What Does It Mean That God Desires All People To Be Saved?

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Cameron143

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Here is the text:

1 Timothy 2:3-5
American Standard Version

3 This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; 4 who would have all men to be saved, and come to the knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God, one mediator also between God and men, himself man, Christ Jesus,

First and foremost there is a definitive in verse 4 that must not be ignored, that definitive is "all men".

Not "some men"
Not the "chosen men"
Not the "elected men"
Not the "predestined men"
but "all men".

There are no men excluded from His desire to be saved.

This is why "all men" are given the gift of hearing from God.

It is the will of the hearer to accept or reject His message. Not the preordained prodding of God.
Not withstanding the fact that all aren't given hearing...see Isaiah 6, for example...one should be equally at ease with 1 Timothy 2:4 as they are with Ephesians 1:4. Both are found in the word of God.
 

Lamar

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May 21, 2023
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Not withstanding the fact that all aren't given hearing...see Isaiah 6, for example...one should be equally at ease with 1 Timothy 2:4 as they are with Ephesians 1:4. Both are found in the word of God.
Why would someone not be at ease with Ephesians 1:4? Of course God made His decision before the creation of the world.

God made all of His decisions before the creation of the world.

God is omnipresent.

All who accept His will and obey have been chosen to be holy and blameless in His sight.

Is this your holdup? You don't accept the omnipresence of God?
 

Cameron143

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Why would someone not be at ease with Ephesians 1:4? Of course God made His decision before the creation of the world.

God made all of His decisions before the creation of the world.

God is omnipresent.

All who accept His will and obey have been chosen to be holy and blameless in His sight.

Is this your holdup? You don't accept the omnipresence of God?
You probably mean the omniscience of God. And I think it's awesome.
 

Lamar

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May 21, 2023
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You probably mean the omniscience of God. And I think it's awesome.
omniscience
noun
Infinite knowledge; the quality or attribute of fully knowing all things: an attribute of God.
Hence Very wide or comprehensive knowledge; a knowledge of everything.
The quality or state of being omniscient; the quality of knowing everything; -- an attribute peculiar to God.

omnipresence
noun
The quality of being omnipresent; presence in all places simultaneously; unbounded or universal presence.
Presence in every place at the same time; unbounded or universal presence; ubiquity.
The ability to be at all places at the same time; usually only attributed to God.

Most people who profess Christianity understand omniscience but it is the fact that God decisions about events are made before the said events happen confuses many. This misunderstanding about omnipresence causes many to embrace reformed theology.
 

Pilgrimshope

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Let's suppose I am going on a trip. I make all the arrangements, set a date, and wait. But I also would like it to be a family excursion. I desire their company.

Is it considered a desire if I only have a strong feeling of wanting? Do I need to do anything to make my desire a desire? If I volunteer to incur all the expenses for my family does this make it a desire when before it wasn't? What if I only volunteered to pay for some family members? Does this affect whether it is a desire or lessen the desire to have the company of my family?

I ask these questions so they will be top of mind when asking the same questions about God's desire that all people are saved? Can God's desire for the salvation of people be independent of people? Does God have to do anything for people in order for His desire to be genuine? If so, does He have to act equally towards all people for His desire to be real?

I'm not attempting to offer this as proof of one set of ideas over another. It is simply to understand the nature of what is entailed in a desire and what is not. Consequently, and perhaps impossibly, I am asking for unbiased thought. I am asking that as you consider the question, you set aside, as much as is possible, how you would answer based on your other held beliefs, and consider the question independently from other doctrine.

Thanks. And I look forward to your responses.
“And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.”
‭‭Genesis‬ ‭1:26-28, 31‬ ‭

this is Gods will for mankind notice there’s no condemnation there’s no death there’s no ten rules telling them what not to do

Then the commandment came and sin sprang to life and brought death and man corrupted the course of things

“And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. ( that’s gods will before corruption for man )

And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: ( you may but )

but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.”
‭‭Genesis‬ ‭2:15-17‬ ‭KJV‬‬

all is well and blessed and alive and then God says “ don’t do this or you’ll die “

“For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died. And the commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death. For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭7:9-11‬ ‭KJV‬‬

Satan uses this word “ do t do this or you’ll die for sure “ to put man to death by that word he deceived then and led then to do exactly what God commanded then not to do to keep them safe and alive , Satan used the good commandment to kill them by producing lust for the forbidden fruit through gazing at it and pondering if Gods word about it is true or not will ot really kill us ? Then Satan is whispering surely you wont die like God told you , it will make you wise “ he uses gods safety commandment ordained to protest them from the corrupted knowledge

to curse mankind with death by that word of God intended to keep them alive if they obeyed it but Satan led them to n against it and reap death what I mean to say is it was never Gods Will that man ate the forbidden fruit and got in this position

“I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: but I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭7:21-

his Will was for man to not consume the knowledge of good and evil and have this sin law in us that caused us to revel at some point we aren’t made for good and evil but only the light that God separated from darkness in the beginning

