First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men [every kind of person], for kings and all who are in authority, in order that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and moral dignity. This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all kinds of men to be saved and to come to the personal knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, a man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom [Kinsman redemption] for all, the testimony borne at the proper time. And for this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying) as a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth. (1Ti 2:1-7)
Paul is writing to Timothy to tell him how believers are supposed to conduct themselves in the church of the living God which is the pillar and ground of truth. One of the ministries of believers is to pray for their fellow human beings. As always he gives the principles behind the reason we should be praying. A number of those are listed by Paul.
In verse one, he urged or continually encouraged believers to practice four things in prayer on the behalf of every kind of person. In the English text, it simply has every person, but in the Greek text the emphasis is on every kind of person. Paul says first of all to make a general request for everyone or every kind of person, then he goes on to say have a conversation with God about such people (that is what the word prayer means "to have a conversation"). Then he said to make intercession on their behalf that is to ask for things that will benefit the kinds of people we will meet in this world. Finally he said make thanksgiving for them because every once in a while they will benefit you, and we should be grateful when we are benefitted.
Verse two showed that he was talking about kinds of people because he mentions Kings and all who are leaders that we should pray for them. In a sense the prayer for leaders is self-serving. Because the result will be that we can lead a tranquil and quiet life. The word tranquil refers to an untroubled life and the second word refers to a calm life. That will allow us to live a godly life. In Greek the word godly refers to a positive and healthy service to God. If we should have such a life, the result will be a life of moral dignity. The Greek word that Paul used referred to a morally healthy and dignified way of living. It is often used in contrast to a drunken and uncontrolled lifestyle.
God the Father views this as noble and acceptable. He is called the Savior God in verse three. In Scripture both God the Father and Jesus Christ are called Savior. The Holy Spirit is never called Savior. The reason is that it is the son who satisfied the Father and is the Father who sent the Son to rescue us and he is the one who pronounced us justified before him. The Holy Spirit supports the ministry of the Father and Son but he is not credited with either providing the satisfaction or being the one who is satisfied by the work of Christ.
So Paul went on to explain the rationale behind why we should have an interest in non-Christian human beings. And he began verse four this way "who every kind of a man he desires to be saved." When he wrote this letter in Greek he placed ìevery kind of manî at the very front of the sentence to emphasize who God was really interested in. God is continually desiring that they should be saved. His desire is sincere and earnest. How this squares with divine election, this side of heaven we will never understand. But it is a joy to know that God sincerely desires the best for every person on the planet. He also desires that they come to a true personal knowledge of the truth.
Then, in explanation of what he just said he told believers about the divine arrangement with in the Trinity. There is one God. In that he is referring to God the Father who is presented in Scripture as the fountain of life for the other two members of the Trinity. Divine life flows out of him into the Son of God and onto the Holy Spirit. Three members exist within deity but the central person deity is God the Father. As there is one God, there is one mediator. The word mediator in Greek literally means the one who stands in the middle. The word is used for a person who is a arbitrator between parties who have a difficulty. The term occurred often in Greek contracts in the ancient world. So Jesus is placed between humanity and God as the one who is there to arbitrate the differences. Paul said powerfully that this arbitrator is a man, Christ Jesus. Our English texts often have "the man Christ Jesus," but the Greek text has "a man Christ Jesus." The difference is significant. It is emphasizing that Jesus is a normal human being who will speak on the behalf all other human beings. He is one of us. God has become one of us in Christ.
Then Paul went on to make this even more personal. He said this one gave himself as a kinsman Redeemer. Paul used the Greek word that is often used as a substitute for the Hebrew word Goel. A Goel is a kinsman Redeemer who can only serve in that position if he is our closest relative, in effect a family member. The job of that Goel all was to redeem and rescue a family member who was in trouble. In this case Jesus Christ died on the behalf of family members. God the Father not only placed Jesus in the position of being a human being, but he counted him to be the closest relative of each one of us. Then, he made him our representative before his throne in heaven. Such amazing Grace. Such interest in who we are. Such love for the lost.
Then, Paul stated that the testimony or witness for this will appear in its proper seasons. The seasons he referred to is the time of the proclamation of the gospel in this world, the time of Christís judgment upon humanity when he returns, and at the end of time the great White Throne Judgment wherein the entire world of unsaved humanity is judged before him. The one who sits on that from is also the mediator between God and men.
Paul then stated that is what God has authorized him to do. He was not lying about the reality of that. It is fascinating that Paul wanted to reassure us and Timothy that these incredible truths are valid and not a fabrication. God loves us deeply.
We have a Redeemer who is our closest relative. We have a mediator who represents us and all of humanity before God in heaven. These are wonderful truths that should make us look differently at every person we meet. Each person we meet is a person that God the Father desires to be saved, and each person we meet has a personal representatives before God the Father in heaven, Jesus Christ.
