Scripture Reading: 1 Timothy 2
Well, please turn with me in your Bibles to 1 Timothy chapter 2. 1 Timothy chapter 2. I'll read the chapter and then our focus will be on verses 3 to 7. So beginning in verse 1, 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 this day. We thank You for the privilege to gather in the house of our blessed God. We thank You for so great a salvation that binds us together in our Lord Jesus Christ. And we pray even now that the Holy Spirit would come, that he would guide us as we consider this portion of scripture, pray that you would forgive and cleanse us from all of our sin and unrighteousness, and cause these things that we see in the pastoral epistles to affect the way that we conduct ourselves as a local church here in Chilliwack.
May you be glorified, may you be honored, and may you be exalted as we gather for worship now. And we ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Well,
Introduction
as we saw last week, there is a connection between chapter 1 verse 18 and everything that follows. In chapter 1 verse 18, which basically Paul repeats from the earlier part of chapter 1, he 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 he tells Timothy to wage the good warfare. Timothy is in Ephesus.
He is there to combat false teachers. He is there to promote the truth of the holy gospel of our blessed God. And as we might expect in this particular section, the good warfare is explained to us in the subsequent chapters. Here in chapter two, in the first part, the emphasis is on corporate prayer, wage the good warfare by being a prayerful church.
As well in chapter 2, the conduct of men and women relative to Christian worship. Chapter 3, qualified leadership in terms of elders and deacons. Chapter 4, an emphasis specifically on the man of God with reference to teaching and preaching the word of God. Chapter 5, the way that men and women are to relate in the church of the Lord Jesus Christ, which continues into chapter 6.
In other words, waging the good warfare isn't going to an apologetics conference. Waging the good warfare isn't simply reading a Christian book. Waging the good warfare is biblical, faithful churchmanship and biblical, faithful church leadership. That's where the accent in this epistle falls.
Now, in terms of what we saw last Sunday night, notice in verse 1 of chapter 2, Therefore I exhort First of all, that's the priority in terms of waging the good warfare. We're not going to be waging the good warfare in a prayerless disposition, but in a prayerful one. So 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." So there's the exhortation or the command to pray. And then verses 3 to 7 is the rationale.
Verses 3 to 7 is the reason why. Verses 3 to 7 gives us the foundation for corporate prayer. And there's three specifics that the apostle addresses. First, he speaks concerning the nature of God in verses 3 to 5a.
Secondly, the office of Christ in verses 5b and 6. And then thirdly, the ministry of Paul in verse 7. So in other words, the church is supposed to pray this particular way because of who God is, because of what Christ has accomplished, and because of what Paul's calling in God's redemptive plan included, namely the calling of the Gentiles to salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. So
The Nature of God (vv. 3–5a)
let's look first at the nature of God in verses 3 to 5a, and there's three things he emphasizes here. The pleasure of God, the purpose of God, and the singularity of God.
The Pleasure of God
Notice the pleasure of God in verse 3. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior. Pray, supplicate, intercede, give thanks, and do that for all men, and do that for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a peaceable and a reverent life. Why?
Because it's good in the sight of the Most High. And in the specific context, the restraint of the government with reference to the church is pleasurable to our God. Remember in verse 2, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. It is pleasurable in the sight of God when the government leaves the church alone, when the government stays in her own lane. when the government doesn't involve herself or meddle in those things that belong specifically to the church of our Lord Jesus Christ.
But not only the restraint of government with reference to the church is pleasurable to God or good and acceptable in the sight of God, but the response of the church with reference to the government In other words, we are to pray for civil authority. We are to pray for those who are over us, and I think the particular direction that Paul wants us to pray for them is delineated in verse 4, who desires all men to be saved. We can pray for good policy. We can pray for the restraint of evil.
We can pray for, you know, closed borders or regulated borders. We can pray for, you know, lowered costs. We can pray for no more inflation. Those are all legit, but we ought to be praying that God would have mercy and save to the uttermost those in high places who draw near to Him through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
So it is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior when the church prays for civil authority, and that's the emphasis in terms of God's nature with reference to those things that please Him.
