This has now been witnessed to at the proper time.
Summary: While different translators handle this passage in different ways, the key concepts of timing and validation remain clear.
This verse, 1 Timothy 2:6, is one of the passages that translators struggle with. Let’s look at a few of the many variations:
“Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.” (King James Version)
“… who gave Himself as a ransom [a substitutionary sacrifice to atone] for all, the testimony given at the right and proper time.” (Amplified Bible)
“This is the message that was given to us at just the right time.” (Easy to Read Version)
“… who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.” (English Standard Version — ESV)
“ … who gave himself as a ransom for all, the witness at the proper time.” (Mounce Reverse Interlinear)
Instead of throwing our hands up and walking away, let’s look at the key parts of the passage and see how they relate to the whole Biblical canon. One is the “witness” or “testimony” about Jesus’ sacrifice for all people, and the other is the reference to “proper time.”
You probably know the joke about the tree falling in the woods when nobody is around. The question is, “Does it make a sound?” Another way of telling the joke could be, “If a tree falls in the woods and no one is around to witness the fall, did it make any noise?”
When God gave the Law to Moses, one of the rules had to do with witnesses:
“One witness is not enough to convict anyone accused of any crime or offense they may have committed. A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.” (Deuteronomy 19:15)
For a claim to be valid, at least two people had to agree that the claim was justified. The principle applies to more than just an alleged crime.
When Paul was in Berea, the Bereans were cautious about what they heard. Before they accepted Paul’s testimony about Jesus, they checked the testimony of the Scriptures. The Apostle, John, affirms this when he writes:
“Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” (1 John 4:1)
As to the timing of this witness, God’s Word, the Bible, paints a dramatic mural spanning all of history. In the center is the cross, the sacrifice of the Son of God. Everything leading up to that point explains why we need the cross. Everything after the cross is about how we live for Jesus.
God’s timing and message are perfect.
Application: God knows what he is doing.
Food for Thought: Why is your own testimony about God an important part of the “witness” Paul talks about?
Why is your own testimony about God an important part of the “witness” Paul talks about?
When we testify of God, we testify to His Presence, Power, and Provision. We forthtell of His Word, and it is the testimony of the saving, redeeming, and transforming power of Christ through the Holy Spirit in our own lives that best demonstrates (witnesses to) God’s love.
Romans 10:17
17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
Romans 10:14-15
How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”
When we testify to God’s love as demonstrated by His Presence in our lives, we offer them the light of Christ. The light is the truth, and the truth illuminates and exposes, people can see that there is a path to God.
2 Corinthians 4:5-6
For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
Philippians 2:15
That you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world,
Our perspective of God can be a hindrance to our relationship with Him. If people view Him as “an angry or disengaged Creator” rather than as a “Loving Father” they may not seek Him. Our testimony to His love can change the perspective on how others view Him.
Matthew 5:16
In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
I think probably the most heartfelt reason to testify is that our testimonies offer hope. When we testify of God’s love we are telling others that “What God will do for one person, He will do for another.”
1 Peter 3:15
But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,
Matthew 7:8
8 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.
Good stuff CH. Thank you.
Thank you, Chris!
I liked this: “Our testimony to His love can change the perspective on how others view Him.”
So true!