The Church and Prayer (1 Timothy 2:1-7)

1 Timothy 2:1-7

Sunday, January 9, 2022

The Church and Prayer

Intro

“You don’t have to have an S on your chest, but you better represent that T”

Set-up

As we opened up our study in 1 Timothy last week with chapter 1, we saw that False Teachers had entered into Ephesus and young Timothy is being charged to correct these false teachers and to make sure he wages the good warfare himself.

For what is at stake is a genuine faith in order for the church to ensure she is fit for purpose. The call to godliness takes center stage in this epistle and continues this morning through chapter 2 and will continue throughout the entirety of this letter.

Main Point

Jesus gave himself as a ransom for all to reconcile us to the Father as one body. Therefore, our duty as members of the church is to be united together in Christ as we pray for all people.

Points

The Church and Prayer (2:1-4)

The Church and Unity (2:5-7)

Point #1: The Church and Prayer (2:1-4)

The first step given to Timothy in how to wage the good warfare is one that might be surprising as we think about what is essential to wage the good warfare. The first charge to Timothy and the Church is an urging, an exhortation for supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings. While prayer itself is used here, the idea is various types of prayer. Supplications being specific and detailed prayers. These are the kinds of prayers that we know how to specifically pray for the matter by either hearing the request or being in close proximity to the situation or person in need of prayer. Prayer itself is general prayer, prayers for things less specific that we do not know how to exactly pray, but need to pray for the matter.

Then there are intercessions, prayers that are made pleading on behalf of a person or a situation. Intercessions are those things in which we pray, interceding for the lost, praying that God would save them. These are the prayers we make in light of the injustice that is going on in the world, such as praying and interceding on behalf of Uyghur people in China who face mass opposition and injustice from the rest of China. We pray, we intercede to God on their behalf. And lastly there are prayers of thanksgivings. Prayers thanking God for the various ways his grace has been shown. Each of these types of prayers are what Paul exhorts the church to take part in.

When we go to the LORD in prayer, it is easy for us to turn to the LORD and pray for ourselves and those in our small concentric circles. Those with whom we have a relationship with, agreement with, or something in common with. These are the easy ones that come to our mind to pray for. But to wage the good warfare, the call here is to pray for all people, which means taking us outside of our concentric circles into praying for others. For why else would it be included specific instructions for all kings and all who are in high positions to be prayed for?

Prayer for kings and those in high authority is to be given for the sake of leading peaceful and quiet lives. Prayer is to be made for them so that as the gospel advances, Christians will be able to live out their new life in Christ. These prayers are to be made for the good of the community and others. Therefore, we pray for these kings and those in high authority to guard the freedom of religion. We pray for these kings and those in high authority to carry out justice as they are intended to. We pray for these kings and those in high authority to labor for the good of their people and not the detriment.

But, even for those kings and those in high authority who do not work in these ways, but act in wickedness and evil, the call is not to lash out against them. The call is not to speak ill of our fellow man, regardless of how sinful they are. The call for us is to pray, to pray for all people. Including prayer for those false teachers who were getting worked up about endless genealogies and speculations. Those who were focused merely on those of Jewish lines. For the call to prayer for all is more than just prayer for the Jewish Christians, it is a call for prayer for all people, including the peoples of the world.

Keep in mind the early church struggled with the distinction of Jews and Gentiles who came to salvation in Christ. They struggled for unity. Hence, why the call to pray for all is so radical here. Prayer is to cross boundaries, it is to be more than for just our inward circles. Prayer is to draw us into the heart of God, whose heart is for the nations. And this is why the plural use of kings and all who are in high positions is given. It is to be prayer for those across the globe, for the different nations and people groups.

For God desires as we see there in verse 4, that all people be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. God’s desire truly is that none should die, but all should turn and live as we saw in Ezekiel 18:32 from our Scripture Reading earlier.

This is his heart. And we don’t just see this in 1 Timothy 2 or Ezekiel 18:32, we see this throughout the pages of the Bible. God desires for his glory to be made known to the nations. We see this in Genesis 17:4 it says: Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. God’s heart for the nations is continued to be seen in the Great Commission in Matthew 28:19-20 which says: Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age. And then again in Revelation 7:9 it says: After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands.

Brothers and sisters, who does our prayer list include? Are we only praying for things that affect us? Or are we praying for other churches? Other nations? Other kings? Other authorities? Are we praying for those that stand opposed to us? Are we praying for our enemies? Are we praying for those who have hurt us? Are we praying for those who would seek our demise? Are we praying for those completely different from us? If we want to be a church fit for purpose, we must be a church given to prayer for all people!

And this is why on Sunday morning in the Pastoral Prayer there are different churches that are included in our prayer time together. This is why we spend time during our service to pray for the nations. We want to be a church that prays for all people, not just ourselves. For in praying in this manner, we both please God as we see in verse 3, but our hearts are slowly shifted to be more united to the heart of God, rather than our hearts remaining looking inward.

The things we pray for shape who we are as a church body. And this is one reason we must continue to reshape our time of Corporate Prayer as we gather to pray together. Yes, we have the call here to pray for all people. But again, notice the emphasis of where the prayer is building towards in the Corporate or Assembled Gathering. It is not on our individual prayer lists, but looking outward towards the nations, towards the salvation of those who have yet to come to the knowledge of truth.

