It does not say pray for all men EVEN for kings and those in high positions.
It says:
1 Tim 2:1-7: Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers,
intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, 2 for kings and all
who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all
godliness and reverence. 3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of
God our Savior, 4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the
knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God and one Mediator between God
and men, the Man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be
testified in due time, NKJV
The reason you believe that ALL means SOME in this passage is that you have
already determined what you believe apart from this passage and have to bend
it to fit your Calvinistic interpretation. If I took this passage to any
English teacher or Greek scholar and asked them if the ALL in verses 4 and
verse 6 means SOME or ALL and they would tell me the same thing. A simple
reading of the text is that God wants ALL men to be saved and was a ransom
for ALL men. Only someone who was already a Calvinist would read anything
else into the text.
DJ
-----Original Message-----
From: Kevin Sigafoos [mailto:ksigafoos@...]
Sent: Thursday, June 29, 2006 8:51 AM
To: pastorsforum@...
Subject: Re: [PastorsForum] That word ALL again
On 6/28/06, D. Jackson <pastor@...> wrote:
>
> By your definition of All, based on the context, is that it only means for
> kings and all who are in high positions. That would mean Jesus only paid
> the ransom for kings and those in high positions.
>
> Clearly, all means all.
>
Come on, DJ, you can understand what Paul means in verse 1. "Pray for
all men, EVEN for kings and those in high positions ..." The "even"
is implied in the text because it is assumed by Paul that Timothy and
the church he pastored would be praying for each other and their
peers. Paul is saying that God desires "men in all stations of life"
to believe and be saved.
"All" does mean "all" but you have to understand "all of what?" If I
say that I have "all the oranges" I am not saying that I have "every
orange that ever grew and ever shall grow." I am saying I have "all
of the oranges in the group that I selected." I still mean "all" and
not "some" but the subset to which "all" applies is limited.
--
Grace and peace,
Kevin Sigafoos
---------------------
For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be
glory forever. Amen. (Rom 11:36)
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