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1Timothy Chapter Two
(2) Instructions for the church
Instructions on Worship
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1) Why did Paul tell Timothy that requests,
prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone-for kings and for
all those in authority first of all, who does this type of worship please, and
what does God want for all men?
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Although God is all-powerful and all-knowing,
he has chosen to let us help him change the world through our prayers. How this
works is a mystery to us because of our limited understanding, but it is a
reality. Paul urges us to pray for each other and for our leaders in government.
Our earnest prayers will have powerful results (James 5:16).
When our lives are going along peacefully and quietly, it is difficult to
remember to pray for those in authority, because we often take good government
for granted. It's easier to remember to pray when we experience problems. But we
should pray for those in authority around the world so that their societies will
be conducive to the spread of the gospel.
Both Peter and Paul said that God wanted all to be saved (2Peter 3:9). This
does not mean that all will be saved, because the Bible makes it clear
that many rejected Christ (Matthew 25:31-46; John 12:44-50; Hebrews 10:26-29).
The gospel message has a universal scope; it is not directed only to people of
one race, one sex, or one national background. God loves the whole world and
sent his Son to save sinners. Never assume that anyone is outside God's mercy or
beyond the reach of his salvation.
2) What is there between God and man, who is
the mediator between God and man, what did Jesus give for all men, when was the
testimony given, and for this purpose, what was Paul appointed?
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We human beings are separated from God
by sin, and only one person in the universe is our mediator and can stand
between us and God and bring us together again-Jesus, who is both God and man.
Jesus' sacrifice brought new life to all people. Have you let him bring you to
the Father?
Jesus gave his life as a ransom for our sin (Mark 10:45). A ransom was the
price paid to release a slave from captivity. Jesus, our mediator, gave his life
in exchange for ours. By his death, he paid our penalty for sin.
Paul describes himself as a herald or preacher. He was given the special
privilege of announcing the gospel to the Gentiles. He gave his credentials as
an apostle in 1Corinthians 15:7-11.
3) What does Paul tell us to do without anger
or disputing, how does Paul say women should dress, and how did Paul say women
should not dress?
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Besides displeasing God, anger and strife
make prayer difficult. That is why Jesus said that we should interrupt our
prays, if necessary, to make peace with others (Matthew 5:23, 24). God wants us
to obey him immediately and thoroughly. Our goal should be to have a right
relationship with God and also with others.
Apparently some Christian women were trying to gain respect by looking
beautiful rather than by becoming Christlike in character. Some may have thought
that they could win unbelieving husbands to Christ through their appearance (see
Peter's counsel to such women in 1Peter 3:1-6). It is not unscriptural for a
woman to want to be attractive. Beauty, however, begins inside a person. A
gentile, modest, loving character gives a light to the face that cannot be
duplicated by the best cosmetics and jewelry in the world. A carefully groomed
and well-decorated exterior is artificial and cold unless inner beauty is
present.
4) How should a woman learn, what did Paul say
he does not permit a woman to do, and what did Paul say a woman must be?
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To understand these verses, we must
understand the situation in which Paul and Timothy worked. In first-century
Jewish culture, women were not allowed to study. When Paul said that women
should learn in quietness and full submission, he was offering them an
amazing new opportunity. Paul did not want the Ephesians women to teach because
they didn't yet have enough knowledge or experience. The Ephesian church had a
particular problem with false teachers. Evidently the women were especially
susceptible to the false teachings (2Timothy 3:1-9), because they did not yet
have enough Biblical knowledge to discern the truth. In addition, some of the
women were apparently flaunting their newfound Christian freedom by wearing
inappropriate clothing (2:9). Paul was telling Timothy not to put anyone (in
this case, women) into a position of leadership who was not yet mature in the
faith. The same principle applies to churches today.
In Paul's reverence to women being silent, the word silent expresses
an attitude of quietness and composure. (A different Greek word is usually used
to convey "complete silence"). In addition, Paul himself acknowledges that women
publicly prayed and prophesied (1Corinthians 11:5). Apparently, however, the
women in the Ephesus church were abusing their newly acquired Christian freedom.
Because these women were new converts, they did not yet have the necessary
experience, knowledge, or Christian maturity to teach those who already had
extensive Scriptural education.
5) Who was formed first, who was deceived and
became a sinner, and how will women be saved?
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In previous letters Paul had discussed
male/female roles in marriage (Ephesians 5:21-33); Colossians 3:18, 19). Here he
talks about male/female roles within the church. Some scholars see these verses
about Adam and Eve as an illustration of what was happening in the Ephesian
church. Just as Eve had been deceived in the Garden of Eden, so the women in the
church were being deceived by false teachers. And just as Adam was the first
human created by God, so the men in the church in Ephesus should be the first to
speak and teach, because they had more training. This view, then, stresses that
Paul's teaching here is not universal, but applies to churches with similar
problems. Other scholars, however, contend that the roles Paul points out are
God's design for his created order-God established these roles to maintain
harmony in both the family and the church.
Paul is not excusing Adam for his part in the fall (Genesis 3:6, 7, 17-19).
On the contrary, in his letter to the Romans Paul pieces the primary blame for
humanity's sinful nature on Adam (Romans 5:12-21).
There are several ways to understand the phrase, being "saved through
childbearing": (1) Man sinned and so men were condemned to painful labor. Woman
sinned and so women were condemned to pain in childbearing. Both men and women,
however, can be saved through trusting Christ and obeying him. (2) Women who
fulfill their God-given roles are demonstrating true commitment and obedience to
Christ. One of the most important roles for a wife and mother is to care for her
family. (3) The childbearing mentioned here refers to the birth of Jesus Christ.
Women (and men) are saved spiritually because of the most important birth, that
of Christ himself. (4) From the lessons learned through the trials of
childbearing, women can develop qualities that teach them about love, trust,
submission, and service.
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Answers 1Timothy Chapter Two
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1) that we may live peaceful and quite lives in
all godliness and holiness...God our Savior...to be saved and to come to a
knowledge of the truth
2) one mediator...Christ Jesus...himself as a ransom...in its
proper time...a herald and an apostle and a teacher of the true faith to the
Gentiles
3) lift up holy hands in prayer...modestly, with decency and propriety, with
good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God...with braided hair
or gold or pearls or expensive clothes
4) in quietness and full submission...to teach or to have authority over a
man...silent
5) Adam...the woman...through childbearing-if they continue in faith, love and
holiness with propriety
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Taken from The NIV Life Application Bible,
Zondervan Publishers
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