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Battles of the Good Fight

At the end of chapter one, Paul told Timothy to fight the good fight.  All of what we are about to read relates back to that idea.  As we begin chapter 2, Paul will give Timothy some specifics of fighting the good fight.  Sometimes in the effort to be loving and tolerant and be at peace with everyone, we end up diminishing the truth or bowing at the altar of compromise.  We aren't called to lay down our doctrine to get along.  Our doctrine forms our faith, if we lay down our doctrine, our faith crumbles.

Paul was always using military language to convey many of his ideas.  In a military analogy, Paul might have said, you have to pick your battles wisely and decide which hills are worth dying on.  Paul is saying, Timothy, these battles are the battles of the good fight.  These hills are worth dying on.  These battles need to be fought and won.

Timothy needed to re-establish the boundaries to bring order back to the church.  We are people saved by grace and we want to always reflect that grace.  But there are some things you don't allow and can't compromise on.

1 Timothy 2:1-2

Right after the 'therefore' statement, Paul said, I exhort "First of all".  The 'therefore' links this passage back to the good fight.  Then, the 'first of all' is saying that the things that follow are the priority.  The first order of business in fighting this good fight is supplication, prayer, intercession and giving of thanks.  This was to be done for all men, especially those in leadership positions.

Prayer is always a priority in the church and we all need to be reminded of that from time to time.  Our inclination is to act according to the flesh in response to things we see with our eyes or experience in this life.  The aim of the good fight was not to pick a fight or create dissension.  However, we were to stand on our faith without wavering.  To do so required supplications, prayer, intercession and giving thanks; these are 4 of the 7 words that are used in reference to communication with God.  Were the people in that church were failing to communicate with their God?  Possibly, maybe even probably.  At times we all fail at this. 

• Supplication is simply asking God for something.  It's saying, God I need this, protect me as I go here, show me what I need there, guard my heart in this matter.  help me in my attitude, provide me with opportunity, and so on.  Supplication is our list of needs and requests we take to God.  The Greek word for supplication is also translated prayer in the New Testament.
• The second type of communication is a word translated to 'prayers'.  This word for prayer is a more general term referring to all communication with God.  Our prayers shouldn't just be a list of stuff we want or need.  If the only time we talk to God is when we need something; that's not a relationship.  If that's all we do, we are missing out on so much.

Our prayers should reflect the relationship we have.  In first Thessalonians 5, Paul said, pray without ceasing.  We should endeavor to keep the lines of communication always open.  The better the communication is, the deeper the relationship will be.  What might this look like?  As we sit before a meal, we never fail to that our Father in heaven.  As we awake in the morning, we look to the Father before our feet hit the floor.  And we say, “I'm walking with you today Lord, by your power and with your help.”   As we sit before God's word, we say, “Lord I don't get it, I don't understand, will you show it to me.”  If we see a rainbow, we are moved to spontaneously praise God in prayer.  At the birth of a loved one, we respond in praise.  All these are under that category of prayer.  In our relationship through prayer we'll be moved, blessed, given peace, brought to joyful tears, taught wisdom, strengthened, felt loved when we know we don't deserve it.  And at times we will be completely baffled as we try to understand an incomprehensible God.

• The previously discussed broad word for prayer ties closely with the 3rd word Paul uses: intercession.  This word means coming together for a meeting, an interview or conference.  In this case though, it is with the pleading for another. 

Jesus intercedes on our behalf before the father.  He is in conference with the Father on our behalf.  Our intercession is coming before the God on behalf of others.  It is bringing the needs of another before God.  This could be praying for someone else's salvation, healing, protection or guidance.

• Then, the last word in this short list of Paul's highest priority in the church, is giving thanks.  This isn't just being thankful for all I have.  It's an attitude of gratitude to God.  Even when the world is crushing us and beating us up, we can still find reasons for being thankful.  No matter what is happening in this world, we are saved by grace and nothing can change that.

The first 3 words have all been translated to ‘prayer’ in one place or another.  If you boil this first passage down in the context of fighting the good fight.  The primary battle takes place when we pray, pray, pray and offer thanks.  These things are to be done for all men, even our enemies.  There are no boundaries of who we pray for; even those who persecute us; even those who seem to be against everything we hold dear.

In Ephesus, there were all kinds of threats to the church.  There were many working against sound doctrine but also others that were just openly hostile to believers.  On the other side, there was a belief that Christians were trying to overthrow kings.  When Paul wrote this, persecution was on the rise and Godless Nero was emperor of Rome.  Nero was notoriously cruel to Christians.  God didn't call us to war against the governments of the world.  The governments believed the Christians were claiming a higher authority and that they were undermining the state.  And it's likely this was going on in some circles of Christianity because it is still going on today.

