A Ransom for All 1 Timothy 2:6

Paul the apostle desired that Timothy be a man of prayer for “all men” and particularly those who were in authority. This is a “good and acceptable” practice before the Lord who desires that every person “be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.” Paul told Timothy there is “one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” and in chapter two and verse six of his letter, Paul wrote of the “ransom” Jesus paid to set “all men” free. We read:

Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.

The verse begins, “Who gave himself a ransom for all,...” After declaring Jesus to be the “one mediator between God and men” Paul wrote “Who gave” or “granted, let have, furnished and supplied” “himself a ransom” which means “what is given in exchange for another as the price of his redemption” “for all” which refers to “each, every, any, the whole and everyone” both individually and collectively. In other words, there is no one who is exempt, no one who is disqualified and no one who is without the provisional price having already been paid for their redemption.

The verse continues, “...to be testified in due time.” Paul continued, “to be testified” which means “spoken, shown or written proof concerning an event or outcome” “in due time” or “in one's own due measure of time”. The idea is that the Son of God as mediator between God and men was to be revealed as the proof of God's salvation plan for man in His own good timing. Paul desired that Timothy know that the timing of the revelation of Jesus Christ's ransom had been revealed.

When we think about the word “ransom”, we associate it immediately with “kidnapping”. Those who “kidnap” others usually desire something in “exchange for another as the price of redemption”. Most of the time the amount of the “ransom” depends upon the value of the person captured. We who read these words were in effect “kidnapped” by Satan and this world, and Jesus paid the price of our “ransom” when He died on the cross for our sins. As we think this through, let us take the time to realize the valuable price He paid for our salvation and not only ours, but also for every person in the world. If we do not leave our thoughts concerning these things feeling valuable, let us visit again the cost for our redemption for we are indeed a valuable folk.

Next time Paul shares about how he was called as a preacher, apostle and teacher, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at http://www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.