First Timothy 2:2

The first couple of verses of First Timothy chapter two remind us of the importance of praying for all human beings. There is plenty to pray about. You should pray for every person that you know, every person that you see, and every person that you hear about. Prayer changes things. We all need prayer. It is good to pray for one another. In speaking of praying for other people, we are told one group of people specifically to pray for in First Timothy 2:2. It says to pray, “For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.”

We need to pray for all men and women, and then we are told specifically to pray for kings and for all in authority. Why are we told specifically to pray for those in authority? One reason may be because the common man tends to look down upon and mistrust those who are in authority. We certainly will not look down upon someone when we pray for them. Romans chapter thirteen tells us to be respectful and in submission to those in authority. Romans 13:1 says, “Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power, but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.” Here in First Timothy we are told to pray for those in authority.

One reason that we are specifically told to pray for those who are in authority is because of their power and their influence in regards to the circumstances of all of our lives. Of course, the governmental authorities make and enforce the laws. What they decide and what they do go a long way to determining the environment under which we live and look for opportunities to spread the gospel. We will try and help the government by being law-abiding and respectful citizens. The government will help us when they do their part to create a quiet and peaceable community. With such tremendous responsibilities and with human nature being what it is, the governmental authorities have little chance of making the right decisions unless we pray for them.

As Paul wrote about prayer for all humans, evidently he began thinking of the greatest need of all humans because he said in First Timothy 2:3-4, “For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.” Every person needs to be saved so that everyone can go to heaven. Therefore, we need to pray for the salvation of every person. If you know someone and you hope that they get saved through faith in Christ, the best thing you can do for them is to pray for them. No matter what you do, no one will get saved unless the Spirit of God touches their heart. When we pray for people we are showing concern for their salvation and we are recognizing that only God can accomplish that salvation. No one comes to Christ unless the Spirit of Christ draws them.

First Timothy 2:4 is another of the many places in the Bible that show that everyone can be saved. It is the will of God that everyone be saved. It says here that God “will have all men to be saved.” The ultimate reason that anyone does not get saved is because they hardened their stubborn will against the will of God. One of the things involved when a person gets saved is that person surrenders their will to the will of God. If you have never surrendered to God, then you have never been saved, no matter what you claim to believe.

Notice that there is a connection between being saved and coming to the knowledge of the truth. You cannot have the one without the other. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but by me.” In First Timothy 2:5-6 the Bible says the same thing. “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.” There is only one mediator because Jesus died for all. If He had died only for some, then there would need to be a mediator for the others that He did not die for.

God the Father sent Jesus to die. Jesus came and lived as a man and then gave His life on the cross. There is also something for the believers to do to help bring salvation to the world. That is the significance of the phrase, “to be testified in due time.” “Let the redeemed of the Lord say so.” “How shall they believe except they hear, and how shall they hear except someone tell them the gospel?”

Paul told other believers what they should do, but never without realizing that he should be doing the same thing. He spoke of his own responsibilities and accomplishments and said in First 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.” Paul said that he was ordained to do three things: be a preacher, be an apostle, and be a teacher. Paul was an apostle born out of due season. He probably was God’s replacement for Judas Iscariot.

We may not be able to be an apostle the way that Paul was, but we can be the other two things if we are gifted of God and called of God to do so. Paul was a preacher. The Greek word that is used for preach in this verse means to speak publicly. The emphasis is on the method used to put forth the word of God. If you speak and speak publicly the Word of God, then you are preaching. God uses the public presentation of His Word by those who are called to do so. There is no substitute for it. There are other ways of getting out the Word of God, but there is no substitute for the importance of having a preacher.

One of the greatest people to ever walk the earth after Jesus Christ was Paul the Apostle, and Paul was a preacher. He was also a teacher. Some people think that anyone can teach. That is not true. In order to teach God’s Word in the way that it needs to be taught, one must be called by God and gifted by God. Every Christian is gifted in some way, and each Christian should discover, nurture, and use their gift for God’s glory. But no one should teach unless they have the gift to teach. The Word of God is the greatest book in the world, but we must have a teacher sent from God if we are going to discover the great teachings of the Bible and if we are going to benefit from what we hear. Jesus was a teacher. And the Bible says in Ephesians 4:8, “When He ascended up on high, he led captivity captive and he gave gifts unto men.” And it says in Ephesians 4:11, “And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers.”

