Introduction
There are countries in the world where you can be killed for being a follower of Jesus. Countries where the idea of a peaceful and quiet life just isn’t a reality. The latest news from the Democratic Republic of Congo this week has been devastating, where on the 13th of February 70 Christians were killed for being followers of Christ. Last year in the DRC 355 people were killed for their faith and 10,000 displaced. Open Doors, who exist to strengthen the persecuted church, asked that churches around the world pray a prayer for the Congo and specifically for Lumbero.
Church let’s pray this prayer together out loud this morning as we come to this passage. Let’s pray for our brothers and sisters in the Congo. Will you stand with me?
“Father, we pray for an end to violence and that government at all levels will diligently, impartially, and transparently address the violence and its effects. Pray for the church in Lumbero as she seeks to bring physical and spiritual assistance to the families affected.”
Friends, as we dive into chapter 2 of Paul’s first letter to Timothy we must remember what Paul has already said in this letter and what he will say later in this letter.
Paul is writing to Timothy and tells him to ensure that a different doctrine is not taught. Then he makes the statement at the heart of the Gospel in v15 of chapter 1. 15 Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst.
Church this is what we teach. This is what Timothy was to teach, and anything that didn’t accord with that was to be called out. Is to be called out.
Further in Chapter 3 Paul gives the reason for the letter. Paul explicitly says the following in verses 14 & 15:
14 Although I hope to come to you soon, I am writing you these instructions so that, 15 if I am delayed, you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God’s household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth.
So with this background in mind we find ourselves in chapter 2 and it is linked to chapter 1.. For the word Ouv (oon) means then or therefore. And ties this passage into what has proceeded. We must then keep chapter 1 in view as we head into chapter 2.
1. Holiness and Gospel Witness (v1-7)
How many times have you prayed as an afterthought? Friends, this whole passage is about order. That’s what we see in verses 1-7 and 8-15. The correct order matters. Knowing that Jesus died so that our sins could be forgiven and we could be made right with God through faith in his son must lead to prayers of thanksgiving. I want to say that we should and must be giving God praise, thanks and honour everyday for his love for us shown in Christ. We must also be praying for our lives, that we are living Godly and holy lives. As Phil 1:27 states:
27 Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in the one Spirit, striving together as one for the faith of the gospel
- The importance of Prayer in church
And Paul says that prayer comes first. Have a look at the first three verses of today’s passage:
I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— 2 for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. 3 This is good, and pleases God our Savior,
So the first thing is to pray. Did you notice the breadth of Paul’s words on prayer. Paul is giving instructions on the how to pray:
- How to pray in church
Paul gives us four different words here that really cover every aspect of talking to God.
- Petitions
Petition or supplication is a pretty specific word. It is asking God for something.
- Prayers
I think we can see this as a catch all of everything that we say to God.
- Intercessions
This is definitely when we ask specifically for something for someone. It makes me think of when I pray for those who are sick or struggling. We are coming to God on their behalf.
- Thanksgiving
This is for people and for answered prayers and most importantly thanking God for who he is and his love for us in his son.
When we gather together we are to pray to God in every way.
- What to pray for in church
Let’s be clear that we are praying for peaceful and quiet lives so that salvation may come to many through the ability to live lives as God commands us. That is Holy and Godly. This is what God wants. We see that in the very next verse. The outcome that God wants is this:
3 This is good, and pleases God our Savior, 4 who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all people.
So we are to come to God with prayers of every kind, praying for all people and not failing to include the leaders because God wants all to be saved. Our prayers are conforming to God’s will.
On Thursday lunchtimes when a small group of us gather on zoom for 30 minutes of prayer. We never fail to pray for those in our midst who don’t yet know Jesus as their Lord and Saviour. We pray that God would soften hearts, that the Gospel would cause those that don’t know Jesus to repent and be saved. Our prayers are aligned with God’s will. In fact church, how can we not be praying for all people that we know that they would come to faith in Christ. Our families, our parents, our children, our friends, our colleagues. And as Paul names, and so I think we could say highlights. We should be regularly praying for our leaders. Our State and Federal leaders that through these prayers we would be able to share the Gospel and witness that we are saved by Christ.
- God wants all people to be saved
They can only be saved by knowing the truth.
The truth is that there is only one mediator between God and man. Now at the moment in Sydney you can’t help but know what a mediator is. Why do I say that, well I say it because one of the top news stories for weeks now has been the train drivers and the industrial action that has been going on with our train network. There has been a pay dispute which has led to all sorts of threats and late trains and the government and the train drivers union haven’t been able to work it out. So that needed a mediator. So they went to the fair work commission and the outcome of that is that the union isn’t allowed to take any further strike action until July 1st. The mediator hasn’t solved the problem, however for now the two parties can speak without fear or favour.
