1 Timothy 2:1-8: Praying for the Sake of the Gospel (Part 2)
1 Timothy - Spiritual Leadership in God's Church • Sermon • Submitted
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1 Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, 2 for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. 3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time, 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. 8 I desire therefore that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting;
I. We are Urged to Pray for the Sake of the Gospel
I. We are Urged to Pray for the Sake of the Gospel
1 Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men,
A. The Priority of Prayer
A. The Priority of Prayer
“first of all” - of a priority
B. The type of prayer
B. The type of prayer
supplications (δέησις deisis) - urgent request to God to meet a need
prayers (προσευχή proseuche) - a request to God
intercessions (ἔντευξις enteuxis) - a formal petition on behalf of another
giving of thanks (εὐχαριστία eucharistia)
II. We are to pray for all types of people
II. We are to pray for all types of people
1 Timothy 2:1b-2a - for all men, 2 for kings and all who are in authority
A. Generally - for all men
A. Generally - for all men
God wants all men to be saved
B. Specifically - kings and all who are in authority
B. Specifically - kings and all who are in authority
III. The Result of our Prayer for the Sake of the Gospel
III. The Result of our Prayer for the Sake of the Gospel
1 Timothy 2:2b - that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence.
IV. The Reason we are to Pray for the Sake of the Gospel
IV. The Reason we are to Pray for the Sake of the Gospel
3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time, 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.
A. It is Good to Pray for the Lost
A. It is Good to Pray for the Lost
1 Timothy 2:3a - For this is good
good (καλός kalos) - suitable, excellent in a moral sense, appropriate
B. The Salvation of the Lost is God’s Desire
B. The Salvation of the Lost is God’s Desire
1 Timothy 2:3b-4 - and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
acceptable (ἀπόδεκτος apodektos) - to receive gladly, welcome
When we pray for the salvation of the lost, we are being consistent with the very character and desire of God.
1. God is the Savior
1. God is the Savior
1 Timothy 2:3b - God our Savior
1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the commandment of God our Savior and the Lord Jesus Christ, our hope,
10 For to this end we both labor and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of those who believe.
9 For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,
3 but has in due time manifested His word through preaching, which was committed to me according to the commandment of God our Savior;
4 But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared,
47 And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
2. He desires all to be saved
2. He desires all to be saved
1 Timothy 2:4a - who desires all men to be saved
saved (σῴζω sozo) - to be delivered or rescued from divine judgment
21 Tell and bring forth your case; Yes, let them take counsel together. Who has declared this from ancient time? Who has told it from that time? Have not I, the Lord? And there is no other God besides Me, A just God and a Savior; There is none besides Me. 22 “Look to Me, and be saved, All you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.
6 Indeed He says, ‘It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant To raise up the tribes of Jacob, And to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also give You as a light to the Gentiles, That You should be My salvation to the ends of the earth.’ ”
23 Do I have any pleasure at all that the wicked should die?” says the Lord God, “and not that he should turn from his ways and live?
30 “Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways,” says the Lord God. “Repent, and turn from all your transgressions, so that iniquity will not be your ruin. 31 Cast away from you all the transgressions which you have committed, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. For why should you die, O house of Israel? 32 For I have no pleasure in the death of one who dies,” says the Lord God. “Therefore turn and live!”
16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
3. He desires all to come to the knowledge of the truth
3. He desires all to come to the knowledge of the truth
1 Timothy 2:4b - and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
knowledge (ἐπίγνωσις epignosis) - deep, complete knowledge
1 Paul, a bondservant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God’s elect and the acknowledgment of the truth which accords with godliness,
So, Paul is saying here that God desires all to be saved and that salvation comes through a deep knowledge of the gospel, the truth.
There are basically 2 ways to look at verses like these and maintain faithfulness to the entire teaching of Scripture regarding God’s sovereignty and God’s saving purpose.
It should be obvious from the beginning that the idea of universalism, the teaching that everyone ends up in heaven, is not one of those ways. The Scripture is clear that there is a judgment for those who reject Jesus Christ, just as much as there is a heaven for those who receive Him.
