PAUL now takes up the theme of "the charge" in its practical aspect, as he gives directions as to how it is to be carried out. It is this aspect of his teaching which gives these letters their pastoral quality.
2:1-2—Prayer to be made for all men
"Sound doctrine" has its basis in a set of revealed facts about God, His purpose, His relationship with men and their redempÂtion and salvation, without a knowledge of which there can be no Christian living. The quality of that life, both personal and in the ecclesia, Paul does not leave to be deduced by Timothy, and therein lies the supreme value of the Pastorals as a document for our times.
Sound ecclesial organisation, in which all the details are treated as spiritual matters rather than practical or business arrangeÂments, will promote a healthy corporate body, where the canÂkerous word or the morbid preoccupation with questions that minister strifes can gain no hold. We must therefore pay careful heed to Paul's exhortation and the doctrines upon which they are based.
Verse 1: "I exhort, therefore, first of all": The word parakaleo, with its idea of calling someone to your side, has the force of urging on a matter of extreme importance: it is not a matter of mild exhortation. "Therefore" makes the transition from the general charge to the particular instuctions which make it up.
"First of all", a "oncer" in the New Testament, means more than first in the list of injunctions: it means that Paul's exhorÂtation is of outstanding importance, since it is based upon an understanding of the very nature of salvation and of the duties of the ecclesia in its inner life and outward relations with the world.
The ecclesia should be a "house of prayer", as the record of the early apostolic church reveals. "They continued steadfastly in the apostle's doctrine ... and in the prayers" (Acts 2:42); and individually and collectively, at times of crisis or great enterprise, they were found at prayer. It is fitting that the subject of prayer should take first place, since the health of ecclesial life is to be gauged from ecclesial attitudes.
"Supplications, prayers, intercessions and giving of thanks": It is probably mood or attitude of mind which distinguishes the first three words from one another, rather than any outward form of presentation, but unless they are to be regarded as rather meanÂingless repetitions there must be some purpose in the threefold classification.
"Supplications", in the Greek original, expresses a sense of need, as for example in the prayer of Zacharias who resorted to the Lord because he was childless, and his supplication was heard (Luke 1:13, RV); or the desolate widow who "continueth in supÂplications and prayers night and day" (1 Timothy 5:5; cf. also Luke 2:37—Anna served God with fastings and prayer or suppliÂcation); or perhaps the most powerful example of all, that of the Lord Jesus who "offered up prayers and supplications (entreaties) with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death" (Hebrews 5:7). So, says Paul, "in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God" (Philippians 4:6).
This word, like that for "intercessions", is also used for requests and petitions made to men, but "prayers" (prosueche) is always used of address to God (cf. the expression "house of prayer") with the idea of fervent wish or desire underlying it and so it is often associated with supplication as in some of the passages referred to above.
The Greek noun for "intercessions" is used again by Paul in 4:5 ("prayer"), but that is its only other occurrence in the Greek Bible, if one excludes the non-canonical 2 Maccabees. The verb, however, appears in Acts, Romans and Hebrews, consistent with its basic meaning of petition to a superior—the governor or God Himself. Thus Festus said that "the Jews have dealt with me" (Acts 25:24), and Elijah made "intercession to God against Israel" (Romans 11:2). In Hebrews 7:25 it is Christ who "is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them", which is the thought behind Romans 8:27,34.
The words combine, then, to express the earnest desire and sense of dependence upon God which should characterise a reverent approach to Him in prayer as part of our Divine service, with an urgency arising from the particular object of the prayers which Paul has here in view: an urgency which his "first of all" reveals. But "thanksgivings" (eucharistia) form an integral part of such worship. To receive God's material gifts with thanksgiving is fundamental to the process of sanctification "by the word of God and intercession", which is of the very purpose of God in creating the gifts (4:3-5). As the very word implies, one has the grace to respond to the grace of God, and it figures largely in the Apostle's exhortations and personal example, as a glance at a concordance will readily show. In corporate life also we should be "giving thanks always for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Ephesians 5:20, RV); "In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you" (1 Thessalonians 5:18).
We have never followed the practice of calling the weekly remembrance of the death and resurrection of Christ the eucharist, preferring the descriptive term "breaking of bread" or, more rarely, "communion" or act of fellowship. Nothing is implied here to suggest we should change our vocabulary—there are, indeed, powerful reasons why we should not—but the great importance of a thankful attitude towards our heavenly Father comes home to us as we remember that His "love in creation" and "grace of salvation" are fittingly brought to a focus when we break the bread of life and drink the wine of the covenant in what we call so often "the central object of our coming together"; remembering also that the central act is invariably coupled with eucharistia—the giving of thanks, after the Lord's own pattern. The essence of paganism is that men "glorified him not as God, neither were thankful" (Romans 1:21).
"Be made for all men'': The doctrinal basis of this injunction will be seen when we come to verse 4. Here it is important to realise that "all" is "all without distinction" rather than "all without exception'', and the following words— "for kings, and for all that are in authority"—are by way of example and not of limitation. The phrase "all men" with this interpretation is the only possible one in many Scriptural contexts, as for example in Titus 2:11, which does not really teach that every member of the human race has been made aware of the grace of God unto salvation; nor was the belief that John the Baptist was a prophet a universal one (Mark 11:32). And it is certain that not every human being is justified (Romans 5:18).
Verse 2: The exhortation is no doubt against the exclusivism of some of the heretics at Ephesus, but it is also against the temptation to limit our prayers to our own narrow interests (see Essay 7, "Prayer for Those in Authority", page 81). For the purpose of God is with "all men" in the terms of verse 4, and it is with His purpose in mind that the prayers are to be offered. There is a discipline of prayer, such as with the command to "pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you" (Matthew 5:44).
The Apostle's petition corresponds exactly with Paul's charge: it is "that we may lead a quiet and peacable life in all godliness and honesty". The meaning is not at all that we would merely seek a quiet life for ourselves, but that we should seek the honour and glory of God and the opportunities for His service. Tranquil and quiet and rare adjectives, the first (eremos) a oncer here, and the other (hesukios) also in 1 Peter 3:4. The latter passage, and the uses of the corresponding noun hesukia (2 Thessalonians 3:12; 1 Timothy 2:11,12) and verb hesuchazo (Luke 14:4; 23:56; Acts 11:18; 21:14; 1 Thessalonians 4:11), help us to determine the meaning.
Eremos could mean free from outward disturbance, but hesukios refers to an inner peace of mind resulting from restful contemplaÂtion (for example, on the Sabbath), yielding to the will of God, studying to be quiet, or following the example of the sisters in Christ who are in silence and of a meek and quiet spirit. It represents exactly the proper attitude of the chaste bride of Christ or the people of God, who accept the responsibility of obedience and trust in the power of him who loved them and gave himself for them. So no disciple is a demonstrator or political activist, a passive resister, a "brawler" (Titus 3:2), or a striker for temporal advantage. And if our citizenship (politeuma, translated "conversation") is really as becometh the Gospel of Christ (Philippians 1:27), then we shall strive to rid our minds of our inbuilt socialism, conservatism or liberalism which hopes for better things for our material lives with every change of governÂment. The whole aim and satisfaction of our lives is to live them in all godliness and honesty.
