Prayer for All People (2:1-4)
v1 First of all, I urge you to pray for all people. Talk to God about them. Ask God to help and bless them, and thank him for each of them. v2 Pray for kings and all who are in authority. Then we may live calm and quiet lives. Do this so that we may respect God. And we may be good and honest in all that we do. v3 This is good. And it pleases God who saves us. v4 He wants to save every person. And he wants them all to know the truth.
Commentary
Verses 1-2 Paul urges Timothy to pray for all people. He outlines four different things to be included in his prayer when he talks to God about them.
----1. Talk to God about people.
----2. Ask God to help and bless people.
----3. Thank God for all people.
----4. Pray for kings and others in authority.
Verses 3-4 It is a good thing to pray for the people and for the rulers. Such prayers are pleasing to God.
God wants to save all sorts of people, including those who lead, from the effects of their sin. He desires that they would come to know the truth. The truth of God will deliver them from all error.
One God and One Way to Him (2:5-7)
v5 Now there is one God. There is only one person who can make peace between God and people. He is Jesus Christ who became a man for this purpose. v6 He gave himself to die on behalf of all people, and God showed us this at the right time. v7 God made me an apostle so that I should preach this good news. I am telling the truth; I am not lying. He sent me to teach the nations in faith and truth.
Commentary
Verse 5 People may believe in many gods, but there is only one real God. The Lord Jesus is the only one who can bring people and God together. To do this, He had to be the agent for both God and people. Jesus Christ is God. And He came to show us what God was like. He took the sins of all people and died on their behalf. By this, He made peace and is now able to bring people to God.
Verse 6 All people have done what is wrong. There is no person who has not sinned. The Lord Jesus gave Himself as the price to free people from sin. He alone was perfect and never sinned. He took the punishment of all our sins when He died. He suffered on behalf of us all. Those who accept that He died for them are set free from their sins.
Verse 7 Paul speaks again about being an apostle. He writes that God called him to be an apostle to declare this gospel to all people, both Jews and Gentiles. It seems that some of those in Ephesus had doubted his authority. Therefore, he insists that he is telling the truth that God has appointed him and to teach the nations in faith and truth.
Instructions to Men and Women (2:8-15)
v8 I want the men to pray in every place. Let them lift up their hands to God. They should be clean from sin; they should not be angry or doubting. v9 I would like women to wear modest and sensible clothes. They should not do their hair in odd styles. They should not put on much gold and precious stones, or wear expensive clothes. v10 Rather, their charm should be in good works. This is right for women who say that they believe in God. v11 They should learn as they listen, quietly and humbly, to those who teach them. v12 I would not allow them to teach. And I would not allow them to tell men what to do. They should be calm and quiet. v13 This is because God made Adam first. And then he made Eve. v14 The enemy did not fool Adam. But Eve believed his lies and sinned. v15 God will save the woman through the birth of children. That is if women trust and love him and are holy and modest.
Commentary
Verse 8 Paul writes that men should pray in every place. They should also lift up their hands to God. They should be clean from sin. They should not be angry or doubting.
Verse 9 Paul now talks about how the women should behave in the church. Women should be modest in both their attitude and in their dress. They should not dress or wear things to attract attention to them. The center of attention should be on the Lord. This does not mean that women should be dull and not attractive. But they should not display their wealth or beauty.
Verse 10 The women should make themselves attractive by what they do. Not by what they wear. Their lives are more important than the clothes they put on. Christian women should do good things because they trust God.
Verse 11 The women should learn as they listen. Paul ruled that the women should be quiet. When they came to the meetings, they should be under the authority of the men who taught. They had to listen to them and learn from them.
Verse 12 Paul would not permit a woman to teach in the public meetings of the church. He is not saying that there is no place for a woman to teach. But the task of teaching in the church belonged to the men. For a woman to teach men would be to take the authority from them. The women should keep quiet in the church meetings.
Verses 13-14 The reason why the man should be the leader over the woman is that God made the man first. After this, he made the woman to be a helper for the man (Genesis 2:20-23). It is not that men are superior to women. They are equal before God. But they are not the same, and they have different roles in society. Men and women are equal partners, but one must take the lead. The man should take that role for the benefit of both of them.
Paul then looks at the story of the first sin (Genesis 3:1-7). The woman listened to the lies that Satan told her. She believed what he said. And so she did not obey God. She took and ate the fruit. But God had said they must not eat that fruit. She gave some of it to the man and he ate it. The man did not accept the lies of Satan. He decided to sin when the woman offered the fruit to him.
This is an example of Eve taking the role that Adam had. He was wrong because he listened to the voice of his wife (Genesis 3:17). There is a danger when men or women take on the wrong roles.
Verse 15 Women should not try to take the role that God has given to men. The role that he talks about here is to teach in the church meeting. They have other roles that men cannot have. One of those roles is to have children.
After the fall into sin, God told Eve that she would be in pain as she gave birth to children. Eve is the subject of the first part of this verse. She had sinned but God gave the promise of salvation. He would send the Christ (Messiah) to be born of a woman. So, through the birth of Jesus to Mary, God kept his promise. God will save women if they continue to trust in Him and love Him. They should be pure, holy, and modest.
This verse does not mean that having children is the method by which God will save women. That would mean their salvation depends on their works. Salvation comes by the gift of God, and we receive it by faith. God will not save women because they give birth to children. Instead, He saves them as they repent and believe the gospel.
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