The Pastoral Epistles: 1 Timothy 2 (3)

Pray Psalm 72.1-4.
Give the king Your judgments, O God,
And Your righteousness to the king’s Son.
He will judge Your people with righteousness,
And Your poor with justice.
The mountains will bring peace to the people,
And the little hills, by righteousness.
He will bring justice to the poor of the people;
He will save the children of the needy,
And will break in pieces the oppressor.

Read and meditate on 1 Timothy 2.5-7.

Reflect.
1. What does Paul mean by “to be testified in due time”? Who’s supposed to do this testifying?

2. How did Christ fulfill the role of a Mediator between God and people? 

Meditate.
Our prayers for people should certainly include the prayer that they might come to know Jesus as the only Mediator between God and men (v. 5). God desires all people to be saved (v. 4); and He sent Jesus to accomplish the salvation the world needs by giving Himself as a ransom on the cross.

That idea of Christ paying a ransom begs the question: To whom did He pay it? To whom was the payment due, that accomplished our release, and how was the payment made? 

The payment due was death, which is the debt we all have incurred because of our sin (Rom. 3.23). The One to Whom that debt was paid is God Himself. We could not pay the debt we owe to God, at least, not in such a way as to satisfy that debt. Our sin requires infinite and unending death; and this is what Jesus accomplished on the cross, when He was separated from God the Father as the Sin-bearer of the world.

Jesus did not pay ransom to the devil, although the devil held us in chains of unbelief and lies before we were saved. He paid the debt to the Father, then He put the devil to shame (Col. 2.13-15); and He took us to Himself as the spoils of war (Matt. 12.22-29).

Because He has paid our debt, He is the only means of our salvation. Only He can mediate between us and God. As we appeal to Him, He intercedes for us, and salvation is the result. Our debt is canceled, and we are born again into the Kingdom of God’s dear Son. Now we know God and Jesus Christ, Whom He has sent as our Mediator. Now we know the truth about ourselves, life, the world, and true joy.

This is Good News, and such Good News must be proclaimed. The time has come (v. 6) for all who know this Good News to bear testimony of it, as Paul did, fulfilling His charge. We have a charge like Paul, and it includes knowing God and Jesus Christ so fully and truly that the life we have in Him wells up and overflows from within us (Jn. 7.37-39). Others will see our hope, so we must be ready to testify about the mediatorial work of Christ, and the canceled debt and the freedom of new life He has accomplished for us (1 Pet. 3.15).

Reflect.
1. Paul says there is “one God”. Why doesn’t everyone understand this? Does everyone have some god which they serve in their lives? Such as?

2. How would you summarize the content of what must “be testified in due time” to the people in your Personal Mission Field? What does “due time” look like?

3. Paul connects prayer for all people with testifying of the Good News. Is that your practice? How would you improve in this?

O the overflowing kindness and love of God toward man! God did not hate us, or drive us away, or bear us ill will. Rather, he was long-suffering and forbearing. In his mercy, he took up the burden of our sins. He himself gave up his own Son as a ransom for us—the holy one for the unjust, the innocent for the guilty, the righteous one for the unrighteous, the incorruptible for the corruptible, the immortal for the mortal. Anonymous (late 2^ndcentury), Letter to Diognetus 9.1-2

Lord, give me an opportunity today to testify of the mediatorial work of Jesus, and help me to…

Pray Psalm 72.1-8
Pray for the lost in your Personal Mission Field, and throughout the world, that they might hear the Good News of Jesus, and through Him, come to know God and the blessings of His great salvation.

Sing Psalm 72.1-8.
Psalm 72.1-8 (Martyrdom: Alas! And Did My Savior Bleed)
O give the King Your judgment, Lord, and righteousness Your Son.
And let Him judge by Your good Word the need of everyone. 

Let now the mountains ring with peace, the hills in righteousness.
Let justice rise, oppression cease, and all the needy bless. 

Let nations fear You while the sun and moon endure on high. 
Refresh, renew us, every one, like sweet rain falling from the sky. 

Let righteousness abundant be where Jesus’ reign endures. 
Let peace increase from sea to sea ‘til moonlight shall be no more.

T. M. Moore

Whatever our calling in life, we are sent to bring the joy of Christ to the people around us. Our book, Joy to Your World!, can show you how to fill your Personal Mission Field with more of the Presence, promise, and power of Christ and His Kingdom. Order your copy, as a supplement to our study of 1 Timothy, by clicking here.

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. All psalms for singing adapted from The Ailbe Psalter. All quotations from Church Fathers from Ancient Christian Commentary Series, General Editor Thomas C. Oden (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2006).All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter (available by clicking here).