---
title: 1 Timothy 2:6
url: https://jw-apologetics.app/verses/1-timothy-2-6/
markdown: https://jw-apologetics.app/verses/1-timothy-2-6.md
type: verse
perspective: Protestant (historic Nicene) response to Jehovah's Witness teaching
reference: 1 Timothy 2:6
testament: NT
section: Letters
index: https://jw-apologetics.app/llms.txt
---

# 1 Timothy 2:6

## Text (Berean Standard Bible)

> who gave Himself as a ransom for all—the testimony that was given at just the right time.

## JW Usage

The NWT renders this verse as Jesus giving "himself a corresponding ransom for all." The word "corresponding" (antilytron) is central to JW theology: it supports the claim that Jesus' sacrifice was an exact mathematical equivalent for Adam — a perfect human life for a perfect human life. This requires Jesus to be no more than a perfect man, excluding his deity.

## Protestant Usage

The Greek antilytron means "ransom in place of" — a substitutionary payment, not a mathematically equivalent exchange. Romans 5:15–17 explicitly states "it is not with the gift as it was with the trespass" — the gift exceeds the debt. Hebrews 10:1–4 shows that exact-equivalence sacrifices (animal for animal, year after year) failed precisely because they were equivalent rather than transcendent. Psalm 49:7–9 declares that no man can redeem his brother — the price is always beyond human reach — yet Psalm 49:15 says God will redeem. If Jesus accomplished what no human could, the ransom argument actually demonstrates his deity rather than limiting him to mere humanity. The verse's context (1 Timothy 2:5) names Jesus as "one mediator between God and men" — a role requiring participation in both natures.

## Arguments Using This Verse

- [The Corresponding Ransom Chain](https://jw-apologetics.app/arguments/ransom-chain.md) — Romans 5 — Not Like the Trespass [Salvation]
- [No Man Can Redeem — But Jesus Did](https://jw-apologetics.app/arguments/ransom-who-can-redeem.md) — Psalm 49:7-9, 15 / Hebrews 9:12-14 / Acts 20:28 [Salvation]
- [The Last Adam — More Than a Man](https://jw-apologetics.app/arguments/1corinthians15-45-last-adam.md) — 1 Corinthians 15:45-49 [Deity of Christ]