1 TIMOTHY 2:1-6, 1 First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, 2 for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. 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. 5 For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.
Does God desire all people to be saved? Yes, but does that mean they will all be saved? And if so, then why did God create a literal hell if no one will ever be sent there? It was Jesus Himself who spoke of hell more than anyone else in the Bible. As you can see, to answer one question, brings many more. As humans, we often desire many things, but do we ALWAYS get what we want? Of course not. So, does that leave salvation wholly in the hands of fallen humanity? If so, we are all in BIG trouble, because the Bible repeats itself 3 different times saying that NO ONE seeks after God (Psalm 14, 53, Rom.3, Please read all three). So, according to the Scriptures, the unredeemed love their sin more than God, and even if they could seek after God, on their own, they wouldn’t. Therefore, for salvation to take place, God’s sovereignty must take place.
In understanding this passage, first the audience must be identified. We have an elder Christian in Paul, talking to and training a younger believer in Timothy. So, the focus is on believers. Since God’s elect people are unknown to believers until regeneration, Paul encourages Timothy to pray for all of God’s elect in general.
Now context is very important here. Note that Paul didn’t say, “Pray for every person EVERYWHERE (could you imagine how long that would take?).” But, Paul’s point is that Timothy and his church are to pray for all different KINDS or types of people, from all walks of life. From rich to poor, powerful and weak, that God may be glorified in His salvation. We must remember that in the book of Revelation, God indeed saves A PEOPLE (not all people) from every tribe, language, and nation (Rev. 5:9). It is God who receives the glory and praise for salvation, not those who have been saved. So, this instruction to Timothy is to be best understood as, praying that God would gather and save His people throughout the nations.
When we see the word DESIRES, that “God desires all people to be saved,” in verse 4. We must understand that this verse has been a hot spot of debate for hundreds of years. However, any student of Scripture knows that God in His sovereignty also has a will of decree. So, God has two wills, a will of desire, and a will of decree. We see God’s will of desire show up again in a great cross-reference to our passage in 2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing (desiring) that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. Here, the Apostle Peter speaks the same type of message as Paul, because he, as well, doesn’t know who the elect of God are either. The difference in Peter’s letter is that it is written to the elect directly, therefore, the YOU in this verse are believer’s.
All this to say, if fallen, depraved humanity will not come to Christ in repentance, and God desiring to have something, doesn’t necessarily mean He will have it, just as we see in Matthew 23:37 “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted (desired) to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling, then in order for salvation to take place, something beyond the two needs to take place. That’s were God’s will of decree comes in, and God’s will of decree always supersedes His will of desire. Scripture clearly teaches that an eternal decree, regarding salvation, was made within the counsel of the Trinity before the ages began. That God decreed to save a certain number of the people of His choosing, while leaving others in their sins (Eph. 1, Rev. 13:8, 17:8).
I’llleave you with this short statement from John MacArthur, “Ultimately, God’s choices are determined by His sovereign, eternal decree, not His desires.”
By: Daniel C. Rodgers