Isaiah 52:13 - The Servant is Exalted, Even in His Sufferings

"He will be high, and lifted up, and greatly exalted."

Here it appears we have a pile-up of synonyms. But do we?

Although it is true that the Hebrews were fond of using synonymous terms for emphasis, I do not believe the Spirit's intent in this passage was merely to emphasize how exalted Christ is. I propose that this verse does not simply tell us that He is exalted; rather, it tells us why and how He is exalted. The three terms - high, lifted up, greatly exalted - may speak of three distinct phases in the existence of the Son of God: His pre-incarnate glory, His crucifixion, and His exaltation at the Father's right hand following the resurrection. The main reason for this is the phrase, "He will be ... lifted up," which is consistently used in John's Gospel as a reference to the cross.

Jesus Christ was Highly Honored from all eternity

Heb. RUWM, רום = " to rise, rise up, be high, be lofty, be exalted ... to be set on high ... to be raised, be uplifted, be exalted ... to be lifted ..." (Brown-Driver-Briggs) It is noteworthy that on numerous occasions this Hebrew word is translated "to offer," in the context of ritual sacrifices. Perhaps there is a hint here of the covenant of redemption.

Where was Jesus before the incarnation? Did He exist prior to the virgin birth? Scripture makes it clear that He not only existed eternally as God, but He existed in a state of glory with the Father. Consider this prayer in John 17 . . .

John 17:5 “Now, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was."

And look at the claim He makes in a dispute with the Pharisees:

John 8:57-58 “You are not yet fifty years old,” the Jews said to him, “and you have seen Abraham!” “I tell you the truth,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!”

The last sentence was correctly interpreted by the Jewish leaders as a claim to deity, for they immediately picked up stones and attempted to kill Him.

Jesus Christ was Lifted Up on the Cross

Heb. NASA, נשא = the common Heb. word for lifting or carrying, occurring 654 times in the OT. It means "to lift, bear up, carry, take ... to be lifted up, be exalted ... to be borne, be carried ... to be taken away, be carried off, be swept away" (Brown-Driver-Briggs)

The term "lifted up" can be taken as a technical reference to crucifixion. Note that the voice is passive (in Heb. it is the Niphal stem), while the terms before and after are in the active voice (Qal stem in Heb.). Someone is lifting Him. While this might refer to Christ's exaltation by the Father, there is no reason to suppose it does not rather indicate the cross. Note these passages from the book of John:

John 3:14 "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up."

John 8:28 So Jesus said, "When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and I do nothing on My own initiative, but I speak these things as the Father taught Me.

John 12:32-34 "And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself.” But He was saying this to indicate the kind of death by which He was to die. The crowd then answered Him, "We have heard out of the Law that the Christ is to remain forever; and how can You say, 'The Son of Man must be lifted up'? Who is this Son of Man?"

It is not by accident that the cross is placed between "high" and "greatly exalted" in Isaiah's account. Our Lord was indeed "lifted up" on the cross . . . but this was not the end.

Jesus Christ is Now Greatly Exalted

Heb. MEOD, מאד = "exceedingly, much" (Brown-Driver-Briggs)
Heb. GABAHH, גבה = "to be high, be exalted ... to be lofty" (Brown-Driver-Briggs)

He has been glorified exceedingly in His resurrection, ascension, and heavenly reign.

Ephesians 1:20-22 ... [God] raised [Christ] from the dead and seated him at His right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under His feet and appointed Him to be head over everything for the church ...

Philippians 2:8-11 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

It was through the humble obedience of being "lifted up" on the cross that our Lord was most highly exalted. Beloved, our path is to follow this same trajectory. The way of humble obedience leads to the highest glory.

