This is part of my Exegetical Commentary series which I’m slllooowwwwly posting up here.
This verse and its context are commonly discussed by universalists, and even sometimes appealed to by non-universalists; so until now I haven’t bothered to post up notes on it. But today I’m getting around to it. 
1 Timothy 4:10: St. Paul here makes a distinction between the living God being the Savior of all persons, and the living God being {malista}, very much so, or especially, the Savior of believers. Non-universalists have read this as meaning God definitely does not save all persons, but is only an impotent or inconstant Savior of them (intending to do so but failing or choosing to quit for some reason); or God is only the Savior of all persons in potential strength (being able to do so if He chose but He doesn’t choose to) – broadly the Arm and the Calv interpretations respectively (with their Catholic predecessors either way). The verse is even quoted as positive evidence against universal salvation being true, the idea being that Paul would not have made any distinction if he had expected God would really save all sinners from sin (and that kind of salvation is certainly the context).
However, whenever the term is used elsewhere in the scriptures in a comparative sense, it always everywhere else fully includes the prior general group with some kind of special emphasis on a limited group.
Paul’s congregation grieves over his departure but {malista} over his prediction that they would not see his face again (Acts 20:38).
Paul is brought before all the audience by Festus, but {malista} before King Agrippa, to be heard and judged so that Festus will have some information to send on to the Emperor (Acts 25:26).
Paul answers that he considers himself fortunate to make his defense before Agrippa, {malista} because Agrippa is an expert on disagreements among the Jewish parties (Acts 26:3).
Paul writes to the Galatian congregation that they should do good to all people while they have an opportunity, and {malista} to those who are of the household of the faith (Gal 6:10).
All the saints greet the Philippian church, {malista} those of Caesar’s household (Phil 4:22).
Onesimus should be received by Philemon no longer as a slave but as a brother, {malista} to Paul, and how much moreso to Philemon (Phm 1:16).
Paul warns Titus there are many rebellious men, empty talkers and deceivers, {malista} those of the circumcision (Titus 1:10).
Peter affirms that God knows how to keep the unrighteousness under punishment for the day of judgment, and {malista} those who indulge the flesh in its corrupt desires (2 Peter 2:10).
Nor does this fully inclusive emphasis change in the Timothy epistles! Paul wants Timothy to bring the books when he comes, {malista} the parchments (2 Tim 4:13); a supposed Christian has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever if he does not provide for his own people, and {malista} for his own household (1 Tim 5:8); the elders who rule well are to be considered worthy of double honor, {malista} those who work hard at preaching and teaching (1 Tim 5:17); for we labor and strive (in evangelism) for this reason, because we have fixed our hope on the living God, Who is the Savior of all men, {malista} those who believe (1 Tim 4:10).
At worst, the term simply indicates that those who believe have some kind of honor or pre-eminence or authority among the general group of all persons, whom the living God is the savior of – but the term definitely does NOT exclude the general group as being unreal somehow!
It isn’t technically impossible that Paul might take a term he himself uses elsewhere in uniform agreement with other authors and speakers in NT Greek, and use it in a way that means something different this time. But there would need to be a strong argument for the change by appeal to the immediate or at least the local context. And the local context would be 1 Tim 2:3-6, where Paul emphasizes both the scope of evangelism and its actively willed success (both of those being reasons why we ought to cooperate with God by praying for the salvation even of “hyper-ogres”!)
Unless an argument can be strongly made from local context otherwise, however, the term {malista} itself, in its grammatic deployment here (compared to other examples), would be immediate grammatic evidence in favor of the salvation of all people being certain: Paul’s assurance that God is especially the Savior of those who believe is a how-much-moreso emphasis.
If someone wishes to reply that this statement, which Paul says is faithful and worthy of all welcome, and for which he and his fellow-believers were toiling and being reproached, is actually only a “profane and old-womanish myth” (4:7), and that it is “withdrawing from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and the teachings of demons in the hypocrisy of false expectations thanks to a cauterized conscience” (vv.1-2) by somehow involving abstaining from foods or forbidding marriage (v.3), as though affirming God can and will save all creatures does not thank God for every creature of God and as though we are thus denying the truth that every creature of God is ideal and nothing is to be cast away but rather (where necessary due to sin) made holy through the Logos of God (Who is Christ) and by {enteuxis} or “pleading” (vv.4-5) – the same word used by Paul back in 1 Tim 2 to refer to evangelizing and praying for the salvation of even hyper-ogres, and which is never used elsewhere in the New Testament except for seeking the salvation of someone…
…then someone is welcome to try that, I guess, and I have seen people try it before. But I personally wouldn’t recommend the attempt. 
As always, forum members are free to add to and discuss these verses in the comments below, pro or con, and also to link to other discussions of them on or off site.
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), the immediate problem would be that the translation (here in chapter 4) would then involve the living God being the preserver of all persons especially the preserver of those who believe.
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