Its no secret that mans religion appeals to 2 Cor 5:19 as a proof text that the scripture teaches that Christ died for all men without exception, for it reads:
To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.
The carnal religionist sees the word world here and automatically and carelessly assumes that it means everyone without exception. However the word world here is defined in a limited sense in that it does means:
kósmos (literally, "something ordered") – properly, an "ordered system" (like the universe, creation); the world.
Try again
κόσμος, ου, ὁ (Hom.+; inscr., pap., LXX)—1. adornment, adorning (Hom.+; Diod. S. 20, 4, 5 τῶν γυναικῶν τὸν κόσμον; Dit., Or. 531, 13; PEleph. 1, 4; PSI 240, 12 γυναικεῖον κόσμον; LXX; Philo, Migr. Abr. 97 γυναικῶν κ.; Jos., Ant. 1, 250; 15, 5; Test. Jud. 12:1) of women’s attire, etc. ὁ ἔξωθεν. . . κόσμος external adorning 1 Pt 3:3 (Vi. Hom. 4 of the inward adornment of a woman, beside σωφροσύνη; Crates, Ep. 9; Pythag., Ep. 11, 1; Plut., Mor. 141E).
2. in philosoph. usage the world as the sum total of everything here and now, the (orderly) universe (so, acc. to Plut., Mor. 886B, as early as Pythagoras; certainly Heraclitus, fgm. 66; Pla., Gorg. 508A, Phaedr. 246C; Chrysipp., fgm. 527 v. Arnim κόσμος σύστημα ἐξ οὐρανοῦ καὶ γῆς καὶ τῶν ἐν τούτοις περιεχομένων φύσεων. Likew. Posidonius in Diog. L. 7, 138; Ps.-Aristot., De Mundo 2 p. 391b, 9ff; 2 and 4 Macc; Wsd; Ep. Arist. 254; Philo, Aet. M. 4; Jos., Ant. 1, 21; Test. 12 Patr.; Sib. Or. 7, 123.—The other philosoph. usage, in which κ. denotes the heaven in contrast to the earth, is prob. without mng. for our lit. [unless perh. Phil 2:15 κ.=‘sky’?]). ἡ ἀέναος τοῦ κ. σύστασις the everlasting constitution of the universe 1 Cl 60:1 (cf. Dit., Or. 56, 48 εἰς τὸν ἀέναον κ.). Sustained by four elements Hv 3, 13, 3. πρὸ τοῦ τὸν κ. εἶναι before the world existed J 17:5. ἀπὸ καταβολῆς κόσμου from the beginning of the world Mt 13:35 v.l. (the text omits κόσμου); 25:34; Lk 11:50; Hb 4:3; 9:26; Rv 13:8; 17:8. Also ἀπʼ ἀρχῆς κ. Mt 24:21 or κτίσεως κ. Ro 1:20.—B 5:5 ἀπὸ καταβ. κ. evidently means at the foundation of the world (cf. Windisch, Hdb. ad loc.). πρὸ καταβολῆς κ. before the foundation of the world J 17:24; Eph 1:4; 1 Pt 1:20 (on the uses w. καταβολή s. that word, 1). οὐδὲν εἴδωλον ἐν κ. there is (really) no such thing as an idol in the world 1 Cor 8:4. Of the creation in its entirety 3:22. ὁ κόσμος ὅλος=πᾶσα ἡ κτίσις (Sallust. 21 p. 36, 13) Hs 9, 14, 5. φωστῆρες ἐν κόσμῳ stars in the universe Phil 2:15 (s. above). Esp. of the universe as created by God (Epict. 4, 7, 6 ὁ θεὸς πάντα πεποίηκεν, τὰ ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ καὶ αὐτὸν τὸν κόσμον ὅλον; Wsd 9:9; 2 Macc 7:23 ὁ τοῦ κ. κτίστης; 4 Macc 5:25) ὁ ποιήσας τὸν κ. who has made the world Ac 17:24. ὁ κτίστης τοῦ σύμπαντος κ. 1 Cl 19:2; ὁ κτίσας τὸν κ. Hv 1, 3, 4; cf. m 12, 4, 2. ὁ τοῦ παντὸς κ. κυριεύων B 21:5. Christ is called παντὸς τοῦ κ. κύριος 5:5. The world was created for the sake of the church Hv 2, 4, 1.—The universe, as the greatest space conceivable, is not able to contain someth. (Philo, Ebr. 32) J 21:25.
3. the world as the sum total of all beings above the level of the animals θέατρον ἐγενήθημεν (i.e. οἱ ἀπόστολοι) τῷ κόσμῳ καὶ ἀγγέλοις καὶ ἀνθρώποις 1 Cor 4:9. Here the world is divided into angels and men (cf. the Stoic definition of the κόσμος in Stob., Ecl. I p. 184, 8 τὸ ἐκ θεῶν καὶ ἀνθρώπων σύστημα; likew. Epict. 1, 9, 4.—Acc. to Ocellus Luc. c. 37, end, the κ. consists of the sphere of the divine beyond the moon and the sphere of the earthly on this side of the moon).