"All godliness ..."
The word for "godliness" (eusebeia) is a word common enough in the Greek and Hellenistic world but rare in the New Testament. Ten of its fifteen uses are found in the Pastorals, the others being in later Epistles such as Peter's, and in the Acts (1 Timothy 2:2; 3:16; 4:7,8; 6:3,5,6,11; 2 Timothy 3:5; Titus 1:1; Acts 3:12; 2 Peter 1:3,6,7; 3:11). Its related words are translated "devout", "godly", "worship". It is an interesting example of a colourless word, expressing vague religious feeling or perfunctory religious observance in everyday life, being transformed by Apostolic usage. Although the word could be used for reverence or respect for superiors, especially ancestors, in the New Testament it is restricted to reverence for God. It then exactly fits our context here. The disciples could pray for the emperor, but not to him, and they did so for the reason that Israel were to keep the commandÂments, especially the showing of honour to parents and respect for the aged: "I am the LORD" (Exodus 20:2; Leviticus 19:32; see also Acts 23:1-5).
The verb-form is used by Paul in his speech on Mars' Hill to describe the conventionally correct worship of the God who was, nevertheless, "unknown" to the Athenians. But when he has "declared" Him unto them it is plain that worship must be based on a response to a revealed purpose on which men can set their faith and hope, and that revelation is in the person of the "man whom he hath ordained, whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead" (Acts 17:31).
In the Pastorals, "godliness" takes on precisely this meaning. They are full of the idea that the purpose of God is the salvation of men, which is characteristic of His mercy and loving-kindness towards them; that this purpose is expressed in the historical event of the appearing of Christ Jesus at the critical time chosen by God; that true worship is based on faith in this fact, with a pure conscience; that sound teaching, as distinct from the "knowledge falsely so-called" which produces "profane and vain babblings which will increase unto more ungodliness" (6:20; 2 Timothy 2:16), is the means of understanding this purpose; and that right living (kalos) which is the only true index to right belief is the individual believer's response to this saving grace, and collective worship must be organised on the basis of the sense of responsibility of overseers and members of every age, rank and station in the Ecclesia.
Godliness, therefore, is for the Apostle God-likeness, the personal, social and ecclesial behaviour of those who adorn the doctrine of God in all things and are taught by the appearing of the grace of God that bringeth salvation to deny wregodliness and worldly lusts, and to live soberly, righteously and godly in this present world while they wait for the consummation of the purpose in the second appearing of the Saviour Jesus Christ (1 Timothy 6:20; 2 Timothy 2:16; Titus 2:11-14). Ungodliness, on the other hand, is asebia, the ungodly are asebes and to live ungodly is asebein—words which figure in Romans as characterÂistic of the world where the power of the Gospel is not felt (Romans 1:18), of the very people for whom Christ died (4:5; 5:6), of the latter days when there will be fewer prepared to deny themselves (2 Timothy 2:16), and of the world upon whom the judgement is to fall (1 Peter 4:18; 2 Peter 2:5; 3:7; Jude 4,15,18, etc.).
The question of "the mystery of godliness" we shall consider further when we come to 1 Timothy 3:16.
"... and honesty"
"Honesty" or semnotes is again peculiar to these Letters (also in 3:4 and Titus 2:7) as is its adjective semnos, except for Philippians 4:8, where it is one of those qualities which the brethren and sisters at Philippi are to "think on", as they banish anxiety from their minds—"but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving" let their requests be made known unto God. It is an important quality to be cultivated by arranging brethren and other ecclesial servants, indeed by all the ecclesia, and its value will appear when the requirements for the bishops, deacons and their wives are discussed. Gravity, dignity, an intense conviction of the seriousness of the life in Christ and a concept of its high ideals—all this goes into the word, which accords well with the quiet demeanour and dignified behaviour of the saint even under great stress: the picture arises in the mind of the Lord Jesus silent before his accusers: "He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth." It contrasts sharply with the behaviour of those who insist upon their rights or who say in effect, "Let us do evil that good may come".
It has been suggested, with great effect, that "in godliness and honesty" is the Hellenistic counterpart of the Hebrew expression "in holiness and righteousness". This passage in Luke 1:74 connects beautifully with that presently under consideration: "That he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear . . .. "
2:3-6—The Doctrinal Basis of the Exhortation
Verse 3: "For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour": this refers back to the exhortation of verse 1 of which verse 2 is but one illustration. For a note on "good" (kalos) see page 22. "Acceptable" (apodektos) is connected with apodoche, "acceptation" (on which see the note on page 32), but itself recurs only in 5:4, in a phrase identical with the above. The thought is parallel also, since practical help for widows and reverence for one's elders is eusebein, 'the showing of piety' or 'godliness'. So prayers honouring God by expressing the qualities we have considered have an intrinsic beauty and excellence (kalos) and God receives both them and the offerer. The Lord's Prayer can in fact be considered as the basis of such prayers, combining as it does all the elements of reverence, worship, petition, desire and confidence.
The emphasis on the title God our Saviour has already been remarked upon (page 15). It is especially appropriate here since it provides the doctrinal basis which makes prayer for all men so acceptable to Him.
Verse 4: "Who will have all men to be saved": the reason for the "all men" of verse 1 is now clear: all without distinction of rank, or nation, social status or sex (the word anthropos is comprehensive of either gender of the human race) come within the orbit of God's purpose in salvation. He is "the Saviour of all men, especially of them that believe"—another faithful saying, worthy of all acceptation (4:10), for it sums up the Divine principle. Salvation is in a sense universal, not limited to any one group, as the covenant with Abraham concerning the blessing of all nations in his seed confirms. But the process of salvation involves men's belief: it is not something which is done to them while they remain passive.
The preaching of the Gospel must be equally non-selective since although all men will not in fact be saved, their judgement lies in the hands of Him who willeth not that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. Paul's own example in prayer and request is instructive. In spite of what he suffered at the hand of his countrymen and his knowledge that they had judged themselves unworthy of eternal life (Acts 13:46), to those same Gentiles to whom he then turned in his preaching he said, "Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved" (Romans 10:1). Arraigned before one of the kings, whose genuine interest in the Gospel message as a means of salvation might well have been in doubt, Paul can still cry sincerely, "King Agrippa ... I would to God, that not only thou, but also all that hear me this day, were both almost, and altogether such as I am, except these bonds" (Acts 26:29).
"And to come to a knowledge of the truth": knowledge of the truth is inseparably connected with salvation, a fact which solves the problem of reconciling the truth that God wills that all should be saved with the truth that He will not save every man. He who is the Way to Life is also the Truth, which men have to acknowÂledge. Epignosis aletheias, 'knowledge or acknowledging of the Truth', occurs three times more in these Letters, in 2 Timothy 2:25; 3:7; Titus 1:1. So it is the realisation of the truth which comes with repentance, it is something which cannot be achieved simply by "ever learning", and it is closely linked with godliness and God's purpose of election.
