1 Timothy 2, "Do You Know How to Behave?"

The Priority of Prayer for All Kinds of People

1st Timothy chapter 2 starting in verse 1 hear the word of the Lord. First of all, then I urge this supplications prayers intercessions and thanksgivings be made for all people. For kings and all who are in high positions that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life godly and dignified in every way.

This is good. And it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of The truth for there is one God and there is one mediator between God and men the man Christ Jesus who gave himself as a ransom for all which is the testimony given at the proper time.

For this what for this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle. I'm telling the truth. I'm not lying a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth. I Desire then that in every place the men should pray lifting up holy hands without anger or quarreling.

Likewise also that women should adorn themselves in Respectable apparel with modesty and self-control not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire. But with what is proper for women who profess godliness with good works.

Let a woman learn quietly with all submissiveness. I do not permit a woman to teach her to exercise authority over a man rather. She is to remain quiet for Adam was formed first then Eve and Adam was not deceived.

But the woman was deceived and became a transgressor yet. She will be saved through childbearing if they continue in faith and love and holiness with self-control. If the Lord has blessings to the reading of his holy word.

Knowing How to Behave in God's Household

Well, do you know how to behave? Mr. Perry knows how to behave. My very first memory of church is a small kid probably about Raymond's it maybe a little younger Raymond. It's being dragged out by the arm by my father and given a spanking because I wasn't behaving in church.

You know how to behave in church, we're not gonna have to drag anyone out by the arm and spank anybody. Here are we. I'm looking at. I'm looking around. We so we say that to kids when they misbehave. Don't you know how to behave.

We expect all adults though. Of course to know how to behave, you know to not just be talking about randomly. In the middle of sermons that kind of thing you expect to know that we we so internalize the rules of how to behave.

You know, let me shake hands when you greet someone greet him with a smile. If you're meeting for the first time you give your Name, we don't even have to think about it anymore. It's just we just think that's normal.

We think that's the way everyone is but that's in a way when we find a little nerve-wracking. To meet someone of a different culture because now suddenly you have to really think. About the basic rules of how to behave if you're with Chinese take your shoes off at the front door.

Don't forget that don't go in their house with shoes on what's wrong with you? You know how to behave if you hand them something do it with both hands. If you're welcome them to your house ask them if they've eaten and Be prepared to give them something if they haven't and offer a drink at least if you're greeting an Ethiopian and maybe all Africans.

But I don't really know for sure shake with both hands. Don't shake aim with just one hand you use both hands. If you if you don't do these basic things people might think you're just uncivilized. You're like a small kid that doesn't know how to behave.

Maybe you're just a jerk and they don't want to listen to anything else. You have to say from you, but people that deal with other cultures all the time like diplomats government. They actually have assistants who will tell them how to behave when they are meeting Foreigners from all kinds of different countries.

There's even a term for it Protocol you got to learn the protocol of whoever you're dealing with. You know, you're meeting the King or whatever is called from Saudi Arabia or the Queen of England or the Prime Minister of Japan?

You got to know the protocol of how to deal with these different kinds of people. In fact, the US State Department has an office a Protocol so they have people experts who will be telling our representatives our president whoever you know.

This is how you deal with these kinds of people. The protocol you don't want to actually start a war with some country just because we didn't know. You know deval instead of shake hands or whatever. Different cultures have different expectations on how to behave on what is the protocol and dealing with leaders particularly with leaders with authorities.

Maybe about family specific things to like what to do with funerals when the British were ruling over India. They encountered the Indian practice of widow burning called Sati now. Traditionally in India if a man died left his wife his body was burned.

They cremated the body and along with his body being burned. They burned his wife Alive. The British thought that that wasn't the way to behave. So you had a conflict of cultures. William Carey the great missionary Campaigned against it.

He asked the government the British government ruling over India to ban it and so eventually they did. The Hindu priests though when the order came down that they could no longer do this. They Hindu priests objected saying, you know here in India Widow burning Sati was their custom and it should be respected and the British governor responded great quote I love this be it.

So This burning of widows is your custom. Prepare the funeral pile, but my nation also has a custom when men burn women alive. We hang them. Let us let us all act according to national custom. They solve they were convinced by that argument and they stopped burning their widows now who's right, of course the modern attitude.

