Scripture Reading: 1 Timothy 2
Well, please turn with me in your Bibles to 1 Timothy chapter 2. I'm sure glad Steve made it clear that we don't advocate polygamy here. That was a good statement. I hate to see that up on social media.
Guess what those weirdos at Free Grace are doing now? 1 Timothy chapter 2, I'll read the chapter and then our focus will be on verse 8. Verses 8 to 15 go together, but they deal with separate issues, the conduct of men in corporate worship and the conduct of women in corporate worship. So there are two sections parallel, but there's a lot going on specifically with reference to women. in verses 9 to 15 that I don't want to shoehorn in tonight, so we'll just take up verse 8, but I want to read beginning in verse 1 to the end of the chapter. Therefore, I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence.
For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 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, 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. I desire therefore that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands without wrath and doubting.
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, but which is proper for women professing godliness with good works. Let a woman learn in silence with all submission. And I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence. For Adam was formed first, then Eve.
And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived fell into transgression. Nevertheless, she will be saved in childbearing if they continue in faith, love, and holiness with self-control. Amen. Well, let us pray.
Opening Prayer
Our Father, we thank You for Your Word. We thank You for this letter of Paul to Timothy and for what it does instruct us concerning life in the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. We pray that You would give us ears to hear, hearts to receive these things, and may our church practice reflect what is given here in the authoritative Word of God Almighty. Forgive us for all of our sins and unrighteousness.
Cleanse us in the precious blood of the Lamb. Guide and illumine us now by your Holy Spirit. We pray this in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Well,
Introduction
remember in chapter 1 at verse 18, the apostle says, this charge I commit to you, son Timothy, according to the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you may wage the good warfare." So the emphasis from Paul to Timothy is to wage the good warfare as Timothy ministers in the city of Ephesus. He picks this up from chapter 1 at verses 3 to 6. Verse 3, as I urged you when I went into Macedonia, remain in Ephesus that you may charge some that they teach no other doctrine. So here in 1st Timothy 118, he repeats that, wage the good warfare.
And as we have had cause to know, waging the good warfare simply means engage in biblical churchmanship and in qualified leadership with reference to those churches. In other words, the good warfare is simply doing what God commands us to do in our private lives, in our family lives, and as well in church life. And as we come to this particular section in verses 8 to 15, this is a bit challenging. Our culture, churches within our culture, have capitulated the meaning, the clear meaning of Paul's words relative to men's conduct and women's conduct within the context of the church of our Lord Jesus.
Remember the larger context in chapter 2 at verse 1. In terms of the good warfare, we see the priority of prayer. Verse 1, Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men. And then he specifies four kings and all who are in authority.
So a subset of all kinds of men are those in civil government. Pray for them. Pray that God would change their hearts. Pray that God would save them because salvation is the primary focus in the corporate prayer meeting.
Because according to verse four, God desires all men, all kinds of men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. Because there is one God, there is one mediator, and therefore we ought to pray that sinners by God's grace would come to Him through the Son. And so he gives the rationale as to why we are to pray in verses 3 to 7, and then he goes back to the main emphasis in terms of prayer, and he calls upon the men. So the Apostle's desire is stated in the first part of verse 8, and then the Apostle's directions is in the remainder of verse 8.
So notice in verse 8 at the very beginning, I desire therefore. Now this picks up on the command of verse 1. Verse 1, therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men. So he gives the rationale, he gives the reasons, he returns to that exhortation in verse 8 and he says, I desire therefore.
Now the desire points back to and resumes the command stated in verse 1 and with reference to desire, it parallels this idea of exhort. And Paul's desire is not like our desire. We may desire that people read a particular book. We might desire that the next time we have a church fellowship, somebody cooks up good steaks out in the parking lot on a barbecue.
Paul's desire is not that kind of desire. Remember, he's a God-ordained apostle. The Lord Jesus Christ set him apart as a spokesman to the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. He reminds us of that authority.
Notice in chapter 1, verse 1, Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the commandment of God, our Savior, and the Lord Jesus Christ, our hope. Drop down to verses 11 and 12, according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which was committed to my trust. And I thank Christ Jesus, our Lord, who has enabled me because he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry. And then again in chapter 3 at verse 15, but if I am delayed, I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.
