Original Meaning
Prayer for Rulers (2:1–4)
“THE KEYWORD OF this section…is universality.”1 The instruction is given “first of all” that prayer is to “be made for everyone—for…all those in authority,” in order that we may live “in all godliness and holiness,” which will please God, who “wants all…to be saved,” since “Christ Jesus…gave himself as a ransom for all” (italics added).
The syntax is tight. Verse 1 begins with the inferential oun, “therefore,” which connects this with what precedes (thereby making it unlikely that this is an extract from an early church manual). The question is often asked whether “therefore” relates to the immediately preceding section (1:18–20) or to something earlier. Since, as we noted in the previous section, the first chapter is an enclosed unit, with the opening verses restated in the closing, it is most likely that Paul is referring back to the entire section following the opening greetings. He has been establishing not only the need to oppose heresy, but stating his own commission and passion for the gospel.
In order for that gospel to gain the response it should, several things are necessary, as set forth in chapters 2 and 3: prayer for the kind of circumstances that will move the gospel forward (2:1–7), appropriate behavior during prayer and learning (2:8–15), the selection of overseers and deacons whose lives are consistent with the gospel (3:1–13), and corporate conduct appropriate to the “mystery of godliness” (3:14–16). Chapter 4 resumes the personal instructions to Timothy about maintaining doctrinal and personal purity in a church attacked by heresy.
This present section (2:1–7) begins with the words, “I urge,” similar to 1:3 (“as I urged”). After his important statement of the reason for the letter in 1:4–20, Paul now continues his instructions to Timothy. He hovers between commanding and urging, with the two merging together just as do his apostleship and his fatherly relationship with Timothy. “First of all” indicates an order of precedence, which can also imply an order of importance.
Paul uses several words for prayer in verse 1, as he does elsewhere.2 While such a listing can be redundant, it is more likely that Paul is expressing the breadth of prayer in its various aspects, each of which is relevant here. One might have expected that Paul would begin with the most general word, but instead he starts with deeseis (“requests”), perhaps because he is mainly concerned here with a focused request. He immediately follows with proseuchas, the more general word for prayers. Next he urges enteuxeis (“intercessions”; the NIV uses the singular as more idiomatic in a collective sense); this is the nature of the initial prayer here, offering petitions on behalf of the rulers. Finally he mentions eucharistias (“thanksgivings,” again singular in the NIV), which he already indicated in Philippians 4:6 should accompany requests. The thanksgivings are for the rulers, for whom we not only pray but are thankful, a remarkable concept in the age of the Roman emperors. The plural form extends to the words for “kings,” which would include even the likes of Nero, and for “those in authority,” modified by the word “all,” thereby including local authorities as well as imperial.
The tight syntactical construction proceeds with the word “that” (middle of v. 2), which introduces the intended result of the prayers. Paul’s desire for a quiet life does not mean that he simply seeks personal tranquillity for Christians.3 His goal and all-consuming passion is that the gospel might freely penetrate society, which will be forwarded most effectively in a peaceful context. But it is not only so that the messengers of the gospel may be unhindered; it is that their “peaceful and quiet lives” will be carried out in the manner Paul repeatedly prescribes for Timothy: “in all godliness and holiness.”
Ten of the fifteen times that “godliness” (eusebeia) occurs in the New Testament are in the Pastoral Letters. Its next occurrence is describing the “mystery” in 3:16, and then it appears in 4:7, 8; 6:3, 5, 6, 11; 2 Timothy 3:5; Titus 1:1. It was a term well known by Paul’s non-Christian contemporaries (much as “religion” and “religious” are today). “Holiness” (or “dignity,” semnotes) and its adjectival cognate, semnos (“worthy of respect”), occur in 1 Timothy 2:2; 3:4, 8, 11; Titus 2:2, 7. Together, these references emphasize the great importance of God’s servants—which especially includes Timothy and elders and deacons—having a good reputation in the world. Later Paul writes Titus that the lives of Christians should affirm to onlookers the validity and attractiveness of the gospel (Titus 2:5, 8, 10; see comments).
