Preacher Ko Lingkang

Is it God's Will that We Must be Saved?

1Timothy 2:3-4 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; (4) Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.

Introduction

John 3:16, probably the most famous verse in the Bible, tells of the love of God. It is a love so great, that He was willing to send His only begotten son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to come to this world to die for our sins, in order that we may be saved. The promise is that anyone who believes in Christ will have the gift of eternal life.

Having gone through the trouble to execute the entire plan of redemption, certainly, it is God’s desire for us to be saved. The Bible clearly states that God loved the world, and this universal love that God had was what spurred Him to ensure that man in his lost and sinful state will have a way back to God. Furthermore, He did not just leave the option of whether we want to be saved to us, for in our depraved state we would never willingly seek after God (Rom 3:10-18). By His grace and mercy, God chose us even before the foundation of the world (Eph 1:4-5), and then called us by His irresistible grace to lead us to salvation (Rom 8:14, 29-30). From start to finish, God alone was responsible for our salvation. Surely, having done all that, God has shown his desire for us to be saved!

This is what we see being explained in this passage before us. 1Timothy 2:3-4 says that God "will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth". Expressed here is God’s desire – not just for us who are already saved, but for all mankind. In this is the infinite love of God shown to us, for in His goodness and compassion, He desires that all the people in the world would come to a saving knowledge of Him.

Yet we know that although this is described as God’s will, the fact of the matter is that not all men are saved. There are many who would go through their whole life and never repent of their sins and believe in the Lord. The Bible is clear that the fate of these unregenerate people is eternal judgment in hell. Does this then contradict 1Timothy 2:4? If it is God’s will for all men to be saved, why is it that not all are saved? Which aspect of God’s will is Paul talking about in this verse?

Are you saved?

However, before we wade into the theological debate over God’s will, we must first address a more fundamental issue – am I saved? If it is God’s will for all men to be saved, shouldn’t we be concerned whether we are counted among ‘all men’? Whilst it is important to understand the theological implications of this passage, perhaps a more crucial point to consider is whether we ourselves have fulfilled this aspect of God’s will, that we are saved and have come to the knowledge of the truth.

God, the author of our salvation, is the one who is responsible for our salvation from the beginning to the end. While we commonly refer to Christ Jesus as our Saviour - for it is through His life, death and resurrection that we are saved - yet we must also remember that God the Father also has a very crucial role to play. It was the kindness and love of God that appeared toward us (Tit 3:4, 2:10-11), that extended His grace toward us to elect us, call us, and forgive us of our sins. God the Father is the source and architect of our salvation, for it is by His sovereign decree that He chooses us unto salvation.

God our Saviour is emphatically portrayed as one who "will have all men to be saved". This describes how believers are delivered from the power and corruption of sin, and granted the promise of eternal life. This happens when man comes "unto the knowledge of the truth". The word for ‘knowledge’ (epignosis) carries the idea of a full and precise, experiential sort of knowledge. It is far more than just an intellectual comprehension of the gospel, as it speaks of a complete assimilation and understanding of God’s truth as found in His word. When we believe in the Lord and profess faith in Christ, this is what happens. Not just with our mind, but with our whole heart we understand, assent and embrace the truths of all that Jesus Christ did in order to save us.

Yes, this is what God wills, for God our Saviour wants all of us to be saved and come unto the knowledge of His truth. The most important thing for us is to make sure that we ourselves understand this first. Are you saved? Have you come to the knowledge of the truth?

Will all men be saved?

Yet the question still begs: will all men be saved? After all, that is God’s desire. If that is what He wants then surely He would be able to fulfil it?

We must understand that it is not a question of God’s power. Can He save all men? Surely he can! The infinite value of the blood of Christ is enough to cleanse the sins of every single person who has ever lived and will ever live. Yet we know that it is not in God’s plan to do so, for there are many who reject the knowledge of the truth and will never be saved. The question we should then ask is: why is that so? Why is it that even though it is God’s will that all men be saved, yet not all men are saved?

