THE TRUTH TO BE DECLARED – 1 Timothy 2:5-7
Posted by Pastor Greg Allen on April 9, 2014 under AM Bible Study |
AM Bible Study Group; April 9, 2014
1 Timothy 2:5-7
Theme: Paul describes the truth of the gospel that we are to pray for and seek to spread.
(Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are taken from The New King James Version, unless otherwise indicated).
Paul had been urging Pastor Timothy to make sure that the right things were happening in the church in Ephesus; and one of the things that he urged was that prayers be faithfully offered that the people of God may lead quiet and peaceable lives that help spread the message of the gospel. "For this is good and acceptable in the sight of god our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth" (1 Timothy 2:3-4).
In this morning’s passage, Paul goes on to describe that truth—the message of the gospel. Note how the gospel declares . . .
I. THAT THERE IS BUT ONE GOD (v. 5).
A. Paul affirms, "For there is one God . . ." This is something that the early church declared in a cultural environment in which a multitude of false gods were worshiped; and in which each distinct people group had their own ‘god’. In ancient Athens, Paul observed that the people were given over to idols, and that they were "very religious". They even worshiped an "unknown god". But Paul declared to them the one true God "who made the world and everything in it"; who "has made from blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth" (Acts 17:24-26).
B. Note that, with the gospel, the idea that there are many God’s is not an option. Nor is it an option to say that there is no God at all. Nor is it an option to say that we are God. It’s essential in our declaration of the good news to this world that we announce that there is but one God—the God of the Bible, who made all that exists and who alone has the right to be worshiped by us as His creatures.
II. THAT THERE IS BUT ONE MEDIATOR BETWEEN GOD AND MEN (v. 5).
A. As soon as we declare the one true God, though, people recognize that they do not have a relationship with Him. Romans 1:18-23 explains why it is that, if there is one true God, there are now so many different religions in the world. Mankind has sinned—fallen in Adam. People are now born in a state of separation from God—having fallen short of Him (Romans 3:23). But God has provided a "Mediator". A "Mediator" is someone who stands between two parties. Just as the gospel declares only one God, it also affirms, "and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus . . ."
B. Note that the gospel makes it clear that the one Mediator—Jesus Christ—is the Mediator for "men"; meaning all the people of mankind—not only of the Jews but also of the Gentiles, "since there is one God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith" (Romans 3:29). And note that the Mediator is able to stand as an intermediary between God and men because He Himself is a Man. As one theologian has put it, "It is the fundamental truth of the gospel that in Christ, man is united with God. He is the bond wherein the mediation is accomplished and realized. Out of this truth, every other truth connected with our ‘so great salvation’ flows; and in this fact every other fact about ‘Jesus Christ the Lord’ converges. For essential to the Mediator are the twin realities of that Humanity through which He is ours, and that Deity by which He is God’s. ‘To be Mediator means that He stands alone’" (H.D. McDonald, Jesus—Human & Divine [Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1968], p. 123). The good news of the gospel is that the eternal Word became flesh (John 1:14). "Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people" (Hebrews 2:17). There is, therefore, "no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved" than the name of Jesus (Acts 4:12).
III. THAT THIS MEDIATOR GAVE HIMSELF AS A RANSOM FOR ALL (v. 6).
A. The message of the gospel we declare is that this Mediator not only stands as an intermediary between us and the one true God against whom we have sinned; but also frees us from our state of separation. The Man Christ Jesus—because He was the Son of God in human flesh and bore no sins of His own—is the one "who gave Himself a ransom for all . . ." A "ransom" here refers to the price that is necessary to purchase someone’s freedom. And Jesus willingly gave Himself as the necessary ransom price. As Jesus Himself said in Matthew 20:28, "the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many".
