Paul wraps up his instructions to Timothy in this week’s passage, completing his thoughts on the role of women in worship. This also concludes chapter two, and Paul’s letter turns to leadership roles next.

This week’s passage contains an interesting twist. You can find it in 1 Timothy 2:13-15:

There are a couple of critical issues addressed here. Let’s deal first with the subtle, and then the more obvious.

Paul continues his instructions concerning women with an appeal to the authority of Scripture. He goes back and refers to Adam and Eve and the original sin, from the early chapters of Genesis. This is important, because it reveals that Paul accepted the early parts of Genesis as totally authoritative, just as Jesus did when speaking about marriage in Matthew 19:4-6.

In our society today, we have almost totally relegated the early portions of Genesis, if not the entire book, to the status of mythology. There is a fundamental problem with that though. Jesus, Paul, and many other early church leaders, and the Church Fathers for the next few centuries, accepted Genesis as literal and historical. But we’ve allowed “science” to replace God in the 21st century. As a result, we’re rejected the authority of several significant portions of Scripture. And if parts of God’s Word are to be questioned, then how can we know that the rest is valid? We can’t. To reject the authority of a part of the Bible is to reject the whole thing.

As Paul continues to speak about women and worship in the public assembly, he gives some instructions that have been the source of much discussion, especially in recent times. Take a look at the text found in 1 Timothy 2:11-12:

This passage has been the source of much confusion and discussion. What is Paul saying here?

There seem to be two major schools of thought: Some feel that this is a general statement applied to all women everywhere. Others hold that Paul’s instructions here are only for the Ephesian church. I think that the real application is somewhere in the middle.

Let’s take a look at a few specifics about this passage. First, women are instructed to learn, not to teach. Since Paul has been addressing the public worship service, it follows that this instruction is meant to be understood in that context as well.

How should she learn? In full submission and quietness. The key to understanding Paul’s use of the word “submission” here is not inferior value or worth, but to recognize one’s role in the relationship.

Paul is finished with his call to prayer, but isn’t yet finished instructing Timothy about worship. In this week’s passage, he moves on to other matters. Take a peek at the two verses we’ll be looking at in 1 Timothy 2:9-10:

Paul begins here a section of his letter that has stirred many discussions over the years. He instructs Timothy on the role of women in the church.

And yet, before he talks about how women should serve, he addresses how women should dress.

He draws a very clear distinction between two realities: the inner versus the outer, much like Peter discusses in 1 Peter 3:3-4.

He calls women to dress decently. This probably isn’t referring to revealing or suggestive clothing, although that application certainly fits to our culture today. He is more likely referring to the “dressing up in order to show off” attitude that is also common in many places in our society today. When he refers to the braided hair, gold and pearls, and expensive clothes, he is suggesting that such extravagance completely fails to recognize that the inner person is much more important than the outer. Such an external display would prove to be a distraction in worship.

Paul’s explanation of God’s desire for all men to be saved is directly tied to his call to prayer. And he will finish that thought in this week’s passage. But first, Paul seems to go into a bit of an explanation concerning his own calling. You can see it in 1 Timothy 2:7-8:

There seem to be two separate thoughts going on in these two verses. The NIV and other translations separate these two into different paragraphs. However, I think verse eight wraps up Paul’s thoughts on prayer quite nicely, before he moves on to other aspects of public worship in the following verses.

But before he finishes off that thought, he refers to his own calling as an emphasis of God’s desire for all to be saved. He uses three terms to describe himself.

• A herald: This is one who publicly proclaims a message.
• An apostle: One sent on a mission. In fact, he received this mission directly from Christ himself in Acts 9:1-19.
• A teacher: This term seems to emphasize instruction and exhortation, in contrast to the first term, referring more to evangelism.

As a result of these indicators of his authority, Paul declares his desire is similar to that of God’s; he wants us to pray for the salvation of all men. Verse eight concludes his thoughts here on prayer, though the next section is linked to public worship as well.

Paul concluded his sentence in last week’s passage stressing God’s desire for all men to be saved. He continues that thought in this week’s verses, with three facts to underscore the idea. Take a look at 1 Timothy 2:5-6:

Salvation is very closely connected to a knowledge of the truth, as we saw in the previous verses. Paul underscores this with three facts about God the Father and God the Son. Whether this is Paul’s original thought, or a portion of some early creed or formula is unclear. Paul’s phraseology here bears similarity to the idea of “mediator” as seen in the letter to the Hebrews. It’s quite possible that there are some common foundations for these ideas, especially if Paul was the author of both letters.

There is one God

The unity of God is a very common theme throughout Jewish history, and calls to mind the Shema, found in Deuteronomy 6:4. The idea here is that God is the only God, over all people.

Paul began chapter two by laying out some of the basics of worship, specifically pertaining to prayer. In this week’s passage, we see that thought continued as he explains just why God wants us to pray. You can see the passage at 1 Timothy 2:3-4:

Paul starts off by stating that this is good. Prayer is good. For all the reasons he laid out in verse 2, prayer is good. And it pleases God.

The phrase “God our Savior” isn’t used by Paul outside the pastoral letters. It’s much more reminiscent of several Old Testament writings, and carries some subtle flavors of Paul’s fluency in the Judaical, Old Testament theology of God.

The next phrase has been a source of controversy for several centuries, at least since the seventeenth century, between Calvinists and Armenians. It’s obvious that God wants all men to be saved, but what does that mean? Does God save all men, or just a select few? Or is that even the issue here?

I think we can get a clear sens of what Paul is trying to communicate by taking a closer look at the word “wants”. God wants all men to be saved. Paul does not state that God wills all men to be saved. The fact that God wishes all men to be saved doesn’t mean that all men will be saved. Man has a choice in the matter, whether or not to follow God. God’s desire in no way obligates him to do something contrary to his nature, by saving those who choose not to place their trust in Christ.

In chapter two, Paul begins with a brief exhortation on the necessity of prayer. His use of the word “then” or “therefore” relates this directly back to the previous discussion on false teachers. But his use of the phrase “first of all” conveys the primacy of prayer in a believers life.

He gives us a lot of information in these two verses. Take a look at 1 Timothy 2:1-2:

Prayer is an essential part of the Christian’s life. And Paul stresses that fact with his words to Timothy here. Prayer is to be his focus, and ours. For Timothy, this directive follows the discussion on false teachers. So Timothy knew right away who to be praying for, among others.

The principles found here also provide a sort of manual for worship for the early church. In fact, there are several striking similarities here that can be seen in the writing of other early church fathers, such as Clement and others, indicating that these ideas were very widely used.

First of all, Paul uses four different words for prayer. Three of these are very similar, and the differences are subtle. Paul may not have had in mind these differences; he may have used the repetition as a means of emphasis. Prayer is important!

Let’s take a brief look at Paul’s teaching on prayer.