Be the Church

1 Timothy 2:1-4

1. INTRODUCTION

2. BODY

a. Pray in thanksgiving (2:1)

i. Verse 1, Paul starts out by urging Timothy to pray on behalf of all men. The context throughout will continue to be that of false teaching and opposition to the Pauline mission. As Paul treats matters related to the worship gathering, the organization of leaders, and instructs concerning various groups, the presence of opponents and their teaching activities will often still be felt. He begins with the matter of prayer in the church.

ii. There is something for us to understand here. We must understand the context here to help us understand what Paul is saying. Paul’s instruction in chapter 1 was constantly regarding false teaching and sound doctrine. So that seems to be continuing here. Paul is telling Timothy and the church at Ephesus to pray for not only the church to pray for everyone, but to pray for the church so that they might be able to teach sound doctrine. Paul is not just saying generally (대체적인) to pray for everyone. Paul is telling the church to pray for the church so that they would be able to share the Gospel with the nations.

1. Why do I say this? Verse 2 provides us with some insight (통찰). Verse 2 tells us that we may lead a tranquil life. Paul is instructing the church to pray for leaders so that the church, we, might be able to live quiet lives in godliness and dignity.

2. So Paul is telling Timothy and the church at Ephesus to pray for all men, but specifically for kings and leaders, so that the church would be bold in preaching the Gospel, but also, that the leaders would not persecute the church for preaching the Gospel.

iii. This verse goes back to 1:18 where Paul uses to command Timothy. In 1:18, Paul says, “this command I entrust to you.” This is the first half of the command, and then he says that you fight the good fight. When you are fighting the good fight, Paul gives us instruction here in 2:1, that the fight thing to do, is to pray for all men.

iv. Paul tells Timothy and the church that they are to pray, for all men. Paul uses three terms to show us how they are to pray and a fourth term (thanksgiving) telling them in which manner (방식) they were to pray.

v. “Petitions” (“requests,” NIV) accurately captures the sense of the first term. It describes a direct request made to God to intercede in some way for his people. “Prayers” translates the most generic term for communicating petitions or requests for intercession to God.

vi. Intercession” is limited to this NT letter. It referred originally to formal petitions made among people and usually directed to one of higher rank, and gradually took its place within the church’s prayer vocabulary.

vii. “Thanksgiving” refers to prayers that express thankfulness to God. Paul’s letters to churches reveal how fundamental thanksgiving was to his practice.

b. Pray for leaders (2:2)

i. Notice that Paul says, all men. Then he follows in verse 2, for kings and all who are in authority. Generally, Paul has in mind all those who would fit into the structure of civic or government authority (cf. Rom 13:1; 1 Pet 2:13), whose office would be filled at the pleasure of the emperor. The term “king” had wide usage at this time throughout the Hellenistic world for certain local rulers. The plural reference to “kings” would signify successive reigns of emperors.

ii. In verse 2, there is a reason why Paul tells the church to pray for this. Paul writes, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life. That is the first part. Paul is saying that we would live in a society that is safe and live peacefully. What Paul is praying for here is that the church would not face hardship for living as Christians, that society would let them practice freely and in peace.

iii. The second part is, that we would live peacefully in society in all godliness and dignity. Godliness refers to a life characterized by the integration of knowledge and behavior (faith and deeds) is linked to the appearance of Christ in human history. So when Paul prays for godliness, he is saying that the church would live godly, regardless of tranquility or turbulence. Paul is not saying that the church will live in tranquil times. He is telling the church to pray for it.

iv. The second term in the phrase is better translated “respectability”, for it conveys the ideas of “seriousness” and “appropriateness. It focuses more on behavior that is deemed acceptable by other people. It is not saying that we must listen to everything the world tells us, but rather, that we would live as people who live in a society that is worthy of respect. Paul is saying that we would be taken seriously for our faith.