We are dealing therefore with something deeper than head knowledge or accumulated Scriptural facts. It is a matter of joyful recognition and deep, spiritual discernment which, once being attained to, a man cannot lapse from by sinning wilfully without being in danger of the judgement (Hebrews 10:26). "May (God) give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him" (Ephesians 1:17). "And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and all discernment" (Philippians 1:9, RV). "We do not cease to pray . .. that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will, in all wisdom and spiritual understanding" (Colossians 1:9). "All riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God" (2:2). No wonder, then, that Christ prays earnestly for the sanctification of his people through the knowledge of the word which is truth: for "this is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent" (John 17:3,17).
Verse 5: "For there is one God": the doctrinal foundation for the foregoing is now seen to be firmly based upon the unity of God and the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is emphasised frequently in the Scripture that the practical issues of life depend upon the knowledge of God. The connecting word "For" is almost equivalent to "as we all acknowledge", which is how F. F. Bruce interprets it in his Expanded Paraphrase.
Similar passages enable us to link the verse with the great comÂmandment to Israel, so often repeated in the synagogue throughout Israel's history unto this day. "But to us there is one God, the Father", Paul wrote (1 Corinthians 8:6, RV); and James, "Thou believest that there is one God" (2:19). They both draw the same practical conclusion from the fact that God is one as Israel were to draw from the commandment in Deuteronomy 6:4—"Hear, O Israel: the LORD our God is one LORD: and thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might." It followed from the unity of God, or rather from the uniqueness of Yahweh who was Israel's God, that a singleminded response was required from His people, the service of the whole man.
For the One God had one purpose—to "gather together in one all things in Christ" (Ephesians 1:10). Therefore He is God our Saviour, a title characteristic of the Pastoral Epistles (see page 15); He is also the Saviour of "all men"; He cannot be "God of the Jews" only, without being "of the Gentiles also: seeing it is one God, which shall justify" (Romans 3:28-30); "the same Lord over all (who) is rich unto all that call upon him" (10:12).
The unity of God's purpose is clearly demonstrated in His ordaining of only "one mediator between God and men", who, since the purpose is with "all men", is "himself man, Christ Jesus" (RV). The underlying significance of this fact is brought out in many another passage, especially those relating to Jew and Gentile, bond and free, male and female, and to the carefulness which ought to be exercised in dealing with "the brother for whom Christ died", and particularly in the passage we are considering where it is the ecclesia's duty to have "all men" in mind.
In the New Testament the word for "mediator" (mesites) occurs only in Galatians (3:19,20) and Hebrews (8:6; 9:15; 12:24) apart from this passage. The argument in Galatians centres around the Law and the Old Covenant. The mediator is a man, Moses, who stood between God and Israel at the people's own request. In the passage from Timothy the link is with Hebrews and the mediator of the New Covenant of forgiveness, sanctification and redemption. The work is not for angels, but for one of whom it could be said, "For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one''. A mediator, especially in matters of salvation, must be a representative, and the idea of the mediation of angels both to represent God to man and intercede with God for man is unscriptural. The superiority of Christ over Moses, as the unique mediator in the fullest sense, is seen in the fact of his Divine begettal and his partaking of flesh and blood.
The Septuagint uses the word mesites to translate "daysman" in Job 9:33. This chapter is worthy of study in this connection, since Job recognises the impossibility of a man contending with God—"How shall man be just with God?"—and the need for one to stand between God and himself to "lay his hand upon us both". It could only be a "redeemer", agoel, or "kinsman" of them both (Job 19:25), but how could there be such a one? Moses perceived that forgiveness depended upon the giving of a life (Exodus 32:32), and was taught that it was not to be his own, but one provided by God—even Jesus, the 'Salvation of Yah'.
Verse 6: "Who gave himself a ransom for all": another "oncer", antilutron, implies the paying of a price for something to be released. It is true that the anti- gives an added meaning to lutron, the word for "ransom" in Matthew 20:28 and Mark 10:45, where the Lord Jesus describes himself as the Son of man who came "to give his life a ransom for many". But the prefix does not imply a substitutionary payment but an adequate one, an equivaÂlent in value: all that Christ resigned in a life of obedience and a death as though he were a sinner since be bore the sins of many, is that which was given back to him, even honour, glory and life everlasting, and it is given also to all those who "die in him". It was his life he gave as a ransom for many: he made "his soul an offering for sin" (Isaiah 53:10). There is no contradiction beÂtween the Lord's "for many" and Paul's "for all"; the ransom has infinite value, but the benefits require appropriation (Guthrie, Tyndale Commentary), and not all are prepared to receive what God has offered.
"To be testified in due time": the phrase "to be testified" is in the Greek a noun, to marturion, a 'testimony' or 'witness'. It is in apposition to the whole thought of verses 4-6, and signifies that the sacrifice of Christ on behalf of all men is itself the great sign or attestation of God's will to save all men. The faithfulness of Moses in God's house was for "a marturion of those things which were to be spoken" (Hebrews 3:5). The faithfulness of Christ as a Son over that house was the marturion that the things had been fulfilled in due time.
The phrase is literally "in its own time", the appointed time of the maturity of God's purposes. The times are in fact God's own times, to which the prophets looked forward and for which the faithful waited. So Peter says that Christ, as the spotless lamb free from blemish, "was foreknown indeed before the foundation of the world, but was manifested at the end of the times for your sake" (1 Peter 1:19,20, RV). Then "when the fulness of time was come, God sent forth his Son" (Galatians 4:4).
The actual Greek words for our passage occur twice more in the Pastorals. In 1 Timothy 6:15 it has a connotation yet future, for God, "who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords" will "in his own times" manifest the Lord Jesus at his appearing and his kingdom. The other passage, however, links us with the words which follow in 1 Timothy 2:7; in Titus 1:3 Paul tells us that God our Saviour, "that cannot lie", promised eternal life before the world began. But He "hath in due times manifested his word through preaching which is committed unto me".
Verse 7: "Whereunto I am appointed a preacher": for while Christ is "the faithful witness, and the first begotten from the dead, and prince of the kings of the earth", "the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God" (Revelation 1:5; 3:15), there is an ongoing testimony to the historical fact of his death, resurrection and second appearing to be borne through the preaching of the Gospel. While the verb 'to herald' is the usual one for preaching, the use of the noun kerux, 'a herald', is confinÂed to this passage, 2 Timothy 1:11 and 2 Peter 2:5 (here applied to Noah): another example of a word which comes late into the vocabulary of the ecclesias, although the idea is familiar. It implies more than evangelism, the proclaiming of the good news: it is a more solemn, formal proclamation of all that the Gospel contains—the revelation both of the righteousness and of the wrath of God to come.
