1st Timothy Chapter 2 verse 2 Holy Bible

1st Timothy 2 : 2 Bible Verse Songs

• When We Pray by Tauren Wells

Pulpit Commentary

Pulpit CommentaryVerse 2. - And all for and for all, A.V.; high place for authority, A.V.; tranquil and quiet for quiet and peaceable, A.V.; gravity for honesty, A.V. For kings, etc. The early Liturgies closely followed these directions. "Every day, both in the evening and the morning, we offer prayers for the whole world, for kings, and for all in authority" (Chrysost., in lee.). So in the Liturgy of St. Mark: "Preserve our king in peace, in virtue, and righteousness.... Subdue his enemies under him... incline him to peace towards us and towards thy Holy Name, that in the serenity of his reign we too may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all piety and honesty [or, 'gravity']." In the Liturgy of St. Clement: "Let us pray for kings and those in authority, that they may be peaceably inclined toward us, and that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all piety and honesty [or, 'gravity']." In the Liturgy of St. Chrysostom: "Let us pray for our most religious and God-protected emperors, and all their palace and court." "We offer this our reasonable service on behalf of our most faithful and Christian (φιλοχρίστων) emperors, and all their palace and court." And in the Liturgy of St. Basil: "Remember, Lord, our most religious and faithful kings... that in their serenity we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and gravity. Remember, O Lord, all rulers and all in authority, and all our brethren in the palace, and the whole court." In high place (ἐν ὑπεροχῇ); elsewhere only in 1 Corinthians 2:1, where it is rendered "excellency." But in Romans 13:1 we have ἐξουσίαις ὑπερεχούσαις "the higher powers;" and in 1 Peter 2:13, τῷ βασιλεῖ ὡς ὑπερέχοντι, "the king as supreme." In 2 Macc. 3:11 the phrase, ἀνδρὸς ἐν ὑπεροχῇ κειμένου, occurs; and in Polybius, οἱ ἐν ὑπεροχῇ ὔντες It is often used in Polybius for "authority" or "power." That we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and gravity. The prayer for the rulers is recommended (as was explained in the above extracts from the Liturgies) in order to obtain for Christians a tranquil life, undisturbed by persecution and molestation, in spite of their peculiar way of life. Their wish was to be allowed to live in the faith and obedience of the gospel, "in godliness and gravity," without being interfered with by the heathen magistrates. The clause in the Prayer for the Church Militant which corresponds to this is "that under her we may be godly and quietly governed." Tranquil (ἤρεμος); found only here in the New Testament. The derivatives, ἠρέμιος ἠρεμέω, etc., are common in the LXX. They all apply to a still, undisturbed, life. Quiet (ἡσύχιος); found only here and l Peter 3:4 in the New Testament, and in the LXX. in Isaiah 66:2. But the noun ἡσυχία and the verb ἡσυχάζειν are common. Godliness (εὐσεβεία). One of the words almost peculiar to the pastoral Epistles (1 Timothy 3:16; 1 Timothy 4:7, 8; 1 Timothy 6:3, 5, 6, 11; 2 Timothy 3:5; Titus 1:1); but elsewhere only in Acts 3:12; 2 Peter 1:3, 6, 7; 2 Peter 3:11. Cornelius was αυησεβής, and so was one of the soldiers who waited upon him (Acts 10:2, 7). Ananias was ἀνὴρ εὐσεβής (Acts 22:12, T.R.). The adverb εὐσεβῶς is also peculiar to the pastoral Epistles (2 Timothy fit. 12; Titus 2:12). Gravity (σεμνοτής): so rendered also in the A.V. of 1 Timothy 3:4 and Titus 2:7 - the only other places in the New Testament where it is found. So also the adjective σεμνός (1 Timothy 3:8, 11; Titus 2:2). Elsewhere in the New Testament only in Philippians 4:8, where it is rendered" honest" in the A.V., and "honorable" in the R.V. In classical Greek σεμνός is properly spoken of the gods, "august," "venerable," and, when applied to persons, indicates a similar quality. Here σεμνοτής is the respectable, venerable, and dignified sobriety of a truly godly man.

Ellicott's Commentary

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(2) For kings, and for all that are in authority.--Without any special reference to the Roman emperors, the expression simply directs that prayer should be offered in all Christian congregations for the supreme authorities of the Roman empire, and especially of that particular province in which the church, where the prayer was offered, happened to be situate. Josephus especially mentions how a refusal on the part of the Jews to pray for Roman magistrates led to the great war with the empire which ended in their destruction as a separate nation.A well-known passage in the Apology of Tertullian, written about a century and a quarter after St. Paul sent his first letter to Timothy, shows how well and carefully this charge of the great teacher, written to the Church in Ephesus, was kept in distant Carthage:--"We Christians. . . . do intercede for all the emperors that their lives may be prolonged, their government be secured to them, that their families may be preserved in safety, their senates faithful to them, their armies brave, their people honest, and that the whole empire may be at peace, and for whatever other things are desired by the people or the Caesar."Early in the second century, Polycarp of Smyrna bears similar testimony to this practice in the early Church of praying publicly for their heathen rulers:--"Pray for all the saints; pray, too, for all kings and powers and rulers, and for your persecutors, and those that hate you, and for your cruel enemies."That we may lead a quiet and peaceable life.--What now is the special object of this prayer for those in high authority and power? First, that through their wise rule the Christians might enjoy peace; and, second, that the temper of the people who prayed thus for the ruling powers might be so affected the constant repetition of such prayers: that all thoughts of revolt and resistance would be gradually stamped out.St. Paul knew whom he was addressing. The Christian congregations of his age were largely made up of Jews. An intense longing to throw off the yoke of Rome pervaded the whole nation. The terrible events of the year 70 (only four or five years at most from the time of writing this Epistle) show how deep-seated was their hatred of the stranger. No Christian, however, was implicated in that fatal rebellion; so thoroughly had the teaching of St. Paul and his fellow Apostles done its work among the Jewish followers of the Crucified.In all godliness and honesty.--The word rendered "honesty" is better translated gravity, or decorum. These words are only used by St. Paul in his Pastoral Epistles, where "godliness" occurs nine times, and "gravity" three times. The sphere, so to speak, in which St. Paul's ideal Christian must walk during his quiet, unobtrusive pilgrimage, was reverence and decorum.