Does ALL Always Mean ALL?
The question is, does ALL always mean
ALL in the bible or is it qualified by the context? Does ALL always mean every
single person without exception, or is what it covers defined by the Bible's
context and references? The truth is that the word "ALL" is usually qualified
in the scriptures. For example:
Mark 1:5 "And there went out to him ALL the land of Judea, and they of Jerusalem and were ALL baptized in the river Jordan"
{Certainly not every single man, woman, and
child (bar none) in the Land of Judea went to get baptized that day,
correct? The "ALL" there is qualified.}
John 8:2 "And early in the
morning he came again into the temple, and ALL the people came unto
him; and he sat down and taught them."
{Again, the "ALL" is qualified. Even though it says "ALL" it doesn't mean that every single person on earth came to listen to Jesus.}
Romans 5:17-18 For if by the one man's offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.) (18) Therefore, as through one man's offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man's righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life.
{The first underlined "all men" in verse 18 does mean every individual, because there is no qualifier in the context. The second underlined "all men" in verse 18 is qualified by the phrase "those who receive" in verse 17. The second ALL here clearly means "all of a group" rather than "every individual".}
Acts 22:15 "For thou (Paul) shalt be a witness unto ALL men of what thou hast seen or heard."
Matthew 10:22 "And ye shall be hated of ALL men for my name's sake."
John 3:26
"And they came unto John and said unto him, Rabbi, he that was with
thee beyond Jordan, to whom thou bearest witness, behold, the same
baptizeth, and ALL men came to him."
{In these verses we see clearly that
the word "ALL" does not in these instances mean every person without
exception, but, rather, it means "all types of men". To say "ALL" always means all or should be
understood to mean every individual in scripture is a misnomer. The context should always to be checked out for a qualifier.}
If there are some of you who are still not convinced, here's one "all" you'll have to deal with:
Luke 23:18-19 And they all
cried out at once, saying, "Away with this [Man], and release to us
Barabbas" (19) who had been thrown into prison for a certain rebellion
made in the city, and for murder.
Luke 23:24-25 So Pilate gave sentence that it should be as they requested. (25) And he released to them the one they requested, who for rebellion and murder had been thrown into prison; but he delivered Jesus to their will.
{This "all" shows man's will rejecting God and choosing Barabbas (sin). They ALL rejected Christ.}
Also, the word "world" does not necessarily mean every individual on the planet:
John 12:19 The Pharisees therefore said among
themselves, "You see that you are accomplishing nothing. Look, the
world has gone after Him!"
{If "world" meant every individual, then that would include the Pharisees who are complaining in this verse.}
The following verses illustrate that the meaning of "world" can mean certain individuals from the entirety of the world:
John 17:9 "I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours.
Revelation 5:9 And they sang a new song,
saying: "You are worthy to take the scroll, And to open its seals; For
You were slain, And have redeemed us to God by Your blood Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation,
Acts 10:34-35 Then Peter opened his mouth and said: "In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality. (35) But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him.
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1 Timothy 4:10
On the issue of salvation, the "ALL" means only the "ELECT" -
The elect = those chosen by God to be saved (past, present & future):
Ephesians 1:4-5 According
as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we
should be holy and without blame before him in love: (5) Having
predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to
himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
In 2 Peter 3:9, Peter
is speaking of only the saved. He is speaking to believers here(as
verse 1:1 shows); the "US-WARD", the "ANY" and the "ALL" refer to the
saved only(the elect) in verse 9.
2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward (the elect), not willing that any (of the elect) should perish, but that all (of the elect) should come to repentance.
2 Corinthians 5:10 For we
must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may
receive the things [done] in [his] body, according to that he hath
done, whether [it be] good or bad.
This verse says the "we...all" must appear before the judgement seat of Christ. Only believers appear here.
In context, the "we" are believers only, as the following verse shows:
2 Corinthians 5:7 For we walk by faith, not by sight.
Unbelievers will appear before the great white throne of judgement and are cast into the lake of fire(the second death):
Revelation 20:11-15 And
I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the
earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
(12) And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the
books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of
life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written
in the books, according to their works. (13) And the sea gave up the
dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which
were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
(14) And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the
second death. (15) And whosoever was not found written in the book of
life was cast into the lake of fire.
Believers do not take part in this judgement:
Revelation 20:6
Blessed and holy [is] he that hath part in the first resurrection: on
such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God
and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.
2 Peter 2:9
The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to
reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:
ALL can also mean "some of every kind" or "some from every nation" as the following verses illustrate:
Matthew 13:47-50 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered some of every kind,
(48) "which, when it was full, they drew to shore; and they sat down
and gathered the good into vessels, but threw the bad away. (49) "So it
will be at the end of the age. The angels will come forth, separate the
wicked from among the just, (50) "and cast them into the furnace of
fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth."
Revelation 5:9
And they sang a new song, saying: "You are worthy to take
the scroll, And to open its seals; For You were slain, And have
redeemed us to God by Your blood Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation,
Many false teachers, especially Universalists, say:
"We are all God's children"
...but...
God's Word says:
John 1:12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:
and...
Romans 8:14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.
and...
Ephesians 1:4-5 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, (5) having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,
and...
Romans 9:6-8 But it is not that the word of God has taken
no effect. For they are not all Israel who are of Israel, (7) nor are
they all children because they are the seed of Abraham; but, "In Isaac
your seed shall be called." (8) That is, those who are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God; but the children of the promise are counted as the seed.
{Only those who truly believe in Christ are children of God }