Promoting Peaceful Relationships
Notes
Transcript
Warren Brosi
August 31, 2025
Dominant Thought: Jesus offers peace for all people in all places for all time.
Objectives:
I want my listeners to understand how Jesus offers peace to everyone.
I want my listeners to feel grateful Jesus gave Himself to ransom people from sin.
I want my listeners to respond to the peace of Jesus by praying for our community, its leaders, and our families.
Jesus offers peace for all people in all places for all time. If you haven’t noticed, we live in some angry times. People will text things over social media you would never say to a person’s face. People live with little margin that anger is bubbling under the surface.
As we continue our series, Building God’s Family, we move to chapter 2 of 1 Timothy. My Bible has a subheading, “Instructions on Worship.” I put a question mark after that heading because it seems to be focusing more on prayer which is part of worship. Paul continues his letter to his apprentice, Timothy. Timothy is in Ephesus, modern day Turkey. He’s called to confront false teachers and to steward the household of God through faith.
Paul wants Timothy to instruct households with the truth of Jesus so the household of God, the church, can be a strong pillar and foundation of truth.
One of the ways Paul wants Timothy to confront the false teachers is through faithful prayer. As we look at 1 Timothy 2, we’ll discover two ways Jesus offers peace.
Jesus offers peace in our communities (1 Timothy 2.1-7).
Paul urges Timothy as first priority for petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgiving be made for all people. Paul gives four words for prayers. Petitions ask for a specific need. Prayers simply mean to speak to God. Intercessions pray on behalf of someone. Thanksgivings expresses gratitude to God. In the original language all four of these descriptions are plural. Paul wants many petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings made for all people.
Who’s on your prayer list? Do you have much organization for your prayers? One of the ways I organize my prayer life came from Dean Trune many years ago at Nationwide Youth Roundup. Dean was a campus minister in Michigan and taught on spiritual growth. He taught us to break down our prayer list into seven days. Spread out your prayer requests over seven days. Some you may pray for everyday. Others you may pray for only one or twice a week.
He even gave us categories for prayer: family, friends, wisdom, ministry, missions, government, and non-Christian groups.
If you haven’t organized your prayer life before, then I invite you to spend 15 minutes and structure some of your daily prayers for people you know.
We pray for healing for those who are sick. We pray for salvation for those who are not walking with God. We pray for wisdom when making decisions. We ask for God to provide our daily needs and to send us helpers. We thank God for the blessings each day. His mercies are new every morning.
Praying for all people will help bring peace to our world.
Paul specifies who he means when he says “all people.” In 1 Timothy 2.2, he writes, “for kings and all those in authority.” For those of us in America, it has probably been a while since we have prayed for kings.
In Paul’s day, Roman had Caesar. During the time Paul wrote 1 Timothy, Nero may still have ruled the empire. He was known for wasteful spending, sexual perversion, and brutality. He blamed the Christians when Rome caught fire. Many of the Roman Caesars after Nero followed his lead. And Paul wanted Timothy to pray for them.
In America, we need to pray for our president and cabinet, for Congress, governors, legislatures, mayors, school administrators and school board members. Why should we pray for these leaders? Paul says, “so we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. It’s God’s way to pray for our leaders for peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and dignity.
My friends, try praying for your president and political leaders. Whether you agree with their policies or not, we are commanded by God to pray for them. I pray for them to govern well with truth and common sense. Ask God to give our leaders wisdom and that they will hunger for the truth. Could praying for our political leaders help heal the division in our country?
Paul continues by saying, “This pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2.4). Hear the heart of God who want all people saved. The next time someone speaks about how mean and wrathful God is, you can remind them that God wants everyone to be saved and come to the truth.
Then, Paul gives this truth, “there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2.5). Jesus said it Himself when He said, “I am the way and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14.6).
