A Sermon on 1 Timothy 2:5-6, by John Calvin.

Sermon XIV.

1 Timothy, Chap. ii. verses 5 and 6.
5. For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
6. Who gave himself a ransom for all to be testified in due time.

Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.
~ Isaiah 44:6

Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.
~ Hebrews 7:25

And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
~ John 1:14

All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
~ Isaiah 53:6

Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
~ 1 John 4:10

When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day.
~ 2 Thessalonians 1:10

For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.
~ Romans 5:6

Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel:
~ Romans 9:6

Let us understand the necessity of a redeemer, and that by the price of his blood we are reconciled to God the Father, and have free access to him by prayer. St. Paul having shown us that the grace which was purchased by the Son of God, was common to all mankind, and that it was not confined to the Jews only, it might be asked, why God chose one certain people for his inheritance? why it was his pleasure that the Jews only should call upon him? why he shut up his promises among them? why he gave them figures, and exercised them with an expectation of this great redeemer that was promised? It is true, that from the creation of the world, God always reserved for himself some people: yea, and when he made his covenant with Abraham, he shut out the Heathen from the hope of salvation; although for a time it pleased him to use a special grace toward the Jews, yet this doth not prevent his calling all mankind at present: for it pleaseth him to make the Heathen and the Gentile partakers of it, and to have his church extend throughout the world, and to bring them to the fold, who were afar off. Thus we have the meaning of the apostle.

We may here notice, that it would have been of little use to us, for Jesus Christ to have made the atonement, unless we were certified of this benefit, and were told that God had called us to enter into possession of this salvation, and to enjoy the blessings which had been purchased for us. For example, behold the Turks, who cast away the grace which was purchased for all the world by Jesus Christ; the Jews do so likewise; and the papists, although they do it not so openly, show it in effect: all of whom are as much shut out, and banished from the redemption which was purchased for us, as if Jesus Christ had never come into the world. And why so? Because they have not this witness; that Jesus Christ is their redeemer. Although they have some little taste, yet they always remain starved; and if they hear the word redeemer mentioned, it bringeth no comfort to them; neither do they receive any benefit from what is contained in the gospel.

Thus we perceive that those who are not partakers of the blessings purchased by our Lord Jesus Christ, receive not the witness. Before Jesus Christ came into the world, the Gentiles were not only unbelievers, but God had blinded their eyes; insomuch that it seemed as if Christ came only for one certain people. Yea, one would have thought, in the time of the law, that God had not spread forth the know ledge of his truth over all the world, but had given it to a particular people, whom he held for his church.

St. Paul informeth us, that it pleased God to give his law to the fathers, and set them apart from the rest of the world: he testified his good will toward Israel, and not to other nations; as it is said, Psalms lxxiv. 20. “Have respect unto the covenant: for the dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty.” Moses likewise saith, Deut. xxxii. 9. “For the Lord's portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance.” We see therefore that God chose for himself a particular people: namely, the stock of Abraham; setting others aside as strangers. This is true, saith St. Paul, but it is now necessary that this knowledge should be spread over all the world; to wit, That God is the Father and Saviour of the Gentiles, as well as the Jews.

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