Priority
One
The apostle Paul wrote his last three
epistles to Timothy and Titus. We refer to these three letters as the
Pastoral Epistles. Paul wrote the books of First Timothy and Titus in
64 A.D. He wrote Second Timothy, his final epistle, in 67 A.D. not long
before his martyrdom. These books, which Paul wrote to two young
preachers he mentored, provide manuals for church life, especially
church leadership consisting of bishops and deacons. Every seminary
should offer and require intensive classes, both exegetical and
expository, covering these books.
This article examines a section of
First Timothy that establishes prayer as priority one for the local
church. Our text is 1 Timothy 2:1-4:
“I exhort therefore, that, first of
all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be
made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we
may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For
this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; Who will
have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.”
Paul's instruction to Timothy takes
the form of an exhortation, in which he urges Timothy to make prayer
the top priority in church life. Its immediate applicability is the
church at Ephesus where Timothy was the pastor. But it applies to every
local church from the apostolic era to the present. The priority of
prayer is encapsulated in the phrase first of all [things].
The Greek πρῶτον
(prōton) signifies “first in rank (order of
importance).” In the list of all things the church is to be about,
prayer is to be at the top of that list.
The Objects of Our Praying
The objects of prayer where the
church is concerned are: (1) all men,
(2) kings, and (3) all that are in authority. The all men for which we
are exhorted to pray (2:1) are the all men God desires to save (2:4).
Calvinists break a leg here claiming “all men” must mean “all [kinds
of] men” due to their doctrine of Limited Atonement. But the Greek
construction in both instances (πάντων
ἀνθρώπων) disallows such an
interpretation. No one would deny that God desires to save all kinds of
men. He has done and is doing exactly that. But that stipulation is no
reason to believe God desires to save some but not all anymore than it
means we should pray for some but not all. The word therefore
points back to 1:18-20, where Paul gives Timothy two very important
reasons prayer should be the first priority of the church. First, the
young pastor, like all believers, was engaged in spiritual combat. This
is a truth too few believers learn early on in their Christian walk. In
this regard, the church has failed miserably in the area of
discipleship. Secondly, combat produces casualties. Paul mentions by
name two men—Hymenaeus and Alexander—who had “shipwrecked” concerning
the faith. Satan takes no prisoners! Therefore prayer is seen as
preparaton for spiritual warfare and the prevention of spiritual
shipwreck.
The text does teach us to pray for
two kinds of men within the all men
context: kings and all that are in authority (2:2). Kings is the plural
of βασιλεύς
(basileus), “a leader, a sovereign power.” These are heads
of government. Jesus is the king of these kings (6:15; Revelation
17:14; 19:16). All that
are in authority is ὑπεροχή
(hyperochē), “one
superior in rank or authority.” This group represents those who hold
lesser positions in government as well as anyone under whose authority
a believer lives his or her life. Reverence and respect for the various
authorities in the believer's life is fundamental to the Christian
faith. We are exhorted to pray for them.
There's an interesting play on words
in our text. It involves the
preposition ὑπέρ
(for) and the noun ὑπεροχή
(superiors). The
preposition ὑπέρ
is used throughout NT scripture to teach the
substitutionary death of Christ. It means “over, above, in the stead
of” and is integral to the word ὑπεροχή. We are
exhorted to take a position
in our praying similar to the position those in authority take in their
governing. In their governing, they're OVER us. In our praying, we're
OVER them. Prayer enables the church to blanket its political leaders
with God's spiritual
authority at the same time they blanket us with
their political
authority. This play on words teaches a profound
spiritual truth. Doesn't it make perfect sense for the church to pray
on behalf of those on whose behalf the Lord Jesus endured the brunt of
God's justice and wrath toward sin?
The Elements of Our Praying
Paul uses four words to describe for
Timothy the basic elements of prayer.
The first is supplications.
The word is δέησις
(deēsis), “a petition to
meet a need.” The second is prayers.
The word is προσευχή
(proseuchē),
“a form of oratorical worship directed toward God.” It's the more
general word for prayer, which emphasizes God as the one toward whom we
direct our prayers. The third is intercessions.
The word is ἔντευξις
(enteuxis), “a coming together to have a conversation, an interview.”
An intercessory prayer session involves God and the believer (in this
case, the church) coming together to have a conversation about third
parties. The fourth is giving
of thanks. The word is εὐχαριστία
(eucharistia), “an expression of thankfulness, gratitude to God (as an
act of worship).”
It would take a good-sized dictionary
to enumerate all the things for
which a believer should-could offer thanks. In the context, however,
the thankfulness in view would seem to do with the individuals for whom
the church is praying. The church, in its thanksgiving toward God,
expresses gratitude for who he is, for what he's done and in advance
for what he's going to do in the lives of men. Moreover, the verbs I
exhort (active voice) and be made (passive
voice) are both present
tense. The exhortation to pray has continued in force for two-thousand years.
The Effects of Our Praying
The effects of prayer are felt
primarily by the church itself. Although
the men, the kings and superiors for whom the church prays may
find
salvation in Christ and therefore be more kindly disposed toward the
church, prayer's primary goal is “that WE may lead a quiet and
peaceable life in all godliness and honesty” (2:2) without regard for
how the world behaves or treats us.