So as Paul embarks on what it is he desires, we need to understand that this is God-authorized desire. This is God-ordained desire. This is God-commanded desire. And what Paul says here is not up for grabs.
It's not up for debate. It's not up for the church in Ephesus to say, well, you know, I think that the women ought to lead out in the prayer meeting and men ought to work on their moderate clothing. No, it's not up for debate. Paul desires, Paul commands, Paul exhorts, and Paul carries the authority of Christ Most High behind him.
He is a God-sent apostle by the will of Christ for the glory of God and for the good of the churches. As he takes pen to paper, he's writing by inspiration of the Holy Spirit. All scripture is given by inspiration of God. And so as Paul pens these words, I desire, it's not again up for debate.
It's not up for a vote. It doesn't matter if this is what we like. It is rather paradigmatic. It is rather a command.
It is an exhortation for the church of the Lord Jesus. So we need to understand when Paul desires, when Paul exhorts, it's not my desire or my exhortation to have a good steak at the next fellowship meal. This is God's commandment. Very important that we get our minds wrapped around this, because as I said, especially when we get into verses 9 to 15, and especially verses 11 and 12, we will notice that there are a lot of churches out there that take great exception to Paul's emphasis in this particular section.
They treat it as if it is culturally conditioned. They treat it as if it is up for grabs. They treat it as if it is up for debate. They treat it as if it is up to the church to make decisions concerning these things that God has commanded through His authorized agent.
And so it's important that we understand Paul's desire is the very command of God. So then
The Apostle's Directions in Verse 8
move on with me to the rest of the verse to the apostles directions. And there's two things here, the focus on men, and then secondly, the directions to men. So note in verse eight, I desire therefore that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands without wrath and doubting.
The Focus: Men Lead in Corporate Prayer
When he says that the men pray, the word specifically used by Paul does mean men. It means males. It means those who grow beards. It means those who have different sexual organs than women.
It means those who have a lot more testosterone. It means those who God made to govern in the church, and it means those who God made to lead in the home. So the word specifically means men. There's a word that means men and women, but Paul specifically uses the word man here.
As well, the context specifically delineates between men's conduct and women's conduct. So verse 8, here's what I want in terms of men in corporate worship. And in verses 9 to 15, here's what I want in terms of women with reference to corporate worship. There is a clear distinction in terms of function and conduct as to what the apostle is addressing in the life of Christ's churches.
As well, the broader context of men and women in public worship would seem to indicate that in verse 8, in terms of the church gathered corporately on the Lord's Day for worship, the persons that pray representatively is men or are to be men. Now the whole congregation prays through the man, not in some weird mystical way, but when we see passages in the book of Acts, they with one accord lifted up their voice. That means that when a man prayed, he prayed representing the entirety of the congregation. But with reference to prayer and the public worship of God, it is to be men.
Creation Order and Male Headship
In terms of God's design relative to men and women, Genesis chapter 2, specifically in verses 18 to 25, assert the reality of male headship in the context of the family. God made Adam first, and then he made Eve as a helper, as one comparable to Adam, to assist him in his task of the dominion mandate. Ephesians chapter 5, the Apostle Paul assumes that in his teaching on husbands and wives. The husband is the head of the wife.
Again, he doesn't leave it open for a vote. You know, you guys sit down at the table before you get married and figure out who's the best leadership, who's the best fitted for headship. No, he doesn't do that. The husband is the head of the wife.
He's either a good one or a bad one, but he's always the head of his wife. Colossians 3 is parallel to that. 1 Peter chapter 3, parallel, at least thematically, with reference to those things. In terms of the home, the husband is the head of the wife. In terms of the church, the husband, or rather men, are to lead in the context of public worship.
The other passages, 1 Corinthians chapter 11, verses 2 to 16, the famous head covering passage. It would take us a while to work through that, and I don't want to confuse you any more than you may already be with reference to this sermon. But suffice to say that what I think is going on in 1 Corinthians 11, 2 to 16, and that the hats or the hair is to illustrate the principle that in corporate worship, when the church of Jesus Christ is gathered together for worship, men are leading. In other words, when the angels are said to look down, I don't think they're looking for hats.
