First Timothy 2:1-15 (and 3:1a)

I Timothy 2:1-7:

^2:1Therefore I encourage first of all to make supplications, prayers, intercessions, thankfulnesses on behalf of all men, ^.2on behalf of kings and all the (people) being in superiority, in order that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all reverence and reverential(-behavior). ^.3This (is) beautiful and acceptable before God our Savior ^.4Who intends all men to be saved and to come into full-knowledge of truth, ^.5for (there is) one God and one mediator of God and men – man Christ Jesus, ^.6the (one) having given himself a redemption on behalf of all-people, the witness at (its) own times, ^.7into which I was put a herald and an apostle, I say truth, I do not lie, a teacher of Gentiles in belief and truth.

Paul continues: Therefore I encourage first of all (following-on logically from what I have just written, in the first place of all I exhort, call you beside me, as a concerned father and/or mother would call their children close to them under their arms so as to help them to do what is right) that…

• supplications (specific communications of prayer, making known the needful-requests, beseeching God regarding lack and thus having specific needs),
• prayers (communications to/with God, general speaking towards/with God),
• intercessions (meetings and talks with God),
• thankfulnesses (plural form: expressions of gratitude towards God. The word "thankfulness" in Greek comes from the same root word as the word "grace" plus the word "well" or "well-off." Therefore "thankfulness" is the expression made by the freedom of will of the recipient expressing well his gratitude to the giver of the grace, the bestowed unmerited or undeserved favor, given-to and received-by him. It is not a forced or obligated "thank you"!)…

…are made (done)…

• on behalf of all men (in the interests of all of mankind),
• on behalf of kings and all the people being in superiority (including in the interests of sovereigns who currently have royal dominion and government and rule and territory and power, and all those presently being in the position of prominence or eminency, holding a position or rank which is over others, like a rock projection jutting-out above and beyond what is under it)…

…for the purpose and result that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life (that we holy-people would thoroughly conduct or convey the course/mode of our everyday living in a manner that is undisturbed from outside, no agitation caused by others, and in a manner that is undisturbed from inside, tranquility from within and therefore causing no agitation or disturbance around you) within the sphere of all/every…

• reverence (good service, service that is well, service towards God being respectfully reverential of Him) and
• reverential-behavior (behaving in a manner having deference to God and all the things of God that is deserving of reverence and respect from others towards you).

This is beautiful and acceptable before God our Savior (to do and live according to what I am writing has a manifested decorous, harmonious and acceptable goodness, and this is very receivable and welcome in the sight and presence of God our Savior; refer to I Timothy 1:1) Who intends all men to be saved and to come into full-knowledge of truth (God wills all men, everybody, all of mankind to be made safe via the Lord Jesus Christ to Himself and to come into full, clear and exact personal knowledge of God’s essential reality, inherent verity), for in fact there is…

• one God (singular, one God – no other; He is not divided up into three parts)

and

• one mediator of God and men – man Christ Jesus (a “mediator” is a go-between, one who goes in the middle between two parties, one who mediates for peace and unity between differing parties; there is a singular mediator relative-to God and mankind – who? – man – what? – the man Christ Jesus, a man from among mankind who has been resurrected who is the Anointed-one named Jesus),
  • the one having given himself a redemption on behalf of all-people (he is the one who willingly yielded, an unforced presenting of himself being the ransom, expiation, atonement money, the payment necessary to loosen, release, free, redeem mankind, instead of every person having to pay his/her own redemption price, and Christ Jesus did this in the interests of all people, everybody. The Lord Jesus Christ has made redemption available to all people – but it is only those who believe and obey what God says about Himself and His son who actually receive redemption. Those who reject God reject redemption refusing to be released from the power of satan/the devil.),
  • the witness at its own times (the attestation, the declaration which is borne bringing to light, confirming the authentic information or knowledge when the witness-times arrive, at the specific time-periods when the witness is to be borne, the witness’ own opportune occasions or seasons)...

...into which witness I was put/placed…

• a herald (one who proclaims, a proclaimer) and
• an apostle (one who is sent forth/away on a specific assignment from someone to another/others),
  • I say truth (I lay this collection of words before you which is God’s truth),
  • I do not lie (I am not telling a falsehood. Paul uses the figure of speech of telling the same thing with opposite words - say truth / lie not - and thereby he gives great emphasis to it.),
• a teacher of Gentiles (an instructor of people belonging to nations other-than Israel, other ethnic groups)
  • in belief and truth (within the sphere of action of what God has given us to believe, have faith-in, trust, and in God’s verity).