The direct effect of corporate prayer
by the church is “a quiet and
peaceable life.” The word quiet
is ἤρεμος
(ēremos), an adjective
meaning “still, quiet, tranquil.” This is its only usage in the NT. The
word peaceable
is ἡσύχιος
(hēsychios), an adjective meaning “quiet,
sedentary (by keeping one's seat), undisturbed.” It's used
twice
in the NT. The words are virtual synonyms. Quiet refers to an
inward
calm whereas peaceable
refers to an outward demeanor. I'm inclined to
believe Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were “quiet and peaceable” in
the midst of that fiery furnace even as Daniel was “quiet and
peaceable” in the midst of that den of lions. In the midst of
a tempestuous storm on Galilee, Jesus was engaged in “quiet
and
peaceable” sleep while his disciples feared for their lives. A quiet
and peaceable life is possible only for those who operate under God's
authority and know that even their enemies are governed by the same
authority. Prayer creates that posture of calm for the church.
Paul wrote his first epistle to
Timothy in 64 A.D. The “king” at the
time of writing was Nero (54-68 A.D.). He was merciless in his
treatment of Christians, killing both Peter and Paul (65 A.D.). The
Emperor Trajan (98-117 A.D.) was “more skilled” than his predecessors,
but nevertheless a persecutor of the church. He implemented a policy,
wherein he decreed that Christians be allowed to affirm allegiance to
Roman gods and denounce Christ before being officially charged and
punished. The reign of Marcus Aurelius (161-180 A.D.) saw the first
official anti-Christian literature. He killed Justin, the first
Christian philosopher, in 165 A.D. During his reign, Christian blood
“flowed more profusely than ever before.” Prayer that produces
tranquility and peaceability among God's people does NOT necessarily
produce immunity from persecution and national mayhem.
There are many who quote 2 Chronicles
7:14 as the cure-all for
America's ills. In so doing, they typically assign blame to
the church
for corruption in government and general ungodliness in the land. I get
the sentiment. But the “my people” of 7:14 is a reference to Israel,
NOT the church. The promise God gave Solomon was given in the midst of
spiritual renewal. The “land” God promised to heal was the Promised
Land. He promised to “heal” it if backslidden Israel would repent, turn
from their sin and seek his face. The Christian church can obey Paul's
exhortation to pray and still, through no fault of its own, endure
hardship and find itself surrounded by a society immersed in
wickedness. Some measure of persecution is guaranteed to all who will
live godly in Christ Jesus (2 Timothy 3:12). Those who hold to 2
Chronicles 7:14 as the answer to America's problems and blame the
church for them must also acknowledge the same logic has global
application. In order words, if the church in any land ever gets right
with God concerning its prayer life, that nation will experience
revival as well. Tell that to Christian churches in Muslim countries.
Is there any need to explain the fallacy of that
logic?
In addition, prayer breeds “godliness
and honesty.” Godliness is
nothing more than God-likeness. It signifies a holiness of life.
Holiness is not so much a prohibitive life as it is an
affirmative life, wherein the believer embraces the promises in Christ
as “Yea, and Amen” (2 Corinthians 1:20) and allows the Spirit of God to
produce the fruits of righteousness in his life (Galatians
5:22-23; Ephesians 5:9). Godliness is a strong
God-consciousness resulting in
conduct of which God approves. The word honesty is σεμνότης (semnotēs),
signifying “gravity” or seriousness of life. Paul lists this trait as a
pastoral qualification (3:4). In his letter to Titus, he uses the word
to describe the seriousness with which the man of God should deal with
doctrine (2:7). Honesty strikes the perfect balance between arrogance
and foolishness. Seriousness is not joylessness, but rather
purposefulness of life lived out in the sight of God.
The Rewards of Our Praying
The reward for the praying church is
how their praying stacks up “in
the sight of God our Saviour.” Scripture says it is “good and
acceptable” to pray for all men, kings and superiors. The word good is
καλός
(kalos), that which is “excellent in its nature and characteristics.”
The other NT word for good
is ἀγαθός
(agathos), that which is
“beneficial, useful.” While both describe the goodness of a thing,
καλός
speaks of inherent or intrinsic goodness whereas ἀγαθός
calls attention to the goodness of a thing for its beneficial effect.
For example, one can hold an apple in his hand and admire it for its
beauty (free of blemishes), shape and color (i.e., its καλός). But when
one bites into the apple and begins to consume it, he experiences the
benefits of the apple as to taste and nutritional value (i.e.,
its ἀγαθός).
Paul tells Timothy prayer offered to God on
behalf of all men, kings and superiors is a good thing in and of itself
without regard for its benefit.
In the sight of God our Saviour, this
is an acceptable thing. The word
acceptable
is ἀπόδεκτος
(apodektos), that which is “agreeable.” The
idea is God gladly “receives from” the church the prayers,
petitions, intercessions and thanksgiving it offers up in prayer.
To say this is
an acceptable
activity signifies it is agreeable
to his will. That
which is agreeable to his will is pleasing to him. We know prayer
that's pleasing to him and agreeable to his will can shake buildings
(Acts 4:31), unlock prison doors (12:10) and open the hearts of lost
men (16:14, 30-31). The Saviour is in the business of saving men. It's
what he desires to do. Can any church that goes month after month, year
after year without seeing God save sinners in their midst think for one
minute they're in business with God? If your church seldom if ever sees
lost men come to Jesus, you might as well hang an “Out of Business”
sign outside!
Prayer is priority one for the local
church. If the church fails here,
it will likely fail everywhere else. Paul is clear about the objects of
our praying, its basic elements, its effects upon the praying church and
its rewards in the sight of God. The Lord Jesus, God our Saviour, is in
the business of saving men. He came to seek and save that which was
lost (Luke 19:10). The best evidence that a church is doing business
with God is the Lord Jesus saving sinners in their midst.
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