Book of 1 Timothy - Ch. 2, Vs. 4-7 (04/07/2002)

Interpreting 1 Timothy 2 by the Whole Bible

Let's see we're first Timothy chapter 2 and then we covered. I know we covered verse 4. Probably where we stop with verse 4. Okay. Well, I'm gonna pick up with verse 4 and go so it'll go smoothly. We've got a little passage here going from verse 4.

Down through verse 7 that covers one idea and then when we get to verse 8. And down through verse 15 covers another idea and I don't know if I'd get into both ideas today or I Know we'll get the first one done.

We may start into the second idea and I've asked brother Otis to allow me to teach the rest of this chapter. Even if I don't finish it. So he'll be starting with chapter 3 next time whether I finish today with chapter 2 or not.

If I don't finish then we'll come back and finish it next time. I speak. It's an important passage in it the second part of the passage down toward verse 8 through 15 a lot of controversy in the country and churches and seminaries and commentaries on this passage and to be honest, I don't see anything in this passage that difficult.

From an interpretation point of view. It's one of the clearest most easily interpreted passages in the whole Bible. It's just that most people Will not look at all the parallel passages and and first mentions and the different things.

But when you look at it all, it's very very clear. Although I will say that I think there's some clarification we can do that will be helpful. Because there are some questions that can be asked about this passage that They're very very good questions and I think they need to be answered.

So it's my hope that the Lord will help us to be able to answer this to the extent that that our congregation Anyway, will not have any questions left on this passage when we get through. It's not one of the more difficult passages.

Fortunately I don't have everybody here today. So I probably will not finish it on purpose. So I think we'll We won't finish chapter 2 today, I'll come back and finish it when we have a more of our folks here.

But we'll certainly get a good start into it. Let's pray father. We thank you so much for your Presence with us this morning and for your word and your direction that you give us in these last days. And we know that that however long we are here.

You will give us the steps we are to take and even a glance down the path a little ways and Your word is the light and the lamp that accomplishes that and we thank you for the way your Holy Spirit enlightens us to see things as we need them and So provide those things this afternoon as we study together again, and we ask it in Jesus name.

Amen. Okay. Well, let's start with First Timothy chapter 2 and Verse 4 Who will have all men to be saved and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator between God and man the man Christ Jesus Who gave himself a ransom for all to be testified in due time?

Where into 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 truth. Verity means truth. I will therefore. That I will therefore that the men in the Greek language.

It has the word thee right before the word men. That the men pray everywhere lifting up. Holy hands without wrath and doubting and we'll stop there. We may not get much further further than that today.

Bible Interpretation Principles: Context, Parallel Passages, and Grammar

Let's go back up to verse 4 just for a moment. And when I ask some of you if you could and this isn't quite fair because I didn't warn you so you don't have your Cheats and you don't hadn't looked at this in a while.

But can some of you name some of the principles of proper Bible interpretation that we studied a long time ago when we were talking through the Word of God when we first started the Doctrinal study and we talked about the Word of God itself.

We got on the one Sunday at least where we talked about proper Interpretational methods who can name there there are seven of them and we had eight I think in ours. We added one that sort of. Was an overall picture of the whole thing, but really seven very important points.

Seven or eight depending on where you read. Who can give me one out of those? They don't have to be in order. I don't think there is any particular order. So with the with brother Clarence's then we're talking about the immediate context.

You have a verse. You can't just pluck that verse out to prove your point. You have to start maybe at the first of the chapter and read all the way to the verse and pass it. Maybe go a little into the next chapter.

Make sure that you understand the context. What is the whole thing talking about in that particular passage? That's very important. What's another? Very good, that's one of my favorite ones and They they said if you didn't hear them, they said let the Bible interpret the Bible.

There's a beautiful verse that is in The parallel passage that we'll use when we get down to verse 8 and down through verse 15. That that has the scripture for that principle and I don't want to get ahead.

So I'm not going to give it. But it exactly gives that in principle in the scriptures. But let the Bible interpret the Bible very very important. You can't just take a passage this is so dangerous because people new Christians, especially will take a passage and Read it and they're thinking this way.

