1Timothy 2. We re learning from Paul as he instructs a young man on how to teach, lead and defend the growing church in a Greek, pagan city of Ephesus

Transcription

1 1Timthy 2 We re learning frm Paul as he instructs a yung man n hw t teach, lead and defend the grwing church in a Greek, pagan city f Ephesus Last week Paul cmmanded Timthy t cntend the false teachers disturbing the church They were teaching the Law in wrng ways They were taking a law intended t cnvict and expse the evil f unbelieving hearts and impsing it n thse saved by grace These men had strayed frm instructin brn ut f a pure heart and gd cnscience and sincere faith, That is, they had strayed frm the instructin Paul have given when he was with them Instead, they turned aside frm the apstle s teaching and int strange myths and empty talk They were the riginal ear ticklers in the church Filling the gathering with flwery r perhaps fiery speech But it lacked weight r substance because it wasn t in keeping with the truth Gd revealed thrugh Paul Like all false teaching, it entertained the flesh but prfited the sul nthing S Paul tld Timthy t silence these men Because the church simply culdn t tlerate teaching that distrted r bscured the glrius Gspel f Christ Obviusly, we dn t knw hw exactly Timthy went abut beying Paul s rders t stp these men And if sme f them were elders, as I suspect, then we might imagine Timthy had a fight n his hands Add t the situatin the fact that Timthy was a yung man, and we can see hw Paul s request culd have led t cnfrntatin Nevertheless, Paul bvius felt the cnfrntatin was necessary 2017 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

2 1Timthy 2 2 f 22 Mrever, Paul bviusly thught Timthy was up t the challenge And in the next part f his letter, we learn Paul s mtivatin fr his instructins t Timthy 1Tim. 1:18 This cmmand I entrust t yu, Timthy, my sn, in accrdance with the prphecies previusly made cncerning yu, that by them yu fight the gd fight, 1Tim. 1:19 keeping faith and a gd cnscience, which sme have rejected and suffered shipwreck in regard t their faith. 1Tim. 1:20 Amng these are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whm I have handed ver t Satan, s that they will be taught nt t blaspheme. Paul says he cmmanded Timthy in accrdance with previusly made prphecies Paul had heard a prphetic wrd abut this yung man sme time ag That wrd was that Timthy wuld be gifted by the Spirit t serve as a pastr We see indicatins f this mment elsewhere in the tw letters Paul wrte t this yung man In 4:14 we find this cmment: 1Tim. 4:14 D nt neglect the spiritual gift within yu, which was bestwed n yu thrugh prphetic utterance with the laying n f hands by the presbytery. And in the secnd letter we hear 2Tim. 1:6 Fr this reasn I remind yu t kindle afresh the gift f Gd which is in yu thrugh the laying n f my hands. There was a mment when the Lrd mved Paul and the ther elders (presbytery) t lay n hands This is the biblical way the Lrd cnfirms His calling fr men called int ministry The Spirit gifts all believers in varius ways t serve His peple But certain gifts are given greater pririty in the bdy Christ because they hld special ptential t equip the bdy in gdliness One f thse special gifts is the pastral gift 2017 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

3 1Timthy 2 3 f 22 A pastral gift is like any ther spiritual gift in that it cmes frm the Spirit f Gd as Gd appints But it differs frm ther gifts in that it must be cnfirmed by ther leaders in the church thrugh laying n f hands We will discuss laying n f hands in greater detail when we cme t these ther passages But the pint fr us this mrning is that true pastral leadership can t be gained merely by accepting a psitin at a church It can t be gained with a diplma, degree r a certificate It desn t cme because we desire fr it It cmes because the Lrd appints it And because it carries respnsibility fr shepherding the flck, it must be cnfirmed by ther leaders ver the flck Men mved by the Spirit see the calling and feel they must cnfirm it publicly They validate the calling by laying n hands and the Lrd is pleased This isn t a mvement r decisin f men...this is a wrk f Gd thrugh men I experienced ne such mment abut 15 years ag I was attending a church in San Antni, and participating in a small grup f leaders and teachers frm the church I had nly been a Christian fr a few years at that pint and was still very early in my walk Yet I was feeling stirred t serve as a teacher and perhaps mre One night we were sharing and praying in that grup, and suddenly fllwing ur prayer time, ne f the men in the grup made an annuncement He lked at me and said he felt the Lrd telling him that this grup f men shuld lay n hands n me I was stunned and said nthing in respnse 2017 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

