1 Timothy 2:1-7
Three of the four lessons for Proper 20C deal in some fashion with intercession. The First Lesson and the Psalm are both national laments expressing grief over the consequences being visited on God’s people due to their sins. The epistle reading is also a call for prayer though it is more difficult to identify a precise context of this concern. Regardless of where one lands on the question of Pauline or non-Pauline authorship of the Pastoral Epistles, 1 Timothy was written in a time of increasing pressure on the church. Whether written at the end of Paul’s life or a generation later, persecution appears to have been taking root. The concern of 1 Timothy 1 suggests that the growing influence of false teachers was a greater problem than persecution. The transition word “then” (in the NRSV, oun in the Greek text) shows that the author’s call for prayers in 1 Timothy 2 arises from the concerns he had expressed in chapter 1.
The key word in the passage is the Greek word pas which appears six times in verses 1-6. Four times the NRSV translates the word as “all” (vv. 1, 2, 2, and 6) and twice as “everyone” (vv. 1 and 4). The author identifies prayer as “first of all” in importance responding to the problems raised by false teachers according to chapter 1. Further, that prayer is to be for “everyone,” which should temper our reactions to verse 2. There the prayers are called for kings and “all who are in high positions.” The increasingly combative nature of political discourse in the present makes the call for prayer for political leaders difficult for many. It is important to remember that our epistle lesson calls for prayer for “everyone” and, as one group out of “everyone,” there is to be prayer for “kings and all who are in high positions.”
If one regards 1 Timothy as Pauline this means the apostle was calling for prayer for Nero, who would shortly be responsible for Paul’s death. It is doubtful Paul was naïve regarding the potential danger to his own life when he issued this call for prayer. If one regards 1 Timothy as post-Pauline it is possible that the letter was written when persecution from the era of Nero was receding and before the swelling of persecution under Domitian the Roman Emperor from AD 81 to 96. If one regards 1 Timothy as later than Domitian, the church lived with the memory of two devastating persecutions. Calling for prayer for “kings and all who are in high positions” called the church to rise above its own fears to ask God to influence the circumstances of their lives in a positive way.
The prayer for the “kings and all who are in high positions” was not to bless and endorse the actions of those political rulers. Rather, the prayer was to call on God to influence those rulers to govern in such a way that the church could “lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and dignity.” The church has responsibilities to the mission of God and that requires that proper worship and proper teaching take place. When the culture, including the political culture, provides the signals for what the church thinks and does, the mission of God and the identity of the church are compromised. The prayer urged in verse 2 is for the church to have the necessary space to be the church in its worship and in its teaching without interference from the government.
Verse 3 declares that such activity of prayer is “right and acceptable in the sight of God.” The reason for this is that such prayer has the mission of God at the heart of its purpose rather than the comfort or success of the church or of individual believers. The description of God as “God our Savior” is most common in the Pastoral Letters and reflects a very Pauline understanding that God’s ultimate concern is the salvation of the world. This concern is reinforced in verse 4 which describe “God our Savior” as the one “who desires everyone to be saved.” The root meaning of the Greek words for “Savior” and “saved” refers to rescue or deliverance. The most notable Old Testament example of this activity on God’s part was the deliverance of Israel from slavery in Egypt and that activity was often described using the metaphor of redemption or redeeming of Israel.
The idea of God as a “Savior who desires everyone to be saved” assumes an understanding of sin as bondage or slavery. The most notable passage in Paul reflecting this perspective is Romans 6 where union with Christ brought about by baptism means being united with Christ in both his death and resurrection. This union with Christ’s resurrection brings deliverance from the power of sin and death (the ultimate consequence of sin). Romans 6 suggests that the salvation accomplished by Christ is more than simply the rescue of an individual from eternal punishment, but also includes the victory of God over all the devastations brought about by sin.
The author’s point in our epistle lesson is that this salvation is for “everyone.” As a result the action of the church must first be prayer for “everyone” which verse 1 stated. The point of prayer for “kings and all who are in high positions” was to enable the church to be about the mission of God for this salvation for “everyone.” Verse 4 also declares that God is one “who desires everyone to come to the knowledge of the truth.” This reflects the concern from chapter 1 with false teachings. When “kings and all who are in high positions” cause the church to be distracted from her mission of proper teaching, false teaching will divert the church from her true identity and mission.
Concern for correct doctrinal teaching is often a low priority among evangelical churches of North America and Europe. That lack of concern is quite inconsistent with the view of the Pastoral Letters. These letters understand very well that correct and proper doctrinal teaching is an important part of what keeps the church the church rather than allowing the church to become simply a religious club. A strong concern for theological teaching is clearly evident John Wesley’s sermons and in Charles Wesley’s hymns. The point of the prayers urged by our epistle lesson is for a climate in which the church can focus on appropriately teaching its theological identity and purpose.
Interestingly, verses 5-6 appear to be a part of an early Christian creed or statement of correct doctrine. The reason Christians pray for everyone is because “there is one God.” This simple and profound affirmation of monotheism is part of the church’s heritage from the Old Testament (see Deuteronomy 6:4). It is also foundational for the mission of God. If there were many gods and if every tribe’s or religion’s god was equally capable of saving people, there would be no mission of God and there would be no need for “one mediator between God and humankind,” namely Christ Jesus.
However, the experience of the earliest Christians and the experience of Christians throughout church history has been that only the God revealed in Christ Jesus is able to deliver people and peoples from the power and bondage of sin. Verse 6 affirms this faith by noting that Christ “gave himself a ransom for all.” A “ransom” is the price paid to redeem or deliver someone(s) in bondage.
Verse 7 concludes our epistle lesson by identifying Paul’s ministry to this mission. He had been “appointed” (the implication is appointed by God) as “a herald” – that is as one who publicly announced the good news. He had been “appointed an apostle” – that is one who guarded the truth of the message of Jesus. He had been “appointed a teacher of the Gentiles” – which described Paul’s central calling which was being exercised by the teaching of these verses of our epistle lesson.