For therefore we both labour and suffer
reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe
(I Tim. 4:10).
COMMON GRACE
ARGUMENT:
God’s being
“the Saviour of all men” is said to mean that He is “gracious” to all men, or
that He preserves all men out of a love
for all men. The “undeservingness” of this general preservation, on the part of
God towards sinners, is also said to
be “grace”—the popular assumption being, of course, that “grace” means “getting
what you don’t deserve.”
As a
sidenote, it must be pointed out that grace
cannot mean “getting what you don’t deserve” for the simple fact that
“grace” was upon Jesus Christ (Luke 2:40), and He certainly wasn’t
“undeserving.” Grace simply means “favour” or “beauty.”
WELL-MEANT
OFFER ARGUMENT:
Others appeal
to this text supposing that it is saying God “desires” the salvation of all
men.
(I)
Prof. Herman C. Hanko
(a)
[Source: Covenant
Reformed Fellowship News, vol. 2, nos.
3-4]
This text, along with others of a similar kind, has often been quoted in
support of the free and general offer of the gospel, which teaches that God
desires the salvation of all men. The text says, so it is argued, that God is
the Saviour of all men.
[We believe, however,] that God does not desire the salvation of
all men, but that God wills the salvation of His elect only.
But how is this text of Scripture, part of the infallible Word of God,
to be explained?
Two remarks of a more general kind ought to be made before we explain
what the verse teaches.
The first remark is this. Surely,
whatever else the text may teach, it does not teach God desires to save all
men. The text does not say that God desires the salvation of all men; it
says rather: “God is the Saviour of all men.” Those, therefore, who want to make this text
something of a universal text, must remember that then they must also conclude
that all men are saved. Finally, at the end of time, every man who ever lived
will be saved; no man will be lost; none will go to hell; all because God is
the Saviour of all men.
The second remark has to do with the text as a whole. We must remember that the clause in the text
that causes so much dispute is not the main thought of the text. The main
thought of the text is found in Paul’s statement to Timothy: “Therefore, we
both labour and suffer reproach.” Paul is reminding Timothy of all that they
endured on behalf of the gospel. They toiled with great weariness, spending
themselves in the work of the ministry; they endured the reproach of those who
hated the gospel and brought suffering upon them for their faithfulness to the
gospel.
Why were they willing to do this?
They were willing to labor to the point of overwhelming weariness and
they were willing to suffer in the cause of the gospel because their trust was
in the living God—so the text emphatically states.
But how was their trust in the living God the incentive to labor and
suffer reproach?
That question Paul answers in the statement: “… who is the Saviour of
all men, specially of those that believe.”
So the text teaches that these men (and all faithful ministers) are
willing to exhaust themselves in the cause of the gospel and are willing to
endure every persecution because they know that God will save all men,
especially those who believe.
Having put the statement at issue in its context, we are now in a
position to ask: What does that statement mean?
If one studies the history of interpretation, one discovers that
orthodox and Reformed commentators differ on their interpretation of the
text. Basically these commentators take
two different positions, both of which are plausible.
One group of commentators appeals to the fact that the word “Saviour”
can also mean “Preserver,” or “Sustainer.”
These men would then translate the clause: “… God, who is the Preserver
of all men, specially of those that believe.” Their idea is then to emphasize
the truth of God’s providence. God who creates every man, also sustains each
man by the Word of His power. But He is
especially the Sustainer or Preserver of believers.
Another group of commentators concentrate on the word “specially.” These
men prefer to translate the word “specially” as “namely,” or “that is.” Then
the meaning of the text would be: “God is the Saviour of all men, namely,
of those who believe.” The text would then teach that the words “all men” are
to be understood as “all kinds of men”—“men from every nation, class in society,
tribe, and language.” These would take the word “Saviour” as meaning “salvation
from sin and death and the bestowal of blessedness in heaven.”
Both translations are possible and both interpretations seem plausible.
Let us discuss the first.
It is true that the word “Saviour” can mean “Preserver.” Every lexicon
of the Greek New Testament allows for this translation. Thayer, e.g., in his Greek-English Lexicon
of the New Testament translates the Greek word as “saviour, deliverer,
preserver.” He appeals to other texts where the meaning is, according to him, “preserver.” II Peter 3:2: “… Lord and Saviour (or
Preserver);” and Ephesians 5:23: “Christ … is the Saviour (or Preserver) of the
body.” Whether Thayer is correct that
these two texts mean Saviour as Preserver is another question.
