The Church and Its Worship

The Church and Its Worship

Text: “I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; for kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour” (1 Tim. 2:1–3).

Scripture Reading: 1 Timothy 2:1–15

1 Timothy 2 “First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time. For this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth. I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling; likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire, but with what is proper for women who …”

English Standard Version

Pray for All People

2 First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, 2 for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. 3 This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man[a] Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time. 7 For this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.

8 I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling; 9 likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire, 10 but with what is proper for women who profess godliness—with good works. 11 Let a woman learn quietly with all submissiveness. 12 I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet. 13 For Adam was formed first, then Eve; 14 and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor. 15 Yet she will be saved through childbearing—if they continue in faith and love and holiness, with self-control.

Introduction

Worship is the dynamic of the church. It is an act of meeting God in which believers are empowered, encouraged, and enlightened. In today’s Scripture reading, Paul discussed one facet of the church’s worship—prayer.

I. The place of prayer in worship (1 Tim. 2:1–8).

A. The importance of prayer.

1. This we gather by implication and command. Approximately one-sixth of this letter is devoted to instructions concerning prayer. Obviously Paul considered prayer to be important.

2. Paul practiced prayer. On the C

4. Now Paul exhorted the church to make their requests known to God in prayer. “I exhort therefore, that . . . prayers . . . be made” (v. 1).

B. The characteristics of prayer (v. 1). Many people have a limited view of prayer. Prayer is asking, but it is more. In our text the apostle mentions four types of prayer that are to be used in public worship (and in private also).

SPIT

1. “Supplications” is the first word used. This is prayer that expresses the idea of personal insufficiency. It is prayer for divine help and grace. All prayer must begin at this point.

2. “Prayer” is the second word. It is an appeal to God based on past mercies. It includes acts of adoration and confession.

3. “Intercessions” is the third word. It embraces the idea of going into a king’s presence to submit a petition. It implies going to someone on behalf of a third party. The prayer of Abraham for Sodom, the prayer of Moses for Israel, and the prayer of Paul for his worldly brothers all illustrate this concept. It is what Christians must do for other Christians and for the unsaved people of this world. Certainly we limit the King of the universe by failure in this area.

4. “Thanksgiving” is the final word. It is gratitude to God for all his benefits, such as we see so prevalent in the psalms.

C. The circumference of prayer (v. 2).

1. Prayer must encompass the world. Paul said we are to pray “for all men.” God’s love is for all, “for God so loved the world.” Christ died for all. In fact, unless we pray for all, we certainly will not witness to all. The scope of our sincere prayers indicates more than anything else the measure of our concern.

2. Specifically Paul said we are to pray “for kings, and for all that are in authority.” At this time the church was the subject of great persecution. Those “in authority” were the ones instigating this bitter persecution, yet Paul told Timothy to pray for them.

Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount, “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you” (Matt. 5:44). On the cross he practiced this, saying, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34).

3. Only with this kind of prayer can we expect society to be what it ought to be. This alone can make it possible for us to “lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.” “Quiet” indicates the idea of tranquility from without. “Peaceable” indicates the idea of peace from within. We are called to be Christian citizens showing our concern and highest desire for our country.

4. Paul believed that prayer could change things. Even the king and those in authority could be changed. Most of us place limitations on the omnipotent God by thinking that some people cannot be changed by prayer. We mark certain ones off our list because we think they are beyond prayer, but Christ did not—not even his enemies who were crucifying him.

D. The charter of prayer (vv. 3–8). Paul now gave reasons why we ought to pray.

1. “This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour” (v. 3). Such prayer as we have been discussing is “good and acceptable” because it is obeying the command of God. It is in keeping with the Spirit of Christ.

2. God’s desire is for all people to be saved (v. 4). Therefore our prayer should encompass all people.

3. There is one mediator between God and humanity (v. 5). Christ is our High Priest who intercedes with the Father for us. We can “come boldly unto the throne of grace” (Heb. 4:16) because Jesus “gave himself a ransom for all” (v. 6).

4. This charter for prayer stresses the universality of the gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It is for all people, and anything less than this is a mockery of Christianity. He has made possible the redemption of the entire world—young and old, rich and poor, black and white.

5. Such prayer is in accordance with God’s will (v. 4). Sometimes we may be uncertain if our prayers are according to his will, but there can never be any doubt about prayer for the salvation of people for whom Christ died.

E. The conditions of prayer (v. 8).

1. In worship we are to pray “lifting up holy hands.” This refers to the position of prayer. It does not exclude other positions (kneeling, etc.); it simply stresses this one. It is the picture of a person standing before God with arms lifted and hands open toward God.

2. Paul mentioned three conditions for effective prayer. People have always felt that a wrong life or a wrong motive was a barrier to access to God. Isaiah 1:15 says, “When ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood.” To be effective in prayer, we must have:

a. No sin—we must have “holy hands.” David said, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me” (Ps. 66:18). Isaiah 59:1–2 indicates this truth: “Behold, the LORD’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: but your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.”

Do you remember as a child coming to the dinner table and hearing your mother say, “Let me see your hands”? If they were dirty, you could not eat until you had washed them. In like manner, God says that you cannot sit at his table of abundance until you have cleansed your hands and your heart.

b. No anger—we must be “without wrath.” Jesus said that those who came to worship but remembered that a fellow Christian had something against them, must first be reconciled to that person before offering their gift (Matt. 5:23–24). If we are not right with others, our Father will not listen to us. Jesus taught us to pray, “Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors” (Matt. 6:12). Anger, wrath, and hatred will destroy our prayer life.

c. No doubting—we must have faith. “Without faith it is impossible to please [God]; for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him” (Heb. 11:6). James said, “But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord” (James 1:6–7).

Conclusion

In light of all that Paul said, let us pray and serve as God would have us and in the place he would have us.