As I read the Bible through every year, the idea that many ways exist to reach God fades from my thinking. While I believe that every person is born with an inherent sense of something bigger outside of themselves, only one way leads to knowledge of the truth.

Paul wrote to Timothy with clarity on this topic. I’ve reversed the order of his instructions as it helps me gain a better picture of the Lord’s intent:

For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all people.

One is the operative thought here. One God, one mediator, one payment for all people. Jesus Christ is the one. Other options simply are not efficacious. If it sounds constraining, it should. A narrow path leads to a narrow gate—the only possibility.

But in this exclusivity don’t miss the Lord’s concern for the every:

God our Savior wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.

One opens the door for every. Restricted and yet available. That’s the crazy appeal of the gospel.

Best of all, once you give in to this limited option, a new world blooms and eternity becomes a welcoming place. Unlimited exists on the other side of exclusive.

1 Timothy 2 in reading the Bible in 2023

Photo by Dorrell Tibbs