Global Prayers for Gospel Advancement

The theme of our studies in the Pastoral Epistles is Gospel Shaped Living. All of Paul’s writings centers on the gospel of God. The gospel is described in the Bible in the most astounding terms. Peter said that angels long to look into it all the time. (I Peter 1:12). It does not simply bring us power, but it is the power of God itself, for Paul says, "I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation" (Rom.1:16). It is also the blessing of God with benefits, which accrue to anyone who comes near (I Cor.9:23, “I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings.”). It is even called the very light of the glory of God itself: “they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ...for God...has made his light shine into our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." (II Cor.4:4,6)

It has the life of God. Paul said to the Corinthians, "For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel”(1 Cors. 4:15). And then, after it has regenerated us, it is the instrument of all continual growth and spiritual progress after we are converted. "All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God's grace in all its truth." (Col. 1:6).

In this first pastoral letter to Pastor Timothy, down in Ephesus, Paul is writing him to better equip him to deal with not only problems in the church, but also in maintaining the priorities and principles of the local churches mission and ministry.

Paul began in chapter 1 with doctrine, urging Timothy to counter false teaching by making sure every aspect of the church was functioning “in accordance with the gospel of the glory of the blessed God with which I have been entrusted” (1 Tim. 1:11).

In chapter 2 Paul continues with the conduct of public worship in the church. As he had ‘urged’(parakaleō)  Timothy to remain in Ephesus to combat error (1:3), so now he presses him to give priority to public worship: I ‘urge’ [parakaleō again], then, first of all, that . . . prayers . . . be made for all people.

Paul provides a foundation - a gospel foundation - in chapter 1 of this letter. He commands Timothy and the church at Ephesus to guard the gospel, to celebrate the gospel, and to fight for the gospel. Now, based on that gospel foundation, Paul begins to give practical exhortations to the church in chapter 2. He starts by talking about public worship. The opening words, "First of all," signal the paramount importance of this initial exhortation. How is it that you guard the gospel, celebrate the gospel, and fight for the gospel? You start, Paul says, by praying. The church is on a life-saving mission surrounded by people who don't know the salvation of Jesus Christ. These people are destined for an eternal hell if nothing changes. So, as a follower of Christ, what do you do? You pray!

1. Prayer for Other People is a Priority in Keeping a Good Conscience – 1 Tim. 2:1

“Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men,” (NKJV)

The “therefore” takes us back to the closing verses of chapter 1, where Timothy is charged to go on “holding faith and a good conscience”, because by rejecting this, some have made shipwreck of their faith.” A good conscience is a conscience that does not condemn you for the things you do or don't do. And, therefore, what Paul is saying is that for your ship of faith to stay afloat, you need to see to it that you don't do the things your conscience condemns or leave undone the things which your conscience demands. Keeping a good conscience is best done, not by looking inward, but upward to God and outward to a world perishing in sin.

John Piper said, “So, if we would not make shipwreck of faith, we must keep a good conscience. And therefore, I urge you first to fulfill the love command by praying for all men, because prayer taps the power of God on their behalf, prayer is the first and easiest step of love, and prayer reaches farther in its good effects than anything else we can do.”

A. The Variety of Prayers – 1 Tim. 2:1

The expression, “first of all” refers ‘not to preeminence of time but to preeminence of importance’. The priority of the church gathered corporately and scattered individually is worship. The church of the living God is essentially a worshipping, praying community of faith. But when you gather for worship, let your praying be global and not just local, internationally and not just individually.

Paul draws attention to two main aspects of the local church’s worship, which divide chapter 2 in half. First, he considers its scope and emphasizes the need for a global concern in public worship (2:1-7), and second, he considers its conduct and addresses the question of the respective roles of men and women in public worship (2:8-15).

 There are at least seven different Greek nouns for “prayer,” and four of them are used here.

Supplications carries the idea of “offering a request for a felt need.”

Prayers is the commonest term for this activity, and it emphasizes the sacredness of prayer. We are praying to God; prayer is an act of worship, not just an expression of our wants and needs. There should be reverence in our hearts as we pray to God.

Intercessions is best translated “petitions.” This same word is translated “prayer” in 1Tim. 4:5, where it refers to blessing the food we eat. (It is rather obvious that we do not intercede for our food in the usual sense of that word.) The basic meaning is “to draw near to a person and converse confidently with him.” It suggests that we enjoy fellowship with God so that we have confidence in Him as we pray.

Giving of thanks is definitely a part of worship and prayer. We not only give thanks for answers to prayer, but for who God is and what He does for us in His grace.