The Purpose of God
But Paul moves on to speak of the purpose of God in verse 4. So verse 3, for this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior. And then verse 4, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. Now when we read this phrase, who desires all men to be saved, we might think that as Calvinists or as Reformed Christians, we can't really say that.
Does Paul mean that God desires the salvation of all men without exception? I argue that Paul means that God desires the salvation of all men without distinction. I believe that what the apostle is doing in this particular passage is dealing with kinds of men, all kinds of men, and I think the specific emphasis is in verse 7 in terms of his function as an apostle specifically to the Gentiles. So all men, all kinds of men, whether they be Jew, whether they be Gentile. whether they be a poor man or they be a king.
All kinds of men, by God's grace, will come into the kingdom. And there are several reasons why I would explain it thus. First, the reference to all men in verse 1 doesn't mean every man without exception. Therefore, I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men.
You would never do anything else than pray if you prayed for all men. If you got every phone book from every city, in every country, in every continent in the world, it would be a full-time job to pray for each and every name and each and every one of those phone books. It is obvious that Paul is speaking of all kinds of men, all kinds of men that happen to be close to you, family members, friends, fellow churchmen, all those kinds of men ought to be prayed for by the believer. The confirmation of this is seen in verse 2.
So he mentions all men in verse 1, and then he gives a particular subset in verse 2, for kings and all who are in authority. So all men, but specifically with reference to his point here in verse 2, those men that happen to find themselves in the office of civil authority. I would suggest thirdly, verse 4 speaks not concerning a hypothetical or a possible salvation, but rather it speaks definitively to what God desires and what God will in fact carry out. This speaks of real salvation, to come to the knowledge of the truth.
Not all men do, but all kinds of men do. Verse 5 indicates the nature of Christ's mediatorial work. He is the mediator of the New Covenant, but not all men are participants in the New Covenant. All kinds of men, however, are participants in the New Covenant.
Notice as well the object of Christ's ransom in verse 6, who gave himself a ransom for all. Again, if he gave himself a ransom for all men without exception, then all men without exception would in fact be saved. It is all kinds of men that the apostle is speaking of in this particular context. And then as I said, the scope of Paul's ministry in verse 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.
And I would suggest that we need to interpret the passage in this particular manner for a variety of reasons. Paul was not a universalist. Paul taught the doctrine of reprobation. In Romans 9, verses 21 to 24, he speaks of the potter who has a right over the lump to do with that lump what he wishes.
He makes some as vessels of dishonor for judgment and others for honor to show and display His mercy. The Lord Most High is not a universalist. The Bible speaks of the reality that God does in fact damn some men to everlasting hell. If we posit, as some have, that God desires certain things that are not realized, that creates a big problem with our doctrine of God.
It would suggest that he's not omnipotent. It would suggest that there is something outside of God that can stay his hand. There is something outside of God that God is unable to control. Several years ago, there was a blog post that was positing this idea, that God desires the salvation of all men, even though God knows that not all men will be saved.
And the content of that particular blog post was horrific. But the picture on top of that blog post was a birthday cake with candles on it. The suggestion was that there are things that God wishes for that God doesn't get. That is a bad reading of 1 Timothy chapter 2.
It is a bad reading of the New Testament. It is a bad reading of the Old Testament. Ask anybody in Scripture if there is anything outside of God that can stay His hand or say, what doest thou? Now, the apostle was not a universalist.
God has not purposed the salvation of all men without exception, but rather God has purposed the salvation of all men without distinction from every tribe, from every tongue, from every people, from every nation. Jew and Gentile, the scope of the apostle's ministry to the Gentiles suggests that we are to understand all men in context as being specifically all kinds of men. Philip Towner commenting on verse 7, the theological interest in the universal theme reveal that the prayer practice Paul sought to reinstate in Ephesus had the evangelistic mission to the Gentiles as its target. We read Psalm 117, it was always purposed by God that the gospel would go out conquering and to conquer not just the lost sheep of the house of Israel but as a light under the Gentiles.