Paul said they were to offer these prayers and thanks for the kings and all who are in authority.  We don't battle against flesh and blood and the things we see.  We battle against dark forces of evil.  And those battles are fought in prayer.  In this way, Christians can live peaceful and quiet lives in godliness and holiness.

Praying for our president, for example, doesn't mean we are in agreement with all he does.  We pray for the man who holds the office, we respect the authority granted to Him by our God.  Then, believers would be left alone to worship and seek God, leading a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence.

1 Timothy 2:3-4

It is good and acceptable and right to offer our prayers for our leaders.  God desires all men to be saved and it should be in our prayers that the leaders of our country would do their jobs with Godly values.  Wouldn't our country be a different place if that happened?  We tend to look at many of our leaders as crooks and hacks because frankly they've earned that reputation.  We shouldn't write them off as lost, though.  That's not our job.  We should pray for their salvation and that their eyes would be opened to the truth.

Paul is conveying to Timothy, don't go to war with the government, that's not part of the good fight.  That hill isn't worth dying on.  We're not competing against them in any way.  We are to “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”  When we are a good citizen, we reflect our awesome God.

1 Timothy 2:5-7

Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, no one comes to the Father except through me.”  There is One God and there is only One way for fallen men to be in right standing with that God, that is through Jesus.  Paul called Him the Man Christ Jesus.  He came to earth fully Man and lived a sinless life.  He was also fully God, a full and equal part of the Godhead.  These are important Doctrinal statements.  There are many churches out there that teach other things about Jesus.  If you don't have a right understanding of who He is, how can we fully trust in Him?  It's imperative we have the right Jesus.

Jesus, being fully God and fully man is the only one who was qualified to be a mediator.  A mediator went between two parties to resolve a conflict.  The conflict is our sinful nature.  It cannot abide in the presence of the holiness of God.  Jesus gave Himself as a ransom for all men.  This includes the saints prior to the crucifixion who looked forward in faith for the coming messiah and it includes all men since then.

Matthew 20:28 says, “Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”  His life was given as a ransom for all but it will only be applied to the many, not the all because many others will reject the offer.  The ransom won't be forced on anyone.  It must be asked for.  Men and women must understand their brokenness and understand God's holiness, then their heart will be humbled.  They will see the great divide and cry out to their mediator, Jesus Christ.

Jesus was crucified between two criminals.  Matthew 27 says, even the robbers who were crucified with Him reviled Him with the same thing.  Both men joined the Roman soldiers and the Jews in their mocking of Jesus.  Then Luke adds (chapter 23:39) that one of the criminals blasphemed Jesus.  The other thief then rebuked him, saying, “Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation?  And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong.” Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”  Incredible.

This thief on the cross experienced a change of heart.  He heard Jesus cry out to the father to forgive those Roman soldiers because they didn't understand.  He knew His guilt and came to the knowledge of God and looked to the cross and called Jesus his Lord.  And he was saved.  That man will be in heaven.  We'll get to hear his testimony.  The other thief held onto his pride and unbelief.  The ransom paid for Him went unclaimed.  He went to eternity believing in his own goodness and he found out it had no eternal value or worth.

There is one God and one Mediator between God and men.  The world, Oprah and even many so called evangelical pastors say this view is too narrow.  They say it's elitist and bigoted because it sets Christianity above all the other religions of the world.  How could everything else be wrong?  That's like having a truckload of keys when you want to come in the locked front door of your house.  You only need one key, the right key.  All the other keys are wrong.  They are keys.  They might be fancy, maybe golden, possibly handed down through many generations, maybe hundreds of years but they do nothing to get you through the door.

When you are on a jet and you're about to land can you imagine someone saying, Mr. Pilot you are awfully close minded.  Why do you get to call yourself a pilot and we don't?  It hurts the rest of our feelings and bruises our self-esteem.  We want to be pilots also, we want to land the plane.  No one says that.  They're completely on board with the pilot's exclusive ability to fly the plane.  They don't want to land the plane, they want to believe the truth that is the trained pilot.  Truth is gravity, truth is that jet is going to descend.  We would rather have it in the hands of someone we trust and believe in.  Why then, when it comes to eternal salvation does the world deny that Jesus is The Way?