4 1Timthy 2 4 f 22 The grup quickly gathered arund me and they prayed fr the Lrd t equipment t teach and lead His church I had n idea this mment was cming but I knew in my spirit that it was a mvement f Gd s Spirit and I had t bey I dn t knw if this experience is cmmn t everyne called int pastral ministry, but it was my experience The Lrd cnfirmed my spiritual gift t teach thrugh that experience And I als believe He set me n a path t pastr in His Church Every spiritual gift has value t the bdy Yet the Lrd mves in this unique way when bestwing gifts that carry spiritual authrity ver His peple Having spiritual authrity brings respnsibility t engage in cnfrntatins when necessary fr the benefit f Gd s peple A spiritual leader, whether pastr r teacher, can t hesitate t address dangers that threaten Gd s peple Cnfrnting danger is their unique respnsibility as undershepherd What wuld we think abut a shepherd watching sheep in the field if he ran away r std idly by when wlves came t cnsume the flck? He wuld be cndemned as wrthless and unfaithful t his rle as shepherd S likewise, Paul tells Timthy that he must act in keeping with the prphetic declaratin that he wuld be a pastr The Lrd said Timthy wuld pastr, s Timthy must pastr And pastrs have t fight the wlves frm time t time But Paul says it s a gd fight The Greek wrd fr gd als means beautiful r wise It s the wise thing t d, and it s a beautiful thing when gdliness battles ungdliness, when truth defeats lies 2017 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

5 1Timthy 2 5 f 22 It s n less a fight because it s gd and wise In fact, it need t be a fight all the mre because it s wise The enemy desn t avid cnfrntatin and he desn t mind hurt feelings, And s neither can a shepherd be afraid f these things in pursuit f what s gd and wise fr Gd s peple Paul tells Timthy in v.19 that he must hld the line in Ephesus, remaining at his pst t cnfrnt false teachers as a matter f persnal faith and cnscience Simply put, Timthy had his wn testimny t wrry abut And if a pastr shuld wrry abut the cnsequences f perfrming his rle, he shuld remember that the alternative is even mre dangerus A man truly called by Gd t serve in this way can t thrw up his hands and claim he s nt cut ut fr it If the Spirit has mved and thers laid n hands t cnfirm the Spirit s chice, then the persn knws the Lrd is prepared t wrk thrugh him Like when Mses declared he culdn t d the jb because he didn t pssess sufficient public speaking skills T which the Lrd asked, Wh made yur muth? He whm Gd calls, He als equips S then withut excuse, pastrs called by Gd either bey r disbey their calling Paul tells Timthy yu had better stay the curse in Ephesus and stp thinking abut taking rad trips Timthy s wn cnscience and faithfulness t Gd was n the line T abandn his pst r t avid cnfrnting false teachers was disbedience Which means Timthy s letter asking Paul if he culd jin him was essentially Timthy asking Paul if he culd disbey the Lrd 2017 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

