1 Timothy 2.2-The Ephesians Were To Intercede In Prayer For Their Leaders So That They May Lead A Peaceful And Tranquil Life In All Godliness And Dignity
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Thursday March 10, 2011
1 Timothy: 1 Timothy 2:2-The Ephesians Were To Intercede In Prayer For Their Leaders So That They May Lead A Peaceful And Tranquil Life In All Godliness And Dignity
Lesson # 34
Please turn in your Bibles to 1 Timothy 2:1.
In 1 Timothy 2:2, Paul specifies on whose behalf he wants the Ephesians to intercede in prayer to the Father.
In verse 1, he simply requests corporate intercessory prayer in a general sense meaning that he wants the Ephesians to intercede in prayer for all people.
But here in verse 2, he is specific in the sense that he identifies specific individuals in Roman society on whose behalf he wants them to intercede in prayer to the Father.
1 Timothy 2:1 First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, 2 for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. (NASU)
“For kings and all who are in authority” is composed of the preposition huper (ὑπέρ) (ee-perr), “for” and the genitive masculine plural form of the noun basileus (βασιλεύς) (vah-see-lefts), “kings” and the conjunction kai (καί) (keh), “and” which is followed by the genitive masculine plural form of the adjective pas (πᾶς), “all” and the genitive masculine plural form of the definite article ho (ὁ() (owe), “who” and the preposition en (ἐν), “in” and its object is the dative feminine singular form of the noun huperoche (ὑπεροχή) (ee-par-dowe-hee), “authority” and the genitive masculine plural present active participle form of the verb eimi (εἰμί) (ee-mee), “are.”
The noun basileus is referring to all those individuals who are governmental leaders.
The term not only refers to the Roman Emperor but it is in the plural form referring to the Emperor Nero and all those who governed the provinces that were under his authority.
So Paul is not only calling the Ephesians to intercede in prayer for Nero but also those rulers who governed the various provinces of the Empire under his authority.
He wants the Ephesians to pray that these rulers would be exposed to the gospel for their salvation.
Also, he wants them to pray for these rulers in order to protect them from the attacks of Satan and the kingdom of darkness.
Historically, at the time Paul wrote 1 Timothy, he had just been released from his first Roman imprisonment.
He evangelized the Praetorian Guard (Philippians 1:12-18) and Caesar’s household (Philippians 4:22).
Also, Nero was becoming more and more tyrannical and unpredictable and violent.
He was losing the respect of the military and in many cases, already had.
Thus, the political situation in the Roman Empire was volatile, which was not good for the church.
In fact, this situation led to the persecution of Christians in Rome by Nero in A.D. 64 consummating in Paul’s execution.
Thus, Paul in 1 Timothy 2:2 is requesting intercessory prayer for the Roman political and military rulers.
Later on in verse 2, Paul presents the purpose of such intercessory prayer, namely that the Ephesian believers might live a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.
This is all tied to the political situation in Rome.
The word is the object of the preposition huper, which functions as it did in verse 1, namely as a marker of participants who are benefited by an event.
This indicates that Paul is urgently requesting that the Ephesians intercede in prayer to the Father “on behalf of” the Roman governmental rulers.
These rulers are to benefit from the intercessory prayers of the Ephesians.
In 1 Timothy 2:1, the noun huperoche means “high rank” and refers to those individuals in the Roman government who formed the Emperor’s consortium, which would include the Praefect of the Praetorian Guard as well as magistrates and proconsuls in the various cities and provinces in the Empire.
This noun is the object of the preposition en, which functions as a marker of state or condition.
This would indicate that Paul is urgently requesting that the Ephesians intercede in prayer on behalf of all those who exist in a state of holding a position of authority in the Roman government.
1 Timothy 2:1 First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, 2 for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. (NASU)
“So that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life” is composed of the conjunction hina (ἵνα) (ee-nah), “so that” and the accusative masculine singular form of the adjective eremos (ἤρεμος) (ear-deh-mose), “tranquil” and the conjunction kai (καί) (keh), “and” and the accusative masculine singular form of the adjective hesuchios (ἡσύχιος) (ee-seek-ee-oce), “quiet” and the accusative masculine singular form of the noun bios (βίος) (vee-oce), “life” and the first person plural present active subjunctive form of the verb diago (διάγω) (thee-ah-go), “we may lead.”
The conjunction hina introduces a clause that presents the purpose for Paul’s request that the Ephesians offer up intercessory prayer for kings and all in authority.
In 1 Timothy 2:2, the verb diago refers to the lifestyle of those belonging to the Christian church and are sons of God and in union with Christ.
Thus, Paul is requesting intercessory prayer from the Ephesians for all those in authority in order that they may conduct their lives in a tranquil and peaceful manner.
The first person plural form refers to Paul and each and every Christian throughout the world.
The present tense is a customary present indicating that Paul wants the Ephesians to pray for all those in authority in order that all those in the Christian community throughout the Roman Empire may “continue” to conduct their lives in a tranquil and peaceful manner.
Historically, at the time of writing the Christian community was living in a relatively peaceful and quiet manner in relation to the Roman government and Paul wants this to continue by means of the intercessory prayers of the Ephesians.
The noun bios means “life” and refers to daily human existence.
It refers to the activities and affairs and daily functions of everyday human life in the Christian community.
The adjective eremos speaks of the tranquil and peaceful coexistence or conditions with respect to the Roman government and the Christian community.
The adjective hesuchios speaks of the quietness of soul as a result of the peaceful political situation in the Roman Empire or the peaceful coexistence between the Roman government and the Christian community.
Therefore, in 1 Timothy 2:2, these two words speak of tranquility with regards to outward circumstances and inwardly or within the soul.
However, this does not mean that the Christian community will be free from persecution or adversity but rather it simply means that if they are at peace with the Roman government, they will have inward peace knowing that their mission to take the gospel to every creature on earth will not be hindered.
The Christian community is to pray for the Roman government in order that they might provide them with freedom to proclaim the gospel throughout the empire unhindered.
1 Timothy 2:1 First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, 2 for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. (NASU)
“In all godliness and dignity” is composed of the preposition en (ἐν), “in” and the dative feminine singular form of the adjective pas (πᾶς), “all” and the dative feminine singular form of the noun eusebeia (εὐσέβεια) (ef-sev-ee-ah), “godliness” and the conjunction kai (καί) (keh), “and” and the dative feminine singular form of the noun semnotes (σεμνότης) (sem-noe-teece), “dignity.”
Eusebeia means “godliness” in the sense that by the power of the Holy Spirit the Christian is conforming their thinking and conduct according to the Father’s will, which is revealed by the Holy Spirit in the Word of God.
It means that the Christian is conforming their attitude and conduct to the will of the Father as a result of faith in the Spirit’s teaching in the Word of God resulting in obedience to the Father’s will.
The Christian’s faith in the Word of God appropriates the power of the Holy Spirit resulting in conformity of their attitude and conduct to the will of the Father, which is revealed by the Spirit in the Word of God, which constitutes worshipping God.
The noun semnotes means “dignity” since the word refers to conduct that is worthy of honor, reverence and respect by others.
Therefore, the term speaks of the Christian’s conduct as worthy of honor, reverence and respect by the community in which the Christian lives.
It refers to the way Christians project themselves in the communities that they live and work in, thus, it is related to the Christian’s royal ambassadorship.
The adjective pas means “absolute” in the sense of perfectly embodying godliness and dignity, thus, Paul wants the Ephesians to perfectly embody godliness and dignity in their communities before the unsaved and in relation to the authorities.