Green Baggins

posted by R. Fowler White

The challenges that confront the congregations of Christ’s church in this world include deceivers and persecutors, sometimes with the cooperation of civil authorities. Regardless of the challenger or the tactics, the goal is the same: shut the church up or shut it down. With this in mind, Paul instructs Timothy and the congregation in his care on what their priority must be in 1 Tim 2:1-2a and why it must be what he prescribes in 2:2b-7. So far in 1 Tim 2:1-6, we’ve seen three reasons why all-inclusive prayer ought to be the church’s priority: Christ’s all-inclusive saving work (2:5-6), God’s all-inclusive saving will (2:3-4) and the church’s well-being (2:2b). Paul concludes by presenting the fourth and final reason for his “Prayer First” command in 2:7.

All-inclusive prayer ought also to be the church’s first priority because of Christ’s all-inclusive commission. Paul says, For this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying) as a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth (1 Tim 2:7). The dimensions of the church’s prayer are to be as comprehensive as the commission Christ gave to Paul and the other Apostles and, through them, to the church. Of Paul himself Christ said in Acts 9:15 that he was His chosen instrument to carry His name before the Gentiles and kings, and the children of Israel. Little wonder, then, that Paul circles back to his commission from Christ in 1 Tim 2:7 as a basis for the church’s priority: the scope of his commission was to dictate the scope of the church’s prayers. 

Most of us will remember that Peter had a problem with the reach of his commission when the Lord told him—while praying no less (Acts 10:9)—to go and evangelize a Gentile, a Roman centurion, a man of authority. No fewer than three times God had to give Peter an object lesson for him to get His point that it was lawful for him, a Jew, to associate with and to visit a Gentile, particularly to bring him the good news. How many object lessons will we have to have before we get the point that in the Great Commission God is telling us, even when challenged and even in prayer, that it is lawful for us, as “the Israel of God” in Christ (Gal 6:16; 3:29), to associate with and to visit “Gentiles” to bring them the gospel?

Paul well knew that his own call served as an example of the priority that he was impressing on the church. What do I mean? I mean that we shouldn’t forget that before his conversion, Paul’s hatred for Christ and His church ran so deep that he openly and unashamedly made his reputation hunting down Christians (Acts 8:3). Little did he know that at the time the church had been praying for its persecutors, in these words: Lord, take note of their threats, and grant to Your servants to continue to speak Your word with all boldness (Acts 4:29). In time, Christ did take note of even the threats of Paul the Persecutor, showed mercy to him as a self-described foremost of sinners, blasphemer, persecutor, and violent aggressor, and made him an example of those who were to believe in Him for eternal life (1 Tim 1:13, 15-16). If Christ heard the prayers of His people and saved one notorious persecutor like Paul to be an example for others, He will do it again. 

Lots of local churches and individual Christians confess that their prayer practice are not as they should be. Reading 1 Tim 2:1-7, however, we learn four reasons to get with it and to keep at it. Here are some suggestions. Look up the prayers of the Bible and pray through them, that is, use them to guide the content of your own prayers. Turn especially to the book of Psalms, which is really a combination of prayer-book and hymnbook. Or follow Matthew Henry’s counsel in his book A Method of Prayer or Martin Luther’s advice in his booklet A Simple Way to Pray. Pray through the Lord’s Prayer, the Ten Commandments, and the Apostles’ Creed. Pause after each line or phrase to focus on how the content prompts you to adoration, to confession, to thanksgiving, and to supplication. We must do so, remembering that we, as Christ’s church, must continue to live in the wilderness of this world until He comes again. In that light, we realize that prayer is not just any practice or ministry: it is an intentional part of our armor and arsenal for spiritual warfare that we face. We’re to be a household, even a stronghold, of prayer, and the officers of our congregations need to take the lead here. Prayer, public and congregational or private and individual, is not just a duty; it is a privilege. More than that, it is a means of grace.

In 1 Tim 2:1-7 Paul gives us four reasons why all-inclusive prayer ought to be the church’s first priority. That “Prayer First policy and practice” is based on nothing less than Christ’s all-inclusive commission, Christ’s all-inclusive saving work, God’s all-inclusive saving will, and the church’s well-being. Knowing these things, it remains for us to do as the Apostle commanded: persevere in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving (Col 4:2). The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man—of any person who is right with God through faith alone in Christ alone—avails much (Jas 5:16b).