6 1Timthy 2 6 f 22 Regrettably, many men in pastral ministry have made this decisin frm time t time They receiving a calling and step int the rle, but when the ging gets tugh, they lk fr the nearest exit In their cnscience the Spirit is telling them t stay and serve the Lrd, but they dn t listen Their faith is shaken and their testimny suffers S they abandn their pst Paul mentins a cuple f examples f such men in Ephesus t discurage Timthy frm fllwing their example He mentins Hymenaeus and Alexander, tw men that appear t have been teachers r even pastrs in the church They have rejected their cnscience and their wn faith As a result they have suffered shipwrecked faith Paul s wrds are uncharacteristically hard, which tells us hw serius Paul felt abut leaders wh abandned their pst r sund teaching T d s is t reject the cnscience Cnscience describes ur heart s capacity t direct us int righteusness and t feel cnvictin ver sin T reject the cnscience as Paul says means t verrule the leading f ur heart And then t suppress the guilty feelings that result frm ur sin In shrt, these men knew better but chse t d wrng anyway And they rejected the faith Obviusly, yu can t reject smething yu dn t first pssess These men had faith, but they rejected (r the Greek wrd culd be translated pushed back against their faith Rather that d as their faith expected, they acted cntrary t faith And as a result they experienced shipwrecked faith Paul says 2017 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

7 1Timthy 2 7 f 22 In Paul s analgy, ur faith in Christ is the name f a ship sailing the seas We were placed in that ship by Gd s grace, and s we say we are in faith As we g ut int the wrld in faith, we must steer clear f temptatins and schemes f the enemy We must guard against ur flesh and a wrld that wants t pull us dwn These dangerus are like reefs, sme visible and sme hidden If we act careless r recklessly with regard t ur faith, we may experience shipwreck We may run agrund against these threats Our prgress stps And if the wreck is serius enugh, it may prevent the ship frm every becming sea wrthy again But ntice that the ship is still there, faith hasn t departed But that faith isn t mving frward, it s halted in prgress Mre than that, a ship run agrund n rcks stands as a testimny t ther passing ships t avid these dangers These men becme examples t ther believers nt t fllw in their ftsteps And that s exactly Paul s cmment t Timthy These men hit the rcks And then because f their bad influence n the church, Paul says he handed them ver t Satan By this act f discipline, Paul desired they learn nt t blaspheme As we try t understand what Paul is saying, let s start with their ffense These men were blaspheming We knw frm earlier in the chapter that false teachers in the church were misusing the Law f Mses 2017 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

8 1Timthy 2 8 f 22 They were likely teaching ther errr as well And cllectively it was blasphemy Blasphemy is any speaking f sacred thing in cntempt r absent the reverence they deserve It cvers a wide spectrum frm false representatins f the Gdhead r His wrd r His actins Smehw, these men had crssed a line in their teaching and had mved int blasphemy We dn t use this wrd ften enugh, I think Many times peple in the church, including pastrs, pen their muths and speak irreverently abut sacred things, which is blasphemy When these men did these things, Paul says he handed them ver t Satan This is ne f tw ccasins in the New Testament when Paul describes this punishment The ther case is fund in 1Crinthians 5 f a man wuld was invlved in an incestual relatinship in the church 1Cr. 5:5 I have decided t deliver such a ne t Satan fr the destructin f his flesh, s that his spirit may be saved in the day f the Lrd Jesus. Ntice that Paul described the utcme differently in ne situatin cmpared t the ther In the case f Hymenaeus and Alexander, the gal was t teach them nt t blaspheme In the case f the man in Crinth, Satan was permitted t end the man s physical life t his benefit f his sul n judgment day Presumably, dying sner reduced the man s pprtunity t sin lnger, and thus preserved him frm even greater lss In bth cases, Gd s instrument fr discipline was Satan and his army This is prf that Gd may use everything in His creatin including the enemy t discipline His children 2017 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

