Salvation By Grace

3 This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

Reformation Study Bible notes:

• This does not mean that God sovereignly wills every human being to be saved
• It may refer to God’s general  benevolence in that he takes no delight in the death of the wicked, or it may mean that God wills all types of people to be saved (i.e., God does not exclude certain types of people from election to salvation
• see God’s will

ESV study Bible notes:

• It appears that Paul is countering an exclusivist tendency in the false teachers or at least their downplaying of the importance of evangelizing the Gentiles (along with their emphasis on the Jewish law).
• This statement figures prominently in theological disagreements over the extent of the atonement.
  • It cannot be read as suggesting that everyone will be saved (universalism) because the rest of the letter makes it clear that some will not be saved (4:1; 5:24; 6:10; cf. Matt. 25:30, 41, 46; Rev. 14:9–11).
• Does that mean God desires something (all people being saved) that he cannot fulfill? Both Arminian and Calvinist theologians respond that God “desires” something more than universal salvation.
  • Arminians hold that God’s greater desire is to preserve genuine human freedom (which is necessary for genuine love) and therefore he must allow that some may choose to reject his offer of salvation.
  • Calvinists hold that God’s greater desire is to display the full range of his glory (Rom. 9:22–23), which results in election depending upon the freedom of his mercy and not upon human choice (Rom. 9:15–18).
• However one understands the extent of the atonement, this passage clearly teaches the free and universal offer of the gospel to every single human being; “desires” shows that this offer is a bona fide expression of God’s good will.
• Come to the knowledge of the truth highlights the cognitive aspect of conversion, i.e., individuals must come to understand key truths in order to be converted.
  • “The truth” occurs often in the Pastorals as a synonym for the gospel

This entry was posted on July 8, 2009 at 9:41 am and is filed under 1 Timothy, Atonement, Reformed, Salvation, Will - God's with tags Elect. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.