At this juncture, we must understand a difference between the desire of God and the decree of God. These can be seen as two distinct but not contradictory wills of God. This is explained clearly by Rev Timothy Tow in his book "Clock of the Sevenfold Will of God"[1] (FEBC Press, 1991). Rev Tow explained how there are various facets of the will of God, and it is only when we understand each aspect better that we can have a clearer perception of the complete will of God.

On one hand, we have what is known as the desiderative will of God. This describes the longings or desires that God has that He reveals to us through His Word. Alongside the passage at hand, 1Timothy 2:3-4, God also reveals his desiderative will through passages like Ezekiel 18:23, 32, and 2Peter 3:9. In these passages, God describes how He has no pleasure in the perishing of the wicked, but desires that they should repent and live. As Rev Tow explained: "It is of God’s character not to exult like Nero in the torture and death of his Christian subjects, nor like Hitler exterminating six million Jews with a stone-dead heart, but the very opposite. God is good, God is love. So it is in Himself to see sinners turn to him in repentance, for He is not willing that any should perish" (Tow, 40-41).

However, whilst it is in God’s desiderative will that all men be saved, yet it is not necessarily so in his eternal decrees, or what Rev Tow described as God’s decretive will. In God’s perfect wisdom and eternal will, He has ordained that there would be some who are predestined to be saved. These are the ones whom the Bible describes as the elect, and are the ones who will certainly be called by the grace of God. How about the others who are not predestined? John 3:18 tells us "he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God". Does this then make God unjust, and contradict His desiderative will? Certainly not, for there can be no evil or error in God! Whilst He has a desire for all to be saved, yet it is also entirely His prerogative not to act on that desire, but instead, for reasons known only to Him, decree that only some would be saved, whilst the unrepentant would be judged and condemned.

We must be very clear and understand that even though it is God’s choice as to who will be saved or not, the blame is not on God, but on the sinner. As Romans 9:19-23 explains, "Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will? Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour? What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction: And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory". Our sovereign God has every right to do as He wills, and He has in His perfect plan decreed that not all men will be saved. Yet the fault lies not in God, but in sinful man who rejects God. All this is done "according to the good pleasure of his will", and the aspect of God’s will here is His decretive will.

And so while God in his desiderative will has a desire for all men to be saved, his decretive will is such that not all will be saved. This is a mystery that is difficult to comprehend. Yet the Bible explains it as such, and we can but humbly accept and acknowledge together with Paul "O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor? Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen." (Rom 11:33-36).

Do you care for others to be saved?

And so having understood what this verse is referring to, the final issue that we ought to address would be what our response should be.

In the context of this passage, we realize that it is actually an exhortation towards prayer. Paul was teaching Timothy about who and what to pray for, that his "supplications, prayers, intercessions and giving of thanks, be made for all men" (1Tim 2:1). Understanding then that this is certainly God’s desired will, should it not then be the topic of our earnest prayers? We are taught to pray in accordance to God’s will. If we know that it is His will that all men be saved, then surely it is something we ought to pray for. Just as God cares for the unsaved, we too must have a heart and passion for lost souls around us, and pray for their salvation.

Aside from praying for the salvation of the lost, there is also much that we can do to actively go out to win the lost. The great commission to every believer is to "go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature" (Mark 16:15). This is certainly a command that is very much in line with God’s desire for all men to be saved. Rather than debating on whether a person is elect or not, and then wondering if we should share the gospel to them, we ought instead to remember God’s desiderative will. When we go out to preach the gospel and witness to the people around us, we are doing the will of God, and bring glory and pleasure to Him.

[1]Available online at http://www.febc.edu.sg/assets/pdfs/febc_press/Clock%20of%20the%20Sevenfold%20Will%20of%20God.pdf

[This article was originally written for Bible Witness, published in the Jan-Feb 2015 issue]