9 1Timthy 2 9 f 22 In extreme cases the Lrd may turn a child f Gd ver t Satan fr harsh treatment which ultimately came t sme gd Such treatment will either teach a rebellius believer t repent and return t a faithful walk Or it may cut a rebellius life shrt t stp the spiritual bleeding Either way the persn s life serves as a warning sign t ther believers With that sber reminder, Paul mves n in his letter t give Timthy specific instructins fr hw t cntinue the fight and serve the peple f Ephesus 1Tim. 2:1 First f all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitins and thanksgivings, be made n behalf f all men, 1Tim. 2:2 fr kings and all wh are in authrity, s that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all gdliness and dignity. 1Tim. 2:3 This is gd and acceptable in the sight f Gd ur Savir, 1Tim. 2:4 wh desires all men t be saved and t cme t the knwledge f the truth. 1Tim. 2:5 Fr there is ne Gd, and ne mediatr als between Gd and men, the man Christ Jesus, 1Tim. 2:6 wh gave Himself as a ransm fr all, the testimny given at the prper time. This chapter finds Paul mving away frm his exhrtatin t Timthy t stay the curse in Ephesus and int specific cunsel n hw Timthy must serve the flck Paul s instructins run frm chapter 2 int the beginning f chapter 4 Tgether with his wrds t Titus and in his secnd letter t Timthy, Paul s teaching is a manual fr church life Every church shuld attend t these wrds carefully Because nt nly can they crrect pr church teaching and practice But it will als prtect a church frm such influence ever cming int the bdy And Paul first pririty fr the church was reaching the wrld with the Gspel And successful evangelism begins with prayer 2017 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

10 1Timthy 2 10 f 22 Because prayer is the mst imprtant service the bdy f Christ can ffer t the Lrd It s the nly spiritual discipline we can practice under all circumstances and at all times And it s the necessary predecessr t any ther wrk f the bdy As it relates t evangelism, Paul cmmands that Timthy teach prayers t be made n behalf f all men Paul uses fur synnyms t describe prayer, but they d cnvey subtly different shades f means Entreaties are earnest, heartfelt appeals fr persnal needs Prayers are the general wrd fr cmmunicating with Gd Petitins are requests n made n behalf f vers Thanksgivings are just as the wrd suggests Paul wants Timthy t train his cngregatin t engage in all manner f prayer fr all men Obviusly, it s literally impssible t pray fr every human being n earth And that s nt what Paul meant as we can see by what he says next in v.2 He clarifies in v.2 that by all men Paul meant all kinds f men The church naturally prayed fr members f the cngregatin and fr family and friends and pssibly neighbrs But Paul says he wants the cngregatin lking past their immediate wrld He wants the church t pray fr kings and all thse in authrity He wants the church bdy t seek fr a wrldwide mvement f Gd up and dwn sciety, even reaching int the palace halls This meant praying fr the Caesar, fr the prcuratr f Judea Praying fr even their enemies wh sught t silence them and persecute the church 2017 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

11 1Timthy 2 11 f 22 Fr many in the bdy, such a request prbably seemed repugnant Hw culd they pray fr the Lrd t save thse wh treated the church s prly r std in the way f the Gspel? Certainly, this was nt the wrld s way f prayer Jews never prayed fr Gd t extend mercy t their Gentile ppressrs Neither did Gentile pagan pray t their false gds fr mercy fr their enemies Yet here was Paul asking the church t pray in all ways fr the gd f all men, including men in authrity ver the church But in reality, this practice culd nly serve t benefit the church as Paul explains in the later part f v.2 He says such prayer might allw the church t live a tranquil and quiet life He prbably means it in bth practical and spiritual ways First, practically speaking, this was a smart strategy fr the church If the church gained a reputatin f ffering up prayers f supprt fr thse in leadership, then the gverning authrities might be less likely t persecute the church Or at the very least, the gvernment wuld cnclude the church is nt a threat t their pwer Remember, the Caesar at this time was Ner, a man prne t rash thinking and persecutin He ultimately did much harm t the church Which is why Paul tells the church t be smart and t pray fr all men, nt just the persnal friends they knew But mre imprtantly, there is a spiritual purpse in praying this way Since we knw Gd is the One Wh mves hearts t faith in Christ, then we als knw He has the ptential t bring salvatin t anyne Therefre, we have sund thelgical reasn t pray fr everyne that cmes t mind 2017 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