Meet Barry Wallace

Editor's Note: We're taking a quick break from the current series to post the following article from Barry Wallace. Barry owns the "Who Am I" blog, where I also write occasionally. I'm thrilled to have Barry as a THEOparadox team member, but if you've been reading this blog, you already knew that. -Derek

Since Derek and I recently agreed to team up on our respective blogs, I thought it might be good for me to briefly introduce myself. For some time now, I've been a regular reader of Derek's blog, and an occasional commenter. In fact, our paths first crossed, I think, when I providentially stumbled onto Dereks' blog and commented on this post. I subsequently found Derek to be thoughtful, gracious, and Christ-like, both in his writing and in his interaction with others.

The other thing I discovered about Derek, as I continued to read his blog, was his relentless desire to be Christ centered, or gospel centered. Like a moth drawn to the flame, Derek's heart and mind constantly seemed to be returning to, and circling around, the precious, spotless Lamb of God. That's been evident to me in the past, and it's evident once again in Derek's current series.

For those reasons, and more, I was honored and grateful when Derek approached me about becoming a member of his blog team. I'm also humbled, and feel that I stand to benefit more than anyone else from this partnership.

That said, here are a few things you might like to know about me. I'd be happy to answer any other questions you might have in the comments.

Doctrinally...

• I would probably be considered a moderate Calvinist. By "Calvinist" I mean that I love to attribute all glory and honor and power, in everything, to God and God alone. By "moderate" I mean that I place more emphasis on the universal aspect of God's love, and the unlimited aspect of Christ's atonement, than some of my fellow Calvinists.
• I believe in the continuation of spiritual gifts, meaning I'm not a cessationist.
• I'm as intrigued (though not as articulate or well read) as Derek is with the paradoxes of Scripture.

Personally...

• I live in Sikeston, MO, a relatively small town in the southeastern corner of the state.
• I'm 53, divorced and remarried, with two children out on their own, another one in college, and two still at home (that's 1 wife and 5 kids--oh, and the best little dog in the world).
• I was converted about 34 years ago. My spiritual progress since then has at times been steady (chalk that up to God's grace), and at times wretched (chalk that up to me).
• I'm a deacon in my small Southern Baptist church.

My contribution to this blog will be mostly unseen,. My aim is to support Derek behind the scenes and pray for him, as he aims to honor Christ with this blog and with his life. In that, I would love for you to join me.
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Isaiah 52:13 - This Deserves Attention

"Behold, My servant will prosper."

God's Focal Point is the Cross

"Behold" (Heb. HINNEH, הנה) is a call to attention. It means, "look over here!" It is not by mistake that this eye-catching term opens the greatest prophetic picture of Christ in the Old Testament, for God is ever drawing our attention back to His Son, and to the cross. In this series, we are endeavoring to pay heed to that call.

Christ's Mission was to Serve

"My Servant" (Heb. EBED, עבד) identifies Christ as God's servant, the One who obediently accomplishes His will. To save us, God did not send an army, a team of doctors, a professor, a scientist, or a politician. He sent a Servant who obeyed His will. The world vainly looks for salvation in the knowledge and power of its experts, most of whom are decidedly out of step with God's revealed will. But He offers salvation freely through the humble obedience of His Servant.

Philippians 2:6-8 ... although He existed in the form of God, [He] did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Mark 10:45 "The Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."

Jesus was Wise and Successful in His Work

"Prosper" - Heb. SAKHAL, שכל (occurs 63 times in the OT) = "to be prudent, be circumspect, wisely understand, prosper ... to have insight ... to prosper, have success." (Brown-Driver-Briggs), "to be succussful (in carrying anything on), to act prosperously." (Gesenius), "... never concerns abstract prudence, but acting prudently." (Unger/White), "... relates to an intelligent knowledge of the reason." (Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament). The semantic range of this word describes the relationship between wisdom and success. It can be used for the wisdom that leads to success, or for the success that was accomplished by using the wisdom. Hence, it stands for wise administration, insightful management, or an intelligent handling of a complex situation.

