Read or listen First Epistle to Timothy Chapter 2 online (ESV, Bible Gateway)

The second and third chapters give instructions on how to conduct the church's worship and what kind of ministers the church should be.

Everyone is called to salvation – 2:1-7

The Jews began praying for the authorities in the time of Ezra (Ezra 6:10, 7:23), i.e. in the middle of the 5th century BC. Jeremiah urged those taken into exile in Babylon to pray for Babylon (Jer 29:7).

It was difficult for Christians in Paul’s day to pray for the authorities because Rome was idolatrous, the emperor was worshipped as a god, and the authorities were persecuting Christians. At the time of the letter, the emperor was Nero (54-68 AD), under whose persecution both Paul and Peter suffered martyrdom.

But since God wants all people to be saved (verse 4), Christians must pray for all, including their persecutors. A Chinese Christian had been imprisoned for his faith. When his tormentor asked him why he believed in a God who could not protect him from imprisonment and torture, he replied: “Then who would tell you about Christ?” Despite the persecution, he saw that God was calling everyone—including the tormentors of Christians—to salvation.

Why does God want everyone to be saved? Couldn’t he just call good people to his fellowship? There are no good people, so it would be absurd to call them. But the deeper issue is that God is the only god (verse 5; see also Isaiah 44:6, 45:5,14,18,22, 46:9). There is no one else who can save. There is only one mediator, Jesus Christ (verse 5, see also Isa 42:8, 48:11, 1 Cor 8:6). All people must serve God if they want to be saved (Isa 45:23). There is only one way to heaven (John 14:6, 1 John 2:2), if God did not call to it, there would be no chance for man to be saved.

But does this mean that everyone will be saved? Doesn’t Almighty God always do His will? We don’t fully understand why God doesn’t save everyone, but the Bible clearly states that there are some who will not go to heaven (cf. 1 Tim 1:18-19, 4:10, Matt 23:37, Luke 7:30, John 5:40, Acts 7:51-57). Everyone could be saved, but some people don’t want to. Why God allows unbelief and doesn’t force everyone to believe remains a mystery at this time (cf. Rom 8:29, 1 Pet 1:2).

Paul uses the word “all” three times in this passage (verses 1, 4, and 6) and in addition, “nations” in verse 7 includes the idea of ​​“all nations” (see Genesis 12:1-3). The heresy that came into the church, Gnosticism, emphasized the importance of hidden knowledge. According to this, only a small group of chosen ones can partake of that knowledge and be saved. The same opposition is seen when Paul writes about the truth of faith (verses 7 and 4). The real truth is God's truth, not the hidden knowledge of the Gnostics.

Good authority is beneficial in spreading the gospel. During the early church, the Roman Empire enjoyed peace (pax Romana), which facilitated the proclamation of the gospel throughout the vast empire. Wars and unrest hinder the proclamation of the gospel, so we should pray for God’s guidance regarding authority (verse 2). On the other hand, persecution of Christians has generally not been able to prevent the spread of faith, quite the opposite. It is estimated that about ten million Christians suffered martyrdom in the Roman Empire before Emperor Constantine made Christianity the state religion of Rome in the 4th century AD. It is said that the blood of martyrs is the breeding ground for faith. We have seen the same miracle many times in the history.

The Lutheran faith speaks of "two regiments" - two ruling power. The secular regiment operates according to the law, the spiritual regiment operates according to the gospel. These two regiments should not be confused. The administration of society should not be required to act according to the gospel.

The old advice is in line with Paul's instruction (verse 1): "First you should talk about man to God, and only then about God to man."

The word piety or godliness (verse 2, Greek “eusebeia”) occurs ten times in the Pastoral Epistles: 1 Tim 3:16, 4:7,8, 6:3,5,6,11, 2 Tim 3:5, Titus 1:1. The translations vary in different passages, often speaking of “sound doctrine” or “faith.” Outside the Pastoral Epistles, Paul does not use the word “eusebeia” at all.

In verses 5 and 6 Paul quotes the creed or liturgy of the early church. There is only one God:

“You shall have no other gods before me."
(Exodus 20:3)

The Jewish creed began: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one." (Deuteronomy 6:4). The people of Israel began to think that God was only their God. But from the beginning God has been the only God, the God of all nations:

"...in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed".
(Genesis 12:3)

Since there is only one God, there is only one faith and one baptism (Eph. 4:5). Re-baptism is always wrong, because there is only one baptism. The old Christian churches do not renew baptisms that have been administered in the name of the triune God - Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Verse 6 contains the word “ransom.” Verse 6 contains the word “ransom.” We are familiar with that word because we have heard news of kidnappings and airplane hijackings. Someone or some people are exchanged for money in order to be set free. God gave Christ to die so that people could be set free. This happened at God’s appointed time (verse 6, compare Gal 4:4-5: _"But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons." and Titus 1:3, see also 1 Tim 6:15).

