Often seen how Gods dealings in our life affect Gods destiny for our life
How our personal experience of God affects our expectations of God
Maybe we have little of an expectation because we have little of an experience of God!
Abraham and his faith – experienced in Gods giving of Isaac, from the deadness of Abrahams old age and the barrenness of Sarahs womb and his expectation was that of Gods power in raising him again form the dead (Heb 11)
Jacob and his faith – 'the God who fed me all my life long unto this day' (Gen 48:15) – EXPERIENCE of God moves into his EXPECTATION of God: 'bless the lads'
David and his faith – his EXPERIENCE of God; 1 Sam 17:37; 'The Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the lion and out of the paw of the bear,' informs his EXPECTATION of God; 'He will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine'
Jonah and his faith – first he had to come to the EXPERIENCE of God in the deep dark depths of the ocean, that 'salvation is of the Lord,' before he could go on in EXPECTATION of the Lord
So too with Paul – his EXPERIENCE of God and the great mercy of God to a sinner, informs his EXPECTATION of God (2:1ff)
Our Prayers for All (2:1)
God's Passion for all People – (2:3ff)
God's Provision for all (2:6)
Therefore Paul's broad expansive prayer is reasonable and rational
Prayer (2:1)
Paul's exhortation to mission / outreach begins with an exhortation to prayer; 'first of all'
The priority of prayer
Discourage the gospel preacher? Don't turn up for the prayer meeting!
The path to salvation begins with prayer.
Not with careful planning, new ideas, IT but with prayer.
Hence in mission, the moral and spiritual life of Gods people is all important – it impacts on their prayerful effectiveness.
Supplications – sense of our need
prayer – sense of reverence
intercessions – confidence and on behalf of others (cf. Rom 8:27; Heb 7:25)
Giving of thanks
The philosophy of the world is so antithetical to this – beginning not with a sense of our need but with a falsely placed sense of self confidence.
“all” - some have noticed that this 'all' cannot mean every single individual without exception, ie every individual person in the world.
That is fine!
I really wouldn't wish to be at the prayer meeting that did pray for every man 'without exception'
As you progress through the gospels you do see that at times 'all' dosn't always mean 'all' :
Mark 1:37 'all men seek for thee'
Luke 3:15 'all men mused in their hearts'
John 3:26 'all men came to Him'
All rarely is 'all' used in a restricted sense in the context of salvation.
So some have correctly pointed out that the 'all' of 2:1 doesn't mean:
all without exception
It is then assumed that it must mean
all without distinction – ie all kinds of men
Of course showing that the phrase does not mean:
all without exception
doesn't prove that it does mean
all without distinction
and in fact in the examples above 'all' does not have the sense of 'all without distinction'!
'all' has the sense of:
all without discrimination
It is an indiscriminate 'all'
It is a generalisation
In 1 Tim 2:1 'all' does not mean every single person in the whole world beginning at the letter A and working through to Z.
The all in verse 1 is our mandate to pray for everyone and anyone, no one is past the grace of God, no one is beyond the reach of Divine Grace, Paul has proven this in his own experience of God's grace!
This all is constrained only by:
the scope of our prayers
breadth of our experience
depth of our heart
width of our vision
duration of our life
number of our days
variety of our encounters
This is not 'all without exception'
This is not 'all without distinction'
This is 'all without discrimination'
There ought to be nothing as indiscriminate as the prayers of the believer.
This thought continues into verse 2 – the PEOPLE
'Paul says that prayers should be offered for everyone, because God in offering the Gospel and Christ as mediator for everyone, demonstrates that He wants everyone to be saved' (John Calvin, commentary on 1 Timothy)
'kings and all that are in authority'
Quite clearly not all of these individuals prayed for will be saved!
Paul also prayed for such (Acts 26:29)
We have a mandate to pray for those who will not ultimately come to faith!
If we understand that the Word of God is inspired.
That when Paul speaks God speaks.
Is it possible that God would instruct us to do that which is not consistent with His good pleasure?
Would He command us to sin?
