Seven Worlds of the Bible

For a paperback book in outline form which addresses over 150 difficult verses that Arminians use against Sovereign Grace, check out: Problem Texts for Sovereign Grace: Rooting Arminianism Out of Every Verse. A copy of the outline can be downloaded at the bottom of this page. To Listen on YouTube, click here: Seven Worlds of the Bible Seven Worlds of the Bible I. There are seven things in scripture called the "world", which are: 1. The universe as a whole 2. The earth 3. The world system 4. The entire human race 5. The reprobate/unbelievers 6. The Gentiles 7. The elect II. The need to rightly divide the scriptures. 1. If the word world is always taken to mean all the inhabitants of the earth, the Bible will be nothing but a book of contradictions and absurdities. 2. In order to understand the word of God, it must be rightly divided (2Ti 2:15). III. There are a few primary definitions of the word world. 1. World n. - A. I. Human existence; a period of this. 1. a. Chiefly this world, the world: the earthly state of human existence; this present life. B. II. The earth or a region of it; the universe or a part of it. 7. a. The earth and all created things upon it; the terraqueous globe and its inhabitants. C. III. The inhabitants of the earth, or a section of them. 14. a. The human race; the whole of mankind; human society. 2. The Bible uses the word in all three senses. IV. The seven worlds of the Bible 1. The universe as a whole (Act 17:24) 2. The earth (Joh 13:1; Eph 1:4) 3. The world system (Joh 12:31; Eph 2:2; 1Jo 5:19; Ecc 3:11) 4. The entire human race (Rom 3:19) 5. The reprobate/unbelievers (Joh 15:18) 6. The Gentiles (Rom 11:12) 7. The elect (Joh 1:29; Joh 6:33; Joh 12:47; 2Co 5:19) V. The worlds of John 17 1. The earth (Joh 17:5,11-13,15,18,24) 2. The entire human race (Joh 17:6) 3. The reprobate/unbelievers (Joh 17:9,14,16,25) 4. The elect (Joh 17:21,23) VI. For which world did Christ die? 1. Did He die for the universe as a whole? A. No. B. He didn't die for planets and stars. 2. Did He die for the earth? A. No. B. He didn't die for rocks and dirt. 3. Did He die for the world system? A. No. B. Satan is the prince of this world system (Joh 12:31) and he has nothing in Christ (Joh 14:30. C. This world system is set in contradistinction to God's children who are of Him (1Jo 5:19). 4. Did He die for the entire human race? A. No. - First Proof i. Those for whom Christ died are saved eternally (Joh 10:15 c/w Joh 10:27-28; Rom 5:9-10; 1Pe 2:24). ii. Most of the human race are not saved eternally (Mat 25:41; Rev 20:15). iii. Therefore, Christ did not die for the entire human race. B. No. - Second Proof i. Jesus died for the sheep (Joh 10:15). ii. Some are not His sheep (Joh 10:26). iii. Therefore, Christ did not die for them. iv. Therefore, Christ did not die for the entire human race. 5. Did He die for the reprobate? A. No. B. First of all, Jesus wouldn't even pray for them, let alone die for them (Joh 17:9). C. Secondly, Jesus said rhetorically that the reprobate children of the devil cannot escape the damnation of hell (Mat 23:33 c/w Joh 8:44). i. If he died for their sins, they would escape the damnation of hell (Rom 8:1-3). ii. Therefore, Christ didn't die for them. 6. Did He die for the Gentiles? A. Yes and no. B. Jesus died for some of the Gentiles out of every nation, but not for all of them (Rev 5:9). 7. Did He die for the elect? A. Yes. B. Christ died for the elect, and only the elect (Eph 1:4; Eph 5:25-27; Rom 8:29-30; 1Pe 1:2). VII. Who then is the world that God loved and gave His only begotten Son to be a propitiation for (Joh 3:16; 1Jo 2:2)? 1. It was not the universe as a whole, the earth, the world system, the entire human race, the reprobate, or all of the Gentiles. 2. By process of elimination, it must therefore be the world of God's elect, which is in keeping with the primary definition of the word world which is: The inhabitants of the earth, or a section of them.