In the present passage Paul emphasizes that Christians in general must be fully characterized by the twin virtues of godliness and holiness. The implication, amply supported throughout these Letters, is that as the world sees the Christian character of believers, not only will the gospel go forward in an orderly, peaceful society, but also it will be recognized as genuine.4
The verses that follow support this interpretation. The word “who” at the beginning of verse 4 carries the implied sense, as often, of “because.”5 God is pleased with these prayers for everyone (v. 1), because he is the God who wants everyone to be saved (v. 4). To this end, good government and quiet lives are also “good” and pleasing to God (v. 3). This passage is not dealing with questions of election or universalism, but it does bring such matters to mind. What God wants is that all people be saved. This is not the same as willing them into salvation regardless of whether they respond positively or not to Jesus, which would be contrary to the whole direction of Scripture on the need for personal response. It may be comprehensive rather than universal, meaning that God wants people to be saved whoever and wherever they are.6
“To be saved” and “to come to a knowledge of the truth” are not different but overlapping experiences. This terminology was familiar to Paul’s Hellenistic contemporaries, but with different meanings. The gods were thought to save their adherents from different forces of evil. Salvation was also thought to be experienced through initiation into the mystery religions.7 Knowledge of the truth could be merely cognitive, but in the developing Gnostic systems the terms came to have further nuances.8 Here, however, it has more of a Hebraic sense. Salvation is the active work of God, who has compassion and strength to rescue. The truth is to be grasped, appropriated, and allowed to change our behavior. Given that sense, it is appropriate that the phrase “knowledge of the truth” occurs further in the Pastorals in 2 Timothy 2:25; 3:7; Titus 1:1.
Bridging Contexts
PRAYERS FOR RULERS. If Paul’s testimony in 1:12–17 seems to enter on the scene unexpectedly, so does his request for prayer in 2:1–7, concluding with another affirmation of his calling. Although the Greek word for “therefore” (v. 1) can be used as a transitional word without logical emphasis, there does seem to be a deliberate connection here with the preceding paragraphs. This is not the sort of prayer request that Paul usually makes. Think, for example, of his request following the passage about the Christian’s armor in Ephesians 6, where the apostle asks for prayer for himself and for his own boldness in proclaiming the message. Throughout the New Testament are various appeals for prayer having to do with the gospel, healing, boldness in preaching, and so on. The request in this passage is, uniquely, for people in authority. While it is not only for kings, the use of that word gives focus to the request. We are not merely to pray for the gospel or for God’s power on behalf of the preacher and witness, but for the very officials whose decisions can affect the environment in which the gospel is to operate.
The breadth of the activity (prayers, intercession, and thanksgiving) and the number of those for whom it is to be made (“everyone—for kings and all those in authority”) shows that this is serious business. This world and its governments are the arena of God’s activity. While it is true that the gospel flourishes under tyranny, as seen in many places under the Communists, that is by no means the ideal to be sought after. But neither is the immediate goal simply to “live peaceful and quiet lives.” Beyond that it is to live “in all godliness and holiness.” And even beyond this, by implication the goal is for people to be saved (v. 4).
Christian witness and pluralism. Paul comes around again to his own goal in life, his calling, to be a “herald and an apostle” (v. 7). He is sweeping in the way he expresses himself in this paragraph. His excitement and sense of responsibility are transparent. We are not only to pray for “everyone” (lit., “all people”), but should realize that God wants all people to be saved. To this end the plurality of rulers to be prayed for and the plurality of people whom God wants to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth stand in contrast with the fact that there is just “one God and one mediator between God and men.” In our pluralistic age we may tend to say “there are many ways to God,” but it would be more proper to say “there are many ways to Christ but only one way to God, and that is through Christ.”