This was given to Noah in that oracle in Genesis chapter 9. We see it ratified all throughout the Old Testament, Gentile inclusion in the covenant promises of God made initially to Old Covenant Israel.
Against Unmet Desires in God
Paul is not suggesting that there are unmet desires in the heart of God. Paul is not suggesting that there are things that God wishes would take place, but he simply cannot achieve. That is to undercut and to destroy ultimately the foundation of the entire cosmos by suggesting that there is some sort of antithesis that resides in the heart of our great God. That is heretical.
That is blasphemous. That is wrong. We need to adopt the mentality that Paul is speaking specifically here concerning all kinds of men. And as I said, the analogy of faith teaches that some men will in fact be damned.
In fact, turn with me to Job 20, Job 21. It's a handful of passages that teach not all men will be saved. And the desire of God that all men are saved is with reference to all kinds of men, whether Jew or Gentile, whether rich or poor, whether servant or king, whether, you know, noble or not noble. Notice in Job 21 at verse 30.
For the wicked are reserved for the day of doom, they shall be brought out on the day of wrath." Proverbs 16, 4. Proverbs 16, 4, this is the passage that John Bunyan uses as he teaches the doctrine of reprobation, or rather highlights that the Bible teaches the doctrine of reprobation. Proverbs 16, 4, the Lord has made all for himself, yes, even the wicked for the day of doom. Matthew 11, our Lord's words in His earthly ministry, Matthew chapter 11.
Specifically at verse 25, at that time Jesus answered and said, I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes. He hid gospel truth from the wise and the prudent. Now, some might object, well, that's not fair. No, it's justice.
God is not obliged to reveal gospel truth. God does that by way of grace, by way of mercy, by way of loving kindness. And this is something praiseworthy to God on the part of the mediator according to his human nature. I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes.
Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in your sight. I mentioned earlier, Paul's not a universalist. Turn to Romans chapter 9. Romans chapter 9.
As you're turning there, I would suggest that if Paul was a universalist, everybody would love him. There's a lot of hate out there for Paul. People don't like Paul. I mean, we love him because we're blood-bought, spirit-filled children of God.
But if you're not a blood-bought, spirit-filled child of God and you read Paul, you might have the tendency to get upset. You might have the tendency to get upset as we continue on in 1 Timothy 2 when he says, I do not permit a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man. How do feminists like Paul when it comes to that? Oh, they love him.
Oh, he's, you know, noble. No, no, they despise him. If Paul was a universalist, there wouldn't be as much hate for Paul. Notice in Romans 9, 19, you will say to me then, why does he still find fault for who has resisted his will?
But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed say to him who formed it, why have you made me like this? Does not the potter have power over the clay from the same lump?" Notice that there wasn't a good lump and a bad lump. And from the good lump, he chooses for salvation, and the bad lump, he chooses for damnation.
It's the same lump. It's his pleasure. It's his freedom. It's His sovereignty.
That's what Paul is asserting here unequivocally. Does not the potter have power over the clay from the same lump to make one vessel for honor and another for dishonor? What if God, wanting to show His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath, notice the next three words, prepared for destruction. and that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had prepared beforehand for glory, even us whom he called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles." Do you think the man that wrote verse 22 would then turn around and in 1 Timothy chapter 2 verse 4 say, you know, God wants to save all men. He has this birthday cake and he has candles and he wants to make a wish, but he knows it won't be realized.
Brethren, your theology proper is messed up if you posit a God who desires something that He is not going to achieve. Notice in Romans 11, 33 to 36, Paul summarizes 9 to 11 by way of praising and glorifying God for His sovereignty. Verse 33, oh the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God. How unsearchable are his judgments and his ways past finding out.
For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has become his counselor? Or who has first given to him and it shall be repaid to him? For of him and through him and to him are all things to whom be glory forever.