You always hear the argument, "What about these natives on the deserted island that have never heard the name of Jesus?"  I don't know, I'll leave that up to God.  Jesus said His life was ransomed for them also.  But when a man stands before God, I don't think you’re going to say, God, I didn't follow you because I didn't think it seemed fair to the natives on idolatry Island.  Jesus gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time, Paul said.  To deny or reject that ransom is to say no thank you Jesus, I don't believe your blood is sufficient, I have my own beliefs or I believe nothing at all.

The saving grace of Jesus Christ is an amazing and magnificent offer made to the lowest of creatures.  To reject it is equally remarkable and startling and those who have done so will end up with an eternity to be tortured by their own pride and arrogance in making that decision.  That's sounds a little like hellfire and brimstone preaching doesn't it?  But it's truth.

There is one mediator, Jesus, given for all men and Paul said he was an apostle appointed to the gentiles.  In Ephesus, Timothy must have been battling a group of Jews who were claiming access to God that was exclusive to them.  They said the Greeks and everyone else had no part in God.  Paul started off by exhorting Timothy and those in Ephesus to be in prayer for all men.  "All men" included those in Government, those who were unsaved and it included all the Jews as well as the gentiles.

Paul continued in his exhortation by telling them there is one God, one Mediator in Jesus, there is One Way.  Jesus died for the Jew and the Gentile alike.  And in verse 7 Paul says, not only that, I was appointed an apostle to the Gentiles. 

In this short little passage, we see Doctrine that would exclude and divide us from other churches.  And you also see a call of unity to all who would believe.  There are no classes within the body of believers.  We shouldn't think ourselves better than those Christians on the other side of town, or of another race, or culture, or town.  We are one in Christ.

1 Timothy 2:8-10

Based on the previous verses calling for life characterized by the following, he made it personal for Timothy to apply to the church there.

• Prayer & supplication delivered in thankfulness
• Quiet and peaceable life
• Godliness & reverence

Paul first spoke to the men.  They were called to be men of prayer.  Lifting up holy hands was the posture of public prayer.  This was a call for the men to set aside wrath, bickering and the things that divide.  It’s difficult to maintain division when you are praying with someone.  It was the men’s job to lead the congregation in prayer.  Their life would be displayed as godly men.

In a similar thought, the women were to present themselves as godly women.  This would be a separation from the Greek culture and its expectation of women.  It was important for the ladies to dress and accessorize in moderation and modesty.  This meant they weren’t to overdress or under dress.  They weren’t to dress to bring attention to yourself.  It was the belief that how you dressed displayed the inner person.  It was the inward adornment that was to be attractive to godly men.

There are several ways this can be viewed, all of which might have been applicable.  At worst, the outward adornment was likened to prostitutes.  At best, it shows pride and self-centeredness, both of which are contrary to the spirit of Christ.  When the wealthy women showed up with expensive clothing and jewelry, the attention went to them rather than Christ.  Such focus on clothing was especially unbecoming in church.

When you dress and look in the mirror what is the statement you are making?  You need to ask yourself if your attire is proper for a woman professing godliness.  And you need to consider not just whether the other ladies will think you are beautiful or that you catch your husband's eye.  Are you dressing to turn other men's heads?  Does your clothing leading others to sin? 

1 Timothy 2:11

There is some indication that the false teachers were disrupting the church and interfering with the teaching.  Soms suspect the false teachers were instigating the women’s attempt to usurp the authority and teaching of the men.  The context of this entire section was maintaining proper order and remembering the purpose and the focus of their gathering. 

This wasn’t to silence the ladies so as to sit quietly in church and never speak.  It's very clear the women were an important part of the early church.  Jesus first appeared to a woman.  We saw women traveling with the apostles and Paul mentions many of them in his letters.  And there were important women in that congregation at Ephesus.  But problems arose in Ephesus at the hands of the women. 

• This may have been because women had a newfound freedom and respect they had never experienced. 
• They may have just been overzealous in asking questions and wanting to learn and it may have been causing disruption. 

We don't really know the specifics and it's not important to the principle.  This verse isn't a call to suppress women in any way.  That's what the culture was doing at that time.  No, this verse means the women were to be learning and present in the church.  That was a major change from what they were used to.  In that culture, women were not respected in any way.  Christianity changed that.  Suddenly women had freedom in Christ.  They had a voice and they could serve and lead.  This verse simply means the ladies are to learn without contention. 

