasting Life, John 3. 16. That he is the Propitiation for our Sins: And not for ours only, but for the Sins of the whole World, 1 John 2. 2. That he tasted Death for every Man, Heb. 2. 9. That he gave himself a Ransom for all, 1 Tim. 2. 6. That he died for all, 2 Cor. 5. 14, 15. And that he is the Savior of all Men, especially of those that believe, 1 Tim. 4. 10.

That the most obvious Sense of these Texts of Scripture, is, That Jesus Christ died for all Men without Exception, I think very evident. Nor is it at our Liberty to recede from this, without some urgent Necessity compelling us to it, which I suppose can never be shown; but instead thereof, I will show a Necessity of taking of them in the full Latitude in which they are expressed. I do not therefore wonder, that there have been a great many eminent Divines, in the English Nation, who have been far from being Arminians, that have plainly and fully asserted Christ’s dying for all, as I could easily manifest, did I rely on human Authorities, as I do not.

Yet I shall mention one Instance of this, not so much on the Account of the Authority of the Man (though I know of no Man whose Authority would go farther in this Case) as because I think he fairly states wherein the Difference lies betwixt himself and some others, and particularly betwixt what he held and I now hold, and consequently wherein the Crisis of this Controversy does, in my Apprehension, lie.

The Person I intend is the learned Dr. Twisse: And the Book from which I shall take some Passages, is entitled, The Riches of God’s Love to the Vessels of Mercy, &c. Part 1. Page 5. “We are often demanded,” says he, “whether every one that hears the Gospel be not bound to believe that Christ died for him? Now I say this Phrase, Christ died for me, includes many Things, as the Benefits which arise unto me by the Death of Christ, may be conceived to be many. But let these Benefits be distinguished, and we shall readily answer to the Question made, and that perhaps differently, as namely, affirmatively to some, negatively to others; as thus, Do you speak of Christ’s dying for me, that is, for the Pardon of my Sins, and for the Salvation of my Soul, I answer affirmatively and say, I am bound to believe that Christ died for the procuring of these Benefits unto me, in such Manner as God hath ordained; to wit, not absolutely but conditionally, to wit, in Case I do believe and repent. For God hath not otherwise ordained, that I should reap the Benefits of Pardon and Salvation, by virtue of Christ’s Death and Passion, unless I believe in him and repent.”

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