1 Timothy Series - The Leading in the Church - Part 1

        

The Leading in the Church - Part 1

1 Tim. 2:8-15

FIrst and foremost, I am not against my sisters in the Lord who have diligently pressed in and sought the Lord for the call to ministry in the church today. In the first century, the church was held in synagogues and in the homes of those who had come out of a religious culture of segregation between genders. It is not the same culture today. With that I would like to begin to study the first portion of the text. “Therefore I want the men everywhere to pray, lifting up holy hands without anger or disputing.” 

Paul had been in many prayer meetings throughout the areas of Asia minor where the Holy Spirit had led him and those with him. He has had Timothy in a number of those prayer meetings, and they had experienced the men who had attended and led these meetings only to end up in arguments over the teachings from other religions and the assimilating of these religious teachings into the preaching of the gospel. 

Then there was the dispute over the teachings of the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, especially among the jewish religious men. Many of these led to Paul’s being stoned, or imprisoned, or ran out of town. Paul was sending a message to the church in Ephesus by this letter to Timothy to insure that men of God were to be holy, set apart for the work of God. Paul had also instituted the requirements for church leadership later in the letter (1 Tim. 3:1-4). “temperate, self-controlled, respectable… not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome…”

Paul is reaching out as a mentor to his young protege. He knew that one of the goals as christian men was to be men of prayer like king David, “... I am a man of prayer.” (Ps. 109:4) Prayer was essential in every aspect of their lives: in their homes, places of employment, and especially in the church. It is interesting that in some cities where Paul planted churches, the prayer meetings were attended by women. (Acts 16:13-15)

Application - One of the first things that I learned to do as a new christian at 30 years of age was to pray. I had godly men and pastors around me to guide me. It was in the scriptures that I learned from Jesus the value of a solitary place to pray in earnest for wisdom, understanding, knowledge, and instruction (Matt. 6:6). 

I have seen arguments in the church over the craziest things: coffee, clothes, and music to name a few. There is truly no benefit spiritually or for edification in the church body.

If we are going to be men of God, then the first item of importance is humility and holiness. We are to be set apart from the world in manners of our relationship with our Lord and the attitude of our hearts. We have put to death the old man and his sinful nature, and put on the righteousness of Christ. “You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” (Eph. 4:22-24) In order for us to pray with the confidence that Paul and James and others had taught, we must be men of faith like in this prayer. “O Father, make me wise like Jesus. Please give me the ability to more fully know your will and more faithfully live it with kindness and humility. May the words of my mouth and the actions of my life please you and bring your grace to others. In Jesus' name.” 

So when we lift up our hearts and hands in prayer to our Lord Jesus Christ, let us seek His kingdom and His righteousness and then all the other prayer requests, petitions, and supplications will be answered as well. “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (Matt. 6:33) And as James said about anger and disputing, “You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.” (James 4:2-3) Knowing all this, what kind of men are we to be?

Now Paul addresses the women in the early church. Let’s look at the last portion of the text, “I also want the women to dress modestly, with decency and properly, adorning themselves, not with elaborate hairstyles or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God. A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man; she must be quiet. For Adam was formed first, then Eve. And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner. But women will be saved through childbearing—if they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety.”

First Paul insisted on modesty amongst all people, not just women. He saw the worst parts of life in the pagan temples where many of the new believers came out of or had been a part of the pagan shrines as prostitutes, both men and women. It was against this degradation that Paul led by the Holy Spirit addressed the model for women in the faith. He begins with the outerwear and the accessorizing. Paul was as human as the next man, and he knew like Job to make a covenant with God and with his eyes and mind to not look at women in a lustful way. “I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a young woman. Does he not see my ways and count my every step? (Job. 31:1,4) Jesus had told all who were listening that adultery was not just the act, but the intent of the heart, mind, and eyes. "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery. ' But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart." (Matt. 5:27-28) Paul was not against women, for he knew the heart of God was to be humble, modest, teachable, and fully yielded to the Holy Spirit not to have themselves half in the world and half in the ways of God. The world loves all the do’s, the bangles, and the glimmer of jewelry, but God's ways are not the world's ways, and Paul understood that.

