1 Timothy 2:3-4
1 Timothy 2:3-4 - LSB
3 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 full knowledge of the truth.
Summary
Based on the context we see that Paul is instructing Timothy to pray for all kinds of men.
Exegesis
CONTEXT IS KEY
1 Timothy 2:1-6 - LSB
1 First of all, then, I exhort that petitions and prayers, requests and thanksgivings, be made for all men, 2 for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. 3 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 full knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the witness for this proper time.
We first see the phrase “all men” at the end of verse 1, and if we take the literal meaning of “all men” to literally mean “all men” then we would have to come to the conclusion that Paul here is instructing Timothy to initiate a never-ending prayer meeting where every single person living in Ephesus would become the object of that prayer. The very next phrase of the sentence explains Paul’s meaning: “for kings and all who are in authority.” Why would Paul have to give such instructions?
This is because the early Christians were a persecuted people, and as we saw in Matthew 23:37, normally the persecution came from those in positions of power and authority. Once we realize this then it is easy to understand why there would have to be apostolic commandments given to pray for the very ones who were using their power and authority to persecute these Christians. If we then stay consistent we must assume that the “kings” and all who are in authority are kinds of men, classes of men. Paul often spoke of “all men” in this fashion.
For example, in Titus chapter 2, when Paul speaks of the grace of God which brings salvation appearing to “all men” (Titus 2:11), he clearly means all kinds of men, for the context, both before and after, speaks of kinds of men. In the previous verses, Paul addresses such groups as older men (Titus 1:2). older women (Titus 1:3), younger women (Titus 1:4), young men (Titus 1:6). bondslaves (Titus 1:9-10), and rulers and authorities (Titus 3:1). No one would suggest that in fact, Paul is speaking of every single older man, older woman, etc.; he speaks of kinds of people within a particular group, that being the fellowship of the Church. Likewise, “rulers” and “authorities” are obviously generic classifications that everyone would understand needs to be applied to specific locations at specific times. The same kind of usage (all kinds of men being in view) is found elsewhere in Paul, such as Titus 3:2;
Titus 3:2 - LSB
2 to slander no one, to be peaceable, considerate, demonstrating all gentleness to all men.