They're thinking this is God's Word. God is the author of it. It is absolutely true therefore this passage has to be true and they'll develop a doctrine around that passage and What they may not understand at their stage of growth is there may be five other passages that the way they're interpreting in it.

It contradicts those five other passages so you can't do that either. Not only do you have to hit the immediate context? You have to grow and mature to the point where you can take the scope of the whole Bible and make it fit within that.

And not do damage anywhere. Let the Bible let other places in the Bible we have what we call parallel passages. Look at them all let these other places. Sometimes there'll be one word or a little phrase or a sentence that's not in this passage.

That is in the other one and it'll say oh, that's what that means. And so you let the Bible interpret the Bible. Yes. That's good. Does it exactly does it relate to? For example If you were over in the Old Testament and you read the passage where it says if you find a witch you're supposed to burn them.

Okay, does that mean we do that right now today or not? I mean the Bible says so and God wrote it and it's inspired and it's perfect. It says burn the witch. How do you handle that well a new Christian might actually go out burn a witch so that's why I like new Christians so much but We always need them.

They go out and pop an abortion doctor, you know, that's just how they are. They're zealous they read one passage and they say there it is and they go after it and God accomplishes his will in that way through new Christians sometimes but as we grow We learn that you have to say does this is this primarily related to me today in this dispensation the church age.

Does it relate primarily to me or is there a secondary? Teaching here or is it's there's there some symbolic teaching. It's for me. In other words here. It is a physical story here. Could there be a spiritual truth, for instance?

Do we burn the witch or do we just learn from this that spiritually we burn the witch in our hearts and minds kind of like We talked about this morning you kill do you really go in there and kill all the Canaanites the unbelievers?

Or do you just kill them in your heart and mind and you don't let them in? So you that's a very good point. You have to ask who's it speaking to? Primarily and what's the secondary application and so forth?

What's another one? Well, we covered the ones I needed to for purposes of today. But you have some grammatical issues. You want to look up proper definitions of words and Use your strongest concordance in the Greek and the Hebrew is a good starting place.

Grammatical considerations you you know young people grammar is so important in school. I used to ask why do I need this? I'll never use it ain't that the truth. And then when I got saved I realized why because you can interpret a passage entirely incorrectly because you don't know grammar.

So you need to know good grammar and so forth. So let's let's stop there. We've named a lot of the good ones. I know we didn't catch all eight of them. But this particular passage verses four five. On down through seven there are several very important Interpretational points that you have to make sure you cover or you'll get this one wrong every time I say you I don't really think you in this room will but your friends will.

Out there that go to other churches and places. This is a particular place where you're stronger than they are used for the most part. And so maybe you need to understand why why it is that you believe like you do and this is a great passage to Study Bible interpretation why it's so important to hit all eight of those points where they're appropriate.

Sometimes you don't have all eight of them coming into play. But when they do come into play be honest with it and careful with it now. We know that this verse says now if I were a brand-new Christian and all I knew was this verse in verse 4 it says that Jesus Will have all men to be saved.

Now I'm gonna start thinking my goodness, that's wonderful news. That means every single man woman boy and girl is going to be saved. It's what it seems to say and it goes on and says and he will have all men to come unto knowledge of the truth.

Well, isn't that wonderful? Everybody is going to know the absolute truth. For there is one God one mediator between God and men the man Christ Jesus seems to even further to strengthen this position that Jesus Christ is the mediator between God and man and he brings man lost man to a holy God and makes it where they're.

All can be saved is what it would seem to be saying to the new believer. Perhaps then it goes on and it strengthens it even further. It says who gave himself a ransom for all. To be testified in due time and that's usually about where the person would stop that wants to prove what theologians Theologians call universal atonement in This church for the most part we believe in limited atonement.

We believe that Jesus died for his own but not for Satan's children. Because if he did die for Satan's children, then he failed because they're not saved and that's impossible. So we don't believe universal atonement.