12 1Timthy 2 12 f 22 We need nt filter wh is Gd is likely t save r wh might be persuadable t the Gspel We pray indiscriminately, fr every type f man r wman, in every walk f life and in every place fr they are all ptentially savable And shuld men in authrity cme t faith under the leading f the Hly Spirit, then hw much better will life be fr the church? I wnder if anyne in the early church was praying fr Saul f Tarsus in this way? As Saul was breathing threats against the church and persecuting believers even until death, were believers praying fr his salvatin? Hpefully s, because we see hw Saul s cnversin t the Apstle Paul became a way t tranquility and dignity and gdliness And s it can be in every generatin, and accrding t Gd s wrd, the Lrd desires t wrk thrugh ur prayers t make these things happen Paul says this is gd and acceptable in the sight f ur Lrd, ur Savir It pleases the Lrd when we pray in this way It wuld seem it brings Him mre glry t have his intentins cncerning a ruler annunced befrehand in ur prayers Paul says that Gd is ur Savir, which is a nt-t-subtle reminder that we t were saved by and act f Gd, S why nt suppse He will d the same thing fr anther? Why exclude anyne frm the prspect f Heaven? Did we deserve Gd s grace mre than they d? Des anyne deserve grace? Which is why Paul reminds us in v.4 that Gd has prven His desire t save all men by bringing them t a knwledge f the truth As yu read Paul s wrds in v.4 remember that the phrase all men in v.4 is the same as that f v Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

13 1Timthy 2 13 f 22 Just as the Lrd asks the church t pray fr rich and pr, kings and peasants, s t des the Lrd intend t bring salvatin t all men He will save rich at times pr at time, He will save kings at times just as He saves peasants at times In light f this cntext, it s clear that this verse des nt teach that Gd has a desire fr all humanity t receive salvatin First, the cntext f the verse desn t lead us t that cnclusin as I already explained Paul is talking abut all kinds f men, nt all humanity Secndly, scripture elsewhere teaches that Gd saves sme but nt all humanity Paul himself says in Rmans 9 that Gd created sme humanity fr dishnrable use Finally, the Bible says that if Gd truly desires smething, then it will always cme t pass Jb 23:13 But He is unique and wh can turn Him? And what His sul desires, that He des. Psa. 115:3 But ur Gd is in the heavens; He des whatever He pleases. Psa. 135:6 Whatever the Lrd pleases, He des, In heaven and in earth, in the seas and in all deeps. Scripture says that if Gd desires smething, it will always cme t pass, and yet we knw that nt all human beings are saved Therefre, we must cnclude that Gd des nt desire that all human beings wuld receive salvatin Rather, as the cntext indicates, Paul is saying that Gd desires fr all kinds f men t receive salvatin It s imprtant t remember that Paul s asking fr the church t pray cncerning salvatin fr these leaders 2017 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

14 1Timthy 2 14 f 22 While we are certainly free t pray fr ur leaders in ther ways t, scripture is NOT cmmanding us t prayer fr leaders therwise Scripture des cmmand us t submit t ur leaders But when we pray fr leaders, ur prayer is t specifically fr their salvatin, because nthing matters mre anyway Als, if we neglect t ntice this detail, we risk turning prayer fr ur leaders int plitically-mtivated lbbying We stp caring abut the leaders because we re just praying fr urselves in asking Gd t direct certain plitical utcmes Then Paul ffers up a final prf fr his cmmand, ne that suggests even mre what the false teachers in Ephesus were preaching 1Tim. 2:5 Fr there is ne Gd, and ne mediatr als between Gd and men, the man Christ Jesus, 1Tim. 2:6 wh gave Himself as a ransm fr all, the testimny given at the prper time. 1Tim. 2:7 Fr this I was appinted a preacher and an apstle (I am telling the truth, I am nt lying) as a teacher f the Gentiles in faith and truth. Paul says there is ne Gd the Father, and He has appinted One Mediatr between Gd and Man, that is Jesus Christ One Gd implies ne plan f salvatin and One Mediatr means ne way t the Father Christ came as man t bring salvatin which is the plan f the Father fr all humanity And then He returned t Gd t make pssible cnversatin, as He intercedes fr us Christ as the ne and nly mediatr t the Father has been a stumbling blck fr many unsaved The Jews prayed fr Mses r angels t intercede Which explains the pening chapters f the letter f Hebrews shwing Christ t be greater than Mses r angels Rman Cathlics seek intercessin by praying t Mary r t dead Cathlics they call saints 2017 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

