# 1 John 2.2 > and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world. (1 John 2:2, NASB95) 1 John 2:2 is one of the most exegetically contested verses in the Calvinism vs. Arminianism debate over the *extent* of the atonement. The verse asserts two things in tight syntax: Christ is the *propitiation* (*hilasmos*) for "our" sins, and also for "those of the whole world" (*holou tou kosmou*). The Arminian reading hears a straightforward statement of universal provision; the Calvinist reading hears a corrective against parochialism (Christ atones not only for Jewish believers, or not only for first-century believers, but for the elect drawn from the whole world). The verse is the canonical battleground over the *extent* of the atonement, and the lexicon for *hilasmos* is the doctrinal crux. ## Immediate context (±2 verses) **ASV** ([ASV](/codex/asv/)) > 1. My little children, these things write I unto you that ye may not sin. And if any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: > > **2. and he is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for the whole world.** > > 3. And hereby we know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. 4. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; (1 John 2:1-4, ASV) **WEB** ([WEB](/codex/web/)) > 1. My little children, I write these things to you so that you may not sin. If anyone sins, we have a Counselor with the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous. > > **2. And he is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the whole world.** > > 3. This is how we know that we know him: if we keep his commandments. 4. One who says, “I know him,” and doesn’t keep his commandments, is a liar, and the truth isn’t in him. (1 John 2:1-4, WEB) **KJV** ([KJV](/codex/kjv/)) > 1. My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: > > **2. And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.** > > 3. And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. 4. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. (1 John 2:1-4, KJV) **YLT** ([YLT](/codex/ylt/)) > 1. My little children, these things I write to you, that ye may not sin: and if any one may sin, an advocate we have with the Father, Jesus Christ, a righteous one, > > **2. and he, he is a propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the whole world,** > > 3. and in this we know that we have known him, if his commands we may keep; 4. he who is saying, 'I have known him,' and his command is not keeping, a liar he is, and in him the truth is not; (1 John 2:1-4, YLT) ## Setting - **Speaker:** John the Apostle (traditionally) - **Audience:** Christian believers (countering proto-gnostic influences) - **Location:** Ephesus (composition) - **Time period:** composed c. AD 85-95 ## Theological reading **The *hilasmos* word-group.** Greek *hilasmos* (G2434) is rare in the New Testament; it appears only here and in 1 John 4:10. The cognate verb *hilaskomai* (G2433) and the noun *hilasterion* (G2435, "mercy seat") are used in Romans 3:25 and Hebrews 2:17. Translations split: ASV / KJV / NASB95 render *hilasmos* as *propitiation* (the appeasement of God's wrath); RSV and others render *expiation* (the wiping-away of sin) on the C. H. Dodd argument that pagan-style appeasement is alien to biblical thought. The Reformed and traditional reading defends *propitiation*: the Old Testament cultus assumes divine wrath against sin (Romans 1:18), and Christ's blood is offered to *turn that wrath away*, not merely to clean the sinner. Leon Morris's *The Apostolic Preaching of the Cross* is the standard Protestant defense of the propitiatory reading. **The Calvinist exegesis.** The Reformed tradition reads the verse against a definite-atonement framework. Christ's death actually accomplishes redemption for those for whom it is intended; the redemption is not merely *offered* but *secured*. On this reading, *"the whole world"* cannot mean every person without exception, because then the propitiation either fails (people perish whose sins were propitiated) or universalism follows. Three standard Calvinist construals: (1) *"world"* signals the elect drawn from every nation (parallels include the "lost sheep" the shepherd actually saves, John 10:11-15); (2) *"world"* contrasts Jewish-Christian believers ("our sins") with Gentile-Christian believers (the whole world); (3) *"world"* refers to the cosmos as the corporate body in which the elect are situated. Owen's *The Death of Death in the Death of Christ* (1648) is the locus classicus. **The Arminian and four-point exegesis.** The Wesleyan-Arminian tradition reads *"the whole world"* straightforwardly: Christ's propitiation is *sufficient* for every person, though *efficient* only for those who believe. Four-point Calvinists (Amyraldians) take the same position on extent while holding the other four points. The Arminian appeals to the natural sense of *holou tou kosmou*: had John meant *"the elect"* or *"Jews and Gentiles together"* he would not have used a phrase the rest of his writings reserve for the world-at-large (cf. John 3:16-17, 1 John 4:14, 5:19, where *kosmos* is the broad human world). The Arminian also presses 2 Peter 2:1 (false teachers who *"deny the Master who bought them"*) and 1 Timothy 2:4 (*"who desires all men to be saved"*) as parallel evidence. **The lexical move that decides the case.