Sunday School lecture 3/7/04 part III
1Timothy 2
Pray for All People - 1Timothy 2:1-7
In order that Timothy may "wage the good warfare," Paul now begins his instructions. This chapter and the next focus primarily on proper worship as Paul will state in 3:15. The primary instruction given is that "supplications, prayers, intercessions and thanksgivings" be given for all men. These are not necessarily four distinct types of prayer but are rather closely related concepts. These are the four definitions of terminology by the 1828 Webster's Dictionary:
Prayer:
1. In worship, a solemn address to the Supreme Being, consisting of adoration, or an expression of our sense of God's glorious perfections, confession of our sins, supplication for mercy and forgiveness, intercession for blessings on others, and thanksgiving, or an expression of gratitude to God for his mercies and benefits. A prayer however may consist of a single petition, and it may be extemporaneous, written or printed.
Supplication:
1. Entreaty; humble and earnest prayer in worship. In all our supplications to the Father of mercies, let us remember a world lying in ignorance and wickedness
Intercession:
The act of interceding; mediation; interposition between parties at variance, with a view to reconciliation; prayer or solicitation to one party in favor of another, sometimes against another.
Thanksgiving:
1. A public celebration of divine goodness; also, a day set apart for religious services, specially to acknowledge the goodness of God, either in any remarkable deliverance from calamities or danger, or in the ordinary dispensation of his bounties.
The somewhat surprising feature of Paul's first imperative is that we are to offer prayer for not only a select few, but for ALL men. The specific citing of kings and rulers is especially significant when we accept the assumption of the late writing of 1Timothy. The Emperor at the time, Nero, was a particularly brutal man and one of the greatest persecutors of Christianity in history. It would be less than a decade after this writing that Paul would be martyred at his command. Nonetheless, we are to pray for those who are in governmental leadership roles in order that we may lead quiet and peaceable lives.
This quiet and peaceable life is "good" meaning beautiful or excellent and is "pleasing to God our Savior". That God wants all people to come to a saving knowledge of Him is confirmed by such Scriptures as John 3:16 and 2Peter 3:9, however, we must be careful to temper such statements and not read a message of universalism into them. While it is God's desire that all should come to a saving knowledge of his Son, man's free will and the hardness of his heart prevents all from doing so (Hebrews 10:26). Paul's next statements also qualify this concept.
He turns again to a quote from an early hymn or instruction and declares "there is one God." While this statement echoes Deuteronomy 6:4 and is a statement against polytheism, in context to Paul's arguments against the Judaizers, he is setting forth the concept that the Jews did not go far enough in their logic. Christianity goes further and asserts that there is "one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus." The desire for righteous men to have this mediation was voiced in Job 9:33. A mediator is one who acts as a liaison between two parties. As that liaison, Christ bridged the chasm between God and man. As a result we can cross this bridge and come into the presence of the Almighty Himself.
In order to fulfill this role as mediator, Christ "gave Himself as a ransom for all men." This phrase matches quite closely with Christ's own in Mark 10:45 & Matthew 20:28. The main concept is that Christ gave His life for the life of all men. This is the price of sin and its consequences. The idea of a ransom reflects the price of freedom paid for slaves or prisoners. Therefore, all men belong to Christ. The phrase "at the proper time" is a technical term meaning "at an epoch fixed by God to achieve His promises."
It is this testimony for which Paul was appointed a preacher, a teacher and an Apostle. While Paul refers to his preaching and teaching in other Epistles, only here and in 2Timothy 1:11 does he refer to himself as a teacher and preacher. It is possible that the term "preacher" is introduced here due to its common usage in Rome during Paul's time. An apostle by definition is one who is deputed to perform a certain task. The term "apostle" is defined by the American Tract Society Dictionary as follows:
A messenger or envoy. The term is applied to Jesus Christ, who was God's envoy to save the world, Heb 3:1; though, more commonly, the title is given to persons who were envoys commissioned by the Savior himself.