If you look at the beginning before mankind sinned you see gods Will eas never for anyone to perish but for man to be fruitful and flourish on earth with him as our constant companion by his spirit in us all but we corrupted the plan we weren’t supposed to listen to Satan and become sinners and begin to kill and lie and cheat that’s never been his Will it’s satans Will that man sins and dies Gods Will is that we all repent now that we became sinners and let him heal us and make us new delivering us from that sin law inside of us and clothing us with his image and wisdom

“Defend the poor and fatherless: Do justice to the afflicted and needy. Deliver the poor and needy: Rid them out of the hand of the wicked. They know not, neither will they understand; They walk on in darkness:

All the foundations of the earth are out of course.( man caused that )


I have said, Ye are gods; And all of you are children of the most High.


But ye shall die like men, And fall like one of the princes.


Arise, O God, judge the earth: For thou shalt inherit all nations.”( jesus )
‭‭Psalm‬ ‭82:3-8‬ ‭KJV‬‬

gods Will is what you are before man sins and when man repents later but during the rebellion under the law your seeing man’s corrupted Will and Gods forebearance not destroying us all
 

Cameron143

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Mar 1, 2022
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omniscience
noun
Infinite knowledge; the quality or attribute of fully knowing all things: an attribute of God.
Hence Very wide or comprehensive knowledge; a knowledge of everything.
The quality or state of being omniscient; the quality of knowing everything; -- an attribute peculiar to God.

omnipresence
noun
The quality of being omnipresent; presence in all places simultaneously; unbounded or universal presence.
Presence in every place at the same time; unbounded or universal presence; ubiquity.
The ability to be at all places at the same time; usually only attributed to God.

Most people who profess Christianity understand omniscience but it is the fact that God decisions about events are made before the said events happen confuses many. This misunderstanding about omnipresence causes many to embrace reformed theology.
Whether they got there through misunderstanding or through understanding, they thankfully got there.
 

TabinRivCA

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Oct 23, 2018
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Let's suppose I am going on a trip. I make all the arrangements, set a date, and wait. But I also would like it to be a family excursion. I desire their company.

Is it considered a desire if I only have a strong feeling of wanting? Do I need to do anything to make my desire a desire? If I volunteer to incur all the expenses for my family does this make it a desire when before it wasn't? What if I only volunteered to pay for some family members? Does this affect whether it is a desire or lessen the desire to have the company of my family?

I ask these questions so they will be top of mind when asking the same questions about God's desire that all people are saved? Can God's desire for the salvation of people be independent of people? Does God have to do anything for people in order for His desire to be genuine? If so, does He have to act equally towards all people for His desire to be real?

I'm not attempting to offer this as proof of one set of ideas over another. It is simply to understand the nature of what is entailed in a desire and what is not. Consequently, and perhaps impossibly, I am asking for unbiased thought. I am asking that as you consider the question, you set aside, as much as is possible, how you would answer based on your other held beliefs, and consider the question independently from other doctrine.

Thanks. And I look forward to your responses.
God's actions are beyond human comprehension and are guided by a higher wisdom that transcends human desires. I don't think we have the eternal insight to know the depths of God's absolute intelligence because He knows everything to the utmost. My thought, and this seems too simple I know, is that if someone has that deep connection with the Father including that Father/child bond, if one of His was in trouble or wanted something so much, He would 'desire' to intervene in His divine way.
I'll stop at that, I just read through the Thread and am experiencing input overload presently, lol.
 

Cameron143

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God's actions are beyond human comprehension and are guided by a higher wisdom that transcends human desires. I don't think we have the eternal insight to know the depths of God's absolute intelligence because He knows everything to the utmost. My thought, and this seems too simple I know, is that if someone has that deep connection with the Father including that Father/child bond, if one of His was in trouble or wanted something so much, He would 'desire' to intervene in His divine way.
I'll stop at that, I just read through the Thread and am experiencing input overload presently, lol.
Thanks for sharing.
 

PennEd

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Apr 22, 2013
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All who accept His will and obey have been chosen to be holy and blameless in His sight.
Why do not ALL accept His Will?

What is special about those that do?
 

Magenta

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Less that 1% of Calvinists are fatalists, that is believing God predestined some for damnation.
Still seems a very low percentage. What is the source of this statistic?
 

NightTwister

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That that does not bode well for you that you are willing to make up such shoddy statistics, when predestination is a core doctrine of Calvinism.
Double-predesitination is not, and I've been a Calvanist for a really long time. Hardly anyone I knew or interacted with in person or online believed that except for a rare exception. No normative Reformed denomination teaches it, though I do know of a few "offshoots" that do, but their membership is minimal. I stick by my "statistic." More often than not, people who think it's more prevalent misrepresent what is believed by almost all.
 

