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to Timothy Series Timothy Series - Lesson
Seven 1 Timothy Chapter 2
Verses 1 - 8 John
Baugh A Call to Prayer 1First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and
prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, 2for kings and all who are in
authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and
dignity. 3This is good and
acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, 4who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of
the truth. 5For there is one God, and one mediator also
between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony given at
the proper time. 7For this I
was appointed a preacher and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not
lying) as a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth. 8Therefore I want the men in every
place to pray, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and dissension. First Things First All of us
know that 1Timothy was originally a letter, addressed to a disciple (Timothy)
by the discipler (Paul) who chose to devote a significant part of his life to
building up someone who would in turn commit themselves, in this case as
minister to the church in Ephesus, to the same task of fulfilling the Great
Commission through the people he (Timothy) would train up and prepare to
carry on the work. We read Paul's first letter to Timothy as a wonderful
accounting of support from an evangelist to a pastor; from a church planter
to one who has the task of ministering to an established congregation. The
chapter division, from chapter 1 to chapter 2, of Paul's letter to Timothy
presented here as scriptural verse occurs at the point where Paul begins to
address first things, "first of all". First of all,
then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be
made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we
may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. Where does the life and work of a Pastor begin? Paul indicates
it begins the same as with any life, given over to the Lord. It begins with
prayer. The intensity with which Paul begins this portion of his letter
is interesting. "First
of all, then, I urge…" Paul
wants to cover important things right away and the importance is urgent. What
is so important? Prayer is important and in this case Paul wants specific
types of prayer be offered to the Lord; prayers that include: Entreaties
and prayers, which are defined as acts of prayerful beseeching (begging) and
pressing prayerful solicitations. Petitions
and Thanksgivings, which indicate the spirit of prayer that Paul wants to be
a part of Timothy's life. As we bring our requests in the form of petitions
to God, we also need to bring our prayers of thanksgivings. Regardless of the
urgency of need for help from God, we should never forget the many blessings he
brings to us, even in the times of great need. "on behalf of all
men, for kings and all who are in authority," Paul wants Timothy to pray for everyone, which
includes the men, Hymenaeus and Alexander who only a few lines earlier, Paul
had "handed over to Satan". In Paul's mind, even though they were
beyond his help, these men
were not without hope and the lesson for us is clear. Regardless
of the situation and how hopeless it may seem to be, no situation is so far
removed from the power of urgent entreaty, prayer and petition to God that we
should leave it out of our prayer life. Paul
also reminds Timothy here to remember those in authority. As we pray, we need
to remember our leaders. It goes without saying that they need our prayers. Why Do We Pray For All of
These? "so that we may lead
a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity." Remembering
those who have authority over us and all others, both the good and the bad
that we deal with each day, allows us freedom from the sins that tend to
creep into our lives when we fail to show Christian concern for others. One
of the most beautiful characteristics of Jesus the man was his never ending
concern for others, regardless of who they were or what other people thought
of them. Paul wanted Timothy to emulate that characteristic of Christ in his
prayer life. This attitude of prayer leads to a life of godliness and dignity,
where we have no pain of conscience toward our attitudes, as we express them
in the prayer closet. This godliness and dignity will follow us out
of the prayer closet into all of our life, leading to a life of tranquility
and peace - quietness of conscience, godliness and dignity. How Does God Look at This
Attitude Toward Prayer? This is good and acceptable in the sight of God
our Savior, 4who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of
the truth. God (our savior) sees this as "good and acceptable",
because God wants all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. Paul indicates having this spirit in our prayer
lives will impact all men. As goes our prayer life, so goes our life, witness
and work, which all impact the will of God that everyone be saved and come to
the knowledge of the truth. What is the
"Knowledge of the Truth"? Briefly, The Truth includes the facts: - That God loves us. (John 3:16) 5For
there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ
Jesus, 6who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony given at the
proper time. The truth is
that there is only one God and only one mediator between God and us. That
mediator is Christ Jesus. There is no other way. This
statement sums up all everything that Paul knows and has experienced to this
point in his life. It is the Truth that sustains him and keeps him focused on
the work that must be done, both in his ministry and in the ministry of
Timothy in - There is
(only) one God. - There is
also (only) one mediator (go between - intermediate - reconciler) between God
and - The only
mediator is the man Christ Jesus - Both man and messiah, sent to save his
people. -
The achievement of the mediator Christ Jesus was a supreme gift of ransom
from the consequence of sin which serves to separate us from God. In
his next statement, Paul offers how "the knowledge of the truth"
has impacted his life. For this I was appointed a preacher and an
apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying) as a teacher of the Gentiles
in faith and truth. For
these things, Paul was given a holy appointment, from Christ Jesus, to be a
preacher, one who leads a life sharing the gospel and an apostle, one who
Christ Jesus sent out to accomplish this work. In his mind, Paul knew who was
to be the intended focus of his ministry. He was appointed to go to the
Gentile world, in faith and truth. Going in faith required his acceptance of
the task to which Christ Jesus had appointed him, relying on the power of the
holy spirit, given to those who go forward in faith. Going in truth, also
gave him great power, and the assurance that his work was within the will of
God. (I am telling the truth, I am not lying) It
is interesting that Paul takes time to point out to Timothy that he is telling
the truth and not lying. In Paul's mind, he had been appointed to his
ministry and apostleship directly by Christ Jesus. Throughout his ministry,
he reminded those around him that his work was an appointment, that his
ministry was ordained by Christ and that his calling was of the Lord. Here,
he reminds Timothy that "For this" - the truth that "there is one God, and one mediator also between
God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the
testimony given at the proper time." he was appointed a preacher
and apostle. And
Paul ends this urging for prayer with the statement "Therefore I want the men in every place to pray,
lifting up holy hands, without wrath and dissension.", by
stating his desire that all men (in every place) lift up holy hands, without
wrath (the emotion of anger) and dissension (discord or disagreement among
those expected to agree). Wrath and Dissension: This
statement may have meant much more to Timothy than it does to us. Perhaps it
was used to point out one of the problems likely to be contaminating the
church in Paul
was concerned with the conditions in the church in - Do we pray in entreaties
and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings? Copyright
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