1 Timothy - God’s Design Ch 2

God’s Desire

Do you ever wonder what does God want? I know we often ask the question what is God’s will for my life and we have spoken about that a little before. But what does God desire? In this passage we see two things that God desires.

Number 1 is that God desires His people to live quiet and tranquil lives, and Number 2, God desire all people to come to the knowledge of truth that Jesus Christ saves. We see this in this passage today.

We are going to spend most of our time today on the living quiet and tranquil lives. But real quick a word about all people.

One reason I cannot be a Calvinist is

1 Timothy 2:4 ESV

who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

I have read every Bible translation I can find and they all say the same thing,

God desires all people to know salvation. If He desires all people to have salvation then why would He only chose some? That does not make any sense. He wants all to be saved but He is like “sorry my hands are tied.”?

This is not universalism where all people will be saved but God desires that all people would be saved.

Quiet and Tranquil Lives

God wants His people to live quiet and tranquil lives in godliness and dignity.

1 Timothy 2:2 CSB

for kings and all those who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.

I also like the way it reads in the NLT.

1 Timothy 2:2 NLT

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.

Peaceful or tranquil lives. Lives marked by peace. Lives that are characterized by peace.

Is your life characterized by peace and tranquility? If not I believe that it can be because the Bible seems to indicate that it can. The Bible seems to say yes we can have lives characterized as peaceful or tranquil.

Think of someone whose life is not characterized by peace. I can think of at least one person off the top of my head right now. Their live is characterized by chaos. Some of it by their own doing. They get themselves into situations that breed chaos. The places they go the things they do result in chaos. It is so much chaos that it spills over to other people. They are so scattered and crazed that they make others around them feel that same way. Being with them is like being in a tornado. Some of it is not their fault but they also refuse to change things to have a peaceful or tranquil life. They have become the chaos they create and embrace. To be with them is to engage in chaos.

Some people chose chaos and then become chaos.

But what about peace or tranquility? Can you think of someone whose life is marked by peace and tranquility?

I can think of two people, Sam and Ruth Francis. They are an older couple that live in Maine. They are wonderful beautiful people. The kind of people that when you watch a Hallmark movie that takes place in Maine and there is the perfect old couple that love each other so much and you wish you could know them. I know them. Have they always been peaceful and tranquil? I have no idea, but when I knew them yes. They exuded peace. To be with them was to catch your breath. It was to feel a peace you could touch. They were not lazy or slack though. They owed a boat yard and a bunch of cabins. They were active in the church and in their community. They were always doing something but they did it with peace, poise, and tranquility. To know them was to see peace and tranquility in action.

Some people chose peace and become peace.

If someone was to define you would they use the word peace or tranquil?

I am not sure about you but between the chaos or peace, I would chose peace.

How to live a life of peace

This passage tells us four different ways we can live a life marked by peace and tranquility. There are real things that happen in our lives that prohibit peace and tranquility. Some internal and some external.

Pray for those in authority

Know Christ

Pray for others and let it go

Be tranquil or quiet

Pray for those in authority

The first is to pray for those in authority. We all have a boss or someone we answer to. We all have someone who at times can call us out or can interfere with our daily business.

One way we can do this is by praying for those in authority over us.

Let’s be honest if your boss is happy you are happy.

Not much is worse than a boss who is unhappy and stressed about money because then they can make you unhappy and stressed about money.

this is why we say, Happy Wife, Happy Life.

I would pray for my old boss to be happy and wealthy. Because I wanted him to be happy and wealthy but also because then he would be generous and leave me alone. It was a win-win

1 Timothy 2:1–2 CSB

First of all, then, I urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone, for kings and all those who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.

The Bible tells us to pray for those in authority, partly because that means they leave us be. I don’t want the government stressed about war or money because then they make that my problem. No go be blessed and leave me alone.

Praying for our leaders is a great way to make sure they leave us be.

Staff Remember that, pray for me so I leave you alone.

Know Christ

1 Timothy 2:5–6 CSB

For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, a testimony at the proper time.

We cannot know true peace apart from Christ. Why is that? Two reasons. First it is because Jesus is the prince of peace.

Isaiah 9:6 CSB

For a child will be born for us, a son will be given to us, and the government will be on his shoulders. He will be named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.

Jesus is the prince of peace, it is His domain. He rules peace. It is His.

Second, because He gives peace,

John 14:27 CSB

“Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Don’t let your heart be troubled or fearful.

He is the prince of peace and He gives us His peace. He says I give you my peace. To receive it is first to know Him. We cannot receive it apart from Him. You can’t receive it from Him if He is just a good moral teacher. You can’t receive it if He is just a smart rabbi, you can’t receive it if He was just a revolutionary. No if we want the peace the of Jesus then we get it by receiving Him.

We cannot get the peace without the prince of peace.

Pray for others and let it go

1 Timothy 2:8 CSB

Therefore, I want the men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands without anger or argument.