Amen. 1 Peter chapter 2. 1 Peter chapter 2. Again, just showing that God has purpose, the damnation of sinners." 1 Peter 2 specifically at verse 7. Therefore to you who believe He is precious, but to those who are disobedient, the stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. And a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense, they stumbled, being disobedient to the Word, to which they also were appointed.
Unequivocally, brethren, the Bible does not support a doctrine of universalism. It does not support a doctrine that there are unrealized wishes or desires in the heart of our God. Conversely, Psalm 115 and Psalm 136 tells us that our God is in heaven and He does whatever He pleases. So 1 Timothy 2 is not suggesting that there is unmet desire in the heart of God.
And then as we return to 1 Timothy 2, we see His pleasure, verse 3, we see His purpose, verse 4, and then we see specifically in terms of verse 4 the explanation of what He's involved with. Because some try to suggest that God our Savior in this passage refers to God as creator and God as sustainer or provider or governor. He is that to all men to be sure. But verse 4 really has a salvific emphasis.
It really has a redemptive focus. Notice in verse 4, "...who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. How are men saved? Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." In other words, it's the belief in the truth that brings us into that blessed state.
It is the belief in Jesus Christ having lived, having died, having raised again. It is belief in that that brings justification. We're justified by faith. And so Paul is speaking in redemptive categories with reference to the church's prayer.
He wants us to pray, and the reason why is because of who God is.
The Singularity of God
And then the singularity of God. Notice in verse 5a, for there is one God. Now, that could be that God is preeminent. God is, you know, the best.
I think the focus is specifically on the singularity, the aloneness of God relative to being God. Because if there were other gods, there might be other ways to those other gods. The particular point is that by implication, if there were more gods, there might be more ways to those gods. But Paul's emphasis throughout the section is one way to the one God through the one mediator that he's going to discuss in the rest of verse five and in verse six. one way to the one God through the one mediator.
That necessitates this knowledge of the truth because man by nature knows that God is. But man by nature doesn't know that God has provided the gift of his son that whosoever believeth in him shall not perish but have everlasting life. In other words, general revelation renders a man inexcusable, but he needs special revelation to learn the way of salvation. And when Paul says to come to the knowledge of the truth, he's not just speaking in terms of cognition, just to identify a certain set of texts or facts rather.
It's experiential knowledge, it's saving knowledge, it's that passing from death unto life knowledge. It is that knowledge given us by the Holy Spirit in effectual calling. It is that knowledge wherein we see ourselves before a holy God as guilty, vile, helpless we, spotless Lamb of God was He, full atonement can it be? Hallelujah, what a Savior.
The knowledge of the truth is what we need. God gives it to us by grace such that we close with Christ in faith and repentance. One way, one God, one mediator. Paul makes the same point in Romans 3, 29 and 30.
Or is he the God of the Jews only? Is he not also the God of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also, since there is one God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. So that's his point here.
God's pleasure, God's purpose, and God's singularity. This is the rationale in terms of the nature of God as to why the church engages in corporate prayer. Knight says that there is one God means that there are not other gods for non-Jews alongside the God of the Jews. God's concern for all was expressed in the Abrahamic covenant in the statement that all the families of the earth shall be blessed.
That covenantal promise has come to fruition in Christ. And it's because of that the church prays for all kinds of men, even kings and those who are in authority. We pray because God has purpose to save all kinds of men.
The Office of Christ (vv. 5b–6)
Now notice Paul moves on to the office of Christ in 5b and 6. He speaks concerning Christ as mediator. Notice in verse 5, 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." So first question is,
Why a Mediator Is Necessary
why a need for a mediator? Have you ever sought mediation? whether it be legal, whether it be familial. Perhaps you've been having issues at home and you need some mediation. You need somebody to try and bring reconciliation.
You need somebody as a go-between. You need somebody to mediate the particular goings-on so that there can be a resolve, so that there can be peace, so that there can be a treaty signed. We need a mediator because man is at odds with God. We need a mediator because God is at odds with men.
