Hardy:

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.

Nathanael Hardy, The First General Epistle of St John the Apostle, Unfolded and Applied (Edinburgh: James Nichol, 1865), 141. [Underlining mine.] [This is reprint from the original 1654 edition. Hardy was an Anglican Puritan in the spirit of John Davenant.]

Credit to Tony for finding Hardy

From the Minutes of the Westminster Assembly:

Mr. Calamy–I am far from universal redemption in the Arminian sense; but that that I hold is in the sense of our divines in the Synod of Dort, 2 that Christ did pay a price for all–absolute intention for the elect, conditional intention for the reprobate in case they do believe,–that all men should be salvabiles, non obstante lapsu Adami… that Jesus Christ did not only die sufficiently for all, but God did intend, in giving of Christ, and Christ in giving Himself, did intend to put all men in a state of salvation in case they do believe.

Mr. Palmer–He would distinguish from the Arminians; they say all equally redeemed, but not so the other, and

Mr. Reynolds–This opinion cannot be asserted by any that can say he is not of the Remonstrants’ opinion… upon a condition that they cannot perform, and God never intends to give them.

Mr. Calamy–The Arminians hold that Christ did pay a price for this intention only, that all men should be in an equal state of salvation. They say Christ did not purchase any impetration…. This universality of Redemption] doth neither intrude upon either doctrine of special election or special grace.

Mr. Seaman–It is nothing whether the opinion of Remonstrants or not. We must debate the truth and falsehood of it…. He doth not say a salvability quoad homines, but quoad Deum … so far reconciled Himself to the world, that He would have mercy on whom He would have mercy.

Mr. Palmer–I desire to know whether he will understand it de omni homine.

Mr. Calamy–De adultis.

Mr. Whitakers…

Mr. Young–This controversy, when first started in the Church, they used a distinction: they said it was pro natura humana…. In the application he expresseth it only electis. Some speak of the former branch as that…

Mr. Gillespie–Nothing to the thing itself; but for the state of the question, let more be looked upon than that expressed in the proposition, because there is a concatenation of the death of Christ with the decrees; therefore we must see what they hold concerning that which in order goes before and what in order follows after…. Camero[n] saith for all upon condition of believing, but Amyrauld he hath drawn it further. . . . Whether he hold an absolute reprobation of all that shall not be saved…. A parte post what follows upon that conditional redemption.

Mr. Calamy–In the point of election, I am for special election; and for reprobation, I am for massa corrupta…. Those to whom He… by virtue of Christ’s death, there is ea administratio of grace to the reprobate, that they do willfully damn themselves. I neither hold sufficient grace nor special grace.

Mr. Marshall–For order, you shall not need to know what this or that man’s opinion is; if you dispute the thesis, you will state it so as that it rejects all contrary opinions.

Mr. Reynolds–The Synod intended no more than to declare the sufficiency of the death of Christ; it is pretium in se, of sufficient value to all, nay, ten thousand worlds. There are two Adams, one a fountain of misery, and the other of mercy…. To be salvable is a benefit, and therefore belongs only to them that have interest in Christ.

Mr. Seaman–All in the first Adam were made liable to damnation, so all liable to salvation in the second Adam.

Mr. Calamy–I argue from the III. of John 16, In which words a ground of God’s intention of giving Christ, God’s love to the world, a philanthropy the world of elect and reprobate, and not of elect only; It cannot be meant of the elect, because of that ‘whosoever believes’ .  .  .  xvi. Mark, 15. ‘Go preach the gospel to every creature.’ If the covenant of grace be to be preached to all, then Christ redeemed, in some sense, all–both elect and reprobate; but it is to be preached to all; there is a warrant for it. . . . For the minor, if the universal redemption be the ground of the universal promulgation, then . . . the minor, else there is no verity in promulgation. All God’s promulgations are serious and true. . . . Faith doth not save me, but only as an instrument to apply Christ. There is no verity in the universal offer except founded in the . . .

Mr. Rutherford–All the argument comes to this: there can be no truth in this proposition except this be first granted, that Christ died in some sense. . . . I deny this connection . . . be[cause] it holds as well in election, justification, as in redemption; if he believe, he is as well elected and justified as redeemed.

Mr. Calamy–We do not speak of the application, for then It would bring it in, but we speak of the offer. It cannot be offered to Judas except he be salvable.