I don't think they're looking for how long hair lengths are. I think they're looking to make sure that men are leading in praying and prophesying with reference to the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. The hats and the hair are illustrative of the very underlying principle that men are supposed to lead in the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians chapter 14, right around 34 to 36, Paul demands silence on the part of women in the gathering together of the church. In the broader context, it is that all things be done decently and with order in the life of the church.
In other words, regulate the tongue speakers, regulate the prophets, and as well, women are not supposed to speak in public worship. Now, I would imagine that some of this hits us as a bit harsh. George Bernard Shaw said that the Apostle Paul was the eternal enemy of women. I feel sorry that so many of us have bought the lie of feminism, at least to some degree or other.
If we had never been exposed to that godlessness, we would see God's particular function or structure within church and home and we would rejoice in it. This is how God made man and women to flourish, to thrive, to prosper, to utilize their gifts for the glory of God, for the good of the home, and ultimately, the good of the church. It is a blessed thing. And then, of course, here, I would be hard-pressed to not see or we would be hard-pressed to not see that there is obviously, with reference to the Apostle Paul, an emphasis on male leadership in the life of the church.
Look at verse 11, let a woman learn in silence with all submission, and I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence. God willing, next week when we look at that, we'll consider some of the alternative interpretations. Well, it was a problem in Ephesus, they had some pushy and obnoxious women there, and Paul wants to deal, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, it's not cultural. If it was cultural, verses 13 and 14 wouldn't make any sense.
He grounds the imperative in creation and fall. Creation and fall are paradigmatic for everything subsequent to creation and fall. In other words, redemption in Christ Jesus, new man-ism, new woman-ism in Christ Jesus is basically a return to the beginning. Foundational for God's created order is what you find in Genesis chapters 1 and 1 to 3.
Men lead in the home, men lead in the church. Again, if we hadn't been exposed to this concept of feminism, you know, and girl power and boss power and all that sort of a thing, we wouldn't have a problem with this. In Paul's context, in Timothy's context, it was, wait a minute, we've got some pretty gifted ladies here. They can really bring it.
This is not a diss against women. Paul is not an enemy of women. Paul rather wants women to stay in the lane that God made for them, and he wants men to stay in the lane that God made for them. It is really that simple, brethren.
We've got a world wherein fish swim, birds fly. We don't try to make birds swim and we don't try to make fish fly. That would be wrong. It would be odd.
It would be not consistent with the natural order. By the same token, what we find from Paul in terms of his desire, which is a God-authorized commandment, is that the men pray. The men lead in the church. Now, if it is asked, well, why at FGBC do the women pray on Wednesday night and on Sunday morning at 930?
Sometimes. Well, because we make a distinction between public worship, corporate worship, what we are doing at 11 a.m. and at 5 p.m. in terms of the church gathered as church to function in terms of what the scriptures teach. The regulative principle of worship is the regulative principle of worship. I think we try to extrapolate from the regulative principle of worship, the regulative principle of life.
For instance, if I said there's a particular class of songs that may not be appropriate for public worship, but you can sing them in your living room, there's no inconsistency there. It's not the regulative principle of life. In other words, what you do in your home, as long as it's not transgression, as long as it's not sin and rebellion, it may be a little bit more loosey-goosey than we'd use in the life of the church, but it's not transgressing God's law. Go ahead.
The regulative principle of worship speaks to the times when the church gathers together for public worship. So that's the distinction that we made so many years ago. And as I've been wanting to say lately, if that's wrong, then my successors can clean that up. But that's where we presently stand.
So the distinction is simple. When it comes to corporate worship, when it comes to the gathered saints, it'll always be a man leading in prayer. It'll be men, rather, leading in prayer. And it will always be a man preaching or teaching or exercising authority in the context of Christ's church.
Again, God's not anti-woman. God is not against you utilizing your gifts. Do you realize that you're in church? If you're a faithful attender to both services on a Sunday, you're in church three hours out of the week.
I don't know the math. I'm sure Nathan could give it to me in a second. That leaves you how many more hours to exercise your gifts? Exercise them, you know, to the glory of God in your living room.
