1 TIMOTHY 2:1-72007 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: 1 Timothy 2:1-7

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2007.

Paul in this letter is writing to this young man named Timothy, and this morning he's addressing the letter to you and I as Timothy's, as those who have been given the call to ministry, the commission to make disciples.

We've been given the ministry of reconciliation and God has called us to be a light to the world around us, to teach those around us the things that Jesus commanded, to share with them how to have relationship with God and help them grow in the relationship with God that they have. God has placed us strategically exactly where we're at in our lives that he might use us to minister to the world around us.

And so you and I as Timothys have much to learn and much to glean from Paul's words to Timothy here in chapter two.

This chapter begins a kind of a new section of the book of Timothy. In the first part, he's been encouraging Timothy to really engage. Timothy has been holding back. He hasn't really been involved in doing the work that God has called him to do. And so he urges him to charge those who are teaching other doctrines that they do not do so. He encourages

Ended chapter 1 by encouraging Timothy to wage the good warfare, get involved in the battle, do the things that God has called you to do. And now as he goes on in this book, starting in chapter 2 and the following chapters, he'll be explaining to Timothy really...

The basics of this is what you need to do, Timothy. This is what church life needs to look like. This is how things need to be done. And this is the priorities that you need to have in the church, in the ministry that God has given to you.

We see that highlighted for us in chapter three of First Timothy. If you'll look at that for just a moment, verses 14 and 15 of First Timothy three, Paul says, These things I write to you, though I hope to come to you shortly. But if I am delayed, I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.

Paul tells Timothy, I'm writing these things to you so that you know how to conduct yourself in the house of God. I hope to be there soon and I can help you get things set in order. But Timothy, I'm writing this so that if I'm delayed, if I don't get there, that, you know, this is how ministry is to take place. This is the things that you need to know and the things that you need to apply to the ministry God has given you, Timothy.

And you and I as Timothys can take these same words and these same priorities that Paul is giving and then apply them to the ministry that God has given to us.

Be it in your workplace, be it a Bible study that God has called you to to lead or to start or perhaps ministering to your family or to your neighborhood or just ministering as God gives you opportunities in the marketplace or wherever you happen to be, wherever God has called you and uses you in the ministry.

You can take these words and apply them and understand this is the order for the ministry that God is giving to you. This is so that you may know how to conduct yourself in the church and in the ministry that God has called you to.

And so Paul begins that exhortation or begins really the the order of things within the church here in chapter two. And again, we look at verse one to start it off. Paul says, therefore, I exhort, first of all, that supplications, prayers, intercessions and giving of thanks be made for all men.

The word therefore, anytime you see that in the scripture, you want to find out what it's there for. Why is the therefore there? What is he referring to? Well, he's been talking to Timothy again back in verse 18 of chapter one. He charged him to wage the good warfare and to get involved in the battle, to do the work of the ministry, etc.

And so he's basically telling Timothy, look, you're commanded to do the work of the ministry. Well, how do you do that? Where do you start? Well, first of all, Timothy, I exhort that supplications, prayers, intercessions and giving of thanks be made for all men. Where does the ministry start? How do you begin the work of ministry? What's the priority in ministry?

We'll see three things today that Paul will tell Timothy that we can learn as well and apply to our own lives and our own ministries that God has given to us. And the first one is this. First of all, pray. First of all, pray. Here, Paul gives us the priority and the importance of prayer. First things first, Timothy.

Supplications and prayers and intercessions and giving of thanks need to be made for all men. Someone says, I want to be involved in the ministry.

What do I do? Well, what you do is you pray. What do you mean? I mean, I want to start, you know, I want to do a Bible study or or I want to go and do some street witnessing and evangelism or or I want to go start this ministry and and and reach out to this type of people. Well, the priority is the importance is first things first is you need to pray. You need to pray. There needs to be supplications and prayers and intercessions and giving of thanks that need to be made.

No, I'm supposed to teach a Bible study and go witnessing. Well, hey, that is part of ministry. But Paul says, look, first of all, pray. First of all, pray. Last week, we talked about that person in your life who you just can't ever envision them actually accepting Jesus Christ, really being transformed by the gospel message. They're just they've heard it. They know it. They're against it. They're opposed to it. And it just seems impossible.

