1 Timothy 2:1-8
Notes
Transcript
1 I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. 2 Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity. 3 This is good and pleases God our Savior, 4 who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth. 5 For,
There is one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity—the man Christ Jesus. 6 He gave his life to purchase freedom for everyone. This is the message God gave to the world at just the right time. 7 And I have been chosen as a preacher and apostle to teach the Gentiles this message about faith and truth. I’m not exaggerating—just telling the truth.
8 In every place of worship, I want men to pray with holy hands lifted up to God, free from anger and controversy.
Background for 1 and 2 Timothy
Background for 1 and 2 Timothy
1 Timothy
Written to Timothy who oversaw the churches in Ephesus. Timothy was mentored by Paul and was a great spiritual son to Paul.
Written to assist Timothy in dealing with heresies that crept into the churches in Ephesus - namely gnosticism, the promotion of speculation, greed, arrogance, and setting up standards for leadership.
It was written, most likely, between Paul’s 2 Roman imprisonments. Paul’s 1st imprisonment we read about during Acts 28. Paul was imprisoned for a couple of years sometime between 59 -61 AD. He was released from that imprisonment around 62 AD and continued to minister. He was later imprisoned, again, in Rome while Nero was Emperor and executed around 68 AD. 1 Timothy is believed to have been written between the two Roman imprisonments, probably around the mid 60s AD
2 Timothy
This letter is a passionate, good-bye letter from Paul to Timothy. It WAS written while Paul was in his 2nd Roman imprisonment. Paul writes to encourage Timothy, and the churches in Ephesus, to remain faithful. Paul knows there will be false teachers who sweep in after he is dead and he wants Timothy and the churches to remain strong. He also asked Timothy to come visit him one last time while he is in prison and to bring him supplies so he can continue to study. Although we do not know the exact date of the letter, it is Paul’s last letter that we have access to in the New Testament. He strongly reminds Timothy who to be, how to be a man of integrity, and how to stand firm until the end. He recognizes that Mark (whom he and Barnabas separated ways over in Paul’s early ministry) is USEFUL to him (2 Timothy 4:10). Paul allowed reconciliation to take place! Ultimately, Paul has a clear conscience as he writes...
7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful. 8 And now the prize awaits me—the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on the day of his return. And the prize is not just for me but for all who eagerly look forward to his appearing.
Before his final greetings, he concludes the letter with encouragement and hope...
18 Yes, and the Lord will deliver me from every evil attack and will bring me safely into his heavenly Kingdom. All glory to God forever and ever! Amen.
WHAT GREAT FAITH for Timothy to see and model!
Now, back to 1 Timothy 2
Now, back to 1 Timothy 2
This is a section on Prayer with an early hymn/creed thrown into the mix for application in prayer. Paul does tis repeatedly, there are words we say in our worship gatherings that Paul wants to have a direct application for our daily lives. In this case, the application is prayer...
Pray for ALL
1 I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them.
We don't like to pray for ALL!
I mean, there are people we don't mind praying for, but for ALL??
There are definitely lists in our lives of people who are easy to pray for, and then the list of people who are difficult to pray for. And, often we aren’t sure WHAT to pray for...
Jesus declared
43 “You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy. 44 But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! 45 In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike.
Yet, even when we pray for our enemies we don’t know WHAT to pray...
I pray for you country song...
Jaron Lowenstein (2010)
I haven't been to church
Since I don't remember when
Things were going great 'til they fell apart again
So I listened to the preacher as he told me what to do
He said you can't go hatin' others
Who have done wrong to you
Sometimes we get angry, but we must not condemn
Let the good Lord do his job, you just pray for them
I pray your brakes go out runnin' down a hill
I pray a flower pot falls from a window sill
And knocks you in the head like I'd like to
I pray your birthday comes and nobody calls
I pray you're flyin' high when your engine stalls
I pray all your dreams never come true
Just know wherever you are, honey, I pray for you
Maybe we THINK this is how we should pray...