Quite clearly not.
God therefore must have an interest in all, not only in the few!
This is exactly what verse 3 says.
God's Passion for All
How is it possible to say that God 'wills all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth' and yet all men are not saved?
In the same way that it is possible to maintain that evil and wickedness and the ultimate end of that in eternal judgement (2 Peter 3:9; Ezek 33:11; Ps 5:4) is not caused by the determinative will of God and yet they exist; they are permitted by Him!
It is the 'good pleasure' of God that 'all men' are saved
The big bold broad prayer for salvation is consistent with:
CHARACTER of God – His name, title, 'God our Saviour'
COMPASSION of God – 'who will have all men to be saved'
cf: Luke 13:34; Matt 23:37; Ezek 33:11
God's Provision for All
Consistent with this, there is provision for all (v6)
Redemption is not restricted at the point of provision.
The parable of the field (Matt 13:44) – He buys all to have the buried treasure.
cf. 1 John 2:2; Heb 2:9; 2 Co 5:19
If not such provision existed then God's good pleasure would be an empty thing .
Love would never exist unconditionally.
Having considered the above, perhaps one of the abiding questions is, having such a burden for 'all men to be saved' how do I translate that into practical Christian living?
Where do we begin with realising such a big bold broad vision of Gods expansive grace?
How do we go about it?
Not by doing everything which could possibly be done!
Rather to be the very best we can be where God has placed us!
In the place He has placed me
In the role He has given me
To the people He has brought me to
In the sphere in which I move
Paul Personally (v7)
Men Generally (v8)
Women Particularly (v9-15)
Prayer to practice:
Paul Personally (v7)
'ordained' : 5087 : tithemi : to set, place, put
A daunting task, to take on the world!
If you think that you have a daunting task consider the tract run that was given to Paul!
In essence; the apostles have covered Jerusalem, would you mind dong the rest of the world!
With this sense of 'ordained' Paul realises that he has been:
'placed in the plan of the passion of a God all powerful'
It was not that:
David's sling was supremely powerful
The stone was particularly accurate
Jawbone of the ass was peculiarly fashioned
Aaron's rod contained the secret of life
Moses staff was magic
Gideons trumpet could blow away the enemy
Peter's nets did not possess the ability to attract fish
They simply played the part given to them
They had their part to play in the plan of the passion of a God all powerful.
Gods plan
Gods purpose
Gods passion
Gods provision
Not so much that Paul was a missionary to his own vision
Not so much that Paul was a missionary to the needs of a lost world
Not so much that Paul had a burden to serve
Rather Paul was ordained a preacher and an apostle in Gods mission
He is an ambassador of Christ
Paul is part of what God is doing
'ordained' : 5087 : tithemi : to set, place, put
So many of the tasks / so much of what we are given to do is tied up in this passion of God: 'who will have all men to be saved' :
initial contacts
bridge building
personal testimony
practical Christianity
seed sowing
tract and literature distribution
preaching and teaching
This is all consistent with the plan and purposes of God in Christ
We are but the means which God has ordained to fulfilling His will
Men Generally (v8)
'I will that men pray'
When men pray:
A nation is born – Abraham (Gen 15)
Judgment is lifted – Moses (Num 21:7)
Battles are won – Joshua 10
False Gods fail – Samson
The Glory descends – Solomon (2 Chron 7:1)
The fire of God falls (Elijah)
The rain comes again (Elijah)
Cities are rebuilt – Nehemiah
The silence of lions speak (Daniel) when men pray
When men pray God answers!
Verse 8:
who – men
where – everywhere: in the belly of the whale, on the top of Carmel, in the pagan temple (Samson); in the field of battle (Joshua); at the grave of a friend (Lazarus)
how – Holy hands
what – no wrath
why – faith
Women Particularly (v9-15)
If men make the gospel audible
Women make the gospel visible!
Cf:
Verse 8- Men
Verse 15 – Women
Holy hands
Holiness
Without wrath
Love
Without doubting
Faith
Note the qualities are the same