1 Timothy on Prayer

1 Timothy: On Prayer

Speaking about the prayer we can identify a few sub-topics:

Types of prayer – this will/might determine the content of prayers

Prayerful posture – kneeling, hands up, and what about Abrecht Durer?

Place of prayer – special building/room or where?

A. Types of prayer. In 1 Timothy St. Paul identifies four types of prayers: supplications, prayers, intercession, and thanksgiving (2:1, cp. Phil. 4:6).

Supplication – lit., entreaty or petition. Something one asks of the LORD, 1 Peter 3:12.

Prayer – very general term. Time, dedicated to a formal ceremony at a specific place (Acts 16:13,16).

Intercession – petition (on a person’s behalf). Later St. Paul will use this word to describe a prayerful engagement (4:5).

Thanksgiving – lit. good gifting. This is what Adam and Eve failed to do in the Garden of Eden. What Jesus had to restore for the disciples at the Last Supper (Luke 22:19).

B. Prayerful posture. Modern culture promotes minimalism as it pertains to spirituality. Hiking, fitness, diet, exercises – anything that is related to body life should be done actively. But the spiritual exercises – the less action, the better. That’s a reflection of materialistic worldview that penetrated the church. Along with turning a church into a lecture hall, the main posture for the people is sitting.

In the Bible the only “person” who sits is a king. Everyone else is either prostrated, kneeling, or standing up. Therefore, the apostle picks up on that in 2:8, since we are in the presence of the King, we should stand, and the worshiping attitude can be expressed by raising “holy hands.”

At the same time, we can enjoy the care of the Church for the varicose veins of her members, allowing people to sit during a lesson or a sermon. Side note, as you might know, benches came to church gradually beginning XIII-XIV century. It was the Protestant Reformation (not Lutheran) that, shifting the accent of the service from Lord’s Supper to sermon, sprang a wide pew installation project. It resulted in the architectural collapse of modern church buildings, which look like a warehouse (outside, and what is worst of all – inside). People come to be fed, to listen, to consume, creating “what did I get from the service?” attitude. Apostolic Church was the church of prayerful engagement of the congregation as a whole, going through words and motions of the liturgy (Psalm 136). Yet, even now, some Lutheran churches keep the kneelers (cp. Bethey, Lompoc-CA) to maintain a variety of prayerful postures.

C. Place of prayer. St. Paul does not address the question of a dedicated building in the letter. At the same time, when the apostle talks about the Church, he brings up “building” references – pillar and buttress of the truth. On one hand, it is a good visual. People of the I century AD were very familiar with the temple structures.

This is not the first time Scripture uses construction terminology as a description of metaphysical realities. Solomon talks about the wisdom is a “house builder” (Proverbs 9:1).

On the other hand, as mentioned above, first church communities had special/dedicated places or buildings for “prayer. See Acts 16:16). When St. Paul speaks of “every place” (2:8) he does not mean wherever you are individually. He means that in every city, town, and community men (note the plural form) should get together for prayer and teaching. There is no deviation from the service of the sacrament – the prayer includes the eucharistic part (the last one), as we talked before.

1 Timothy on Authority and Order

1 Timothy: on Authorities and order

St. Paul divides the question of authorities into three categories:

A. Ecclesiastical – church authorities

B. Civil – kings, rulers, and government

C. Relational – realm of family and labor

Since the prime purpose for the Epistle is to direct a young minister in his church activities (1 Timothy 3:15), we will start with ecclesiastical authorities.

We can identify three areas of interest:

(1) Criteria for the office.

(2) Their relationship to the laity – the members of the church.

And (3) expected relationship of church members toward the authorities.

In the 1 Epistle to Timothy, we have 2 offices identified and 3 offices mentioned. The identified ones: “bishops” (3:1-7) and “deacons” (3:7-13). While St. Paul also mentions “elders” (4:14; 5:17), the criteria for elders are given in Epistle to Titus (Titus 1:5-9).

