Thoughts on 1 Timothy 2:3-4

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

"Evangelistic prayer for all people is rooted in the fact that God desires all people to be saved. 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)” (Neste, 2008).

This is a controversial verse which many who hold to Arminian theology will argue opposes predestination. The question becomes can God desire something that does not come to pass? The answer is clearly yes. It is clear that God loves all men and Paul’s statement here that God desires all men to be save is completely in line with God’s character. God does not want anyone to perish, but that they would sincerely repent (cf. Ezek 33:11). 2 Peter 3:9 tells us that “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” Although God desires all people trust in Him, it is clear from the rest of Paul’s letter to Timothy that some will not be saved (4:1; 5:24; 6:10; cf. Matt. 25:30, 41, 46; Rev. 14:9–11).

How then do we reconcile God’s desire for all to be saved with the fact that not all people are saved? John Calvin states that by “all people” in this current context “the Apostle (Paul) simply means, that there is no people and no rank in the world that is excluded from salvation; because God wishes that the gospel be proclaimed to all without exception. The present discourse relates to classes of men, not to individual persons; for his sole object is, to include in this number princes and foreign nations.” So “all people” here is referring to all types of people, all classes of people, Jews and Gentiles, men and women, sinners and saints.

R.C. Sproul says “the Lord desires one thing more than the salvation of all – His glory (Isa 48:11). In one sense, God can truly want all who have ever lived to be saved; however, this desire always defers to His will to glorify Himself, the will in view when the Bible says His will is always done. The Lord is glorified when sin is punished in hell, and so God’s supreme desire is met even when people are not redeemed.”

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.