Thursday
Evening Bible Study
January
25, 2018
Introduction
Do people see Jesus? Is the gospel
preached? Does it address the person who is: Empty, lonely, guilty, or afraid
to die? Does it speak to the broken
hearted? Does it build up the church? Milk – Meat – Manna Preach for a decision
Is the church loved? Target 3300 words
Video = 75 wpm
The book of Acts ends in AD 60 with Paul being in Rome under house arrest.
We believe Paul was later released, and visited various places, including
Ephesus.
While traveling, Paul left Timothy in Ephesus to pastor the church.
Timothy had spent many years with Paul and was like a spiritual “son” to
Paul.
This letter was written somewhere around AD 63, to guide Timothy to correct
the problems in Ephesus.
Timothy is in his mid-forties about now.
Timothy would pastor the church for 30 years, and die a martyr in AD 97.
2:1-7 Prayer
:1 Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers,
intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men,
:1 Therefore I exhort first of all
exhort – parakaleo
– to call to one’s side, call for, summon; to address, speak to, (call to,
call upon), which may be done in the way of exhortation, entreaty, comfort,
instruction, etc.; to admonish, exhort; to beg, entreat, beseech
Paul has mentioned that he’s going to ask Timothy to deal with the false
teachers, but before he gets into those details, he sets out a “first priority”
for the church … prayer.
:2 supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks
Paul mentions four types of prayer:
supplications –
deesis – need, want; prayer based on personal
needs.
prayers – proseuche – sacred
prayer addressed to God
intercessions –
enteuxis – a childlike confidence in
a conversation with God, confident access to God.
giving of thanks – eucharistia
– thankfulness; the giving of thanks
:2 be made for all men
These types of prayers are how we pray for everyone we pray for.
Do we know what that person “needs”?
Do we have confidence in God’s answers?
Are we thankful for God’s response?
When it comes to praying for “all men”,
Don’t make it too general – “Dear God, I pray that all men would be saved.”
When Paul says “all men”, he means, “all that you are praying for”.
Expand your prayers a little.
Don’t just pray for the three people closest to you, though that’s a good
place to start.
Know your limits.
If you take “all men” too literally, you will find yourself praying through
the phone book.
It’s better to pray for 20 people well, then to pray for 3,000 people very
little.
Prayer is powerful. It changes
things. It changes people.
:2 for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and
peaceable life in all godliness and reverence.
:2 for kings and all who are in authority
kings – basileus – leader of
the people, prince, commander, lord of the land, king
authority – huperoche
– elevation, pre-eminence, superiority
These are some of the people we need to be praying for.
Keep in mind that Paul is writing about AD 63, and the emperor at that time
was Caesar Nero, the great persecutor.
By AD 64, Nero would go crazy and
start a significant persecution against the church.
:2 that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life
quiet – eremos
– quiet, tranquil; the emphasis on “stillness”.
peaceable – hesuchios
– quiet, tranquil; “sitting still”
godliness – eusebeia
– reverence, respect; piety towards God, godliness
reverence – semnotes
– the characteristic of a thing or person which entitles to reverence and
respect, dignity, majesty,
sanctity; honor, purity
The purpose behind our prayers for our government leaders is so we might be
able to have quiet and tranquil lives, lives that will reflect godliness and
reverence for God.
During the early centuries of the church, there was great persecution
against the church.
One of the reasons the early church was persecuted was because some within
the Roman Empire considered Christians trouble, because Christians inevitably
stopped worshipping and praying to the many pagan gods, and the Romans feared
that this was the cause of every little trouble, earthquake, famine, or plague.
It was during this time that one of the church fathers wrote a letter to
the emperor to make a case for the persecution to stop because he told the
emperor that Christians weren’t against the government, in fact they were
praying FOR the government, just as Paul had commanded here.
Let’s take some time to pray for our government – our president (Donald
Trump), congress, supreme court, governor (Jerry Brown), mayor (Doug Chaffee).