- Christ is the only mediator
Well Jesus is our mediator with God. We sin and fall short of the glory of God, as we read in Romans 3:23. Jesus is our mediator with God. His death on the cross means that he can resolve our position and bring us to God. He is the way, the truth and the life and no one comes to the Father except through him. He mediates for us. He can do this because he is God. He is the only one who can mediate for us. This is the Gospel. This is what we preach. Christ died for sinners….
- A teacher of the gentiles in faith and truth
Paul is summing up his whole reason for being. It is for the Gospel that Paul has been set apart. To share it, to preach it, to teach it, to live it. Do you see the words in these verse 6a and 7
6b This has now been witnessed to at the proper time.7 And for this purpose I was appointed a herald and an apostle—I am telling the truth, I am not lying—and a true and faithful teacher of the Gentiles.
The way that I understand the words ‘witnessed to at the proper time’ is that God’s plan of salvation through Christ’s life, death and resurrection has happened exactly as it was planned and exactly in God’s perfect timing. And in view of this Paul’s purpose in ministry is to herald, which is another way of saying that he is the announcer of the good news, the one who brings the message from the King. Christ’s ransom for our sins, the Gospel is being shared And that is exactly what Paul is: he is Christ’s messenger, he is Christ’s chosen apostle to the gentiles at the right time.
- This letter is for the whole church and beyond
Verse 7 gives us insight into the whole letter as well. For while we read in the second verse of this letter that he was writing to Timothy, it becomes clear throughout the letter that he wasn’t just writing to Timothy. And the inclusion of verse 7 makes it clear that Paul’s audience was wider and most likely at least included the church in Ephesus.
In the first half of this passage Paul makes it clear that in view of the fact that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners 1 Timothy 1:15. Therefore (2v1) we are to pray for all people that they would know that God wants them to be saved and that salvation is through Christ’s sacrificial death on the cross. Further while we pray for all people we include leaders, kings and rulers, so that we may be able to live holy lives that reflect God’s goodness. Not so we can sit on the porch and say isn’t life just dandy. But so we may love and show that we love God with all our heart, mind and soul and our neighbours as ourselves. This is a great missionary passage. Paul now joins the next section with what he has just said. Paul here as we come to verses 8-15 and then the following chapters is about how orderly church.
2. Orderly Church Worship for Men and Women
As we come to the second half of the passage Paul talks about men and women and orderly worship. Now before we even get into this section I want to acknowledge that this passage can be very hard to hear for us today. It may seem like the bible may be saying that men and women are not equal. Yet friends that is a lie, this passage isn’t saying that and the Bible says the opposite. And we need to start by remembering that scripture in the very first chapter of Genesis states this. Genesis 1:27
So God created mankind in his own image,
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.
That men and women are equal in worth, dignity and redemption. We are both children of God loved equally by God. So there is no place for superiority or inferiority between the sexes. It is just not biblical. So please keep this in mind as we come to these verses.
- Men praying in church
The second half of the chapter is joined to the first. The prayer theme is also continued, though now it is more about the prayer’s posture. Have look at verse 8
8 Therefore I want the men everywhere to pray, lifting up holy hands without anger or disputing.
When men pray, and we have clarified why they pray and what they are to pray for. When they pray, they are to do it with the correct motives.
- Holy prayer in church
There is no room in prayer for anger or disputing. When we come before our heavenly Father in prayer we do it as humble servants of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. We are praying as we saw in verses 1 & 2 for all people, to live quiet, godly and holy lives. Angry prayers, divisive prayers have no place when God’s people pray. Paul uses the expression Holy Hands. I don’t think that Paul is saying that we need to lift our hands when we pray, It is fine to do it. But what is most important here is the posture. Friends God calls us to be holy. Psalm 24:3-4
3 Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord?
Who may stand in his holy place?
4 The one who has clean hands and a pure heart,
who does not trust in an idol
or swear by a false god.
When we come before God in prayer, we are to come in the posture of holiness without anger or disputing. But coming before the very throne of God.
Paul was also saying that those leading prayer were not to act like the false teachers that he is warning against. Have a look at how Paul describes them in 1 Tim 6
1 Tim 6:1-4
These are the things you are to teach and insist on. 3 If anyone teaches otherwise and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching, 4 they are conceited and understand nothing. They have an unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about words that result in envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions 5 and constant friction between people of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain.
- Be dressed in godliness
This is what verse 9 is saying. Paul sums up this verse with why what is worn is important. Because how we dress speaks about who we are. Look at Paul’s words in verses 9 & 10
9 I also want the women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, adorning themselves, not with elaborate hairstyles or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, 10 but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God.
