through Christ as the one and only Way to God (John 10: 1-9; 14: 6), the great

Intermediary on our behalf.

It is only because He is the only Mediator, that He can become the all-needed Ransom

for men. In Matt. 20: 28 the Lord asserts that He came to give His life, a ransom for

many (lutron anti pollon).  But Paul uses here antilutron, a very rare word which

indicates something more than this. It signifies a counter ransom price and draws our

attention to the infinitude of the Offering. As E. K. Simpson so aptly expresses it: "Of

priceless jewels we say they are worth a `king's ransom'; but Christ crucified presents

the ransom of the King of kings, a Sacrifice intrinsically illimitable, outweighing

everything that can be placed in the counter scale".

Spurgeon once said: "in Christ's finished work I see an ocean of merit; my plummet

finds no bottom, my eye discovers no shore". This transcendent sacrifice for sin is the

basis on which freedom may be granted to all. Yet not all enjoy that freedom. The

ransom has infinite value, but the benefits require the appropriation of individual faith in

Christ. God does not force His supreme benefits on men. Man must have a real sense of

need, and as he is not a machine, but a moral creature with the power of choice, he must

decide whether this priceless treasure is to be his own possession or not.

Now is the time, or season, the Apostle asserts, for the proclamation of this glorious

truth far and wide. Once again we see the emphasis on the right time for the revelation of

truth. God is never too early or too late and the careful student of the Word of God will

never spoil the revelation of God by ignoring these divine time-periods.

The context of this epistle which we were studying in the last article, makes known

the great doctrine of the One Mediator between God and men, Christ Jesus. He Who was

declared to be God (John 1: 1), `became flesh' (John 1: 14) taking upon Himself a human

body which could be offered in death as the unique sacrifice for sin. Paul declares that in

his ministry, the right time had come to make this known (I Tim. 2: 7) and he makes a

solemn assertion that, in stating this, he is not lying. The critics of this epistle find a

difficulty here that the Apostle needed to make such a statement to a loyal believer like

Timothy who knew him so well. But Paul is looking wider with his opposers in view,

who constantly sought to undermine his apostleship. Note the stress on his Gentile

mission. He was pre-eminently the Apostle of the Gentiles, the human mouthpiece of

Christ to the Gentile world in this age of grace. And not only this, but he was the

prisoner of Christ Jesus for us Gentiles (Eph. 3: 1). It does seem extraordinary that so

many who are Gentiles by birth, seek for God's truth anywhere but through the channel

God has appointed!