This apostolic ministry was not self-chosen: "I am ordained a preacher, and an apostle ... a teacher." The entire clause is repeated in 2 Timothy 1:11, where once more kerux describes the work and apostolos the mission on which he had been sent (cf. Romans 10:15—"How shall they preach (kerusso) except they be sent (apostello)?" The "I" is emphatic, and illustrates Paul's conÂcept of his work. His whole vocation, his very reason for living, is now to cooperate in the saving work of God in Christ and to proclaim it to "all men". The wonder of it and of his personal privilege in participating in it are never far from his thoughts, and the very mention of the reconciliation itself often leads him to mention his own mission to proclaim it: see 2 Corinthians 5:18—6:1 and Ephesians 3:6-12.
The assertion of his apostolic mission and authority is very much in place here. Beyond the fact that the authority gives support to the "charge" which Timothy has to exercise, the immediate theme of the universal nature of salvation is emphaÂsised. Why proclaim the Gospel abroad if it is not for men to receive? And why appoint specifically a preacher to the Gentiles if the grace of God is not for them? The ministry of Paul is the final argument for the universality of salvation: "I speak the truth in Christ, and lie not; (I am) a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth. " For the strong emphasis of "/ speak the truth, I lie not", see Romans 9:1; and for the assertion of his claim to be a teacher of the Gentiles, see Romans 11:13 ("I magnify mine office") and Gala-tians 2:7-9 ("the same was mighty in me towards the Gentiles"). It seems better to take "in faith and truth" closely with the word "teacher" (didaskalos, see page 46), thus describing the conÂtent of the teaching. Not only is this consistent with the emphasis in these Letters on sound teaching, in the faith and in the truth— in contrast to the "other-teachers" (page 41), whose message brought no salvation—but the way of describing common ChrisÂtian terms without the use of the definite article is also a characteristic of these Letters. See 1 Timothy 1:2 and Titus 1:4, where "in faith" and "a common faith" clearly means the faith. What more appropriate, then, than to place "first of all" in his authoritative advice to an ecclesia under pressure the exhortation to pray "for all men" for the reasons Paul had given, to make of the ecclesia a veritable "house of prayer" in the sense portrayed in the early apostolic church. In Isaiah 56 we read the Lord's own exhortation: "Keep ye judgement and do justice, for my salvation is near to come, and my righteousness to be revealed" (verse 1).
Then the son of the stranger, the eunuch and the outcasts of Israel, "all men" who genuinely sought the Lord and joined themselves to Him, were promised that the Lord would accept them and "make them joyful in my house of prayer . . . for mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people" (verse 7). The first fulfilment of this is described in Acts, where despised followers of Jesus, Samaritans, a eunuch and the Gentiles, were made glad by the salvation revealed "in due time".
Here, surely, is an exhortation that we can take to ourselves. There can be no better way to face the problems which beset the Ecclesia of God today, which threaten to impair seriously our corporate spiritual life and our effective preaching, to leave us divided into factions engaged in logomachiai, or 'word battles' (1 Timothy 6:4; 2 Timothy 2:14), following strained or irrelevant interpretations, making charges and countercharges, with tensions between liberal and reactionary, and a search for power or influence, than to learn the power of corporate prayer and the need for it.
Thus we can stimulate the sense of devotion and service in the ecclesias which recognises the greatness of our salvation and the responsibility of testifying to it in word and deed.
2:8-15—The Ecclesial Duties of Men and Women
Verse 8: "I will therefore that men pray every where": The "therefore" takes up once more the general subject of ecclesial prayer after the exposition of its purpose and meaning in verses 3-8, and "I will" expresses the Apostle's authoritative command about the details of public worship. Nothing could be more instructive—nor apparently, then as now, more necessary—than this command for the division of ecclesial duties. The word for "men" is not the anthropos of the verses about salvation in Christ, who is himself man: it is andres, the men as distinct from the women. To them alone belong the public duties of the ecclesia, the leadership of the worship of the saints.
Private prayer and devotion are not under discussion here, but only those connected with the formal assembly of the believers constituted as a church. Some indication of this can be gathered from the use of the phrase "every where" or "in every place", as for example also in 1 Corinthians 1:2—"The church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of the Lord Jesus." Again in 2 Corinthians 2:14—"God ... maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place''; and in 1 Thessalonians 1:8—"In every place your faith to God-ward is spread abroad." So the instruction was to apply to no particular locality, but to the "brotherhood near and far", in Ephesus, Corinth, Thessalonica or wherever the saints assemble as the house of God today.
"Lifting up holy hands": There is an appropriate physical as well as mental attitude for prayer. The lifting up of the hands, in an attitude of humble supplication, was the Jewish habit of prayer, as we may gather from 1 Kings 8:22; Psalm 141:2; 143:6; LamenÂtations 3:41. It is also the posture adopted for blessing an assembly (Leviticus 9:22; Luke 24:50). But standing (Genesis 18:22; 1 Samuel 1:26; Matthew 6:5; Mark 11:25; Luke 18:11,13), bowing the head (Genesis 24:26,48; Exodus 12:27; 2 Chronicles 29:30; Luke 24:5), lifting eyes to heaven (Psalm 25:15; 121:1; 123:1,2; 141:8; 145:15; John 11:41; 17:1), kneeling (2 Chronicles 6:13; Psalm 95:6; Isaiah 45:23; Daniel 6:10; Matthew 17:14; Mark 1:40; Luke 22:41; Acts 7:60; 9:40; 20:36; 21:5; Ephesians 3:14) and prostrating oneself to the ground (Genesis 17:3; 24:26; Numbers 14:5; 16:4,22,45; 20:6; Deuteronomy 9:18,25,26; Joshua 5:14; Judges 13:20; Nehemiah 8:6; Ezekiel 1:28; 3:23; 9:8; 11:13; 43:3; 44:4; Daniel 8:17; Matthew 26:39; Mark 7:25; 14:35; Luke 5:12; 17:16; Revelation 1:17; 11:16) are all Scriptural attitudes for prayer, either public or private.
An attitude of body implies an attitude of mind, but to adopt one of reverence, humility or pleading does not necessarily condition the mind, though it may help to do so. The spiritual attitude is indicated by the injunction that the outstretched hands be holy. "The hand is the instrument privileged to act for man" (Spicq, Les Epitres Pastorales), and to it in Scripture are attributed man's acts both pure and impure. "He that hath clean hands and a pure heart" shall stand in the Lord's holy place. So "draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded" (James 4:8).
"Without wrath and doubting": this injunction may well have a special relevance to the situation in Ephesus, but the principle is clearly stated in other contexts too, notably in the Lord's Prayer. God has pardoned us in Christ and we are expected to follow that example in our feelings towards others, for wrath can alienate the mind from prayer; whereas we are specifically commanded to pray even for them which persecute and despitefully use us. So also in Ephesians 4:26-32—"Be ye angry and sin not . . . Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice . . . forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you." See also the Parable of the Unmerciful Servant in Matthew 18:23-25.