Paul was the apostle to the Gentiles (verse 7, Rom. 11:13). The statement “I am telling the truth, I am not lying” (verse 7) is also found in Rom. 9:1 and 2 Cor. 11:31. Paul taught the truth of faith (verse 7). It is foolishness to the human mind (1 Cor. 2:6-8), yet it is the only, enduring truth (Matthew 7:24-27, John 18:37, 1 Timothy 3:15, 2 Timothy 2:18, Hebrews 10:26).

Man and Woman in the Church – 2:8-15

Verse 8 is a prime example of the difficulties we encounter when we ask: what in the Bible is tied to the cultures and customs of the time it was written, and what is valid for all times. Should Christians (men) today pray with raised hands? Or should we even think that even Paul’s exhortation to pray is no longer valid, but was only tied to that time?

It is clear that some of the Bible’s text arises from the customs and cultures of the time it was written and should not be applied as such today. One example of this is the “braided hair” in verse 9. Fine hair devices made of braided hair were typical for prostitutes of that time. Paul is not only talking about dressing too “finely,” but also apparently warning that Christian women should not give the wrong message to others by their dress.

So in verse 8 we can say that the lifting up of hands was time-bound, but praying and giving up anger are also binding commands for us. In verse 9, hair accessories are related to that time, but modesty and self-control and decency, and in verse 10, good works are valid instructions for Christians today as well.

The Jewish prayer position was standing (Mark 11:25, Luke 18:11,13), often with hands raised. But the Bible also knows other prayer positions, such as kneeling and throwing oneself flat on the ground, face downwards. (Luke 22:41, Acts 20:36, Ezekiel 2:1-2).

Jesus urged us to settle disputes with our neighbors before coming before God (Matthew 5:23-24, Mark 11:25). Based on verse 8, we can say that there can be three obstacles to prayer: sin, anger, and doubt. If they trouble us, we will not be able to pray according to God’s will. Holy hands express the right attitude, a pure mind.

Throughout the history of the Christian church, there has been debate about how women should beautify themselves. Some have wanted to prohibit all adornment based on verses 9 and 10: makeup, jewelry, etc. On the other hand, it is good to remember that in the Book of Revelation, the New Jerusalem is described as adorned for the wedding feast, “as a bride adorned for her husband.” (Rev. 21:2). The true adornment of a Christian woman - and of a man - is not something external (verse 9, cf. 1 Peter 3:3-4), but living according to God’s will. But it does not completely exclude external beauty; it simply reminds us that external beauty must not become the main thing and the center of everything.

Verses 11-15 are for some biblical scholars "reason enough" to reject the idea of Paul as the author of the pastoral letters. According to them, Paul could not have had such a negative attitude towards women. Others, however, have used these verses as a reason to accuse Paul of being a misogynist and thereby a reason to reject the Christian faith and its teachings.

Verses 11-15 are one of the most difficult passages in the entire New Testament to understand. Does Paul really mean that women are saved by giving birth (verse 15)? Gnostic texts discovered in Egypt in 1945 provide us with a background against which our text is easier to understand.

Bo Giertz describes the texts in her commentary on the Pastoral Epistles as follows (pages 56-58):

“Based on the aforementioned writings, a much more detailed picture of Gnosticism can be obtained than previously. It was the ‘world ecumenism’ of the time, which gladly borrowed ideas from other religions. It had taken many names from Judaism, as well as the story of the creation of man and the fall into sin, but it completely changed the belief in God of the Old Testament. Gnosticism says that the true God is unknown, nameless and hidden in an unreachable distance. From him comes a lower divine being, who is understood as an hermaphrodite ‘mother-father’ or female. Many names are used for the female divine being: Pistis, Sophia, Epinoia, Barbelo. There are many variations of this legend about the Mother of All. Mostly she is understood as a being who has mistakenly given birth to a new god, the creator god, the Demiurge, Yaldabaoth or whatever she is now called. (The Gnostics liked to give the heavenly powers a number of fancy names.) This last is the god of the Old Testament, an imperfect and often evil power. With the help of his evil angels, he creates the human body, but fails to give it life. Life only comes when the female deity breathes her own light into the body. The first man is born and is then ‘androgynous’, both male and female at the same time. Yaldabaoth and his evil assistants want to get their hands on the light of the female god, cut off a piece of Adam and create women. Eve does get a larger piece of the heavenly light, but the demiurge succeeds in seducing her. He awakens the sexual urge and introduces marriage. Then death comes and people are enslaved. Salvation lies in the female god opening people’s eyes so that they realize what a disaster happened when they became man and woman. The work of liberation begins at the moment that the Bible calls the Fall. The liberating goddess hid in the tree of knowledge, spoke through the mouth of the serpent, and made Eve eat, so that she gained understanding. Then the same divine power works to open the eyes of people, so that they see the misfortune that lies in the difference between the sexes, and refuse it - and with it marriage, sexual life, and the bearing of children. Then they are on their way to the original state, where there was neither man nor woman. The Gnostics held Mary Magdalene in particular high esteem. Jesus loved her more than any of the apostles. She was the one who was always allowed to be with Jesus. The apostles were offended by this, but Jesus said: ‘I myself must lead her to make her a man. For every woman who makes herself a man shall enter the kingdom of heaven.’ Among the writings found was the ‘Gospel of Mary’, in which Mary Magdalene teaches the apostles the revelations she received from the Lord. Andrew doubts that Christ really said all that, and Peter begins to ask Mary if the Savior really said it to her privately, since he has not said it to them. But Levi rebukes her and says, ‘If the Savior has counted her worthy, who are you to reject her?’ and thus Mary is proved right.