The necessity of a mediator means that the doctrine of total depravity is true. We raise our fist in rebellion against God. We despise him and his law. We want to cast off his fetters and bonds.
We reject Yahweh. We reject his anointed. We rage against him. And He rages against us back, speaking in the manner of men.
Psalm 711, God is a just judge. God is angry with the wicked every day. Or Paul in Romans chapter 5 verses 10 and 11. Don't ever miss this.
Yeah, man treats God as if God is an enemy. The Bible tells us that God treats man as if man is an enemy. Consider Paul in that before Christ snapshot in Ephesians 2.3, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. Well, what does that mean?
It means that God is angry with the wicked every day. He who believes in the Son shall see life. He who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains or abides on him. John 3, 36.
So now Paul is highlighting the mediation or the mediatorship of our Lord Jesus. And again, one salvation, one God and one mediator between God and man. And then he mentions or identifies this particular mediator by saying the man Christ Jesus, the man Christ Jesus. Again, the one mediator is absolutely crucial, because if there were a bunch of mediators, there might be a bunch of ways to that God.
But Paul's emphasis is on one God, one way, and one mediator. That's what he is telling us, as the church, we ought to be praying, having in our minds while we pray. Now, it speaks concerning the human nature of our Lord Jesus. Again, verse 5, the man, Christ, Jesus.
And when it says the man, Christ, Jesus, it's not to diminish the glory of the Son, but rather to shine the light upon the glory of the Son. The incarnation was glorious. The Son of God took on our humanity with all the essential properties and common infirmities thereof and yet without sin. That's blessed.
That's glorious. And it sets the stage for what the Lord Jesus, as mediator, does in his human nature. In verse 6, he makes a ransom for all, again, all kinds of men. I like Westminster Larger Catechism asking two questions.
Why was it requisite or why was it necessary or why was it needful for Christ to be God or the mediator to be God and why was it necessary for the mediator to be man? Not two persons, one person, two natures. So Westminster Larger Catechism 38, why was it requisite that the mediator should be God? It was requisite that the mediator should be God, that he might sustain and keep the human nature from sinking under the infinite wrath of God and the power of death, give worth and efficacy to his sufferings, obedience, and intercession, and to satisfy God's justice, procure his favor, purchase a peculiar people, give his spirit to them, conquer all their enemies, and bring them to everlasting salvation.
That's exactly what Paul is saying. That's exactly the emphasis in 1 Timothy chapter 2. Why was it requisite that he be man? It was requisite that the mediator should be man, that he might advance our nature, perform obedience to the law, suffer and make intercession for us in our nature, have a fellow feeling of our own infirmities, that we might receive the adoption of sons, and have comfort and access with boldness unto the throne of grace.
So when he says in verse 5, for there is one God and one mediator between God and man. The supposition is that God and men need a mediator. The answer is the provision of the mediator, the Son of God, who became flesh and dwelt among us. The son of God who through his poverty makes many rich.
The son of God who took to himself our humanity so that he could live for us, so that he could die for us, and so that he could be raised again for us. Now then
The Work of the Mediator
notice the work of the mediator in verse 6, who gave himself a ransom for all to be testified in due time. That word ransom is great. Really, really wonderful. He didn't do what he did to be an example.
Again, we should learn from his example. But Jews seek signs, Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified to the Jews a stumbling block or a scandal into the Greeks' foolishness. But to us who are being saved, Christ is both wisdom and power from God. And so with reference to this idea of ransom Leon Morris says it is important to realize that it is this idea of payment as the basis of release which is the reason for the existence of the whole word group.
The ransom price was paid by our Savior on our behalf in order to satisfy the demands of divine justice. So if the ransom was paid for all men without exception, then ergo, all men without exception would be saved. Because if the ransom is paid, it would be ungodly for God to demand second payment. It's obviously all kinds of men in the context, Jew men, Gentile men, king men, slave men, whatever men.
All kinds, not every. The nature of ransom. Notice that the work of Christ was voluntary. He gave himself.