Second Paul addresses submission. Though Paul was never married as far as we know, he understood the roles of men and women, especially in the culture he lived in. For women were treated as a little above the slaves, servants, and animals by many pagans and jews. In the church of Ephesus, Timothy would encounter resistance among both genders, it was in this context of submission that Paul gives the guidelines for women in church service. They are to be still and respectful, quiet and full of submission to the head of the church (Jesus) and the head of the home (husband). They were not allowed to go to school or Torah class, so they were to learn from their fathers or husbands on the teachings of the Word. It is interesting that Paul broke with traditions in the latter prayer meetings, for at the river, he met with women at prayer meetings. (Acts 16) Lydia was listening as well as were other women and she asked questions about the teaching of the gospel and believed, and Paul even stayed in her home. 

Paul concludes his reasoning for the cultural propriety and submission of the women. He draws back to the fall in the garden of Eden. It was the temptation and deception from the devil that Paul exhorts all members of the church to refrain from. It is the cost of sin that causes women to be in submission to man, “I will make your pains in childbearing very severe;  with painful labor you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband,  and he will rule over you.” (Gen. 3:16) Paul closes “continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety.” This truly was not only for the women but for all the church to continue in the faith, and in love for one another, and in the holiness that comes from a life abiding in our Lord Jesus Christ. 

Application - I have had the privilege to have been in service to God with women of God. I have a daughter in law who is a pastor. I am in a church where the assistant pastor is a wonderfully trained woman and equipped with the knowledge and wisdom of the Word of God. I have seen why more women are taking up the reins of ministry because in our culture, many men have relegated the teaching and responsibilities in church to women because they have no desire for the Word or Jesus. They have forgone, relinquished the need of training in God’s Word for the ways and works of the world. The women have had to become the head of the home instead of the man in the realm of religious training of the family as well. They have had to pick up the mantle of training the family unit as well as teaching and preaching in the churches on the doctrines, wisdom, and knowledge of the Word. 

As for dress and accessorizing, we still need to hold to the standard set down by Paul on modesty and propriety in the church as well as other places we frequent. For we are ambassadors for Jesus to the world. “It should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight.” (1 Pet. 3:4) We all should adhere to these standards as well. We should be men and women who are in total submission to our Lord and yielded to the Holy Spirit who instructs us in the very words from Jesus. “The Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you…when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.  (John 14:26, 16:13)

It is difficult to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit if we are not quiet before him. For there are many voices in the world vying for your hearing, but it is the voice of God’s Spirit we should beckon to. For Jesus said my sheep know my voice (Jn. 10:27). How? They are near him, his presence, and they are feeding on His Word. They have experienced and learned to trust the One who shepherds their lives. So let be doers of the Word, let’s “continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety.”

I’m again including the ABC’s of salvation (JD Farag). Please, Jesus, God the Son, came to this world to save all who would believe and trust in him. He desires to reveal himself to you, He is the Light that overcomes the darkness of this lawless world. He hears your prayers, and all authority in heaven and earth have been given to him. He will answer you if you will truly believe. If you haven’t asked him to be your Lord and Savior, today could be that day.

 First, A - Admit that you are a sinner. This is where that godly sorrow leads to genuine repentance for sinning against a righteous God and there is a change of heart, we change our mind and God changes our hearts and regenerates us from the inside out. Romans 3:10 - As it is written: "There is none righteous, no, not one." Romans 3:23 - For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (We are all born sinners which is why we must be born spiritually in order to enter the Kingdom of Heaven). Romans 6:23 - For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. The bad news is that the wages of sin is death, in other words our sin means that we have been given a death sentence, we have the death penalty hanging over our heads, that's the bad news. But here's the good news: The good news is that the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Ephesians 2:8-9 - For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith —and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. Second,

 B - Believe in your heart that Jesus Christ died for your sins, was buried, and that God raised Jesus from the dead. This is trusting with all of your heart that Jesus Christ is who he said he was. Romans 10:9-10 - That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. Third, 

C - Call upon the name of the Lord. Every single person who ever lived since Adam will bend their knee and confess with their mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord, the Lord of lords and the King of kings. Romans 14:11 - For it is written: "As I live, says the Lord, Every knee shall bow to Me, And every tongue shall confess to God." Don't wait until later — do this now. Romans 10:13 - For "whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved." "O God, I am a sinner. I'm sorry for my sin. I want to turn from my sin. I believe Jesus Christ is Your Son; I believe that He died on the cross for my sin and that He was buried and You raised Him to life. I have decided to place my faith in Jesus Christ as my Savior, trusting only in His shed blood as sufficient to save my soul and to take me to heaven. Thank You, Lord Jesus, for saving me. Amen."

Please share this with someone this week, the Lord knows that we and they need it.

If you would like other lessons, please go to http://pmdinhisservice.blogspot.com 

Until next week, In His Service Mike Davis