But, that is NOT the case...
4 This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says to all the captives he has exiled to Babylon from Jerusalem: 5 “Build homes, and plan to stay. Plant gardens, and eat the food they produce. 6 Marry and have children. Then find spouses for them so that you may have many grandchildren. Multiply! Do not dwindle away! 7 And work for the peace and prosperity of the city where I sent you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, for its welfare will determine your welfare.”
We are to pray for the success of others!
But, it goes beyond that in this passage, we are to pray for their SALVATION...
Maybe pull in the story of the 1st time Jamie and I were robbed....
But, it’s not only a prayer for individuals at our level, we are to pray for ALL kings and ALL in authority...
2 Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity.
There is something interesting here
Roman Emperors believed you were to pray TO them. Paul is NOT instructing the Christians to pray TO the emperor - he is instructing them to pray FOR the emperor.
This is a HUGE shift in who has real authority - it is NOT the emperor, but the God whom we pray to FOR the emperor/king/magistrate who hold authority. This is partially why Paul pulls in the creed - it declares GOD’s authority.
Again, we pray FOR the king (or ANY political person in oversight/authority) whether we like him or her or agree with him or her. We do this so that we are known as peaceful and so that there would be peace and prosperity in our nations. At the same time, we are recognizing where True Authority lies - not in our government officials, but in our God whom we pray to.
But, the prayer is one that concerns their SALVATION...
God's heart is that ALL be saved
3 This is good and pleases God our Savior, 4 who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth.
God’s Heart Desire is for the salvation of ALL...
32 For God has imprisoned everyone in disobedience so he could have mercy on everyone.
9 The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.
11 As surely as I live, says the Sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of wicked people. I only want them to turn from their wicked ways so they can live. Turn! Turn from your wickedness, O people of Israel! Why should you die?
32 But everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved, for some on Mount Zion in Jerusalem will escape, just as the Lord has said. These will be among the survivors whom the Lord has called.
21 But everyone who calls on the name of the Lord
will be saved.’
13 For “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
Osama Bin Laden example and everyone cheering and my recognition that he was deeply loved by the Father. Yes, he was deeply sinful, but still deeply loved!
And God has provided the opportunity for salvation for ALL
5 For,
There is one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity—the man Christ Jesus. 6 He gave his life to purchase freedom for everyone. This is the message God gave to the world at just the right time.
Paul later declares...
16 Without question, this is the great mystery of our faith: Christ was revealed in a human body and vindicated by the Spirit. He was seen by angels and announced to the nations. He was believed in throughout the world and taken to heaven in glory.
There is a UNIVERSAL hope for ALL, but that hope comes EXCLUSIVELY through Jesus Christ.
Look again at the uses of ALL/EVERYONE in these few verses
Pray for ALL
Including ALL in authority
Because God’s desire is for the salvation of ALL
In the midst of this UNIVERSAL HOPE for ALL, there are a few reminders...
But there is only ONE God
There is ONE mediator
A mediator fills the middle role between two opposing parties (hence the image of reconciliation)
A mediator also confirms and brings to pass a covenant/contract...
There is ONE who provided our ransom
The Greek word used for ransom here is ἀντίλυτρον antilutron; from 473 and 3083; a ransom:—ransom(1). Robert L. Thomas, New American Standard Hebrew-Aramaic and Greek Dictionaries : Updated Edition (Anaheim: Foundation Publications, Inc., 1998).
It is ONLY used this 1 time in the New Testament. Anti means “instead of.” Lytron carries the idea of the price paid to free captives or buy freedom. Christ served as the exchange price...
Instead of money paid to set us free, Christ offered HIMSELF to pay the price. Christ offered himself instead of the price to be paid.
Grace is a free gift for us, BUT IT WAS INDEED VERY COSTLY!!
