1 Timothy 2:8 says,...
Today's verse is 1 Timothy 2:8, which reads,
Before we go into this section of Scripture that is sometimes controversial in its different interpretations I thought it might be good to address some guiding principles that I have gone through myself in attempting to get a handle on applying what is written here.
Paul is writing to Timothy who he left in Ephesus to lead the church. The instructions found here are specifically written to him and his involvement in leading the church in the ways of righteousness. The early church was being formed out of people who were deeply religious to law abiding practices prior to Christ, the Jews, and also people who were deeply religious to very unholy worship of pagan gods, the Gentiles.
To add to this, Paul's letters were to be read among the churches. They addressed problems locally but they also were an aid to other churches who would face some of the same issues. Also contained in the letters are doctrinal principles to better understand the nature of our salvation in Christ Jesus.
To add further, Paul's letters are given to us by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, inerrant in the original documents, infallible, and God-breathed. These words are for all time to all Christians as beneficial for our walk with Christ. None are to be added to or to be discarded. We read and strive to understand all of Scripture for the benefit in which it was given to us.
The Old Testament contains three types of laws: civil, ceremonial, and moral. All of these laws are recorded for our benefit but we apply them differently because of the passage of time and the fulfillment of Christ to the Law. Here is an except from the New King James Version Study Bible that gives a good overview.
Ceremonial Law: This type of law related to Israel's worship. (Lev 1:1-13) The laws pointed forward to Jesus Christ and were no longer necessary after Jesus' death and resurrection. Though we are no longer bound to them, the principles behind the ceremonial laws, to worship and love God, still apply.
Civil Law: This law dictated Israel's daily living (Deut 24:10-11); but modern society and culture are so radically different that some of these guidelines cannot be followed specifically. The principles behind the commands are to guide our conduct.
Moral Law: The moral laws are direct commands of God. A good example are the Ten Commandments (Ex 20:1-17). The moral laws reveal the nature and will of God, and still apply to us today. We do not obey this moral law as a way to obtain salvation, but to live in ways pleasing to God.
In the Old Testament, we read all the laws; we cherish all the laws; we seek to understand all the laws; but we apply all the laws in light of Christ's fulfillment of them. For example, we do not need to celebrate the Passover because Jesus Christ fulfilled that ceremony with His very life and we now follow His command to observe to the Lord's Supper until His return. It is not that we toss out the reading of the Passover but we see it now in light of Christ's fulfillment.
I am using this grid from the Old Testament to help me understand how to interpret what we will be reading. Is this passage somewhat like ceremonial law which may have some principles to dig out and apply to our modern day but fulfilled already in Christ? Or, is this passage somewhat like civil law which applied just to them but still has some underlining principles that govern our actions today? Or, is this passage dealing with moral law that connects directly to our worship of God that stands for all time for all Christians as presented?
I am approaching this passage in the moral sense. Paul is writing to Timothy about actions within the church as a body that is to worship God. The next few verses deal with the body of Christ as a unit and how we are to conduct ourselves before Him as a church. The key for me is in verse 13 of this chapter which reads, "For it was Adam who was first created, and then Eve." God created an order when it came to male and female for His purpose. It is an order that is carried out in creation; it is carried out in the family; and it is carried out in the church. This order is not to diminish or degrade either of the sexes but to put in place God's ordained plan of structure. It is not man's plan but God's and so we need to understand it and apply it. So let's look at this one verse today in light of all of this.
v.8 - Therefore I want the men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and dissension.
Paul starts with the men. This letter is written to Timothy but in the context of directing the church, the body of believers in Ephesus. The men of the church are to pray. He has been speaking of this in the previous verses. The men of the church are to lead in this activity of prayer.
The men are to pray lifting up holy hands. The lifting of hands is a sign of times of worship. So as the men gather for worship, part of that worship is prayer that is to be performed with holy hands lifted up. Holy means that our lives are unstained by evil. We come to God with clean hearts because we have been washed by the blood of the Lamb, made righteous, and we continue to confess our sins, ask for our feet to be washed, so that we walk in daily righteousness with God and with man. Hands represent our daily lives, our activities. The men gather together to worship, to pray to God with lives that are saved and living out that salvation through repentance, confession, and reconciliation to love the Lord their God with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength and to love their neighbors as themselves.
Living this way does away with wrath and dissension. It does away with revenge. It does away with division. It does away with disunity in Christ. It does away with Satan's ways of living and operating. Men are to lead in the home and in the church with lives that show this devotion and worship to God.
When I look at this verse I see moral law. I see something that is for all time for all Christians to understand and apply. The men lead but all Christians are to pray and all Christians are to live holy lives. All Christians are to not go the way of wrath and dissension but the godly path of living rightly with God and others according to His Word. Following God's order throughout the Scriptures, men are to be the leaders of this for others to follow suit.
Are you a man of prayer? Are you a man of worship? Do you gather to worship and when you do, is your life in a right standing with the Lord? Are your hands holy when lifted up? Is your daily conduct following after God's Word even when you sin and need to repent and confess? Do you see your God given and created role to lead in this area of worship so others around you will follow suit? Many questions to think about today. Let's pray.
"Lord, to understand Your will and Your order is so important for both of the sexes that You have created. You know what is best and as we walk through these verses over the next couple sessions, we ask for Your guidance and direction to understand more fully how they apply to our lives so we can put them into practice individually and corporately. Amen."