Now is that really no one is right? There's just no one right way what's right in in India is different from what's right in Britain. What's right in Singapore is different from what's right in America?

And that might even be true about many kind of non moral things about a lot of little things like you whether to eat with Chopsticks or with forks, there's no one right way whatever you want to do. But about other things sometimes there is a right way to behave.

Especially in God's household and that is the overarching theme of the next two chapters. It really chapters two and three kind of should go together, but we split them up. Whoever did the chapter split them up and just looking at chapter two.

But the overarching theme is in chapter 3 verse 15, which Rodney quoted for us at Sunday school today. But it's really in chapter 3 verse 15 Court it concludes these two chapters saying how to behave in the household of God.

Which is the Church of the Living God? You know just as you may have rules about how to behave in your household, you know. Whatever it is wash your hands for you eat pick up after yourself that kind of thing.

God has rules about his household and. And this is what we see in first Timothy God's household rules. How are you gonna behave in his family? Here we see those rules and why to follow them in two major parts in chapter 2 first what to do in God's household and then how to do it and.

Under both why? What do you do in God's household? First of all Paul begins what would you expect? You were just asked what is what is the first thing and you notice it begins first of all. I don't think it means because he just means this is the first thing I'm talking about.

I think this is the thing of priority. What would you expect to be the number one priority of how to behave in God's house? What would you think. What's the number one thing we should be doing? Welcome visitors with a with enthusiasm and a friendly smile at the door.

That'd be nice. You should do that. Maybe great emotional worship music with lights and and feeling I need to talk about Sunday school. There's some church had laser beams and smoke and sparklers or whatever.

Or maybe people want inspiring the first thing you need to do the first thing you need to pay attention to is inspiring practical messages on topics. You can use practical things like child rearing or dating or money with it.

Of course have a skit in a video and then a talk not a sermon. Just a talk with a smiling guy who comes across as a friendly neighbor, you know. Kind of just giving his two cents worth not some overbearing preachy expert who wants that.

Or maybe if you've reformed. You want a lecture on the order of the decrees in the mind of God before the creation of the universe? Something like that. You think that's the first thing? What's the first thing?

Paul says first priority number one offer supplications. As requests, please first thing pray. You know offer prayers intercession uses four different kind of words for different kinds of prayer. I won't dissect them.

Each of them are pretty self-explanatory. I think our intercession is praying for others. We did that right in our prayer we did we pray for our leaders as I said, we we thank God for what he's given and he's telling us that that the worship should contain request and You know in prayer for all kinds of things and all kinds of people and and this is why.

You ever noticed you ever wondered why we don't open with a prayer. That's that at all seem unusual to you. I Organized this order of service and that's the way kids behave you guys gotta get you think kids do that.

Now if it were a 40 year old man running across and coming back that would be different. We would expect better. But kids you just screen it out, don't worry about it, but ever wonder why we don't open with the prayer that's in the the reason is because often when Environments I've been in where the service opens with a prayer.

It's like it's done as an attention-grabbing device. It's done not really to pray to God. It's done is a marker now. We're starting right that now we're now the show is beginning and I don't think that's what prayer should be used for.

Seems like making announcements is a good use for that prayer is first of all. It's an important thing when something's important you prepare for it. So we prepare with a song we prepare with we read a passage and now.

We sing the passage now, we're ready to pray. We're building up to prayer because the prayer is important our worship service the way it's or designed has two major parts. One is around the prayer the psalm.

From which is the the prayer which we're praying to God because that's important and the other is sort of the base is driving toward the sermon. Even this even the song before the prayer at the beginning is try to get a song that's relevant to the psalm.

We're singing which guides the prayer, but the prayer is important. First of all, it's a major component of what we're doing. It's not just you know, we're Christians and we're about to start a worship service.

Let's pray and you just you know, whatever off the top of your head no prayer deserves more attention than that first of all pray and. But pray for you notice he says pray for all kinds of people. I mean there should be a breath to our prayers a wide concern.

For all kinds that he means all races all nations now. Does this literally mean then you know because he said pray for all kinds of people pray for all people. Does this mean you have to pray for every individual.

You know. Maybe we get a phone book up here go through the name every name. Pray for every person because I don't get the heads of households I don't know that works then you got to somehow get phone books from all over the world.

