How Does a Catholic Read: 1 Timothy 2:5

Recently I had the idea to canvas some of my non-Catholic Christian friends and ask, "What verses of the New Testament do you think Catholics simply don't get?  You look at it and think, 'Are Catholics unaware of this verse?  What do they do with this?'"

One passage suggested to me was 1Tim 2:5  – a verse which can be used to challenge the Catholic practice of confessing sins to a priest*.  So today we're going to examine the passage, apply it to the controversy... and answer the question:

"What the heck does a Catholic do with 1 Tim 2:5?"

*(It is more commonly used to object to the doctrine of the Communion of Saints.  But I covered that here.)


The Passage in Question:

Now let’s look at the passage itself.  It reads:

“(1) First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, (2) for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. (3) This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, (4) who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. (5) For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, (6) who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.” - 1 Timothy 2:1-6

A Catholic Reading Thereof:

Let’s break this passage down.

Verses 1-3:

“First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people - for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.  This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior…”

Paul starts by saying he wants everyone praying for everyone.  He specifically points out the need to pray for our rulers.  This stands to reason.  The whims and ambitions of political authorities have long been the cause of great hardship for ordinary people.   So we pray for them that we may lead a long, peaceful, and godly life.

Verse 4:

“…who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”

This verse which has caused no small bit of frustration for strict Calvinists who believe in Double Predestination – that is to say, the idea that God does NOT want all to be saved.  However, this passage actually presents a mystery to every Christian.

A plain reading of the text tells us God desires the salvation of all people, but we also know that not everyone will be saved.  So how is it that God wants something and either cannot or will not bring it about?  That is a mystery for another time.


Verses 5-6:

“For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus - who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.”

Now for the particular verse that got us started. How does a Catholic read this thing?

Well, there are at least four ways in which Jesus is the one mediator between God and man.  They are as follows:


The God-man:

The first – and most obvious – way in which Jesus is the “one mediator between God and man”… is that Jesus is both God and man.  This aspect of Christ’s unique mediation is referenced in the Catholic Catechism:

“Jesus Christ is true God and true man, in the unity of his divine person; for this reason he is the one and only mediator between God and men.” – CCC 480

Intercessor with God:

Paul’s letter to the Galatians speaks about how Moses served as a mediator with God for the Israelites.  He says this while he discussing the reception of the Mosaic Law:

"What purpose then does the law serve? It was added because of transgressions, till the Seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was appointed through angels by the hand of a mediator." - Galatians 3:19-20

Moses also served as a mediator during the golden calf incident.  In Exodus 32 we see Moses standing in the gap for Israel and turning away the wrath of God.

This is a prefiguring of what Jesus would do for all of humanity.  He  acted as a representative of humanity and made peace with God on our behalf.  The Catechism acknowledges this by saying:

“The prayer of Moses responds to the living God's initiative for the salvation of his people. It foreshadows the prayer of intercession of the unique mediator, Christ Jesus.”  – CCC 2593

Mediator of New Covenant:

Another way in which Jesus is the one mediator is that He established an everlasting covenant between God and man.

In Exodus 24, Moses establishes a covenant between God and Israel saying:

“This is the blood of the covenant which the Lord has made with you according to all these words.” – Exodus 24:8

Jesus does likewise at the Last Supper when He says:

“This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” - 1 Cor. 11:25

Jesus as Sacrifice: 

And lastly, Jesus is both the offerer and the sacrifice which made payment for all of our sins.  This is the context mentioned in 1Timothy 2:5 when Paul says Jesus “gave himself as a ransom for all.”

The Catholic Catechism states:

“Everything that the priesthood of the Old Covenant prefigured finds its fulfillment in Christ Jesus, the one mediator between God and men. [...] By a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are sanctified, that is, by the unique sacrifice of the cross.” – CCC 1544

In Total:

Taken as a whole, the preceding passages can be understood like this:

Paul is saying Jesus established peace between God and man through His unique sacrifice.  Therefore, we can approach God confidently in prayer.  Christians should be praying for everyone, but particularly for political authorities so they won’t ruin our lives or get us killed.

Regarding the Controversy:

Now let's turn to the controversy.

The Catholic Church teaches that the ordinary way in which Jesus intended Christians to receive the forgiveness of sins is through the Sacrament of Reconciliation, also called Confession (CCC 1484).

This is not to say a person cannot pray for forgiveness in private.  We must, in fact.  However, there are some offenses where a person is required to visit the confessional. (CCC 1457)

Today this involves going to a priest in private, confessing one's sins, and resolving (by God's grace) to sin no more.  Then the priest will say:

"God, the Father of mercies, through the death and the resurrection of his Son
has reconciled the world to himself and sent the Holy Spirit among us for the forgiveness of sins. Through the ministry of the Church may God give you pardon and peace, and I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."

Now, the objection to this practice goes something like this:

"Jesus is our one mediator between God and man.  We are supposed to have direct access to the throne of mercy.  The requirement to confess one's sins to a priest inserts another mediator into the equation and effectively invalidates what Paul said in 1Tim 2:5.  We do not receive forgiveness of sins from a priest - we receive it directly from Jesus, our one mediator."

So... what now?



Ambassadors for Christ:

The first question I want to ask in reply is this:

"Who did Paul persecute?  Christ, or Christ's disciples?"

It is a trick question, of course.  The answer was given by Jesus Himself:

"Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" - Acts 9:4

This passage shows how Jesus identifies Himself as coterminous with His disciples.   Saint Paul compares this to being members of Christ's body.  The upshot is that when you are encountering a Christian, you are - in a very real way - encountering Jesus Christ.

The relationship between Christ and His disciples is a cooperative, not a competitive.  Thus, there can be times where a Christian acts as a mediator with God in a way which does not jeopardize Jesus' unique mediation.  That is because it is being done contingently as a member of Christ's body, in cooperation and subordination to Jesus.

For instance, any time you pray for someone, you are acting as a mediator for that person.  You are approaching God on someone else's behalf.  But no Christian would say Jesus' unique mediation should prevent us from praying for one another.  As we saw, Saint Paul thought Jesus' unique mediation was what enables us to pray for one another.

Any time you share the Gospel with someone, you are acting as a mediator.  In fact, it was Saint Paul who said:

"So we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We beseech you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God." - 2 Cor 5:21

Well, what is an ambassador?  A mediator of a message, that's what.




Whose Sins You Forgive:

Back to the matter at hand.

We've seen how Jesus can delegate certain aspects of His mediation to human beings and how this does not challenge His unique position as the "one mediator".  So now the question becomes;

Did Jesus delegate the mediation of forgiveness?  

Answer: You bet.  Check out what He said to the Apostles shortly after the resurrection: 

"On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, 'Peace be with you.' When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, 'Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.' And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, 'Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.'” - John 20:19-23

For reasons we can go into another time, Jesus thought it would be best for us to receive the forgiveness of sins from a human minister - one who is authorized to wipe your slate clean.  It might not be the most efficient method conceivable, but somehow it must be what is best for us.