5 For there is one
God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus,
6 who gave himself as a ransom for all people. This has now been
witnessed to at the proper time. 7 And for this purpose I was appointed a
herald and an apostle — I am telling the truth, I am not lying—and a
true and faithful teacher of the Gentiles. 8 Therefore I want the men
everywhere to pray, lifting up holy hands without anger or disputing. ~ 1
Timothy 2:5-8
God does not desire people to sin, yet we sin. The result of people who sin and have no Savior, well, they go to hell, not because of what God has done. Man goes to hell because man rebelled against God and man refuses to receive the free gift of salvation from God through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Even though I am born again, I still sin. The sin of the born again reduces the quality of our lives now. It is a sanctification issue. God gives instruction like today's, so that we will live a better quality of life now.
In v.5-6 we read, "5 For there is one
God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus,
6 who gave himself as a ransom for all people. This has now been
witnessed to at the proper time."
There’s
only one God, the God of the Bible. Many believe there are many paths to heaven, but it was the Lord Jesus who said, "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but through me." For those who believe there are many pathways, their argument is with the Sinless One.
Now, we pray for all
men, because God wants all men to be saved. And God is the only one who
can save, and Christ is the only mediator through whom they can come
to that salvation. All men have the same Savior God and the same
mediator, and thus we must pray for the salvation of all men, because
apart from Christ they are damned eternally.
According to today's text, it was Christ “who gave Himself.” He didn't give a portion of Himself. He did not give something He possessed, not
something He owned, not something He didn’t need. He gave Himself “as a ransom for all people.”
Our prayers are based on the work of the Lord Jesus. The power in our prayers is in the One who hears them. The word "ransom" means “a price paid to free a slave.” His death was “on our behalf.” Though the death of Christ is efficient only for those who trust Him, it is sufficient for the sins of the whole world. The Lord Jesus became the Bound One so that we might be set free. The idea is that an exchange has taken place. Christ exchanged
His life for our lives. He died the death that all mankind deserves.
In v.7 we read, "And for this purpose I was appointed a
herald and an apostle — I am telling the truth, I am not lying—and a
true and faithful teacher of the Gentiles."
Because Christ died as a ransom for all mankind, the Apostle says, "I was appointed a
herald and an apostle." After his encounter with the Lord Jesus on that road to Damascus, the Apostle Paul was never the same. I can say that this is my story as well. No, I didn't all of a sudden stop sinning and walked on water. No, my disposition was different. Something happened to me and it took me some time to figure out what had happened. I had been invaded by none other than the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. Of course, this is what He promised us in His word. He promised to come and live in us as the result of us believing in Him as our Savior.
This is true for all who have been born again. And, no it does not mean that God means for all of us to go to Bible College or Seminary. It does mean that since we know the truth and have experienced the invasion of God in our lives, we have the same calling to share this Good News to whomever desires it.
In v.8 we read, "Therefore I want the men
everywhere to pray, lifting up holy hands without anger or disputing."
Based upon all that we have learned, the Apostle commands the men to pray. He
specifically uses the word for males here and he commands the men to pray.
Now, in the Jewish synagogue in the Old Testament time, only men were
permitted to pray. This does not mean that the prayers of women are not important, it is that God expects and has commanded men to lead in this world. And, one way that we lead is through prayer. And, when we ignore God's teaching on any subject, we neglect the culture of God.
Now, apparently in Ephesus this was being tested by some women who were
usurping the male role. We will see this in 1 Timothy 2:9-15. It is God’s pattern for the life
of the church that men are those who lead in the public worship.
The Apostle Paul states three essentials here for effective prayer, and the first is “lifting up holy hands.” No holy activity on our part will ever make us holy. It is only the finished work of the Lord Jesus on the cross that makes us right in God's eyes.
In Psalm 24 we read, "3 Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place? 4 the one who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not trust in an idol or swear by a false god." The point is whoever prays must be cleansed by the precious blood of Christ and we must be the kind
of person who is living a life that is sincere.
Now, the second essential for effective prayer is “without anger” which requires that we are on good terms with one another. A person who is constantly having trouble with other believers, who is a troublemaker rather than a peace-maker, will not have effectual prayers.
The third essential is “without disputing.” When we have anger in our hearts, we often have open disagreements with others. We must learn to disagree without being disagreeable. If we spent more time preparing to pray and getting our hearts right before God, our prayers would be more effective.