That's okay. But when it comes to God's living room, we are to function the way that God stipulates. We don't come into God's house and say, well, you know, we think it ought to be this way. No, 1st Timothy 2, 8-15 is paradigmatic relative to the role of women in public worship and to the role of men in public worship as well.
Now
The Scope: Men Pray Everywhere
dropping then to the rest of verse 8, the directions to men. Note the scope, he says everywhere. I desire therefore that the men pray everywhere. Again, I think he's envisaging local churches as they gather for corporate worship.
The prophet Malachi makes this statement, or God through Malachi, In every place, incense shall be offered to my name, and a pure offering, for my name shall be great among the nations, says the Lord of hosts." So all throughout the Old Testament, you had this foreshadowing of Gentile inclusion in the covenant promises of God made initially to ethnic Israel. carried out by spiritual Israel, our Lord Jesus Christ. There would be this comprehensive, from every tribe, tongue, people, and nation, church, amassed by God, effectually calling sinners out of darkness into marvelous light, granting them the graces of faith and repentance, that they may close with Jesus, and that they might find themselves in particular churches. like Lydia, like the slave girl, like that Philippian jailer. They find themselves redeemed and conquered by sovereign grace. They find themselves in the same city.
They find themselves drawn to one another for worship, for praise, for adoration, for the glory of God. And so when Paul emphasizes, I desire therefore that the men pray everywhere, it's to be a universal prospect in terms of the life of Christ's church. Remember, this was Jesus' dispute, not dispute, that's too hard of a word, his discussion with the Samaritan woman. Remember back in John chapter 4, your father's taught that we worship on this mountain and our father's taught that we worship on this mountain.
What does Jesus teach? The time is coming and now is when worship will not be confined to a particular mountain. God is seeking those who worship in spirit and in truth. In other words, in the New Covenant, it's universalized.
In the New Covenant, there's an everywhere-ness about it. In the New Covenant, you don't have to make sojourns to Jerusalem a few times of the year and there be able to pray. Not that you couldn't pray in your private dwellings, not that you couldn't pray perhaps in your synagogues, but the emphasis is upon churches that gather together. Men are supposed to pray.
The prophecy concerning worship in the New Covenant, the universality of worship in the New Covenant is ultimately fulfilled by Jesus Christ in the inauguration of the New Covenant. So he says very clearly, I desire therefore that men pray everywhere. And the instruction by Paul in terms of what he gives as rationale or reasons for prayer seems to go this way as well. I think what he's talking about is Gentile inclusion in the covenant promises of God vis-a-vis his specific emphasis in verse 7.
And so now, everywhere, Jew, Gentile, black, white, American, and non-American. That's how Americans see life, right? There's America, and there's non-America. It's either America, or there's nothing.
I'm kidding. Don't shoot me, or throw tomatoes at me, or any of that sort of thing. But you see there's this comprehensiveness, there's an everywhere-ness about the church of the New Covenant era. The church in its proclamation and prayer becomes the vehicle by which the promise is fulfilled, Towner says.
What? The salvation of all kinds of men, verse 4. Now, then
The Exhortation: Lifting Holy Hands
he moves on from the scope everywhere to the exhortation, lifting up holy hands. I desire, therefore, that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands. There's two ways we could go here. One's a literal interpretation and one is metaphorical.
Probably the answer is right in the middle. It's okay to lift holy hands in the worship of God. They got to be holy hands. It can't be dripping bloody hands, okay?
There is nothing wrong with lifting holy hands. But we're a Reformed church, you're not supposed to do that. Why? If the Apostle Paul says lifting holy hands, you don't have to be a Charismatic or Pentecostal to obey that.
Yeah, dare I say, you can be reformed and actually, you know, obey this. This is a pretty recurring theme throughout Scripture. When men prayed, they raised holy hands. John Gill says it's an emblem of the elevation of the heart in prayer to God.
So in terms of the literal, you're certainly encouraged, brothers, as you pray, you can lift up holy hands. And if we have a mind to judge you for lifting up holy hands, just send us right to 1 Timothy 2.8, say, but Paul says that I'm supposed to lift up holy hands. There's nothing wrong with the literal interpretation here. Metaphorically, in other words, be holy.
