1 Tim 2:4
4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. (NAS)Does God's desire for the salvation of all mean all are saved? It would help if we first define salvation:
4982 sozo-
to save, to keep safe and sound, to rescue from danger or destruction
a) one (from injury or peril)
1) to save a suffering one (from perishing), that is, one suffering from disease, to make well, heal, restore to health
1) to preserve one who is in danger of destruction, to save or rescue
b) to save in the technical, Biblical sense; negatively:
1) to deliver from the penalties of the Messianic judgment
2) to save from the evils which obstruct the reception of the Messianic deliveranceOne aspect of the the term's save, salvation; is to provide temporal relief or preservation from danger. The salvation we are concerned with however is final or eschatological salvation.
2. save or preserve from eternal death, fr. judgment, and fr. all that might lead to such death, e.g. sin, also in a positive sense
bring Messianic salvation, bring to salvation (LXX; Herm. Wr. 13, 19 swv/zein=‘endow w. everlasting life’.—Of passing over
into a state of salvation and a higher life: Cebes 3, 2; 4, 3; 14, 1). Bauer, Walter, Gingrich, F. Wilbur, and Danker, Frederick W., A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature.This salvation provides forgiveness of sin, escape from punishment and aionios life.
Postively being saved is equivalent to entering or inheriting the kingdom:
Mark 10:23-26
23 And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto his disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!
24 And the disciples were astonished at his words. But Jesus answereth again, and saith unto them, Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God!
25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.
26 And they were astonished out of measure, saying among themselves, Who then can be saved? (KJV)Matt 25:31-34
31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:
32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: (KJV)Matt 13:39-43
39 The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.
40 As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world.
41 The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity;
42 And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
43 Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear. (KJV)the reception of eternal life:
John 3:15-16
15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (KJV)John 5:24
24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. (KJV)I Jn 5:11-12
11 And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.
12 He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. (KJV)Negatively it is
...escape from the condemnation due sin:John 5:24
24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.
(KJV)Rom 8:1
1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. (KJV)John 3:17-18
17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. (KJV)...escape from eternal punishment
Matt 25:46
46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal. (KJV)...escape from the lake of fire
Rev 20:11-15
11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. (KJV)...freedom from perishing...
John 3:15-16
15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (KJV)Do all receive this salvation? Let us examine the elements of salvation.
The wicked we see...
...Do not inherit or enter the kingdom:
1 Cor 6:9-10
9 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,
10 Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.
(KJV)Gal 5:21
21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
(KJV)...do not inherit eternal life...
John 3:36
36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him. (KJV)I Jn 5:12
12 He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. (KJV)Do not escape condemnation:
Jude 1:4
4 For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ. (KJV)...Do not escape eternal punishment
Matt 25:46
46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal. (KJV)II Th 1:6-9
6 Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you;
7 And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels,
8 In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:
9 Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; (KJV)...Do not escape the lake of fire
Rev 20:15
15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. (KJV)Rev 21:8
8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death. (KJV)...Do perish
1 Cor 1:18
18 For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.2 Cor 2:15
15 For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish:
16 To the one we are the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life. And who is sufficient for these
things?II Th 2:10
10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they
might be saved.It seem's every positive benefit extended to those who are saved is not given the unbelieving and every escape from negative consequences granted the saved is not shared by the unbelieving.
Quite clearly, all are not saved.
Salvation in the bible is defined many ways but it is never defined as a escape or resurrection from within the lake of fire.
So what does:
1 Tim 2:4
4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. (NAS)...really tell us of God's will for man?
1 Tim 2:4
hós pántas anthroópous thélei sootheénai kaí eis epígnoosin aleetheías eltheín
(Copyright (c)1966, 1968, 1975, 1983 by the United Bible Societies)Here the greek translated desires is 'thelei'---it is a third person singular present active indicative verb.
It indicates God's desire that all men be saved:2309 thelo { thel’-o} or ethelo { eth-el’-o} in certain tenses theleo { thel-eh’-o} and etheleo { eth-el-eh’-o} which are otherwise obsolete
apparently strengthened from the alternate form of 138; TDNT - 3:44,318; v
AV - will/would 159, will/would have 16, desire 13, desirous 3, list 3, to will 2, misc 4; 210
GK - 2527 { thelo }
1) to will, have in mind, intend
1a) to be resolved or determined, to purpose
1b) to desire, to wish
1c) to love
1c1) to like to do a thing, be fond of doing
1d) to take delight in, have pleasure
Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon, (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.) 1995.The universalist makes the error of assumming God's will is monothetic i.e.has but a single aspect
God does desire all be saved but he has determined to save those who believe and from the scriptures
shown above the unbeliever does not experience salvation1Timothy 2:4 does not teach universal salvation.