Bible Commentaries
1 Timothy 2

Verse 1

CHAPTER 10

When we were in Bible college way too long ago, we met an older couple in the church we had decided to attend. He also worked in the same business where I worked so we were able to see a lot of each other.

One of the things I remember most about Lou was the way he prayed. He lived this passage in his prayer life. Each time in Wednesday evening prayer meeting he would pray for the saints, he would pray for the lost, he would pray for the state officials, he would pray for national leaders and he would pray for world leaders. This was an integrated part of his prayer life.

Lou was also one of the most kind, meek men I have run across in this life. He and his wife would assist most anyone in any way that they could. They were some of the more spiritual people that I have had the privilege to meet.

One of his joys was to attend the Christian businessmen’s luncheons monthly. He often invited others to go with him - often lost folks. He used this as one of his witnessing tools in reaching the lost.

As we enter into chapter two, we notice that Paul covers prayer before he begins to cover the proper life styles of believers and church leaders. He also covers prayer just after he mentions shipwrecked saints and warring the good warfare. Prayer is the answer to a multitude of problems it would seem.

Prayer is also the required ingredient in a properly functioning church, as well as the church’s leadership!

Paul now shifts gears - he moves from the exhortation concerning false teachers to what I might call false worship. It is not that the Ephesians were worshiping false gods, but that they were worshiping God incorrectly. Evidently Paul had noticed some problems when he was there that he wanted Timothy to get to work on.

Now that he has the false teachers out of the church - let’s get to the work of the Lord!

1 Corinthians 14:40 sets the stage for proper worship. "Let all things be done decently and in order." It will become evident in coming verses that this was not being accomplished at Ephesus.

I. SAINTS PRAYING

1 Timothy 2:1-2 a "I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, [and] giving of thanks, be made for all men; 2:2a For kings, and [for] all that are in authority;"

This passage seems to connect to 1 Timothy 1:18. Paul has encouraged Timothy to wage a good warfare, and then in 1 Timothy 2:1 he is telling him just how he can do that successfully. PRAY!

"Exhort" has the idea of begging or entreating and urging someone to do something. Paul realizes that prayer is a key to Timothy’s success and he wants to remind Timothy of one of the building blocks toward the victory.

Supplication is something done within the general heading of prayer.

Supplication is a petition or request - something requested as a result of a need. Supplication has the idea of giving rational reason for a request. When a request is made for something or someone, explain to God why you think the request should be answered.

You want to be very careful in your thinking on this one. When in Wyoming we had run up a little debt picking up some computer equipment etc. and as I was praying I almost asked the Lord to allow us to get out of debt. As I considered it, I ask myself if I could give Him a logical explanation as to why He should.

The debt was incurred for our ministry and the time that it would save, but it was a conscious choice on our part to take on the debt. It had nothing to do with God taking on the debt. We had a peace about making the purchases before the Lord, yet I felt that to seek the relief of debt would be out of line. I laid it before the Lord that I realized that we had taken on these responsibilities and that we would enjoy not having them if He would desire to eliminate them for us. He could do it in a moment, or He may let us pay them off as we were able, to encourage us to not do it again.

The term supplication may be slightly different than prayer in that the supplication might involve you as part of the answer, while prayer, is a general term, however some feel is limited to those things which only God can answer.

I had a pastor friend tell me of a situation years ago when one of his church members came in with a terrible car problem. The man’s car had need of major repairs which would have been a poor investment, and the man had no money for a different car or repairs. The pastor told the man to sit down and that they would pray about it. My friend told me that he had barely approached the Lord when the Spirit prodded him about the two cars he owned, but never used. He stopped praying and looked the man in the eye and said you have a car - you can have one of mine. This would be supplication. God through the Holy Spirit answered the prayer by involving the one praying.

Hiebert says of intercessions "occurring only here and in 4:5 in the New Testament, suggests thought of confidence in prayer. It does not have the limitation of being for others, as implied in our English term. It was used for a petition of any kind to a superior. It speaks of personal and confiding intercourse with God on the part of one qualified to approach Him. A life lived in fellowship with God gives confidence in prayer." First Timothy; D. Edmond Hiebert; Moody Press; Chicago; 1957, p50

Wiersbe elaborates on this thought. "This same word is translated "prayer" in 1 Timothy 4:5, where it refers to blessing the food we eat." "The basic meaning is "to draw near to a person and converse confidently with him." It suggests that we enjoy fellowship with God so that we have confidence in Him as we pray." THE BIBLE EXPOSITION COMMENTARY; Warren Wiersbe; Victor Books; Wheaton; 1989; p 215.

The verb form of this term is translated intercession in two very interesting passages.

Romans 8:26 "Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered." The Holy Spirit intercedes for us with confidence!

Hebrews 7:25 "Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them." Intercession by Christ on our part with confidence! We have two members of the Trinity praying with confidence to the Father concerning our needs.

We see in the terms "giving thanks" the idea of thanking God for past and future answers. This compliments or completes our prayers. When you say, "Pass the potatoes," you usually say thank you when you get them. If you ask God for something and you get it then thanksgiving should be automatic.

Trench mentions concerning thanksgiving something that is of interest which I had not considered in this text before.

"As such it may and will subsist in heaven (Revelation 4:9; Revelation 7:12); will indeed be larger, deeper, fuller there than here; for only there will the redeemed know how much they owe to their Lord; and this, while all other forms of prayer in the very nature of things will have ceased in the entire fruition of the things prayed for." THE INTERPRETATION OF ST. PAUL’S EPISTLES TO THE COLOSSIANS, TO THE THESSALONIANS, TO TIMOTHY, TO TITUS AND TO PHILEMON; R. C. H. Lenski; Augsburg Publishing House; Minneapolis; 1937; p 539. THERE WILL ONLY BE THANKS GIVING IN HEAVEN - NOTHING TO ASK FOR OR NEED!

What is meant by pray for ALL men? Why should we? We should pray for all men, not just the missionaries and the pastor, but the other men in the church, other men in the community, and other men in the world, indeed, all of mankind.

Lenski puts it this way: "No matter how far away men may be, the prayers of the church are able to reach them. Who can number all men? Yet these prayers omit none. "All men" transcends even national confines. "All men" means that, although millions do not pray or pray aright, the congregations of true believers who do know how to pray speak for them and leave none unprayed for. Paul does not seem to be afraid that a congregation may pray for too many or ask too much. If such praying were useless, the apostle would not write what he does write." THE INTERPRETATION OF ST. PAUL’S EPISTLES TO THE COLOSSIANS, TO THE THESSALONIANS, TO TIMOTHY, TO TITUS AND TO PHILEMON; R. C. H. Lenski; Augsburg Publishing House; Minneapolis; 1937; p 539.

What did we hear recently of world population? Six billion people on the earth and Paul informs us that God wants us to pray for all of them! What a job, but on the other hand what an honor! This might give the admonition to pray without ceasing new meaning.

The Pharisees prayed to please men, we should pray to please God.

It crossed my mind, why would praying for all men please God. The only answer I can think of is that when we pray for all men, we pray for all God’s creations! Relate this to the thought that He wants all men to be saved and you know that He will be pleased as we pray for His will - all men’s salvation.

While I was an interim pastor in Oregon one of the deacons of the church asked if we should pray for lost people. I took some time to study this for him and this passage is one of the texts I ran into.

I would like to deviate from the text for a short study in this area for indeed, praying for all men relates to praying for the lost.

1. In that God desires all to come to Him, it would be logical that we should pray toward that end for the lost in general. Specifically those that we know. 2 Peter 3:9 "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is long-suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance."

2. Matthew 5:44 mentions, "pray for them which despitefully use you. . . . " Another passage of similar language is Luke 6:28. This is the context of enemies, those that curse you and people that despitefully use you. You are to pray for the latter.

Pray for what? Might I suggest you pray for a change of heart, for growth, for salvation, and for personal relations?

3. Matthew 19:13 hints at the fact that some thought Christ might pray for children. There is no indication that they all were believing children. "Then were there brought unto him little children, that he should put [his] hands on them, and pray: and the disciples rebuked them."

Again what might we pray for? Some suggestions - guidance through childhood, the child’s salvation, for the child’s spiritual education.

4. Pray for those that would hear the apostles words and come to know God is mentioned in John 17:20, "Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;" This gives clear proof that we should pray for lost men’s salvation or the situation that might bring them to it.

Pray for the salvation of the lost - that the Holy Spirit might draw the lost to the Lord.

5. Christ approached the Father in John 17:9 mentioning, "I pray for them: I pray not for the world. . . . " This could indicate that there may be a limit in how we pray for the lost, or world, however the People’s New Testament commentary suggests that Christ is just saying, I am not praying for the world now - I am praying for these now.

6. Christ prayed for the lost soldiers that cast lots for His clothes. Luke 23:34, "Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do." This might relate to people that rebuff you when you witness.

7. 1 Timothy 2:1-4 clearly commands us to pray for kings and all that are in authority. This will surely sometime include lost people. Pray that we can live quietly and peaceably would indicate we ought to pray for good relationships with these people.

Verse four certainly brings the lost persons salvation into the picture as well.

If you relate 1 Timothy 2:1-4 to Romans 13 and our command to be submissive to the government, you might see a pattern relating to the quiet and peaceable life as well.

