Reflections on 1 Timothy 2

1 Timothy 02 (Contemporary English Version)


1. First of all, I ask you to pray for everyone. Ask God to help and bless them all, and tell God how thankful you are for each of them.
2. Pray for kings and others in power, so that we may live quiet and peaceful lives as we worship and honor God.
3. This kind of prayer is good, and it pleases God our Savior.
4. God wants everyone to be saved and to know the whole truth, which is,
5. There is only one God, and Christ Jesus is the only one who can bring us to God. Jesus was truly human, and he gave himself to rescue all of us.
6. God showed us this at the right time.
7. This is why God chose me to be a preacher and an apostle of the good news. I am telling the truth. I am not lying. God sent me to teach the Gentiles about faith and truth.
8. I want everyone everywhere to lift innocent hands toward heaven and pray, without being angry or arguing with each other.
9. I would like for women to wear modest and sensible clothes. They should not have fancy hairdos, or wear expensive clothes, or put on jewelry made of gold or pearls.
10. Women who claim to love God should do helpful things for others,
11. and they should learn by being quiet and paying attention.
12. They should be silent and not be allowed to teach or to tell men what to do.
13. After all, Adam was created before Eve,
14. and the man Adam wasn't the one who was fooled. It was the woman Eve who was completely fooled and sinned.
15. But women will be saved by having children, if they stay faithful, loving, holy, and modest.
    
    

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    Paul first addressed his concern regarding the false teachers in the previous chapter. Now he turns attention to the positive conduct of the church. His first concern was prayer. In particular, prayer for the salvation of all people, and more specifically, prayer for the salvation of those in governmental authority. At first glance it may seem that the prayers are possibly intended for the general welfare of those for whom they prayed, but verses 3 and 4 come to the point. Concerning this prayer for everyone, Paul says, "This is good, and it pleases God our Savior, who wants everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth." (2:3-4) The primary intent for the prayer was the salvation of all people.
    
    Beyond the fulfillment of God's will in these prayers for the salvation of all people and particularly those in authority, an additional benefit is a life of tranquility and quietness in "all godliness and dignity." Persecution of Christians was on the increase at the time of Paul's writing, especially influenced by Nero's growing resentment toward them. Praying for his salvation and that of others in authority would have great effect toward "a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity." What those in authority needed was not religion. Many of them may have already been heavily involved with the pagan religions of the day. What they needed was a right relationship with God, and that is only possible through Christ Jesus who is the only "mediator between God and man." (2:5)
    
    Urging Timothy and other readers of this letter to pray for all people and particularly those in authority, Paul then gave instructions concerning their approach to prayer. To the men he said to "Pray, lifting up holy hands without anger or argument." Paul was not teaching here the lifting of hands in prayer. That was a practice already common in that day. His emphases was that the hands they lifted should be holy, signifying the condition of the heart. Plus, their relationships should not be characterized by anger or disputing. Thus the praying had two benefits: first it sought to benefit those for whom they prayed, and then it benefitted those who prayed by focusing them on God and godliness.
    
    Paul also had a word for the women. As the men should come to prayer with holy hearts and proper relationships with others, the women were to come to these gatherings more concerned about their inner beauty than their outward beauty. Furthermore, they should not be clamoring for authority but rather accepting the authority of the men in quietness. It was not "silence" Paul sought of the women, but "Quietness." Meaning, "settled down, undisturbed, not unruly." As in other places, Paul appeals to this conduct by women based on God's design in creation. What did Paul mean in 2:15, "But she will be saved through childbearing, if she continues in faith, love, and holiness, with good sense." It is unclear, but perhaps he was encouraging the women to find their primary significance through their role in the family.