Universal atonement is taught in nearly every other church in this city and in this country besides a few. Some of the Bible churches. Even even that hold to to Calvinism per se they will hold back on that one issue and say well.

But that one I think Calvin was wrong. I believe it is universal atonement. So even Even probably the Bible Church across the street Believes Jesus died for every man woman boy and girl and they would teach that.

There is there's just too many unanswerable questions with other scriptures if you take that position. But it is a popular position and they'll take passages like this now I'll say this there are a few other passages that seem to teach that out of all of them this one Would be the most difficult to deal with if you were a novice and had not studied much and hadn't put much thought into it.

Now it's I don't believe it's difficult. But I'm just saying out of the ones we have this one's the most difficult. Because on the others the one I'm thinking of I think it's in 1st Peter, maybe 2nd Peter I don't remember exactly but it's one where it says he He is not willing that any should perish.

You go to the first part of that chapter and you do the context rule. That was mentioned and you see very clearly that that's written only to God's children. So it's easy to see in that passage that it's saying that I'm not willing that any of my own perish.

That one's very simple to deal with this one. You can go up to the first chapter to it, you know it says all men and You go into the next verse and start some about Kings and authorities. We're supposed to pray for well.

We know they're not all saved. So it really seems in the immediate context that it's dealing with all men which would lead us to think even lost people. Gives it a very makes it a very strong passage for those who believe in universal atonement to use as ammunition.

The problem is they are violating one of the most important principles of Bible interpretation. And that is let the Bible interpret the Bible. There are way too many other passages that this would contradict.

If it meant that. And so it cannot mean that unless you want to go mess with those other passages and sometimes they'll do that. They'll go change them. You can't do that. You can't change any of it. It speaks for itself.

It is written thus saith the Lord. So this cannot contradict the other plain passages that teach that Jesus died for the elect. Such as John chapter 17 which we've been in just recently if that comes to mind.

It's just so clear. He says I pray not for the world, but for those that the Father gave me etc, etc. So what does this mean? Well, if you were Jewish this afternoon, this would not be difficult. If you think with the Jewish mind.

What you'll understand is when it says in verse 4 who will have all men to be saved. Obviously, it doesn't mean all men. There's no one in this room or anywhere in any church that would even those who believe universal atonement.

They wouldn't sit there and say yeah, I think all men are going to be saved. So all doesn't mean all there. It obviously doesn't mean all men are going to be saved what it simply has to mean the best Interpretation when you use all eight points is all men to a Jew means not only just you.

All men means people from the Jewish family people from the Gentile family whether it be Japheth people from Shem even people from Ham all men. Jesus died for all men in that sense. It's the only way that it can fit the whole Bible and I believe that's exactly what it means.

Let me take you to Parallel passage that and there's more information in the immediate text. We'll get to in a minute that verifies it to Matter of fact, let's do that first. I'm gonna I'm gonna take you into Ephesians chapter 2 if you want to turn there but I want to read on down through verse 7 because verse 7 is Extremely important in the immediate context if you're going to get a proper interpretation for these verses.

He says Who gave himself a ransom for all now? I'm telling you that I believe that means all Families of the world not just Jews. It means the Gentiles and the Jews. He gave himself a ransom for all to be testified in due time now I offer verse 7 as immediate Contextual proof that that's what Paul the sense of it is where he comes in and he says we're into I am ordained a preacher an apostle a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.

He is making a special point that he as proof of this as proof that Jesus Died for the whole world as proof that he desires that all Kinds of men from the different families as proof of the fact that he died not just for the Jew But for also the Gentile.

He says I am an apostle called to preach to the Gentile that proves it you Jews look at me. You know, why am I not going back to Jerusalem to preach to the Jews? Why am I preaching to the Gentiles? Why did God call me if it weren't true that Jesus died for them to that's what this passage teaches and Paul That is the sense of his message now to get a parallel passage to let the Bible sort of speak about this passage.

Let's look at Ephesians chapter 2 starting with verse 12.

You know.