Throughout Scripture, especially in Acts and the openings of most of the epistles, we see a call to pray for one another. And that is why we want to continue doing that as we gather in our times of prayer. But, we mustn’t allow our times of prayer to be about merely the sickness and ailments of our neighbors and friends. That is good and right for us to do when we are alone with God. But as we gather to pray together as the body of Christ, let us examine ourselves to see if our prayers are going outward for the souls of others. If we fail to give ourselves to the prayers of the nations and for prayers of the lost, then we are bound to dwindle and die from an inward focus. For when we begin to become consumed with desire to pray for God’s glory to be made known amongst the nations and to spread, then we can rightly see that it matters not how many we have in our midst, but is God’s glory going forth and spreading as new converts are coming to faith in Jesus!

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us be a people given to prayer for all people. Praying with intercession, supplication, and thanksgiving, as well as general types of prayers for them. And here is __ ways we can do so:

We pray for the welfare of the city we are in and the welfare of other cities. For in Jeremiah 29:7 it says: But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.

We pray for the kings and those in authority to be given to a right and compassionate heart to understand their role of government. It is not for them to carry out injustice but to carry out justice and righteousness. So we pray they do so.

We pray for more laborers to be sent out into the world to make the gospel known so that more can come to the knowledge of truth and be saved in Christ Jesus. For as we know from Matthew 9:37-38: Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the LORD of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”

We pray for all people by praying specifically for the lost that we know, those in whom we have had gospel conversations with, and for those children in our midst who have not come to faith in the LORD. We pray for their salvation, We pray that they come to know the comfort of the gospel.

We pray for all people by praying the church be marked by godliness in order to not hinder our witness.

We pray for all people by persisting in these prayers.

Central City Baptist Church, if we will conform ourselves to being given over to this kind of prayer for all people, we will do well. For again, as we see in verse 3, it is this that is good and is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior. And as we give ourselves to this kind of prayer we too will grow in godliness, for our hearts will begin to be reshaped to be more concerned about the gospel and the glory of God. For it is essential for us to be a body of believers and a church fit for purpose to be praying for all people. We cannot be merely focused on our own Jerusalem, Central City, but we are to be moving outward in our focus, including our prayers, towards our own Samaria and to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). And the reason for this we now turn our attention to in our second point, the church and unity.

Point #2: The Church and Unity

This point zooms in on verses 5-7. And there in verse 5, where it says that there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. This one God and one mediator seems to be doing double duty with a double emphasis.

First, in saying that there is one God, it is remembering the Great Shema from Deuteronomy 6:4-5 which says: Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.

The Shema would have been regularly recited by the Jewish people on a daily basis. This too was a reminder that there was no other god. Therefore, in saying that there is one God and one mediator it is pointing us to the truth that there is only one way in which to be saved, and that is through this one God and his one Mediator, Jesus Christ. That one must turn and live by turning from sin and finding life in Jesus. This is the gospel we are to proclaim. And friend, if you are here this morning and you have not found salvation, this is the only way. You must turn from your sin and turn to Jesus. For it is he alone who mediates between God and us. You will not find another way. This is the truth in which we proclaim and the truth that Paul is proclaiming here.

For Jesus, as the one mediator is the one who gave himself as a ransom for all. He paid the price for our guilt, for our sin, that we might be set free from the wages of sin and death if we would but place our faith in him. This is why Jesus alone is the mediator. For he alone met the requirements of God in fulfilling the law. Yet, he laid down his life as the ransom for us, and then further defeated death by rising from the grave 3 days later.

Our salvation isn’t dependent upon us having to please God of our own accord, but only through faith in Jesus. And our prayers for all will flow out of this faith towards others, seeking and desiring for them too to taste the glory of salvation in Christ!

Now, again, I think there is a second element here to this truth. And even Jesus being a ransom for all is being used to drive more of this point than anything. Look there at verse 7, it says…

Paul wants it to be crystal clear that God’s heart isn’t just for the Jews, but it is for every tongue and tribe and people around the world. That it is for the Gentiles. And therefore going back to verse 5 that in this one God and one mediator, the same God and Mediator unite both Jews and Gentiles together in one faith.

Because there is one God and One Mediator, the implication here is that there is to be one people of God, united in their faith in Jesus. For it is he who is the one Mediator who gave himself as a ransom for all.

Now, before anyone misses the point. When it says that Jesus is a ransom for all, the invitation is there for all, but it is only effective if one comes to faith and salvation in Christ alone. When it says that Jesus gave himself as a ransom for all, it is not trying to argue for some universal atonement. All who fail to come to faith in Jesus will perish in their sin and spend eternity in hell. For they reject this ransom by their denial of Christ. May this give us an urgency to share the gospel and awaken us from the lethargic state we are in.

For the point in saying that he is a ransom for all is emphasising here that Jesus is the ransom for both Jew and Gentile. That he is the ransom for the two and the two are now united in their one God and one Mediator. When it comes to the church, when it comes to the people of God, what is to unite them is not sports teams, not politics, not generations, not the same stage of life, not the same tastes and preferences. When it comes to the people of God, they are to be united by their same, mutual faith in Christ Jesus!

Brothers and sisters, we within the church are going to be different, we are going to have different tastes, preferences. We are going to be from different backgrounds. For the church should be diverse. That diversity covers diverse nationalities when the context allows it. That diversity should include diverse generations within the church. That diversity should include those of different economic backgrounds. For what is to unite and bring people together are not these things, but the gospel of Jesus. That is their faith in Jesus.