When arguing over whether it is right that there is only one way to God, it is sometimes forgotten that it is God himself who has provided that way so that all people might indeed by saved. Pluralism is not to be confused with universalism, though the two usually come to the same conclusion. Universalism is the assertion that everyone will be saved regardless of their response to the gospel. Pluralism is the assertion that no one religion is right but that all have value. Today pluralism often takes an aggressive stance, in that the only belief that pluralists consider to be invalid is the belief that one’s religion alone is correct. Therefore—ironically and irrationally—the pluralistic ideal falters in that it refuses to recognize the validity of such a position. The challenge of pluralism is perhaps best met not by merely repeating exclusivistic claims, but by emphasizing a true kind of inclusivism in the comprehensive biblical sense. That is, the gospel is for all people in all cultures. The key to the application of this passage in all cultural contexts is its comprehensiveness.14
Those who take the purpose of the Pastoral Letters largely to be providing instructions for church order need to inquire as to why this section does not deal with broader aspects of prayer in the service of worship.15 Instead, the instructions here are narrowly focused to accomplish the goals mentioned above. We can extrapolate the following guidelines. Prayer is a normal and, one may conclude, a major part of the church’s spiritual ministry. It should be purposeful, not haphazard. The good of the church and the community (probably extensible to the nation) is to be kept in mind, with the broad acceptance of the gospel a larger goal.
Contemporary Significance
OUR MESSAGE TO those without Christ. One of the most perplexing questions that theologians and others have addressed over the centuries is the fate of those who do not believe in Christ or who have never even heard of Christ. While such a complex question cannot be satisfactorily addressed in this brief discussion, it is good to have questions like these in mind when we come across passages that may contribute to their answer.
Perhaps the key word here is the Greek thelo (translated “wants” in NIV and NLT in v. 4; NRSV has “desires”). Its range of meaning reaches from the desire for something to be done to willing something to be done. A similar verb, though not an exact synonym, boulomai, appears in 2 Peter 3:9: “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance” (emphasis added). All three of the translations just cited translate boulomai as “want” here. Both thelo and boulomai can refer to a desire to do something or, in a stronger sense, a definite purpose or plan to do something.16 At the very least these two passages show that God takes no pleasure in people dying without salvation. Neither one of them, however, teaches that God will save people irrespective of their own stance toward Christ.
When preaching the gospel it is difficult today to keep from alienating people who have a contemporary aversion to any exclusive religious claims. As far as truth is concerned, we are convinced that Christ is the only way. But how we declare this in today’s world can move people toward or away from our gospel. Without weakness or compromise we must declare the narrow way, but in doing so we must stress that there is a way, a wonderful way. It is important that we show the love of God in providing that way (John 3:16) and the grace of Christ in becoming that way through his sacrifice on the cross.
There is a ransom. Our message is not gloom or doom but the open way made by the Mediator, the man Christ Jesus. The way in which we say there is only one mediator can communicate either a negative connotation—every other religion is wrong and we are proudly and dogmatically right—or a positive connotation—God wants all to be saved, and we humbly and happily proclaim that way and the means for everyone who comes to him.
As for anyone who has not learned enough about God, sin, and salvation to make a meaningful decision, I believe we can agree with Abraham’s rhetorical question. “Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?” (Gen. 18:25). No matter how much God—or we—desire to see any individual saved, there is only one way that God accomplishes that. It is a wonderful way, through Christ, “who gave himself as a ransom for all [people].”17
Our mission and attitudes. Paul offers a statement of clear purpose for his life in verse 7: “and for this purpose I was appointed a herald and an apostle.” The Greek expression translated “for this purpose” is eis ho, “toward which.” This is one case where we can take for ourselves at least one part of the apostolic mission of Paul, which was to proclaim the gospel and to be “a teacher of the true faith.” Whatever one’s opinion as to how God will deal with those who have never heard the gospel, it is incumbent on us to see that everybody possible within our range of human relationships does come to know the gospel of Christ.
Paul’s exhortation to pray for “those in authority” stands opposed to the tendency of some Christians to criticize or ridicule them. The pastor of one megachurch in the Chicago area rightly admonished the congregation when they hissed at a mention of President Clinton. This paragraph in 1 Timothy should cause all of us to review our attitudes to leaders. Although a weekly sentence in the pastoral prayer about those in authority can be mere rote, it is better than no prayer at all. To pray for a leader, as is done in some liturgical churches, using the words “your servant” and his or her first name, reminds us of the humanity of that leader, who needs God’s direction.