You know pray for all people. Go through the whole world phone book after phone book a name after name trying to name everybody. Of course, of course not you couldn't do that. We probably couldn't even keep up with the birth rate babies would be born faster than we could name them.

So it doesn't mean that but neither should it mean, you know, we did we pray just like tiny Tim, you know Lord bless us everyone. Okay. Well now now we've done it we pray for all people. What Paul means by all people is what the Bible frequently means by all it means.

Especially especially you see later in this chapter all kinds of people not those who are just like us are not just us. But all all kinds. God is concerned for people from all nations of the world all races all types.

And so should we be so enlarge the reach of your love do not be provincial or narrow sectarian nationalistic elitist or racist in your prayers. Don't just pray for yours the few people, you know, let your prayers embrace all kinds of people especially pray writes for for authorities.

Now those dreaded authorities won't pray for them. I mean they have it easy. Don't they normally we think of praying for people that you know really the really needy your press people in some Islamic country in the Middle East or the victims of terrorism in Syria or.

We really only pray for our soldiers. Hmm. I don't know about you, but I really think of praying for the authorities. After all, they seem to have like going for them. They got they get paid pretty well.

They get to live in mansions. They get free travel and food, you know big airplane fly around in I guess security. What do you got to pray for them for? Much less he's even that not only says pray for them plead to God for them intercede for them.

Hardest all he says thank God for them. You know, what if yeah, no, I didn't vote for that person. I don't want to thank God for him. Why but he says to do it. Well here though. Here's the why in the middle of verse 2 so that we may lead a peaceful quiet life godly and Dignified in every way.

That's what we pray to our authorities. To produce an environment that helps us be quiet godly dignified in every way. We want them to rule. Well. So we can live well. You know if our leaders give us a country of peace and prosperity.

Then we're not having to worry about staying alive. You know just scrounging through dumpsters because the economy has crashed. I would I have to hide from marauding armies because there's a big war going on or sheltering from falling bombs.

We can have the time and money and freedom to spread the gospel and God's household. You behave behave as if the spread of the gospel was more important than your friends uncles surgery. God approves of our prayers for peace because he approves of the advance of the gospel.

It is pleasing to him. Paul writes in verse 3 when we pray and live in a way that makes it easiest for the gospel. To spread and so if you want to give God pleasure, how do you give God pleasure? How do you make him enjoy?

This day we'll pray. Pray for all kinds of people and don't just pray that they feel better. I pray that they be saved go to God asking that he bring people to salvation. Once again, we see that we see what God Asked of us is our priority in prayer.

Remember just was it just two weeks ago three weeks ago two weeks ago. Two weeks ago at John 17 Jesus's prayer. What was his priority? It's a lot like here, isn't it? Yeah, now sure we have a body because a lot of times prayer meetings are just consumed with with praying for physical needs.

They say Into the Capitol Hill Baptist Church to break the habit of everyone praying for some, you know. Ailment or some search some relative surgery. They just made an absolute rule. No praying for health and you know.

It was hard because they had to make for a while just to break the habit. I'm not saying we'll do that but that's what it takes. Yeah, sure. We have a body but sometimes it's right to pray for healing.

But what pleases God is when the scope of our prayer and our love is larger than just ourselves. Or just a few people close to us and when we care for more Than just our physical bodies. Just another few more years of health it pleases God.

He says it gives God pleasure when we pray for all kinds of people black and white Americans and foreigners that they'd be Saved that they'd be right with him and we see that in particular how God himself is described notice that it pleases in verse 3 God our Savior.

Savior is who God is and he wants to do what he is. Our prayers for people's salvation pleases him because it shows that we have a desire that he has. God desires it says in verse 4 all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.

Because they don't have it. Naturally. They need to come to it. Ezekiel tells us that God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked. That's not what pleases him. What pleases him is our prayers. Corresponding to his desires that all peoples be saved.

Again as with all people in verse 1, you know, you think he means pray for every individual without exception. No in verse 1 pray for all kinds all peoples in verse 1. For people all races ethnicities and religions here the desire of people just to be safe is all kinds and You got to remember the context of the situation in Paul's day.

Then many Christians were Jewish. They were raised up in that environment a Jewish environment and the synagogues and so forth. And some of them hadn't fully learned the lesson to the cross that Christ came as a sacrifice for all peoples.