What else might we pray about?

a. governing ability

b. mercy on people

c. Godly outlook

d. wisdom in knowing people, laws, etc.

e. softness toward Christian beliefs. (The Romans martyred believers. There are believers in Africa in 1999 being killed for their faith.)

Not to get political but how do we pray for a leader like Bill Clinton? He said he was a believer, but he lived in sin.

David Brinkley on the Sunday morning show 4-29-96 asked his colleagues if they thought that Bill would lie to the special investigators taped testimony. One or two of the commentators mentioned, well we know that he lies so....

For leaders such as this, pray for salvation or correct living which ever is needed, honesty, a proper moral life and if need be confession.

I must admit on a personal level, I was not praying for Bill Clinton - I was too busy discussing his disgusting ways - this I say to my own shame, and as I look back on it, many other Christians were in the same boat - we were caught up in the condemnation, rather than the intercession.

MacArthur has a section in chapter six of his book on the Old Testament men that prayed for lost Israel that was very interesting if you would like further study on this. (The MacArthur New Testament Commentary 1 Timothy)

And that all-inclusive phrase "all that are in authority." That means teachers, pastors, parents, husbands, bosses, police officers etc.

II. SAINTS LIVING

Verse 2

1 Timothy 2:2 b "that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty."

How does this relate to us today?

Pray for kings, even Clinton, and even Yeltsen? Some would say, "Why should I pray for them?"

Paul was asking the church at Ephesus to pray for Nero. Nero was one of the prime movers in the great persecutions of Christians in the early days of the church. He even dipped them in oil and burned them to light his huge parties.

Now if the early Christians were to pray for Nero and those following him, we ought to be able to pray for leaders of our own time - none I know of are this bad - though I specify at this time.

It should be noted also that thanks is involved!

Theophilus of Antioch (second-century) said "I will rather honor the king [than your gods], not, indeed, worshiping him, but praying for him. But God, the living and true God, I worship, knowing that the king is made by Him....Honour the king, be subject to him, and pray for him with loyal mind; for if you do this, you do the will of God." Theophilus to Autolycus, I.xi; the Ante-Nicene Fathers [reprint; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1971, 2:92.

MacArthur quotes Tertullian (a third-century theologian): "Without ceasing, for all our emperors we offer prayer. We pray for life prolonged; for security to the empire; for protection to the imperial house; for brave armies, a faithful senate, a virtuous people, the world at rest, whatever, as man or Caesar, an emperor would wish. These things I cannot ask from any but the god from whom I know I shall obtain them, both because He alone bestows them and because I have claims upon Him for their gift, as being a servant of His, rendering homage to Him alone...." THE MACARTHUR NEW TESTAMENT COMMENTARY I TIMOTHY; John MacArthur; Moody Press; Chicago; 1995; p 64.

Paul wanted the German Christians to pray for Hitler. Indeed, he wanted all Christians to pray for Hitler. He wants us to pray for the most evil people on earth as well!

Food for thought:

What would have happened with Hitler had Christians been praying?

With Nixon had Christians been praying?

With Clinton had Christians been praying?

Now mark my words - be sure to get this right - We are told to pray for them not prey upon them.

"all in authority" - this even gets down to people like your employer and the state and local police department. PRAY FOR THOSE CLOWNS THAT WANT YOU TO DRIVE THE SPEED LIMIT!

Why? "...that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty."

This is the result Paul expected.

Is it possible that the trouble Christians have in so many countries around the world with their government is caused because they as a whole have failed in this part of their prayer life? It seems very possible, for God tells us to do it that we may be at peace!

This may well be the reason for growing unrest in America. We should be praying more for our leaders, more for heads of networks, heads of publishing houses for ALL men.

I recently read an article detailing the evolution of a Bible software company. It has gone from company to company and most of the companies after the first transition were unregenerate corporations. The interesting part is that the heads of these conglomerates have retained a Christian to head the Bible software entity. We might well pray that this continues so that the Word is not corrupted by power and greed. Actually I think it may be too late on the greed part - the program sells for ninety-nine dollars for the cheapest version and almost 300 for the high-end version.

We should pray for Christian publishers - only a handful are privately owned. Most are part of large secular corporations.

We might pray that more Christians get into the political arena. I don’t encourage ministers to do so because they have a calling to their work, but other believers should consider the possibilities. God can use believers in government.

Praying for all men is to be an integrated part of the minister’s and church’s life whether it is for kings, authorities or paupers. All men contribute to the society we so easily enjoy.

Personally I thank God for the classical composers and the music which they left for us to enjoy. I often felt guilty thinking of praying about men, probably some of which were ungodly, indeed, we are told by historians some were perverse, however God allowed them to create and we enjoy their efforts.

Yes, we need to thank God for these men for it was only by God’s grace that their work was set down or even transmitted to our time. We can enjoy this music - we can enjoy great art works etc.

What are some other reasons why we should pray for all men?

a. They are all God’s creation. We are all made in the image of God, and as such should appreciate one another. Now that’s a tall order.

Indeed, as we pray for all men, we will become more acquainted with God’s view of them and it might move us in the area of missions.

God loves the world, not just believers. Each person is important to God thus should be important to us.

b. The possibility of your witnessing to the person is also an item of consideration. Pray for all that you deal with seeking the Lord’s help in reaching them for Him.

When Faith and I were custodians at our church in Oregon, we found several times that someone had used the church garbage dumpster for their garbage. I started watching for evidence of the culprit’s identity. At Christmas time they dumped a bunch of Christmas wrappings, and among them was a wrapper from a mailed package that had their name and address on it.

I took the address part to the pastor and he stated that he would take care of it.

I asked him some time later how he had taken care of it. He stated that he had taped the address to the top of the dumpster, so that they would know that we knew who they were. He told me that his grandfather had told him many years before that you should always leave any relationship with any person in a manner in which you would be free to witness to them later if the opportunity came. The pastor asked me to let him know if there was any more improper dumping. There was not. The pastor had not made an enemy!

c. The person’s occupation may well contribute to society. Where would we be if all farmers disappeared? I would hate to think how many years it would take me to get a crop of any worth into the barn and be able to feed Faith and myself.

Where would we be if the power plants were unmanned? We would be running on oil lamps, as long as the oil men kept pumping and the marketing men kept marketing.

Ray Stedman shared with his congregation the reality of this verse. "Some of the young Christians who work in Vacaville prison tell me that the Christians there regard themselves as the control apparatus to keep the peace of that prison. When riots threaten or when violence breaks out in the prison, the Christian prisoners gather together and ask themselves, "What has gone wrong with us?" When discord is present among the Christians, they always expect, and almost always see, immediate restlessness in the whole prison. They have learned that God will keep the prison peaceful when the Christians are at peace, and in right relationship with him. That is a very significant confirmation of what the apostle is stressing here.

"In fact, one of these men told me that some months ago the chief psychologist of the California prison system was asked by the Prison Board why was it that Vacaville prison had fewer riots and less trouble than any other prison in the state. The man said, "The only thing I can suggest is that there is a group of Christians up there who pray for Vacaville prison. That may not mean much to you," he said, "but that is what appears to me to make the difference."" (From http://www.pbc.org/dp/stedman/timothy/3768.html; Ray Stedman; sermon on 1 Timothy 2:1 ff)

You might want to read Titus 3:1-3 for further along these lines.

III. SAINTS PLEASING

Verse 3

1 Timothy 2:3 "For this [is] good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;"

If we really desire to do our best for God then we would mark this down as something to do.

IT IS GOOD & ACCEPTABLE TO GOD to pray for all men. How easily we can do something that is good in the sight of God. Why in the world wouldn’t every believer take this one on to their personal goal list?

IIII. SAINTS WITNESSING

Verse 4

1 Timothy 2:4 "Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth."

What does ALL MEN mean to the average Christian in this context? Do we really think of the world?

I’ve been seeing some very misguided people that are saying that the world is 75% evangelized: There are 12,000 total people groups in the world. There are 9,000 of them that have A gospel witness thus the world is 75% evangelized - this is their thinking. Is it any wonder that mission agencies are having increasing trouble finding workers and funds - the WORK IS ALMOST DONE! The Devil has been seriously busy on this one.

The truth is closer to the reality that half the world has never heard the Gospel.

How will they hear if Christians are telling other Christians that the job is almost done? God wants all of mankind to come to a saving knowledge of Him!

This is like saying America is totally evangelized if they have one church - imagine, if your church were the only church in your country would you feel your people had been evangelized?

How can this ever happen if they never hear the Gospel. Romans 10:13-15 "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!"

Knowledge is a word that depicts a complete knowledge of truth - this is the Lord’s desire for all of mankind - knowledge unto salvation.

The key to this passage is certainly that God wills to have all men saved. Praying and living are two ways that we can assist God in accomplishing this task. SOMETHING EVERY BELIEVER CAN BE INVOLVED IN!

Richard Baxter a puritan gave some appropriate thoughts to end our study with.

