232 linda l. belleville
punishing him as he fully deserved. and not only did he save Paul, but
Christ also picked him to proclaim his good news among the gentiles
(1 tim 1:16). the parallel with 1 Cor 15:9 is clear: “i am the least of the
apostles because i persecuted the church of god” (cf. eph 3:8 “though i
am the least deserving of all god’s people, he graciously gave me the privi-
lege of telling the gentiles about the endless treasures available to them in
Christ,” nlt). this makes the entire pericope thoroughly Pauline.
A Creedal Statement: 1 Timothy 2:5–6
there are few today who dispute the antiquity of 1 tim 2:5–6: Εἷς γὰρ θεός,
εἷς καὶ μεσίτης θεοῦ καὶ ἀνθρώπων, ἄνθρωπος Χριστὸς Ἰησοῦς, ὁ δοὺς ἑαυτὸν
ἀντίλυτρον ὑπὲρ πάντων, τὸ μαρτύριον καιροῖς ἰδίοις. that it pre-dates Paul is
supported by the non-Pauline/synoptic term ἀντίλυτρον and the phraseol-
ogy of ἄνθρωπος Χριστὸς Ἰησοῦς as μεσίτης θεοῦ καὶ ἀνθρώπων.56 there are
other features that do not appear elsewhere in Paul. the term μεσίτης is
found in Paul’s writings, but its usage in 1 tim 2:5 is not. in gal 3:19 moses
is μεσίτης, in the giving of the law by god to israel on mt. sinai. in 1 tim
2:5–6 it is Jesus whose incarnation qualifies him to be a μεσίτης between
god and humanity.
scholars who focus on the atypical features propose various sources.
some suppose that the passage is a hellenized form of mark 10:45: δοῦναι
τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ λύτρον ἀντὶ πολλῶν.57 others see a conscious echo of the
creedal “one lord... one god and father of all” of eph 4:5–6.58 still others
think in terms of a congregational acclamation similar to “one god, the
father... one lord, Jesus Christ” found in 1 Cor 8:6.59 yet, there is much
here that is Pauline.60 Christ’s mediating role in creation and redemption
is thoroughly Pauline. “Through him (διὰ Χριστοῦ) god created everything
in the heavenly realms and on earth” (Col 1:16) and then reconciled it all to
himself “through Christ” (διὰ Χριστοῦ; 2 Cor 5:18). the idea of Christ giving
himself as a ransom for all is also Pauline. for instance, gal 1:4 states that
Christ “gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age.”
56 λύτρον ἀντὶ is found in matt 20:28 and mark 10:45; λύτρωσις in luke 1:68; 2:38;
λυτρόομαι in luke 24:21; acts 28:19; λυτρωτής in acts 7:35.
57 see, for example, fee, 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus, 66.
58 see, for instance, Barrett, Pastoral Epistles, 255–56.
59 see, Quinn and Wacker, Letters to Timothy, 181.
60 see Johnson, who argues that there is no reason to consider these verses as other
than one of Paul’s typically compressed Christological-soteriological statements (Letters
to Timothy, 191).