1 Timothy 2:5

One God. The universality of Christianity (see on vs. 1, 4) is amplified with the recognition of the divine lordship of God over the whole universe (see on Acts 17:23-28; Rom. 10:12; 1 Cor. 8:4; Eph. 4:6; 1 Tim. 1:17).

One mediator. Only through Jesus can the sinner be reconciled to God (see on John 14:5-6; Rom. 5:1-2). God does not need to be reconciled to man, for it was His “will” (1 Tim. 2:4) that initiated the plan of salvation. In addition, He provided the means of salvation through Christ’s life and death. See on Rom. 5:10. Paul here clearly rules out the need of human mediators and the supposed value that some have attached to such attempted mediation.

The man Christ Jesus. Christ’s nature as a “man” is emphasized. Jesus did not represent any particular level of society or nationality, but rather all mankind, both male and female. Paul here condemns the Docetic theory (see Vol. V, p. 912), which emerged in apostolic times and taught that Christ never had a human body, but only appeared to have one. John refers to this heresy as “antichrist” (1 John 4:3).

For a discussion of the humanity of Christ see Vol. V, p. 917.