"Oh, if you have the hearts of Christians or of men in you, let them yearn towards your poor ignorant, ungodly neighbors. Alas, there is but a step betwixt them and death and hell; many hundred diseases are waiting ready to seize on them, and if they die unregenerate, they are lost forever. Have you hearts of rock, that cannot pity men in such a case as this? If you believe not the Word of God, and the danger of sinners, why are you Christians yourselves? If you do believe it, why do you not bestir yourself to the helping of others? Do you not care who is damned, so you be saved? If so, you have sufficient cause to pity yourselves, for it is a frame of spirit utterly inconsistent with grace .... Dost thou live close by them, or meet them in the streets, or labour with them, or travel with them, or sit and talk with them, and say nothing to them of their souls, or the life to come? If their houses were on fire, thou wouldst run and help them; and wilt thou not help them when their souls are almost at the fire of hell?" (Cited in I. D. E. Thomas, A Puritan Golden Treasury [Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 1977], 92-93)

Verses 5-6

CHAPTER 11

A few years ago Faith and I traveled to California to be interviewed for a position in a Baptist church in a large city. My qualifications were adequate to the position, my doctrine was adequate to the beliefs of the church, my moral life was adequate to their standard. The pastor and one of the deacons were conducting the interview.

I believe it was the final question of the interview. The deacon settled into his chair with a very pensive look on his face and with slow and deliberate language asked me the following question. How do you view your efforts in this life and the reward that you expect in the next?

I was dumbfounded for an extended embarrassing moment. I could not really grasp his question, in light of the fact that I had never in my life thought about it. I looked at the floor, hummmmmmmmmeeeeedd for an extended time and finally honestly said, "I guess I’ve never thought about that before." He looked extremely puzzled.

Finally I began explaining to him of my feelings of my position before the Lord. I told him that when God reached down to touch my life, I felt that He owned me - that I would do anything that He requested of me. I had never done anything in my spiritual life to gain reward. I do because He did! He died on the cross for me - He paid the price that I might live - He made heaven a destination for me - why in the world would I worry about reward - if there are any it is only because He wants to do that for me.

To finish the story, though the ending does not relate to the passage - during the interview they had made it clear to me that they had someone in the organization that could handle the position without further expenditures. I told them that I would be glad to consider the position further, but that they already had the provision of God among them in my mind.

The two met for a time without my presence and they thanked us for driving out and spending time with them. They saw clearly that I was right in God’s provision from their own group.

Please read 1 Timothy 2:5-7.

This text introduces us to many doctrines of the faith. I would just list a few for you and I don’t mean this to be an exhaustive listing.

Unity of God

Mediatorship

Humanity of Christ

Deity of Christ

The Trinity

Man

Sin

Redemption

Salvation

Indeed, it is of interest that you can almost find within this text the ten major divisions of theology.

I. RECOURSE

As man without Christ we have no recourse. We are destined for the flames of hell. We have no choice, we have no option, we have no recourse. However, God has introduced one that is capable of giving us choice, giving us option, of giving us recourse. Christ Jesus allows us to have possibilities with God.

We continue on with the thoughts of verse four "Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth."

Verse five then comments on the one responsible for making verse four possible. "For [there is] one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;"

One God speaks to the Father while mediator speaks of Jesus Christ His Son.

"One God" specifically identifies this as God the Father in heaven. He identifies Himself in Deuteronomy 10:17 "For the LORD your God [is] God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward:" Also see Psalms 136:2 "O give thanks unto the God of gods: for his mercy [endureth] for ever. 3 O give thanks to the Lord of lords: for his mercy [endureth] for ever."

God knows that man has concocted many gods, but He also knows that He is God of all gods, no matter how powerful man makes his god, Almighty God is supreme in all ways.

One God declares the unity of God as well as the superiority of God. He is the one and only God that man must look to for salvation. He is the creator of all of mankind, and all of mankind is responsible to Him as their creator.

MacArthur mentions "One of the most fundamental teachings of Scripture is that there is one God (cf. Deuteronomy 4:35; Deuteronomy 4:39; Deuteronomy 6:4; Isaiah 43:10; Isaiah 44:6; Isaiah 45:5-6; Isaiah 45:21-22; Isaiah 46:9; 1 Corinthians 8:4; 1 Corinthians 8:6). That runs counter to the pluralistic religiosity of our world, which rejects the concept of any exclusive religious truth. We are taught by the spirit of our age that the gods of the Christians, Jews, Moslems, Buddhists, and Hindus are to be charitably considered equally valid. If that were true, there would be many ways of salvation, and hence no need for evangelism. But since there is only one true God, then He is the One in whom all must believe to be saved." THE MACARTHUR NEW TESTAMENT COMMENTARY I TIMOTHY; John MacArthur; Moody Press; Chicago; 1995; p 71.

I was reminded when reading this, of a letter that was sent by a Chicago ministerial group to the Southern Baptist Convention in 1999. The Southern Baptists were going to have a gathering in Chicago and during this gathering there was going to be some evangelism taking place.

The letter was to inform the Convention that the association was afraid their "we are saved - you are not saved" philosophy would cause problems within Chicago. They even went so far as to ask them to change their place of meeting. They indicated that evangelism might in fact incite hate crimes in the city.

They did not desire the division of the Gospel in their city! How sad that people calling themselves Christians do not want the gospel of Christ preached in their city.

On 1-7-00 Peter Jennings news a report was given that was very negative to the Southern Baptists. The Christian religion that wants all saved by their God is arrogant, was one comment.

The final thought was that the Baptists were proselytizing among the Jews and Muslims - this was made clear in a negative way.

They didn’t mention that the Jews proselytize among Christians and Muslims nor that the Muslims are spending millions to reach the world - only that the Baptists were in error in their thinking.

The passage immediately introduces the need of man - the need to find some way to reach the Father - the gap that many speak of in evangelism. God and man are separated until some common ground is found to bring them together. Thus there is need of a mediator.

A Mediator is one which referees - acts between two parties in hope of reconciliation. Today we have in our court, labor, and insurance systems what we call arbitrators. The arbitrator brings the two sides together to see what can be done to resolve the differences.

You might remember in the book of Job - this was one of Job’s desires - that a mediator be found to defend him.

Thayer mentions of the term "one who intervenes between two, either in order to make or restore peace and friendship, or form a compact, or for ratifying a covenant."

One of the questions that usually arises from this passage is, if we have Jesus Christ to reconcile us to God why bother trying to go through Mary, saints, angels or whatever as others do to get to God. If God sent His Son to be our go-between why would we seek others? This seems to me to be illogical.

I might introduce you to a new doctrine that is coming down the pike. The Roman church has for years mentioned that Mary is the mother of God. They now are taking this a step further. When the angel announced the coming child Jesus, she had the option of saying no - this is their interpretation - and because she said yes, she becomes the "co-redemtrix" of mankind. Had she said no, God’s salvation plan could not have come to pass, thus she is just as much the savior of man as Christ.

The fact of the verse is that there is one God and one Mediator. No need for any other God, and no need for any other mediator. Indeed, this verse should give the theologian espousing the above doctrine a bit of a problem! ONE MEDIATOR, not two!

1 Timothy 1:1-2 show Christ directly linked to God but not linked to man. Here we have a direct statement of His manhood.

"man Christ Jesus" This is a general term for an individual man or can be used of mankind. In fact within this verse we see both usages. "Men" is used as mankind, while man is used of Christ.

Not only is Jesus Christ God, but He is man! We won’t take time to study the doctrine of the God-man, but let it suffice to say that Christ was just as much God as if He had never been man, and just as much man as if He had never been God.

II. RANSOM

1 Timothy 2:6 "Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time."

"Who" - (1 Timothy 2:5) Jesus

In John 10:18 Christ states that He laid down His life, no one took it. He gave Himself a ransom for all of mankind. This is how He became the mediator of v 1 Timothy 2:5. (Christ speaking of his life said "No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.")

"for all" Not just for the elect, but for all sinners - for all of mankind, even those that reject Him completely. This gives equal footing for praying for all mankind in the previous passage! Pray for ALL man because God wills that ALL be saved, and has provided a ransom for ALL men!

Not only His life, but Himself -- everything He was--life, thoughts, hopes and dreams.

Some suggest that He died for only the elect. This is untrue and a slight to the work of Christ, and the abilities of almighty God to accomplish that which He has purposed!

It is suggested in my mind that Christ did all that was required to bring all of mankind - every single one - to complete restoration to God. Their sin problems are totally taken care of in Christ’s work - all they have to do is accept that work. This leaves them to stand before God only for rejecting the Christ that could have and would have saved them. I have not seen many authors that present this to their reader - in fact I have only seen one. I think many fear being labeled a universalist.

MacArthur quotes a man that agrees with my thought, but I am not sure MacArthur actually understood what the man meant. He quotes William G. T. Shedd ""The atonement is sufficient in value to expiate the sin of all men indiscriminately; and this fact should be stated because it is a fact. There are no claims of justice not yet satisfied; there is no sin of man for which an infinite atonement has not been provided....Therefore the call to ’come’ is universal." (DOGMATIC THEOLOGY [reprint; Nashvile: Thomas Nelson, 1980], 2:482) THE MACARTHUR NEW TESTAMENT COMMENTARY I TIMOTHY; John MacArthur; Moody Press; Chicago; 1995; p 72

The reason I question MacArthur fully understanding Shedd is that he states the following, "Christ’s death was sufficient to cover the sins of all people...." Sufficient in my mind indicates there was enough there to cover all but that not all accepted, thus some were not covered.

The price was paid for everyone, but each soul through the centuries has had to pick up the merchandise. We must individually appropriate this salvation. Just because we’re in a so-called Christian nation or in a Christian home, it does not mean we’re automatically saved. We have to accept our salvation.

Ransom according to Thayer is "what is given in exchange for another as the price of his redemption, ransom." The term used indicates more than just the payment of a ransom, but indicates the substitution of someone else for the penalty - Christ gave Himself in our place on the cross. Christ was a substitute for our life on the cross.