The problem with this interpretation is that this hardly seems to be a
reason why Paul and Timothy toiled so laboriously and suffered reproach in the
cause of the gospel. Why would the mere fact that God preserves the life of
all men be incentive to do this? It is hard to say.
The other interpretation, namely, that the word “specially” means “namely”
is an interesting one. Although the Greek word is used in other places in the New
Testament with the meaning “specially,” two passages almost certainly should be
translated as “namely,” or “that is.”
The first passage is Acts 25:26. Festus
is speaking to Agrippa about Paul, who was a prisoner about to be sent to Rome
for trial. Festus says: “of whom [Paul]
I have no certain thing to write unto my lord. Wherefore I have brought him
forth before you, and specially before thee, O king Agrippa, that, after
examination had, I might have somewhat to write” It would seem that, because Festus is
speaking to Agrippa, that the text could just as well be translated, “Wherefore
I have brought him forth before you, namely, before thee, O king Agrippa.”
The other passage is II Peter 2:9-10: “The Lord knoweth how to deliver
the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of
judgment to be punished: But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in
the lust of uncleanness …” Surely the apostle means that “the unjust” are the
same as “them that walk after the flesh.” Hence, the translation could very
well be, “The Lord knoweth how to … reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment
to be punished: namely them that walk after the flesh.
This same interpretation can be applied to I Timothy 4:10. If this is the case, then Paul is saying that
God saves all men, namely, believers. He saves all kinds of men: male
and female, bond and free. Gentile and Jew, king and subject, master and
servant, rich and poor, wise and foolish, Greek and Roman, and Italian, and Dutch,
and German, and English—all kinds. But God saves all kinds who are believers.
That is, not every man head for head is saved; only believers are saved. And believers
are saved, not because they are believers (so that God looks around for
whoever might be a believer, to save him), but believers are saved because God’s
salvation is by faith. Believers are
elect, and their faith is a gift of God. These, God saves. This meaning of the words “all men” is surely
in harmony with the rest of Scripture. (See,
e.g., I Tim. 2:4 and Titus 2:11.)
Because God saves all kinds of men, those who are busy in the ministry
of the gospel (as Paul and Timothy were) are willing to exhaust themselves in
the work and are ready to suffer every reproach. God is pleased to save through
the foolishness of preaching. Preachers who preach trust in God to save His
church from all men. To have a part in
that work is a glorious privilege. No suffering is too great, no labor too exhausting
when by that work the glorious church of God is saved.
-------------------------------------------------
(b)
[Source: Common Grace Considered (2019 edition), pp. 341-342]
Concerning
I Timothy 4:10, if one takes this passage in the context in which it is
written, the meaning is not all that hard to ascertain. Paul says that it is a
faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation that Timothy exercise himself
unto godliness, for physical exercise is of little profit, while godliness “has
the promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come” (v. 8). That
is a great incentive to practice godliness! Such a great incentive is this for
the apostle (and he wants his own life to be an example to Timothy) that he is
willing both “to labour and suffer reproach” at the hands of the enemies of the
gospel for the sake of the exercise of godliness. The reproach of the wicked
does not mean very much and has little significance for him because he trusts
in God, who is the Saviour of all men, especially the elect.
To
set aside, for a moment, the true meaning of the passage, it is worth our while
to note that should this be used in support of a “universal desire of God to
save all men,” the text proves more than supporters of the well-meant gospel
would themselves want.
After
all, the text does not say that God “desires to save” all men, but that Christ actually is the Saviour of all men. That
is more than the most dedicated Arminian wants to say.
There
is another meaning to the Greek word Σωτὴρ (Sōtēr—rendered “Savior” in the KJV) that is the meaning
here. That meaning is “Preserver.” Christ preserves all men, especially the
elect. Paul calls attention to this fact as the reason why he is not troubled
by reproach for the godliness in which he exercises himself. The reason,
apparently, is that God has His own purpose in preserving every man.
Whether
he be elect or reprobate, he is created by God to serve God’s sovereign purpose
in history. By His providence, God preserves righteous and wicked alike. The
wicked, too, exist by the word of God, the same word that sustains the entire
creation (For this use of the word, see Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament [Harper & Brothers,
1889], p. 612. Thayer, in fact, claims
that “preserver” is its original meaning. Cf. also Hermann Cremer, Biblico-Theological Lexicon of New Testament
Greek [Edinburgh: T & T. Clark, 1895], p. 534).
Part
of that purpose God has in preserving wicked men is that they persecute the
righteous. Persecution also comes through wicked men by the will of God; and
persecution is the means God uses to sanctify his people. Peter reminds us that
persecution is a fiery trial in which the faith of God’s people is tried as
gold is tried in the fire, that it might be to the praise and glory of God (I
Pet. 1:7).