[Reference: Matthew 24:14; Acts 1:8, 4:33, 5:32, 15:8; Romans 5:15, 8:26 and 27, 9:1, 10:8-13; I Corinthians 1:6, 2:1, 15:21, 22 and 45; II Corinthians 5:14 and 15; Galatians 1:4, 3:19 and 20; I Thessalonians 4:11; II Thessalonians 1:10; II Timothy 1:8 and 11; Titus 2:14; Hebrews 9:15; I John 1:2, 4:13 and 14, 5:6-12.]

Verses 8-15:

^.8Therefore I deliberately-determine the adult-males to pray in every place lifting-up holy hands without wrath and through-calculations. ^.9Likewise women to orderly-arrange themselves in an orderly-arranged array with reservedness and sound-thinking, not in weaved-hairs and gold or pearls or much-priced clothing ^.10but that-which becomes women promising Godliness by means of good works. ^.11A woman must learn in quietness in all subjection ^.12but I do not permit a woman to teach neither to self-impose (her) adult-male but to be in quietness, ^.13for Adam first was molded, then Eve, ^.14and Adam was not deceived, but the woman having been wholly-deceived became² in a stepping-aside ^.15but she will be saved by means of the childbearing if-ever they may remain in belief and love¹ and holiness with sound-thinking.

As we continue studying these verses, we should realize that an adult-male refers to a grown man who may or may-not be single, or a husband, or a father, or a grown-up son, or a guardian of a woman; and that a woman refers to a woman who may or may-not be single, or a wife, or a mother, or a daughter, or under the guardianship of an adult-male for whatever reason. Paul is writing to Timothy (located in Ephesus at this time, refer to I Timothy 1:3) teaching him how he should teach other holy-people (Christians, saints, children of the only true God) the right way that we should behave ourselves during the everyday living of our lives awaiting Christ’s coming to gather us all together with him.

Paul continues: following-on logically from what I have written above, I purposefully-will the adult-males to pray in every place (to communicate, speak generally to/with God at all/every location; prayer is not limited to a specific building on a specific day of the week but the grown men should pray in every place)…

• lifting-up holy hands (while being open and honest with God showing Him your pure Godliness free from all crime, the state of constant observance of what God says, practicing every duty and function which thereby fulfills every obligation which God has given to be believed and carried-out – in Paul’s culture they used to literally raise their arms with the palms of the hands facing upwards)
• without (apart-from)…
  • wrath (lasting angry vengeance, like the heat of a burning fire, not a spur-of-the-moment thing; in this context Paul is talking about wrath that is contrary to God's will) and
  • through-calculations (reckonings through-and-through, thorough reasonings, disputes, logical computations, reckoning adjustments to be necessary following your thorough calculations concerning what God via your holy spirit communicates to you).

In the same manner (like the men should behave themselves) I purposefully-will women to orderly-arrange themselves (to ornament, adorn themselves)…. The root of this verb is the same as the noun usually translated “world” which is the ordered arrangement that God created, the universe.  Likewise women to orderly-arrange themselves…

• in an orderly-arranged array (the noun translated “array” literally means a “sending-down, a lowering” and comes from the word that referred to a long outer robe going down to the feet, sometimes trailing on the floor behind, worn by kings or various people in prominent positions; here “array” refers to the whole outfit of behavior, demeanor, composure; in an array that is orderly and arranged, ornamented, adorned) with…
  • reservedness (the state of not doing that-which would bring shame) and
  • sound-thinking (thoughts in your mind that are sound, safe in God’s viewpoint, with prudence, thoughts in alignment with your salvation),
• not in…
  • weaved-hairs (plaited, braided hairs, intertwined with various things, referring to the styles of prostitutes at that time in that culture) and
  • gold (valuable jewelry, perhaps gold coins used as decoration) or
  • pearls (which are beautiful and costly) or
  • much-priced clothing (any kind of outer garment that is extremely costly, very expensive to show-off some ‘authority’ or ‘position’ you think you have relative-to others, any stately clothing attempting to outdo, best, outshine, show superiority in the ‘social status’ category)
• but on the contrary, that-which becomes (distinguishes, is suitable, proper) for/to/with women promising Godliness by means of good works (women who by their everyday behavior are proclaiming, declaring the message of their own intention of being reverentially respectful towards God through deeds that issue from God Who is good, produce effects being active expending their energy in accordance with what is perfectly admirable from God’s viewpoint, according to God's words/intention because He is the source of all true goodness).

It may be interesting to realize that this is the only place in Paul’s writings that he uses the Greek word Theosebeia translated “Godliness”. Paul continues specifically regarding the relationship between a woman (who may or may-not be single, or a wife, or a mother, or a daughter, or under the guardianship of an adult-male for whatever reason) and her adult-male (her grown man who may be her husband, or father, or grown-up son, her guardian for whatever reason).