A woman was to be submitted to her husband.  If she was not married she was under the authority of her father.  If she had questions or contentions about what was taught, she was to ask those questions and work that out through her husband.  Not because he was smarter but because God gave him authority.  This was probably God's way for the ladies to keep the pressure on their men.  The question for us then becomes, does this apply to the church today, either all or in part?

The submission talked about here seems too often misunderstood and abused.  Jesus submitted to God the Father.  Men submit to the Jesus, the head of the church.  Women submit to the men and Jesus.  Children submit to their parents.  That's the order or rank established by God.  In every example where this rank is broken down, the results are either chaotic, confused or ungodly.  One obvious example is that men have given up the spiritual leadership of the household.  Much of the problems we face today in the family and church is because men fail to be the spiritual leader of the family.  Men, the bible expects your wife to submit to you and for you to lead your family. 

You can look at the military, politics, work and church for examples.  People will follow a good leader, even when they don't agree with all they say and do.  It's a man's job to lead and model Jesus Christ to his wife and family.  Any man that would take this verse and use it to suppress his wife is a fool.  Any man that thinks he is smarter than a woman because God gave him authority is ignorant.  The wise man who recognizes the responsibility of his authority will seek the counsel from his wife, learn from her, respect her and model Jesus Christ to her.  A man standing in the rank given to him by God will honor and love his wife and respect all women.

1 Timothy 2:12

Remember the context of this passage.  It is instruction to Timothy to re-establish control over the church and put things in order.  Was the disorder because women were teaching?  Or, was the disorder because of what they were teaching, because of their lack of training?  This is the crux of the debate. 

Paul didn’t say that Timothy shouldn’t permit these things, but that he didn’t permit them.  It appears as Paul’s standard.  To preach is to establish a sense of authority.  It appears that it is not a woman's place to teach doctrine or give scriptural interpretation to men.  God intended men to do this.  It is also clear, in many current circumstances, men have failed to step forward and assume this responsibility.  As men have failed, women have stepped up to assume the role. 

This doesn't mean a woman can never speak in church.  It does mean that a woman who has a problem or question in regard to the teaching doesn’t challenge the teacher in the church.  Her questions and concerns were to be routed through her husband.  He would either correct her or stand with her.  He would then bring the concern to the church as appropriate.

1 Timothy 2:13-15

Sin came to the world through Adam, not Eve.  The bible doesn't blame Eve in any way.  Adam was given the command from God:

“Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” 

Eve wasn't even around yet.  Adam was given the command and authority.  Then Eve was given to Adam.  She was under his authority.  She was deceived and fell to sin while Adam said nothing and did not intervene.  Adam then sinned willingly to join her.  The first man failed in his role as spiritual leader and we've be following suit ever since.  Guys, it's part of our fallen nature to shy away from that responsibility.

How is the woman saved through child-bearings?  Paul may have feared he disheartened the women and he wants to encourage them.  Paul's point was, even though God didn't allow them to teach they shouldn't feel inferior or somehow less important in the church.  The word 'saved' here doesn't mean salvation.  It means healing or rescue.  The women, through childbearing and rearing had the opportunity to bring up godly young men and women.  Their lessons of faith, love, holiness and self-control were learned by their offspring.  The ladies, particularly the mommies, have a profound ability to affect our society.

Women are identified with Eve.  The curse of Genesis 3:16 would characterize life outside the garden.  But from the curse would come grace.

There was probably a close relationship in Paul’s mind between what he wrote here and what Moses wrote in Genesis 3:16—the promise of the Saviour who would be “made of a woman” (Gal 4:4). It was through a woman that the Saviour came into the world. (Keep in mind that Jesus had an earthly mother but not an earthly father—Matt. 1:18ff; Luke 1:34–35.)

Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 2, p. 219). Victor Books.

The ladies are rescued from the stigma of being identified with Eve by their faith, love, holiness and self-control as they lead the next generation to the Lord.  And, even though Eve fell as the first female and God said,

“I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception;

 In pain you shall bring forth children;

Your desire shall be for your husband,

And he shall rule over you.”

(NKJV, Genesis 3:16; 1982, Thomas Nelson)

It was also through childbearing and through the woman that God brought the Messiah, our savior.  The woman brought hope and salvation through Jesus Christ.  And that salvation is available to all men.

We see in chapter 2 Paul exhorting Timothy in these doctrines.  Some call for a hard stand that divides, others for unity of all believers.  And the overall message to Timothy was, fight the good fight.  Don't allow all the junk of the world to bog you down in your ministry.  Stand on doctrine, stand on truth, fight when you need to, but know what to fight for.

©2011, 2023 Doug Ford