But God has placed them in your life. They're part of the ministry that he has given to you. You want to see them get saved? You want to see them transformed? Pray. First of all. First things first. Pray. You want to see God work in the Bible study that he has you involved in? First of all, pray.

You want to see God use you and your family? First of all, pray. You want to see God use you in the ministry? First of all, pray. It's so important. He gives us the priority, the importance here of prayer. We need to be people of prayer. He describes for us really four different types or uses four different words to describe prayer.

He says there in verse one, supplications, prayers, intercessions and giving of thanks. These are all words that are used for prayer throughout the New Testament, and many of them are used interchangeably throughout the New Testament.

They're used in various places sometimes to make requests for your own self. If you remember in Luke chapter 1 verse 13 when Zacharias was there in the temple and the angel appeared to him, he says, your prayer for a child has been heard. It was a request for himself to have a child and it was this word that's translated here, supplication.

But it's also used for others. Paul says, I pray supplication that all Israel may be saved. Or he says in Philippians 1, 4, I make requests or I make supplications for you all. And so sometimes it can be used, prayer and supplication for your own self, or sometimes it's for others.

The word translated prayer here is used the same way throughout the New Testament, asking for forgiveness in prayer. Jesus in the garden asking God to deliver him from this hour of trial, deliver him from the cross that he would have to endure.

The constant prayer that was being offered for Peter. So, again, we see it. Prayer for yourself. Prayer for others. In different situations. If you remember, Epaphras in Colossians was laboring fervently in prayer for those at Colossae. And so on and so forth. These words...

have very, very similar and close meanings. They're used interchangeably. And so the point here that the Apostle Paul is saying is not that there's a specific type of prayer that you're supposed to focus on or all of these are very different and you're supposed to make sure that you have each element in your prayer, but he's just saying all kinds of prayer, basically. He's just saying...

As much as you can, all types of prayer with requests and supplications, with intercessions, with Thanksgiving, you're to be praying in all types of ways, in all types of prayer. The word supplications, literally it means to express a need, a want or a request.

The word prayer is prayer that's addressed specifically to God. Supplication could be used to make a request of anybody. But this word prayer is specifically of God. And so it's a more sacred word that's only used in communication with God.

The word intercessions I really like. It's not like we would maybe think about intercessions if you've been around the church. Intercession is to pray on behalf of someone else to intercede for them. But this word literally means a coming together to visit.

It means to meet with or to interview. And so the idea here is when you come to God, you're expressing your wants, you're expressing needs and requests. When you come in prayer, you're addressing God. You're having relationship with him. You're coming together to visit him. You're interviewing him or meeting together with him, to converse with him. And that's the idea. All of these three together combined, the point is all.

All kinds of prayer, but spending time with God in prayer for yourself, for others, for general prayer, for specific requests, for praying over meals, for intense prayer. It's used in all of those ways throughout the New Testament. And so Paul says, first of all, first things first, Timothy, you need to be praying with all kinds of prayer.

Not just, OK, you want your ministry to be blessed. OK, make sure you pray for your ministry. No, Timothy, make all kinds of prayer. Spend lots of time with God. Spend much time in prayer with the Lord or or keep it the priority, the important place in the ministry and in your life. Your ministry will be blessed, but not because you're praying for your ministry, but because you're spending time in prayer with God. See, the point is, there's not a super spiritual type of prayer.

There's not one type that God wants you to focus on. He wants all types of prayer. Sometimes we can begin to think that it's more spiritual for me to pray for others than for my own needs. You know, to pray for my needs, that would be selfish. But we don't see that biblically. Jesus in the garden prayed subject to the will of God, but he prayed that he would be delivered from the hour that was before him and so on and so forth.

Look at the model prayer that Jesus gave for us in Matthew chapter 6. Give us this day our daily bread. See, God wants you to come before him with your needs.

But then we have the danger as Christians that that's all we come to him for. Lord, I have this need. Lord, I have this want. It's our grocery list, our laundry list of things that we need, things that we want done. And so we can get stuck in that. But again, no, it's all kinds of prayer. So, yes, include yourself and pray and lift up the needs that you have and the things that you want to see happen and the things that you want God to do for you. But also pray for others and lift up others. He says...

