March 10th

I Timothy 2    Safeguarding Public Worship

Just as in Timothy’s day, the argument is often presented:  The church is not an organization  vs. we should allow the Spirit to have freedom.  A pastor reminded another one that the church is an organism and his reply was, “But if an organism is DISORGANIZED, it will die.  Yes, I agree that we must permit the Spirit to have freedom, but even the Holy Spirit is not free to disobey the Word of God.”

Often what we think is the “freedom of the Spirit” is really the carnal ideas of some Christians who are not walking in the Spirit.  The Spirit grieves as a church gradually moves away from the standards of God’s Word.  I Cor. 14:40 states the plan plainly, “Let all things be done decently and in order.”

In this second chapter of I Timothy, Paul is exhorting the men and women in the church and reminding them of their spiritual responsibilities. 

1.      The Men – Praying v. 1 – 8

A.     Priority of prayer “FIRST OF ALL!“  Peter Deyneka, Sr. “Much prayer, much power! No prayer, no power!”  We must desire to pray…no simply to please people as the Pharisees or to fulfill a religious duty.  When a church ceases to depend on prayer, God ceases to bless its ministry.

 There are at least 7 different Greek nouns for prayer and four of them     

      are used in our passage of Scripture today.

      The word supplication means “offering a request for a felt need.” 

      Praying is speaking to God..prayer is an act of worship, not just an

      expression of our wants and needs.  There should be reverence in our

      hearts as we pray to God.  Intercessions = petitions.  The basic meaning

      is to draw near to a person and converse confidently with him.  We are 

      to enjoy fellowship with God so that we have confidence in Him as we

      pray.  Giving of thanks is definitely a part of worship and prayer.  We not

      only give thanks for answers to prayer, but for Who God is and what He 

      does for us in His grace.  Some of our prayer times should be only a

      great time of thanksgiving as with David in Psa. 103 

 

B.      The objects of prayer:  ALL MEN.  Saved, lost, near, far, and for those in authority.  Even when we cannot respect men or women in authority, we must respect their offices and pray for them.  PURPOSE:  THAT WE MAY PASS A QUIET AND UNDISTURBED LIFE…A PEACEABLE ONE IN ALL GODLINESS AND REVERENCE AND SERIOUSNESS IN EVERY WAY.

 

C.     V. 3-4 The reasons for prayer.  Paul uses the word good as a key word in his pastoral epistles.  ‘fair’ and ‘beautiful’ are synonyms.  Certainly prayer of itself is a good practice and brings with it many good benefits.

 

BUT prayer is also pleasing to the LORD.  The Pharisees prayed in order to be praised by men or to impress other worshipers.  We should pray in order to please God.  God does not want any man to perish.  We do know that prayer is an important part of God’s program for reaching a lost world.  We have the responsibility of praying for lost souls and making ourselves available to share the Gospel with others. 

 

D.    V. 5- 7 The basis for prayer.  THE WORK OF THE Lord Jesus Christ as Savior and Mediator.  He is our Mediator…He stand between God and man.  In His perfect life and substitutionary death, He met the just demand of God’s holy law.  He was the ransom for all.  “a price paid to free a slave.”  Since the basis for prayer is the sacrificial work of Christ on the cross, then prayer is a most important activity in a church.  Not to pray is to slight 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. 

 

E.      The attitude in prayer v. 8  Seems Paul is calling MEN especially to pray.  Postures in prayer:  standing with outstretched hands, kneeling, standing, sitting, bowing the head, lifting the eyes, falling on the ground.  The important thing is not the posture of the body but the posture of the heart. 

 

Paul stated three essentials for effective prayer.  “holy hands”…a holy life…symbolic of a blameless life.  “without wrath” “doubt” Effective praying demands that I be in a right relationship with God and with my fellow believers. 

 

2.      The women – SUBMITTING v. 9 – 15 Those who hold to the inspiration and authority of the Word of God know that Paul’s teachings came from God and not from himself.  If we do not agree with Paul, our problem is with the LORD and not with Paul.

 Subjection, submit…literally means “to rank under.”  Rank has to do with order and authority, not with value or ability. 

 

The LORD does everything ‘decently and in order’ … that is a principle HE follows in His creation.  HE has levels … it protects the church, the home and society from chaos. 

 Subjection is not subjugation,  It is recognizing God’s order in the home and the church and joyfully obeying it.   Submission is the key to spiritual growth and ministry…husbands submit to the Lord, Christians submit to each other, wives submit to the Lord and to their husband.

 Modest dress – artificial glamour of the world / true beauty of a Godly life.  No forbidding of jewelry or lovely clothes, but rather excessive us of them as substitutes for the true beauty of ‘a meek and quiet spirit as described in I Peter.  A woman who depends upon externals will soon run out of ammunition!  Modest – decent and orderly…a woman’s clothing should be decent, orderly and in good taste…the avoidance of extremes. 

Paul is admonishing the women to major on the ‘inner person’…the true beauty that only Christ can give.  He did not forbid the use of nice clothing or ornaments…he urged balance and propriety, modesty, holy character.

 GODLY works v. 10 Godliness is another of Paul’s key words in his pastoral letters.  Glamour can be partially applied on the outside, but Godliness must come from within.  Paul mentioned many Godly women in his writings…devoted women who ministered.  The Gospel message had a tremendous impact for women…confirmed their value before God and their equality in the Body of Christ. 

 Quiet learning v.11  Silence is not a good translation of what Paul is expressing.  It means peaceable.  Some of the women abused their ‘freedom in Christ’ and created disturbances in the services by interrupting.  It also may be referring to the speaking in tongues as referenced in Corinthians. 

 RESPECTING authority v. 12 – 15  Women are allowed to teach.  But in their teaching ministry, they must not “lord it over men” – usurp the position of men as head of the home.  It is NOT assuming authority in the church and trying to take the place of a man.  Her motive is to maintain order in the church. 

 Christian men are to be spiritual leaders in the church…Paul presents his arguments for this thought:  Creation…we must keep in mind that Priority does not mean superiority.  The issue is only authority.

 The 2^nd argument – man’s fall in sin.  Adam rejected the God given order…listened to his wife, disobeyed God and brought sin and death into the world.  The submission of wives to their own husbands is a part of the original Creation.  The disorder we have in society today results from a violation of that God given order.  Paul teaches a practical lesson…he promised that the woman would be kept safe through childbirth.  The women were not to run the church, but to care for the home and bear children to the glory of God.  Their home congregation would give them abundant opportunities for teaching the Word and ministering to the saints.  I believe that the last verse 15 is stating that a woman is saved through the ‘capital’ Child bearing – our divine Child – our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.  

 Godly women do have an important ministry in the local assembly, even though they are not called to be teachers of the Word in a pastoral sense.  If all is done “decently and in order” then God will bless.