1 Timothy 2, Peaceful and Quiet Lives

Paul continues to instruct Timothy on church leadership.

1 Timothy 2: 1-4, Prayer for those in authority

I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone-- for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.  This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. 

Paul's request for prayer for government leaders is based on a desire for ordinary peaceful lives.  Paul has no desire to shake up society, unless it is through the (slow) progress brought by changed hearts and "knowledge of the truth".

1 Timothy 2: 5-7, One mediator, one ministry

For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men--the testimony given in its proper time.  And for this purpose I was appointed a herald and an apostle--I am telling the truth, I am not lying--and a teacher of the true faith to the Gentiles.

Paul concludes the instruction about prayer with a strong statement about the true role of Jesus, as Savior-Mediator.  And, as he often does, Paul follows this with a statement about his own calling to preach about the Messiah to the non-Jews.

1 Timothy 2: 8-15, Pastoral advice

I want men everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer, without anger or disputing.

 I also want women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God.

A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent. For Adam was formed first, then Eve. And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner. But women will be saved through childbearing--if they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety.

After the first sentence, this passage becomes increasingly difficult for the modern reader.  Paul begins with desire for prayer and peace, followed then by an emphasis (for the Gentile untrained by Judaism) on modesty and inner beauty.  But after that, he seems to be very patriarchal, emphasizing female submission.

This passage is laden with the culture of the first century and one wonders how much of it deals with working within the first century culture.  I won't elaborate on the various positions taken by the church today ("complementarianism" and "egalitarianism", among others) but I do want to point out that the first verses in the chapter clarifies Paul's desire for peaceful lives of quiet change and quiet spiritual development.  He has no plans to overthrow society.  Eventually, over several centuries, Christianity did become the dominant religion in Europe (at least officially) and did indeed overturn society.  But that is not Paul's goal here.

The NIV footnotes allow the last sentence to be translated "But she will be restored through childbearing..." presumably relating back to the divisions created by the Fall.  Neither phrasing is compatible with other statements about women and men being equal before God (i.e. Galatians 3:28)

More pastoral advice is given in the next chapter.