The world needs faith and truth.

For this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth. 1 Timothy 2:7

The “this” here in verse seven, which is the reason Paul was appointed and called by Jesus Himself into apostolic ministry to the Gentiles, is twofold. First, God “desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4). God’s love for the world, forever shown in the death and resurrection of Jesus, required that the gospel go into all the world. God called Paul and gifted him for this task. Paul was a global-thinking, Great Commission, gospel preacher.

Secondly, Jesus “gave Himself as a ransom for all” (1 Timothy 2:6). The very nature of the atonement required global commitment from the church. Paul was the first to model this kind of serious life-shaping obedience to the gospel call. He built his ministry team around this truth. He traveled, preached, planted churches, taught, and suffered for the sake of a world-wide vision of the gospel, knowing Jesus died to call all people to His saving grace.

Lord,

May the vision of my heart be as wide as the gospel clearly is. May my soul long for what You desire so that all can come to a knowledge of repentance and faith in the gospel. Give this world faith and truth, I pray! And may Your church thrive making disciples all around the world in this generation.

Amen