We not only pray for those in authority but we pray for others and we learn to let it go.

When we pray for our brothers and sisters we learn peace because we are pressing into the heart of the Father. If we are pressing into the heart of the Father we will experience peace because God is not in chaos.

1 Corinthians 14:33 CSB

since God is not a God of disorder but of peace. As in all the churches of the saints,

God is the God of peace. So when we enter into His presence we enter into peace and that peace transforms us and sticks to us.

It is like a smell. I went to an agricultural high school. Freshman year you study in all the majors to pick yours. There was arbor, natural resources, mechanic, floral, and animal husbandry. We had a few different animals on campus but the number one animal was cows. Let me tell you if work with cows all day you start smelling like cow. I think you know what I mean. At first you notice it but after awhile you don’t smell it anymore. You go to lunch and sit down to eat a cheeseburger and find that no one wants to sit with you.

The same way with peace, you spend time with God and you start to have the smell of peace all over you and everyone else can smell it.

How much time you spend praying for others, especially those who have or you at least feel have wronged you? If you have someone you are upset with and take them to Jesus not to seek vengeance but blessing for them it will change you.

Matthew 5:44 CSB

But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,

Pray for those who trouble you and learn to let it go.

The most unpeaceful people I know are the ones who refuse to let any slight, real or perceived go. They hold on to every grudge and fight tooth and nail to keep it. They are not marked by peace but by chaos.

Be tranquil or quiet

Lastly from 1 Timothy 2 is if we want quiet, tranquil, or peaceful lives, then we just need to be quiet, tranquil, or peaceful.

You are what you do.

Do you practice being peaceful? Do you give yourself over to it? Do you press into it or do you press into chaos?

Some people don’t have peace because they don’t practice it. They practice disorder or complaining or disunity. There is a choice before them to be quiet or complain and they complain.

One of my favorite biblical principals is this,

Things Reproduce after their own kind.

Genesis 1:11 CSB

Then God said, “Let the earth produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and fruit trees on the earth bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds.” And it was so.

Things reproduce after their own kind so what we plant is what we reap. If we plant or give ourselves over to complaining or disunity then we reap or get disunity.

You ever notice that someone who complains all the time always has something to complain about. But someone who has peace never seems to complain or at least complains little. What is the focus on?

1 Timothy 2:12 CSB

I do not allow a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; instead, she is to remain quiet.

People have used this verse to show that women should be silent and not teach as a universal rule but when we go back to the purpose of the writing, why is God through Paul writing this letter to begin with it is because these specific women were not being peaceful. They were sowing chaos. They were not learning but wanted to teach.

Their actions were also prohibiting the spread of the Gospel.

Remember in Artemis worship the women interceded for the men. They were superior. They were taking what they knew previously and applying it to the new religion of Christianity. Paul says no, learn first in peace or tranquility.

The word for silence here hesychia (hesohia) means hold your tongue or focus on your own work.

The women were elevating themselves and Paul is saying stop, you don’t know what you are talking about.

That principal applies to all people. How do we know

2 Thessalonians 3:12 CSB

Now we command and exhort such people by the Lord Jesus Christ to work quietly and provide for themselves.

In Thessalonica there were men who were not working and instead getting all up in everyone else’s business. Paul tells them to be quiet. We understand in 2 Thessalonians that this applies to those people but in 1 Timothy we apply it to an entire gender? That’s weird.

No the point is peaceful living. These women were talking about things they don’t understand. They were practicing Artemis worship as Christians and Paul says stop it, you are not living peacefully. So stop talking and learn.

Learning by the way would have been very counter cultural.

If we want to live lives marked by peace like God desires,

Pray for those in authority

Know Christ

Pray for others and let it go

Be tranquil or quiet

Sozo

Lastly I want to touch real quick on verse 15 because it causes a lot of confusion and we do not shy away from hard things around here.

1 Timothy 2:15 CSB

But she will be saved through childbearing, if they continue in faith, love, and holiness, with good sense.

Some have read this passage to mean that women need to have kids or at a minimum need to attend to women’s work to be saved. There are two major issues with that.

Acts 4:12 CSB

There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to people by which we must be saved.”

Romans 10:9 CSB

If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

Jesus is the only way to receive salvation from sins and enter heaven. No good work, no other route, no other option. Only Jesus.

Second the word is sozo which means saved like in verse 4 talking about salvation of our souls and it also means saved as in healed.

Mark 5:34 CSB

“Daughter,” he said to her, “your faith has saved you. Go in peace and be healed from your affliction.”

The saving here is about healing or bring made whole, her faith in Jesus saved her from the thing she was struggling with.

In 1 Tim 2:15 it is talking about salvation in the sense of saving from one thing to another. About being made whole.

Remember these instructions are about loving rightly.

Let me give you an example.

Story about Grace saving me. I could be the dad I was not sure I could be.