All Means All
“No, you’re contradicting the Bible. The word of God is consistent. All means all.” (Many Christians)
If I had a nickel for every time that I heard this objection raised against Primitive Baptist interpretations of the bible, I’d buy everyone reading this a steak dinner. It is readily evident to any attentive bible reader that the word "all" does not always mean "all of humanity" in the scriptures. Consider the following examples that prove this point beyond any reasonable dispute:
EXAMPLE ONE
"And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved." (Matthew 10:22)
Here "all men" does not include believers, because believers are noted as those who love the brethren (I John 3:14). This passage explicitly mentions two groups: "ye" and "all men.” Neither of them design all of humanity; both are subsets of humanity.
EXAMPLE TWO
"And when they had found him, they said unto him, all men seek for thee." (Mark 1:37)
Here "all men" has respect to a great many in Judea at that time, but it does not include the inhabitants of North and South America who knew precisely nothing of the man Christ Jesus in regard to his incarnate, earthly ministry.
EXAMPLE THREE
"So when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding nothing how they might punish them, because of the people: for all men glorified God for that which was done." (Acts 4:21)
Clearly the entire human race did not glorify God for what had been done, given that the rulers, elders, and scribes in this self-same text were issuing orders to cease and desist from the performance of any further miracles (Acts 4:5,18), not to mention the vast majority of the human race who had absolutely no knowledge of these events whatsoever.
THEREFORE ALL DOES NOT ALWAYS MEAN ABSOLUTELY ALL
These three examples demonstrate that the term "all" does not always mean "absolutely all of humanity" in the bible. Those who claim such things should immediately desist from making that evidently false claim. This observation teaches us that a "plain meaning" approach to defining "all" in the bible is inadequate to the task of right division. Terms like "all" are defined by their context in a way that is consistent with the systematic precepts established elsewhere in the word of God. Using context and precept to interpret the meaning of the text is essential. What’s more, the FACT that "all" does not mean "all of humanity" in many instances does not uncover some inconsistency in the word of God, as some might insist. Rather, it demonstrates the inconsistency of suggesting a single meaning regardless of context for terms that have a breadth of meaning determined by context.
CONCLUSION
The “plain meaning” approach to interpreting scripture results in a theology that is littered with contradictions. Those who promote contradictory doctrine who have seen the aforementioned biblical evidence must decide on one of two paths. They must either double down on error, and in so doing become knowingly complicit in the perpetuation of false doctrine; or they must reexamine every theological claim they make in light of this new revelation. If those claims are contradictory, they do well to reject the prior approach in favor of a better, contextually informed approach to rightly dividing the scriptures. My hope is that this short article might encourage the latter and in so doing improve someone’s profitability to the flock of God in the pursuit of truth. (James 5:19-20)
- Elder Daniel Samons