The more subtle unbiblical view of these passages is the idea that it is God’s will that everyone be saved, but He is unable to do that because He has allowed us free will. Therefore, God is seen as dependent on us. Those who hold this view usually don’t put it quite that way, but it ends up being the sum of their belief. They would say something like, “Jesus died for everyone because God loves the whole world. He’s just waiting for you to choose to believe in Him.” The problem with this view is that it ignores the clear teaching of Scripture regarding God’s absolute sovereignty and power.
3 But our God is in heaven; He does whatever He pleases.
6 Whatever the Lord pleases He does, In heaven and in earth, In the seas and in all deep places.
We will not get to the end of the age with God wringing his hands, sorely disappointed that more people didn’t choose Him.
One of the biblical possibilities that do justice to this passage as well as God’s sovereignty involve seeing the word “all” here as meaning “all kinds”. This is how I would look at the word “world” in John 3:16. There, “world” means Gentiles as well as Jews, which covers all types of people. Here, “all” could mean “all types” - rich or poor, Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male or female, etc. That could be supported by the earlier verse where Paul tells us to pray for all men, and then clarifies it by talking about specific types of people to pray for - Kings and those in authority. And, I’m fine with those who see the passage this way.
There is another way to see this passage and it has less to do with the word “all” and more to do with the word “desires”. In looking at the passage in this way, we see that there are many ways to use the word “desire” or “will” in reference to God. What we see is that God’s desire is not necessarily God’s decree.
4. God’s desire is not necessarily God’s decree
4. God’s desire is not necessarily God’s decree
2 Primary words in the NT to describe the “will of God”
desires (θέλω thelo) - wish, desire, will, want
will (βούλομαι boulomai) - purpose, plan, want
Sometimes these words are used interchangeably, but they often take these different nuances
27 All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father. Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.
17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. 18 Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.
God sincerely desires all people to repent and believe the Gospel. He sincerely desires to save everyone. HOWEVER, for the sake of His glory, He has not decreed the salvation of everyone. He has predetermined to save some, leaving the others to their own desires and the outcome of those desires, which is judgment.
But, for our purposes here, it is quite right for us to understand this passage as saying that God desires all to come to salvation. THEREFORE, our desire is for all to come to salvation. We are to pray for everyone we know (and even those we don’t). And we are to share the gospel with everyone we know, and support the cause of missions globally to everyone.
C. There is only One God for Everyone
C. There is only One God for Everyone
5 For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time,
4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one!
6 “Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel, And his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts: ‘I am the First and I am the Last; Besides Me there is no God.
SO…since there is only one God, not many, and that God is the Savior, there is no hope for anyone apart from the one God. And God has chosen to save through His Son, Jesus Christ, and ONLY through His Son.
Express the importance here
What Paul is saying here is that the universality of the gospel - the fact that the Gospel is for everyone in the entire human race - is tied directly to the unity of God. God is one. The human race is one. There is only one God for the entire human race. There are no other options. The one and same gospel is for everyone.
That good news is about God’s Son, Jesus Christ, who is the only mediator between God and man
God became man
Jesus lived as a man perfectly as our representative
Jesus died as a man as a perfect sacrifice in our place
Jesus rose as a man victorious over death on our behalf
Jesus eternally lives as the perfect God-man mediating between us and the Father.
1 My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.
There is no hope apart from Christ
12 Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
Call for repentance and faith here!!!
16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
1 “Ho! Everyone who thirsts, Come to the waters; And you who have no money, Come, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk Without money and without price. 2 Why do you spend money for what is not bread, And your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, And let your soul delight itself in abundance. 3 Incline your ear, and come to Me. Hear, and your soul shall live; And I will make an everlasting covenant with you— The sure mercies of David. 4 Indeed I have given him as a witness to the people, A leader and commander for the people. 5 Surely you shall call a nation you do not know, And nations who do not know you shall run to you, Because of the Lord your God, And the Holy One of Israel; For He has glorified you.” 6 Seek the Lord while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near. 7 Let the wicked forsake his way, And the unrighteous man his thoughts; Let him return to the Lord, And He will have mercy on him; And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon. 8 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord. 9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts. 10 “For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, And do not return there, But water the earth, And make it bring forth and bud, That it may give seed to the sower And bread to the eater, 11 So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it. 12 “For you shall go out with joy, And be led out with peace; The mountains and the hills Shall break forth into singing before you, And all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. 13 Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress tree, And instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree; And it shall be to the Lord for a name, For an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.”
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