Some of us Southerners haven't learned that either but Never mind, so Paul is speaking to such people and telling them that God did not send Christ for just one nation but for every nation. That's why he reminds them that he is an apostle.

Notice how he reminds him. I'm an apostle for the Gentiles literally means for the nations, but these people's Christ came for the world without distinction. Not for every individual without exception.

Okay, so he wants some from all groups to be saved find that in Revelation and finally at the end. People from every language every ethnic group every nation every race is gathered there around the Lamb and that's that's the goal that he's after and and so.

You know. Then that tells us that he was some from every group to be saved and to know the truth. To be disciples of Christ to enter in God's household the church. How do you behave in God's household?

You open it up to people from all kinds of nations. You don't exclude any kind Segregated church is a contradiction in terms. Absolute contradiction in terms if you're keeping out certain types of people you're not a church period.

Now we so we should never have the attitude. Well, they're just like that. You know that nation. They're just like that ethnic group those kinds of people they believe in their religion we believe in ours.

We should we should just be content to leave them be live at peace, right? No, that's not the piece he's talking about. That's the false piece of called pluralism. Leaving people unreached in their false Religion and their doctrine false doctrines.

That's not peace. It's not even warm acceptance. They may think they're accepting and tolerant really it's just cold ice cold negligence. And it does not please God but our prayers and our work to get the gospel to people from all backgrounds.

That's what pleases God. He wants that because in verse 5, you know support. Paul says there's only one God. Well, you think why is he throw that in there? Of course, we know well. It's a lot of times people Live as this.

Well, yeah, sure. I have one God and you have one God and your one God is different from my one God. I have one religion you have another religion. He is not it's not as though there's just one God and one religion for one group of people and Another God or gods or another religion for another group of people and it really doesn't matter what you believe.

It's just so long as you happen to you believe your particular religion sincerely. That's what one lady once told me you have your religion. I am I. So so leave me alone. But there is one God and to approach him in his way and the way he determines.

Is what he wants all kinds of people to do not in this way we want. That's why we need a knowledge of the truth. All right, not just opinions about the truth, but a knowledge of what it really is and there's only one mediator he says there's one God there's one mediator and.

The one mediator isn't Muhammad or Buddha or even Mary is. Sincerely as many decent people believe in these supposed mediators. Everyone is sinful and needing a mediator a mediation enter. It's a good term.

I don't. Go between between us and God to avoid eternal punishment to be saved. Everyone's gonna need that all are guilty through the disobedience of Adam. Paul writes in first in Romans chapter 5 or 17.

We all died spiritually and we all add to our own spiritual death. We you know in case you think that's not fair. Why am I blamed for Adam's sin? Well, you send yourself enough. Okay, don't be arguing about Doctrine of imputation you've added your own lengthy rap sheet of sins any one of which is Enough to damn us and so we need a mediator.

We need to go between and there is but one of them provided for by God himself. Indeed. He is God himself and he is a man Christ Jesus everyone who trusts in another mediator. There's only one so if you don't trust in the right one and if you trust in the works or prayers of someone else.

No, you'll be disappointed. Everyone there's no other go-between. There's no other way. There is one door. Right like that British governor. You can keep your national customs, but you'll find you know, you do it one way.

God's national custom will be well, it won't be so good. The Lord Jesus Paul writes in verse 6 gave himself a ransom for for all kinds of people. He gave his life in exchange. So we could buy back our lives now having done that.

Don't you think he wants us to work and to pray? That more and more people here in this area among families and groups. Particularly among families groups that have not truly believed and come to worship God in God's way or in other parts of this country or overseas.

Don't you think he wants us to get the gospel to them so that they can hear the truth and believe. Yeah. Paul says yes in verse 7 for this. Just getting the gospel out. I was appointed a herald a proclaimer a messenger and an apostle a Scent one like an ambassador and I speak the truth.

I do not lie a Teacher of the nation's the nation's of the Gentiles the people's in faith and truth. Our exclusive God is only one of him. There's only one mediator. There's one truth. There's one gospel.

He's Exclusive. You can't get to him any other way than that, which he has said he excludes all other ways. But he our exclusive God leads to an inclusive mission. To reach all kinds of people. Do not give up on any of them whether they're next door or whether they're overseas.

Not keep out anybody because of their race their nationality. The same reason that Paul was appointed a herald as a proclaimer. Have the good news to reach the nations to people from every ethnic group.

