By Kevin Harris, pastor of the Illawarra Community Baptist Church of Dapto, NSW
God…will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
1 Timothy 2:3-4
Do you have a wish list?
Maybe your family is like ours. In the hunt for gift ideas, we love to collect hints that drop throughout the year. You know, Mum finds a new dessert she likes for an occasional splurge, or a sister’s pair of shoes have come to the end of their usefulness. The girls heard me mentioning a desire to visit Israel again someday, and started a cash jar to help my wish become reality.
Have you wondered what is on God’s wish list? What would He desire for a birthday gift (not that the Eternal ever had a birthday)? If you wanted to especially please Him, what could you get Him that was extra special?
Sometimes we tell God what we wish for. But what does He want?
I want to show you one thing that is on God’s wish list. It’s found right here in today’s verse.
The word will in verse 4 carries the idea of a desire or a wish that springs from the emotions. The desire for the salvation of lost sinners certainly springs from the tremendous love of God.
There’s a difference between passively wanting something and actively determining or deciding to do something. The word will in verse 4 is used in the sense of wanting something or wishing for it. It’s used in the sense of ‘I wish I had a cup of coffee’ not in the sense of ‘I will buy myself a cup of coffee.’
This is the word used in Luke 8:20 ‘And it was told him by certain which said, Thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to see thee.’ They were passively wishing to see Jesus.
Jesus cries out in Matthew 23:37 ‘O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!’ He’s saying, ‘I wanted to gather the Jewish people like a hen gathers her chicks. I wished you’d let Me. But you wouldn’t let Me.’
That phrase ‘to be saved’ is in the passive voice. God wishes all men to be saved. If He had chosen to speak in the active voice – ‘wishes to save all men’ – we’d wonder why He didn’t just do it. He’s God. We realise that He has no limitations.
He is unlimited in His power; we call that omnipotence. He’s unlimited in His knowledge; we call that omniscience. He’s unlimited in space; He can be anywhere He wishes to be at any time. We call that omnipresence.
But even though He isn’t limited by anyone or anything, yet He chooses to limit Himself in this one way: He holds back and waits for us to make the decision whether or not to receive His gift of salvation.
The way in which God states it here makes it clear that He leaves the choice with people.
If you have never trusted Jesus Christ to save you from the awful punishment your sins deserve, what are you waiting for? The monkey is on your back, so to speak. The next step is yours. God will not make you get saved. But I’ll tell you what — today as He looks down from heaven, He sure wishes you would.
Father, thank You for Your great heart that yearns for people You created to repent and turn to Your Son for salvation. Give me this same great wish, and make that wish evident by a life dedicated to fishing for souls. I ask in the Lord Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Kevin Harris pastors the Illawarra Community Baptist Church in Wollongong, NSW