B. Note that He is the ransom price for "all". As Harry Ironside put it, "While it is true that only those who believe on Him will be actually redeemed; yet He gave Himself an available ransom for all. If ever you are lost eternally it will not be because God was not ready to save you; if you are shut away from the Home of the Blessed for ages to come it will not be because there was not a welcome for you if you had not come by way of Calvary’s cross." There is no other Redeemer; but this one Redeemer is sufficient to be the Redeemer of all. As 1 Timothy 4:10 puts it, our God is "the Savior of all men, especially of those who believe."
IV. THAT THIS ACT OF RANSOM WAS TO BE TESTIFIED IN DUE TIME (v. 6).
A. This great redemption was purposed in the decree of God before the world ever was. Jesus is "the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world" (Revelation 13:8). His coming to die for us as our Redeemer was "according to the Scriptures" (1 Corinthians 15:4). But it was "to be testified in due time . . ." Note first that it must be "testified". In order for people to be saved, they must hear this good news. "How shall they call upon Him whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?" (Romans 10:14). A key element of the gospel is the proclamation of it! It is, after all, "good tidings".
B. But note also that it was to be testified "in due time". This may speak of the fact that, historically, the beginning of the declaration of the gospel came when the world conditions were right for it to spread. But it may also speak of the sovereign purpose of God—in respect to His unfolding plan for the ages—who declared that "now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation" (2 Corinthians 6:2).
V. THAT THIS TESTIMONY IS ESTABLISHED THROUGH AUTHORIZED MESSENGERS (v. 7).
A. The Lord Jesus appointed His apostles (minus Judas) to declare to the world the things they saw and heard from Him. Later—"as by one born born out of due time" (1 Corinthians 15:8)—He was also seen an declared by Paul. This, as Paul writes, is the gospel "for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle—" Paul was told by the Lord Jesus Himself, "But rise and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to make you a minister and a witness both of the things which you have seen and of the things which I will yet reveal to you. I will deliver you from the Jewish people, as well as from the Gentiles, to whom I now send you., to open their eyes in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me" (Acts 26:16-18).
B. Note too that he affirmed, "I am speaking the truth in Christ and not lying—" Paul sometimes had to defend himself against the accusation that he was a liar or that he was not sincere in his passion for the lost (Romans 9:1, 2 Corinthians 11:31), and particularly in his call to an apostleship in the gospel (2 Corinthians 11:5; 12:11-12; Galatians 1:20). He was telling the truth in saying that God appointed him to be among those who were authorized by Christ to be eyewitness messengers of this message.
VI. THAT THE MESSENGERS WERE TO PREACH THE MESSAGE TO THE LOST (v. 7).
A. The good news of the gospel was for all people; and Paul was specifically "a teacher of the Gentiles . . ." He took this message of redemption to those who were "aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise" (Ephesians 2:12). It was Paul’s privilege to "preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ" (3:8). He considered it a great honor.
B. What a wonderful gospel this is! It goes to those who need to hear it most! As Jesus Himself said, "Those who are sell have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance" (Mark 2:17). He said, "For the Son of Man has come to save that which is lost" (Matthew 18:11).
VII. THAT THE MINISTRY TO THE LOST WOULD BE IN FAITH AND TRUTH (v. 7).
A. Paul said he was a teacher of the Gentiles "in faith and truth." It seems that the best way to understand this is as referring to the sphere in which Paul taught them—that is, in the realms of faith and truth. He taught them to know the truth of their condition, and to place their faith in the solution that God provided through Jesus Christ.
B. The goal was that they would be obedient in placing their faith in God’s word of truth. Paul wrote, "Through Him we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations or His name" (Romans 1:5). As He said in Romans16:25-27; "Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery kept secret since the world began but now made manifest, and by the prophetic Scriptures made known to all nations, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, for obedience to the faith—to God, alone wise, be glory through Jesus Christ forever. Amen."
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As Christians, we have been given the greatest message that can possibly be given—the message that the world most needs to hear. It’s the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ—a message that is supremely relevant. It not only tells us the hard truth about what our situation is before God our Maker; but it also tells us the good news of what He has done to save us.
May God help us to so live, and so pray, and so speak that it may spread to all who need to hear it.