These prayers and intercessions and giving of thanks to be made for all men. We need to be lifting up others and praying for them as well. It involves making requests. It involves awe and reverence for God, visiting with God, just sweet fellowship and communion with him.

Now, we could spend quite a bit of time looking at prayer specifically and focusing on that. But let's keep it in the context of what Paul is saying. But let's look at one last word before we go forward. And that is the giving of thanks is also included with this. These different types of prayers. I really like this word, the giving of thanks. It's based on the word charis in the Greek, which you might be familiar with. It's the word translated grace, grace.

Now, we love grace. Grace is incredible. Grace is God giving to us wonderful and blessed things that we don't deserve. It's him using us in ways that we don't deserve. It's him providing for us in ways that we don't deserve. It's him giving us salvation and so much else. Grace.

This word giving of thanks is based upon the word for grace. And so it means to receive something as an expression of grace and accept it as if one does not deserve it.

The giving of thanks is, thank you, Lord. I know I don't deserve this. It's the recognition. This isn't because I've earned it. This isn't because I've worked so hard or prayed so hard or done so much. Lord, you just love to bless. And you love to pour out and show grace in my life. Thank you, God. It's a sincere, deep, heartfelt giving of thanks. Knowing that we're not worthy of anything that God does for us.

And so Paul says, first of all, Timothy, pray. Does that describe you? Do you first of all pray? You know, God wants fellowship with you. This is your first duty and ministry to pray, to minister to the Lord by spending time with him, by visiting with him, by presenting your requests and lifting up the needs of others.

He goes on to say, for all men, and then in verse 2, for kings and all who are in authority. So it's lifting up the needs that you have, and that has its place in our prayer life, but it's also lifting up all men. But not just all men, specifically as well, all authority. The kings and those who are in authority. We're to lift up everyone.

I think Paul mentions specifically those who are in our authority because, well, there's a temptation or there's the tendency to forget about them or to not consider them in our prayers, especially when you're talking to Timothy. You know who is the king? When Timothy, when Paul was writing to Timothy, it was a famous Roman emperor named Nero, who was a tremendous persecutor of the church.

He was a very evil and malicious emperor. But Paul says, pray for your king. Pray for those who are in authority. It doesn't matter if they're good or bad is the point. It doesn't matter if they're a Christian. It doesn't matter if they walk with God. It doesn't matter if they do good to you or do bad to you. You are to pray for them, for those who are in authority.

You want to be involved in the ministry? You want to see God use you and you want to be blessed as you do the work of reconciliation? First of all, pray. Pray for all. All those that you come in contact with. Pray for all those that you know. Pray for all those that are in authority. You say, you know, the Lord's really put upon my heart to be a witness, more of a witness in the workplace. Great. First of all, pray.

Pray for your supervisor. Pray for your boss. Pray for your co-workers. First things first. Wherever you go. Within your home, at the office, within your country. Pray. It's God's order that you pray first and foremost. It's the most important. Again, the point is...

All kinds of prayer for all kinds of people. Make it your first priority. The most important thing in your life and ministry. Pray as much as you can, as often as you can for whoever you can. Commentator Warren Wiersbe says, when a local church ceases to depend on prayer, God ceases to bless its ministry. And the same is true for you and the ministry that God has called you to.

You wonder, why don't I get to really lead people to the Lord? Or why don't I really get to share my faith? Or why don't I get to... Well, maybe you need to go back and make sure that things are in the proper order. That first of all, you pray. First of all, pray. You've been called into the ministry. But the effectiveness of it will depend on your priorities. Do you first of all pray? Going on in verse 2.

He says, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life and all godliness and reverence. Here, Paul gives us the purpose of prayer. What's the purpose of prayer? Well, he indicates that by using the word that. It means in order that. First of all, pray with all kinds of prayer for all kinds of people. Why? Well, so that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life and all godliness and reverence. This is the purpose of prayer.

Prayer, or rather, this is the result of prayer, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence.

Now, some people will take this and really in a direction that I don't believe is what Paul is saying here. They get a little bit confused. They take it to mean that we're to pray for our authorities and, you know, pray for them so that they pass good laws, so that Christian leaders are elected. And and then, you know, we can live peaceably and there's not war and stuff like that. But that's not really what Paul is dealing with. That's not.

