[FONT=&]“For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus; who gave Himself a ransom for ALL, to be testified in due time” (I Timothy 2:5-6).[/FONT]
If you believe all here doesn't literally mean all, but really only means some, explain this passage.
Whenever and wherever the word "all" is used, it usually is explained by context. In this passage, Paul is addressing Timothy within the context of Timothy leading a newly formed church of believers in Christ. The entire epistle is one of instruction given to Timothy, exhorting him to teach sound doctrine for the edification of the congregation (e.g. 1:3-4), to "fight the good fight" of inevitable spiritual warfare (e.g. 1:18-20), to practice intercessory prayer for all the members of the church (e.g. 2:1), and that all the male members be prayerful (e.g. 2:8), and the female members practice modesty and silence submission of ecclesiastical authority (e.g. 2:9-12), reviewed requirements for the elders and deacons (3:1-13), warnings about the expected propensity of false teachers and false doctrines (4:1-3), all of which would enhance Timothy's ministry (4:6-16), and instructions about how to treat all the members: elderly, widows both young and old, rewarding good Eldership, dealing with the lapsed sinners, honor bondservants, avoid those who are argumentative and the discontent, pride of the rich, and the babblings of those with profane knowledge, etc. (e.g. 5:1-6:21)
In other words, Timothy was going to be dealing with ALL KINDS of persons within his ministry. Paul's teaching in I Timothy 2:1-7 is directed to ALL the CHURCH under Timothy's care and who would be directed to the Mediatorship of Jesus Christ.
All those outside of faith in Jesus Christ.
Why were they not ransomed?
Romans 9:15-18
Holy Scripture says that.
Why did Paul use the word all when he did not mean literally all?
Paul was not speaking of the world, universally, but was speaking of Timothy's church ministry and the persons who would be in Timothy's care.
That was the purpose of Paul's epistle written (and inspired by the Holy Spirit) to Timothy.
The entire answer to all your questions, is the context and to whom the exhortations were directed (Timothy).
Just as in the day that Caesar Augustus issued a decree that "ALL the world" should be registered with the authorities of Rome, the demanded census was contained to the cities under the rule of the Roman Empire, but was not issued to ALL the cities in the world at large in a universal sense. See Luke 2:1-7
It is rare, even in our conversations, that we use the word "all" only in a universal sense. It is almost always qualified and quantified by the context of the discussion.