1. Lock, Pastoral Epistles, 24.
2. A prime example is Phil. 4:6. On prayer in its various forms see W. Liefeld, “Prayer,” ISBE, 4:938–39.
3. Nor is the teaching here to be understood as “good citizenship,” as Dibelius and Conzelmann understand it (Pastoral Epistles, Excursus: “The Ideal of Good Christian Citizenship,” 39–41). Towner critiques this interpretation convincingly in The Goal of Our Instruction.
4. Fee recognizes this connection between the godly life and the attractiveness of the gospel to unbelievers. He points out the similarity of 1 Thess. 4:11–12, “Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life…so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders” (Fee, 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus, 63).
5. By way of example, we might say, “Michael, who likes good food, would especially appreciate this restaurant.” The clause introduced by “who” does not merely identify Michael, but gives the reason why he would appreciate what the restaurant serves.
6. See Titus 2:11 and commentary for a possible parallel use of “all people.”
7. See M. Slusser, “Salvation,” Encyclopedia of Early Christianity, Everett Ferguson, ed. (New York: Garland, 1990), esp. 825.
8. See Carl F. H. Henry and R. K. Harrison, “Know, Knowledge,” ISBE, 3:48–50.
9. On the topic of salvation and of God as Savior in the Pastoral Letters see Frances Young, The Theology of the Pastoral Letters, for bibliography.
10. See R. S. Wallace, “Mediation,” ISBE, 3:299–305.
11. Leon Morris, The Atonement: Its Meaning and Significance (Leichester, England: Inter-Varity Press, 1983), 116–19.
12. See NIDNTT, 3:1196–97.
13. For other possibilities and citations, see Lock, Pastoral Epistles, 28, Dibelius and Conzelmann, Pastoral Epistles, 41–42, Knight, Pastoral Epistles, 123.
14. Much has been written recently on pluralism. I especially recommend D. A. Carson, The Gagging of God: Christianity Confronts Pluralism (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996); D. L. Okholm and T. R. Phillips, More Than One Way? Four Views on Salvation in a Pluralistic World (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1995). On Christianity and other world religions see also Carl E. Braaten, No Other Gospel! Christianity Among the World’s Religions (Minneapolis: Fortress, 1992); Daniel B. Clendenin, Many Gods, Many Lords: Christianity Encounters World Religions (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1995); Ajith Fernando, The Supremacy of Christ (Wheaton: Crossway, 1995); Lesslie Newbigin, The Gospel in a Pluralist Society (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1989); Edward Rommen and Harold Netland, eds., Christianity and the Religions (Pasadena: William Carey Library, 1995); Kevin J. Vanhoozer, ed., The Trinity in a Pluralistic Age (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1997). For discussions that include the perspectives of other religions, see Kenneth Cragg, The Christ and the Faiths (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1986); Hans Küng, Josef van Ess, Heinrich von Stietencron, and Heinz Bechert, Christianity and World Religions (Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis, 1986).
15. Scott, Pastoral Epistles, 19.
16. In the former sense see Matt. 20:21; Acts 17:20; 19:30; Phil. 1:12; in the stronger sense see Matt. 1:19; Acts 5:28; 7:39; Col. 1:27. But even in such citations there can be an overlap of meanings.
17. On the issue of the destiny of those who reject Christ and the question of those who have never heard the gospel, see William V. Crockett and James G. Sigountos, eds., Through No Fault of Their Own? The Fate of Those Who Have Never Heard (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1991); Millard J. Erickson, How Shall They Be Saved? The Destiny of Those Who Do Not Hear of Jesus (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1996); Gabriel Fackre, Ronald H. Nash, and John Sanders, What About Those Who Have Never Heard? (Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity, 1995); Ronald H. Nash, Is Jesus the Only Savior? (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1994); Clark H. Pinnock, A Wideness in God’s Mercy: The Finality of Jesus Christ in a World of Religions (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1992); Clark H. Pinnock and Robert C. Brow, Unbounded Love (Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity, 1994). See also footnote 14, above.