15 1Timthy 2 15 f 22 Buddhists and Taist pray t ancestrs t intercede Pagans pray t varius intermediatrs But the wrd f Gd says there is nly One wh invites us int cnversatin with the Father, and that One is Christ But by the same tken, anyne wh is praying thrugh Jesus t the Father will be heard N persn is excluded frm this pprtunity merely because f their walk f life, their past r their psitin Mrever, at the prper time in histry, Jesus gave Himself up as a ransm payment n the crss fr the sins f all men (again, all kinds f men) Jesus death payment came at a certain prper time in histry, but it was intended t suffice fr all time Therefre, Paul is saying that Jesus is the One Savir fr all mankind fr all time There is nt a Plan A fr Jews and a Plan B fr Gentiles That s why Gd appinted an eminent Jew t serve as an apstle t the Gentiles, s that in the preaching f the ne Gspel bth grups wuld be united Paul s mentin f his missin t Gentiles indicates that the false teachers in Ephesus were attempting t drive a wedge between Jew and Gentile They taught the Law wrngly by suggesting, we assume, that Gentiles had t practice Jewish traditin and Law befre they culd be saved Thse wh taught this heresy were called Judaizers In fact, reading between the lines regarding the false teachers in Ephesus is imprtant as we cntinue thrugh Paul s teaching in this chapter and beynd Because it appears their false teaching went much farther than merely general teaching n Jewish law It appears these men were teaching imprper rles fr men and wmen, stirring up dissensin and cnfusin 2017 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

16 1Timthy 2 16 f 22 S Paul spends time crrecting the recrd and re-establishing prper rder within the bdy Beginning with the men 1Tim. 2:8 Therefre I want the men in every place t pray, lifting up hly hands, withut wrath and dissensin. At first, Paul s cmment abut prayer in v.8 sunds like merely a repetitin f his cmments earlier in the chapter But lk clsely and yu see Paul is talking abut smething different Earlier the cncern was the cntent f the prayers That the church wuld pray n behalf f all kinds f men nt just Jews r nt just thse they knew Nw Paul is speaking abut the demeanr f the men in prayer They must pray in every place They must pray lifting up hly hands And they must pray withut wrath r dissensin If we can lgically assume these instructins were intended t cunter bad behavir t the cntrary, then we can learn mre abut the false teaching in Ephesus First, it appears that the men in the church were being discuraged frm praying Perhaps they were being discuraged frm public prayer ut f fear f persecutin Perhaps they were being taught they culd nly pray in synaggues r under supervisin f rabbis Whatever the teaching, Paul cunters with a call fr the men in the church t lead the entire bdy in public prayer in every place The church was intended t be visible in its wrship and in its prayer life N ne lights a lamp and places it under a blanket, and the Lrd had lit the lamp f the church in Ephesus 2017 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