That Psalm 24 man that abides in the presence of Yahweh, he has clean hands. The idea is moral purity, sanctification. You have been saved by grace through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. You're being sanctified by the work of the Spirit in you.
Prayer meeting isn't a time for you to come and to express your unholiness or your lack of sanctity, but it's a time rather to lift holy hands. Towner again makes the observation, within Israel's cultic regimen, the actual outward act of washing the hands was a fundamental preparatory step for priests to enter the tent of meeting. The visible public act of purification signified the presumed inward condition of purity or holiness of those about to engage in ministry. The priest went through these purification rites.
Does that mean if he had a spot of dirt on his arm that would render him unclean or impure? Well, it could have, but more than likely it was this outward act of symbolism in terms of purity is to reflect the heart of purity that I'm bringing in to the ministrations of the God of Israel. So it's probably cultic language here, lifting up holy hands. In other words, preparation for entrance into the very presence of God, where you make known your petitions.
And then
The Prohibition: Without Wrath or Disputing
the final direction concerns a prohibition. So you've got scope everywhere. You've got exhortation, lifting up holy hands, and you've got prohibition without wrath and doubting. That second term, doubting, seems to indicate that we are coming in the presence of God doubting whether or not either A, he hears us, or B, he's going to respond.
I think the word could better be translated here as disputing. I think they're both vertical terms. I think they both have to do with our attitude toward others. Now, obviously, you're not supposed to doubt God when you come to pray.
You're not supposed to doubt that He is or that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. But I think the emphasis falls on the horizontal element, without wrath and doubting, or rather, without wrath and disputing. What could they possibly dispute about? What could they possibly be wrathful concerning?
Oh, I don't know. Jews and Gentiles, just prior to the crucifixion of our Lord, hated each other. They couldn't stand being near each other. You know, the Jew prayed, thank you, God, that I wasn't born a woman, I wasn't born a slave, and I wasn't born a Gentile.
So now in Christ, we have this unity and solidarity. Maybe for all of you, it happened better than for probably those that Paul is speaking of, and at least one of us here, but did every prejudice, every bad thing, every ill thought leave your mind the moment you were converted? If you say, yeah, then I need to learn from you. Teach me, oh master.
In other words, you're saved now and you're in a prayer meeting, you're a Jew and there's Gentiles, or you're a Gentile and there's Jews. We don't usually do this kind of thing. So I think the emphasis in this verse isn't our attitude vertically with reference to God, wrath to God. No, I don't think that usually happens in a prayer meeting or doubting.
Again, that does happen in a prayer meeting. We need to fix that. But if we translate it disputing, It seems to make more sense, again, contextually, Gentile inclusion in the covenant promises of God, the apostles' specific emphasis according to verse 7, a preacher, a teacher, an apostle to the Gentiles. In other words, you've got to be gracious and kind horizontally if you'd hope that our Father vertically would hear you in the corporate prayer meeting.
And I think this is borne out by other passages. You can turn to Matthew chapter 5. Matthew 5, where we see that the horizontal affects the vertical. How we treat others affects how we worship God.
Matthew 5, specifically at verses 23 and 24.
The Horizontal Affects the Vertical
Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift." You go to offer a gift to God, you go to sacrifice at the temple, you go to church on the Lord's Day, and there, you remember, your brother has an axe to grind against you. Well, he'll get over it. I'll just walk around him at the end of the service.
I'll just pretend I wasn't there." No, you'd go and fix it. Why are we so averse to fixing things? I mean, it could be because we don't know how. I'm averse to trying to fix things at home because I just don't know how.
You know, you tell me I can probably do okay, but it's that diagnostic part, the figuring it out. But it's not that way in religion. If your brother sins against you, go to him. Wow.
If you know your brother has a problem with you, what do you do? You go to him. You fix the situation. What's the psalmist say?
Psalm 66, 18. If I regard iniquity in my heart, you will not hear me. We know it's about Christ because in verse 19, yet you do hear me. With us, if I regard iniquity in my heart, God doesn't hear me.
And here, specifically in Matthew 5, Jesus says, if you're about to worship, you're about to go vertical, and you got a problem horizontally, fix the horizontal.
