1 Timothy 2 explained: Prayer, Worship and Who Teaches

Pray for everyone (vv. 1-4)

The church is asked to pray and give thanks for all people, including kings and officials who at the time were not Christians, so that believers could live quiet, decent lives. God is said to want all people to be saved, though Christians differ on whether 'all' means every single person or people of every kind.

One go-between (vv. 5-7)

There is one God and one go-between who brings God and people together: Jesus, stressed here as a human being. A ransom was the price paid to free a captive, and Paul says Jesus gave himself as that price for all, the message Paul was sent to announce to non-Jewish peoples.

Conduct in worship (vv. 8-10)

Men are to pray with raised hands, a common way of praying then, without anger or quarrels. Women are asked not to show off wealth with fancy hairstyles, gold, pearls or costly clothes, but to let good deeds be their real adornment.

Learning and teaching (vv. 11-12)

Women are told to learn quietly and to yield fully, and they are not allowed to teach men or take charge over them. The key Greek verb in verse 12 appears nowhere else in the Bible, so its exact sense is debated and the translations differ, ranging from simply having authority to having dominion or domineering.

Reasons from Genesis (vv. 13-14)

The reasons given come from the Adam and Eve story: Adam was made first, and Eve was the one the serpent deceived. Catholic, Orthodox and many Protestant churches read this as part of a lasting pattern that reserves the ordained office of priest or pastor to men. Other Protestants read it as a reply to local false teaching in Ephesus (1:3).

Saved through childbearing (v. 15)

Scholars are genuinely unsure what this verse means. Suggested readings include being kept safe through childbirth, being saved while living ordinary lives as mothers, or a pointer to one particular birth, that of Jesus. In each case it depends on continuing in faith, love and holy living with good sense. No major Christian tradition teaches that women who cannot have or do not have children are shut out from salvation.

Key verse: 1 Timothy 2:5

Where Christians differ

Christians genuinely differ over whether verses 11 to 14 set a lasting rule. Catholic, Orthodox and many Protestant churches hold that they do, and so reserve ordained roles such as priest or pastor to men. Many Protestants who welcome women pastors argue instead that these verses answer a specific problem in first century Ephesus. They often point to women such as Priscilla and Phoebe whom Paul worked alongside.

Something to think about

What do you think it takes to genuinely wish well for people in power whom you do not trust or agree with?