17 1Timthy 2 17 f 22 S He expected it t be put n display Secndly, Paul wanted the men wh prayed t be exuberant and yet hly, which seems t be a subtle dig n the unhly false teachers We must imagine that the false teachers in Paul s day were much like the Pharisees f Jesus day Such men lve t receive the praises f men S they ften planned their religius activities s as t be seen by many peple They sught the praises f men rather than f Gd And they ften suppressed independent religius expressins apart frm thse they sanctined (e.g., Jhn the Baptist) Perhaps these men were ding similar things, praying in public displays f piety, raising their unhly hands, while suppressing thers They were reintrducing pharisaical hypcrisy int the church And Paul wanted it stpped The key t the pwer f any false leader is in the way they place themselves between the peple and Gd Thse under their spell cme t believe they must cme t the false teacher t get what they want frm Gd This is the essence f the prsperity heresy cmmn tday The secret t neutralizing such peple is remind the peple they may g directly t Gd S Paul neutralizes these false teachers by telling the men t gather tgether, anytime and anywhere Then raise their hly hands in prayer N rabbi needed In ding s, there shuld be n wrath and n dissensin The church needed t act in ne mind as they cnduct themselves Silence the false teachers and unite in the truth 2017 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

18 1Timthy 2 18 f 22 This was a cmmand t men, since men are the spiritual leaders f the church as Gd appints Paul isn t specifically exclude wmen frm public prayer He s simply emphasizing that the men bear this burden fr the sake f the bdy verall The men needed t act in this way t lead the rest f the cngregatin t fllw suit And that s an imprtant cncept as we mve frward in Paul s letter Men lead the cngregatin but the church shuld fllw Cnversely, when men aren t engaged t lead, it s almst impssible t mve the rest f the bdy Then Paul turns t crrecting distrted teaching n wmen s behavir in the church 1Tim. 2:9 Likewise, I want wmen t adrn themselves with prper clthing, mdestly and discreetly, nt with braided hair and gld r pearls r cstly garments, 1Tim. 2:10 but rather by means f gd wrks, as is prper fr wmen making a claim t gdliness. Paul starts with likewise (literally similarly in Greek), which means the situatins were related in sme way The lgical assumptin is that false teachers had been stirring up wmen t assume imprper rles within the bdy This is a favrite tactic f the enemy...t distrt and pervert the rles Gd has assigned t men and wmen The enemy seeks t distrt the rles f husband and wife, the sexual functins f men and wmen And the rles f men and wmen in the church S Paul instructins cncerning wmen are specifically directed at cuntering this false teaching He ended speaking f demeanr f men and s he starts in the same place with wmen, instructing them n prper gdly demeanr 2017 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

19 1Timthy 2 19 f 22 Paul says wmen in the church must adrn themselves mdestly, discreetly The wrds mdestly and discreetly are wrds that emphasize ur effect n thers When yu are mdest, yu are diminishing thers attentin upn yurself And when yu are discreet, yu are cncealing smething f yurself frm public inspectin Bth wrds imply an attitude fcused n the needs f thers Once again, based n Paul s instructins we can assume smething abut the false instructin taking place in the church It seems the wmen were taking pprtunity t display their wealth r persnal beauty within the bdy Apparently wmen were cming t the church gathering dressed like yung ladies ready fr a night n the twn As if the mre elabrate the display, the mre imprtant r hnred they felt Even wrse it seemed as thugh their reputatin and standing within the bdy turned n these superficial things Paul says rather than making a claim t gdliness n the basis f wealth r beauty, wmen shuld make their claim based n gdliness This seems bvius, desn t it? Why wuld any Christian imagine that their standing in the bdy is n the basis f mney r image? Well, have yu ever encuntered members f the church wh expect special favrs r privileges because they dnate a lt f mney? Or maybe a wman wh expects praise fr her beautiful singing vice r fashin sense? Or teenagers wh wear revealing clthing with plunging necklines r tight jeans t church expecting t get nticed 2017 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