It
may very well be that Paul, in this general statement, has a broader purpose in
mind that God has for the reprobate; but he particularly calls attention to the
preservation of the reprobate, for it stands in direct relation to God’s
purpose in preserving the elect. God’s purpose is “especially” revealed in them
in their salvation; but the reprobate are also preserved “especially” for the
elect.
Surely,
there is no universal love and grace of God in the text.
-------------------------------------------------
(II)
Ronald Hanko and Ronald Cammenga
[Source: Saved By Grace: A Study of the
Five Points of Calvinism (Grandville, MI: RFPA, 2002), pp. 110-112]
I Timothy 4:10 [is taken by many today] to teach that God, in addition
to being the Savior of His people, is also in some sense the Savior of all men
...
As far as I Timothy 4:10 is concerned, it cannot mean that God is the
Savior of all men in the usual sense of the word, because otherwise the passage
would contradict the rest of the Scriptures and teach universalism, the
teaching that no one will be damned. Notice that the verse does not just say
that God sent His Son for all, but that He is the Savior of all. The explanation we prefer, though Calvin gives an
alternative, has to do with the use of the word “specially.” The word “all”
seems to indicate that “all men” is a larger and less exclusive group than
“those that believe.” In fact, they are the same group. The idea of the verse
is therefore this: “The Saviour of all men, that is, of those that
believe.”
Three other verses in the New Testament use the same word translated
“specially” and “chiefly” in that way. In Acts 25:26, “you” and “king Agrippa”
are the same person, so that the verse can be read, “before you, that
is, before thee, O king Agrippa.” In I Timothy 5:8 “his own” and “those of
his own house” are also the same group, and the word “specially” again has the
idea of “that is.” Thus, everyone is commanded to care for “his own, that
is, for those of his own house.” Finally in II Peter 2:9-10 the “unjust”
and “them that walk after the flesh” are the same group of people, and the word
translated “chiefly” again has the idea of “that is.” God reserves “the unjust
unto the day of judgment to be punished, that is, them that walk
after the flesh.”
Insofar as the word has any other meaning, it indicates that the group
referred to in each case has a special name, a name that reinforces
what each passage says about them. In Acts 25:26, “you” is “king Agrippa.” In I
Timothy 5:8 “his own” are “those of his own house,” reinforcing the command to
care for them. And in II Peter 2:9-10, the “unjust” are “those that walk after
the “flesh,” emphasizing the reason that they are reserved unto judgment.
So in I Timothy 4:10, “all men” are especially “those that believe,” and
the text is explaining by the second name why God is their Savior. Thus, the
verse, instead of suggesting that God in some sense is Savior of all men
without exception, actually shows that “all men” is the equivalent of “those
that believe,” a limited number of persons.
-------------------------------------------------
(III)
Robert L. Reymond (1932-2013)
[Source: A New Systematic Theology of the Christian Faith (Nashville, TN:
Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1998), pp. 693; emphasis added]
Then later, when he describes the living God as the ‘Savior of all men,
that is believers’ (I Tim. 4:10), [Malista, malista, can bear the
sense of further definition (‘that is’), according to J. C. Skeat, “‘Especially
the Parchments’: A Note on 2 Timothy IV.13,” Journal of Theological
Studies 30 (1979): 173-77] he doubtless presumes again that he
will be understood, against the earlier contextual background, to mean that God
is the Savior of believers, who are
found among all categories of men.
-------------------------------------------------
(IV)
Herman Hoeksema (1886-1965)
[Source: Ready to Give an Answer: A
Catechism of Reformed Distinctives (Grand Rapids, MI: RFPA, 1997),
pp. 74-75]
a. Saviour in the text means Preserver, as the Synod of 1924 evidently
understood the word and the Dutch translation renders it. In that case, the
text does not speak of grace at all, but merely of God’s providential
preservation of all men, the wicked as well as the righteous, the reprobate as
well as the elect. The text then means: God is a Preserver of all men, for He
gives to all men their existence and life and all things necessary for the
sustenance of their being; but especially of believers, for them and them only
He preserves in His grace, leading them to eternal life.
Or:
b. Saviour has the usual meaning of Deliver from sin and death. In that
case the text means: God is a Saviour of all men—more specifically speaking, of
believers from among all men.
But whichever interpretation is preferred, the text does not support the
theory of a common grace God toward and upon the godly and the ungodly, the
elect and the reprobate.
----------------------------------------------------------
(V)
More to come! (DV)
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