Pilgrimshope

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Whether they got there through misunderstanding or through understanding, they thankfully got there.
At times Jesus will pick us up and carry us for a time while whispering in our ear and strengthening us to walk with him it’s never just one thing because we all have a different level of understanding

im old , I’ve met a lot of people in life and because I’m Christian I’ve met a lot of Christian’s in life and I’ve heard alot of them explain what they know and believe about God and each person has a personal understanding and view of him based upon what they have been taught by elders in thier family , thier pastors , just other Christian believers in general

a some of those folks never even heard about Jesus sending the holy spirit I have known a pastor who didn’t know about receiving the holy spirit , I’ve met lifelong Christian’s who never knew that God has called us believers in Christ of all peoples his beloved children

ive heard some who never knew that we must all stand before the judgement seat of Christ and give account of everything we’ve ever said and done ect

But all of them knew and believed the basic truths that Jesus is Gods son , that he came in the flesh lived and died for thier sins and was raised up to life for thier justification all of them had a general knowledge about the gospel and believed it’s true

To my own shame now , i used to look at them like “ they don’t know enough to be saved like I do “ but it was my own arrogance and pride and just total misunderstanding of the process of faith and grace and just being willing to hear what Jesus is really saying in the everlasting gospel even if we are slow learners and late bloomers Jesus wants us enough to give his life on a cross and give us all the knowledge we need to be saved and live with him forever if we don’t turn away we’re always safe if we turn away because we don’t want to let go of our sins and start disregarding his word we need to repent post haste and get back to learning from Jesus it’s always enough at whatever point we are
If we believe and are seeking to understand we’re going to always find a new thing to let go of and do better I’m old and near the end so I hope it’s a lifelong process cause I never did reach perfection and every day still have to check myself at points and find flaws and chinks to iron out

But I see things differently now I believe how ever much we have heard is what we are accountable for some younger haven’t heard as much as others who are old like me so they aren’t going to be held accountable for what I know about only what they know about and God knows it too that’s how we can be judged justly

it really comes down to trusting Jesus that the real biblical gospel according to Matthew mark Luke and John presents to believers but when we begin to know that Jesus we’re going to know how capable he is of saving us even when our faith may fail at times like Peter who was called and walking by faith and then his faith failed him and he began to sink and drown but he just called out “lord save me !”

and immediately Jesus reached and saved him set him in the boat safely then he taught him something by asking him a question after he was safe even though peters lack of faith and focus o christ is why he sank he can keep his word to believers like this word

“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.”
‭‭John‬ ‭3:16‬ ‭KJV‬‬

probably the most well known verse of my generation anyways and that simple true it’s testified throughout the Bible like this

To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.”
‭‭Acts‬ ‭10:43‬ ‭KJV‬‬

“as it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a stumblingstone and rock of offence: And whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭9:33‬ ‭KJV‬‬

Paul’s quoting of course

“therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.”
‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭28:16‬ ‭KJV‬‬

“And he shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.”
‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭8:14‬ ‭KJV‬‬

of course Peter too

“Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: And he that believeth on him shall not be confounded.”
‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭2:6‬ ‭KJV‬‬

salvstion is really simple if we believe in Jesus as the scripture presents him to every reader of the true scriptures we can’t invent our own version of Jesus like some do but if we believe in the one God sent it is repeatedly testified that we shall be saved

but when you hear more of the message you begin to understand more like this is also true and testified throughout the Bible

“I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.”
‭‭Luke‬ ‭13:5‬ ‭KJV‬‬

“What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭6:15-

“Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh.

For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭8:12-13‬ ‭KJV‬‬

“But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints; neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks. For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience. Be not ye therefore partakers with them.”
‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭5:3-7‬ ‭KJV‬‬


As one begins to hear this and it starts to sink in thier accountability raises with it is my point an old guy like me can’t go back to only knowing what I knew when I was you band live according to that knowledge I can’t now tell god “I didn’t know lord “ the more we come to grasp and understand over time the more we need to acknolwedge our accountability to that true knowledge that is precious of God and this doesn’t mean I’m sinless or perfect but that what God has taught me in my mind and heart has become my law now I can’t live against it and still pretend I’m not sinning I have to repent and start walking by the faith in me of Christ and his gospel is my point

Not talking of me specifically but as an example we have to let Jesus decide who’s saved and who isn’t because the bar isnt the same for a bar and an old codger who has a lifetime of experience and failure but also some overcoming of some huge challenges and vices …
 

Magenta

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Double-predesitination is not, and I've been a Calvanist for a really long time. Hardly anyone I knew or interacted with in person or online believed that except for a rare exception. No normative Reformed denomination teaches it, though I do know of a few "offshoots" that do, but their membership is minimal. I stick by my "statistic." More often than not, people who think it's more prevalent misrepresent what is believed by almost all.
Well, it has already been established that you are more than willing to make up your own statistics to back up what you think is true despite the fact that predestination is a core doctrine of Calvinism, as per the U in tulip.