** Both sides agree the verse asserts two scopes: *"our sins"* and *"the whole world."* The exegetical question is whether the second phrase widens or contrasts. The text alone underdetermines the answer; readers bring soteriology. ris3n's [Calvinism vs Arminianism vs Molinism vs Open Theism](/codex/calvinism-vs-arminianism-vs-molinism-vs-open-theism/) hub maps the four-position spread; the [Atonement Theory Spread](/codex/atonement-theory-spread/) hub maps the orthogonal axis of *which model* of atonement (penal substitution, Christus Victor, satisfaction, governmental, moral influence) is in view. ## Key words - [G2434 - hilasmos](/codex/g2434-hilasmos/), *hilasmos* (Strong's G2434), propitiation / atoning sacrifice; the contested noun whose reading determines the doctrinal weight of the verse - [G2433 - hilaskomai](/codex/g2433-hilaskomai/), *hilaskomai* (Strong's G2433), the cognate verb (cf. Luke 18:13) - [G2435 - hilasterion](/codex/g2435-hilasterion/), *hilasterion* (Strong's G2435), the related "mercy seat" noun (cf. Romans 3:25) - [G0266 - hamartia](/codex/g0266-hamartia/), *hamartia* (Strong's G266), the sin-noun whose atonement is at stake - [G2889 - kosmos](/codex/g2889-kosmos/), *kosmos* (Strong's G2889), the world-noun whose scope is the exegetical battleground ## Theological themes - **Propitiation vs. expiation.** The verse anchors the debate over whether Christ's blood appeases divine wrath or merely wipes away sin; the traditional Protestant reading is propitiation. - **Extent of the atonement.** The "whole world" clause is the canonical battleground between universal-provision (Arminian) and definite-atonement (Calvinist) readings. - **Christ as the once-for-all sufficient sacrifice.** The verse pairs with Hebrews 10:14 to declare that Christ's offering is *the* propitiation, not one option among many. - **Pastoral assurance.** John writes "if any man sin, we have an Advocate" as comfort, not licence; the propitiation grounds the believer's standing. - **Universal scope, conditional efficacy.** Even on the Calvinist reading, the verse rules out any view that confines atoning intent to one ethnic or geographic group. ## Cross-references - [1 John 4.10](/codex/1-john-4-10/), the companion *hilasmos* statement: "He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins" - [John 3.16](/codex/john-3-16/), "God so loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son" - [Romans 3.25](/codex/romans-3-25/), Christ as *hilasterion* (mercy seat / propitiation) - [Romans 5.8](/codex/romans-5-8/), "while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" - [2 Peter 3.9](/codex/2-peter-3-9/), "the Lord... is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish" ## See also - [Penal Substitutionary Atonement](/codex/penal-substitutionary-atonement/), the doctrinal locus on which propitiation depends - [Atonement Theory Spread](/codex/atonement-theory-spread/), the multi-position comparison hub - [Calvinism vs Arminianism vs Molinism vs Open Theism](/codex/calvinism-vs-arminianism-vs-molinism-vs-open-theism/), the soteriological four-position comparison - [Calvinism](/codex/calvinism/), the position that reads "world" as the elect from every nation - [Arminianism](/codex/arminianism/), the position that reads "world" straightforwardly as universal scope ## Quoted in **Concepts:** - [Arminianism](/codex/arminianism/) - [Atonement Theory Spread](/codex/atonement-theory-spread/) - [Calvinism vs Arminianism vs Molinism vs Open Theism](/codex/calvinism-vs-arminianism-vs-molinism-vs-open-theism/) - [Penal Substitutionary Atonement](/codex/penal-substitutionary-atonement/) - [Universalism](/codex/universalism/) **People:** - [Jacobus Arminius](/codex/jacobus-arminius/) - [Jesus](/codex/jesus/) **Lexicon:** - [G0266 - hamartia](/codex/g0266-hamartia/) - [G2433 - hilaskomai](/codex/g2433-hilaskomai/) - [G2434 - hilasmos](/codex/g2434-hilasmos/) - [G2435 - hilasterion](/codex/g2435-hilasterion/) - [G2889 - kosmos](/codex/g2889-kosmos/) **Passages:** - [1 John 4.10](/codex/1-john-4-10/) - [Leviticus 16](/codex/leviticus-16/) - [Luke 18.13](/codex/luke-18-13/) - [Romans 3.25](/codex/romans-3-25/) --- _Scripture quotations taken from the **New American Standard Bible®** (NASB), Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by **The Lockman Foundation**. Used by permission. All rights reserved. [www.lockman.org](https://www.lockman.org)_ ## Why these four translations ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the **most literal English translations available** (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the **public domain in the United States**, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance. The four: - **[ASV](/codex/asv/)** (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition. - **[WEB](/codex/web/)** (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English. - **[KJV](/codex/kjv/)** (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base. - **[YLT](/codex/ylt/)** (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff. See [Bibles](/codex/bibles/) for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.