One Truth, One Mediator, One Ransom
—1Timothy 2:5-6
People will say that there are many great lights in the world. They are the teachers who have given the world great insights. That may be so, but when people count Jesus as one among the many, that is not true. He is the "only Mediator between God and man" (1Timothy 2:4-6).
1Timothy 2:5-6
“4 God desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 5For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, 6who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time...“ (1Timothy 2:4-6 NKJV).
1 The True Light.
1Timothy 2:4
God wants everyone to be enlightened by his Son. He wants them to listen to His Son’s revelation of God’s word, so as to "come to a knowledge of the truth" (1Timothy 2:4).
Jesus was the one true light of the world, not just one light among several. He is the one mediator to humanity of God's way of salvation. Other lights are mere candles compared to Jesus Christ. He is brighter than the sun, "the true light who enlightens every man who comes into the world" (John 1:9, see verses 1-9).
On the Road to Emmaus
After his resurrection, Jesus found two disciples on the road to Emmaus. They were sad as they discussed the crucifixion and the empty tomb. Jesus caught up with them but their eyes were restrained from regognising him. He spoke at length to them, opening the scriptures to their understanding (Luke 24:13-49).
So Jesus enlightened his disciples and they in turn took that light and truth to the world as his witnesses (Acts 1:8, Luke 24:48).
2 The One Mediator.
1Timothy 2:5
When we gain the knowledge of the truth from Jesus, we can then gain fellowship with God through him. "There is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus," (1Timothy 2:5 NKJV).
Jesus not only brings God’s truth to us, but he is also by our side with the Holy Spirit, when we approach the throne of grace and come before God.
Our Intercessor. "It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us" (Romans 8:34, see verse 26).
Our Advocate. "We have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous" (1John 2:5 NKJV).
Our Hight Priest "14Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need." (Hebrews 4:14-16 NKJV).).
3 The Ransom for All.
1Timothy 2:6
We have touched on Jesus as the Light who gives the knowledge of the truth. We have also considered him as the Mediator between God and man who can bring us into fellowship with God. Now we look at how Jesus can make that possible.
The answer is found in verse 6, which says "He gave Himself a ransom for all" (1Timothy 2:6).
We needed to come into God’s fellowship, but that required forgiveness of all our sins. That required a redemption price to be paid by a sacrifice of blood. The blood of Jesus was the only blood that could meet that price. He alone could pay the ransom and pay it for all.
"In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace" (Ephesians 1:7 NKJV).
We may find it very hard to acknowledge that we cannot have fellowship with God in our own right. It may not be easy to humbly admit that Jesus is our only hope. Nevertheless God requires us to hear the hard truth, to believe and obey it, and to be very thankful.