The same reason then is why the church must always be involved in missions and evangelism. God wants all kinds of people to be saved. He's not consigned any entire group to hell. And so neither who should we?

The Church's Mission to Pray for Salvation and Gospel Advance

So what does God want us to do. What Does he want us to do in his household? First pray. Ask God for peace. Ask God for a harvest from all kinds of people now. How? How are we to pray. How we to live together as a church, how are we to Behave in this household.

Starting in verse 80 gives us practical instructions on how? How do we behave in God's family? Well again pray. In their day they often prayed by lifting up their hands looking up. Today more Christians are beginning to feel that's an appropriate way to pray into praise and if it is for you feel free to do so.

If it's not then don't. As long as you are looking to the Lord part of what it means being a God-centered churches that our focus is on The Lord during the worship service not on whether you or someone else's is raising their hands.

The posture is not as important as the purity the holiness of the hands. To lift up holy hands. I think it's much more important to him that the hands be holy than that they be raised up. But the hands are up or down is not as important as whether they have been set apart to serve the Lord during that throughout the whole week that they're holy hands and coming to church is do it indeed to pray and to pray for and seek him.

And he noticed he says without wrath and disputing. Go to. Paul writes and we don't come to win an argument our support a faction further in agenda. We come as people set apart for the Lord focusing on him in love and peace.

Praying for the salvation of all kinds of people. Again why? Again, why are we praying and not arguing? You know, I like to argue. I have a weakness for arguing so why should I pray and not argue so that we'd be seen as respectable and.

And so respected and well, okay, that's why everyone likes to be respected. I like to be respected, but it's not just for ourselves. So it's a respectable person respected for what? But we look like people who aren't just living.

For looking good for this world for this life for the the jewelry and the perfect hair and the fancy car. We're showing off that we've you know, we made it we got some money in the bank we can we can flaunt it.

No, but as. Though we really do have a treasure in heaven. Right. It's for a missionary purpose for for how our behavior in God's household. Makes the gospel look to those who aren't yet in that household.

That's what's behind the next five verses. No, I mean did those verses get your attention the second half of the chapter is strong. Controversial another word today. Maybe they're not politically correct.

You know whatever we want to call them words on women and we can get so distracted by those sharp. Called whatever you will chauvinistic words. It would be so distracted. You might miss the point. The point is how do we behave?

So that we make the gospel not ourselves look good, how do you behave in God's house? There's a protocol to follow right? You're you're trying to communicate from one realm one culture to another. How do you communicate between the kingdom of God where we're supposed to live and the world?

We're all these other kinds of people. That God wants to save. Where they live. If you don't follow the protocol. If you're not taking your shoes off at the door. Okay, the thing they see about you is that you are making my house filthy.

You are an untrained barbarian and. Okay, I understand. You're not Chinese. So therefore you're not very civilized and I I'll be gracious to you and not make a big issue about it. But that's all they see.

You take your shoes off if you're not shaking hands with both hands. You haven't been raised, right? Or. Are you dressing to show off? Look how well you can, you know, look at the money you have to pay for that nice suit.

You're adorning yourself as if you're a model. You're driving a car that maybe you're a tech billionaire. What did you found Facebook? What's going on? You're making yourself look as if you have a treasure on your treasure were on earth.

If that's the way You're you're behaving. They might not hear you. At least they may not hear the gospel from you. They might be offended. Or they might even be impressed with you. You're such a great success.

You look man. You're flaunting it. They might even be won over. To the gospel of silk Italian suits and big diamonds and Mercedes-Benz. You can win them into that sure, but that's not the true gospel.

We have a protocol to follow. So that we communicate the right thing. Are you following it? Now for women he writes adorn yourself to adorn is to decorate make yourself look attractive. So you were to decorate yourself to look more attractive and that and that in itself is not bad.

But you must remember to do it for the right reason. What are you trying to make look attractive? Just your body. Something else the woman who adorns herself seductively is doing it merely draw attention to herself.

For the advantage that she can gain for the eyes that she want she can draw. Maybe for you know for her own the attention she can get maybe for her own feeling of power. I can manipulate these men. I'll look what I can do to them with my beauty and you might think well, what's wrong with that?

