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1 Timothy 2:6

in 1 Timothy 2

who gave Himself as a ransom for all—the testimony that was given at just the right time.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

who gave himself a ransom for all; the testimony to be borne in its own times;

KJV

Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.

This verse in 1 Timothy 2

Commentary

12 notes on this verse

A commentator

John Wesley

1703–1791

Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)

Who gave himself a ransom for all - Such a ransom, the word signifies, wherein a like or equal is given; as an eye for an eye, or life for life: and this ransom, from the dignity of the person redeeming, was more than equivalent to all mankind.

This site's exposition

one mediator between God and men

on 1 Timothy 2:5-6

The creed is counted on two fingers: one God, and one mediator, the man Christ Jesus. He is named in His manhood because a mediator stands on both sides He joins. He gave Himself as a ransom for all, antilutron, a price paid in exchange.

The record, by era

The Church Fathers4 voices

A commentator

Oecumenius

COMMENTARY ON 1 TIMOTHY · Written before 550.

proposed

who gave himself as a ransom for all, the testimony given at the proper time. who gave himself as a ransom for all, and of the Greeks. Therefore, he died for all, but you do not endure to pray? Note then the phrase, "who gave …

A commentator

Ignatius of Antioch

Epistle of Ignatius to the Trallians · Written before 108.

proposed

Now I write these things unto you, not that I know there are any such persons among you; nay, indeed I hope that God will never permit any such report to reach my ears, He "who spared not His Son for the sake of His holy Church." But foreseeing the snares of the wicked one, I arm you beforehand by my admonitions, as my beloved and faithful children in Christ, furnishing you with the means of protection against the deadly disease of unruly men, by which do ye flee from the disease [referred to] by the good-will of Christ our Lord.

A commentator

John Chrysostom

Homily on 1 Timothy 7 · Written before 407.

proposed

Was Christ then a ransom for the Heathen? Undoubtedly Christ died even for Heathen; and you cannot bear to pray for them. Why then, you ask, did they not believe? Because they would not: but His part was done. His suffering was a "Testimony," he says; for He came, it is meant, "to bear witness to the truth" of the Father, and was slain. Thus not only the Father bore witness to Him, but He to the Father. "For I came," He saith, "in my Father's name." And again, "No man hath seen God at any time." And again, "That they might know Thee, the only true God." And, "God is a Spirit." And He bore witness even to the death. But this, "in due time," means, In the fittest time. "He gave himself a ransom," he saith, how then was He delivered up by the Father? Because it was of His goodness. And what means "ransom"? God was about to punish them, but He forbore to do it. They were about to perish, but in their stead He gave His own Son, and sent us as heralds to proclaim the Cross. These things are sufficient to attract all, and to demonstrate the love of Christ.

A commentator

Cyril of Jerusalem

Catechetical Lecture 13:2 · Written before 386.

proposed

Do not wonder that the whole world was redeemed, for it was no mere man but the Only-begotten Son of God who died for it. The sin of one man, Adam, availed to bring death to the world; if by one man's offense death reigned for the world, why should not life reign all the more "from the justice of the one?" If Adam and Eve were cast out of paradise because of the tree from which they ate, should not believers more easily enter into paradise because of the Tree of Jesus? If the first man, fashioned out of the earth, brought universal death, shall not he who fashioned him, being the Life, bring everlasting life? If Phinees by his zeal in slaying the evildoer appeased the wrath of God, shall not Jesus, who slew no other, but "gave himself a ransom for all," take away God's wrath against man?

The Medieval Church1 voice

A commentator

Thomas Aquinas

Commentary on 1 Timothy · Written before 1274.

proposed

Above, he said that God wills that all men be saved, and he proved this on the side of God, who is one for all men; and on the part of Christ, who is the one mediator. Now he proves it from testimony: first, of …
5 more voices on this verse

The Medieval Church1 voice

A commentator

Theophylact of Ohrid

Commentary on 1 Timothy · Written before 1107.

proposed

And for the Gentiles. Truly He died for all — will you then not agree to pray for them? Pay attention to the expression: "who gave Himself." This is against the Arians, who said that He was given up against His will. What does "ransom" …

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

Who gave himself a ransom for all,....