Paul is saying that when we come together as the body of Christ dress appropriately. I don’t think that we need to get bogged down in these verses. We only need to turn on the TV to any awards show to see how to do the opposite of what Paul is saying here. None of us are to dress in such a way that we become a distraction or something to take away from gathering around God’s word, preaching the Gospel and encouraging one another. Paul lands these words by saying what is important here is that women are living Gospel lives. That’s my shorthand for verse 10. And if you worship God you do it with your whole life, which includes what you wear.
- Authority and teaching in the church
Paul, while speaking about women when gathered in Christ’s body the Church, moves from dress to the role of teacher and elder.
11 A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. 12 I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man; she must be quiet. 13 For Adam was formed first, then Eve. 14 And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner.
Now let’s unpack this passage a little and see what it is saying and what it isn’t saying. Firstly, let’s remember that this passage is speaking about the church, that is when the body of Christ meets together there is an orderly way that God has given us for how we are to meet and worship. Also, in verse 11 the word for quietness is the same word that is used back in verse 2 for quiet lives. So it is not silence, but quietness. I also want to say that it is important that we don’t say more than what God’s word says. In Verse 12 scripture clearly states that women are not to teach or to assume authority over a man. What does this mean for us as we meet together as the body of Christ. Well I think it is clear that this means that in our gathered life and worship when we meet together certain men are responsible for being the Pastors and for teaching God’s word. We will get to the why in a minute as we unpack verses 13 & 14. But I want to also say that we model here at Chatswood Baptist what we believe that scripture says. God has an order, it has nothing to do with ability. There are many women who are far superior at preaching than me. Yet that is not the point. God has made us and designed how his family is to operate in the church and at home. I understand that this is counter cultural, yet we need to ask ourselves about whether we truly believe that God’s design is the best. We also need to not take this verse further than it needs to be taken. What we are talking about in our church life is about what chapter 3 says when it looks at the qualifications for a pastor.
Paul doesn’t just leave us with his command and pretty much say, well this is what I think. No he gives this instruction because he trusts God and his word. Paul gives the reason in verses 13 & 14 for why certain qualified men are to fulfill the role of Pastor & teacher in the Christian community. It is because that is the way that God has ordered us.
Adam was formed first and then Eve. Adam is not better than Eve, God just made Adam first and gave him certain responsibilities to lead the family. We see in scripture in 1 cor 11:3 that there is an order.
3 But I want you to realize that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.
- Men and women both created in God’s image
When we read verse 14 it can be hard not to see this as being very hard to hear. It almost appears as though Paul is saying that women are inferior to men. And friends throughout the last 2000 years I think that there have been people who have used this verse in hurtful and selfish ways. Yet I believe that this verse properly understood in its context is in no way saying that men and women aren’t equal. That women are somehow not as smart as men. This is just not true. Men and women were both fully created in God’s image. There is no difference here in capability, skill or talent. No, what this verse is saying is as John Stott describes it. Eve took an improper initiative and took Adam’s authority when she took the apple, ate it and gave it to her husband.
- Don’t reject God’s authority
We need to love the way God does things. We need to ask ourselves about whether we want to follow God’s way or the world’s way.
For many people they don’t see the possibility that this could fit with the 2025 mindset. Society has come to the point where men and women are interchangeable in every aspect. But that is not God’s order as we see in Genesis and in how we are to conduct ourselves as God’s people when we come together.
We come to this final verse which again can seem hard to fathom, especially these first 7 words.
15 But women will be saved through childbearing—if they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety.
- What can’t this mean?
Firstly, we know that scripture makes it clear throughout the Gospels and epistles that faith in Christ is how we are saved. And this is attested to after the first 7 words. Paul makes it clear that faith is what saves. Faith, love and holiness.
- What could this mean?
I think that there are only two possibilities that are plausible.
Firstly, it is possible that Paul is just speaking about order in a broad sense; it is only women who can have children and that this is a role given only to women.
However, it seems more likely that a second understanding may well be in view. And that being saved through the birth of a child (childbearing) actually refers to Christ’s birth. This fits well with Paul’s words earlier in the chapter about Christ being our one mediator between God and mankind. There is also Genesis 3:15
And I will put enmity
between you and the woman,
and between your offspring[a] and hers;
he will crush your head,
and you will strike his heel.”
Perhaps we could say without women giving birth none of us would have been saved.
Friends, let’s not lose sight of the fact that we need to follow God’s commands in scripture. We need to continue to read God’s word and see his will.
As I was praying about this sermon this morning, I have been praying much this week. I had this thought.
Your will, your work, your way Father.
While we end on verse 15 in this section, I want to take our minds back to how much God loves us, by finishing with verses 3-6.
3 This is good, and pleases God our Savior, 4 who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all people.
Church, let’s continue to pray God will.