v. Remember, this is against the context of how the church is to spread the Gospel through sound teaching not false teaching. Up to now, Paul has been addressing how false teachers have been teaching wrong things and how they are to stop those teaching those things and teach sound doctrine.

vi. When I think about what Paul writes here, it has massive connections to the church today. A lot of the world today thinks that the church is a joke because of what the Bible teaches. But what we need is for believers to be serious about their faith and be able to express their faith not just in faith, but with logic (논리) and truth. So many people who are Christians talk as if our faith is all mystical but a lot of our faith is logical. It is truth. If it is truth, it must have logic.

c. Pray for all men (2:3-4)

i. Paul continues in verse 3 by stating that praying for all men is good and acceptable in the sight of God our savior. Interesting to see Paul go back to the idea of God our Savior, which was used in verse 1.

ii. But it’s interesting to see that Paul writes that praying for all men is good and acceptable in the sight of God. “This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our savior” reflects the statement found several times in Deuteronomy that affirms certain practices as in accordance with the law and thus pleasing to God: “Do what is pleasing and good in the Lord’s sight” (Deut 6:18).

iii. The term “good” (kalos; 1:8) signifies “goodness” or “rightness” of behavior as the Lord measures it. It is not our measurement, but God’s measurement.

iv. The second term, “acceptable,” marks a slight word shift (from the term “pleasing”); it calls to mind the use of the word group in Leviticus to describe sacrifices as “acceptable” to God.

v. But what is the highlight of this verse? Verse 2 speaks of kings and all who are in authority. But what Paul writes in verse 3 tells us that God is the one who is above all rulers and kings. Just as men pray to kings and others in authority, we are to pray to God. We are to go before God and pray to Him, to put our hope and trust in Him.

vi. If we look at the verses, 1&3 go together. We are called to pray for all men, because this is good and acceptable to God. Verse 2 talks about people who are outside of the church are the focus of our prayer, but also those in our church. This goes with verse 4. Just as we are called to pray for all men (verse 1), God desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

vii. The verb here “desires” or “wills” talks about God’s will. God’s intention (의사) is that all men be saved. This obviously does not mean that God saves all. We must understand that although God wills it, that He actually does that.

viii. I think people understand that part, but the part they have a hard time is “all men to be saved.” When people read this, they think, God wants all men to be saved. This is a difficult verse because it says God desires all men to be saved. Salvation here means a deliverance from sin. But it is not speaking about salvation in the future (미래), but rather, salvation in the present (현재).

ix. But the main reason this does not seem to teach a Universalism, the idea that God will save everyone is because of what Paul wrote in 1:16. Paul writes, that he would be an example for those who would believe in Him. Notice the phrase, “who would believe in Him.” It does not say everyone here. There is a strict clause, “those who believe in Him.” This clearly means that not everyone will believe in Him.

x. So with that in mind, we have to read the last part to help us understand what Paul is fully saying here. God wants all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. So we see that knowing the truth will save men. So clearly, we see that sound teaching is truth while false teaching is a lack of truth. The context in chapter 1 is talking about false teaching and sound teaching. 2 Timothy 3:7[1] helps us understand what Paul is talking about. 2 Timothy 3:7 shows us this very point. False teaching is always learning but never able to arrive at the truth.

xi. With the context in mind, especially verse 2, Paul wants all men to come to the truth by understanding and knowing the Gospel message, sound teaching, but also, a commitment to it. We are to live peaceable with others, while proclaiming and living as godly people so that others will take us serious.

xii. Dr. Martyn Lloyd Jones said “The glory of the gospel is that when the Church is absolutely different from the world, she invariably attracts it." What he means by it is that when the church is absolutely different than the world, by the fact that it is different, people will be more interested in it. The opposite means, that if the church becomes more like the world, people will lose interest in the church.

xiii. May we be found faithful in preaching the Gospel of God and live like Christ has commanded us, godly and with dignity.

3. CONCLUSION

[1] 2 Timothy 3:7 “always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.”