Christ Jesus Who gave himself a ransom for all

 

Christ Jesus Who gave himself a ransom for all

 

(1 Timothy 2:1-6)Iexhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. 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.

Paul exhorts his spiritual son Timothy to have two faiths. First, he talked about prayer. Paul said that the object of prayer is everyone. And Paul explains why he should pray for everyone. Praying for all people is good and acceptable before God. This is because God wants all people to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. God's grace is a grace that is given without discrimination regardless of race, education, status, or status. So, God's desire is for all to be enriched in the knowledge of Christ without discrimination by anything. Paul confessed that he was the only mediator, and that he was called to be a witness to all of Christ, the gospel. If the gospel should be preached to all without discrimination, and if God's desire is for all to be enriched in the knowledge of Christ without any discrimination, then, of course, the object of Christian prayer should be everyone.

He said we should pray especially for kings and those in high positions. At that time the church was under the threat of the Roman Empire. Just because the reason to pray for the rulers in this situation is to lead a quiet and peaceful life, this does not mean that this life itself is the goal. That is the purpose of the gospel. Government officials are also the objects of the gospel, and they should pray so that God will move their hearts so that they do not hinder the spread of the gospel through the church.

The church is a community of diverse people. Diversity is a powerful force when it is acknowledged in the Gospel and in love. However, when diversity becomes discrimination, the community will lose its power. Just as there is no discrimination in the gospel, there should be no discrimination in the church, and we must shake off discrimination in our perception as people of the Lord. So, our prayers should also extend from our center to all who are the Lord's concern. This includes the rulers. They too are the object of the Gospel, and through them, we should pray for the Lord's love to seep into the world without hindrance.

There is another thing Paul is admonishing Timothy to do. It is about the right conduct and basic order that men and women should have during worship. Regarding the attitude that a man should have in worship first, Paul exhorted: “I want men to raise up holy hands in prayer, without anger or contention.”

In those days, it was a common practice for the prayer to stand up and raise both hands in prayer. But what Paul is trying to say is that prayer is not about the outward appearance of raising hands. He is pointing to an inward and spiritual attitude when he tells us to raise our holy hands and pray.

Paul tells us not to pray in such a way that believers stand up, raise their hands and pray with reverence and passion, and then live a life that has nothing to do with prayer as if they had prayed after the service. At the same time, do not pray as if arguing with an angry heart. It is not the form of prayer that is important, but rather that we should examine ourselves with an honest heart and pray with a pure life and a life that practices the love of sharing. As Paul pointed out, for a godly prayer life, one must remember that he is always dead with Christ, not because of his own hard work.

Next, Paul exhorted women about the attitude they should have. The content of men and women has two meanings. The first is biologically male and female, and the second symbolizes those with and without the promise of the seed. First, in the case of biological men and women, it is not referring to the discrimination between men and women, but Paul's attempt to teach the right attitude and attitude that women should have in response to some problematic situation facing the church in the context of the time. there was an intention

In Paul's heart, as clarified in Galatians 3:28, there is always the premise, "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus." . Paul's teaching is that it is important for those who make up the body of the church to renounce their righteousness, their own desires and greed, and fulfill their roles with the right mind and attitude under the order of creation.

However, those who do not have the seed of God's Word should be chaste. to listen to the word. New believers may not yet have the seed of God. Hearing a story about Jesus Christ, even if he says that he believes in Jesus, if the seed of the Word is not conceived, he cannot be regarded as having a seed. If you believe in Jesus, but Jesus' death is not the believer's death, he has heard the word, but there is no seed yet. Regarding 『Faith, Love, and Holiness』, it is saying that if you believe the Word first, realize that Christ died for you (love), and abide in dying with Christ (holiness), you will be saved.

Paul linked Adam and the Hawaiian story. The beginning of sin is not that we are talking about a man and a woman because Eve sinned first.Those who do not have the seed's promise, be quiet and understand how salvation is accomplished. They must wait until the seed of the Word is established (pregnant), grows and bears fruit (bear birth). The person who preached the word is a man, and the person who hears the word and the word grows, bears fruit and is saved is a woman.