• A woman must learn in quietness in all subjection (she must become informed intellectually as a student in the state of being undisturbed from inside, tranquil from within and therefore causing no agitation or disturbance around her, in all/every submission, arranging herself underneath in subordination while she is learning - yes - women should become educated, learn as the men learn behaving themselves correctly towards those who teach them, not making a big scene and disturbing any other student)
  • but I do not permit a woman to teach neither to self-impose her adult-male (I do not allow her, I do not give her permission, I do not commit her the charge or guardianship to instruct; when a woman is learning she should not be teaching since she would not then be ‘in quietness’; and not to act on her own authority, to place herself as the one who authenticates what she does, the authority, taking the position and role of her man, as though everything was authored-by or originated-from a woman as a female goddess in the first place, since she would not then be ‘in all subjection’)
  • but contrary to that kind of behavior, to be in quietness (in the state of being undisturbed from inside, tranquil from within and therefore causing no agitation or disturbance around her; a repetition by Paul of this word “quietness” gives great emphasis because if the woman is learning in all subjection she will be in quietness - this does not mean that she should not speak, but that she should behave appropriately),
• in truth, Adam first was molded (the man was formed from clay first time-wise; the verb “to mold” is used because God formed the man from clay, the earth, as a potter makes his earthenware vessels),
• then Eve (she was molded afterwards),
• and Adam was not deceived (the first man was not caused to be deluded, not beguiled by satan nor by the woman),
• but the woman having been wholly-deceived became and continues to be in a stepping-aside (the woman, after she was caused to be fully-deluded, thoroughly-beguiled with false/lying statements given to her by satan/serpent and not by her man, became within the sphere of transgression, the action of going beside and thus against what God had spoken to Adam before the woman was molded, and this fact and truth has not changed)
• but she will be saved by means of the childbearing if-ever they may remain in (specifically the first woman will be made safe by God from being in transgression through her giving birth to the child from whom the promised seed, the Messiah/Christ would be born who would make redemption available for all of mankind, if it should ever happen that they, Adam and the woman, stayed living within... [since the day of Pentecost recorded in Acts chapter 2, women who believe what God says will be saved by God from being in transgression by means of the birth of the child, the Christ, who makes redemption available, whether or not a woman today would give birth to a child during her lifetime, if-ever men and women would remain in])…
  • belief (faith, what God told them to believe, to have faith-in, to trust) and
  • love¹ (the word "love¹" comes from the Greek word agape which is God's kind of love) and
  • holiness (sanctification; this word comes from the word hagios which means to be separated from that-which is common; "common" being the word sometimes used to denote that-which is not set-apart for God, and so is ceremonially-unlawful, unclean, or defiled)
  • with sound-thinking (in company and association with thoughts in their mind that are sound, safe in God’s viewpoint, with prudence, thoughts in alignment with salvation; verse 9 above).

The same is true today for men and women who are holy-people regarding the walk/behavior category. All men and woman having the spirit of Christ within (Colossians 1:27) and thus are holy-people/Christians are already saved to God from the power of satan. All holy-people will receive spiritual bodies when Christ comes to gather us all together with him. However, in the walk/behavior category it is up to the freedom of our will to behave as God asks us to behave, just the same as God asked Adam and Eve to behave according to His will for their lives.

Paul is showing the relationship between the man and his woman, and why the woman should behave in such a manner. He is not teaching here about Adam’s stepping-aside, his transgression (Romans 5:14-21). Also, if we look closely at Genesis 1-3 we see that the woman was not given the name “Eve” until Adam believed what God said regarding the coming Messiah, the Christ in Genesis 3:15, and then he named her Eve, the mother of all living in Genesis 3:20.

[Reference: Genesis chapters 2:7-3:21; Acts 19:23-41; Romans 9:20, 16:1, and refer to the “Appendix to Romans”; I Corinthians 14:34 and 35; I Corinthians 11:7-12; II Corinthians 11:1-3; Galatians 3:19-29; Ephesians 2:10, 5:6, and 21-33; I Thessalonians 4:3-8; II Thessalonians 3:12; I Peter 3:1-7. Note: verbs with a superscript 2 (²) immediately following them indicate the "perfect" tense - details are provided in the "Relevant Notes" link of this study.]

In most Bibles and texts the next three words are put into the next ‘chapter’ – chapter 3 – but we should realize that when Paul wrote this letter he did not insert chapter and verse divisions as we have them today in our modern versions. Therefore let us continue reading these words:

I Timothy 3:1(a):

^3:1The word (is) believable.

The word (the spoken account) is believable (faithful, trustworthy). These are the same words as written by Paul in I Timothy 1:15 where they relate to the truth that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. Here Paul has just written about the availability of redemption and salvation and again emphasizes that what he is writing/saying is believable. The spoken account of the inner thoughts of God, which Paul is writing in this letter, is believable. We can rely on God’s Word, what God says.

[Reference: I Timothy 4:9; II Timothy 2:11; Titus 3:8.]