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NASB | 1 Timothy 2:4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | 1 Timothy 2:4 who wishes all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge and recognition of the [divine] truth. |
Subject: Predestination question? |
Bible Note: Greetings John! This is an excellent example of the problem I have with this interpretive approach. In the span of three verses, ?many? means all men universally and ?many? means a limited group of men. In the same span, ?all men? means all men universally and ?all men? means a limited group of men. This would seem to go against all common sense my friend. How would anyone be able to ?determine? from the text what each word or phrase means? To me, there seems to be a better and more consistent approach. Verses 18 and 19 all use universal terminology. I say that there is a reason for this. Paul intended for us to understand that just as Adam?s sin brought death and condemnation for all men, so also Christ brought justification and life for all men. However, verse 17 is the only verse that does not use the universal clause in its second clause. Why? Because, the gift must be received. I disagree that understanding the terms ?all? and ?many? must lead to universalism for the following reason. Are all men in fact finally condemned? No! Neither are all men in fact finally justified. The verses describe the status opened to men because of Adam and the status opened to men because of Christ. Neither one is final. Men can move from condemnation to life through faith. It seems best to me to take the language in its natural sense. I am never comfortable with changing the meaning of terms throughout a passage. In this case, by doing so, we end up with ?many? meaning ?all? and ?all? meaning ?some?! ;-) Your Brother in Christ, Tim Moran |