6 He gave his life to purchase freedom for everyone. This is the message God gave to the world at just the right time.
There is a UNIVERSAL message of HOPE and SALVATION for ALL - but that message, hope and salvation and grace comes EXCLUSIVELY through Jesus Christ! There is salvation for ALL, but there is only ONE savior!
6 Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.
12 There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.”
Christ died for ALL Including the ungodly.... including those we might not care to pray for...
6 When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. 7 Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. 8 But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.
4 But—When God our Savior revealed his kindness and love, 5 he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit. 6 He generously poured out the Spirit upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior. 7 Because of his grace he made us right in his sight and gave us confidence that we will inherit eternal life.
15 This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”—and I am the worst of them all. 16 But God had mercy on me so that Christ Jesus could use me as a prime example of his great patience with even the worst sinners. Then others will realize that they, too, can believe in him and receive eternal life.
How this creed counters others (from Wesleyan Commentary)
Against Atheism -Paul insist that there is, in fact, a God
Against polytheism- Paul asserts that there is One God, not many.
Against pantheism - Paul points out that God and his creatures are not one and the same; they are separated by human sin and need and mediator to bring them together.
Against pluralism- which sees everything as a path to God, Paul rejects all mediators but one
Against deism- the Enlightenment religion that views God as distant and uninvolved with His creation, this passage reveals a God-Man — the Man Christ Jesus — who gave Himself as a ransom for all men.
-Robert Black and Ronald McClung , 1 and 2 Timothy… a Commentary for Bible Studies, 55
Such claims of unique authority are less than populat in our pluralistic age, but the fact is that truth is narrow while error is broad. How many right answers are there to a question like “What is the sum of 2 +2?” and how many wrong? Besieged as they were by Jewish-Gnostic error, first-century Christians needed to be centered on the finality of Christ. Besieged as we are by a host of modern errors that masquerade as truth, tweny-first Christians need the same centering.
All can be saved, yet only ONE can be savior!
Do you get the picture?
Yes, there is a universal message of grace, but that message of salvation and grace comes exclusively through Jesus Christ who died for all in order that he might save ALL
This is why we pray for ALL
This is why we serve ALL
7 And I have been chosen as a preacher and apostle to teach the Gentiles this message about faith and truth. I’m not exaggerating—just telling the truth.
Paul preached to the Gentiles, the nations, so that ALL my come to salvation. So it should be for us!
Yet, it's not only about everyone else.
Paul was wrecked by this grace of God in Christ so he could bridge that message to the gentile world.
YOU are God’s bridge for that message of hope for ALL in Jesus Christ to come into YOUR WORLD.
Paul here also provides the opportunity for self evaluation with this creed and its application.
Not just the evaluation of have you been transformed so that you pray for ALL and carry the message of Jesus Christ to your world - Although, maybe we do need to stop long enough to have that personal evaluation...
But also the evaluation of whether or not you have allowed yourself to be included in the ALL… Have you come to the Father through the ONLY way possibly - the way provided by Jesus Christ?
Have YOU allowed Christ's sacrifice to cover YOUR sins?
9 But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.
9 If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved.
10 So I am willing to endure anything if it will bring salvation and eternal glory in Christ Jesus to those God has chosen. 11 This is a trustworthy saying: If we die with him, we will also live with him. 12 If we endure hardship, we will reign with him. If we deny him, he will deny us. 13 If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny who he is.
May we take the opportunity for those reflections. Reflections that challenge our prayer life. Reflections that challenge our ministry to ALL. But also, reflections that call us to honesty in our relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Have we accepted the gift of salvation that is free for us, although it is COSTLY for the one who provided it that ALL, including you and me, could be saved?
Benediction
Benediction
15 For at just the right time Christ will be revealed from heaven by the blessed and only almighty God, the King of all kings and Lord of all lords. 16 He alone can never die, and he lives in light so brilliant that no human can approach him. No human eye has ever seen him, nor ever will. All honor and power to him forever! Amen.