Posted by R. Fowler White

In this world, the stakes are high for all congregations of Christ’s church. Their challenges vary. False teachers, from inside or outside their number, would deceive. Persecutors would subject them to insult, intimidation, or assault, and would even do so in cahoots with corrupt civil authorities. The goal of such tactics is simple: shut the church up or shut it down, by any means necessary. So, in 1 Tim 2:1-7, Paul instructs Timothy and the congregation in his care on what their priority must be and why it must be what he prescribes. As we saw in the previous post, Paul has stated the church’s priority—Prayer First (2:1-2a)—and given the first of his four reasons for that priority in 2:2b: the church’s well-being. We turn now to the second and third reasons he gives in 2:3-6.

A second reason for the church’s “Prayer First policy and practice” is God’s all-inclusive saving will. Paul writes, This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth (2:3-4). In other words, the Apostle’s command for all-inclusive Prayer First is matched with God’s all-inclusive saving will. Now we need to be clear about something here: Paul is not saying here that God’s saving will means that He is a universalist. No, throughout the history of salvation, He has always saved only those sinners who repent of their sins and believe His gospel. What Paul is saying here, then, is that in saving sinners, the God of the Bible shows none of the partiality or favoritism that we humans do in our dealings with each other. He is not partial when it comes to saving sinners. He saves folks from all families of the earth (Gen 12:3; Gal 3:7-9). He plays no favorites when it comes to redeeming sinners. He redeems males, females, slaves, free, great, small, Jew, non-Jew (Gal 3:28). The Apostle John describes much the same thing in Rev 7:9 when he beholds the saved and sees a great multitude, which no man could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages. No family, no nation, no tribe, no language group, no people group, nor any other distinction we humans may make according to the flesh has an inside track on God’s saving will. Paul’s point is this: the scope of God’s saving will is all-inclusive, and the prayers of Christ’s church should be all-inclusive too.

An illustration may help our understanding. In Noah’s day, God our Savior demonstrated the pattern of His saving will. In Gen 7:1-3, God declares His intention to save and then does save a remnant—but only a remnant—of all kinds, of the human kind and the non-human kind. Specifically, God in grace saved a remnant of four human couples, seven pairs of every clean animal, and two pairs of every unclean animal. No kind, human or non-human, among God’s creatures was beyond His redemption.

How do you and I see God’s saving will: is it all-inclusive … or are we like Jonah, who was very displeased with the prospect that God’s saving will did not exclude those exceedingly wicked Ninevites even when they repented? Jonah even went so far as to pray to God these extraordinary words: O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live and have to see You save these exceedingly wicked but repentant evildoers (Jnh 4:1-3). We have our own evildoers to contend with today, don’t we? Would we rather die than see God’s saving will reach even to them if they repent? If that’s our attitude, we should remember how God disciplined Jonah.

So far, we’ve seen two reasons why all-inclusive prayer ought to be the church’s priority: God’s all-inclusive saving will and the church’s well-being. But Paul gives us a third reason: Christ’s all-inclusive saving work. Our text reads, For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony given at the proper time (2:5-6). What’s Paul getting at here? The reach of our prayers should correspond to the reach of Christ’s saving work. Most likely, he’s reflecting on the diversity of all (1 Tim 2:6) the children of God (Heb 2:13), the brethren of Jesus (Heb 2:11-12), His people (Heb 2:17). Rephrase Paul’s point this way: is there one God for Jews and another God for Gentiles? Is there one mediator for males, another for females? Or is there one mediator for those from the Third World and another for those from the West? Hardly. The Bible teaches us that there is one God and one mediator for sinners of all sorts. The one true God is the God of those we count as great or small. He is the God of Jews, non-Jews, and half-Jews also. John agrees with Paul when he tells us in his Gospel about the prophecy that Jesus would die not for the nation of Israel only, but in order that He might also gather together into one the children of God who are scattered abroad (John 11:51-52). We must be sure that our prayers are as inclusive as Christ’s saving work.

Paul has now given us three reasons why all-inclusive prayer must be the church’s priority in 1 Timothy 2: Christ’s all-inclusive saving work, (2:5-6), God’s all-inclusive saving will (2:3-4), and the church’s well-being (2:2b). There is one last reason that he gives us in 2:7. We’ll look at it in the last post of this three-part series.