Original Meaning
Basis for This Prayer (2:5–7)
GOD’S CONCERN FOR people is comprehensive, and his being the “one God” (v. 5) is both exclusive and inclusive. It is exclusive in the sense that there is no other God, a truth that is not stressed here but is implicit and explicit throughout Scripture. He is the only God, with no competitors other than in the imagination of pagan idolaters. But inclusively, he wants to be accepted as the God and Savior of all people.9
This being the case, it is both logical and right that there is only one Mediator. Old and New Testaments show the need for mediation between the holy God and sinful people. Jesus Christ is prophet, priest, and king. Especially in his priestly role, being both divine and human, and offering himself as the sacrifice, he is the only true Mediator.10 He gave himself as a “ransom,” that is, he released us from bondage. In our contemporary circumstances we think of paying a ransom in money, but Jesus did not, as is sometimes thought, pay a ransom price to Satan. The ransom was that he gave himself up in death (Mark 10:45).11 He did this “for” (hyper, i.e., “on behalf of”) all people.
The preposition hyper can indicate also substitution (“instead of”). In his article on “Prepositions and Theology in the Greek New Testament,”12 Murray Harris notes that hyper, unlike anti, could simultaneously express both representation and substitution. In our passage the idea of substitution is already suggested in the word “ransom” (antilytron). The preposition hyper is followed by the comprehensive word “all” (modifying the generic anthropon, “people”), which emphasizes once again the widespread extent of God’s saving work, accomplished through Christ.
The next phrase has perplexed exegetes. It literally translates, “the witness [or testimony] in [or at] the proper [or right] time.” The following are among the possible interpretations of this phrase: (1) Since it is not connected to the preceding by a conjunction, it can be viewed as an appositional phrase to “who gave himself as a ransom for all.” In this case Jesus’ death as a ransom is a testimony to God’s saving work on behalf of all people, and it took place at just the right time. (2) But Paul may instead be referring indirectly to his own preaching as a testimony now being given.13 Whatever the case, Paul refers once more to his own commission as a “herald” as well as an “apostle” (v. 7), and he affirms this solemnly.
Bridging Contexts
PRAYERS FOR RULERS. If Paul’s testimony in 1:12–17 seems to enter on the scene unexpectedly, so does his request for prayer in 2:1–7, concluding with another affirmation of his calling. Although the Greek word for “therefore” (v. 1) can be used as a transitional word without logical emphasis, there does seem to be a deliberate connection here with the preceding paragraphs. This is not the sort of prayer request that Paul usually makes. Think, for example, of his request following the passage about the Christian’s armor in Ephesians 6, where the apostle asks for prayer for himself and for his own boldness in proclaiming the message. Throughout the New Testament are various appeals for prayer having to do with the gospel, healing, boldness in preaching, and so on. The request in this passage is, uniquely, for people in authority. While it is not only for kings, the use of that word gives focus to the request. We are not merely to pray for the gospel or for God’s power on behalf of the preacher and witness, but for the very officials whose decisions can affect the environment in which the gospel is to operate.
The breadth of the activity (prayers, intercession, and thanksgiving) and the number of those for whom it is to be made (“everyone—for kings and all those in authority”) shows that this is serious business. This world and its governments are the arena of God’s activity. While it is true that the gospel flourishes under tyranny, as seen in many places under the Communists, that is by no means the ideal to be sought after. But neither is the immediate goal simply to “live peaceful and quiet lives.” Beyond that it is to live “in all godliness and holiness.” And even beyond this, by implication the goal is for people to be saved (v. 4).
Christian witness and pluralism. Paul comes around again to his own goal in life, his calling, to be a “herald and an apostle” (v. 7). He is sweeping in the way he expresses himself in this paragraph. His excitement and sense of responsibility are transparent. We are not only to pray for “everyone” (lit., “all people”), but should realize that God wants all people to be saved. To this end the plurality of rulers to be prayed for and the plurality of people whom God wants to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth stand in contrast with the fact that there is just “one God and one mediator between God and men.” In our pluralistic age we may tend to say “there are many ways to God,” but it would be more proper to say “there are many ways to Christ but only one way to God, and that is through Christ.”