He mentioned this concept himself as recorded by Matthew in Matthew 20:28 "Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many."

He ransomed us he redeemed us, he purchased us - how do we relate to that concept as we live our lives? Do we live as if we are His, do we act as if we are His, do we treat others as if we are His - His in the sense of being totally His - at His total disposal - not at all at our own disposal?

"Due time" according to Thayer is "pertaining to one’s self, one’s own, belonging to one’s self." This indicates that in due time relates to Christ’s own timing of his ransom. The time of the cross was not an accident, it was a part of the overall plan of salvation. Not a month early or late, not a day early or late, not an hour early or late, not a minute early or late, not a moment early or late - right on time according to His plan.

I had a professor in a Life of Christ class that took an hour to develop the thought of Christ coming at the specific point in history when it was most opportune. All things in the culture were perfect for the coming of the Lord. He went into the detail of the government, of the tremendous road building of the Romans and the easy spread of the Gospel to the world etc. He tied this with Galatians 4:4-5 "But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, 5 To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons."

What does "to be testified in due time" mean? Was this due time relating to Paul and his witness to the world? I would think this would be the thought, though there is certainly an application to us as we continue that ministry which Paul started. Christ picked His time to die, His time to begin the establishment of the church, and His time to begin His work with the gentiles.

The prime job of the pastor is tied into these verses. The job is winning souls for God. This is done in many ways by the pastor. Not only personally through preaching, counseling and witnessing but by teaching others to teach and witness of God’s grace and salvation.

These verses also contain our own admonition as well as the pastors! We are all to be testifying of the Lord’s grace in our lives and encouraging others to come to know the Lord.

We needed recourse, Christ gave Himself a ransom and now God desires a response.

III. RESPONSE

Verse 7

1 Timothy 2:7 "Whereunto I am ordained a preacher, and an apostle, (I speak the truth in Christ, [and] lie not;) a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and verity."

The verse seems to relate to this whole concept of the past verses of the Gospel and importance of Christ.

"A preacher" is described as "a herald or messenger vested with public authority, who conveyed the official messages of kings, magistrates, princes, military commanders, or who gave a public summons or demand, and performed various other duties. In the NT God’s ambassador, and the herald or proclaimer of the divine word." by Thayer.

"a teacher of the Gentiles" Paul always went to the Jews first in every town, and then when they rejected him he went to the Gentiles and most of the time was accepted.

This is also a clear declaration that God is interested in ALL mankind, not just the Jewish people. It is also clear that the Mediator was for ALL of mankind not just the Jewish people. It is also clear that prayers for all men was for ALL men, not just the Jewish community.

"For this I am" declares clearly that Paul’s purpose in life was the declaration of the Gospel. The clear message of his life was the saving grace of Jesus Christ’s death on the cross for the sin of all mankind.

"in faith and verity" Verity is the same Greek word translated truth earlier in the verse. The double usage of the word in such short a time would indicate emphasis. One must wonder what kind of stories were circulating about Paul that would move him to defend his trustworthiness so.

Paul declares his innocence of the problem of a lie elsewhere as well. Romans 9:1 "I say the truth in Christ, I lie not...." See also 2 Corinthians 11:31 "The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is blessed for evermore, knoweth that I lie not."

Wow! What a mouthful of praise for God in this verse, and Paul calls it all up to support the fact that he is not lying to the reader!

This is an added emphasis to his authority as many false teachers had probably been attacking Paul’s authority. Imagine his frustration of trying to prove himself correct. It has crossed my mind that Hymenaeus and Alexander of Chapter one may have been questioning Paul’s teaching and that this may be why he was so emphatic on his authority and position.

Paul uses the phrase "lie not." A very brief phrase, but what an admonition. Honesty must be the standard. One lie and the reputation is that of a liar. This is not a proper pastoral reputation nor is it a proper Christian reputation.

I recently was given a website address of a man in California that was offering a CDROM with free Bible software and some books. The price was right - only 7.95 shipping - so I sent for one. I also posted the address on a couple of boards and informed some friends. I finally after several months received the cd and put it in the computer. The Bible software was not really Bible software. The software was a library program with a Bible text in it. You can search the Bible text but there were none of the helps and information that is always included in "Bible Software." The software that he included on the cd can be downloaded for free thus he was not offering anything of real value when he offered the Bible software.

One of my friends confronted the man by email and he denied that he had misled anyone. My friend emailed back exactly how he had mislead, and he again denied it.

This is a man that is in one of our major evangelical seminaries - this is how he is putting himself through seminary!

The minister of God should not lie. The Christian should not lie. John 8:44 might be of interest to you along this line of thought also. "Ye are of [your] father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it."

"If the basis for prayer is the sacrifical work of Jesus Christ on the cross, then prayer is a most important activity in a church. Not to pray is to slight the cross! To pray only for ourselves is to deny the worldwide outreach of the cross. To ignore lost souls is to ignore the cross." "We pray for "all" because Christ died for "all" and it is God’s will that "all" be saved. We must give ourselves to God to be a part of His worldwide program to reach people before it is too late." THE BIBLE EXPOSITION COMMENTARY; Warren Wiersbe; Victor Books; Wheaton; 1989; p 216.

Now I wouldn’t want to put this passage on a level with the field of literature, but isn’t this what the three Musketeers were all about? Their motto was one for all and all for one. Now I think the passage has a different slant than the Musketeers had, but the phrase fits well without text. One for all - the One God died for all that all might serve the One!

I trust that you will consider just what God’s request might be of you in this area of being a ransomed soul owing its life to another. You are His. Not open for discussion, not open for rationalization, and not open for choice. He has every right to every breath you take, He has every right to every dollar you have, He has every right to every moment of time you have.

HOW ARE YOU GOING TO USE YOUR BREATH, YOUR DOLLARS, YOUR TIME?

Verse 8

CHAPTER 12

While living in Cheyenne, WY we attended a little Baptist church a few times over the months. They had special music from time to time which wasn’t of our taste, but tolerable. One morning a young thin blonde stepped to the platform. The usual beat ridden loud music began. The gal started swinging and swaying and was almost to swallow her microphone. As the song progressed, she started slapping her thigh with her hand and was really getting with it.

At one point in the performance she attempted to stir the congregation up a little as she thought we were too stayed in our demeanor.

Finally, as she finished, she allowed her total frustration to vent and stomped off the platform and down the center aisle telling us we were the deadest bunch she had ever seen.

Obvious it was to the most casual observer that she was there for someone’s glory, but I’m not convinced it was the Lord’s.

Public worship is of utmost importance and Paul is in the middle of showing Timothy what ought and what ought not!

1 Timothy 2:8 "I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting."

There are a number of questions that come to my mind when I read this passage. I don’t know that I have the complete answer to any of them, but will share my thoughts and you can see if you think I do.

Are we to lift holy hands in our worship services today?

Are we to lift holy hands in our daily prayer life?

Are we to lift holy hands in prayer at all?

Why did Paul link men praying with their hands in the air, with women dressing modestly? Did he see the men had one problem and the women another and just lump these together to show he is an equal opportunity rebuker?

I would suggest that the obvious is that men are to pray while the women do all the work in the church, but I doubt that I would get away with it.

The context of this passage is that God wants all men saved, that He has made provision for all men to be saved, that He wants us praying for all men to be saved, and now Paul gives added emphasis to further prayer and good works (proper dress).

Verse eight probably fits best with 1 Timothy 2:1-7. The paragraph break at the end of eight seems quite obvious. Paul ends the section on prayer with prayer. This is the answer to one of our questions. He does not directly tie men praying with women dressing. The "women dressing" relates to the whole text concerning women, while men praying relates to the praying for all men.

Paul has stated clearly that we are to pray, and now he adds some specifics. He tells the men to pray.

I. PROPER PRAYER

"I will therefore" - Because of what I’ve said please do the following.

"Men" This is a term that is normally translated man or husband, but can refer to mankind though seldom. You might note the plural, indicating more than one or two - all are to be involved in this function of the church.

The thought of pray everywhere indicates to me that this a general call to all male Christians to be involved in the labor of prayer anytime and anywhere. Adam Clarke suspects Paul is speaking to the Jewish concept of prayer. "This may refer to a Jewish superstition. They thought, at first, that no prayer could be acceptable that was not offered at the temple at Jerusalem; afterward this was extended to the Holy Land; but, when they became dispersed among the nations, they built oratories or places of prayer, principally by rivers and by the seaside; and in these they were obliged to allow that public prayer might be legally offered, but nowhere else. In opposition to this, the apostle, by the authority of Christ, commands men to pray everywhere; that all places belong to God’s dominions; and, as he fills every place, in every place he may be worshiped and glorified."

Linski suggests that the construction of the verse indicates men as opposed to women. "The men only and no women whatever are to do the praying in the public worship of the congregations." THE INTERPRETATION OF ST. PAUL’S EPISTLES TO THE COLOSSIANS, TO THE THESSALONIANS, TO TIMOTHY, TO TITUS AND TO PHILEMON; R. C. H. Lenski; Augsburg Publishing House; Minneapolis; 1937; P 554.

This seemingly was related to the culture of the time - the Jewish temple was not a place for the women to attempt to be vocal. Paul is setting the standard for the local churches at Ephesus.