What Paul is talking about, he's not talking about changing society by the laws and the government. He's talking about, well, we know he's not talking about that because he uses the words godliness and reverence. Those things are good and we can pray for God to do those things in the government and for us to have godly leaders. That's important. But Paul's primary focus is not changing the government government.

And changing the authority, but changing our own selves through prayer, because godliness and reverence are not things that can be accomplished from the outside. It can't be accomplished by governments and authorities. Godliness and reverence are things that are produced within us through relationship with God. Paul's saying we need to pray all kinds of prayer together.

For everyone, because in doing so, we will be changed from the inside out. As we get close to God, we will become more like God. There will be the fruit of godliness and reverence within our lives. And so the person who prays, first of all, will be the one who lives the quiet and peaceable life and all godliness and reverence.

See, I need to first of all pray. I need to offer all kinds of prayer for all men so that I may live a quiet and peaceable life. And that's the second point we find from Paul to Timothy or you and I this morning is lead a quiet and peaceable life. It's the result that comes from the first of all pray.

It happens when you and I, first of all, pray when we're right with God, when we're close with God, when we are intimate in our relationship with him, when we're spending time with him in prayer, with all kinds of prayer for all kinds of situations and all kinds of different people.

What is manifested in our hearts begins to demonstrate or show forth in our lives. And so the result of our spending time with God is that we lead a quiet and peaceable life with all godliness and reverence. Does quiet and peaceable describe your life? I think we would all say yes, but what would your boss say? Does quiet and peaceable describe your life? What would your family say or your neighbors say?

Does quiet and peaceable describe your life? Now, quiet and peaceable. See, Christians are not to be the ones causing problems and disputes. Christians aren't to be the ones with interruptions and contentions and causing divisions. We're not to be the rowdy ones. God has called us to a different lifestyle. He's called us to a different heart and different attitude to follow the humility and the meekness of Jesus Christ.

It doesn't mean that we shouldn't be involved in things sometimes, involved in making our mark in the government as we have opportunity and we have the elections and we have those types of things. But we don't accomplish God's work by being rowdy and causing contentions and causing divisions and causing problems and disputes. Our lives are to be marked by quietness and peaceableness or peacefulness.

Is that what the rest of the world around you would say? Are you close with God? If you are, your life will show it. Because you'll live a quiet and peaceable life with godliness and reverence. The way that you live proves the relationship that you have with God. You can't fool anybody. I can't fool anyone. Everybody will know where we stand by the way that we live. We can tell how close we are to God.

If the priority is there, the first of all pray is there. We can tell by looking at how do I live my life? Do I live quiet and peaceable in godliness and reverence? He goes on in verse 3 to say, for this is good and acceptable in the sight of God, our Savior. This is good and acceptable. What's good, acceptable and acceptable in the sight of God? That you live a quiet and peaceable life.

You want to be pleasing to God? Lead a quiet and peaceable life. Well, how do I do that? Well, first of all, pray. And as you get the priority there, as you get the importance of your life placed upon prayer and spending time with God, it will demonstrate itself. It will manifest in your life and it will be good and acceptable to God, pleasing to his sight. See, what pleases God is not just the prayer, but the life that results when a person is devoted to prayer.

Paul is telling Timothy, here's what you need to do in the ministry. You need to pray because it's going to result in the life that God wants you to live. You want to be a powerful witness. You want to be used by God to bless many. You want to please God. Then pray. Spend time in prayer. All types of prayer for all kinds of people and those in authority.

Not only that, but he's telling Timothy, look, this is what you need to set in order in the church. This is the order that needs to be set. That first of all, you pray that you teach the people to first of all pray so that they may live quiet and peaceable lives.

And so God calls us as Timothys to put this in practice in our own lives, to pray all types of prayer and supplications and intercessions and thanksgiving to God that our lives might produce the result of, well, a life with God, which is a quiet and peaceable life with godliness and reverence. But then also to teach others, those who God has called you to disciple and minister to, those who know God, but not

God has placed you in their life to encourage them and disciple them. Teach them the priority, the need, the necessity, the importance of prayer. This is what pleases God. It's good and acceptable to Him. And this is what ministry is all about. Spending time in prayer with God. I would encourage you, if you want to do a little bit of digging, check out the Old Testament priests and Levites. Over and over...