4. the world as the earth, the planet upon which we live (Dit., Syll.3 814, 31 [67 AD] Nero, ὁ τοῦ παντὸς κόσμου κύριος, Or. 458, 40 [=Inschr. v. Priene 105]; 2 Macc 3:12; Jos., Ant. 9, 241; 10, 205).
a. gener. Mk 16:15. τὰς βασιλείας τοῦ κ. Mt 4:8; ἐν ὅλῳ τῷ κ. 26:13. Cf. 13:38; Mk 14:9; Hs 9, 25, 2. τὸ φῶς τοῦ κ. τούτου the light of this world (the sun) J 11:9. In rhetorical exaggeration ἡ πίστις ὑμῶν καταγγέλλεται ἐν ὅλῳ τ. κόσμῳ Ro 1:8 (cf. the Egypt. grave inscr. APF 5, ’13, 169 no. 24, 8 ὧν ἡ σωφροσύνη κατὰ τὸν κ. λελάληται). Abraham as κληρονόμος κόσμου heir of the world 4:13.—Cf. 1 Cor 14:10; Col 1:6. ἡ ἐν τῷ κ. ἀδελφότης the brotherhood in the (whole) world 1 Pt 5:9. ἐγένετο ἡ βασιλεία τοῦ κ. τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν our Lord has assumed the sovereignty of the world Rv 11:15. τά ἔθνη τοῦ κ. (not LXX, but prob. rabbinic אִמּוֹת הָעוֹלָם=humankind apart fr. Israel; Billerb. II 191; Dalman, Worte 144f) the heathen in the world Lk 12:30. In this line of development, κόσμος alone serves to designate the pagan world Ro 11:12, 15.—Other worlds (lands) beyond the ocean 1 Cl 20:8.—In several of these pass. the mng. was
b. the world as the habitation of mankind (as Sib. Or. 1, 160). So also Hs 9, 17, 1f. εἰσέρχεσθαι εἰς τὸν κ. of entrance into the world by being born 1 Cl 38:3. ἐκ τοῦ κ. ἐξελθεῖν leave this present world (Philo, Leg. All. 3, 5 ἔξω τ. κόσμου φεύγειν) 1 Cor 5:10b; 2 Cl 8:3. γεννηθῆναι εἰς τὸν κ. be born into the world J 16:21. ἕως ἐσμὲν ἐν τούτῳ τῷ κ. 2 Cl 8:2. οὐδὲν εἰσφέρειν εἰς τὸν κ. (Philo, Spec. Leg. 1, 294 τὸν μηδὲν εἰς τὸν κόσμον εἰσενηνοχότα) 1 Ti 6:7. πολλοὶ πλάνοι ἐξῆλθαν εἰς τὸν κ. 2 J 7.—J 12:25.
c. earth, world in contrast to heaven (Dio Chrys. 19 [36], 59) ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ τούτῳ 2 Cl 19:3.—Esp. when mention is made of the preëxistent Christ, who came fr. the other world into the κόσμος. So, above all, in John (Bultmann, Reg. I κόσμος) ἔρχεσθαι εἰς τὸν κ. (τοῦτον) J 6:14; 9:39; 11:27; 16:28a; 18:37; specif. also come into the world as light 12:46; 1:9; 3:19. Sending of Jesus into the world 3:17a; 10:36; 1J 4:9. His εἶναι ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ J 9:5a. Leaving the world and returning to the Father 13:1; 16:28b. His kingship is not ἐκ τοῦ κ. τούτου of this world 18:36a, b.—Also Χρ. Ἰησοῦς ἦλθεν εἰς τ. κόσμον 1 Ti 1:15; cf. ἐπιστεύθη ἐν κόσμῳ (opp. ἀνελήμφθη ἐν δόξῃ) 3:16.—εἰσερχόμενος εἰς τὸν κ. Hb 10:5.
d. the world outside in contrast to one’s home PK 3 p. 15, 13; 19.
5. the world as mankind (Sib. Or. 1, 189)—a. gener. οὐαί τῷ κ. ἀπὸ τῶν σκανδάλων woe to mankind because of vexations Mt 18:7; τὸ φῶς τοῦ κ. the light for mankind 5:14; cf. J 8:12; 9:5. ὁ σωτὴρ τοῦ κ. 4:42; 1J 4:14 (this designation is found in the inscrs., esp. oft. of Hadrian [WWeber, Untersuchungen z. Geschichte des Kaisers Hadrianus ’07, 225; 226; 229]).—J 1:29; 3:17b; 17:6.—κρίνειν τὸν κ. (Sib. Or. 4, 184) Ro 3:6; B 4:12; cf. Ro 3:19. ἡ ἁμαρτία εἰς τὸν κ. εἰσῆλθεν 5:12; likew. θάνατος εἰσῆλθεν εἰς τὸν κ. 1 Cl 3:4 (Wsd 2:24; 14:14). Cf. Ro 5:13; 1 Cor 1:27f. περικαθάρματα τοῦ κ. the refuse of mankind 4:13.—6:2a, b (Sallust. 21 p. 36, 13 the souls of the virtuous, together w. the gods, will rule the whole κόσμος); 2 Cor 1:12; 5:19; Js 2:5; 1J 2:2; 4:1, 3. ἀρχαῖος κόσμος the men of the ancient world 2 Pt 2:5a; cf. b; 3:6.—ὅλος ὁ κ. all the world, everybody Ac 2:47 D. Likew. ὁ κόσμος (cf. Philo, De Prov. in Euseb., Pr. Ev. 8, 14, 58) ὁ κ. ὀπίσω αὐτοῦ ἀπῆλθεν J 12:19. ἐγὼ παρρησίᾳ λελάληκα τῷ κ. 18:20; cf. 7:4; 14:22.
b. of all mankind, but especially of believers, as the object of God’s love J 3:16, 17c; 6:33, 51; 12:47.
. 19, ’72/’73, 81-91; HSasse, TW III 867-96. M-M. B. 13; 440. ................................
William Arndt et al., A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature : A Translation and Adaption of the Fourth Revised and Augmented Edition of Walter Bauer’s Griechisch-Deutsches Worterbuch Zu Den Schrift En Des Neuen Testaments Und Der Ubrigen Urchristlichen Literatur (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1979), 445–447.