Kent agrees with this thought however, mentions that 1 Corinthians 11:5 indicates under proper circumstances a woman could pray publicly. He suggests, and I think he is correct that the men are to be the leaders and within the guidelines set forth, women can pray as long as they do not usurp the authority of the men of the church.

Another side note to this passage is the fact that Paul specifically mentions all men praying - there is no limitation on which of the men can pray, there is no limitation on which offices can pray, and there is no limitation on which classes of men can pray. ALL ARE TO PRAY!

"lifting up holy hands" We might note but not belabor the point that "men" are to pray with uplifted hands not "women." I don’t know that this was a specific limitation to the point, but Paul certainly indicates it to me. This flies in the face of the practice of many groups and denominations today.

Thayer speaks of holy: "undefiled by sin, free from wickedness, religiously observing every moral obligation, pure holy, pious"

Clarke mentions the possibility of Paul referring to the Jewish practice of washing their hands before prayer to signify their separation of themselves from sin.

The qualifier "holy" is attached to the hands. The term demands personal purity on the part of every man praying. Not "seemingly holy," but holy! If you aren’t holy then your prayer should be silent until you are! You should be caring for your sin before approaching the Lord with requests.

The term translated “hand” is always translated hand, but does not mean the appendage at the end of your arm literally. It relates to the grasping of a hand or the seeking of the hand outstretched.

Clarke mentions his belief that this relates back to the thought of the Old Testament saint that was to lay his hand on the sacrifice as it was killed. He believed that Paul was relating the whole thought to us placing our hands on the Lamb of God and praying. After all we can only approach God via the sacrifice that Christ made for each of us.

This would be a palm down position of the hand - much as pastors do when they have a benediction.

I am not convinced that Paul is telling us that raising hands is a thing to do in prayer. It may be done, but is it something that needs to be done - I think not.

Lifting hands

Luke 24:50 And he led them out as far as to Bethany, and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them.

This seems to be a possible reason to lift hands while praying.

Holy hands

Psalms 34:3-4 Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? or who shall stand in his holy place? 4 He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.

James 4:8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse [your] hands, [ye] sinners; and purify [your] hearts, [ye] double minded.

It seems to me Paul’s emphasis is on holiness in prayer and prayer. Lifting of hands seems secondary to me.

To make this a defining part of prayer seems to be an over emphasis on the physical. We are to worship in spirit not physically. Prayer is talking with God, not a ritual of set actions.

It needs to be a movement of the heard - not moved by pride. I have seen so many in churches and on television that close their eyes and raise their hands during a song and start swaying back and forth only to open an eye to peek to see who is watching. This isn’t praying, this is pride.

This passage may indicate that prayer has many faces. Christ lifted up His eyes, some in the Old Testament prostrated themselves, others knelt. There is no right or wrong position to pray, but as the heart leads, the position should follow.

Linski rightly notes that today we fold our hands to pray. We do this to keep our hands from distracting our minds from things of the Lord.

"lifting" without wrath and doubting. Lifting of the hands was common in Jewish life. Some think it was part of the early church prayers.

This is not to say that we can’t lift holy hands today, but do not forget to do a good word study on the idea of lifting hands before the Lord and see what you find before you do it in a worship service. It was cultural and it is not a command to ONLY pray with lifted hands.

I might add it is hands not arms!

Holy kiss is found four times in the New Testament: Romans 16:16; 1 Corinthians 16:20; 2 Corinthians 13:12; 1 Thessalonians 5:26. This is not the practice of the majority of churches today - even though we have four clear verses on it in the New Testament, so why do some practice lifting of hands which is only in one verse in the New Testament if it is such a clear command?

I think there is one verse in the Old Testament that has the idea of totally awesome - excitement plus. Lunging your hands into the air to emphasize excitement over what God has done is the thought I have of raising holy hands.

Actually we should understand that the early church met as they did in the book of Acts - in homes, fasting, praying, fellow-shipping and teaching. They did not have the 11:00 service we have! The gatherings were less formal than ours and probably less structured.

One final passage that may relate to the thought of lifting holy hands. Acts 17:25 speaks of idol worshipers. Acts 17:25 (KJS) "Neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;"

Without wrath seems self-explanatory, but I would like to share the thoughts of Barnes on this phrase. "That is, without the intermingling of any evil passion; with a calm, peaceful, benevolent mind. There should be nothing of the spirit of contention; there should be no anger towards others; the suppliant should be at peace with all men. It is impossible for a man to pray with comfort, or to suppose that his prayers will be heard, if he cherishes anger."

The term doubting to our mind smacks of lack of faith, however this is not the case. The term has the thought of reasoning or argumentation. Now, understanding this, lack of faith might be a possible outworking of this. If a man is reasoning about faith and whether God is going to answer or not, then our idea of doubting would apply, but primarily Paul is saying, don’t come from the debates and try to pray.

Barnes continues in relation to "without doubting, "They were not to approach God in prayer in the midst of clamorous disputings and angry contentions. They were not to come when the mind was heated with debate, and irritated by strife for victory. Prayer was to be offered in a calm, serious, sober state of mind..."

It seems to me that Ephesus may have had a real problem of proper worship - evidently there was a lot of arguing and disputes. The following context on women and silence in the church and position in the family may have been the subjects of the disputings.

I can kind of in-vision the chaos called worship that may have been going on in Ephesian churches.

Paul tells them to do two things: Men pray, and women dress properly. Not too much different than most of the days in which I have lived my life - men lacking in prayer and women lacking in modest dress - hasn’t changed much since Paul’s day.

One might ask, what is modest apparel? Hopefully we can add some understanding to this in this study.

II. PROPER PRETTIES

Ray Stedman related that he understands that a famous personality spent three hours in a beauty shop - and that was just for the estimate.

When a woman dresses as a man it is fashionable, yet when a man dresses as a woman, he is a pervert. There has to be something illogical in that. What is the matter with our thinking in this generation?

Paul requests that the women dress conservatively, yet we have preachers’ wives on television that look like they should be in a different profession.

I would like to introduce this section with a quote from MacArthur. His comments relate to the entire text of verses 1 Timothy 2:9-15 concerning women.

"The role of women in the church is a topic that is hotly debated today. Unfortunately, the debate has left the pages of Scripture to find its resolution. The traditional doctrines are being swept away by the flood tides of evangelical feminism. Churches, schools, and seminaries are rapidly abandoning truths they have held since their inceptions. Dozens of books are being written defending the new "truth" regarding the role of women. Ironically, some of the authors of those books formerly held to the traditional, biblical view. But under the pressure of feminism they have abandoned biblical accuracy in favor of the culture. The biblical passages on women’s roles are being culturally reinterpreted, ignored because of the alleged anti-female bias of the biblical authors...." THE MACARTHUR NEW TESTAMENT COMMENTARY I TIMOTHY; John MacArthur; Moody Press; Chicago; 1995; Pages 77-78

Verse 1 Timothy 2:9 "In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array;

The term "women" is a term that relates only to women in general, not mankind. It can relate to married or single women or women of any age.

The term “adorn” is of interest. It is closely related to the Greek word kosmos which relates to the world and world order. It has the thought of order or preparation for completeness. Making up or making ready would be a good line of current thought to me. No, I won’t say that make up is worldly though that might be a possible indication.

The word translated "modest" is also related to kosmos - the thought being set in proper order. Thayer says "well arranged, seemly, modest." It is translated "good behavior" in 1 Timothy 3:2. Actually the term used is the word we gain the word cosmetics from.

Lenski tells us that there is a play on words in the original which gives the thought in the verse of "in adorning attire - adorn themselves." THE INTERPRETATION OF ST. PAUL’S EPISTLES TO THE COLOSSIANS, TO THE THESSALONIANS, TO TIMOTHY, TO TITUS AND TO PHILEMON; R. C. H. Lenski; Augsburg Publishing House; Minneapolis; 1937; P 558.

We won’t take time to look at it, but for further study check out Isaiah 3:18-24 for further on women’s adornment.

I would like to speak of modest apparel for a moment, if I may meddle. This hasn’t been a real big issue since the miniskirt days, but it is becoming more and more of a problem again due to the fashions.

There are two areas of modest apparel:

1. There is the area before other believers: In the church most certainly modesty should be the hallmark, however it isn’t necessarily so. There are times I have to be very careful where I look when on a platform in a church.

Years ago in the miniskirt crazy days, the churches in Denver, CO were in a turmoil over the short skirts in the sanctuary. There were many that said that they were okay and others that thought it was not a show of modesty. I took it upon myself several times to mention a few points. Actually Titus two covers this. Older women should be teaching younger women!

a.) The woman is certainly going to draw attention to herself, rather than to her Lord. This can not be okay. We are in worship service to cast attention to God.

b.) She is going to cause men to stumble into sin. Thought life is where she may cause much unknown sin for men.

c.) Her husband should have put a stop to it before they left home.

2. The other area is before the world: What is the neighbor or anyone else going to think if they see a "Christian woman" in immodest clothing? It is going to be a testimony problem at best.

A lost woman seeing her husbands "Christian" secretary running around immodestly is not going to be easy to witness to!

Some years ago I heard a preacher illustrate the problem that we face in the church. I will give you the shortened version for the sake of time.

He mentioned a true story of an old woman that had shown him a picture of her graduating class. The woman asked the missionary if he noticed anything a little risque. He looked at the picture and it was full of men in white shirts and ties with a number of women in long full dresses. He replied that he did not see anything risque. She pointed to herself in the picture and pointed out that she had raised her skirt high enough to expose her shoe. She mentioned that this was a no no in her day.