When arguing over whether it is right that there is only one way to God, it is sometimes forgotten that it is God himself who has provided that way so that all people might indeed by saved. Pluralism is not to be confused with universalism, though the two usually come to the same conclusion. Universalism is the assertion that everyone will be saved regardless of their response to the gospel. Pluralism is the assertion that no one religion is right but that all have value. Today pluralism often takes an aggressive stance, in that the only belief that pluralists consider to be invalid is the belief that one’s religion alone is correct. Therefore—ironically and irrationally—the pluralistic ideal falters in that it refuses to recognize the validity of such a position. The challenge of pluralism is perhaps best met not by merely repeating exclusivistic claims, but by emphasizing a true kind of inclusivism in the comprehensive biblical sense. That is, the gospel is for all people in all cultures. The key to the application of this passage in all cultural contexts is its comprehensiveness.14
Those who take the purpose of the Pastoral Letters largely to be providing instructions for church order need to inquire as to why this section does not deal with broader aspects of prayer in the service of worship.15 Instead, the instructions here are narrowly focused to accomplish the goals mentioned above. We can extrapolate the following guidelines. Prayer is a normal and, one may conclude, a major part of the church’s spiritual ministry. It should be purposeful, not haphazard. The good of the church and the community (probably extensible to the nation) is to be kept in mind, with the broad acceptance of the gospel a larger goal.
Contemporary Significance
OUR MESSAGE TO those without Christ. One of the most perplexing questions that theologians and others have addressed over the centuries is the fate of those who do not believe in Christ or who have never even heard of Christ. While such a complex question cannot be satisfactorily addressed in this brief discussion, it is good to have questions like these in mind when we come across passages that may contribute to their answer.
Perhaps the key word here is the Greek thelo (translated “wants” in NIV and NLT in v. 4; NRSV has “desires”). Its range of meaning reaches from the desire for something to be done to willing something to be done. A similar verb, though not an exact synonym, boulomai, appears in 2 Peter 3:9: “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance” (emphasis added). All three of the translations just cited translate boulomai as “want” here. Both thelo and boulomai can refer to a desire to do something or, in a stronger sense, a definite purpose or plan to do something.16 At the very least these two passages show that God takes no pleasure in people dying without salvation. Neither one of them, however, teaches that God will save people irrespective of their own stance toward Christ.
When preaching the gospel it is difficult today to keep from alienating people who have a contemporary aversion to any exclusive religious claims. As far as truth is concerned, we are convinced that Christ is the only way. But how we declare this in today’s world can move people toward or away from our gospel. Without weakness or compromise we must declare the narrow way, but in doing so we must stress that there is a way, a wonderful way. It is important that we show the love of God in providing that way (John 3:16) and the grace of Christ in becoming that way through his sacrifice on the cross.
There is a ransom. Our message is not gloom or doom but the open way made by the Mediator, the man Christ Jesus. The way in which we say there is only one mediator can communicate either a negative connotation—every other religion is wrong and we are proudly and dogmatically right—or a positive connotation—God wants all to be saved, and we humbly and happily proclaim that way and the means for everyone who comes to him.
As for anyone who has not learned enough about God, sin, and salvation to make a meaningful decision, I believe we can agree with Abraham’s rhetorical question. “Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?” (Gen. 18:25). No matter how much God—or we—desire to see any individual saved, there is only one way that God accomplishes that. It is a wonderful way, through Christ, “who gave himself as a ransom for all [people].”17
Our mission and attitudes. Paul offers a statement of clear purpose for his life in verse 7: “and for this purpose I was appointed a herald and an apostle.” The Greek expression translated “for this purpose” is eis ho, “toward which.” This is one case where we can take for ourselves at least one part of the apostolic mission of Paul, which was to proclaim the gospel and to be “a teacher of the true faith.” Whatever one’s opinion as to how God will deal with those who have never heard the gospel, it is incumbent on us to see that everybody possible within our range of human relationships does come to know the gospel of Christ.
Paul’s exhortation to pray for “those in authority” stands opposed to the tendency of some Christians to criticize or ridicule them. The pastor of one megachurch in the Chicago area rightly admonished the congregation when they hissed at a mention of President Clinton. This paragraph in 1 Timothy should cause all of us to review our attitudes to leaders. Although a weekly sentence in the pastoral prayer about those in authority can be mere rote, it is better than no prayer at all. To pray for a leader, as is done in some liturgical churches, using the words “your servant” and his or her first name, reminds us of the humanity of that leader, who needs God’s direction.
