In the Bible, the Creator of all is identified as "God our Savior" (1 Timothy 2:3) and "the God of our salvation" (Psalm 68:19). It is also written in 1 Timothy 4:10, "For therefore we both labor and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, specially of those that believe."

The Bible makes it plain that God is the Savior. We know that He is both a unique and sufficient Savior – He is the only One that can save us from our sins, and He is the only Savior that we will ever need. But still, if most people are headed to everlasting destruction (Matthew 7:13,14), how can it be true that God is "the Savior of all men," as we read in 1 Timothy 4:10?

The Bible describes Jesus as "the Savior of the world." The Samaritans who met Jesus proclaimed, "Now we believe . . . and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world" (John 4:42). Again, we read, "And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world" (1 John 4:14).

By the grace of God, for whom did Jesus taste of death? The Bible’s answer is "for every man" (Hebrews 2:9). To whom is the message of salvation to be preached? "To every creature" (Mark 16:15,16). When Jesus shed His blood on the cross, that gave every person ("the world" or "all men") the opportunity to have the forgiveness of sins. Thus, God, Who wants all men to be saved (1 Timothy 2:4), is willing to save all people of all races, thus making Him, "the Savior of all men."

Does that mean that all will be saved? No. Remember, in 1 Timothy 4:10 it is stated that God "is the Savior of all men, specially of those that believe." "Believe" points to the response that a person must make to the sacrifice and salvation that God makes available through Jesus. While all have the opportunity to be saved, in reality, only those that are in the Christ have redemption (Ephesians 1:7). Stated another way, Jesus is "the savior of the body" or church (Ephesians 5:23). Only those who have heard, believed, and obeyed the gospel have been saved by the blood of the Lamb and added to His church (Acts 2:47).

-- Roger D. Campbell