1 Timothy 2:5

1 Timothy 2:5 says, For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;  Paul reminded Timoty that there was but one God and one Mediator, the man Jesus Christ.  So, if anyone proclaims that there can be other gods and that we are closeminded to believe otherwise, then we just need to be closeminded.  If anyone says that there is another way to enter into an everlasting relationship with God other than by putting our faith in Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord, they are wrong.  Jesus Christ is the only One Who can restore us to a right relationship with God.

Verse six adds, Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.  Paul then said that Jesus Christ gave Himself as a ransom for all, and not just for certain people in certain places.  When we start to put more value on certain people than we do on others, then we must not believe what God’s word teaches us.  Jesus Christ died for even those that we see as enemies, and we are to reach out to them with His message of salvation.  Even if they never accept His gift of salvation, He still died for them.  We must reach them while they are living, because once they die, they are forever lost. 

Verse seven continues, Whereunto I am ordained a preacher, and an apostle, (I speak the truth in Christ, and lie not;) a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and verity.  Paul said that he was ordained by God to be an apostle and teacher of the Gentiles.  He said this was true and he wasn't lying about it.  He may have added that because some people didn’t believe that he was an apostle because he had not been a follower of Christ when He was calling disciples Himself, but Paul had encountered the resurrected Lord on the road to Damascus.  Even the other apostles didn’t become apostles until they met the resurrected Lord, so they had no greater claim to be an apostle than Paul did.  Until they encountered the resurrected Lord, they were just a group of defeated disciples, even though they had walked and talked with Jesus daily.  They knew about the physical man Jesus, but not the resurrected Christ, the Savior of all who will put their faith in Him.  We should never feel superior to any other Christian based on where we live and just believing that Jesus Christ lived and was a great prophet will never save us.  We must see Him as the resurrected Lord.

Verse eight concludes, I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.  Paul returns to prayer, asking that people everywhere pray for God’s will to be done in their life, I believe, so that they might reach others with God's gracious gift of salvation.  They were to lift up holy hands to God without wrath or doubt.  Once more, if we are going to claim God’s promise of redemption, we must keep our hands holy, or set apart from the world to do His work for His glory.  We cannot have wrath, or anger, in our hearts toward any other person and effectively follow the will of God. \

1 Timothy 2:1

Timothy 2:1 says, I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;  Paul then asked Timothy to first pray for all men and to give thanks for them.  We too often think of prayer as a small thing and don't often see it as one of the most powerful things we can do.  We hear expressions like, “All I can do is pray for you,” when if we are sincerely praying, that is the most important thing that we can do for someone.  Paul also asked that Timothy pray for all men, not just ones he might like or know.  I believe this would start by Timothy praying for their salvation if they were not already saved.  Sometimes, we pray more that those we don’t like will never be saved than we pray for them to be saved, but this was never God’s plan.  

Verse two adds, For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.  Paul asked Timothy to pray for all the men in authority so that they could lead quiet and peaceful lives.  We often have leaders who do anything but work for us to have quiet and peaceful lives, but we are still to pray for them and even for those who support them.  

Verse three continues, For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;  Paul said that Timothy was to do this because it was a good and acceptable thing to God and our Savior Jesus Christ.  God never commands us to hate and want anyone destroyed because they might be threat to us, but He expects for us to pray for them.

Verse four concludes, Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.  Paul adds that Timothy was to do this because God wants every person to be saved, even our worst enemy.  Once a person dies, there is no longer any hope for them to be saved if they haven’t, and it is our commission to reach out to everyone with the gospel of Christ.

1 Timothy 1:16

1 Timothy 1:16 says, Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting. Paul said that God’s longsuffering with him had been so that he could be an example for others.  If Paul, with all the sinful things he did with pride, could be saved, then so can anyone.  We may not be the chief of sinners, but no matter how good or bad we may be, when we put our faith in Jesus Christ, we should live our life so that we can be an example for others.  When we fail, as inevitably we will, then we must repent and put our faith in God once more, again setting the example for others who may sin.  

Verse seventeen adds. Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.  Paul listed several attributes of God which apply to Him alone.  God is eternal, without beginning or end, immortal, incapable of being killed, invisible.  We cannot see God, though He was seen in the life of Jesus Christ, but even then, it was not in His full glory, and He is the source of all wisdom.  We may know a lot of facts, but true wisdom comes from God alone.  There is no other source of wisdom and everlasting power.  

Verse eighteen adds, This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare;  Paul said that he committed these truths to Timothy so that he might fight a good fight against evil in the world.  We as followers of Christ have these same truths committed to us, and we must live by them if we are going to fight a good fight against evil in the world.  

Verse nineteen continues, Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck:  Paul said that Timothy was to hold on to His faith in Jesus Christ, which some who were supposed to be followers of Christ had made a shipwreck of.  Some people today who profess to be Christians have made a shipwreck of faith, adding to or taking away from what it means to be a Christian.

Verse twenty concludes, Of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme.  Paul then named two individuals who had been guilty of blasphemy that he said he had delivered to Satan.  I believe that he meant he had removed them from the church family so that they would do no more harm than they already had.  Sometimes, if people will do nothing but blaspheme God, we need to remove ourselves from their company.

1 Timothy 1:12

1 Timothy 1:12 says, And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry;  Paul said he thanked Jesus Christ for seeing him as worthy to proclaim the gospel.  Paul had spent his early years learning the law and persecuting those who did not obey it, but then he encountered the resurrected Lord on the road to Damascus, and he was never the same after that.  As Christians, we had to have encountered Jesus Christ at some point in our life and put our faith in Him as our Savior and Lord, and once we do, we should never be the same again.  

Verse thirteen adds, Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.  Paul said that he had been a blasphemer, persecutor, and had been injurious to Christians when he was trying to live by the law of God as he understood it.  The law was to condemn others and to glorify himself as he zealously did what he thought the law of God called on him to do.  We can be very zealous about God’s law and still be lost.  Paul said that after He encountered the grace of God, he realized that what he had been doing before was based on ignorance and unbelief.  Once we accept God’s gracious gift of salvation, we should realize how wrong we were to try to justify ourselves by any other means.  

Verse fourteen continues, And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.  Paul said that God’s grace was abundant in faith and love, which were all exemplified in Jesus Christ.  He didn’t say that God’s grace and love called for him to judge and condemn others.  We likewise should never attempt to use God’s grace and love for us to judge and condemn others.  

Verse fifteen concludes, This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.  Paul then said that this was a good saying worthy of all acceptance, that Jesus Christ came to save sinners.  If we are to be a part of God’s kingdom, we must accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord.  Paul said that he was the chief of sinners, even when he thought he was faithfully carrying out God’s law.  It doesn't matter how sinful we have been as for as being saved is concerned. The smallest of sin separates us from God, and we can do nothing by our own ability to be redeemed.