Pastor Adam
Before we go into this section of Scripture that is sometimes controversial in its different interpretations I thought it might be good to address some guiding principles that I have gone through myself in attempting to get a handle on applying what is written here.
Paul is writing to Timothy who he left in Ephesus to lead the church. The instructions found here are specifically written to him and his involvement in leading the church in the ways of righteousness. The early church was being formed out of people who were deeply religious to law abiding practices prior to Christ, the Jews, and also people who were deeply religious to very unholy worship of pagan gods, the Gentiles.
To add to this, Paul's letters were to be read among the churches. They addressed problems locally but they also were an aid to other churches who would face some of the same issues. Also contained in the letters are doctrinal principles to better understand the nature of our salvation in Christ Jesus.
To add further, Paul's letters are given to us by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, inerrant in the original documents, infallible, and God-breathed. These words are for all time to all Christians as beneficial for our walk with Christ. None are to be added to or to be discarded. We read and strive to understand all of Scripture for the benefit in which it was given to us.
The Old Testament contains three types of laws: civil, ceremonial, and moral. All of these laws are recorded for our benefit but we apply them differently because of the passage of time and the fulfillment of Christ to the Law. Here is an except from the New King James Version Study Bible that gives a good overview.
Ceremonial Law: This type of law related to Israel's worship. (Lev 1:1-13) The laws pointed forward to Jesus Christ and were no longer necessary after Jesus' death and resurrection. Though we are no longer bound to them, the principles behind the ceremonial laws, to worship and love God, still apply.
Civil Law: This law dictated Israel's daily living (Deut 24:10-11); but modern society and culture are so radically different that some of these guidelines cannot be followed specifically. The principles behind the commands are to guide our conduct.
Moral Law: The moral laws are direct commands of God. A good example are the Ten Commandments (Ex 20:1-17). The moral laws reveal the nature and will of God, and still apply to us today. We do not obey this moral law as a way to obtain salvation, but to live in ways pleasing to God.
In the Old Testament, we read all the laws; we cherish all the laws; we seek to understand all the laws; but we apply all the laws in light of Christ's fulfillment of them. For example, we do not need to celebrate the Passover because Jesus Christ fulfilled that ceremony with His very life and we now follow His command to observe to the Lord's Supper until His return. It is not that we toss out the reading of the Passover but we see it now in light of Christ's fulfillment.
I am using this grid from the Old Testament to help me understand how to interpret what we will be reading. Is this passage somewhat like ceremonial law which may have some principles to dig out and apply to our modern day but fulfilled already in Christ? Or, is this passage somewhat like civil law which applied just to them but still has some underlining principles that govern our actions today? Or, is this passage dealing with moral law that connects directly to our worship of God that stands for all time for all Christians as presented?
I am approaching this passage in the moral sense. Paul is writing to Timothy about actions within the church as a body that is to worship God. The next few verses deal with the body of Christ as a unit and how we are to conduct ourselves before Him as a church. The key for me is in verse 13 of this chapter which reads, "For it was Adam who was first created, and then Eve." God created an order when it came to male and female for His purpose. It is an order that is carried out in creation; it is carried out in the family; and it is carried out in the church. This order is not to diminish or degrade either of the sexes but to put in place God's ordained plan of structure. It is not man's plan but God's and so we need to understand it and apply it. So let's look at this one verse today in light of all of this.
v.8 - Therefore I want the men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and dissension.
Paul starts with the men. This letter is written to Timothy but in the context of directing the church, the body of believers in Ephesus. The men of the church are to pray. He has been speaking of this in the previous verses. The men of the church are to lead in this activity of prayer.
The men are to pray lifting up holy hands. The lifting of hands is a sign of times of worship. So as the men gather for worship, part of that worship is prayer that is to be performed with holy hands lifted up. Holy means that our lives are unstained by evil. We come to God with clean hearts because we have been washed by the blood of the Lamb, made righteous, and we continue to confess our sins, ask for our feet to be washed, so that we walk in daily righteousness with God and with man. Hands represent our daily lives, our activities. The men gather together to worship, to pray to God with lives that are saved and living out that salvation through repentance, confession, and reconciliation to love the Lord their God with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength and to love their neighbors as themselves.
Living this way does away with wrath and dissension. It does away with revenge. It does away with division. It does away with disunity in Christ. It does away with Satan's ways of living and operating. Men are to lead in the home and in the church with lives that show this devotion and worship to God.
When I look at this verse I see moral law. I see something that is for all time for all Christians to understand and apply. The men lead but all Christians are to pray and all Christians are to live holy lives. All Christians are to not go the way of wrath and dissension but the godly path of living rightly with God and others according to His Word. Following God's order throughout the Scriptures, men are to be the leaders of this for others to follow suit.
Are you a man of prayer? Are you a man of worship? Do you gather to worship and when you do, is your life in a right standing with the Lord? Are your hands holy when lifted up? Is your daily conduct following after God's Word even when you sin and need to repent and confess? Do you see your God given and created role to lead in this area of worship so others around you will follow suit? Many questions to think about today. Let's pray.
"Lord, to understand Your will and Your order is so important for both of the sexes that You have created. You know what is best and as we walk through these verses over the next couple sessions, we ask for Your guidance and direction to understand more fully how they apply to our lives so we can put them into practice individually and corporately. Amen."
Pastor Adam
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