20 1Timthy 2 20 f 22 On the ther hand, wh shuld we hld up as examples in the bdy? Wh shuld get the attentin? Shuldn t it be the mst gdly amng us? Thse wh lve the mst, pray the mst, understand the mst Thse wh seek nly glry fr Christ This is Paul s pint t the church...he s simply asking wmen t restrain themselves frm seeking apprval and attentin in wrldly ways Men d the same thing, but they typically d it using piety like the Pharisee Men want credit fr being gdly n the utside while still being ugly n the inside While wmen want credit fr being beautiful n the utside, instead f being gdly n the inside This brings us t the final and mst cntrversial part f Paul s advice 1Tim. 2:11 A wman must quietly receive instructin with entire submissiveness. 1Tim. 2:12 But I d nt allw a wman t teach r exercise authrity ver a man, but t remain quiet. 1Tim. 2:13 Fr it was Adam wh was first created, and then Eve. 1Tim. 2:14 And it was nt Adam wh was deceived, but the wman being deceived, fell int transgressin. 1Tim. 2:15 But wmen will be preserved thrugh the bearing f children if they cntinue in faith and lve and sanctity with self-restraint. Once again, we re watching Paul cunter false teaching by cmmanding the ppsite He says wmen must receive instructin quietly and with entire submissiveness The Greek wrds translated entire submissiveness might als be translated whle bedience I believe this is a better sense because it relates t the apparent prblems in the church It seems wmen were being encuraged t challenge and even ignre the teaching f men, prbably men like Timthy 2017 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

21 1Timthy 2 21 f 22 It makes sense t assume that the false teachers wanted t maintain their pwer S they wrked t deflect criticism frm thers They tld wmen they had freedm t ignre the instructins f their husbands r elders Later in the letter we ll see that wmen we being led astray by these false teachers int gssip, idleness and ultimately selfdestructin S Paul cmmands that the wmen cease challenging the men wh taught They were t receive teaching quietly It s hard t believe but it seems wmen had becme bld enugh t interrupt r challenge male teachers This is shcking but prbably nt fr the reasns yu might assume tday Tday we re shcked t read smene telling a wman t be quiet But in Paul s day it was shcking in tw ther ways First, it was shcking t hear a male authrity advcating fr wmen t be included in the classrm In Paul s day, the Jews rarely permitted wmen t attend Trah instructin Learning the Law was exclusively the rle f the men S wmen were never present t challenge the male teachers in the first place But instead f kicking wmen ut f the meeting, Paul simply asks them t remain respectfully quiet withut challenging the teacher Secndly, it was shcking t hear that a wman in Paul s day even dared t challenge men in this way It s a sign f just hw far the false teachers had disrupted the church culture that wmen thught t take this step 2017 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

22 1Timthy 2 22 f 22 S Paul steps in t crrect it as he shuld fr the sake f gd rder in the church The cngregatinal meeting is nt the time nr place fr a wman t express cncern ver a man s teaching And Paul s nt dne...next he says he des nt allw a wman t teach nr exercise authrity ver a man but remain quiet It s imprtant t understand this cntext as we seek t interpret this passage The cntext is still speaking f a classrm r ther setting where teaching is taking place and the teacher is a male In the audience are men and wmen (r perhaps nly wmen) And in that setting, yu find a wman speaking up t challenge the teacher s authrity T teach wuld clearly refer t wman seeking t teach frm her place in the audience It was custmary fr thse attending t ask questins f the teacher r raise new pints frm the teaching But a wman was nt permitted t d this in keeping with Paul s earlier pint that wmen remain silent Finally, Paul asks that wmen nt exercise authrity ver men But here again this is in the cntext f a classrm mment where wmen are in the audience The Greek wrd translated authrity is nt the cmmn wrd fr authrity It carries the cnntatin f usurping r misapprpriating authrity as in t dmineer Paul is saying that a classrm with a male teacher is nt the time r place fr a wman t take charge r try t teach the men All f this des raise the questin f hw far we shuld take Paul s instructins tday? But befre we can address that questin, we need t lk at Paul s prf which he takes frm Genesis...which we will d next time 2017 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.