Lesson 03 “Prayer
in the Church” 1
Timothy 2:1-8
ID:
Inductive Questions (Asking the text questions like who, what, where, when,
why, & how?”)
CR: Cross
References (Comparing Scripture to Scripture, understanding the vague by the
clear.)
WS: Word
Study (Understanding definition, theological meaning, and usages in other
passages.)
The WORD: What does the Bible say?
Context: Read 1 Timothy 1:12- 2:15
to help understand the context of this passage.
Read 1 Timothy 1:1-8
in a more literal
or more dynamic
translation than you usually use.
The first word in this passage in the nkjv is “therefore.” ("then"
in many translations) Take a few minutes
to review 1:12-20 and think about what “the therefore (or then) is there for.”
1. WS: (2:1) What do the words Paul uses for prayer mean? (supplications
(deēsis), prayers (proseuchē), intercessions
(enteuxis), and giving of
thanks (eucharistia)) Why do you think Paul uses these four
different words for prayer?
2. ID: (2:2-4) Who are we to pray for? What should we pray for them? Why are we to pray for kings and those in
authority?
3. WS/CR: (2:5-6) What is a mediator
(mesitēs)? Why was Christ perfect to be our mediator? (Hebrews
8:6; 9:15; 12:24)
4. WS: (2:6) What does the imagery of the word ransom (antilytron) teach us
about ourselves, our Savior, and our salvation?
5. CR: (2:8) Was the admonition to lift hands (Psalm
28:2; 63:4; 119:48; 134:2; Lamentations 2:19) a prescription for a physical posture of
prayer? What attitude does lifted hands
indicate?
6. WS: (2:8) How are wrath (orgē) and doubting (dialogismos) inconsistent
with “holy (hosios) hands” lifted in
prayer and praying?
The WALK: What should I do?
1. Does the expression “first of all” describe prayer in
your life and church? How do we know
when prayer is a priority? Who is the
equivalent of “king and all in authority” today? Take time to pray for some of our key leaders
by name.
2. Do we share God’s burden for all men or do we tend to favor those who are more like us? Who is hard for you to desire to be saved? Take some time to pray for your heart and for
them.
3. What are things that keep us from lifting holy hands
in prayer (in figurative and literal senses)?
4. CSBI: How does our view of the authority of Scripture
affect how we look at a church creed or statement of faith? or listen to a sermon by a favorite preacher?
(Acts
17:11)
Going Beyond: Memorize 2:1-2 or 2:5-6 and meditate (meletaō) on them this week.
2. What areas of theology are touched on in this passage?
The Bible
God God the Father The Son
The
Holy Spirit Man Salvation The
Church
Angels & Satan
Future Things
ARTICLE II: SCRIPTURE AND
TRADITION
We affirm that the Scriptures are the supreme written norm by which God binds the
conscience, and that the authority of the church is subordinate to that of Scripture.
We deny that church creeds,
councils or declarations have authority greater than or equal to the authority
of the Bible.
Article II of the Chicago Statement reinforces Article I and goes into
more detail concerning the matters involved with it. Article II has in view the
classical Protestant principle of sola
scriptura which speaks of the unique authority of the Bible with respect to
binding the consciences of men. The affirmation of Article II speaks of the
Scriptures as “the supreme written norm.” Discussion concerning the word
“supreme” was lengthy; alternate words were suggested and subsequently
eliminated from the text. Words like “ultimate” and “only” were discarded in
favor of “supreme.” The question at this
point dealt with the fact that other written documents are important to the
life of the church. For example, church
creeds and confessions form the basis of subscription and unity of faith in
many different Christian denominations and communities. Such creeds and
confessions have a kind of normative authority within a given Christian body
and have the effect of binding consciences within that particular context.
However, it is a classic tenet of Protestants to recognize that all such creeds
and confessions are fallible and cannot fully and finally bind the conscience
of an individual believer. Only the Word of God has the kind of authority that
can bind the conscience of men forever. So, though the articles acknowledge
that there are other written norms recognized by different bodies of
Christians, insofar as they are true, those written norms are derived from and
are subordinate to the supreme written norm which is the Holy Scripture.
In the denial it is clearly
spelled out that no church creed, council or declaration has authority greater
than or equal to the authority of the Bible. Again, any idea of an equal
authority level of tradition or church officers is repudiated by this
statement. The whole question of a Christian’s obedience to
authority structures apart from the Scripture was a matter of great discussion
with regard to this article. For example, the Bible itself exhorts us to obey magistrates.
We are certainly willing to subject ourselves to our own church confessions and
to the authority structure of our ecclesiastical bodies. But the thrust of this article is to indicate
that whatever lesser authorities there are, they never carry with them the
authority of God Himself. There is a
sense in which all authority in this world is derived and dependent upon the
authority of God. God and God alone has intrinsic authority. That intrinsic
authority is the authority given to the Bible since it is God’s Word. Various
Christian bodies have defined the extent of civil authority and ecclesiastical
authority in different ways. For example, in Reformed churches the authority of
the church is viewed as ministerial and declarative rather than ultimate and
intrinsic. God and God alone has the
absolute right to bind the consciences of men. Our consciences are justly bound
to lesser authorities only when and if they are in conformity to the Word of
God.
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