1 Timothy
1 Timothy 2:1–7
Corporate prayer for all people is critically important so that all may be redeemed; such prayers please God by furthering his economy, facilitated by the proclamation and teaching for which his people have been appointed.
First Timothy 2, in general, details how Timothy (and other readers) must execute the command Paul had entrusted to him in 1:18–19. First in importance was to be prayer for all people. Indeed, coming after the redeemability of a Paul (1:12–14), of
1 Timothy 1:12–20
God’s superabounding grace appoints believers—once sinners, now mercifully saved—into service, to discharge their ministries faithfully.
Paul begins this section exulting with gratitude for divine strengthening, for being considered faithful, for being appointed to service (1:12); for God’s showing of mercy (1:13, 16); for the superabounding of grace along with faith and love in Christ (1:14); and for the demonstration of divine patience in Paul (1:16). The entirety
1 Timothy 1:1–11
The people of God, in their handling of Scripture, promote the economy of God (in contrast to false teachers), for the goal of their instruction is love, the manifestation of godliness.
Timothy is Paul’s “genuine child”—a spiritual sonship. By extension, all God’s people, listening in on/reading this correspondence are enjoined to abide by the injunctions of God’s authoritative apostle. After all, all of God’s people are God’s leaders, in some degree,
Abe Kuruvilla is the Carl E. Bates Professor of Christian Preaching at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (Louisville, KY), and a dermatologist in private practice. His passion is to explore, explain, and exemplify preaching.