God says they minister to me. They minister to me. They minister to me. God says throughout the first five books of the Bible is God is giving to them their order and the things that they're to do. And and what were the priests and the Levites to do? Well, they were to respond.

Receive the offerings that people brought in, they were going to sacrifice them and take care of the blood and take care of the meat and take care of the various tasks and, you know, pack up things and go when they're on the move and so on and so forth. But even though they're doing all these things and they're relating to people and they're helping people worship God and come to God, God says, no, really what's taking place is they're ministering to me.

That's our first and foremost ministry. We're called to minister to God. And how do we do that? First of all, pray. God wants you before he wants you to do anything. He wants you. That's why I like that word intercession. The visiting with the interview, the coming together. That's what God desires. It's what needs to be first.

We can run out ahead of God trying to do the things of God and share the truth of God without that. But it won't be effective. It won't be fruitful. God still may use it. But what's good and acceptable to God is when you first of all pray. And as you pray, he changes your heart and you live a life that's quiet and peaceable. And it's pleasing to him.

You say, I want to minister to people. You believe that God has called you to minister to people. He's called you to make disciples. Understand that he wants you to minister to him first. He will work out the part where your life impacts others. If you, first of all, pray. First things first, Timothy. Supplications and prayers and intercessions and giving of thanks for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may live a quiet and peaceable life.

Verse 4. He's continuing on from verse 3. Who desires all men to be saved? God does. This is so important that we remember that God desires all men to be saved. Every person, every

God desires for them to be saved. Now, there's also something else that we should pay attention to here. We need to really catch the implication that Paul is giving to us. Verse 4 is the continuation of verse 3. Paul is saying, pray, then you'll lead a good life. This is acceptable life.

And the sight of God, it's pleasing to God who desires all men to be saved. Here's what Paul is saying. When you and I, first of all, pray, when we become more like God and live the life that he's called us to live, we become a bright, shining testimony of him to the world. And the result is people get saved.

See, God wants you to, first of all, pray so that you can lead the quiet and peaceable life that he's called you to live because he desires all men to be saved. This is his desire. This is what he's going for. But he doesn't say, OK, here's what I want. I want all men to be saved. So hurry up and get out there. No, he says, first of all, pray and then that will help you to lead the good life that I've called you to live. And then as a result of that, people will get saved.

Paul's saying, look, the way that you live and the way that you, first of all, pray plays a part in the salvation of the world around you. It's good and acceptable in the sight of God to live that quiet and peaceable life because he desires all men to be saved. I was joking with Cisco. You know, there's the old debate. Faith plus works works.

Do you have to have works in order to be saved? And so I sent Cisco a message that said faith plus works equals salvation. Now, doctrinally, that's not correct. We know that works don't save us. But here's the point I was getting at. Faith. Well, that's our relationship with God. That's prayer.

Spending time with God. That's our faith in the Lord. Works. Well, that's the result of the spending time with God. It's the life that's led in quietness and peace equals salvation. But not of myself. It's the salvation of others. Faith plus works equals salvation. Because when I put my faith in God, when I have a relationship with him, and my life demonstrates that because it has to automatically manifest.

then the result is that people around me will see the witness. They'll see the light. They'll see the truth. They'll see that God is working and people will get saved.

The best way for us to impact people around us is not to shout louder than everybody else or to have the biggest billboards or the brightest signs with the verses on them. The way for you to impact the world around you. God desires all men to be saved, but he wants to do that through people who first of all pray and as a result of prayer, because they're close with God, they live the life that God has called us to live. And that is the biggest impact on the people around us.

Jesus said in Matthew 5, 16, let your light shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your father in heaven. That's what we're talking about here. He says, let your light so shine before men. The light. What's the light? Well, it's what takes place when you stay in close relationship with God. It's kind of like, you know, where the glow in the dark stars that you can stick on your ceiling.

They need light to recharge. As you spend time in the light, as you spend time in prayer, then you'll shine brightly and people will see that. Let your good works or let your light so shine that they may see your good works and glorify your father in heaven. First of all, pray to me. Then your life will be lived in quietness and peaceableness.