:3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior,
good – kalos
– beautiful, handsome, excellent, eminent, choice, surpassing, precious,
useful, suitable, commendable, admirable; beautiful to look at, shapely,
magnificent; good, excellent in its nature and characteristics, and therefore
well adapted to its ends
acceptable – apodektos
– accepted, acceptable, agreeable
:3 good and acceptable in the
sight of God
It’s a good thing that we are praying for people.
:4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the
truth.
:4 who desires all men to be saved
desires – thelo – to will,
have in mind, intend; to be resolved or determined, to purpose; to desire, to
wish; to love; to like to do a thing, be fond of doing; to take delight in,
have pleasure
It’s God’s desire that all people be saved.
God loves to save people.
That’s why we ought to be praying for people.
Does this mean that all men will be saved?
No.
People have free will, and have the ability to reject God’s salvation.
But it does give us a clue as to God’s heart, God’s desire.
God wants people to be saved.
:4 come to the knowledge of the truth
knowledge – epignosis –
precise and correct knowledge; a fuller, clearer, more thorough knowledge
God doesn’t want people knowing “about” Him, He wants them to come to “know
Him”.
He wants people to have a full, intimate relationship with Him.
:5 For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the
Man Christ Jesus,
:5 one God and one Mediator
Lesson
Only One Mediator
mediator – mesites – one
who intervenes between two, either in order to make or restore peace and
friendship
Job in the Old Testament lamented that it seemed that there was no one to
make things right between God and man.
(Job 9:33 NKJV) Nor is there
any mediator between us, Who may lay his hand on us both.
Job wasn’t aware that God had plans.
The last couple of weeks I’ve been reading Eric Metaxes’ book on Martin
Luther.
It’s not just a history of Martin Luther himself, but of the Reformation,
the foundation of the Protestant churches.
I’ve been fascinated to read that Martin Luther didn’t come to all his
ideas criticizing the Roman Catholic church all at once, but in stages.
First came his criticism of the practice of selling
“indulgences”.
Then came his criticism of the pope’s authority, and the
idea that the pope as well as church councils had the authority to make claims
that were even more authoritative than Scripture.
Luther’s position was that the Scriptures had the supreme
say so when it came to what we believe to be true. Sola Scriptura.
Then came his recognition that salvation came through
faith alone in the finished work of Christ.
That man could not achieve salvation through good works, but only by
faith in Christ.
Then came his awakening to the “priesthood of all
believers”.
The Roman Catholic church taught that man was able to
become right with God only through the intervening of the priesthood.
You can only be forgiven by God when the priest tells you
that you are forgiven.
The Bible teaches that the only One who intervenes and
makes us right with God is Jesus.
And once we believe in Jesus, we are all “kings and
priests”. There are no second-class
Christians, we are all the same.
:6 who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time,
:6 who gave Himself a ransom for all
ransom – antilutron – what
is given in exchange for another as the price of his redemption, ransom
Though Job didn’t know about the Mediator, he did have a concept of a
Redeemer.
(Job 19:25 NKJV) For I know that
my Redeemer lives, And He shall stand at last on the earth;
This is how Jesus is the Only Mediator.
He gave His life up in exchange for ours.
He paid a debt He didn’t owe because we owed a debt we couldn’t pay.
:7 for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle—I am speaking the
truth in Christ and not lying—a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and
truth.
appointed – tithemi
– to set, put, place; to set, fix establish; to establish, ordain
preacher – kerux
– 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.
apostle – apostolos
– a delegate, messenger, one sent forth with orders
teacher – didaskalos
– a teacher
:7 for which I was appointed a preacher…
This was Paul’s calling, to make clear to people about Jesus Christ.
2:8-15 Men and Women
I believe that what Paul is going to lay out in the next couple of verses
are instructions on how things are to be done in church. The focus is on what happens in church.
:8 I desire therefore that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands,
without wrath and doubting;
:8 therefore that the men pray everywhere
I desire – boulomai
– to will deliberately, have a purpose, be minded; of willing as an
affection, to desire
pray – proseuchomai
– to offer prayers, to pray
I’m afraid that when it comes to prayer, it’s usually the women of the
church who pray.
Yet because of what Paul has just talked about – that we ought to be
praying, and that God wants people saved …
Paul wants the men of the church be about prayer.
