Does God Desire ALL People to be Saved? (1 Timothy 2:4)

1 Timothy 2 verse 4 says that God our Savior desires all people to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth. Yet Jesus said that not everyone will be saved. In Matthew he said most will go to eternal punishment.

Does this mean that God desires something he cannot accomplish? Well in saying that God desires all people to be saved, all people cannot mean every person without exception, otherwise we have to believe universalism, that everyone eventually gets to heaven.

That would mean Jesus is wrong. Or we have to believe there are circumstances out of God's control. That would mean God is not sovereign. Consider that the Greek word for all can mean all kinds. At the start of the passage Paul said to pray for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions.

This means all kinds of people, as God desires all kinds of people to be saved. We should be willing to pray for and share the gospel with anyone. Later in 1 Timothy 6 .10 we read that the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.

Ransom for All and Ransom for Many

This comes up many times in 1 Timothy, especially chapter 2. Consider verse 6 which says that Jesus gave himself as a ransom for all. But Matthew 20 .28 says Jesus gave his life as a ransom for many, not every single person.

So again this means all kinds. And indeed Revelation 5 .9 says that Jesus has ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. All kinds of people are saved when we understand the text.