1 Timothy 2 KJV
Instructions on Worship
1 Timothy Chapter 2: Instructions on Worship
The chapter's mandate to pray for 'kings, and for all that are in authority' (v.2) places early Christian worship in direct dialogue with Roman imperial cult practices, subtly subverting emperor worship by redirecting loyalty through the one true Mediator rather than through civic religion.
1 exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;
2 For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.
3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;
4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
6 Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.
7 Whereunto I am ordained a preacher, and an apostle, (I speak the truth in Christ, and lie not;) a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and verity.
8 I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.
9 In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array;
10 But (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works.
11 Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection.
12 But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.
13 For Adam was first formed, then Eve.
14 And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.
15 Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety.
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Did You Know?
The chapter's mandate to pray for 'kings, and for all that are in authority' (v.2) places early Christian worship in direct dialogue with Roman imperial cult practices, subtly subverting emperor worship by redirecting loyalty through the one true Mediator rather than through civic religion.
Verses 5-6's declaration of Christ as the 'one mediator' who gave himself a 'ransom for all' employs marketplace language of redemption that echoes the Greco-Roman slave trade while simultaneously countering both Jewish temple sacrificial systems and proto-Gnostic claims of secret knowledge for an elite.
The grounding of male authority in Adam being 'first formed' (v.13) appeals not merely to chronology but to ancient Near Eastern primogeniture customs, where the firstborn held unique covenantal and inheritance rights, thereby framing church order as an extension of creation's hierarchical pattern.
Verse 15's phrase 'she shall be saved in childbearing' offers a potential reversal of the Genesis 3 curse on Eve, interpreting the woman's role through the lens of the promised seed rather than as a literal soteriological mechanism tied to physical birth.
The prohibition against women 'usurping authority' (v.12) uses a rare term that elsewhere in classical literature denotes both violent takeover and self-appointed initiative, suggesting the concern is not teaching per se but the disruption of established relational structures rooted in Genesis 2-3.
Commentary & Study Notes Jamieson-Fausset-Brown (1871) ยท Public Domain therefore โ taking up again the general subject of the Epistle in continuation (2Ti 2:1). "What I have therefore to say to thee by way of a charge (1Ti 1:3, 18), is," &c. that,โฆ
Classic verse-by-verse commentary on 1 Timothy 2 from Jamieson, Fausset & Brown (1871). Covers: Public worship. Direction as to intercessions for all men, since Christ is a ransom for all. The duties of men and women respectively in respect to public prayer. Woman's subjection; Her sphere of duty.
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- therefore โ taking up again the general subject of the Epistle in continuation (2Ti 2:1). "What I have therefore to say to thee by way of a charge (1Ti 1:3, 18), is," &c. that, first of all... be made โ ALFORD takes it, "I exhort first of all to make." "First of all," doubtless, is to be connected with "I exhort"; what I begin with (for special reasons), is... As the destruction of Jerusalem drew near, the Jews (including those at Ephesus) were seized with the dream of freedom from every yoke; and so virtually "'blasphemed" (compare 1Ti 1:20) God's name by "speaking evil of dignities" (1Ti 6:1; 2Pe 2:10; Jude 8). Hence Paul, in opposition, gives prominence to the injunction that prayer be made for all men, especially for magistrates and kings (Tit 3:1-3) [OLSHAUSEN]. Some professing Christians looked down on all not Christians, as doomed to perdition; but Paul says all men are to be prayed for, as Christ died for all (1Ti 2:4-6). supplications โ a term implying the suppliant's sense of need, and of his own insufficiency. prayers โ implying devotion. intercessions โ properly the coming near to God with childlike confidence, generally in behalf of another. The accumulation of terms implies prayer in its every form and aspect, according to all the relations implied in it.
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- For kings โ an effectual confutation of the adversaries who accused the Christians of disaffection to the ruling powers (Ac 17:7; Ro 13:1-7). all... in authority โ literally, "in eminence"; in stations of eminence. The "quiet" of Christians was often more dependent on subordinate rulers, than on the supreme king; hence, "all... in authority" are to be prayed for. that we may lead โ that we may be blessed with such good government as to lead...; or rather, as Greek, "to pass" or "spend." The prayers of Christians for the government bring down from heaven peace and order in a state. quiet โ not troubled from without. peaceable โ "tranquil"; not troubled from within [OLSHAUSEN]. "He is peaceable (Greek) who makes no disturbance; he is quiet (Greek) who is himself free from disturbance" [TITTMANN]. in all godliness โ "in all (possible... requisite) piety" [ALFORD]. A distinct Greek word, 1Ti 2:10, expresses "godliness." honesty โ Greek, "gravity" (Tit 2:2, 7), "decorum," or propriety of conduct. As "piety" is in relation to God, "gravity" is propriety of behavior among men. In the Old Testament the Jews were commanded to pray for their heathen rulers (Ezr 6:10; Jer 29:7). The Jews, by Augustus' order, offered a lamb daily for the Roman emperor, till near the destruction of Jerusalem. The Jewish Zealots, instigated by Eleazar, caused this custom to cease [JOSEPHUS, Wars of the Jews, 2.17], whence the war originated, according to JOSEPHUS.
Read all 17 notes on 1 Timothy 2 โ