“As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life.”
Numbers 21:6-9: “The LORD sent fiery serpents among the people and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died. So the people came to Moses and said, ‘We have sinned, because we have spoken against the LORD and you; intercede with the LORD, that He may remove the serpents from us.’ And Moses interceded for the people. Then the LORD said to Moses, ‘Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a standard; and it shall come about, that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, he will live.’ And Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on the standard; and it came about, that if a serpent bit any man, when he looked to the bronze serpent, he lived.”
From the Arminian perspective, if a snake-bitten person had refused to look upon the serpent on a standard, then they perished, and that is exactly how the provision was designed to operate. So if Numbers 21:6-9 is analogous to John 3:14, as per Jesus’ illustration, then the person for whom Jesus died, purchased and bought (2nd Peter 2:1), and who died in a state of rebellion and rejection of Christ, will perish, and instead of meaning that the atonement failed, the atonement is actually operating exactly according to specs. The atonement was intentionally designed to only become effective in those who look upon Christ, analogous to Numbers 21:6-9. I think that this illustration of Jesus represents exactly what Arminians believe about the atonement. So although God is not happy when someone perishes, preferring instead that they turn back to Him and live (as per Ezekiel 33:8), He is nonetheless pleased with the way that His gospel was set up to operate, insomuch as being redemptive of only those who repent and turn back to Him. I think that that’s divine sovereignty in action, because God choose it, God designed it, and God accomplished it at Calvary.
The key difference between a 4-Point Calvinist and a 5-Point Calvinist is over the Calvinist doctrine of a Limited Atonement, which teaches that Jesus did not die for all man, but only for those of the alleged, eternal flock of the Father. While 4-Point Calvinists completely agree with the 5-Pointers over the existence of the alleged, eternal flock of the Father, as it relates to the Calvinist doctrine of Unconditional Election, they disagree with the 5-Pointers on the extent of the atonement. 4-Pointers teach that people become redeemed only when they believe in Jesus. 5-Pointers argue that those of the eternal flock of the Father, were all secretly redeemed 2,000 years ago at Calvary. 5-Pointers argue that you do not choose to become redeemed, but are either born redeemed or are born passed-by. To the 5-Pointer, either you are born loved like Jacob, or your are born hated like Esau. The Hyper Calvinist adds that if you were not drafted into the alleged, eternal flock of the Father, then you were created for Hell. They call this the doctrine of Unconditional Reprobation. Other Calvinists, horrified by this doctrine, prefer another doctrine called Preterition, where God simply leaves the Esau-class to fend for themselves, such that in passing by them, they are abandoned to their own miserable state of depravity.
Due to the negative connotation of the term Limited Atonement, perhaps giving the false impression that God is somehow limited in power to save all men, 5-Point Calvinists prefer to call it the doctrine of Particular Redemption, that is, the particular redemption of the alleged, eternal flock of the Father. However, Arminianism also teaches a Particular Redemption, that is, the universal purchase of all men, but the particular redemption of only those who are in Christ by faith.
Numbers 21:6-9: “The LORD sent fiery serpents among the people and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died. So the people came to Moses and said, ‘We have sinned, because we have spoken against the LORD and you; intercede with the LORD, that He may remove the serpents from us.’ And Moses interceded for the people. Then the LORD said to Moses, ‘Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a standard; and it shall come about, that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, he will live.’ And Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on the standard; and it came about, that if a serpent bit any man, when he looked to the bronze serpent, he lived.”
4-Point Calvinist, Ron Rhodes, writes: “John 3:16 cannot be divorced from verses 14-15, wherein Christ alludes to Numbers 21 with its discussion of Moses setting up the brazen serpent in the camp of Israel, so that if ‘any man’ looked to it, he experienced physical deliverance. In verse 15 Christ applies the story spiritually when He says that ‘whosoever’ believes on the uplifted Son of Man shall experience spiritual deliverance.” (The Extent of the Atonement: Limited Atonement Versus Unlimited Atonement)
John Calvin comments: “Just as it was only a snake in appearance and possessed no venom or poison, so Christ clothed himself in the form of sinful flesh, which was pure and free from all sin, so that he might cure in us the deadly would of sin.” (John: Calvin, The Crossway Classic Commentaries, p.75, emphasis mine)
Calvinist, D. James Kennedy, writes: “Our faith and our repentance are the work of God’s grace in our hearts. Our contribution is simply the sin for which Jesus Christ suffered and died. Would you be born anew? There has never been a person who sought for that who did not find it. Even the seeking is created by the Spirit of God. Would you know that new life? Are you tired of the emptiness and purposelessness of your life? Are you tired of the filthy rags of your own righteousness? Would you trust in someone else other than yourself? Then look to the cross of Christ. Place your trust in him. Ask him to come in and be born in you today. For Jesus came into the world from glory to give us second birth because we must--we MUST--be born again.” (Why I Believe, p.140, emphasis mine)
Calvinist, Erwin Lutzer, writes: “This simply means that Christ did not die for all men in general but gave himself only for the church, the elect.” (The Doctrines That Divide, p.183, emphasis mine)
Lutzer adds: “If God from all eternity purposed to save one portion of the human race and not another, the purpose of the cross would be to redeem these chosen ones to himself. We can know whether we belong to that number.” (The Doctrines That Divide, p.187, emphasis mine)
It is for this reason that some Calvinists advise not to just randomly tell people that God loves them because Jesus may not have died for them, if they are not one of the alleged, eternal flock of the Father. However, Jesus did die for “all men” (1st Timothy 2:5-6), and He does love “the world.” (John 3:16)
Calvinist, James White, writes: “Of course it should be noted in passing that everyone who is not a Universalist limits the atonement. The evangelical who thinks he is honoring the atonement by making it universal in scope needs to realize the cost of his position. If Christ died in the place of every man and woman in all of history (universal scope and intention), the atonement must be limited in its power and efficacy, for it does not actually result in the salvation of many of those God intended it to save.” (Debating Calvinism, p.171, emphasis mine)
It’s a provision, and just like at Numbers 21:6-9, it’s efficacy is restricted to those who look upon it.
John Calvin comments: “So it should be inferred that Christ is clearly shown to us in the Gospel -- so that nobody can complain that he cannot see Christ, that this revelation is available to everyone, and that as faith looks to him Christ is present.” (John: Calvin, The Crossway Classic Commentaries, p.75, emphasis mine)
Commenting on John 6:51, Calvin writes: “There he delivered himself up to death for the life of men, and now he invites us to enjoy the fruit of his death.” (John: Calvin, The Crossway Classic Commentaries, p.168, emphasis mine)
Calvin adds: “It is incontestable that Christ came for the expiation of the sins of the whole world.” (Concerning the Eternal Predestination of God, p.148, emphasis mine)
As Calvin appears to agree, John 3:14-15 eliminates any chance of the Lord’s atonement being limited in scope, and properly restricts the benefit of the Cross to those who look upon Christ in faith. No one can say that Jesus didn’t die for them. Jesus takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29), and His flesh gives life to the world (John 6:51), because He is the Savior of the world. (John 4:42) He died for all. (2nd Corinthians 5:14-15), having given Himself as a ransom for all. (1st Timothy 2:5-6) His grace abounds to all. (Romans 5:15) He is the propitiation for the sins of the whole world. (1st John 1:1-2)