What's wrong with a woman feeling attractive? Well, there's nothing really but the Christian woman has a higher purpose for her dress. The For for how she makes herself look then just Making her her body look good.

She is supposed to communicate something much more important than just the Allurement of her of her body. Our missionary purpose should determine how we adorn ourselves. You know in 19th century China the the English missionary Hudson Taylor Broke with the other Western missionary who'd keep dressing like Western people.

He dressed just like a Chinese of their day even the Chinese in that day I forgot was a Ming Dynasty, I forget but they had these long pigtails and it looks the men the Chinese men dress like that. They had wore their hair like that and The of course the Englishman didn't but then Hudson Taylor did he just just like them.

So the so that his foreign dress which it wouldn't for anymore. But it wouldn't his dress would not Distract from the gospel. The other Western missionaries thought he was crazy. But you know, he was it he put away side everything that distracted from the gospel.

And so we to address it a way that makes the spread of the gospel easier. For example, you know if wearing a suit and tie. So when I was raised up that was men wore suit and ties. The church everyone did.

Especially the preacher for crying out loud. He wore suit and tie out all the time, but but if doing that now. Even though it's traditional the way I was raised that puts people off makes you feel and make some feel uncomfortable.

If it if it defeats the missionary purpose of this of the household of God. You just feel I'm too formal and too stuffy and you distracted by the the look then we should find another way address. That's dignified and isn't as an obstacle to the spread of the gospel.

Now, yes, you can't adorn yourself. But in a way in a way that is respectable that is modest. It displays that you're a lady of self-control and he's particularly talking to women here that you are encouraging self-control and others.

So, how are the ladies to adorn themselves? Paul says in verse 10 with good works. That's what they see about you. They say good works. You're suing you're doing good things. You do acts of kindness and generosity.

Living that will cause unbelievers to to see they'll see your life and they'll praise our Father in heaven far from the church being a place. Because you can take some of these words and look look women.

Not allowed to do anything but far from that being the case. We should be overflowing with opportunities for women to. You know. Display their love for one another to do good things. I think we have a lot of those.

We're running out. We need to think of more. Then people will see that it is God's house. And in God's house, there is authority. The inspired apostle here gives us directions on how he intends for his household to be ordered as countercultural.

Offensive because this second half of this chapter is is as offensive as it could possibly bleed to modern people merit modern Americans. It's just. But but these really are not optional rules. These aren't just man-made things.

It's inspired by God. This is this isn't our little club here, you know. That we can just make up new rules in is this suits ourselves. Whatever makes us comfortable and ignore the rules established by the owner and we can't do that.

That's not what the church is in any true church. God is the owner and as awkward Old-fashioned what he would call it is that some of these instructions are we simply don't have the we don't have the right.

To ignore them as we see fit. And one of the household rules of God is that there are some different roles for men and for women. I know there are a lot of Christians in our day That want to ignore that who want to say that what Paul says here is simply just saying, you know.

That's he's a man of his times. He's a chauvinistic man of the first century. What does he know but we are told that all scripture is inspired by God and all scripture includes first Timothy chapter 2.

So this isn't just Paul speaking. This is the Holy Spirit speaking. Now somebody say well, okay. I understand it was true for Paul's day. But not for ours. Now things are different, but we start down a very slippery slope when we Start to picking and choosing which scriptures are for today and which in our estimation are Expired.

Some will say well look. You know, so-and-so. She's a gifted woman. Pastor, you know people are flocking to go hear her. Yeah, I know, but we don't make our doctrine off of our limited experience. We heard from that in Sunday school.

That's pragmatism. Okay, she can pack them in it's okay to have a woman pastor. That's the simple way people think today. It is God's household. He is the authority. So when he says that it's it's settled.

But there is one thing we need to understand about this passage so that we don't get the wrong idea and that's the meaning of. The word teach we are used to teachers in our culture. And so we think you know, we've all you know, been many years in school.

We've encountered a lot of teachers. Let's say there's a few here. There's one there. I don't know where Emily went. And we assume though we know what God what Paul means and God means but all right but our idea of a teacher is quite a bit different from what Paul had in mind in Paul's day a teacher was more than just a purveyor of information.

There's someone who gave a lesson that tried to communicate facts someone you learn from a teacher in Paul's mind what was a leader a Disciple or a teacher had a personal and authoritative relationship With those that he was responsible for teaching.