These ideas appear, as mentioned, in many variations in Gnosticism, but what they all have in common is that the heavenly Epinoia-Pistis-Sophia, or whatever she is sometimes called, works to teach people to free themselves from the false creator god, from marriage and childbearing, so that there would be no need for new people to be born into this evil world. Women who have received such enlightenment are the ‘seed of the Mother-Father.’ They can appear as authorities to both men and women and teach them the truth.

Against the background of such ideas, Paul’s purpose becomes clear. The Gnostics said that Jesus had overturned the order of creation and given women the authority to ‘dominate’ men. Paul replies that this is precisely what he, as an apostle of Christ, cannot allow. In speaking of ‘to exercise authority over a man’, he uses a very rare word (thentéoo), which is also found among the Gnostics. It means having absolute authority and making laws with an authority that cannot be challenged. Christians know that such authority exists, but only God has such power. When the word of God is proclaimed to the church because of His commission, it has this authority. The early church knew that apostles, prophets and true ministers of the Word could speak with that authority. The Gnostics now claimed that women could do so too. Paul replies that this is not God’s purpose. A woman should not act as a teacher and thus ‘dominate men’. The context shows that we are now talking about the gathering of Christians for worship, and the expression should be understood as referring to acting as a teacher and instructor sent by God. ‘Living in silence’ or rather ‘listening’ also refers to teaching in connection with worship. Paul uses the same word here as before (when speaking of ‘learning in silence’; the Greek word heesykhía means silence, stillness, listening).”

So is it to be thought that all of this was just Paul’s “primitive reaction” against the Gnosticism of Ephesus, and that it would have no significance for Christians today?
First, it is worth remembering that all the texts of the New and Old Testaments were created in a certain historical situation. The historical background is no reason to reject the teachings of the text itself.
Second, it is worth remembering that not all of Paul’s letters have survived to our time. For example, two letters to the Corinthian church have been lost (compare 1 Cor 5:9, 2 Cor 2:4). The letter sent to the Laodicean church has also been lost (Col 4:16). In other words, due to the guidance of the Holy Spirit, only a part of Paul’s letters have survived to us. God wants to speak to us precisely through these writings.

In 1 Corinthians 14:33-40, Paul, with God-given authority, forbids women from teaching in church meetings (=worship services). We can say that Paul’s position was not tied to the specific circumstances and problems of Ephesus. There is no ambiguity about Paul's teaching, but not everyone wants to accept that it would also bind Christians today. It is worth seeing that the issue of female priesthood is precisely a question of the Bible and the binding nature of its teachings. If the teachings of the Bible are rejected in one place, what prevents us from rejecting them in other places as well?

It has been claimed that Paul received from Judaism a negative attitude towards women's right to teach (verse 11). But Judaism was much more strict than Paul. The Jerusalem Talmud even says that it is better to burn the Torah than to teach it to a woman. Both Jesus and Paul taught women. And Paul had nothing against women privately teaching Christianity - even to men (Acts 18:26, cf. 1 Tim 5:10, 2 Tim 1:5, 3:15, Titus 2:3-5, 1 Pet 3:1) - but Paul did not accept women as teachers in the church.

Paul's instruction on submissiveness (verse 11) is also not in fashion in our time. Yet the whole of society - businesses, the army, the government - is based on superiors and subordinates (compare 1 Cor 14:40). But a man must first be subject to Christ (Eph 5:21-25), only then can he demand submission from women. A man cannot be a tyrant or dictator. One could even say that a man can demand submission from a woman only to the extent that he himself is ready to submit to the submission of Christ (compare 1 Tim 2:4-5).

Ephesus was the center of the Diana/Artemis cult (compare Acts 19:34). Gnosticism was also influenced by Greek pagan religions. In Gnosticism, the serpent and Eve were teachers of truth. Women led the churches. Childbearing was considered a sin (compare verse 15 and 1 Tim 4:3, 5:14).

Paul reminds us that Eve fell for Satan’s trick (verse 14, 2 Cor 11:3). Adam was the firstborn — the first human (verse 14)— not Eve. God has set a certain order in the world that people cannot change.

Some translations—including the New English Bible—translate verse 15 as “child,” which would refer to the birth of Jesus. However, this explanation is too far-fetched. Why would Paul speak of justification by faith in such a veiled way? Especially when it was a battle against the Gnostic preachers of hidden knowledge?