Dialogismos is probably better translated as "disputing" (RV) rather than "doubting", although the second has some authority, as in Luke 24:38 where the "thoughts" arising in the disciples' hearts are indeed doubts. The disciples are also exhorted to believe that they have the things they pray for, and they will then receive them (Matthew 21:22). In view of the ecclesial situation in Ephesus, however, and the general New Testament sense of the word (as in Romans 14:1, "doubtful disputations", and Philippians 2:14, "without murmurings and disputings"), the Apostle is commanding that controversy be laid aside in favour of a joint approach in prayer to the God and Saviour of all men.
The spirit of debate is not conducive to a devotional atmosphere and true godliness, which is why the warnings against it are so frequent in these Letters. Again, we have a powerful message for our time.
Verse 9: "In like manner also, that women adorn themselves'': equally powerful and necessary for our time is the Apostle's next injuncÂtion, for the words "I will therefore" must be supplied from verse 8. The word for "in like manner" occurs in Paul's writings in Romans 8:26 and 1 Corinthians 11:25, then six times in the Pastorals (1 Timothy 2:9; 3:8,11; 5:25; Titus 2:3,6). In each case it means "in like manner" (applied to "the cup after supper" for example) and a strict comparison is being made between two methods or principles of conduct. Some have stated that Paul seems to turn from his discussion of the public work of the ecclesia to the private behaviour of the women. Far from making a digression, however, his point is precisely that the public work of the men which calls for a certain attitude of mind and a rigid self-discipline, has a counterpart in feminine demeanour. It is not a comment upon status but upon function in the ecclesia, where dress, deportment and attitude on the part of the women form as vital a part of ecclesial life as any more so-called active participation.
That such emphasis should be laid upon this in the New TestaÂment, both by Paul and Peter, is in fact remarkable, but it arises from an equally remarkable fact about the status of women in the New Testament as a whole, which will become apparent as the Apostle's words are examined phrase by phrase.
The idea of adornment as an expression of an attitude of mind is not confined to this passage. Peter uses the same metaphor in 1 Peter 3:1-6, where a meek and quiet spirit is regarded as a more valuable ornament than the most expensive apparel, and always formed part of the distinctive beauty of holiness of the women who trusted in God. It has a relation to the proclamaÂtion of the doctrine of God, moreover, since such demeanour could even win over unbelieving husbands "without the word". In Titus 2:9-10 faithful obedience on the part of slaves to their masters is called an "adorning of the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things". Manifestly the work of the sisters has as "public" an aspect as that of the brethren, whose behaviour in their own sphere must also match their spiritual pretensions.
"In modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety": there is an interesting play upon words between "modest" (kosmios) and "to adorn" (kosmeo), both connected with kosmos, an 'orderly arrangement' (also frequently, 'the world') which helps our understanding of the kind of adornment Paul has in view. The expression almost amounts to "adorned with a proper adornÂment", that is, with the discipline and moderation which conÂstitutes "good taste"—in this instance a Scripturally informed good taste (see Essay 8, "Braided Hair and Costly Array", page 83). There is nothing in this to suggest that a "dowdy" appearance, or an outfit into which no thought or care has gone, is particularly acceptable, nor the kind of casual dress worn deliberately to emphasise a supposed lack of concern for convenÂtions or ordinary standards. That can be as "immodest" in the Scriptural sense we are discussing as the other forms of extravagance with which the Apostle is concerned. There was less need for him to warn against the deliberately unkempt fashion of his day, since the only intelligent people who willingly adopted it if they could afford to be otherwise, were the Cynic philosophers (the "Dogs") who made a display of dispensing with all the standards of everyday life and comfort.
The word for "apparel" is a "oncer", although it is found in the Septuagint Version of Isaiah 61:3. It is again a word which suggests a moral quality expressed in a detail of dress, rather like the English word "habit", which can be both a vestment and the detail of a personality. Paul may well have had Isaiah's "garment of praise" in mind in his use of the word here.
Shamefacedness and Sobriety
But "shamefacedness and sobriety" were to be the keynotes. The former noun is a modified form of the Old English shamefastness and conveys no sense of dishonour. Its Greek original (aidos) occurs here and in Hebrews 12:28, where it is the reverence which accompanies godly fear in service of the living God. It is in every way a noble word, rare indeed in Scripture (not at all in the Old Testament), but common enough in philosophical writers of the Hellenistic world. J. H. Bernard {The Pastoral Epistles, Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges) has a note which cannot be improved upon. Aidos "implies (1) a moral repugnance to what is base and unseemly, and (2) self-respect, as well as restraint imposed on oneself from a sense of what is due to others . . . Thus aidos here signifies that modesty which shrinks from overstepping the limits of womanly reserve."
Sobriety (sophrosune) is one of a group of related words for which Paul shows a marked preference in the Pastoral Epistles. The usual translation is some form of the word "sober", as here, although in 2 Timothy the phrase is "sound mind" (cf. "in his right mind", Mark 5:15) and in Titus 2 it is "temperate" inverse 2 and "discreet" in verse 5. Its primary meaning in Classical Greek is "a command over bodily passions, a state of perfect self-mastery in respect of appetite. It marked the attitude towards pleasure of the man with a well balanced mind, and was equally opposed to asceticism and to over-indulgence" (Spicq).
Although it must not be assumed that Paul uses the word with the philosopher's virtues in mind, it is certainly another instance of his use of current vocabulary and ideas to which he gives a characteristically Christian meaning. In a situation such as that reflected in the Pastoral Letters, where "swerving aside" (1 Timothy 1:6) from the true path led to false asceticism (4:1-5) or over-indulgence (2 Timothy 3:1-6), what better virtue could be recommended than a true sense of responsibility in ecclesial servants (1 Timothy 3:2), aged men (Titus 2:2), aged women (2:3), young women (2:4), young men (2:6), Timothy himself (2 Timothy 1:7) and the sisters whose true influence and "public ministry" lay in the outward indications of their godliness (1 Timothy 2:9,15)?
Verse 10: There is, however, an adorning, of which the careful dressing with due consideration is the outward mark, even the ornament "of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price" (1 Peter 3:4). Peter says this is the mark of "holy women"; Paul says it "becometh women professing godliness".
Unique in all the New Testament, the word theosebeia ('godliness') means reverence for God, the spirit of recognition of Him in all one's thoughts and ways. The idea that reverence can be displayed in a manner of dressing for the meeting is one which needs to be emphasised today, for men as well as women. For it is only too easy to defend the wearing of casual clothes, or clothes which imply carelessness, in the ecclesia, on the ground that one does not need "Sunday best" to worship God (which is true); whereas one is in fact following the fashion of an age which has no respect for anything or anyone. One can make a display of his lack of concern.
"Professing" is an interesting word in the context of verse 9. The usual meaning of epangellomai is 'to promise', used both of God and men. Only here and in 6:21 ("professing knowledge") has it this particular shade of meaning. It almost implies a covenant relationship with God, the practical response of those who have promised: "All that the Lord hath said will we do, and be obedient" (Exodus 19:8).