Paul continues by describing the good news of Jesus, “who gave Himself as a ransom for all people. This has now been witnessed at the proper time” (1 Timothy 2.6). Jesus is the payment to buy us back from our sins. Jesus is the one who paid for our debts with His own blood.
Last month, I interpreted in sign language for my friend Philip and those who attended Nationwide Youth Roundup. The preacher walked us through the final hours of Jesus’ life. When he came to the flogging of Jesus, the preacher brought out a whip and started hitting the floor with it. He said, “They whipped him again and again and again.” He whipped the floor 39 times for the number of times they may have whipped Jesus. As I was interpreting that scene for my brother, we all recognized Jesus willingly endured the cross as the ransom payment for our sins.
Jesus offers peace for all people in all places for all time.
Paul tells Timothy, “And for this purpose I was appointed a herald and an apostle—I am telling the truth, I am not lying—and a true and faithful teacher of the Gentiles” (1 Timothy 2.7). In other words, the gospel message of Jesus is why God wants me to preach teach the truth. Our lives are formed by the gospel of Jesus.
Will you pray for leaders and those in authority so we may live peaceful and quiet lives?
Jesus offers peace in our families (1 Timothy 2.8-15). We encounter a second way Jesus offers peace—in our families.
This section is bookended by two different words that represent holy. Men or husbands are to lift up holy hands in prayer (1 Timothy 2.8). Ladies or wives are called continue in holiness. Two different words, but both point to God’s holiness and His command for us to conform our lives to His character.
Paul desires men everywhere to pray, lifting up holy hands without anger or arguing. (1 Timothy 2.8).
It could be helpful to read this verse as, “I want husbands everywhere to pray, lifting up holy hands without anger or disputing.” What’s true for husbands is true for all men. Remember, Paul is addressing how people conduct themselves in God’s household (1 Timothy 3.15). He uses the household image throughout the letter. So, it is possible to read these verses first through the lens of the family as it impacts the church family.
Let’s be honest. Angry men are not attractive men. Much of the pain in this world is from men who have lost control of their emotions and have chosen not to resolve conflicts peacefully. The times I have let my anger get the better of me are the times I’d like to have a do over.
Husbands and men, God calls us to pray with holy hands without anger or arguing. If you know you struggle with anger, then I encourage you to talk to a friend and take some steps to heal the relationships that are closest to you. God wants you to have peaceful relationships with your family.
Next, Paul addresses Timothy about the ladies (1 Timothy 2.9-15). As we discuss these verses, I want to share that many people have come to different conclusions on the meaning of these verses. I invite us to study these verses with humility to learn and grow and be patient with others who may have different views on these verses.
Even the Apostle Peter spoke about Paul’s letters when he wrote, “His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction” (2 Peter 3.16).
Paul addresses the heart of wives who profess to worship God. Here’s one way these verses could be read. “I want the wives to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, adorning themselves, not with elaborate hairstyles or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but with good deeds, appropriate for wives who profess to worship God” (1 Timothy 2.9-10). Again, what’s true for wives is true for women.
It’s possible Paul is warning wives to dress modestly so they do not entice attention from other men. It may be more probable, to hear Paul addressing the rich wives who were shaming others by their clothing and hairstyles. He may be challenging them not to shame the other ladies in the church family or community by flaunting their wealth.
Here’s a helpful reminder on self-worth for females from Dean Trune, whom I mentioned earlier, a Christian teacher from Michigan who spent many years in campus ministry.
You are a Princess
You are a daughter of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Your Daddy is the God of Creation. You have nothing to be ashamed about with Him. You have royal blood pumping through your veins. You are a princess in every sense of the word. You need to think like a princess. You need to speak like a princess. You need to live like a princess. Your Daddy is in charge.
Paul instructs the ladies to adorn themselves with good deeds that are appropriate for those who worship God.
Then, we come to 1 Timothy 2.11-15 which are some of the more challenging verses in all of the New Testament. I come to these conclusions humbly and with confidence. We can still disagree on these conclusions and still follow Jesus and serve together.