2. Prayer Helps Us Get on Our Hearts What God Has on His – 1 Tim. 2:2-3

“for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior,” What does God have on His heart? People – a world full of people.

Jesus said in Matthew 28:19, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” And in Mark 16:15, “And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.”

A. The church’s prayers should concern all people (2:1–2) – Paul seems to be saying something like: "Timothy, push out the boundaries of your concern. Don’t let your prayers be limited to any one group of people or kind of people. Enlarge the circumference of your love. Don’t be provincial, sectarian, nationalistic, elitist, or racist in your prayers. Let your prayers embrace all kinds of people: high and low, white and black, democrats and republicans, Soviet premiers and Iranian Ayatollahs. Enlarge your heart until it embraces the world. Go to school at Calvary until you can hate the bigotry and racism of the Ku Klux Klan, the neo-Nazis, and the bleeding heart Marxists liberals, but can pray with yearning love in your hearts for these men and women to come to faith in Christ.

3. Prayer is a Strategic Ministry in Evangelism - 1Tim. 2:4

“who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”   

A. The Progress of the Gospel in the World is Dependent Upon the Prayers of God’s People in the Church

The kind of prayer the apostle Paul especially has in mind is evangelistic prayer. It is intercession for the salvation of souls. This is clear from the rest of the passage, which is about God’s plan for the salvation of the world. Christians pray for everyone (1 Tim. 2:1-2): first, because God wants everyone to be saved (1 Tim. 2:3-4); second, because Christ is a Savior for everyone (1 Tim. 2:5-6); and third, because the gospel is preached to everyone (1 Tim. 2:7).

The public prayers of the church should have a global perspective. So much of our praying is self-centered, “Lord, bless me and my wife, John and his wife, us four and no more.” Or our prayers as a church fail to venture very far beyond today’s blessing of the offering or healing for Aunt Susie’s arthritis, or Brother John’s ingrown toenail!

The God who rules the world wants his people to pray for the world. Therefore, every church should locate itself at the center of something God is doing in the whole world. The Great Commission (Matt. 28:18–20) goes hand in hand with the Great Intercession.

While salvation ultimately belongs to God, and even our prayers are His work in us, God has chosen to use the prayers of His people to accomplish His will. We desperately need to hear this truth. We are surrounded by people - from our own city to the ends of the earth - who are lost, perishing, and on their way to everlasting suffering. But we want them to know eternal satisfaction in Christ. We're on a life-saving mission, and the Bible is literally urging us here to pray.

Beloved, we need to pray and yearn for the advancement of the gospel to all kinds of people in our city and across the world.

A. B. Simpson, the founder of the Christian and Missionary Alliance, was said to wake up in the morning, bow on his knees, clutch a globe, and weep in prayer. May that be a picture of our lives not only as we scatter throughout the week but also as we gather together with other believers. We should take time in our worship gatherings to intercede in prayer for all kinds of people spread across the globe. 

4. The Basis of Our Praying is the Will of God the Father and the Work of God the Son - 1 Tim. 2:4-6

We pray because God desires the salvation of all people (v. 4). When you begin to pray for all kinds of people in the world to be saved - Jews and Gentiles, friends and enemies, Muslims and Hindus, Democrats and Republicans, - your heart is coming in line with the heart of God Himself, for He desires their salvation. However, we need to be clear about what this does and does not mean.

A. This does not mean all will be saved. Some people have used this passage to argue for universalism, the belief that all people will be saved. The reasoning runs like this: Because God desires all people to be saved, and God always gets what He desires, then all people will be saved. That's definitely not what this passage, or Scripture as a whole, teaches. Scripture is clear that we are only saved by grace through faith in Christ (Eph 2:8-9), and only those who trust in His salvation will experience eternal life (John 3:36).

B. This does not mean God's will has been thwarted. Some people have made the following argument: If God desires all people to be saved, and not all people are saved, then ultimately God is not in control of everything in the world. This is clearly not true. From beginning to end, Scripture is clear that God is sovereign over all things and that His will cannot be thwarted (Job 42:2). While this topic has long fueled theological discussions, God has both a will of desire and a will of design. His will of design involves what He ordains to take place in the world, while His will of desire includes what He commands and makes known in His Word.

We must pray in the will of God. The primary purpose of prayer is not to get man’s will done in heaven, but to get God’s will done on earth.

What is God’s will in the context of this section of scripture in 1 Timothy 2:1-7? The salvation of lost souls. We can pray for “all men” because it is God’s will that “all men” come to the knowledge of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. God loved the world (John 3:16) and Christ died for the whole world (1Jn 2:2; 1Jn 4:14). Jesus died on the cross that He might draw “all men” to salvation (John 12:32). This does not mean all people without exception, for certainly the whole world is not going to be saved. It means all people without distinction - Jews and Gentiles, kings and servants, rich and poor, religious and pagan.