The "good works" with which the Ephesian sisters were to adorn themselves are not necessarily deeds of charity, though they may well include them. Good works were required of the church as a whole: the purification of "a peculiar people zealous of good works" was the object of Christ's redemptive work (Titus 2:14), and such a people were to be exhorted to be "prepared (equipped) for every good work" (2 Timothy 2:21; 3:17; Titus 3:1) and careful to "maintain" them (Titus 3:8,14). Especially was Titus to be "a pattern of good works" (Titus 2:7; cf. 1 Timothy 6:18). Indeed, to be an ecclesial servant was in itself a good work (3:1), and it was a characteristic of older widows that they were well reported of for good works, diligently followed (5:10).
It is probably impossible to press too closely the distinction between kalos and agathos, both meaning good (see page 22), in connection with works throughout these passages, or indeed throughout these Epistles, although the use of both these words in the last passage suggests that kalos is a more comprehensive term than agathos, including both charitable acts and other deeds which were also the right index of true belief.
In any case, the emphasis on works as a proof that what is intellectually understood about God is not being denied in pracÂtice was necessary in an ecclesia where there were those who professed to know Him but in works denied Him, and were "unto every good work reprobate" (Titus 1:16). The average Greek who dabbled in the gnosis, the philosophy of his day, knew of to kalon kai to agathon, "the beautiful and the good", in an intellectual or abstract sense, but he would have found the idea of an actual work or deed being either kalos or agathos difficult. It is obvious from what follows that Paul is emphasising, not detracting from, the spiritual value and importance of the women's contribution to ecclesial life: it is as much "a good work" as that of the elders with different responsibilities.
Silence in the Ecclesia
Verse 11: "Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection": the repetition here of teaching given in principle to the Corinthians (1 Corinthians 14:34-35) is an indication that the question of the place of women in public worship was as much of an issue in Ephesus as it was in the Greek city, and as it is today. In the first century, as we have remarked above, there were certain practical points raised by the fact that the men and the women shared an absolute equality in the spiritual sense before God according to Paul's teaching; and, in fact, the Pastoral Letters themselves do envisage a role for the sisters in ecclesial life, as in 1 Timothy 3:11 and 5:3-14. It is true that in 1 Corinthians 11:4-15 women apparently did pray or prophesy aloud under the direct influence of the Spirit. But we should not forget that Paul is at pains to regulate this practice, as he was the whole behaviour of the Corinthian ecclesia, to the point of bidding them refrain from some of their previous habits because they created confusion, and in this very context (1 Corinthians 14:34) forbade women to speak in public.
The passive role of learning not teaching was to be accepted "in silence", without a spirit of rebellion or fretfulness. The word for "silence" applies to quietness and calmness of spirit as well as to stillness of the tongue, and it is reinforced by the words "with all subjection", or with complete submissiveness. There were, no doubt, in Ephesus, as there are in the modern ecclesia, many able, intellectually gifted sisters for whom it could prove a sore trial to play a passive role when they seemed to have so much to offer. It may be, too, that not enough use is made in ecclesial life of women's talents and energy in spheres for which they are particularly suited. But now, as then, it is impossible to avoid the clear, Scriptural prohibition upon public utterance on their part.
Verse 12: "But I suffer not a woman to teach": that the prohibition actually refers only to teaching in the assembly is plain enough, both from Scriptural precedent and from what follows immediateÂly in this same verse. The teaching of children by their mother, who would exercise a great influence in this sphere, is well documented. It is implied in the frequent coupling of the mother's name with that of the kings of Israel who did good or evil in the sight of the Lord (26 times from 1 Kings to 2 Chronicles); it is explicitly stated in such phrases as "the law of thy mother" (Proverbs 1:8; 6:20); it was surely a factor in the education of the young Jesus, who was subject unto both Mary and Joseph (Luke 2:51); and it was an important element in the preparatory backÂground of Timothy himself (2 Timothy 1:5). Priscilla is coupled with her husband (and is sometimes mentioned first) in the work of instructing Apollos in the way of God, and in helping the Apostle, who refers to their joint work with approval (Acts 18:26; Romans 16:3; 2 Timothy 4:19).
But whatever the nature of a sister's work, it must not allow her "to usurp authority over a man". The verb authenteo ('usurp authority') is not only a Biblical "oncer": it was apparently previously unknown in all Greek literature, although some rare related words are on record. It has a peculiar force when interÂpreted in the light of the explanation Paul is to give later in the chapter. The basic meaning of the verb, the ancestor of our word "authentic", is 'to act of oneself, 'to be absolute master', 'to be the instigator', 'to take the initiative', 'to assume the responsibility'.
Although it is primarily of the sphere of ecclesial life that Paul is thinking here, his words have their parallel in the domestic scene, which is a reflection of the relationship between Christ and the church—a point which it is easy for the husband to forget, since his responsibility is great when viewed in that light. The responsibility of the brethren in the ecclesia is, by the same token, equally great.
Paul recognises that for sisters a great deal of restraint needs to be exercised and rounds off his prohibition with a repetition of the words "to be in silence". That a sense of restraint is involved here can be gauged from the meaning of "silence" or "rest" as used in Luke 23:56. The loving, devoted women who had waited at the foot of the cross, watched to see where and how the body of their Lord was laid. Then, eager to perform their last, sad service for him, they went home "and prepared spices and ointments; and rested (were quiet) the Sabbath day according to the commandment''.
We can imagine that it was only respect for the Law which enablÂed them to preserve a quiet spirit in such a circumstance. No wonder that it was "very early in the morning" that they went to the sepulchre bringing the spices which they had prepared!
The Scriptural Basis
Verse 13: "For Adam was first formed, then Eve": Paul is not, as the modern commentators affected by the spirit of the age would have us believe, offering a personal opinion founded on prejudice. None can read his comments upon the sisters with whom he came into contact without realising his profound respect for them and gratitude for their work. See especially Romans 16. Nor can we reconcile his careful concern for the building-up and spiritual health of the ecclesia with the idea that what is now known as male chauvinism would make him deprive the ecclesias of a ministry of women if such were indeed of immense benefit both to the ecclesias and the women involved. His commands are soundly based upon principles of Scripture and the physical, emotional and psychological facts of the case. All reasoning upon conÂtemporary conditions, social or enonomic, must give place to two abiding facts: the fact of creation and the fact of the entrance of sin.
The actual situation in Ephesus as in Corinth, both ecclesias needing to be healed of faction and strife by sound ecclesial organisation, only serves to throw these facts into relief and make the Apostle, with tender sympathy and basic understanding, forbid the sisters to enter into a sphere of activity for which they were not equipped and in which they would be exposed to much personal distress. Paul is saying more than that man is the senior partner in Divine arrangements. It was he who received and was made responsible for obedience to God's commandments; with him God began the work of the Garden and the naming of the animals.