Posted by R. Fowler White

It was a time of transition in the history of the church. The Apostles were passing off the scene, and in the Pastoral (or, if you will, Presbyterian) Epistles we have the last three letters written by the Apostle Paul. He writes to Timothy and Titus, two “young” (early 40s?) church leaders who needed to know how to build and maintain healthy (i.e., sound) congregations of Christ’s church, especially in the absence of the Apostles. The Apostle knew that the local churches would, in his absence, continue to live in an increasingly inhospitable environment, and he knew that Timothy and Titus would need to put in place and keep in place those ministry practices that would sustain those churches. After all, Paul saw Christ’s church at odds with enemies inside and outside its number, at odds with false teachers, at odds with persecutors, even persecutors in cahoots with hostile government authorities. In anticipation of the spiritual warfare to come, Paul knew that the local churches would need to shore up their armor and arsenal for the coming confrontations in this world. He also knew that prayer would not be just any practice, not just any ministry: it had to be part of their armor and arsenal in spiritual warfare. With the stakes so high for Christ’s church, Paul forthrightly declares what their priority must be and why it must be what he prescribes in 1 Tim 2:1-7.

If we wonder what a sound church must do first of all, here it is: First of all, then, I urge that supplications and prayers, intercessions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in high positions (1 Tim 2:1-2a). Right from the get-go, Paul sets the church’s priority: engage with God in all sorts of prayers for all sorts of people, even government authorities. All sorts of prayers: supplications (petitions for our good); prayers (petitions for God’s glory); intercessions (for or against others); thanksgivings (for good things received and for evil things prevented). For all sorts of people: regardless of their standing or office in society; for governmental authorities and their subjects; for friends and foes. 

But hold on. Why should we include civil authorities in our prayers? We should do so because it is God, the supreme Lord and King of all the world, who raises them up and brings them down. He has ordained that they be under Him, over the people, for His own glory and the public good. None of them operate outside His influence and sovereignty. As Prov 21:1 says, the king’s heart is like channels of water in the hand of the Lord; He turns it wherever He wishes. Furthermore, He has armed them with the power of the sword for the defense and encouragement of those who do good, and for the punishment of those who do evil (Rom 13:1-6; WCF 23.1). And especially for Christians who are civil authorities, it is lawful to maintain piety, justice, and peace, according to the wholesome laws of each commonwealth (WCF 23.2).

So, to what practice should the church, especially as a marginalized or even persecuted minority, devote itself first of all? The ballot box? The petition drive? Each of these may have its proper place … but first place? Not so fast. How about “lawfare”? Well, we shouldn’t forget that Paul invoked his rights as a citizen when he appeared before Roman magistrates. But to what does the Apostle call us first of all? He would have us recognize that only such means as are pursued first with prayer accomplish much, because prayer alone is a means of grace. So, we’re to ask that civil magistrates might punish that which is evil and reward that which is good (presumably, as God defines both). We’re to pray with enemies in mind as well as friends, persecutors as well as supporters, rulers as well as fellow citizens. We’re to give thanks for good things received and for evil things prevented. As Christians, it is our duty and privilege—and it must be our priority—to pray for others regardless of their standing or office in society.

Having set prayer in its place of priority, Paul will now turn to tell us four reasons why prayer ought to the priority he prescribes. Here’s the first reason: the church’s well-being. Paul urges that all-inclusive prayer should be our priority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity (1 Tim 2:2b). Paul’s point seems simple enough. We give priority to prayer that we Christians might lead our lives in favor with God and others. Peter too told his readers a similar thing when he wrote in 1 Peter 2:12, 15: Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable. … For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. Also, consider what happened to the church on Pentecost and in the days thereafter. Remember Acts 2:46-47? Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people—notice there was favor with others. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved—there was also favor with God.

So, Christian, what kind of life do you wish to live? Is it your aim to lead a life in the favor of God and others? Then, says Paul, get your priorities straight. Amidst your other life-sustaining routines, give priority to prayer, all sorts of prayer for all sorts of people. Then, if God is pleased to grant it, we shall lead lives of well-being in favor with others as well as with God.

According to the Apostle’s command, the congregations of Christ’s church must devote themselves to prayer first of all. And the first reason for this priority is the church’s well-being. We’ll turn to additional reasons in the two posts to follow.