Husbands' Conduct and Hindered Prayer
Turn to 1 Peter 3. 1 Peter 3, another place wherein we see the effect of the horizontal on the vertical. specifically in the context of husbands and wives. So he gives lots of encouragements and admonitions and specific directions to women or wives specifically in verses 1 to 6. And then at verse seven, husbands likewise dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered. What should we conclude?
If you treat your wife like garbage, your prayers may be hindered. Maybe that's an overly simplistic reading of the text, but it seems to follow necessarily that your prayers may not be hindered. So in other words, if you're not dwelling with them with understanding, if you're not giving honor to the wife as to the weaker vessel and as being heirs together of the grace of life, if you're not doing that, you can pretty much expect that your prayers are going to be hindered. In other words, the horizontal affects the vertical.
So back in our text, in 1 Timothy 2 at verse 8, I desire therefore that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands without wrath and doubting. In other words, fix your issues before you come to public worship, because we're there to worship God. We're there to not pray because we've got a problem with our brothers. We're there to pray because we've dealt with the problems with our brothers.
Application
So just a couple of thoughts in conclusion. I would suggest again, based on what we see there in verse 1, one of the priorities with reference to waging the good warfare that Paul stipulates in 1 Timothy 1.18 is the priority of prayer. The priority of prayer. You've probably seen, I'm sure it's on other forms of social media, I'm on Twitter, and there's this recurring emphasis on biblical manhood.
You see that, right? Biblical manhood. I'm smiling because it's just funny to me. They're usually eaters of meat, smokers of brisket, drinkers of beer, wearers of beards, But notice what our text says.
Prayers to God. That's biblical manhood. That doesn't mean you have to shave. It doesn't mean don't make a brisket.
In fact, make one for the next fellowship luncheon, along with some steaks. We put these emphases on a bunch of things, and yet we neglect corporate conduct in the very house of God. We neglect familial conduct in the very house of Christians. You want to be a godly man?
Love your wife. Give yourself for her. You want to be a godly husband? A godly churchman?
Show up. Be ready to pray. Be ready to undertake. Be ready to engage.
Be ready to just be faithful. That's biblical manhood. I would suggest, secondly, as we survey this particular context, the manner of prayer in the good warfare, the universality of it. Everywhere, everywhere God's people gather together.
Jesus identified the house of God as a house of prayer. Prayer is crucial. Spurgeon says, Brethren, we shall never see much change for the better in our churches in general till the prayer meeting occupies a higher place in the esteem of Christians. Once Spurgeon was asked, what's the key to your success?
You know what he said? My people pray. My people pray. Wasn't it the case that brethren would be in the basement while he's preaching the gospel and they're praying for conversions?
I'm not necessarily okay with that. I think the church gathers for corporate worship, but man, the sentiment is great. And you certainly participating in your pew can throw one up to God along the way. Lord, open the ears of brother, open the ears of this particular individual that they may be saved.
But it was the prayers, the effective fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much according to James 5. The focus of corporate prayer again is verse 4, who desires all kinds of men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth and the holiness involved in corporate prayer. Fix your issues with your fellows and come ready to pray. Lifting up holy hands without wrath and without disputing.
May God indeed encourage, bless, strengthen, and help us as we endeavor, by His grace and for His glory, to stick to passages like 1 Timothy 2. Let us pray.
Closing Prayer
Our Father in Heaven, we thank You for Your Word. We thank You for the clarity of the Apostles' instruction here. I pray for your blessing upon our local church. I pray for all of the families, all of the children, all of the babies, the babies in the wombs.
God, we rejoice you are good and it is all over the place in the life of this local church. We thank you for the baptism of our dear sister this morning and that so many could be in attendance. We pray for any and all that may have attended, that were unsaved, that you would convict them, that you would bring them to a saving knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For we know this is according to verse 4, what you desire, what you have purposed, what you have planned, what you have predetermined and foreordained to save a great multitude that no man can number.
And we rejoice that you are doing this for your glory, for your honor, and for the benefit and the good of the churches of the Lord Jesus Christ. And we pray in His most blessed name. Amen.