Who gave himself. He didn't go kicking and screaming to the cross. According to his human nature in that garden, his soul was exceedingly sorrowful even unto death. He did say, Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me.
Of course, as true humanity, that's obviously what anybody would say, facing the wrath and fury and judgment of God. Nevertheless, Father, not my will, but thine be done. The nature of his work was voluntary. He undertook to be the mediator, not by compulsion, not by coercion, but by love, by grace, by As well, note the work of Christ was substitutionary.
He gave himself for all. There's a transactional emphasis there. He gave himself for all. It's substitution.
That's why when we consider the doctrine of the atonement, we've got to think in terms of substitutionary penal atonement. We've got to think in terms of the fact that he took our place on the cross. He didn't take the place of those damned reprobates who are in hell. You see something sort of analogous on the Day of Atonement in Leviticus chapter 16.
When the high priest went before God into the Holy of Holies, who's he there for? He's there for Israel. He's not there for Jebusites. He's not there for the Hivites.
He's not there for the Hittites. When he takes that scapegoat and he places his hands upon that goat, he confesses the sins of Israel. The redemptive work of Jesus Christ is definite. The redemptive work of Jesus Christ is particular.
The redemptive work of Jesus Christ is limited. Now, I know that people hear limited and they think deficient. No, it's limited by the decree, the purpose and the plan of God. In other words, it is efficacious for all those whom the Father had given it.
This ransom price was paid. He did it voluntarily, he did it substitutionarily, and he did it as well in a penal manner, penal substitutionary atonement. He paid this debt to satisfy what was owing on our behalf so that we, by his grace and for his glory, may enter into heaven based on him being our whole and sole righteousness. And then note how Paul ends that verse in verse 6, who gave himself a ransom for all to be testified in due time.
This due time is when we see the covenant of God, including Gentiles in mass. There were Gentiles that found their way into the covenant promises of God in the old covenant. But what happens in the book of Acts? What happens when the apostolic preaching starts to take root in the Roman Empire?
What happens is that Gentiles are turning by God's grace to the God of Israel through Israel's Messiah. So the very salvation of the Gentiles was a testimony of the validity of what Paul is saying here in terms of Christ being a ransom for all, all kinds of men, vis-a-vis Gentiles. As well, the apostolic preaching of the cross. In a moment, we'll notice that Paul's appointment was to the apostolic ministry with a specific focus on Gentiles.
You see, the apostle is saying that what we have seen in the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ in his first coming, life, death, resurrection, it is testified in due time that he has come as a ransom for all kinds of men, whether they be kings, whether they be slaves, Whether they be rich, whether they be poor, whether they be wise, or whether they be dumb, whether they be men, whether they be women, whatever their case may be, he's come for all kinds of men. He gave himself as a ransom for all kinds of men. But all kinds of men, every tribe, tongue, people, and nation will make up the church triumphant. And then
The Ministry of Paul (v. 7)
notice finally the ministry of Paul. He speaks of his appointment to it in verse 7. It's not one of these guys that self-ordained himself and started paul.com, send in your donations via PayPal. That's not Paul.
He was appointed to the apostolic ministry by the Lord Most High, for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle, for which the reality that Christ is the one mediator who provided a ransom for all kinds of men, as the mediator to the one God, that is defined in one way, knowledge of the truth, faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. And notice the terminology that he uses here, for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle. This preacher, I think Reinecker and Rogers give a good gloss here. Harold, or preacher.
The Harold was someone who had important news to bring. He often announced an athletic event or religious festivals, or functioned as a messenger, the bringer of some news or command from the king's court. He was to have a strong voice and proclaim his message with vigor, without lingering to discuss it. The herald's most important qualification was that he faithfully represent or report the word of the one by whom he had been sent.
Boy, if there's a line that needs rehearsal over and over and over and again in the midst of the church, that's it right there. What's your job? Well, it's this. That he faithfully represent or report the word of the one by whom he had been sent.
That's it. We don't want your additions. We don't want your supplementations. We don't want your qualifications.
