1Timothy2
Read 1 Timothy 2: 2 -10 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
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.
I know I repeated the same verses from last
time but when the Spirit guided me to Timothy, I didn’t realize that it would
take a session to get through the first verse in the second chapter. So, to
continue where we left off the last time
Paul in verse two tells us to pray for our leaders. The prayer should
include a request that the leader or leaders will be provided with wisdom and
that their rule is prosperous and peaceful.
We should pray for them no matter who they are in Paul’s day he was
telling the Christians to pray for Nero who was putting thousands of Christians
to death just because they were Christians. Even if we have non-Christian
leader/leaders we should still pray for them and ask that they not only be
granted wisdom to rule over our lives but also that they find their redemption
and salvation. By us praying for our leaders we are acknowledging that we
understand that God is the ultimate Authority and all rulers are there by his
authority. In Romans 13:1 it says the following about government: Every
person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities “For there is no
authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God.”.
Jesus Himself said the following in Matthew22: 17 -21
“Tell us then, what
do You think? Is it lawful to give a poll-tax to Caesar, or not?" But
Jesus perceived their malice, and said, "Why are you testing Me, you
hypocrites? "Show Me the coin used for the poll-tax." And they
brought Him a denarius And He said to them, "Whose likeness and
inscription is this?" They said to Him, "Caesar's." Then He said
to them, "Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's; and to God
the things that are God's."
In the above statement Jesus was acknowledging Government’s authority
while reminding us that while we are to follow man’s governments we are to
follow God’s authority above all. Next let’s look at Acts 4:18-21 18 So
they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of
Jesus. 19 But Peter and John answered them, "Whether it is right in the
sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, 20 for we
cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard." 21 And when they had
further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way to punish them,
because of the people, for all were praising God for what had happened.
Again, it just reinforces that God’s authority exceeds all
earthly authority. His authority must be held as the absolute and nothing can
be allowed to supersede or attempt to subvert it in your mind or heart. Not
your parents, your spouse, a priest, some judge or even the entire Government
of the United States cannot be allowed to circumvent the Lord’s place in your
life. God Must Always be the Final
Authority in Your Life! No If ands or Buts.
In verses 3 and 4 reminds us that while God desires that all
men be saved not all will be saved. The
qualification for salvation is believe in the gospel in faith. We are still to pray for those that reject
the truth even if they seem unreachable
Read John 3:15 – 19
This scripture from
John explains why Jesus came to the earth in His Own words. Jesus came not to
condemn us but to save us and if we believe in him we are granted everlasting
life but those who don’t believe in Him are already condemned.
Read verses Timothy2: 5-6
5 For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men,
the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the
testimony given at the proper time.
Paul talks of Jesus’s
divinity and reminds us that there is only one God and One mediator between man
and God. And that is The Man/God that came in the form of Jesus. The only way
to open a conduit to God was for Jesus to come to earth as both a man and as God
that way he could pay the ransom to reconcile the rift that sin created between
man and God.
Let’s quickly turn to John 14: 4-8
Here in Jesus own
words the only way to the father is through Him. He left no room for doubt or
negotiation. Jesus statement was definitive He is the truth and the light and
the only way to the Father is Him! Period; end of sentence! Jesus also
reaffirmed that He was God in the statement If you know Me, you should know My
Father.
Read 1 Timothy 2:7
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.
In this verse; Paul reminds us that he is an apostle that
was appointed as the teacher of the Gentiles by God. He emphatically stated
that Godly obedience makes a Christian’s testimony creditable, so that non-believers
can hear it and receive it. In other words, Christians should attempt to live
as Jesus did so there can be no doubt of their trustworthiness when they
witness.
Read 1Timothy 2:8
8 I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy
hands without anger or quarreling;
Paul makes it clear
that God intended that men should be the leaders and teachers in the Church
during for corporate worship. When Paul said that a man should pray everywhere
lifting holy hands without wrath and doubting. He was speaking of the tradition
of Jewish men to raise their arms up with their hands open and inferring that
their prayers should have something more than just a prayer posture. The
reference to holy hand represents a life lived unstained by evil. It is an
ideal we all must strive for even though we know we will fall short. I believe
that the reason Paul put this in his letter was to show us the reason we need
Jesus, He acted as our proxy and paid for our sins.
Paul comments about wrath
and doubting while praying was to let us know that when we pray we must do it
with charity and without wrath malice or anger at any person. Paul is just reiterating what the scripture
said in Psalms 66:18 “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear
me:”
Read 1 Timothy 2:9-15 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.
Paul begins here with some guidelines on how a woman should
behave in the church. At worship a woman
should present herself with a chaste heart adorned in modest apparel without
expensive jewelry or elaborate hairstyles. A woman is forbidden from holding
any office in the church or teaching during a service. She is to learn in
silence and submission. Which for its time was a radical point of view since
woman in the Jewish faith were forbidden from studying scriptures or worshiping
with men. Paul affirmed that woman were to worship, pray and learn alongside of
men in the church.
In verses 12 -14 Paul
states that the reason a woman is not to
hold authority over men in the church is because unlike Adam who sinned with
full knowledge of what he was doing and thus advocated his role as leader.
Because of this even though it was Eve who was deceived and she took the first
bite of the apple the ultimate responsibility of the sin fell to Adam. Since
Adam was formed first and wasn’t deceived proves that man has the God given
headship; it is not however a statement of superiority
We must remember
that woman is redeemed through childbirth we are not talking eternal salvation
from sin the only way to receive that salvation is through grace. We are
talking about being saved from the stigma of being the original instrument that
lead our race to sin. A childbearing woman may be freed from that stigma by
raising a generation of Godly children.
A woman who bears a
child has a special bond and intimacy with the child and that coupled with the
fact that a mother general has more time with the child places a unique
responsibility and opportunity for her rearing a Godly child.
We must remember that
God intended for woman to be a help-mate to a man and as such she was to be at
his side as a partner in life. She is not inferior to him it is just she has
different responsibilities. One of the
responsibilities for a man is to be the head of the household this doesn’t mean
that a woman is to be treated as a lesser no in a truly biblical relationship
the man and woman work towards the same goal to serve the Lord and to raise
their family to be God fearing members of the community. It is the man who is ultimately held
responsible for the family before God so it is the man who must be allowed to
have the final decision as to what is best for the family as a whole.
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