The world has its own ideas of success, but Jesus Christ is the supreme example of understanding and accomplishment. He is wise in all His actions and effective in all His works. His success cannot be thwarted by any opponent. Jesus vindicated God's "upside-down" wisdom by achieving His mission through the undervalued qualities of servanthood: humility and obedience. His acts depended upon the Father's blessing and faithfulness, so His success was guaranteed. Yet His mission was accomplished through affliction, surrender and self-sacrifice. Indeed, "the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men " (I Cor. 1:25)

I Cor. 1:30-31 But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, so that, just as it is written, “LET HIM WHO BOASTS, BOAST IN THE LORD.”

Focusing on the wisdom of Christ in His attitude, acts and accomplishments is the great remedy to being "wise in your own eyes." Let us pay attention to this, becoming deliberately cross-centered in all we do. And let us imitate the cross-wise approach to success and prosperity modeled by our Lord in His servanthood.

Matthew 26:24 "Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me."

To be a cross-bearing, self-relinquishing, others-serving, Christ-following disciple - that is true prosperity. Dear friend, do you wish to come after Him?

The Servant Who Suffered to Save Sinners - Introduction

It's always interesting to speak abstractly and philosophically about Calvinism and theology. That's something I've done extensively of late. But I sense a need to get my focus back on the simple truth of the Gospel through a study of the Word in a more devotional/exegetical manner.

Even the best theological systems and philosophies cannot feed the soul. For that purpose, God has given us His Living Word and His Precious Spirit. This is why some of God's dear children can be theologically off the mark, but are still full of the life and love of God. Strange as it may seem, some who are steeped in egregious philosophical errors that are obviously unbiblical have nonetheless fed on the Word and received abundant grace from it. They walk in the Spirit, and love God with all their hearts. His Word is powerful and often works secretly within us, even when we miss the point (philosophically speaking). This is also why some of those who seem to be most theologically right can be dry wells, with little love or joy to offer. They've abandoned their pure devotion to the Word and run after every obscure question for which their heart craves an answer. It's the idolatry of philosophy, which can even exist in theologically grounded philosophy. It's easy to treat the Bible like an encyclopedia for reference and information gathering. Yet God gave His Word to us as an endless fountain of water, and daily bread to our souls - rich, refreshing, nutritious, and life-sustaining. It's not that deeper theological pondering is bad (it's not), but it has to be kept in balance. We don't want to have our "head in the clouds" (at least not all the time).

With that in mind, this post begins a new series called "The Servant Who Suffered to Save Sinners." Several years ago (at a time when, by God's grace, I began to grieve over a perceived hardening of my heart), I sensed a stirring from the Lord to pursue a study of Christ's work on the cross. It was as if He said, "Look to the cross, for in seeing My brokenness you will be broken again." For weeks thereafter, I meditated upon the words of Isaiah 53. The fruit of those meditations continues to feed Gospel truth to my soul to this day. Now, dear friend, I pray that these studies will feed your soul as we look to the cross together.

Isaiah 53 is a remarkable passage of Scripture for many reasons. Here are a few of them.

1. It was written more than 700 years prior to the birth of Christ, and yet it predicts His sufferings with undeniable accuracy.

2. It serves as a key link between the Old and New Testaments, being one of the clearest Old Testament passages which unambiguously states doctrines related to the Gospel. Thus, it demonstrates the unity of the Bible's message.

3. It sets forth divine sovereignty and human responsibility; describes key facets of the incarnation; affirms the total depravity and universal guilt of mankind; offers some explanation of human suffering; shows the humility, obedience and sinless innocence of Christ; reveals Christ's ministry as a sin-bearing sacrifice; implies substitutionary atonement; promises lost sinners a way of reconciliation with God; predicts Christ's suffering, death, burial, resurrection and glorification; and it unveils the justification of sinners through faith in God's Own righteousness.

We'll explore these things more deeply as we examine the text theme by theme, concept by concept, line by line, phrase by phrase, and word by word. Join me as we fix our gaze lovingly on the Lord Jesus Christ . . .