Adam was in fact both type and fore-runner of the "man of God's right hand" whose headship in spiritual matters goes unchallenged. That man has grossly abused his position with respect to women does not alter the fact that, according to the Scripture, woman was made for the sake of man and not the other way round. She was to fill up that which he lacked, that in helping and being "meet" for him there might be seen a perfect harmonious whole. Either this is a symbol of the relationship between God and His people or Christ and the Church—in which case the nature of the relationship is as clear and unmistakable as Paul makes it in Ephesians 5 and Colossians 3—or it is not, in which case marriage has no spiritual basis at all.
Terse 14: "And Adam was not deceived": the mutual relationship allows woman to exercise "a gracious yet very powerful and beneficent influence" upon man which "can promote her own happiness, unto God's glory" (Hendriksen, 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus). The fact that the influence can be otherwise, while equally powerful, results, like the nature of man himself, from the Fall, with its entail of sin and death upon Adam's sons and Eve's daughters. Paul is not excusing Adam and blaming Eve. On the contrary, Adam provides a classic example of the weight of man's responsibility in the partnership, since although Eve was first "in the transgression", "by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin" (Romans 5:12ff.). It was also a classic case of the dangers of a woman being "authentic" or usurping authority: she led, and the man followed.
The very emotional balance of woman's nature which enabled her to exercise that sweet and beneficent influence also allowed her to be "beguiled" (2 Corinthians 11) or "deceived", by that which was a piece of "other-teaching" on the part of the serpent. She had usurped the man's authority in saying what was and what was not to be, in connection with God's command: she had, in the very meaning of the word authented used by Paul in verse 12, 'taken the initiative', 'acted for herself, 'assumed the responÂsibility'. The influence upon Adam proved no less powerful because it was wrong.
There are two clear instances in Scripture where God upbraids His people because women ruled. One is in Amos 4:1, where the "kine of Bashan" are called upon to hear the judgement of the Lord upon them because they called upon their masters (surely an irony here!) saying, "Bring, and let us drink", thus causing the poor and needy to be oppressed to provide the money to satisfy their demands. The other is in Isaiah 3:12—"As for my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, they which lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths." There follows, remarkably, and Paul could almost have drawn his exhortation from this very passage in the prophets, a list of the extravagances in dress and attitude, of the daughters of Zion, none of which would be of any value in the day of account, when the men of war were slain by the sword and the women left desolate (verses 16-26).
A Sister's Role
Verse 15: "Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing": there have been many attempts to explain the above passage, some of them satisfactory, others touching but the fringe of reason or grammatical possibility. The following are the principle explanaÂtions offered by commentators, Christadelphian and others:
She will be saved by means of the childbirth, that is, by the birth of Christ who is specifically described in Genesis 3:15 as "the seed of the woman"; She will come safely through childbirth; She will be saved by means of bearing children; She will be saved by way of her childbearing (that is, not by way of public ecclesial work, or usurping a man's place).
In spite of its attractiveness as a neat explanation, Scripturally sound as far as it goes (it has some connection with Genesis 3), this cannot be fully acceptable in the context. It is true that some godly Hebrew women eagerly looked for the privilege of bearing the Messiah, and prepared themselves mentally and spiritually for the responsible task of bringing up and giving early training in Divine things to the Saviour—"continuing in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety''. But Messiah had already been born when Paul wrote, and only one woman had known the heart-piercing joy of fulfilling that responsibility. So the "she" of verse 15 must refer to "woman" in general, and if the sense be therefore that women ("they") are saved because a woman bore Christ, then that is equally true of "all men" (verse 4) also; which is not the point Paul is making.
This explanation does violence both to the context and to the sense of the word "saved". This verb must bear the meaning it has in 1:15 and 2:4, especially since the whole discussion of chapter 2 centres around the respective roles of men and women in spiritual life in the process of salvation. Moreover, many women of unsaintly character come safely through their ordeal; and while clean and holy living, with self-restraint, can have an effect upon physical well-being, this is surely not the Apostle's present theme.
(3) This would imply that childbearing is of itself a meritorious act. It is true that Paul's whole point in this chapter is that attitudes of mind and spiritual outlook make natural or necessary duties, such as the oversight of an ecclesia (3:1) and here of motherhood, into "a good work", but the spiritual merit lies in the outlook and not in the work, "for by grace are ye saved through faith . . . not of works, lest any man (or woman, see Genesis 30:1 and 1 Samuel 1:6) should boast" (Ephesians 2:8,9). And if the merit lay in the act, then the unmarried woman or the childless wife would be at a disadvantage before God— an idea quite foreign to Paul's explicit teaching and to the whole spirit of Christ (1 Corinthians 7:32; 1 Timothy 5:5, cf. Martha and Mary).
There remains for consideration explanation (4). At first sight it seems open to some of the objections mentioned above, especially if the meaning oiteknogonia (a "oncer" in Greek, with a related "oncer", teknogonein in 5:14), is restricted to the physical act of giving birth. There is an extended meaning, however, which if followed illuminates this admittedly difficult passage in the light of (4), although it would not remove the objects to (1)— (3). The key lies in the relation of Genesis 3 to the argument, and especially to the conclusion of the passage in 1 Timothy 2:15— ' If they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety".
Sophrosune (page 71), 'sobriety' or 'a true sense of responsiÂbility', was precisely what Eve had failed to "continue in" when she took the lead in Eden. Her act was an act of faithlessness; she had not continued in her faith that what God had said was true. Her action placed Adam in a terrible, though till this very day a familiar, dilemma. On him lay the responsiÂbility whichever way he went, in the way of his wife or in the way of God. Through him, when he had made the natural rather than the spiritual choice, "sin entered into the world and death by sin".
The results, which have also passed upon all men and women, were appropriate to their physical and psychological make-up: for the man it was the responsibility of labour to provide bread, with toil and sweat; for the woman the responsibility of bearing children and of submitting to the authority of the man, both roles being attended by sorrow and frustration. The terms of God's pronouncement make it plain that what would have been natural to their life in any case would thenceforward be carried out with difficulty and excess, since they had chosen to exaggerate the importance of their natural and legitimate desires to the point of disobedience to God's commandment.
It is clear from many a New Testament passage, especially in Paul, that worship of God extends beyond the formal acts, even the formal assemblies, of what is ordinarily understood as worship. Daily labour, human relationships, due regard for one's status and condition in life, a contentment to abide in the calling wherein one is called, whether male or female, bond or free— all are service of the Lord when all is done as unto the Lord. Further, ecclesial life is a corporate existence in the family of God comparable with daily life and work in all its aspects of mutual relationships and responsibilities. (On this point see especially the qualification for eldership described in 3:4,5 following.)
Devoted Women
One can therefore almost put the words "through childbearing" in parenthesis, and read "she shall be saved . . . if they (women) continue in faith and love and holiness, with sobriety". The same qualities are required in men for their salvation, and their proper ecclesial sphere is public responsibility and that which is to be considered in the next chapter. For the reasons outlined above we cannot press the meaning of teknogonia to exclude the childless woman, so the wider sense of "maternal instinct" is probably nearer to the Apostle's thought as expressing the woman's role. The phrase sums up all those fine, gentle, self-sacrificing qualities which are important in the home, in the training and "nourishing up" of children, and in any corporate assembly, above all the house of the living God.