:8 lifting up holy hands
lifting up – epairo
– to lift up, raise up, raise on high
holy – hosios – undefiled by sin, free from
wickedness
…religiously observing every moral
obligation, pure holy, pious; used of persons or things, describes that which
is in harmony with the divine constitution of the moral universe. Hence, it is
that which is in accordance with the general and instinctively felt idea of
right, “what is consecrated and sanctioned by universal law and consent”
(Passow), rather than what is in accordance with any system of revealed truth.
It’s not necessarily what is
correct in God’s laws, but what is naturally right, what everyone in the world
recognizes as right.
This isn’t the normal word for “holy” (hagios). This isn’t holiness in the sense of meeting
God’s requirements for what is good and right, but “holy” in the sense of doing
what is “naturally right”, what everyone in the world recognizes as being
right.
The idea is that Paul wants the men who are going to pray in public in
church to be men who live lives that are above reproach, lives that everyone
recognizes are “good” lives.
I’m not sure this is “holy” in the sense that your prayers aren’t going to
be heard by God unless you are right with God (which is true), but the idea of
setting before the world that needs to know God, that God’s people who are
praying for them are good examples to follow.
:8 without wrath and doubting
wrath – orge
– anger, the natural disposition, temper, character; movement or agitation
of the soul, impulse, desire, any violent emotion, but esp. anger
doubting – dialogismos
– the thinking of a man deliberating with himself; a deliberating,
questioning about what is true; hesitation, doubting; disputing, arguing
(1 Timothy 2:8 The
Message) Since prayer is at the bottom of all this, what I want mostly is
for men to pray—not shaking angry fists at enemies but raising holy hands to
God.
:9 in like manner also, that the women adorn themselves in modest apparel,
with propriety and moderation, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or
costly clothing,
in like manner – hosautos
– in like manner, likewise
women – gune
– a woman of any age, whether a virgin, or married, or a widow; a wife; of
a betrothed woman
apparel – katastole
– a lowering, letting down; a garment let down, dress, attire
modest – kosmios
– well arranged, seemly, modest
propriety – aidos
– a sense of shame or honour, modesty, bashfulness, reverence, regard for
others, respect; the feeling of innate moral repugnance to doing a
dishonorable act.
moderation – sophrosune
– soundness of mind; self-control, sobriety; self-command, it
expresses positively that which aidos expresses negatively.
adorn – kosmeo
– to put in order, arrange, make ready, prepare; to ornament, adore;
metaph. to embellish with honour, gain honour
braided hair – plegma
– what is
woven, plaited, or twisted together; a web, plait, braid; of a net; of a
basket, in which the infant Moses was laid; of braided hair
gold –
chrusos – precious things made of gold, golden ornaments
pearls –
margarites – a pearl
costly –
poluteles – precious; requiring very great outlay, very costly; excellent, of
surpassing value
clothing –
himatismos – clothing, apparel
:10 but, which is proper for women professing godliness, with good works.
is proper – prepo
– to stand out, to be conspicuous, to be eminent; to be becoming, seemly,
fit
professing – epaggello
– to announce that one is about to do or furnish something; to promise (of
one’s own accord) to engage voluntarily; to profess
godliness – theosebeia
(“God” + “worship”) – reverence towards God’s goodness
works – ergon
– business, employment, that which any one is occupied; that which one
undertakes to do, enterprise, undertaking
good – agathos
– of good constitution or nature; good, pleasant, agreeable, joyful, happy;
excellent, distinguished; upright, honourable
:9 that the women adorn themselves
In some churches the culture is to dress up for Sunday morning.
Going to church can seem like going to a fashion show.
It would seem that there’s nothing new.
It was that way in Paul’s day as well.
The problem with the fashion show church is that there is no such thing as
the “perfect family”.
:10 with good works
If you’re going to get “dressed” for church, then get dressed with good
works.
The life that you live is more important than the clothes that you wear.
:11 Let a woman learn in silence with all submission.