We don't want your life story, yawn. We want the truth as it is in Jesus. We want Genesis to Revelation preached and expounded faithfully. That ought to be the ongoing demand of every church of our Lord Jesus Christ.
If a man does not preach the word, he ought not to be in a pulpit. This is what Paul says, for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle. They go on. He was not to be original.
His message was to be that of another. Beautiful. Get that in your mind, get that in your heart, get that in your head. That ought to be the measure of any man who has aspiration for the Christian ministry, that he faithfully represent or report the word of the one by whom he had been sent.
He was not to be original. His message was to be that of another. And then he mentions that he was an apostle, a sent one, an ambassador, as it were. On behalf of the king's message in court, he brings that word, that word of salvation, that knowledge of which brings man into a state of God's blessing.
And then notice he affirms this, and I think he does this parenthetically, for the encouragement of Timothy and the refutation of the false teachers. Remember, Timothy has been surrounded or placed rather in Ephesus, and there's some bad dudes there. There's some guys that desire to be teachers of the law, but they have no idea what they're talking about, according to Paul in 1 Timothy 1 at verse 7. They want to be teachers.
They've self-designated or appointed themselves as teachers, But they're morons. They don't know what they're talking about. So Timothy's not in an altogether lovely place. He's got a deal with some bad dudes.
So Paul affirms this, and it takes on the nature of an oath, actually. I am speaking the truth in Christ and not lying. He wants Timothy to be encouraged. He wants Timothy to be stabilized.
Timothy, stand fast. What we're doing here has divine sanction. What we're doing here is the only means by which needy sinners find, by God's grace, the one way through the one mediator to the one living and true God. So Timothy, I affirm this, I swear an oath before the Lord, my statement is true.
And I think as well, at least indirectly, it is a slight upon or shade thrown on the false teachers. And then as I mentioned, the focus of his ministry at the end of verse seven, a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth. It'd be difficult to show all the times in the New Testament where Paul makes this statement. Not that he would walk by a guilty, vile, helpless Jew and not tell him about Jesus.
But the focus of his ministry, in terms of apostolic ministry, was on the Gentiles. Just one particular text that I think illustrates this beautifully is in Acts 13. Acts chapter 13. You can turn there.
The scene is in Pisidian Antioch. They go to the synagogue, as Paul was wont to do. There he'd find unconverted Jews, and there he'd find God-fearing Gentiles. That meant those Gentiles who had an interest in the God of Israel.
And so Paul preaches the gospel in Acts 13. And I love the results of Paul's preaching of the gospel in Acts 13, picking up at verse 42. So when the Jews went out of the synagogue, the Gentiles, note this language, begged that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath. Beautiful, isn't it?
They begged. Do people beg for the word of God today? Do people crave the word of God today? Well, people would if they understood God's justice, God's righteousness, God's holiness, God's purpose to damn those who resist Him, to damn those who reject His only begotten Son.
They would beg, they would crave, they would desire if they knew something of their own sinfulness that they're not basically okay. No, we are messed up through and through. We are horrible. We are monstrous.
All we like sheep have gone astray. We say in our hearts, there is no God, and all our works are corrupt. We may not say it with our mouths because we're too dignified to say that, but we live as if there is no God, man apart from grace. So the Gentiles begged that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath.
Now, when the congregation had broken up, many of the Jews and devout proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God. I love this bit, too, in verse 44. On the next Sabbath, almost the whole city came together to hear the word of God. Why?
Because the people that heard Paul preach went home. They went to work. They talked to family members. They texted, they emailed, they sent carrier pigeon.
They said, this guy brought it in the synagogue last week. You need to come and hear this. You need to come and hear this as if your life depends upon it, because your life does depend upon it. It's a beautiful statement.
On the next Sabbath, almost the whole city came together to hear the word of God. But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy and contradicting and blaspheming. Notice that blasphemy, we usually speak of it as profane speech. In our sort of mindset as Christians, Bible believers, we think of blasphemy, specifically targeting God.
