1 Timothy 2:1 - Meaning and Application

Here, first, Paul gives Christians a charge to pray for all people in general, and especially for all in authority. Timothy was to make sure this was done. Paul does not give him a fixed prayer form, as if ministers had to use only one way of praying. Instead, he gives broad guides: supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks. Supplications ask God to turn away evil, prayers ask for good, intercessions plead for others, and thanksgivings praise God for mercies already received.

Paul thought that was enough. Christians had Scripture to guide them in prayer, and they had the Spirit of prayer given to them. So the Christian faith is meant to encourage prayer, and Christ’s followers must be praying people. They are to pray always with all kinds of prayer (Ephesians 6:18). Our own needs come first, though that is implied here. But we must also pray for all people, for humanity in general, and for specific people who need or ask for our prayers.

Notice how far the Christian faith is from being a narrow group. It teaches this wide charity, praying not only for people of our own group, but for all people. Christians are to pray for kings (1 Timothy 2:2). Even though the kings of that time were pagans, enemies of Christianity, and persecutors of Christians, they still had to be prayed for. Civil government is good for public life, and God appoints people to govern, so we ought to pray for them, even if we suffer under them.

We are to pray for kings and for all who are in authority, including lower magistrates. We should pray for their well-being and for the peace of their kingdoms. Because of that, we must not plot against them. If the land has peace, we can live in peace too. We should also give thanks for them and for the benefits we enjoy under their rule. The goal is that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.

This shows what we should ask for in rulers: that God would turn their hearts, guide them, and use them so that we can live peacefully under them. Paul does not say that we should ask for promotion, riches, honor, or power under them. No, the highest ambition of a good Christian is to live quietly and peaceably, and to get through the world without trouble in a humble place. We should want peace for ourselves and for others, but always in a life marked by godliness and honesty.

That phrase, “in all godliness and honesty,” sums up our duty as Christians in two words. Godliness means true worship of God. Honesty means upright behavior toward other people. These two belong together. We are not truly honest if we do not honor God. And we are not truly godly if we are dishonest, for God hates robbery used as a sacrifice. If we want a peaceful life, we must do our duty to God and to others.

So there are several lessons here. Christians should be much given to prayer and should make use of supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings. Our prayers should reach beyond ourselves and include others. We should pray for all people and give thanks for all people, not only for our own families. Prayer has different parts, because we ask for needed mercy, thank God for what we have received, and ask him to turn away deserved judgment.

All people, even kings and those in authority, should be prayed for. They need our prayers because they face many difficulties and many temptations in high places. When we pray for our rulers, we are taking the best course toward a quiet and peaceable life. The Jews in Babylon were told to seek the peace of the city where they lived as captives and to pray for it, because in its peace they would have peace (Jeremiah 29:7).

If we want a quiet and peaceable life, we must live in all godliness and honesty. We must do our duty toward God and toward people. “If you want to love life and see good days,” Peter says, “keep your tongue from evil, and your lips from deceit. Turn away from evil and do good. Seek peace and pursue it” (1 Peter 3:10, 1 Peter 3:11). The reason for all this is that it is good in the sight of God our Savior. That is, the gospel of Christ calls for this. What is pleasing to God our Savior is what we should do, and do richly.

Second, Paul gives a reason why we should pray for all people: God’s love reaches to all mankind (1 Timothy 2:4). One reason all people should be prayed for is that there is one God, and that one God has good will toward all mankind. There is one God (1 Timothy 2:5), and only one, because there can only be one infinite God. This one God wants all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. He does not desire anyone’s death and destruction (Ezekiel 33:11), but rather their welfare and salvation.

This does not mean that God has decided to save every individual, because then all would be saved. Rather, he has a real good will toward the salvation of all, and no one perishes except through his own fault (Matthew 23:37). He wants all to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth, that is, to be saved in the way he has appointed, and not in any other way. So it matters greatly that we come to know the truth, because that is the way of salvation. Christ is the way, the truth, and the life.

There is also one Mediator, a mediator is one who stands between two parties to make peace, and that Mediator gave himself as a ransom for all. Just as God’s mercy reaches all his works, Christ’s mediation also reaches this far. He paid a price enough for the salvation of all mankind. He brought mankind into a new standing with God, so they are no longer under the law as a covenant of works, but under it as a rule for life. They are under grace, not under the old covenant of innocence, but under a new covenant.

“He gave himself a ransom.” Christ’s death was a ransom, a payment in place of another. We deserved death, but Christ died for us to save us from death and hell. He gave himself willingly as a ransom for all, so all mankind are in a better condition than the devils. He died to work out a common salvation. To do this, he took the office of Mediator between God and man. A mediator assumes there is a dispute. Sin had made a quarrel between us and God, and Jesus Christ came as the Mediator to make peace and bring God and man together, like an umpire or arbitrator, one who lays his hand on both parties (Job 9:33).

He is a ransom that was to be testified in due time. That means that in the Old Testament, his sufferings and the glory that would follow were spoken of as things to be revealed in the last times (1 Peter 1:10-11). They were revealed in due course, and Paul himself was appointed as a preacher and apostle to announce to the Gentiles the good news of redemption and salvation through Jesus Christ.

Paul was entrusted to preach this message to every creature (Mark 16:15). He was also appointed to be a teacher of the Gentiles. Beyond his general call to the apostleship, he had a special commission to preach to the Gentiles in faith and truth, meaning faithfully and honestly.

This gives us several clear lessons. It is good and pleasing in the sight of God our Savior that we pray for kings and for all people, and also that we live peaceful and quiet lives. That gives us a strong reason to do both. God has a good desire for the salvation of all, so the real problem is not a lack of kindness in God, but a lack of willingness in people to be saved in God’s way. Our Lord puts the blame plainly: “You are not willing to come to me, so that you may have life” (John 5:40). He also said, “I wanted to gather you, and you were not willing.”

Those who are saved must come to the knowledge of the truth, because this is God’s chosen way to save sinners. Without knowledge, the heart cannot be right. If we do not know the truth, we cannot be guided by it. It is also worth noticing that the oneness of God is linked with the oneness of the Mediator, a mediator being the one who stands between God and sinners to bring them together. The Roman Church might as well defend many gods as many mediators.

Anyone who is a Mediator in the New Testament sense gave himself as a ransom. So the Roman Catholic claim is empty when they say there is only one Mediator for making atonement, but many for interceding. According to Paul, Christ’s giving himself as a ransom was a necessary part of the Mediator’s work, and it is also the foundation of his intercession. Paul was ordained as a minister to declare to the Gentiles that Christ is the one Mediator between God and people, and that he gave himself as a ransom for all. This is the main message all ministers are to preach to the end of the world. Paul honored his calling, as the apostle to the Gentiles (Romans 11:13).

Ministers must preach the truth, as they understand it, and they must believe it themselves. Like Paul, they are to preach in faith and truth, meaning with sincere belief and trustworthy honesty.

Here is a direction for prayer (1 Timothy 2:8). Under the gospel, prayer is not limited to any one special house of prayer. Men must pray everywhere. No place is unsuitable for prayer, and no place is more acceptable to God than another (John 4:21). We should pray in private, pray with our families, pray at meals, pray while traveling, and pray in public or private gatherings.

It is God’s will that we lift up holy hands in prayer. That means hands that are pure, cleansed from the stain of sin and washed in the fountain opened for sin and uncleanness. “I will wash my hands in innocence,” David said (Psalm 26:6). We must also pray in love, without anger or hatred toward anyone. And we must pray in faith, without doubting (James 1:6), or, as some understand it, without arguing, which also fits with the call to love.