The speaker went on to expand on this line of thinking. The old woman came to the place that she accepted showing her shoe, indeed her sock, indeed her dark stocking and even lighter stockings and her leg, though only the lower portion.

The process is so easy from generation to generation. One generation accepts something a bit shorter, and the next accepts something a bit thinner, and the next something a bit skimpier, and the next is accepting something less, until there will be nothing modest about the ladies! We see women’s blouses today that would not have been shown as night-wear in Sears catalogs some years back.

I might add that the men need to follow this admonishment as well! In days past, this was not a problem, but in our present day it certainly is becoming one. Men dress immodestly, they wear jewelry and care for their hair more than some women. Some of the clothes, to me, are becoming very inappropriate.

I would like to share a quote from the mini skirt days that might be of interest to us.

"The house of God is no place for a showy display of fashion and finery (verse 1 Timothy 2:9). A woman’s dress is often the mirror of her mind. You can often read vanity or immorality in the gaudiness or the skimpiness of her attire. Regardless of what anyone may tell you, Christian morality shows itself up for what it really is in personal attire (verse 1 Timothy 2:10 b). In dress we are guided by necessity, comfort, and national custom but preeminently by godliness. A truly Christian woman will feel embarrassed and ashamed to stir up base instincts in any man by what she wears--or doesn’t wear." (Keeping the Faith; Baptist Pub.; Denver; 1971; Adult SS Quarterly, p 10)

Shame facedness - do it with Godly fear - fear of God’s chastening hand. Some of the terms that relate to this are bashfulness and modesty. There is a thought within the word of having respect for others. This may well relate to men, your husband as well as other women - and we might throw in children.

Along with modesty and shame facedness Paul adds "sobriety." "`The well-balanced state of mind resulting from habitual self-restraint.’" (First Timothy; D. Edmond Hiebert; Moody Press; Chicago; 1957, p 58) This can relate to both under control as well as the opposite of drunk.

"braided hair" - may have related to idol worship. Thayer mentions "what is woven, plaited, or twisted together." He adds that it is used in other literature, of the basket Moses was placed in.

NOT adorned with Gold - Pearls - costly array.

Gold seems to relate to the thought of articles made of gold. Some relate the term to gold that is carved or molded into an idol. This later idea may be what Paul had in mind, but it isn’t clear. This is seen in Acts and the idol makers.

Costly array would relate to expensive clothing. We are really in trouble on this one in the church today! Wow, are we in trouble. Consider the millions of dollars that women AND men spend on clothing in our current world system. Where would Burlington, Levi, Calvin Klein, J. C. Penney, and Sears and all the other clothing stores of the world be without us buying their products? If Christians lived by this verse the retailers would be shattered financially.

BUT with good works which becomes a Godly woman.

I might move back to the miniskirt days for an illustration from the life of one woman. She was the picture of Godliness. She was the picture of what Paul wants in this verse. She was not an old woman either. She was a fairly young mother that was slim and attractive. She was always dressed very nicely. She never seemed out of place in the area of dress. When you saw her and talked with her you were never drawn to the fact that she was wearing skirts that were above her knees. The inner woman was the evident part.

I might say that this is only one of the few examples I can think of where a short skirted woman depicted outwardly enough godliness to draw attention to the godliness rather than the length of her skirt. (I do not know if all the men around her felt that way or not.) You might also like to study 1 Peter 3:1-6 in relation to this as well.

Let’s look at some areas where dress can be an issue:

Dress can put social pressure on Christians that want to take a stand. If they don’t, they are falling into the Devil’s trap. If they do, they are left out quite often.

This can relate to style of dress as well as the costliness of dress.

Dress ought not to be a division in the church. All should be welcome, however this seems to be getting out of hand. I’ve seen pastors in tan pants and sports shirts to "make people comfortable."

Can you imagine the priest of the Old Testament showing up to the temple or tabernacle in tan pants and a sport shirt?

I think God deserves some respect when we come to publicly worship Him.

Some might say, "But I enjoy dressing a particular way." To this I reply, I listened to rock music for about a year even though I knew I shouldn’t. My rationalization was, "I like the music." It crossed my mind one day that an adulterer probably likes his sin too - I stopped listening to rock music. NEVER does enjoyment of an activity make it into a sanctified activity. God’s Word makes it sin.

The person dressing improperly is in the wrong - it is sin. (Here we have a command of God to dress modestly. If you don’t, you are disobeying God.) You are also making brethren stumble.

Husbands and/or parents need to set the standards for their homes and the dress of those within the home.

Men should not be allowing themselves to be carried into sin. Their eyes are theirs to control!

A woman’s indiscretions are a blaspheming of the Word of God according to Titus 2:5.

Along with modest dress there are to be good works.

III. PROPER PERSPERATIONS

Verse 10

1 Timothy 2:10. "But (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works."

Good works are that which Paul encourages the women to adorn themselves with. They are to work for their Lord!

In short, if you profess it - dress it!

The overall thought concerning women seems to me to be that the woman dresses so as not to detract anyone’s attention away from the Lord in worship. That she not be the focus of anyone’s attention, might be another way to put it.

Her adornment should be her good works!

I would like to conclude with some thoughts from Matthew Henry.

"Under the gospel, prayer is not to be confined to any one particular house of prayer, but men must pray every where. We must pray in our closets, pray in our families, pray at our meals, pray when we are on journeys, and pray in the solemn assemblies, whether more public or private. We must pray in charity; without wrath, or malice, or anger at any person. We must pray in faith, without doubting, and without disputing. Women who profess the Christian religion, must be modest in apparel, not affecting gaudiness, gaiety, or costliness. Good works are the best ornament; these are, in the sight of God, of great price. Modesty and neatness are more to be consulted in garments than elegance and fashion. And it would be well if the professors of serious godliness were wholly free from vanity in dress. They should spend more time and money in relieving the sick and distressed, than in decorating themselves and their children. To do this in a manner unsuitable to their rank in life, and their profession of godliness, is sinful. These are not trifles, but Divine commands. The best ornaments for professors of godliness, are good works...."

I trust as we leave we have two clear items to meditate on. Men are to pray - and women are to be reflecting godliness.

Verse 11

CHAPTER 13

Let me begin by saying this is where I get myself into deep trouble. We are going to talk about women and talking.

Where I work, we purchased a new vacuum cleaner about the same time we hired a woman to do some vacuuming. We add longer cords to the units to make it easier to use and I did not have the new one ready.

The woman started work and became accustomed to the older, heavier vacuums. At some point in time she decided she couldn’t use the older one, but that maybe the newer one was lighter and easier to use. I told her to try it and see if this was true. It was and so she started using it.

About two months later one morning I noticed that she was using one of the older units. I did not ask why as she tended not to be super coherent when she talked. Later she asked me if I had fixed her vacuum. I replied that I did not know that it had a problem - that I would look at it later that day. She told me she had heard something break and that it didn’t work like it used to.

I checked the unit over and found nothing wrong with it so set it aside and told her the next day that it was functioning the way it should and that I couldn’t find anything that was broken.

She came to me the next day and said "Did you know ahh - my vacuum - ahh - well ah - it doesn’t - well you know - ah - well I tried another one and it - well it is the same - did you find anything wrong with my - well the old one is like the new one - do you know what I’m talking about?"

I told her I did not - she continued in a similar manner for awhile, then I decided there was something wrong with the new vacuum as well as one of the older ones. I said "what is wrong with them?" "Well they don’t - ah - well go down." "You mean the handle doesn’t go down - WELL NO IT DOESN’T!"

I said "let’s go see." We went upstairs and I looked at the new one. Nothing wrong that I could find. She was quite insistent that it was broken. She wanted me to check it out and fix it. I told her it was working as it was designed. I said “Let’s go down and look at the other one that you were using in the basement."

When we arrived in the basement I asked where the vacuum was. WELL IT’S UP THERE WERE WE JUST CAME FROM. I said no, not the new one - where is the old one. Well it is up there! I said up where - she said "we just looked at it." "I said no that is the new one, where is the old one you are using." "WELL IT’S IN THE BASEMENT!" I said, "we are in the basement what part of the basement is it in?" "WELL IT’S OUT THERE IN THE BEDDING AREA."

I went out and found the older vacuum to be working fine as well. I told her and she told me quite plainly that it wasn’t working the way the new one used to.

I said they are working fine and that she had to use one of them and left.

At quitting time she started in again. "What do you think is wrong with these vacuums?" I replied "nothing" - that both were working properly. She said that the new one used to stop in the middle and it was easier to use. This is the first time I realized what she was talking about. The new one was stiff when it arrived and the stiffness had gone away as it was broken in. One of the other fellows explained that was what it probably was. "Well, I sure wish someone would fix it." "Mine broke, I heard it, it doesn’t work like it used to."

Exit walking quickly forward while standing on tongue.

As I was leaving, she said, "Well are you going to fix it?" I returned and attempted to explain that it was okay - that it was stiff, but now it was functioning properly.

"Well you need to do something about it."

Exit walking quicker.

The next day we three entered the elevator at the same time (she, her vacuum and you know who). As the door closed, she released the handle and moved it up and down and quietly said, "Hum, doesn’t lock like it used to."

Exit elevator forward containing laughter.