THE SERVANT WHO SUFFERED TO SAVE SINNERS

Keeping the Biblical Balance

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"The best Calvinists are those that have kept the beautiful balance . . . Keeping the balance is where the beauty is to be found. The revealed, the secret will of God; the attributes of God; God and man's responsibility; and by living in this balance we can develop a true spiritual Christianity . . . Brethren, keep the Scriptural balance, for when you do that, then and only then will you give the highest glory to God."

Curt Daniel

This is from the conclusion to Dr. Daniel's lecture on Hyper-Calvinism

Link: http://www.monergism.com/thethreshold/articles/onsite/histtheocalvin.html

(Click here to download the mp3)

Editor's Note: I've listened to about half of the 75 lectures in Dr. Daniel's series, "The History and Theology of Calvinism." The history lessons alone are like a graduate level course. I'll have to give him a t-shirt someday, for he is one of the great exponents of the idea behind this blog. I find that I almost always agree with Dr. Daniel's way of articulating the particulars of the doctrines of grace.

One of the things I appreciate about Dr. Daniel is the fact that he graduated from a Bible College affiliated with the same moderately Pentecostal and distinctively Arminian-leaning denomination to which I belonged for many years. Later, embracing a very different theological model, he received his M.Div from Fuller Seminary and his Ph.D from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. Currently, Dr. Daniel pastors Faith Bible Church in Springfield, Illinois.

God's Universal Love and Unmerited Mercy

"Our minds cannot find calm repose, until we arrive at the unmerited love of God. As the whole matter of our salvation must not be sought any where else than in Christ, so we must see whence Christ came to us, and why he was offered to be our Savior. Both points are distinctly stated to us: namely, that faith in Christ brings life to all, and that Christ brought life, because the Heavenly Father loves the human race, and wishes that they should not perish. And this order ought to be carefully observed; for such is the wicked ambition which belongs to our nature, that when the question relates to the origin of our salvation, we quickly form diabolical imaginations about our own merits. Accordingly, we imagine that God is reconciled to us, because he has reckoned us worthy that he should look upon us. But Scripture everywhere extols his pure and unmingled mercy, which sets aside all merits"

John Calvin (from Calvin's Commentary on John 3:16)

We can see from this that Calvin detected no contradiction at all between God's universal love for mankind on one hand, and His unmerited mercy toward the elect on the other hand. Let us never conclude that the two are mutually exclusive. Calvin affirms both, and so must every true Calvinist.

A Team Effort

Recently I posted some links to Barry Wallace's excellent blog, "Who Am I?" For several months now, Barry and I have been linking our sites and enjoying fruitful discussion on many topics. Last week, we decided to make our partnership official and list one another as team members. I'll continue to do what I'm doing here at THEOparadox, but I'll occasionally post to "Who Am I?" as well. And I hope we'll get a few paradox articles out of Barry right here. As much fun as it is to guest post on other sites, that was not the reason we formed an alliance.

We are both strong believers in the idea of team blogging. There is an added sense of solidarity and accountability that comes with forming a team. Blogging, like any other form of communication, presents opportunities for sin (and opportunities for grace, too). As team members, we set out to admonish, encourage, and confront one another whenever there is evidence of pride, discouragement, anger, loss of focus, or an error in logic or theology. I know Barry will hold my feet to the fire and rebuke me if, for example, I say something un-Christ-like to a trolling hyper-Calvinist or posit some kind of legalism.

On my profile page, you will find four team members listed for this blog.



The first to join was my very astute friend, Tony Hayling (he's the one one the left). Tony doesn't post here, although he's very welcome to do so. He is a well-studied and thoughtful believer, and he occasionally disagrees with me. I'm okay with that. He's got his own ideas about paradox, and his own unique way of articulating the theology of the Reformation, which often helps me to think through the issues more thoroughly. He's probably a higher Calvinist than I am, but he has a good sense of balance. I really appreciate his friendship and his perspectives. He's also a tremendously gifted writer and an edifying person to talk to.

