1 Timothy 2:4

“Who desires all men to be saved”: Another reason we are to pray for all men and pray that they would see the wisdom in Christianity, is that God desires that all men accept His salvation in Jesus Christ. This verse infers that God has not predestined specifically which individuals will be lost and saved (regardless of their own choices). God desires all men to be saved and has made such possible in having Jesus die for all men (1 Timothy 2:6) and by the gospel being preached to all men (Mark 16:15), yet God does not force men to accept this offer of salvation (2 Peter 3:9). The KJV here reads, “Who will have all men to be saved”. Some have argued that this teaches that God will automatically save everyone; of course this would contradict the rest of the Bible.. man must also be willing to be saved (Revelation 2:21; Revelation 22:17 “he that will, let him take the water of life freely”). “That some men are not saved is not due to any inefficacy or deliberate limitation in the divine will, but is due to man's rejection of God's appointed means of salvation through faith in Christ Jesus” (Hiebert p. 53).

Please note, the fact that many will end up lost (Matthew 7:13) is not caused by any fault or deficiency with God or His power. In spite of God's efforts and desire, people end up lost because they refuse His kind and gracious offer.

1 Timothy 2:4 “And come to the knowledge of the truth”: One must learn the truth prior to salvation (John 8:31), but this verse is speaking of. full, deep and precise knowledge. “While it is true that man must have certain knowledge of the truth to be saved, there remains yet much to be learned after he is saved” (Hiebert p. 53).

1 Timothy 2:4 “Knowledge”: “Denotes knowledge that is the result of concentrating the attention upon” (Kent p. 104). “Precise and correct knowledge” (Thayer p. 237).

1 Timothy 2:4 “The truth”: This is another name for the Gospel message, the faith, that Christians must believe (Colossians 1:5; John 17:17 “Thy word is truth”).

1. In the process of being saved man is not passive. Man must be willing to listen and learn.

2. After salvation, God expects Christians to continue learning (2 Peter 3:18; Hebrews 5:12; Matthew 28:20; Acts 2:42)

3. All who really want to be saved can know the truth, and the truth is singular, not plural. There are not different truths for different people, rather there is only one body of truth (Ephesians 4:4).

4. Every Christian can know the truth precisely, fully, and accurately (Ephesians 5:17).

5. Those who are lost do not come to this knowledge of the truth (2 Timothy 3:7). Some have bits and pieces of the truth and even unbelievers now and then see or hit upon one of God's truths, but some of the truth is not enough.