(2) The apostle presents a 4-part matrix for the church membership:

It is a basic square from age and gender:

Older men (5:1a)	Older women (5:2a) a subgroup: widows (5:3-16)
Younger men (5:1b)	Younger women (5:2b)

Interesting to see the attention St. Paul draws to the widows. He divides them into two categories: truly widows (no husband, no children/grandchildren), and a widow that should be taken care of by her children and/or grandchildren. It looks like widows got some support from the church and the apostle gives an outline for a godly use of financial resources, which are always limited (5:9-16).

There is also another sub-group – the rich (6:17-19). The fact of their financial blessing doesn’t give them additional rights or privileges in the church, at the same time the riches given to them are from God to enjoy, be thankful, and ready to share.

Now to the treatment of the “clergy.” In this epistle St. Paul points out only two things: “salary” (5:17-18) and respect (4:12-15; 5:19).

Civil authorities. Unlike ecclesiastical authorities, the civil ones were not for “election” in the Ancient World. Therefore, St. Paul does not provide a list criterion for them. He simple draws out the basics for our/Christian attitude toward them – regardless of their creed.

He begins with identifying Jesus as the King of the universe and God (1:15-17). This gives the foundation for the proper respect to those whom God in His ultimate wisdom placed to the positions of civil authority. Please note that the civil authorities in the times of the apostle were not friendly toward the Church. His archenemies are the Jews who did not recognized Jesus as the Messiah. They were the instigators of the riots in Ephesus and Jerusalem. At the same time, Roman authorities were happy to follow their lead until St. Paul would present the fact of his Roman citizenship acquired by birth (Acts 22:28). Same thing happened during Jesus’ trial. He was not a Roman citizen, but when Pilate attempted to save Him, Jewish authorities twisted his arm, which resulted in crucifixion (John 19:12). Therefore, prayer to God for civil powers is not an act of surrender and a usage of the last reserve. Au contraire, we submit our petitions about the “local” or earthly authorities to the ultimate Authority – God, showing our trust in Him (2:1-3).

Relational aspects of life order. St. Paul identifies at least 3 pair: husbands and wives (2:8-15); servants and masters (6:1-2); rich people in the church (6:17-19). The relationships in all three pairs are based on Creation order of responsibilities toward God, the other, and oneself. For example, a woman should learn quietly, following the original example of Eve before the Fall. Men are responsible for teaching (see the criteria in 3:1-7). At the same time, it is the women (St. Mary in particular) who gave birth to Messiah, bringing salvation into the world (2:15).

 

1 Timothy: on Christology

1 Timothy on Christology

1. Creedal confession, 3:16. Let us begin with the fundamentals. St. Paul wants to come to Timothy. Yet, preparing the younger pastor for a possible delay, he provides the confessional statement – what should the Church know about godliness. Before we go into text itself, let’s touch on two words: confession and mystery.   

Confession – Greek homologeon, means speaking together out loud. This is what the church should say as a statement of faith. This is what we believe – it should not be changed, adjusted, or improved. Later confessions: Apostle’s creed, Nicaean creed etc. used the very same form – a collection of short statements revealing the elements of doctrinal teaching about God, Christ, Holy Spirit, or Church. We repeat it TOGETHER every Sunday.

The word Mystery reflects the revelatory aspect of our faith. It is given to us, given from above. Therefore, we can recite it, we can study it, we can proclaim it. But we never will come to the full understanding of Who God is, and What exactly happened on the Cross, in the Tomb, and on Resurrection Sunday morning. Both Old and New Testament speak of the mystery – not magic, but mystery – something beyond our understanding (Proverbs 25:2, Psalm 131:1).           

Confession proper:

1. God (!) manifested in the flesh

2. Justified in the Spirit

3. Seen by the angels

4. Preached in/among the nations

5. Believed in the World/Cosmos

6. Taken up/received in glory.

2. Global function of the Christ, 2:3-7. Christ is the Savior of the world. All people are justified and should come to the knowledge of (this) truth. There is a need to differentiate between General and personal Justification. The difference is obviously seen in 1 Timothy 4:10 and 1 John 2:1-2. This passage talks about salvation and justification in a general way – what Jesus accomplished for the fate of the world on the Cross. Note the distinction of to be saved and to know. True knowledge follows salvation. Same as teaching follows baptism – Matthew 28:18-20. These elements of godliness should not be separated, but knowledge doesn’t HAVE TO precede salvation. That’s why we baptize infants – to be saved (1 Peter 3:21, AC V:1-2).      