My 7-year-old daughter is also on the team. She occasionally posts here as a guest, so I finally broke down and gave her a blogger profile, "Girl Whom God Loves." As you will see from her posts, she's quite a good thinker when it comes to theology. She's somewhat precocious, and God has given her a uniquely logical mind. Like my Mom, she is probably a genius. Apparently, that trait skips a generation.

And now, Barry Wallace has joined the team (he's the one on the right). In my first post on his blog, you can read more about why I've chosen to join ranks with him. Maybe we can convince Barry to do at least one guest post here in the near future . . . but above all I'm grateful for the added encouragement, wisdom and accountability he will bring.

John Gerstner On Faith, Works, and Justification

In this video, the late Presbyterian theologian John Gerstner passionately argues for justification by faith alone. He does a beautiful job of explaining this paradox, which the unbelieving simply cannot understand.

Dr. R.C. Sproul was one of Gerstner's seminary students. You may notice the resemblance in style.


Gerstner drives over three dangerous errors on his way to stating the truth . . .

Error: We are saved by Works
Error: We are saved by Faith plus Works
Error: We are saved by Faith minus Works
Truth: We are saved by Faith Alone, from which God-honoring works must (and will) subsequently spring.

The Paradoxes of Prayer - Part 3

Prayer As A Practical Paradox

I'd like to take a brief look at paradox in the methodology of prayer. Knowing things about prayer is of little use if we fail to move on to the act of praying. With this in mind, we'll examine three Biblical prayers that contain elements of paradox in the very way they are verbalized. Then, I'll suggest a method of praying based on these examples.


Biblical Examples

Exodus 33:12-13 You have said, ‘I have known you by name, and you have also found favor in My sight.’ Now therefore, I pray You, if I have found favor in Your sight, let me know Your ways that I may know You, so that I may find favor in Your sight. Consider too, that this nation is Your people."

Moses quotes God's own words back to Him. He makes a request on the basis of those words. And he asks for what he already has. In essence, it is a plea for more grace, because although grace is always all-sufficient, and is always fully available, we always need more and can never have enough.

I Kings 18:37 "Answer me, O lord, answer me, that this people may know that You, O Lord, are God, and that You have turned their heart back again."

This comes from Elijah's prayer when he faced the prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel. Elijah prays that the people may know what God has already done: that He has turned their hearts back again. The prophet does not pray that God will turn their hearts back. Rather, he prays for the people to know that God has turned their hearts back. Apparently, God has already turned them, but they do not yet know it. And it appears that they won't know it unless Elijah prays effectively for them.

Mark 9:24 Immediately the boy’s father cried out and said, "I do believe; help my unbelief."

Calvin comments thus:

He declares that he believes, and yet acknowledges himself to have unbelief. These two statements may appear to contradict each other, but there is none of us that does not experience both of them in himself. As our faith is never perfect, it follows that we are partly unbelievers; but God forgives us, and exercises such forbearance towards us, as to reckon us believers on account of a small portion of faith. It is our duty, in the meantime, carefully to shake off the remains of infidelity which adhere to us, to strive against them, and to pray to God to correct them, and, as often as we are engaged in this conflict, to fly to him for aid.

The Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary insightfully interprets the prayer as follows:

that is, "It is useless concealing from Thee, O Thou mysterious, mighty Healer, the unbelief that still struggles in this heart of mine; but that heart bears me witness that I do believe in Thee; and if distrust still remains, I disown it, I wrestle with it, I seek help from Thee against it." Two things are very remarkable here: First, the felt and owned presence of unbelief, which only the strength of the man’s faith could have so revealed to his own consciousness. Second, his appeal to Christ for help against his felt unbelief— a feature in the case quite unparalleled, and showing, more than all protestations could have done, the insight he had attained into the existence of a power in Christ more glorious them any he had besought for his poor child.