I should mention this verse 8 says I will therefore that men pray everywhere. The phrase Everywhere is a subtle but important proof. Everywhere means other than just in the Jewish parts of the world. Let men pray everywhere.

So it's it is in the immediate context. But now in Ephesians 2 12 that at that time you were without Christ. Being aliens from the Commonwealth of Israel. Now all the human Penman of this passage is speaking again.

Only this time he's writing to the church at Ephesus and He begins to talk about these people who were called aliens strangers. Having no hope and people without God that's all in verse 12 of Ephesians 2.

Now, these are the Gentiles by the way verse 13 and now. See the contrast but now in Christ Jesus you who were Sometime or once upon a time far off you were made near by the blood of Christ. Who is that?

That's the Gentiles. He is proving that Jesus Christ Desires that all men be saved that all men. He cannot mean all men because it doesn't mean all men. Not everybody will be saved. In fact, Jesus himself said very few there be that passed through the narrow gate.

So it doesn't mean all men in the sense of individuals. It means all men in the sense of nations in the sense of peoples. It means Jew and Gentile and he goes on to present this case. But now in Christ Jesus who were sometimes a far off or made nigh by the blood for he is our peace.

Now obviously verse 13 doesn't mean that every Gentile everywhere is going to be saved. What it means is now you Gentiles who were far off as a people can be made nigh. For he is our peace who hath made both one.

Now, you see he didn't say made every individual one. He said both both Jew and Gentile the Jew and the Gentile he is made both one and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us not only between God and man as the Curtain was split in twain from the top of the bottom.

But also between Jew and Gentile if you have a born-again Jew and a born-again Gentile, they're brothers. They don't have all this Problem going on like just secular people do between Jew and Gentile.

They're all of a sudden they're brothers and they love each other and. So he is broken down the middle wall of partition between the Jew and the Gentile having abolished in his flesh The hatred. Even the law of commandments contained the ordinances for to make of himself of the two one new man.

So making peace. This of the two one new man. It means he brings us all under the covenant of Abraham and we're one family now. It's not Jew Gentile not like Old Testament. Everybody got to become a Jew to get saved never meant that we're in fact.

Both have to come out from what they were in and be put into the family of Abraham and the two are made one it teaches very clearly and. So making peace that they might be reconciled both unto God in one body by the cross having slain the enmity thereof.

Came and preached peace to you who used to be far off. That's the Gentile and to them that were near that's the Jew far through him. We both that's both Jew and Gentile have access by one spirit and to the father now.

Therefore, you're no more strangers and foreigners if you're a Gentile. But your fellow citizens with the Saints and of the household of God now notice verse 20. This has nothing to do with today's topic, but we're here.

So I won't throw it in here and Are built upon the foundation of the Apostles and the prophets notice. It doesn't say that you were built on the foundation of Judaism. Isn't that interesting? Because he's speaking to Jews and Gentiles and he says no you if you're a Christian if you're born again.

You're built upon the foundation of the Apostles Christ's Apostles and the prophets and by the way that means the New Testament prophets that lived in the book of Acts and through the first time early days of The church age they those early prophet New Testament prophets and Apostles are the foundation Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone.

Judaism is not mentioned anywhere in that passage. In whom all the building fit framed. Framely fit fitly framed together groweth into a holy temple in the Lord the whole building means Jews and Gentiles people from every nation in the world in whom he also were built together for a habitation of God through the spirits and verse 3 the Spirit verse chapter 3 verse 1 says for this cause I Paul the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles.

You see it's the same thing that he says in 1st Timothy chapter 2 verse 7 where he says I am ordained a preacher an apostle. To the Gentiles in faith and truth. He always brings this fact in when he started to talk about Jew and Gentile so I my contention is that that is a very strong evidence in verse 7 and Bert the very first part of verse 8 that Paul just as he does in Ephesians 2.

He brings in this idea of the two the Jew and the Gentile. When he's trying to discuss the fact that Jesus is not willing that any should perish now if you take that particular line. Where you can line up the whole Bible without contradicting anything anywhere in the Bible.

