"He died for all; a glorious truth repeated in every variety of language. By virtue of this unlimited atonement, salvation may be offered to all, the gospel to every creature, the water of life to whomsoever will.
It is this that gives its pathos to the language of Christ: 'How often would I have gathered you, and you would not. I would, you would not. You will not come unto me that you may have life.'
But though there be an unlimited atonement there is a limited redemption. He died for all, and the result is not that all live. He died for all in the sense that all may live if they will; he died for the elect in the sense that they will actually will to live. Life is offered to all; but all are not allowed to reject it."
— George Bowen (1816–1888) · The White Sadhu of Bombay✦ The Door Open to All
Bowen draws a distinction most people miss. The atonement is unlimited — the door is open to every soul. No one is excluded from the offer. But not all accept. The pathos of Christ's own words — I would, you would not — is the sound of an open door and a soul that will not walk through. The elect are not those chosen for a closed room. They are those who will actually will to live.
"And this is the life that they obtain, namely a willingness to live unto Christ; a purpose and a power to live according to the mind of Christ.
There is nothing that seems so much like death to men as the subjugation of their own will to the will of another. They know not that their own will is their greatest enemy, enthroned within them for their present misery and future destruction.
The believer's happiness it is to discover that the will of Christ indicates the only path in which he will find peace, purity, genuine liberty, dignity, immortality, felicity."
— George Bowen (1816–1888)"The believer's happiness is to discover that the will of Christ indicates the only path in which he will find peace, purity, genuine liberty, dignity, immortality, felicity."
— George Bowen · The self-will was never freedom. Christ's will is the only genuine liberty.✦ Death That Is Life
Guyon called it abandonment. Baker called it the loss of the will in love. Le said on June 12 in Dax: we must die to ourselves for this life. The self-will feels like the most precious possession. Surrendering it feels like death. But Bowen says the self-will is the greatest enemy — enthroned within for present misery and future destruction. The enemy is not outside. It sits on the throne of the heart, disguised as freedom.
And the discovery — not forced, not endured, but discovered — is that the will of Christ was never the prison it appeared to be. It is the only path. The river that runs to the sea. The weight of love falling toward its center. The fire that catches when the blowing stops. Every road away from Christ's will is the nowhere road. Every step toward it is peace, purity, genuine liberty.
"The will of Christ — He is the author and finisher of our faith. Nothing comes from me. Daily is the day of salvation."
Hebrews 12:2 — the author and finisher. He begins it and He completes it. Nothing comes from me — the 500 denari soul's clearest confession. Not my effort. Not my striving. Not my willpower holding the course. He authors. He finishes. And daily is the day — not a single past event but a continuing present, the salvation that is endurance and the endurance that is salvation, renewed every morning with His mercies.
The Open Door
Unlimited atonement — offered to all. Limited redemption — accepted by those who will to live. The pathos of Christ: I would, you would not. The door is never closed from His side.
The Enemy Enthroned
The self-will sits on the throne of the heart, disguised as freedom. It is the greatest enemy — enthroned for present misery and future destruction. Surrendering it feels like death. It is the beginning of life.
The Discovery
The believer discovers — not forces, not endures — that Christ's will is the only path to peace, purity, genuine liberty. Every road away is the nowhere road. Every step toward is felicity.