1. Lock, Pastoral Epistles, 24.
2. A prime example is Phil. 4:6. On prayer in its various forms see W. Liefeld, “Prayer,” ISBE, 4:938–39.
3. Nor is the teaching here to be understood as “good citizenship,” as Dibelius and Conzelmann understand it (Pastoral Epistles, Excursus: “The Ideal of Good Christian Citizenship,” 39–41). Towner critiques this interpretation convincingly in The Goal of Our Instruction.
4. Fee recognizes this connection between the godly life and the attractiveness of the gospel to unbelievers. He points out the similarity of 1 Thess. 4:11–12, “Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life…so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders” (Fee, 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus, 63).
5. By way of example, we might say, “Michael, who likes good food, would especially appreciate this restaurant.” The clause introduced by “who” does not merely identify Michael, but gives the reason why he would appreciate what the restaurant serves.
6. See Titus 2:11 and commentary for a possible parallel use of “all people.”
7. See M. Slusser, “Salvation,” Encyclopedia of Early Christianity, Everett Ferguson, ed. (New York: Garland, 1990), esp. 825.
8. See Carl F. H. Henry and R. K. Harrison, “Know, Knowledge,” ISBE, 3:48–50.
9. On the topic of salvation and of God as Savior in the Pastoral Letters see Frances Young, The Theology of the Pastoral Letters, for bibliography.
10. See R. S. Wallace, “Mediation,” ISBE, 3:299–305.
11. Leon Morris, The Atonement: Its Meaning and Significance (Leichester, England: Inter-Varity Press, 1983), 116–19.
12. See NIDNTT, 3:1196–97.
13. For other possibilities and citations, see Lock, Pastoral Epistles, 28, Dibelius and Conzelmann, Pastoral Epistles, 41–42, Knight, Pastoral Epistles, 123.
14. Much has been written recently on pluralism. I especially recommend D. A. Carson, The Gagging of God: Christianity Confronts Pluralism (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996); D. L. Okholm and T. R. Phillips, More Than One Way? Four Views on Salvation in a Pluralistic World (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1995). On Christianity and other world religions see also Carl E. Braaten, No Other Gospel! Christianity Among the World’s Religions (Minneapolis: Fortress, 1992); Daniel B. Clendenin, Many Gods, Many Lords: Christianity Encounters World Religions (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1995); Ajith Fernando, The Supremacy of Christ (Wheaton: Crossway, 1995); Lesslie Newbigin, The Gospel in a Pluralist Society (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1989); Edward Rommen and Harold Netland, eds., Christianity and the Religions (Pasadena: William Carey Library, 1995); Kevin J. Vanhoozer, ed., The Trinity in a Pluralistic Age (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1997). For discussions that include the perspectives of other religions, see Kenneth Cragg, The Christ and the Faiths (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1986); Hans Küng, Josef van Ess, Heinrich von Stietencron, and Heinz Bechert, Christianity and World Religions (Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis, 1986).
15. Scott, Pastoral Epistles, 19.
16. In the former sense see Matt. 20:21; Acts 17:20; 19:30; Phil. 1:12; in the stronger sense see Matt. 1:19; Acts 5:28; 7:39; Col. 1:27. But even in such citations there can be an overlap of meanings.
17. On the issue of the destiny of those who reject Christ and the question of those who have never heard the gospel, see William V. Crockett and James G. Sigountos, eds., Through No Fault of Their Own? The Fate of Those Who Have Never Heard (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1991); Millard J. Erickson, How Shall They Be Saved? The Destiny of Those Who Do Not Hear of Jesus (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1996); Gabriel Fackre, Ronald H. Nash, and John Sanders, What About Those Who Have Never Heard? (Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity, 1995); Ronald H. Nash, Is Jesus the Only Savior? (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1994); Clark H. Pinnock, A Wideness in God’s Mercy: The Finality of Jesus Christ in a World of Religions (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1992); Clark H. Pinnock and Robert C. Brow, Unbounded Love (Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity, 1994). See also footnote 14, above.