1 Timothy 2 Devotional

One Mediator for All

“For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,”1 Timothy 2:5 (BSB)

Paul's first instruction for the church's life together is prayer, and its scope is wide: requests, prayers, and thanksgiving for everyone, including kings and all in authority (2:1-2). The reason lies in God himself, our Savior, who desires the salvation of all people and their coming to know the truth (2:3-4). Only one person stands between God and humanity to bring them together: Christ Jesus, himself a man, who gave his life as a ransom for all (2:5-6).

The rest of the chapter addresses conduct in worship. Men are to pray without anger or quarreling (2:8). Women are to be marked by modesty and good deeds rather than costly display (2:9-10), and Paul gives instructions about learning, teaching, and authority, which he roots in the account of creation and the fall (2:11-15). Whatever a reader concludes about how these verses apply, their setting is a church gathered around one Mediator. Because Christ gave himself for people of every kind, his people can pray for every kind of person, even those in power.

To think about: Who in authority, whether near you or far away, is hardest for you to pray for, and what would it mean to pray for them today?