3. Function of Christ on the personal level, 1:12-17. Regarding personal aspect of Justification, we can see St. Paul’s own example. He describes his actions toward the Church before his conversion as blasphemy etc. (v. 13). His resistance was conquered by the grace of our LORD, providing the faith and love in Christ Jesus. The apostle goes from general to personal – the task for Messiah is “to save the sinners, of whom I am the foremost” (v. 15). Knowing that people like Saul (former name of St. Paul) can be saved, gives us example of God’s patience and encourages us to pray for our “friends” who don’t know about salvation they can enjoy (v. 16).     

4. Christology is complete in training others in godliness, 4:6-11. Let me start with an example of Old Testament saint, Ezra (7:10): three steps – (1) he recognition of the WORD, given to the world; (2) personal “conversion” by studying and doing; (3) teaching others. St. Paul approaches teaching of Timothy in a similar way. We’ve talked about the first two, here is the third: command and teach these things (v. 11). 

PSALM 117

All nations praise the LORD.

Only two lines – but such a deep meaning. Allow me to walk you through.

v. 1a. Praise the LORD, all nations!

We have a glorious beginning – Hallelujah “Living ONE”! God is not called by His status; He is called by His name. Israel God is called by the name, but He is called by the Gentiles.

In the light of current political events, it is an important reminder that at the end ALL nations will recognize Jesus as Lord of the world. It will be done because the disciples will bring the Good News to all the nations – Matthew 28:18-20. Baptizing people and instructing them in faith. St. Paul uses this verse as a “proof-text” for the mission of Christ – Romans 15:11 (Let’s read!)   

v. 1b, Extol Him, all peoples!

Psalmist “doubles down” – he encourages all the peoples to extol Him. Exclaim with the loud voices, keep triumphant praise.

Together the unity of all nations and all peoples means everyone with distinction and without exception. The Book of Revelation puts it in four categories: nations, tribes, peoples, and languages. Together with believers from Israel they will worship the Lamb Who sits on the Throne (Rev. 7:1-10). 

What a glorious picture!!  

It is a long-awaited fulfilment of the prophecies:

2 Samuel 22:50 – glory to His name among Gentiles (a psalm sang by king David by the end of his life).

Isaiah 11:10 – the root of Jessy will give a hope to Gentiles. 

Isaiah 2:2-4 (note nations and peoples in v. 4) – do you know where the statue dedicated to this verse is located?

Also psalm 72:11,17 has the same ideas – kings of their nations fall before Him and serve Him (compare to Psalm 2:1-12). 

 

v. 2a, For great is His steadfast love toward us,

Great here has two meanings: (1) it is great in fullness (extended to all nations, see above); (2) it is great in intensity (covering all sins and faults), it is true on global and personal level: Romans 5:20-21 and 1 Timothy 1:12-14.

 Steadfast love – a word [hesed] which is very difficult for translation. We’ve talked about it last time (Psalm 118:1,29). It also can include mercy, grace etc. Most importantly, we need to pay attention “steadfast” aspect of “love” – along with other aspects of the meaning it should include “faithfulness.” God is faithful to His promises, covenants, and prophecies. We can rely on the fact of our forgiveness through Jesus, guidance by the Holy Spirit, and promise of heavenly haven prepared for us by the Son of God.  

 

v. 2b, And the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever.

Faithfulness is a good translation; we also see it in Lamentations 3:22-23. It is a background for the hymn “great is Thy faithfulness.”

At the same time, we can add something: this word is related to very famous Hebrew word that all of you know – guess which one?

Jesus uses double of the word 25 times in the Gospel of John (for example 3:3; 5:24; 13:20). Using these doubles signifies that the words of Jesus are “really true.”   

Conclusion: Praise the Lord (Alleluia!)

The term denotes being clear (pure) sound and color, therefore “to show off [in a good sense], shine, or boast”

Think of the words of St. Paul in 1 Corinthians 1:30-31 (see the background in Jeremiah 9:23-24).

He is worthy to be praised, to be boasted about! He redeemed us!

Soli Deo Gloria – Glory be to God Alone!