End of discussion. Woman had final word. Discussion closed.

At quitting time I had the misfortune to be in the shop when she brought her vacuum up. "I heard something the other day, I really think something is broken. I don’t want to - ah - make a point of this but I think it is broken."

I again replied with the usual "working as designed," "stiff when new" options.

"Well, uh if you went to the dentist and he told you something, uh wouldn’t you want to see what someone else had to say - wouldn’t you want a second opinion?"

"There is nothing wrong with the vacuum." "Do you suppose you should check it again, I know there is something wrong with it." I told her I had taken it apart twice and that there was nothing wrong. I told her I was sure one of the other men had looked at it before I had, hoping that she would accept one of us as her second opinion. Not to be.

"Well maybe someone else could look at it and see if they can find out what is wrong with it."

I said that it seemed to be okay as I took the bottom off for the third time. I called her over and showed her how the handle and release worked and that it couldn’t work any other way. I said "see - it stops at the first stop, then you release it again and it goes on a little further" - "And it used to stop in the middle!" "See there is something wrong with it!" "No, there has never been a stop in the middle - it was stiff."

She said "Well, I know that is what you think but maybe - you know"

She continued, "Well I’m not trying to judge - I don’t think we should judge" INTERRUPTING I said "It isn’t about judging it is about looking at the facts - the two vacuums are identical - the handles came from the same factory" SHE INTERRUPTS "but that one is older!" I informed her that the new handle on the old vacuum had been purchased/installed at the same time as we purchased the new vacuum.

"Well then why don’t you compare it to the other vacuums?" “I have - they all work the same, they are all designed the same."

"Well I’m not questioning your ability but maybe someone else could find why it doesn’t work right."

I invited her to open it up and find the problem herself. "Well I’m not a mechanic but maybe someone else could ---"

Tongue firmly between teeth.

She went on, "Well I know that is what you believe but I know something is wrong."

Tongue clinched between teeth.

"Then you’re not going to do anything?"

Exit forward speedily - tongue in great pain.

I’m not suggesting Paul was talking about this woman, but there are times when women can be somewhat difficult control when it comes to their speaking.

I. WOMAN’S POSITION

Let us view woman’s position before God and man.

1 Timothy 2:11 "Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection."

This is a new thought from Paul concerning worship.

Fact: "Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection." Paul also mentioned a similar thought in 1 Corinthians 14:32; 1 Corinthians 14:35. This verse indicates keep peace in the church is the thought of the word.

Some feel the word has the thought of quietness with silence being a possibility.

Yes, we can easily say this is cultural. Yes, we can say that this is Paul’s Parasitical prejudice. Yes, we can say a lot of things about this text that the text doesn’t say about itself.

Just what is Paul trying to get at?

I suggest that he is trying to say that women should be quiet in the church. Not quiet as in gagged, though that may have been close to the case in Ephesus, but quiet partners with the men of the church. I must admit there have been times in my own ministry where a gag or two would have been a real blessing.

To support my choice of the word quiet: The word translated silence is translated quietness in 2 Thessalonians 3:11 "For we hear that there are some which walk among you disorderly, working not at all, but are busybodies. 12 Now them that are such we command and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work, and eat their own bread."

It might be of note that the American Standard Version translators used quiet instead of silent in all four of the places where the word occurs. The word comes from a word that relates to quietness, so this might be a better thought. It is also used in Acts 22:2. "(And when they heard that he spake in the Hebrew tongue to them, they kept the more silence: and he saith,) "

One further proof that this should be quiet rather than silent is found back up in verse one. The term translated peaceable is the adjective form of our word translated silent. Quiet or peaceable seems to be a better thought than silence in my mind. I don’t know exactly the meaning in King James English, but quietness seems the thought of the original language.

We went to speak in a church in Denver in the late 80’s which had a very different worship service. The men and women sat in a large square, while the children sat QUIETLY in a row of smaller chairs in front of their own parents. There was no leader for the service, but the women spoke through their husbands if they wanted a particular song or passage and that usually at home before they left for church. The husbands would request that the group sing a song, read a passage, or he might share some thoughts from the Scriptures.

It was not that the men wanted to rule over the women and shut them up, they just wanted the service to draw as little attention to mankind as possible and throw all of the attention upon the Lord and His worship. They had the Lord’s table set in the center and it was always the center of attention.

Ray Stedman has a good quote: "Women are not to have an attitude of argumentative aggressiveness, assertiveness, or stubborn insistence on having their own way or their own view recognized. Rather, their attitude is to be one of reasonableness, patience, and a willingness to listen to others."

I would assume that if there is a difference of opinion, it ought to be kept to herself and handled with her husband at home.

I don’t feel that I would be out of line to say that in my own life I have seen any false teaching come forth from a man in any session that I have taught in, yet several times I have had women totally disrupt sessions with false teaching or arguing that was very unnecessary.

Let me be quick also to state that the women are usually the ones that tend to enter into discussion quicker than men. Their input is usually very good and meaningful to the subject at hand.

I wonder if Paul’s comments on women aren’t aimed at discouraging the false teaching and arguing thought. He mentions that they should ask of their husbands at home etc. It would be good if a woman has questions about a lesson that she go home and sit down with her husband and talk it over with the Word.

A real problem today is that the man would not be able to look at the word and find an answer to the question. This is probably why we have gotten away from this concept of Paul’s.

My wife will quite often ask me if what she is thinking is right, and then share it in a class, or just ask for her own information.

I think also that part of what Paul is getting at is that women tend to accept the thinking of others too easily. Eve is a good example. She latched right onto what the Devil told her. It took a real man to thumb his nose outwardly at God!

The false doctrine that has interrupted my studies often comes from the woman listening to the radio preachers and accepting all that they say as Gospel truth and not thinking about it or checking it with Scripture or their husband.

When teaching I had a female student that disagreed with me and began arguing very loudly and forcefully. Basically she was repeating what her father had taught her. I finally shifted subjects and finished the class. This was very disruptive and disrespectful. We had a guest speaker’s wife in the class and as I left, I over heard the speaker’s wife and the student talking about the text again. They stopped me and the speaker’s wife started in that she also thought I was wrong.

I finally requested that they both go study it for themselves before the Lord in the Word. I went to the library and found that none of the commentaries held what they believed and most held what I had taught. I then went to the office and restudied the text just to be sure. The point being - a quiet questioning after class would not have disrupted an entire class.

Some feel that Paul is trying to make a positive in these texts. They believe that he is encouraging women to be in teaching sessions and learning.

In the Jewish life women were pretty much left out of things if not refused learning of spiritual matters.

Verse 12

1 Timothy 2:12 "But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence."

Paul says he does not permit a woman to teach, or usurp authority over the man. The term translated “man” is - "ondrous" - mature as opposed to a boy.

A quote may help: "The Gospel elevated the woman and gave her a position of spiritual equality with the man before God, but it does not remove the original position of subordination that God ordained for the woman." (First Timothy; D. Edmond Hiebert; Moody Press; Chicago; 1957, p 60)

I’m not sure this quote is all together true. I think she had equality before. There is nothing to suggest woman is less than man spiritually. They are the same, however there is an order of creation and an element of subordination in life.

The thought of equality before God is very Biblical as well as the thought that during her earthly time she is also to her husband and while in church to the male leadership.

Don’t tar me and feather me, but allow me to literally view the scriptures in the plain easy way of understanding them. If Paul tells me that a woman is not to teach men then I believe that she is not to teach men. If Paul says that women are not to usurp authority over men then I believe that women should not usurp authority over men.

"but to be in silence"

This quote came from a Sunday school lesson book some years ago.

"In public worship the ladies must assume the attitude of a learner; they must sit quietly and listen to instruction `with all subjection’ (verse 1 Timothy 2:11). Modern movements to achieve an imagined emancipation and independence of women are both unbiblical and unnatural. Such attempts are a revolt against a woman’s divinely constituted being and role."

"It is absolutely a disgrace for any man to sit in public at the feet of his wife or any other woman while she presumes to expound Scripture. By subjecting himself to her authority, he virtually betrays his trust as `head of the woman..’ The teaching of Christian doctrine in the public assembly is reserved exclusively for the men (verse 1 Timothy 2:12). Shortages in the pulpits of the land can never justify the unscriptural practice of ordaining women or permitting them to preach." (Keeping the Faith; Baptist Pub.; Denver; 1971; Adult teacher SS Quarterly, p16)

I might add that this is quite humorous when you relate it to the fact that the same company published adult Sunday school literature written by a woman!

A woman writing material is not only teaching the man teacher, but she is also influencing the men that he might teach.

A number of years ago I ordered some adult Sunday school materials from a publisher. The material came and it was written by a woman. I returned them with a nice letter stating that I did not care to use materials written by a woman.

I received back a very curt letter from the editor telling me what for. His thinking was that there are only a few good Sunday school material writers and that he would use any that he wanted - male or female.

I sent a letter to him and explained this text to him and told him that he was free to use women writers and that I was free not to use women writers based on the Word.

I received another letter from him that was very nice. He admitted that I was right and that he would try to refrain from using women writers again.

In the Women’s Liberation movement most reject the Bible. Some say the Bible teaches Women’s Lib. God is She. I say anyone that says that is blaspheming God’s name. You ask why. God is the Father of Jesus, Mary was Jesus mother. If God be a She then God is a homosexual and a freak of nature that can produce a child unnaturally without a father. I reject, as the height of false teaching and ignorance, this line of thinking.