The Nineteenth Century3 voices

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

proposed

The oneness of the Mediator, involving the universality of redemption (which faith, however, alone appropriates), was the great subject of Christian testimony [ALFORD] (1Co 1:6;

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

Who gave himself a ransom - The word λυτρον signifies a ransom paid for the redemption of a captive; and αντιλυτρον, the word used here, and applied to the death of Christ, signifies that ransom which consists in the exchange of one person for another, or the redemption of life by life; or, as Schleusner has expressed it in his translation of these words, Qui morte sua omnes liberavit a vitiositatis vi et poenis, a servitute quassi et miseria peccatorum. “He who by his death has redeemed all from the power and punishment of vice, from the slavery and misery of sinners.” As God is the God and father of all, (for there is but one God, 1Ti 2:5), and Jesus Christ the mediator of all, so he gave himself a ransom for all; i.e., for all that God made, consequently for every human soul; unless we could suppose that there are human souls of which God is not the Creator; for the argument of the apostle is plainly this: 1. There is one God; 2. This God is the Creator of all; 3. He has made a revelation of his kindness to all; 4. He will have all men to be saved, and come unto the knowledge of the truth; and 5. He has provided a mediator for all, who has given himself a ransom for all. As surely as God has created all men, so surely has Jesus Christ died for all men. This is a truth which the nature and revelation of God unequivocally proclaim. To be testified in due time - The original words, το μαρτυριον καιροις ιδιοις, are not very clear, and have been understood variously. The most authentic copies of the printed Vulgate have simply, Testimonium temporibus suis; which Calmet translates: Rendant ainsi temoignage au tems marqué; “Thus rendering testimony at the appointed time.” Dr. Macknight thus: Of which the testimony is in its proper season. Wakefield thus: “That testimony reserved to its proper time” Rosenmullen: Haec est doctrina, temporibus suis reservata. […]
Who gave himself a ransom for all - This also is stated as a reason why prayer should be offered for all, and a proof that God desires the salvation of all. The argument is, that as Christ died for all, it is proper to pray for all, and that the fact that he died for all is proof that God desired the salvation of all. Whatever proof of his desire for their salvation can be derived from this in relation to any of the race, is proof in relation to all. On the meaning of the phrase “he gave himself a ransom,” see the Mat 20:28 note; Rom 3:25 note; on the fact that it was for “all,” see the notes on 2Co 5:14. See also the Supp. note on the same passage. To be testified in due time - Margin, “a testimony.” The Greek is, “the testimony in its own times,” or in proper times - τὸ μαρτύριον καιροῖς ἰδίοις to marturion kairois idiois. There have been very different explanations of this phrase. The common interpretation, and that which seems to me to be correct, is, that “the testimony of this will be furnished in the proper time; that is, in the proper time it shall be made known through all the world;” see Rosenmuller. Paul affirms it as a great and important truth that Christ gave himself a ransom for all mankind - for Jews and Gentiles; for all classes and conditions of people alike. This truth had not always been understood. The Jews had supposed that salvation was designed exclusively for their nation, and denied that it could be extended to others, unless they became Jews. According to them, salvation was not provided for, or offered to pagans as such, but only on condition that they became Jews. In opposition to this, Paul says that it was a doctrine of revelation that redemption was to be provided for all people, and that it was intended that the testimony to this should be afforded at the proper time. […]

The words behind it

10 Greek words

Every Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    1 Peter 3:18

    For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit,

    it leads to

    • Hebrews 9:28

      so also Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many; and He will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who eagerly await Him.

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • Hebrews 9:26

      Otherwise, Christ would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But now He has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by…

  • Through

    Matthew 20:28

    just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”

    it leads to

    • Titus 2:14

      He gave Himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

  • Through

    Revelation 1:5

    and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and has released us from our sins by…

    it leads to

    • Psalms 89:27

      I will indeed appoint him as My firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth.

    • Hebrews 9:14

      how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself unblemished to God, purify our consciences from works of death, so that we may serve the living God!

    • 1 John 1:7

      But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.

  • Through

    1 John 4:10

    And love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as the atoning sacrifice for our sins.

    it leads to

    • Ephesians 2:4–5

      But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy,

    • Romans 5:8–10

      But God proves His love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Where this verse is studied

About 1 Timothy

Saint Paul Writing, Pier Francesco Sacchi, the 1520s, National Gallery, London. Public domain.
Saint Paul Writing, Pier Francesco Sacchi, the 1520s, National Gallery, London. Public domain.
This page draws on 13 works. Open the list of works

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the New Testament; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lecture 13:2; Ignatius of Antioch, Epistle of Ignatius to the Trallians; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Calvin, Commentary on 1 Timothy; John Chrysostom, Homily on 1 Timothy 7; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament; Oecumenius, COMMENTARY ON 1 TIMOTHY; Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on 1 Timothy and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on 1 Timothy.