Paul said that he was a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and verity. In other words his teachings had a direct relationship to faith and truth. Paul was referring to the purpose and the content of his teaching. It is very important for a teacher to understand why he is teaching. At best you can only accomplish what you are aiming to accomplish. Paul understood what teaching from the Bible is supposed to accomplish: the spreading of the truth and the building up of faith. Some people use the Bible to tear down and to knock down, to criticize, and to condemn. The gift of teaching God’s Word is given to build up the faith. The purpose that the Lord has given the gifts to believers that were mentioned in Ephesians chapter 4 is found in Ephesians 4:12-15, “For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ: That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ.”

The will of God for saved people is that we become more like Christ and that our faith grows. One of the critical factors in these things happening is that we hear the right kind of teaching from God’s Word: teaching that will build up our faith.

Paul said that he was a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and verity. In order to teach truth from God’s Word and have long-term believability, one must be a speaker of truth in one’s own conversation. The Bible says, “Thou shalt not lie.” Jesus said, “The devil is the Father of liars.” Many human beings will lie especially when they think they are going to benefit from it. But a teacher of God’s Word should always be a truth speaker. Paul said about himself in First Timothy 2:7, “I speak the truth in Christ, and lie not.”

In First Timothy 2:8 the Bible says, “I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.” Paul tells us three important things about prayer in this verse. He tells us where to pray, in what spiritual condition to be in when we pray, and in what spiritual condition not to be in when we pray. Is there a certain place where people ought to pray? When you want to pray or need to pray is there a specific place where you must go in order to pray? The answer is found in this verse as well as elsewhere in the Bible. The answer is “every where.”

Human beings can pray anywhere and everywhere. That is because God is everywhere. Those who think one must be in a certain geographical or physical location in order to get close to God in prayer simply do not understand the omnipresence of God. Human organized, legalistic religion often makes this mistake. Too many people who think they are religious in the various religions of the world have been told that they must go to a certain building or place to pray. The woman whom Jesus met at the well in John chapter 4 made this mistake. The woman said to Jesus in John 4:20, “Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.” Jesus replied to her in John 4:23-24, “But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”

There is no such thing as a holy place where you must be to pray, but according to the Apostle Paul, there is such a thing as praying “with holy hands.” If we want our prayers to be answered, then our hearts must be right with the Lord when we pray. “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” David wrote in the Psalms, “If I hide iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.” Another reason to do the right thing is so that you will have more power in prayer. When you do pray, make sure to confess your sins and then you will have “holy hands” in the rest of your prayer. Jesus told us to pray, “Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who trespass against us.”

We are told to pray with holy hands, and we are also told to pray “without wrath and doubting.” Human beings are by nature the children of wrath. The righteousness of God cannot be done with the wrath of man. Not all anger is wrong, but most of it is. God is angry with the wicked every day. But most human anger is sinful and comes from the selfishness of man and the self-will of man. When we pray, we should be praying asking for God’s will to be done and not our own will. When we pray for others, we are thinking of their needs and benefit, and thereby cannot be angry with them.

Of course, it will not do any good to pray if we pray and doubt at the same time. “Without faith it is impossible to please God.” We must have confidence that God exists and that He rewards those who diligently seek Him. When we pray without wrath and doubting, we will be praying for the benefit of other people and we will pray with confidence that God hears and is touched by our prayers. We can then be certain that after we pray the results that we see are His will.

In First Timothy 2:9-10 the Bible says, “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; But (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works.” According to the Apostle Paul and the Word of God an important issue concerning women is how they dress. The standard for the Christian woman is “modest apparel.” It is interesting to note that the Bible does not tell us exactly what is modest apparel, but it does tell us what it is not. No one can deny that the Bible says that a woman must be dressed in modest apparel. If you are a Christian woman then you must dress in modest apparel. What is modest apparel? Each woman must decide for herself if she is dressing in modest apparel or not. This verse is not written so that you can judge others or so that you can decide for them what modest apparel means, but the verse definitely means that each woman must decide for herself if her clothing is modest or not.

This verse does not mean that a woman cannot have “broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array.” But it does mean that a Christian woman should understand that her real adornment comes from certain important spiritual qualities that she should strive to have and not from jewelry, clothing, or a hairdo of any kind.

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