Again, it could be helpful to read it as printed in your Bible. My Bible also offers a footnote for woman in 1 Timothy 2.11 that reads, “or wife; also in verse 12.” Read it once as woman and then a second time with wife and husband. In the original language the words could be used interchangeable depending on the context.
1 Timothy 2.11-12 in the New International Version reads, “A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. I do not permit a woman to teach or have authority over a man; she must be quiet.” We could also read, “A wife should learn in quietness and full submission. I do not permit a wife to teach or have authority over her husband; she must be quiet.”
Let’s look at two words for moment: quiet and submission. We’ve seen the word quiet earlier in 1 Timothy 2.2 where Paul wants us to pray for our leaders so that we may live quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. Quiet doesn’t mean silence. It means peaceful. It’s a lifestyle.
Submission means to place oneself under. Paul has used this word when he wrote to the same church in Ephesians 5. In Ephesians 5.21, he writes, “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.” Then, he addresses wives, “Wives, submit to your own husbands as you do to the Lord” (Ephesians 5.23). Paul then spends much more time with the husbands, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her” (Ephesians 5.25).
We have a picture of love and respect between both husband and wife. Husbands, wives, and everyone in the church is called to submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.
Two more words need attention: teach and authority. The text could read not permitting a wife to teach or to assume authority over her husband. I think it is helpful to see that learning comes before teaching in the text. Have the posture of a learner—one that it humble, respecting the teacher, and not trying to usurp the authority of the teacher.
The text could read, “I don’t permit a wife to teach or domineer over a husband.”
The key is who is submitting to whom? If husbands and wives are submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ, then God is honored. If men and women are submitting to their elders, then God is honored. Paul appears to be addressing when we don’t submit to one another, when we try to domineer and grab for authority.
Paul is concerned about the ladies teaching and assuming authority over a man or her husband. Paul warns against wives domineering over their husbands.
Paul then gives an example from creation from Adam and Eve.
For Adam was formed first, then Eve.
And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner.
By appealing to the creation account, Paul highlights God’s design for marriage. Adam and Eve were both equal created in God’s image. Equal does not mean identical. Both Adam and Eve at the fruit and sinned (Genesis 3.6). If the husband would have led his wife well in that moment, he would have protected her from the lies of the serpent.
The serpent was crafty and chose to target Eve. We must remember Adam was there with his wife and he said nothing. He was passive and watched the serpent deceive his wife in front of him. Then, he followed her lead and became a sinner, too. Too many families and churches are weakened when men fail to lead their families in the ways of Jesus.
The consequence for Eve’s sin was pain in childbirth and “your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you” (Genesis 3.16). When Eve and then Adam at the fruit, marital strife entered the world.
1 Timothy 2 closes with what appears to be a strange verse at first glance.
But women will be saved through childbearing—if they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety.
Again, we could read it wives will be saved through the childbearing. The text actually says, “she will be saved.” It cannot mean that wives must bear children to be saved. It also can’t mean, women won’t die in childbirth. There are a couple of ways this verse has been viewed through the years. One way is women are live in the way God designed—caring for your family. The condition that is shared afterwards says, “if they continue in faith and love and holiness with self-control.” As we continue through this letter, we will encounter examples of godly ladies caring for their families.
What about singles and those who do not have children?
Another way is to see this in context of the Adam and Eve story and “the childbearing” that was promised in Genesis 3.15.
And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”
The childbearing could represent the coming of Jesus. The perfect son of God who would die for kings and those in authority, the one mediator between God and mankind, the one who gave His life as a ransom for all people, the man Christ Jesus.
That’s why Paul said he’s a preacher and herald—one who announces the good news for the king.
Jesus offers peace for all people in all places for all time. It is only through Jesus that we can find peace in this world. In a world of political divisions, Jesus offers peace. He offers peace to our communities and to our families. Jesus is the one who laid down His rights so that those in the wrong could be made right.