The Method

I suggest the following simple method of prayer, which is applicable to all sorts of needs and requests.

1. Confess what you know is true (e.g., "Lord, I was wrong to say what I said. That was selfish and arrogant.")
2. Give thanks for what God has done (e.g., "Lord, thank you for convicting me of my sin in this matter. Thank You that I didn't say more than I did. Your grace restrained me from committing worse sin.")
3. Conform your prayer to the Word (e.g. "Lord, You command me to repent and believe the good news. You tell me I must bridle my tongue.")
4. Declare your God-given intentions (e.g., "Lord, I repent of the unkind words I spoke.")
5. Ask God for help (e.g., "Lord, help me to repent of my sin. I can't do this without Your help. Apart from You, I will only fail.")
6. Thank God in advance for what He is doing (e.g., "Lord, thank You for forgiving me. I thank You that You are helping me to repent and change the way I speak to others. May You be glorified in my words.")


Based on the example given, it should become clear that making things right with the person who was treated badly is the next step. Biblical prayer will lead to the right kind of action.

In this way, faith is exercised as we obediently ask God for His help, while also acknowledging that He has given us what we ask for. Thus, we work for the Lord - all the while acknowledging that it is God Who works in us to will and to work according to His own will. And so He is glorified in us, and through us, and by us. Our prayers are at once confessions of weakness, applications of Scripture, declarations of faith, statements of intent, and grateful acknowledgements of God's sovereign grace. Our Father will respond to these cries of child-like dependence, Spirit-inspired honesty and tenacious trust as they are woven into our prayers.

FREE OFFER - Addendum, Part 2

What follows is deep and undeniable Biblical material in support for the four aspects of the free offer. For more on this, see part 1 of the addendum, and also the original post.

First, the easiest one: "the Gospel is to be proclaimed to every individual."

Matthew 28:19 "Therefore go and preach the Gospel to every creature . . ."
Mark 16:15 "Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to all creation."
Perhaps there's a bit of hyperbole there to emphasize the point, but it only strengthens the argument: PREACH THE GOSPEL TO ALL WITHOUT EXCEPTION.


Next: "God invites every individual."

Matthew 11:28-29 "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls."
Isaiah 55:1-3 "Ho! Every one who thirsts, come to the waters; and you who have no money come, buy and eat. Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Why do you spend money for what is not bread, and your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and delight yourself in abundance. Incline your ear and come to Me. Listen, that you may live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, according to the faithful mercies shown to David."
John 7:37 Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink."
Revelation 22:17 ". . . And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost."

These invitations are given to all, even though the hunger and thirst which move a person to respond are brought about by God's sovereign stirrings of grace. Visibly, the call is universal. Invisibly, the drawing of the Spirit is particular. There's a difference between the general call and the effectual call, but one does not nullify the other.

Next: "God loves every individual."

Luke 6:35 "But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful"

It is objected by some that this refers to God's love for the elect prior to their conversion. I wonder, then, why Christ did not mention this distinction, but commanded His followers to love all enemies? If our heavenly Father does not love the reprobate, and we are admonished to be like Him, why should we love the reprobate? Yet we are commanded to love ALL neighbors and enemies without exception.

Ezekiel 18:23 "Do I have any pleasure in the death of the wicked," declares the Lord God, "rather than that he should turn from his ways and live?"
Ezekiel 18:32 "For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone who dies," declares the Lord God. "Therefore, repent and live."

God's pleasure is increased when sinners repent, yet He does not lead all sinners to repentance. His reasons for leaving some in their sins is an unrevealed mystery, but His lack of pleasure in their destruction is directly stated and plainly revealed. Just as God saves some sinners without being unjust, He condemns other sinners without being unloving. Christ's death secured the salvation of the elect, but it also "condemned sin in the flesh." (Romans 8:3) That is a genuine and blessed paradox.