And this is pleasing to God because he desires that all men get saved. God desires all men to be saved. Second Peter 3 9 tells us that God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. God's not willing.

That any should perish again. Remember the person that you think it's just impossible. The person you can't imagine, you can't envision them really being transformed for God. God says, I want them to be saved. I'm not willing that they perish. I don't care what they've done. I don't care how bad they've been. I died on the cross for that, that they might be saved. I want all men to be saved. Jesus said, if I'm lifted up from the earth, I will draw all men to myself.

Jesus said in John 6, 37, the one who comes to me, I will by no means cast out. Whoever comes to Jesus, he will receive. He wants all men to be saved. There's not one person that God does not want to be saved. That may be hard to imagine or fathom in our minds sometimes, but we need to believe this.

Nobody is beyond the reach of his salvation. Not your uncle, not your grandma, not your grandpa, not the bum on the street that always asks you for money. Nobody is beyond the reach of salvation. Do you believe that? Do you believe that God wants all men to be saved? He wants all to be saved. Now, does that mean that everyone will be saved? No. He says there in verse 4, he wants all men, he desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

Not everyone will be saved. It's those who come to the knowledge of the truth. Paul uses that word truth three times in the following verses, four through seven. And that leads me to the third point this morning. And that is speak the truth. First of all, pray. Second, lead a quiet and peaceable life. Third, speak the truth. Speak the truth.

God wants all men to be saved. How does that happen? They need to come to the knowledge of the truth. What is the truth? He tells us in verses five and six, he says, for there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.

who gave himself a ransom for all to be testified in due time. Here's the truth. It's the gospel message. It's what you must believe to be saved. There is one God and one mediator between God and man, the man Jesus Christ, who gave himself a ransom for all. This is the truth. Those who come to the knowledge of the truth will be saved. He desires all men to come to this knowledge. Paul makes it so simple for us.

There's no discussion here. I mean, the gospel message is very clear. It's distinct. There is one God, one God. How many gods are there? There's one God. There's not multiple. There's not two. Now, that doesn't take away from the triune nature of God. But there is one God, which means there is one God.

God, which means that there's no other gods, which means that no other gods exist, which means that God is God and he's the only one and there's none other. He's the only creator. He makes mention of God as our savior. A couple of verses earlier. He is our savior. He's the only savior. There's no other one. There is one God, one God. That's it.

You need to come to the knowledge of the truth. What is the truth? First of all, that there is one God. Well, you mean I can't believe in all these other gods? No, if you believe in all these other gods, you haven't come to the knowledge of the truth. The knowledge of the truth is there is one God. There are not many gods. There is no other God. There is one God. Not only is there one God, but there is one mediator between God and men. Just as we have one God...

We have one mediator, not many mediators. There's not many that go between. There's one. You don't have a lot of options to get to God. All roads don't lead to God. Well, they do, but most of them lead to judgment. And that's probably not the way that you want to get to God. No, there's only one way to spend eternity with God. There's only one way to have relationship with God. There's only one mediator. There's not options.

One way, one mediator. Who is that? The man Christ Jesus. The man Christ Jesus. You can't get any clearer than this. There is only one God. There is one mediator between you and God, and that is Jesus Christ. You cannot go to God or get to God any other way. No other method, no other means.

You don't have to go through God through any other method or means. You have direct access to God, but only through Jesus Christ, not through an angel, not through a pastor, not through a priest, not through Mary or anyone else. There's one God, one mediator. You have direct access to God through that mediator who is Jesus Christ. He says the man, Jesus Christ, because we know John one one in the beginning was the word speaking of Jesus Christ.

And he was with God and the word was God. Jesus Christ is God. But then in verse 14 of John 1, the word became flesh and dwelt among us. He's the mediator because he has bridged the gap. Being fully God, he became fully man. And now because of his sacrifice, because he gave himself a ransom for all,

We have direct access to God. I would encourage you to spend some time in Hebrews chapter 10. It will illustrate that even better. We have direct access to the presence of God, to the holy place or the most holy place. Jesus Christ, being God, became a man, dwelt among us, and bridged the gap from the infinite God to the finite man. One God, one mediator. This is the truth. This is the gospel message by which...