WHY SHOULD A WOMAN NOT TEACH? Not because I said it. Not because Paul said it. Because it reverses the roles set by the creation and the fall -- Woman was to be a helpmeet not a boss and she was the one easily deceived.

Some theologians that desire to allow for the women’s lib movement have come up with a view that allows the person to give lip service to belief in what Paul states about the woman teaching men, yet allows women to teach men.

They hold that the woman is not to teach men unless the man gives the woman permission to teach men. That is not in the verse, nor can you draw it as a principle from this verse!

Others state that the pastor can give authority to the woman to teach. She through the pastor usurps authority of men sitting in the congregation - in my opinion.

Jimmy Carter when asked about this text stated that this is one area in which he disagreed with Paul. ON NATIONAL TELEVISION HE OUTWARDLY DISAGREED WITH GOD’S WORD.

In many churches across the country women are teaching men in things concerning the Word. This is not to be.

I must admit that some of the women teachers I have heard in adult classes are as good if not better than some of the men, however that is not the criterion. Scripture is our criterion and the Lord says that women should not teach men. I tolerate it once in awhile because we are invited into the situation.

We filled the pulpit in a little church in Wyoming and the adult teacher was a woman. The woman admitted she didn’t like it but none of the men would do it so she decided to go ahead - my question is, if she hadn’t taken the position would a man have assumed it even though he felt inadequate? Again I have to admit that she was an excellent teacher and understood the Word better than many men I have sat under.

The good women teachers ought to be teaching the other women of the church as we will see if we get to Titus in our study. Titus 2:3-5 if you want to look at it on your own.

The pastor and leaders must screen the materials used in their church and be able to assure themselves as well as their congregation that the materials are of sufficient quality. They are also responsible for assuring proper teachers both in gender and qualifications.

SO! Just what place does a woman have in a class or service? I believe that a good application of this verse would run along the following lines:

a. A woman can enter into discussions as long as she does not become argumentative with the men in the class. If she indeed, feels that she is correct and the men are wrong, she should not push for vindication, but go home and seek information from her husband and if she is correct, a visit with the teacher and the couple for some good discussion IN LOVE to see if things can be cleared up would be in order. I think if the leader is spiritual at all he will correct his thinking and correct things in class. I know of no one in the ministry that is really interested in teaching false doctrine.

b. Women should check things that they believe with their husbands if they find that their belief is counter to the usual teaching of the church.

c. They should be very careful what they listen to on radio and television. They should also compare what they hear with Scripture and then discuss it with their husband. This would also include the myriads of books on the market.

This is not to say that women should not teach! They should be teaching. They should teach other women as well as children.

It is my personal preference to see women teach no higher than 6th graders. The older young people need the man to teach if at all possible. A lady teaching the girls could be very good as well. At the same time, I am not saying that only women can teach children either. I, again personally would rather see the children’s classes manned by men as well.

Now let’s move on to the why of this limitation.

II. WOMAN’S PROBLEM

Verse 13

1 Timothy 2:13 "For Adam was first formed, then Eve."

Woman was formed to give man a helpmeet, someone that could minister to him in ways that he has need.

Wesley stated that this verse shows that the woman was inferior to the man - HE SAID IT NOT ME!

Verse 14

1 Timothy 2:14 "And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression."

Genesis 3:16 shows she is also under man due to the fall. Genesis 3:16 states, "Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and they conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee."

Many hold that the desire that the woman is to have for her husband is the sexual desire, and/or the love desire. If you really think about that, it does not fit the text well at all. This is just after they sinned and God is bringing forth punishment and consequences. To relegate sexual desire or love to part of punishment just doesn’t fit to me.

The word desire is also used in Genesis 4:7. Here we are in the account of Cain and Abel. Cain has offered and his offering has been rejected. Here we see that God is talking with him. "If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him."

Cain is told that evil will desire to rule him, but that Cain must rule evil instead.

Now, let’s reread the last part of Genesis 3:16, "thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee."

It seems to me that God is telling Eve that she will desire to rule her husband, yet this will not be so. He will in turn rule her, or at least this is the proper makeup of the marriage. This is more in keeping with punishment.

"The seduction of Eve provides sufficient evidence that women are not endowed with the faculties of spiritual discernment in matters of doctrine and morals. By nature women tend to rely upon first appearances, feelings, intuitive capacities, and aesthetic sensibilities. These qualities, as excellent as they are, do not equip the fairer sex to exercise independent judgment in governing the church or guiding doctrinal discussions. Because women have a greater potential than men for being beguiled, it is inadvisable to give them positions of authority over men." (Keeping the Faith; Baptist Pub.; Denver; 1971; Adult SS Quarterly, p 11)

I think this quote is a little harsh, though the principle seems correct.

The Jehovah Witnesses realize this, I think. They call in the day time when men are at work. Every time I’ve come home and they were there they fled. They hardly say goodbye. They know they can double talk many women but that it is difficult to face a man with their false teaching.

The proper order is God, man, woman and children. If the woman usurps, it is God, woman, man and children or at times worse, Woman, God, man and children.

There is another thought that Wesley mentions in relation to the woman. He not only noted that she is more easily deceived, but also more easily deceives. I think from personal experience this is probably true. When our kids were at home, our sons were right up front - like Adam - when they went against us. Our daughter on the other hand was quite deceptive in her disobedience.

Woman has a proper position due to her problem, however God gives her a promise and I believe a compensation.

III. WOMAN’S PROMISE

Verse 15

1 Timothy 2:15 "Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety."

Many are the suggestions about the meaning of this difficult expression. We may not answer this one completely.

Let us just list some of the possible explanations of this text.

1. She will be spared becoming totally involved in the world system or society because she is home taking care of kids. She will be spared the troublesomeness of being out in the world.

Well, that doesn’t really fit in our world. If this was a promise of God, many Christian women are not enjoying it today.

2. Some suggest that she will get safely through childbirth - not succumbing to death.

I’m not sure that I would want to state that, because I have no facts to state that a Christian woman has never died in giving birth to a child.

3. Some teach that having many children results in better chances of entering into heaven. This is not acceptable! Salvation is based on the Blood of Christ not a woman having children.

4. It has been suggested that she will be saved from not being "worthless" spiritually. She will be serving God by giving birth to and raising children. She is being saved from being fruitless - due to her limitation in teaching in the assembly - but will be very productive as a mother.

The term translated saved can be used of being saved from destruction, but it also has the thought of saved TO completeness. The woman is completed in childbirth might be the thought here. I think most women would agree to this thought that having a child completes them as a woman.

Paul adds some modifiers to the thought of raising kids as well. He encourages faith, charity, holiness, and sobriety. I would challenge all women to study that list that Paul gives to you to live up to!

Not to say that the fellows shouldn’t take a look at the list for themselves!

Faith that continues is faith that is always there to meet the needs in prayer and trusting the Lord for answers to life’s problems.

Charity that continues is love that is available at all times. Not just now and then when you want to - but all the time - anytime that someone needs it.

Holiness that continues is holiness that is always there. The children and husband never need to worry about this woman - they know that she is walking with God. It is a holiness that is always there. You don’t find the holiness going in the glove box when they get behind the wheel, or the holiness that stays in the closet when the gossip session begins.

Sobriety relates to soundness of mind. The woman is in control of her mind at all times. She doesn’t allow it to become clouded by influences from within or from without. (The term only appears here and in 1 Timothy 2:9 and in Acts 26:25.)

Sobriety that continues is found in the woman that really is together, and together all the time. Things might shake her for a short time, but she is back on top very quickly.

SOME CONCLUSIONS TO OUR STUDY OF CHAPTER TWO:

Paul does not tell us to go out and demonstrate - He tells us to PRAY for the leaders! It isn’t that demonstrations are wrong, but it is a question of if they are proper for the believer. How will your testimony wash if someone knows that you have been in that particular demonstration?

It is a matter of whether you are breaking the law or not.

It is a matter of whether God led you into it or someone else.

It is a matter of priorities. We are to be evangelizing the world. How will this demonstration help do that?

Paul stresses prayer and submission. I believe the two go hand in hand. Prayer is of the utmost importance in the Christian’s life. If you aren’t praying on a regular basis then you are missing God’s best blessing. Fellowship with the Creator of the heavens and the earth. It really helps to get prayer into your life.

Some quick thoughts on prayer:

1. Before you ask for anything seek forgiveness for your sin.

2. Be sure you are saved!

3. Be honest with God. Don’t try to put on a front for God. I have a hint for you - He knows better!

4. Be regular about it.

5. Try a prayer list. Item, date requested and date answered.

6. Try short prayers through the day when you have a few moments.

7. Be persistent about a request until you feel it is answered.

8. Combine praise with your requests.

9. Be open to God’s bidding - He may want you to be part of the answer.

10. Be sure the rest of your life is in proper order - sin wise -service wise - and give wise.

11. Pray with someone else as often as possible.

12. Pray longer than you think you should.

13. Share answered prayer with other Christians. It will encourage you as well as others.

14. If you’re just starting a regular prayer life, start with a short but specific amount of time.

I trust that the thoughts given have been uplifting to women. I trust I have not offended anyone - women are God’s special gift to men - they are not second class citizens, though our society hasn’t really given fact to that as yet. They do have their place in the order of God’s plan - a very special place.