To speak ill of God is blasphemy. That's precisely what they are doing. They are speaking ill of God. They are committing blasphemy in their rejection of God's only begotten Son.
If they hate the one sent, then they hate the one who sent Him. John 15, 21 and 23. So when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy and contradicting and blaspheming, they opposed the things spoken by Paul. And just to get a bit of what was spoken by Paul, look at verse 38.
Therefore, let it be known to you, brethren, that through this man is preached to you the forgiveness of sins. And by him, everyone who believes is justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses. Oh, that horrible man, that terrible guy. If you're an unbelieving Jew, of course, Paul was a horrible man.
And of course, Paul was a terrible guy. Because Paul was saying that unaided by divine grace, not justified through his blood in an attempt to enter into heaven based on a covenant of works, your obedience to the law of Moses, you're never going to make it. You are destined to fail. That's what they rejected, and the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ.
So then notice in verse 46, then Paul and Barnabas grew bold. I love that. They didn't walk out sheepishly and say, well, we're sorry we offended you. We're sorry we upset you.
The Christian is not to apologize for speaking the truth. Now, we can be jerks about it, of course. I'm not suggesting otherwise. You show up at a funeral with signs that say, you know, this horrible monster is now burning in hell.
Yeah, you're probably right in terms of the truth factor, but it's just not cool. Don't be that guy. Don't ever join Westboro Baptist Church. It's probably not the place that you wanna be.
But they grew bold and notice, it was necessary that the word of God should be spoken to you first, but since you reject it and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles. For so the Lord has commanded us, I have set you as a light to the Gentiles that you should be for salvation to the ends of the earth. So he picks up Isaiah 49 verse 6 and Isaiah 42 verse 6 which are servant songs of Yahweh specifically about the Lord Jesus Christ as the bringer of gospel light to the Gentiles and by extension the apostolic preaching of the Apostle Paul is that light. He was appointed as an apostle, as a preacher, as a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.
In other words, all kinds of men.
Application
So with reference to corporate prayer, I just want to mention two things and then we're done. First, it's salvific focus. As I said, we can pray for policy changes. We can pray against the prevailing sins.
We must also pray for the salvation of those in high places. And we've got a reason thus. If God is able to save us, he's able to save them. It's a pretty simple implication.
If you can look in the mirror and realize, wow, God saved me, guilty, helpless, vile me, then there's hope for those in civil government. That's the focus in verse four. Why should we pray for all men? Because God desires the salvation of all men.
And then in terms of practical application with reference to corporate prayer, at some point or at some level in your own heart, you had to know I was going to go here. You got to show up for corporate prayer, right? I mean, that's just kind of built in to the structure, to the system, to the habit. to the architecture. There's nobody praying or nobody to pray.
There's not going to be anybody praying. We must pray for the salvation of all kinds of men. We must pray that the Holy Spirit would come upon the man who preaches and upon the men who listen. Without the spirit of truth working through and by and with the word of truth, there'll be no glory to the incarnate truth when sinners by grace come to Him.
It is absolutely crucial that on the Lord's day we pray God send the spirit of truth so that your people grow in their knowledge of the truth and those who are not your people can come by grace to a knowledge of that truth and be saved. and as well we need to exhort those we know we love we're intimate with all kinds of men we ought to exhort them to flee to the lord jesus christ for so great a salvation well let us pray
Closing Prayer
our father in heaven we thank you for your word we thank you for its consistency we thank you for its blessedness and we thank you for you using it in our lives to shape us and to conform us evermore under the image of your beloved son. We pray that you would fill each of us with your Holy Spirit, guard our hearts, guard our minds, keep us on the straight and narrow path, and may you indeed be glorified in each of our lives. Bless this local church. I pray that it would continue on for many, many years, that there would be faithful men preaching and teaching here. men that only preach what is given us in the Word of God, that they would hold fast, and we pray that no innovators or creators would come into this pulpit, but men sent by the Most High to declare the truth of God Almighty.
And we ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.