“For to this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe” (1 Timothy 4:10). A proper, contextual reading of the verse should immediately reveal that the primary focus is on the “living God.” It is important to lay this emphasis at the outset since quite often, people are more preoccupied with the statement, “all people, especially of those who believe” to justify universalism rather than on the “living God” who is the Saviour. Yet the Apostle’s primary message here is that there is no salvation for all sorts of people in any part of the world apart from the living God. In other words, he argues that salvation is both exclusive and efficacious as we shall see.
1.
Salvation is Exclusive.
The Apostle says, “because we have our hope set on the living
God, who is the Savior of all people” [emphasis added]. Of
utmost importance is the description of the God who is the Saviour of all
people. He is, first of all, described as the Creator, and everything (specifically, food in the context) created by Him is good (vv. 3,4). He is, secondly, described
as the “living God” (see also Chapter 3:15) to distinguish Him from the
pagan idols (false gods) that are dead and worthless (cf. 1 Thess. 1:9; 1 Cor.
8:4-6; Acts 14:15). That He is living and other so-called gods are dead (idols)
serves to emphasise that He is the only true God. He is, thirdly, described as “the
Saviour.” Salvation in view here is soteriological as the Apostle indicates
in Chapters 1:1 & 2:3. It is important to underscore the fact that God is
the Saviour of all people since idol-worshippers have no hope of salvation in their pagan
idols apart from the living true God. In fact, pagans are described elsewhere as
“having no hope and without God in the world” (Eph. 2:12). What is the
point of the Apostle Paul here? He is emphasising that there is no hope of
salvation for anyone [without distinction or exception] apart from this living true
God. Therefore, he says, “For to this end we toil and strive, because we
have our hope set on the living God” [emphasis added]. The hope and security
of Paul’s salvation lie in this living God, not himself or in another deity. In
Chapter 2, Paul had asserted the biblical teaching of monotheism when he said that
the God who is the Saviour is one God and then went on to immediately add that
there is only one mediator between this one God and men, the man Christ Jesus,
who gave himself as a ransom for all (vv. 3-6).
It should then be clear that universally, there is no hope
of salvation apart from the one, living, Creator, and Saviour God who saves exclusively
through the mediatorial work of His Son, Christ Jesus. Put differently, the
source of salvation is exclusive. That is, there is only one universal way of
salvation. The “all people” therefore, in this context are all people
without distinction. That is, both Jews and Gentiles, since God is both God of
the Jews and the Gentiles (Rom. 3:29). We shall underscore that “all people”
here doesn’t mean all people without exception in the next point, for that
would mean that hell is empty. Such an understanding of the text is meant to
invoke gratitude amongst the Gentiles. We who have been saved by the one living
true God should marvel at the greatness of His love, the richness of His mercy,
and the immeasurable riches of His grace since He didn’t leave us to perish in
our sins. It should also remind us that the way of salvation is exclusive for everyone
[universally] as I have pointed out. This means that if the nations don’t have
a saving knowledge of this one, living, true God, then they will perish in
their sins. Such knowledge should, therefore, serve to fuel missions and
evangelism—whether local or overseas.
2.
Salvation is Efficacious.
The Apostle adds, “we have our hope set on the living God, who
is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe”
[emphasis added]. Of consideration here is the understanding of the phrase “especially
of those who believe.” The Greek word μάλιστα rendered by many translators here
as “especially” is employed in many other passages to lay emphasis on a
subset of a given larger group (cf. 1 Tim. 5:8,17; Phil. 4:22; Gal. 6:10; Acts
25:26). That is, to single out a subcategory of the whole. For instance, in
Philippians 4:22, Paul says, “All the saints greet you, especially those of Caesar's
household.” Paul is saying that all saints who are with him in
prison send greetings to the Philippians but he is singling out the greetings
from those of Caesar’s household. He could have chosen to do this because they
added to his joy in suffering while in prison since they responded positively to
his prison ministry as he indicates in Chapter 1:12-13. With this import, we
can deduce that by employing the word “especially,” Paul is singling out
“those who believe” from the larger group of the “all people.” The
emphasis, therefore, is that whereas all people are saved without distinction
(whether Jews or Gentiles), all people aren’t saved without exception. That is,
faith is necessary for salvation. Paul is emphasising that God doesn’t save all
people indiscriminately. Rather, He saves those who believe—whether Jews or
Gentiles. It is with such an understanding of the necessity of faith and the
universal scope of salvation that Paul says, “For I am not ashamed of
the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who
believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” (Rom. 1:16).
Therefore, the phrase in question serves to underscore that salvation is
efficacious to those who believe since Christ Jesus, the only mediator between
the one God and men, gave himself as a ransom for all. “Ransom” means He
actually paid for their sins. Similarly, the emphasis on faith is important in
presenting the gospel for sinners to be saved in evangelism and missions.
In conclusion, rather than using this verse as a proof text
for universalism, the Apostle Paul’s preoccupation was on the “living God” who is the gracious fountain of salvation. He is magnifying His saving
grace and mercy amongst all sorts of people worldwide without distinction. His
saving work isn’t limited to the Jews only but also to the Gentiles scattered
across the world. This is such a powerful verse to consider especially in the
context of evangelism and missions.