:11 Let a woman learn in silence
in silence – hesuchia
– quietness; description of the life of one who stays at home doing his own
work, and does not officiously meddle with the affairs of others; silence
subjection – hupotage
– the act of subjecting; obedience, subjection
Before the Christian church, women were typically not allowed into places
of worship. Knowing God was a guy
thing.
Jesus changed all that. He broke
down the barriers between men and women.
(Galatians 3:28
NKJV) There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free,
there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
Yet when Jesus broke down the barriers between men and women, some of the
gals didn’t know how to conduct themselves in church.
Also keep in mind, men and women typically sat in different places in the
church.
Apparently some of the gals would interrupt the teacher to ask questions,
or they would yell across the room to their husbands to ask about a point in
the message.
Paul would write to the Corinthians:
(1
Corinthians 14:34–35 NLT) —34 Women should be silent during the church
meetings. It is not proper for them to speak. They should be submissive, just
as the law says. 35
If
they have any questions, they should ask their husbands at home, for it is
improper for women to speak in church meetings.
This isn’t about not speaking at all, but about interrupting.
Women were apparently allowed to pray or prophesy at
church:
(1
Corinthians 11:5 NKJV) But every woman who prays or prophesies with her head
uncovered dishonors her head, for that is one and the same as if her head were
shaved.
In Corinth, the prostitutes were the gals in town who
didn’t cover their heads or shaved them.
Paul was encouraging the women to not look like a prostitute when they
prayed or prophesied.
Here in Timothy the issue is the same.
Instead of interrupting the teacher.
And whether you are a man or a woman, please don’t
interrupt the teacher.
If you have any questions, ask later.
:12 And I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man,
but to be in silence.
:12 to teach or to have authority over a man
Lesson
Women in Ministry
There is a different issue here than the previous verse. The issue here is
not about keeping things orderly during the public services, but about who is
leading the church, the public services.
What I’m going to talk about is not very politically correct today.
Today there is a great movement, some of it justified, to put women in
charge of everything.
In TV and movies, you are seeing more and more stories about women heroes,
stories written by women, directed by women, and starring women.
And in light of the Harvey Weinstein garbage and the
subsequent “#MeToo” movement, I get it.
There is a temptation by some to take this and the following verses to be a
“cultural” thing – that in Paul’s day women weren’t thought of as much, and so
Paul tells them to be quiet, but since today things are different, then the
rule doesn’t change.
Keep in mind though, Paul is going to give two reasons why he has said
this, and they are not cultural reasons, but Biblical ones. Paul will base this statement on something
from the Scriptures.
You might not like what I’m going to say, but when you argue against it, be
sure you do what Paul does, and use Scripture.
Some will take this to mean that a woman is not allowed to ever teach a
man.
Pastor Chuck’s wife Kay used to teach a Friday morning Ladies’ study at
Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa. She felt much
stronger about this than her husband Chuck used to. While she was teaching in their large
sanctuary filled with women, if she ever saw a man walk into the back of the
sanctuary, she would sit down.
The problem with this view is that there are Biblical references to women
teaching or instructing men.
One example is that of Paul’s friends Priscilla and
Aquila. Half of the time they are
mentioned in Scripture, the wife’s name is first, the other half the husband is
mentioned first. Paul had discipled them
and had left them in Ephesus for awhile when they met a young man…
(Acts
18:24–26 NLT) —24 Meanwhile, a Jew named Apollos, an eloquent speaker who knew the
Scriptures well, had arrived in Ephesus from Alexandria in Egypt. 25 He had been
taught the way of the Lord, and he taught others about Jesus with an
enthusiastic spirit and with accuracy. However, he knew only about John’s
baptism. 26 When
Priscilla and Aquila heard him preaching boldly in the synagogue, they took him
aside and explained the way of God even more accurately.
“They” took Apollos aside and taught him.
For me, I prefer to take the “teaching” to be joined with “authority”.
I see this as a rule to not have a woman be the Sr. Pastor of a church,
where she is both teaching, and in authority over the church.
There are denominations today who allow women to be Sr. Pastors, and the
other day I met the gal who is the Pastor of the Methodist church – I liked her
a lot.
I think there are going to be times and situations where
there are no men to step up to be pastors, and God will use whom He will.