You can certainly line up this immediate contact text when you drop down to verse 7 and you include the fact you don't just stop with verse 6. You go into verse 7 you include the fact that he is saying now listen.

You know I'm talking to the fact that the Gentiles can be saved. You can go into the book of Acts in many places. Especially chapter 10 where God himself had to prove to Peter that a Jew that a Gentile could even be saved.

He had the sheet come down with all the unclean animals, and he said Peter kill and eat. Peter said not me Lord I don't eat that stuff. It's unclean. God said Peter what I call clean. Don't call unclean anymore.

And then he had him witness to a Gentile immediately and the Gentile got saved. His name was Carnelius. Maybe he's already saved, but but Peter instructed him In the right way, and it taught Peter for the first time in his life the understanding that Jesus is not willing that any should perish.

So I think that's enough. Said about that point it's a I think you can see how it clears up a Passage that some would use to try to teach a universal atonement. It's not necessary that this passage teach that at all when you consider the fact that Paul is simply talking about Jew and Gentile can be saved he is quite understandably not saying every individual can be saved or will be never would he say that.

Even the Rankest Armenian around us today wouldn't say that every single man and woman are going to be saved. So this does not vary from anything that Jesus teaches in John chapter 17. Doesn't vary from anything in all the whole book of John where he says that all that the Father has given me I will lose none.

It fits in perfect harmony with everything that the Bible teaches about the fact that when Jesus died on that cross his death was absolutely perfectly Powerful and sufficient, I don't like the word sufficient, but it's what the theologians use.

They say his blood was sufficient what they mean by that. It doesn't take anything else. One drop of that blood was enough to save every single person that God knew before the foundation of the world as we discussed Deuteronomy 6 and 7 this morning every single one of them that God knew as his children that blood Perfectly atoned and Took their sins away.

That blood did not take one sin away from a goat or one of Satan's children. Because if it did they would end up in heaven, too. So universal atonement is a lie. It is a modern lie. It's not so modern.

The Roman Catholic Church has believed it for 2 ,000 years but the the Protestants have picked it up only in recent days and It's a lie, so don't believe it it's a popular lie. Sounds a whole lot better to say Jesus died for everybody like the guy says over in Wortham coming through cheese.

Jesus loves you no matter what you do that, you know, it sounds really really good to some people. But unfortunately, it doesn't fit what the Bible teaches so Jesus Loves his own. Jesus died for his own.

It's absolutely true we don't know who they all are and we're we're there for to witness to to everyone the Lord leads us to witness to and To give good news as God leads and one thing we do know John chapter 10 says this is a fact.

My sheep hear my voice doesn't say they might hear my voice. Is it they hear my voice and I know them and they follow me. And none of them shall perish so I think I'll stop there because I'm gonna take that same amount of time to cover from verse 8 through verse 15.

And be unfair to you to try to get that done this afternoon. It never worked. So we'll cover that brother Otis. Do you want to start with chapter 3 next week and then let me teach this the week after or do you want me to just?

Finish this next week. Okay. Well, why don't you do this? Why don't you prepare the first part of chapter 3? And if I don't see you the crowd that I want nearly everybody here when I do it. That'd give me the option of doing it next time or the next.

All right, let's stand and pray together. It's the kind of message that really the whole church Needs to get on the same page father, we thank you for your word once again and Lord we thank you that you help us To be able to interpret scriptures.

We know that we don't get them all interpreted on the same day. We don't get the revelation all at one time. You give it to us as you know that we need to have it. But we thank you that you give us the equipment.

You give us the Word of God. You give us in some cases many many passages that speak to the issue of other passages and you give us your Holy Spirit. You can teach us the absolute truth as he wills. We thank you for all these things and help us to glory in the truths that you've given us up to this very moment in time and help us to be Always curious about the new truths that you will give us tomorrow.

Be with us today help our young people to remember the message this morning of all of us to be reminded of the message and Father protect us on our ways home and we ask it in Jesus name. Amen.