If these qualities have not always been utilised fully by us in ecclesial life, or their importance has been under-estimated, there is no support in Scripture for this attitude, as the story of the sisters at Bethany and frequent apostolic reference to women by name makes plain: "Phoebe . . hath been a succourer of many, and of myself also", and she also apparently brought Paul's letter to Rome; "Priscilla and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus ... for my life laid down their own necks, unto whom not only I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles"; "Mary, who bestowed much labour on us"; "Tryphena and Tryphosa, who labour in the Lord"; "Rufus's mother and mine" (Romans 16); "Euodias and Syntyche ... those women which laboured with me in the gospel . . . whose names are in the book of life" (Philippians 4); "Our beloved Apphia" (Philemon 2); "The unfeigned faith . . . which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois and thy mother Eunice" (2 Timothy 1:5).
The list is impressive, as surely would be the list of those devoted women of the twentieth century ecclesias who labour with shamefastness, sobriety and quietness at that which they, and only they, can do so well, in home, ecclesia and other branches of the Truth's service, to train, teach and guide the young at home or in the Sunday School, to cherish and console, and with affection and skill offer rest and hospitality to the travelling speaker, or carry out many another ecclesial duty which is in effect a "washing of the feet of the saints", or the receiving of "a prophet in the name of a prophet", and so receiving with him "a prophet's reward".
ESSAY 7
Prayer for Those in Authority
THE general concept of prayer for all men needs to be looked at in more detail, which Paul now proceeds to do in 1 Timothy 2:2. To specify those in high places—' 'For kings and for all that are in authority"—does not exclude lesser men, but it does enable us to see how the principles set out in these verses were actually pracÂtised by God's people. If Nero was the reigning emperor (or "king") at the time, then the thought of prayers for him would not have come easily to mind. Yet respect for and submission to the authorities as authorities is a prominent feature of apostolic teaching. It appears in Titus 3:1, a reminder necessary for brethren in the special circumstances of Crete; it is spelled out in some detail in Romans 13, with explanatory comment; it is part of the seemly behaviour prescribed in 1 Peter 2, where we are assured that it is answerable to Christ's own example, and is therefore "for the Lord's sake" (verse 13). One of the points which emerges clearly from the record in Acts is that the apostles and their converts were at pains to respect authority. When restrained by an official edict, sometimes itself a violation of its own principles (cf. Pilate's "I find no fault in this man—take ye him and crucify him", John 19:4,6), only then did they disobey, or "obey God rather than men" (Acts 5:29).
There is equally good Old Testament precedent for prayers for those in authority. Darius requested prayers "for the life of the king and his sons" of the returned exiles for whom he was providing things necessary for the rebuilding of the Temple and its worship (Ezra 6:10; 7:23). Perhaps more surprising, and in contradistinction to the falsely based "nationalism" of the rulers in Jerusalem, the captives in Babylon were commanded to "seek the peace of the city . . . and pray unto the Lord for it: for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace" (Jeremiah 29:4-7; note the subtle play on the name Jerusalem!).
The reasons are clear. Equally clear is the fact that although two of our Pastoral words can refer to petitions offered to men as well as to God and Biblical examples may be cited for this practice also, it is prayer to God for men that Paul has in mind. For "the powers that be are ordained of God" (Romans 13:1). Therefore, although captives in Babylon or disciples in the Roman Empire might feel themselves completely at the mercy of ruthless and tyrannical rulers, or subject to the whim of a Pilate, a tetrarch, a proconsul or a town-clerk, and so recognise a sense of need or social insecurity such as those in a liberal democratic society cannot begin to understand, they were neither to rebel nor put their trust in princes: they were in a spirit of thankfulness to make supplications, prayers and intercessions unto God.
Sometimes the repressive regime brought beatings and imÂprisonment, and there could have been a crisis of conscience and, humanly speaking, some justification for intercession against the authorities. Here, too, the apostolic practice is worthy of note: "They lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, Lord (Greek: despotes; Hebrew: Adon, for true Lord and Master), thou art God, which hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is." There follows the recognition that all was happening according to the word of the Lord, "for to do whatÂsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done". Their petition is that the Lord would look upon their condition and grant their heart's desire—"that with all boldness they may speak thy word" (Acts 4:24-31).
ESSAY 8
Braided Hair and Costly Array
"NOT with braided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array" (1 Timothy 2:9): Many contemporary pictures, statues and actual objects recovered by the archaeologist, give examples of what Paul counselled his sisters in Christ to avoid. Again the emphasis is upon extravagance, which is the root meaning behind our own word luxury. At certain periods plaited or braided hair was the usual style of coiffure for women. Paul's strictures, however, are not upon a style of arranging the natural hair but upon display, as the other words in the phrase reveal. They imply the presence in Ephesus of some women of wealth, whose extravagant adornÂment would be all the more offensive in a Christian congregation which was made up of rich and poor, bond and free; although, as now, it was possible to buy certain cheap imitations which deceived no-one, except perhaps the wearer who aped a life-style beyond her means. The gold wire mesh or "hair net'', the various pins, combs and false tresses needed, in extreme cases, the aid of skilful slaves with crisping pins, and hours of labour, to arrange into a complicated edifice upon the head of the lady of leisure. So it was not a question of forbidding a neat arrangement of beautiful hair, a Divine gift in itself, but of displaying or giving the impression of wealth and self-indulgence, emphasised by the wearing of pearls—sometimes of "great price", worth a merÂchant's whole capital—and expensive clothing.
There could be another element in the "psychology" of feminine attire and hair-style. More than one Roman author refers to the "lascivious pin" inserted into the hair, and the parting of the tresses to indicate (the word is actually to profess) a "loose femininity". Let it be frankly said, that if the Lord's own warning, that a man's lustful glance persisted in is tantamount to adultery, has a female counterpart it must surely be in the deliberate provocation of that glance, either in dress or deportÂment. If this thought be not actually expressed in the Apostle's warnings here, the principle he is enunciating clearly covers it, and his exhortation has its point today, when sisters, often all unwittingly, follow fashions which negate Scriptural principles (such as the covering of the head in ecclesial worship) or reflect the more sinister aspects of the spirit of the age.
Is Paul saying then that sisters should not dress carefully and well, or try to look attractive? Is he indulging in a conventional diatribe against female extravagance? On the contrary. What he is against is the impropriety of women exploiting their physical charms. In early times, even in the world outside the ecclesias, extravagance was officially frowned upon however much it was privately cultivated, and for the rural areas, still cherishing something of the traditional frugality which had, in the case of the Roman, been fostered by leges sumptuariae, or laws regulating expenditure, the ways of the wealthy and the manners of the city were marks of decadence. Moreover, the freedom of association between men and women which arose from the fact that "in Christ there is neither male or female" could be seriously misunderstood by those without, if it were not seen to be regulated by restraints of a spiritual nature.
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