Does God love everyone? My 4-year-old can quote John 3:16, and I think he understands it better than most theologians. What kind of twisted interpretation of "world" does one have to invent in order to deny that "God so loved [every lost person] that He gave His only begotten son . . ."? The violent revisions forced on this text by a petrified theology are bizarre at best, and blasphemous at worst. One of the great benefits of being a paradoxical Calvinist is that we can allow the text to mean exactly what it says. On the downside, explaining things can be tricky, and one's systematic theology may be less than iron clad. But I'd rather be true to the text and scratch all the remaining hair off of my head trying to figure it out than to scratch a single line of truth from God's Bible.

Finally, the tough one: "God wills (i.e. desires) the salvation of every individual."

I Timothy 2:3-4 This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

Many - even among those who agree with all I have said above - will take exception to the use of this verse in this context. However, I am convinced that the verse is a true statement of God's desire for the salvation of all. The best argument against this view is formed by linking "all men" in this verse to "a ransom for all" in verse 6. Based on limited atonement, "all" in verse 6 is thought to mean "all kinds" (which is sometimes an accurate way to interpret the word), and thus the "all" in verse 4 purportedly has to mean "all kinds." It is a powerful argument. However, Christ's death as "a ransom for all" may well fit within the universal aspects of the atonement. The argument can be just as powerful when stated the opposite way: the "all" in verse 6 proves that the "all" in verse 4 really means "all." Christ's ransom payment was infinite and sufficient for all, though it is efficient and effective only for those who believe. Thus, God desires the salvation of all - especially the elect; and Christ paid the ransom for all - especially the elect. Alas, there are probably only a few Calvinists who will agree, but the point is more disputable than some would ever admit. Let's not allow our theology to become too "limited."

Beyond this, God's desire for the salvation of every individual can be explained this way: every universal invitation, and every universal call to repentance, stands as a statement of God's genuine desire - even if it is not His intention to fulfill that desire. God is not, therefore, "eternally bummed out" or frustrated by man's rejection of Him. Rather, He purposefully mourns with a compassionate heart over the well-deserved destruction of His creatures. He suffers for all, even the reprobate. Yet He also rejoices and finds complete satisfaction in all His decrees. Should it then surprise us that He calls us to find "pure joy" in all our trials and sufferings? And that we should "leap for joy" when people hate us?

Conclusion

The Scripture passages listed above provide strong support for the free offer of the Gospel. But is it a "sincere" and "well meant" offer? The answer is obvious: can God do anything without sincerity? Of course not. Is such terminology redundant? Yes, it is. But is it any more redundant than adding the word "holy" or "righteous" or "kind" or "good" or "perfect" to any of God's other acts? Certainly not. Therefore, we should never be ashamed to speak freely and sincerely of the free, sincere, and well meant offer of the Gospel.

The result of the free offer is sure: "This Gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come." (Matthew 24:14)

So the great commission is a guaranteed success! Let every one of us do his (or her) part to fulfill the command (and the prophecy) of Christ.

Soli Deo Gloria.
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Further information can be found here:

http://www.loughbrickland.org/articles/freeoffer.shtml

Excerpt:

Do you have difficulty reconciling the genuine overtures of the Gospel with the truth of God's sovereign election and predestination? To allow any such difficulty to cause you to reject the plain Biblical testimony to the reality of these gracious overtures is to bow down to the false humanistic god of the finality of human reason and is the very antithesis of true Biblical Calvinism. Whilst all of God's Word is reasonable, our powers of reason are those of a finite and fallen creature. We must lean upon the words that have proceeded out of the mouth of God. It is fallen man's pride in his own reason causing him to heed again the words of the serpent, "Hath God said?" (Gen. 3/1). Let us glorify God and say, "I esteem all thy precepts concerning all things to be right" (Psalm 119/128).