Instructions for Men in Worship - 1Timothy 2:8
Paul now returns to specific instruction concerning worship. The lifting of hands is mentioned often in the Old Testament as a natural gesture indicating earnestness and desire. Holy in this instance means devout, pious and pleasing to God.
Instructions for Women in Worship - 1Timothy 2:9-15
After the brief instructions on the proper conduct of men, Paul now moves to a lengthier explanation of the conduct of women in worship. That this Passage is so much longer may indicate that a problem was occurring in the church of Ephesus concerning this matter just as there had been at Corinth. In the Jewish synagogues, women played no role in worship. Christianity broke these traditions and allowed women to take even leading roles. We have, for example, Priscilla in Acts 18:26; Lydia in Acts 16:14; and Phoebe in Romans 16:1. This new found freedom may have posed problems in the Graeco-Roman cultures, both Jewish and pagan, and the troublemakers within the church may have encouraged poor conduct among the women.
First, Paul encourages the women to adorn themselves with good deeds rather than flamboyant fashion. One of the basic tenants of the early Christian faith is that we content ourselves with necessary things. Those who could afford higher fashion may have offended those who were very poor. Paul is not condemning good hygiene or grooming but merely the abuse of fashion breeding contempt and covetous. Braided hair, gold, pearls and costly attire were the apparel of pagan women in Ephesus. Christian women should set themselves apart with modest, sensible and seemly apparel as well as good deeds.
Secondly, Paul in verse 12 states that women are to learn in silence with all submissiveness. We can logically concur from this imperative that the church at Ephesus was experiencing a similar problem to the one in Corinth with worship services becoming too cacophonous (1Corinthians 14:33-35). While this approach fits well into the old Jewish system in which women were not allowed participation in the worship service, Christianity did at least allow the women to learn.
It should be noted here that submissiveness, as we discussed in our study of Colossians, is not servitude nor is it surrendering one's mind. Rather it is to yield to authority. Paul then adds to this instruction that he forbids women to have authority over men. There are several approaches to this somewhat controversial verse. There is no doubt that Paul is quite emphatic here. Some literalists have taken this verse to the extreme and applied it to not only conduct during worship but secular life as well, believing women, if in the work force at all, should not have authority. Others apply it only to church life and forbid women any role that puts them in authority including Sunday School teachers or choir directors. Still others feel that the pastor (or the congregation) being the ultimate spiritual authority in a church can assign these tasks without violating Paul's command. Then there are those who feel that Paul was speaking to a particular church in a particular culture and that the Apostle was not speaking to the 21st century congregation with nearly a century of women's suffrage and advanced opportunities for women behind us.
However, Paul undergirds his statement with the account of the creation of man and woman citing that man was created first. It is therefore inherent that wives submit to their husbands. He goes further to point out that it was the woman who was deceived by the serpent and that she, not the serpent, gave the fruit to Adam. For this reason women can not be trusted as teachers.
Once again, we must temper our views in balance with other Scriptures concerning this subject. Timothy himself was introduced to the Jewish faith and then Christianity by his mother and grandmother. 2Timothy 1:5
The final verse of chapter 2, that "women will be saved through childbirth," is somewhat obscure and there are three major lines of interpretation to consider.
1. Christ was born of a woman offering salvation for all. This fits well with the prophecy in Genesis 3:15.
2. Christian women will be brought safely through childbirth, a major concern of the time.
3. Paul may have been refuting part of the false teachings and saying that if a woman fulfills her role in God's plan as a wife and mother, she will be safe from the evils of the day and fulfill her part in the local church.
While being a wife and mother fulfills a woman's role in creation it does not complete her role in the plan of salvation. She must also "continue in faith and love and holiness with modesty." The addition of the word modesty (KJV - sobriety) to the three virtues of faith love and charity underscores the problem that the Ephesian church must have been facing with the issue.