Alex Mitchell and John Struthers, Minutes of the Sessions of the Westminster Assembly of Divines (London: William Blackwood and Sons, 1874), 152-154. C.f., Chad B. Van Dixhoorn’s new edition of the minutes, Reforming the Reformation: Theological Debate at the Westminster Assembly, 1643-1652, 6:202-204.

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Willet:

And deny God the only Lord, and our Lord Jesus Christ]

These words thus translated seem to speak of two persons, of God the Father, and God the Son: but indeed the whole sentence is to be understood of Christ, who is called God, and despotes, master, and Kurios, Lord: so that Lord here in the first place should be translated master: for Christ is God, in respect of his Godhead with his Father: he is our master, because he has bought us, 2 Peter 2:1, he is our Lord, because by him all things are preserved, 1 Cor. 8:6, Heb. 1:3, so that he is God as our creature, Lord as our preserver, and master as our redeemer.

Andrew Willet, A Catholicon, that is, A general preservative or remedie against Pseudocatholike religion gathered out of the Catholike epistle of S. IVDE, (Printed by Iohn Legat, Printer to the University of Cambridge, and are to be sold at the sign of the Crowne in Pauls Churchyard by Simon Waterton, 1602), 23.   [Some spelling modernized, underlining mine.]

[Note: Willet here reflects the Christological reading of 2 Peter 2:1 and Jude 4 which was the more general and received exegetical position in early Reformed theology.]

Sclater

There follows now a denunciation of certain and most severe judgment upon hypocrites, and is disposed very fitly unto a Rhetorical Dialogue, and communication. Wherein first he preoccupies the foolish thoughts of these hypocrites, after resolves of the certain issue, on this manner.

Tell me hypocrite, think you that when God’s judgment is against all that do such things, you shall amongst all be exempted? or that you shall escape the judgment of God? what madness is this? when as other men’s facts escape not your censure, which are but a man, you should thing your own evil deeds should escape the judgment of GOD; or how else? think you that because the Lord has hitherto forborne you, and heaped his blessings upon you, therefore he approves your courses? and sends these as testimonies of your righteousness? here see how ignorantly you abuse, and mistake the end and use of God’s bountifulness; which tends indeed, to bring you to repentance, no way either justifies your courses, or secures you from future judgment. The resolution follows: well how ever it be, whether one or other, this I am sure of, you by your hardness and unrepentance heart, heaps upon upon yourself a treasure of wrath,against the day of wrath, &c., this the disposition of the Text; in the words may be observed: first, an expressing of a secure hypocrite’s thoughts, with a confutation of them annexed: secondly, a denunciation of certain and most heavy judgment to be inflicted, and impenitency: secondly, the same pointed at, in the day of wrath, &c.

Vers. 3.
Obser.

Thinking thou this that thou shall escape?

Where first note, the fond perversion of a foolish hypocrite, thinking that though all other men’s sins be punished, yet he alone may escape God’s wrath: the Prophet Isaiah thus brings in these men triumphing we have made a Covenant with death, and with hell we are at agreement, though a scourge run over, and pass through, it shall not come to us; for we have made falsehood our refuge, and under vanity we hid [Isa. 28:15]: so little thing they of God’s impartial justice, all-seeing providence, and irresistible power.

Application.

And is not this conceit of our own people? still promising themselves impunity, even in those sins for which God’s wrath even in this world lights on some of the children of disobedience? how many drunkards see we clothed with rags? adulterers filled with rottenness, and brought to a morsel of bread? Robbers trussed at the gallows? Usurers plagued in their posterity, &c., and yet for all that, men living in the same sins, think they can escape the same judgment of God. The heathen could say and truly, Rex Jupiter omnibus idem; and here the Apostle, with God there is no respect of persons.

A second fond thought of a hypocrite here mentioned, is this; that as he escapes man’s judgment, so he may God’s; and things all well so man justify him, &c. But how vainly, the Apostle here shows by their own fact; reasoning from the less to the greater, you a man as another, judge the facts of others, and nothing can pass your censure, how then can you think that you can escape the strict censure and judgment of the Lord Almighty: John John’s speech is not much unlike, 1 Joh. 3:20. Compare it.

Vers. 4.

Or despisest thou, &c.

They are said to despise God’s bounty and patience, because they abused it to another end, then it tended unto: for whereas it was vouchsafed unto them to bring them to amendment of life, they abused it, as an occasion to encourage them in their sins.

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