We can be saved. There is no other name, Peter said, given under heaven by which we must be saved. He says in verse 6 that he gave himself a ransom for all. The word ransom means in place of or on behalf of. As I was meditating on that, Jesus was saying,

The ransom in place of us. In other words, he took the punishment that we deserve. Also on behalf of us, he died on our behalf. And I was remembering watching the Chronicles of Narnia that recently came out. We were there in the theater. It was opening night and the place was packed. And there's that part in the movie where Aslan is being led to the altar, taking the place of Edward, who deserved to die. But

But Aslan took his place. And as he's there on the altar and they begin to sacrifice him, it was really awesome because all around the theater you could hear these hushed voices whispering, that's what Jesus did. That's just like Jesus. And the picture was clear in everybody's mind as he died on behalf of this other person. That's what Jesus did for us. He was the ransom for all of us. He took our place.

took the punishment that we deserved, and died on our behalf that we might have everlasting life. He ends in verse 7 saying, For which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle. I am speaking the truth in Christ and not lying, a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth. Paul says, I was appointed to this message as a preacher, as an apostle, as a teacher. These are the areas that you and I are called to minister as well. Preacher proclaiming the gospel message.

Not necessarily in the same venue that the Apostle Paul was called to, but we're called to proclaim the gospel message. The apostle is one who is sent and recognize that you've been sent by God. And so you're a preacher. Speak the truth. The gospel message. There's one God, one mediator between God and men. You've been sent by God to where you are, your workplace, your family, your neighborhood, everywhere you go. You've been sent by God. You're an apostle.

Speak the truth. One God, one mediator between God and men. And he says a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and in truth. Teach. Teach those around you. Teach those that God has placed in your life. The truth. One God, one man, or one mediator between God and men. And so we see Paul encouraging Timothy here.

Timothy, the church is in disarray. Your ministry is all out of order. Here's what you need to do. Let me give you the proper order, Timothy. First of all, pray. That needs to be the emphasis in your life and in your ministry. It needs to be the emphasis and priority. First of all, pray. From that, God will do everything he wants to do. But first of all, you need to pray. And Timothy, from that, you will lead a quiet and peaceable life. And as a result...

People's lives are going to be impacted as they see God working in you. And so as you have opportunity, speak the truth. Prayer leads you to a right relationship with God. It leads you to being close with God, which will then be lived out in your life in right living and quiet and peace. Quietness and peaceableness, which is pleasing to God because He desires all men to be saved. And in doing all of this, you become a powerful witness for Him.

for His glory. So speak the truth. As you have opportunity, as God places people in your life, as they see the witness, as they see the power, as they glorify your Father in Heaven, speak the truth. One man. I'm sorry, one God. One mediator between God and man. The man, Jesus Christ. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, what You make it so easy for us.

But in that, we don't have to figure out what we're going to do and how we're going to reach people and what arguments we should use and what ways we should persuade them. God, you call us in simplicity, simply just to have relationship with you, to be devoted to prayer, spending time with you, visiting with you, lifting up our needs and the needs of others, thanking you as you have provided us with so much and blessed us so abundantly.

And God, as we develop our relationship with you and learn to pray and learn to thank you, God, from this, you'll work in our hearts and our lives the things that you want and the things that you desire. You'll accomplish them. And so, God, we ask that you would do that in our hearts and lives. Help us, God, to put first things first. Lord, that we would have the priority and the importance of prayer in our hearts and our minds and our ministries. God, that we would be devoted to you.

that we would be pleasing to you as a result of the life that will be lived in your strength, in your leading, in your guiding. God, I pray that you would help us as we shine your light, living the life that you call us to. Lord, that you would help us to speak the truth. Lord, never wavering, never compromising the truth. Lord, that we would clearly and boldly proclaim the gospel message. Lord, it's a narrow way.

but it's the way that you have provided. Lord, you said that wide is the gate that leads to destruction. Narrow is the gate that leads to life. God, you've blessed us with the knowledge of the truth. Help us, Lord, to show others the way, to bring them to the knowledge of the truth, that they might enter the narrow gate. Use us according to your will. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of His Word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.