C. God the Son’s Work as Mediator – 1 Tim. 2:5-6, “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.”

Paul began verse 5 by saying, "For there is one God." The thought seems to be: God is one; therefore, He is the God of all men, and prayer should be addressed to Him in behalf of all men. As the one God, He desires the salvation of all men. If He were one of many gods, He might be concerned only about His own worshipers. There is not one god for one group of people, and then another god for a different group of people, so that all kinds of people can worship all kinds of gods. No, one God deserves the praise of all people. Isaiah 45:21-22: “There is no other God but Me, a righteous God and Savior; there is no one except Me. Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth. For I am God, and there is no other.”

Ultimately, we live and work and pray and send and share the gospel here and around the world because we know there is one God and He deserves the praise, honor, and adoration of all people. It follows that if God deserves the honor of all people, then worship is the fuel of world praying. We gather with other believers to declare there is one God. Our God is greater, stronger, and higher than any other. We're praying for worldwide worship of our great God. We look forward to the day when all people will worship God's name. We long for God to get the glory He is due.

We pray because Christ died for the rescue of all people. David Platt writes, “We read in verse 5 that there is not only one God but also "one mediator between God and humanity, Christ Jesus, Himself human, who gave Himself—a ransom for all" (vv. 5-6). This word "ransom" literally refers to the price that would be paid for the rescue, or release, of a prisoner. This is the gospel in a nutshell. God, the One who is completely holy in all His ways and completely just in all His judgments, stands over against us sinners, who are completely deserving of all His judgments. Therefore, we desperately need a mediator to pay our ransom. Enter Jesus.

“Jesus is unique in who He is. He is the perfect mediator because He is uniquely able to identify with both parties. No one else is qualified to represent both God and mankind. He is fully able to identify with God because He is divine, fully God (Col 2:9). Yet, at the same time, He is fully able to identify with humanity since He is "Himself human" (emphasis added). Jesus was, and is, fully human, like us in every way "yet without sin" (Heb 4:15). He is uniquely qualified to stand in the middle in order to bring together both God and man.

“Not only is He unique in who He is, but Jesus is also unique in what He did. He gave Himself as a ransom by dying for us, though He did not deserve death.

Jesus is also unique in what He does. Jesus is not just our mediator in the past through what He did on the cross, as glorious as that reality is. He lives as our mediator right now at the Father's right hand. That's right: today, at this moment, Jesus is interceding for us, standing before God on our behalf. He is the constant, continual means by which we approach the throne of God in worship. Oh, to know that Christ, even now, is our mediator!

5. Prayer for the Gospel’s Success Must be Coupled With Proclamation of the Gospel’s Truth – 1 Tim. 2:7

“For this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.” 

It’s not enough to just pray for the gospel to go forth in power, we should begin to look for every way possible to proclaim it. We know that God desires the salvation of all people (v. 4), that He is worthy of their praise (v. 5), and that Christ has died for their rescue (v. 6), so we should begin to share this gospel with everyone. Consider two different ways in which this plays out in our lives.

Paul referred to himself as "a herald" of the gospel message in verse 7. That word "herald" is not one that we use much today. It was used in ancient times to refer to someone who would make an important announcement, such as an announcer at an athletic event or a political messenger in a royal court. This is a picture of what we do as followers of Christ - we herald the gospel.

Then Paul states that he was “a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.” After people trust in the cross of Christ, we teach them the commands of Christ to make them disciples who make disciples. This is part of the Great Commission, for Jesus told us to teach everything that He has commanded (Matt 28:20). We make known the truth of God's Word. This is what the church is to be about.

Because of God's purposes and the work of Christ on our behalf, we pray with confidence, and we preach with boldness. Revelation 5:8-10 gives us a glimpse of where our mission is heading, and it has everything to do with what we've just seen in 1 Timothy 2. John's vision has everything to do with what our lives are to be about and what the church is to be about. We can pray with confidence for all people to come to a saving knowledge of Christ, and we can preach to them with boldness, all the while knowing that our mission will prevail, and our mediator will be praised. One day individuals from every tribe and language and people and nation will be ransomed. This is what Revelation 5:9 tells us, and it's what God desires according to 1 Timothy 2:4. Therefore, we can be confident in this mission.

Jesus Christ is worthy of the praise of all people. When we take the gospel to our neighbors and to the ends of the earth, we do it for the glory of our King. Make no mistake about it: He will be praised!