But the preferred method is for the Sr. Pastor to be a
man.
I think it’s okay for a woman to be in ministry and even to teach, as long
as the Sr. Pastor is a man.
Why does Paul say this?
to teach – didasko
– to teach; to hold discourse with others in order to instruct them,
deliver didactic discourses; to be a teacher; to teach one; instill doctrine
into one
permit – epitrepo
– to turn to, transfer, commit, instruct; to permit, allow, give leave
have
authority over – authenteo – one who with his own hands
kills another or himself; one who acts on his own authority, autocratic; an
absolute master; to govern, exercise dominion over one
silence – hesuchia
– quietness; description of the life of one who stays at home doing his own
work, and does not officiously meddle with the affairs of others; silence
:13 For Adam was formed first, then Eve.
first – protos
– first in time or place; in any succession of things or persons; first in
rank; influence, honor
formed – plasso
– to form, mold (something from clay, wax, etc.); used of a potter
:13 Adam was formed first, then Eve
Paul’s first reason has to do with the order of creation, putting Adam
first.
Of course what Paul doesn’t tell you is…
Illustration
TEN REASONS GOD CREATED EVE
10. God worried that Adam would
always be lost in the garden because he knew men would never ask directions.
9. God knew that Adam would one day
need someone to hand him the TV remote because men don’t want to see what’s on
television, they want to see WHAT ELSE is on television.
8. God knew that Adam would never
buy a new fig leaf when the seat wore out and therefore would need Eve to get
one for him.
7. God knew that Adam would never
make a doctors appointment for himself.
6. God knew that Adam would never
remember which night was garbage night.
5. God knew that if the world was to
be populated there would have to be someone to give birth, and men would never
be able to handle it.
4. As “Keeper of the Garden” Adam
would never remember where he put his tools.
3. The scripture account of creation
indicates that Adam needed someone to blame his troubles on when God caught him
hiding in the garden.
2. As the Bible says, “It is not
good for man to be alone.” He only ends
up getting himself in trouble.
1. When God finished the creation of
Adam, he stepped back, scratched his head and said, “I can do better than
that.”
:14 And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into
transgression.
deceived – apatao
– to cheat, beguile, deceive
transgression – parabasis
– a going over; metaph. a disregarding, violating; the breach of a
definite, promulgated, ratified law; It is the breaking of a distinctly
recognized commandment. It consequently means more than amartia (the word for “sin”).
:14 Adam was not deceived
Eve was deceived by Satan the serpent in the Garden of Eden.
(Genesis 3:2–6
NKJV) —2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the
trees of the garden; 3 but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the
garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you
die.’ ” 4 Then the
serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God
knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be
like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that
it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one
wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and
he ate.
We might think that Eve deceived Adam into eating the fruit, but that’s not
what happened.
Paul says that Adam wasn’t
deceived.
Adam disobeyed. He
apparently knew exactly what he was doing.
I’ve heard some suggest that Adam went ahead and ate the
fruit so he wouldn’t be separated from his wife – as if he did it because of
his love for her, but that’s a bit of a stretch.
Adam simply disobeyed, and his disobedience brought sin
into all of mankind. (Rom. 5:19)
You may want to ask me, “How can being deceived be any worse than
disobeying, and how does this all work?”
I’m not sure I have that answer. I’m just reporting what Paul says.
(Romans 5:19 NKJV) —19 For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also
by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous.
:15 Nevertheless she will be saved in childbearing if they continue in faith,
love, and holiness, with self-control.
:15 she will be saved in childbearing
childbearing – teknogonia
– childbearing
continue – meno
– to remain, abide
self-control – sophrosune
– soundness of mind; self-control, sobriety
This kind of sounds as if a woman can only be saved if she bears
children. Wrong.
The issue has to do with the dangers to women in Paul’s day of bearing
children. Without modern medical
procedures, giving birth was always a risky thing for a woman. Many women died while giving birth to their
children.
But a woman who trusted in the Lord would be saved even in the middle of
her worst trial, giving birth.
It’s the same for all of us. We need
to continue in faith…