First Timothy for the life..

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com. That's cornerstonerbc.com. First Timothy Chapter two. Let's continue with our Bible studies on this letter off the first letter of the Apostle Paul to Timothy.

Brethren, this this evening I want us to address verse seven, probably a little of a portion of verse six, but primarily verse seven, which speaks of the ministry or the calling of the Apostle Paul. And because we're going to be addressing that verse, which is related to the ministry or the calling of the Apostle Paul, I want us to read from Chapter one verse 12 that speaks precisely of that of the calling of the Apostle Paul. And I want us to finish our reading in that verse that we're going to be addressing by the grace of God. And I hope and I pray that with the help of the spirit in the communication and also in the hearing. So, brothers and sisters, let's read that section from verse 12 in Chapter one.

having that in mind that we're going to be addressing the ministry of the Apostle Paul. Now, it says, verse 12, chapter one, I thank him who has given me a strength. Christ Jesus, our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointed me to his service. Though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, an insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.

The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance. The Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I receive mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ may display his perfect patience as an example. to those who were to believe in him for eternal life, to the king of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever. Amen.

This charge I entrust to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance with the prophecies previously made about you, that by them you may wage the good warfare, holding faith and a good conscience, By rejecting this, some have made shipwreck of their faith, among whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme. First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgiving be made for all people, 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, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 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."

Verse 7. For this, I was appointed a preacher and an apostle. I'm telling the truth. I'm not lying. A teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.

Amen. Brothers and sisters, this is the words of God as I said. What I want us to do this evening is to address the practical implications of the calling of the apostle Paul for the life of the church, the calling, as it's written here, the the appointment or the appointing of the apostle Paul or the ordination or the ordaining, as other translation will say, of the apostle Paul or Paul. as a preacher, as an apostle and as a teacher to the Gentiles for the life of the practical life of the church. And if you think about it, that those two statements, how the calling of a person who is dead is practical for the life of the church.

And I'm not saying the church throughout the ages, I'm saying for our church, for our people, for us as a church. How is that relevant? And how can we derive to get practical implications or practices, practical teaching from the calling of the apostle Paul? Just think about this. When the apostle was writing to Timothy and therefore unto the church that he, Timothy, was pastoring at Ephesus, He was writing a very practical letter as we've said now many times first Timothy is a very practical letter But as he's writing all of these things and as as he's addressing all of these practical matters that false teachers and there is full in Doctrine and there is he's going to address the authority of men and women and deacons and elders and pastors within the church He is going to address all of these things how we are to pray pray for Kings and authorities and all of these things that we have addressed very practical but yet The apostle finds the necessity or the need to write in this letter about his calling.

He writes about his calling, how he has been appointed as a preacher, as an apostle, and as a teacher to the Gentiles. So in the mind of the apostle, it's necessary that people will see Not only Timothy, but the people that were receiving this letter will see the authority of his calling. And he deemed that as something that was important for the practical life of the church. And I'm going to try to show from a scripture that it is indeed very important for the practical life of the church, for the practical life of our church. But, brothers and sisters, every practice that we derive from Scripture, everything that we do as a church or everything that we do as a saint, as an individual believer, if that wants to be a biblical practice, has to be derived from theology and from sound doctrine that is found in Scripture.

So what I'm going to try to do is show you those practical implications of the calling of the apostle Paul by pointing you to the importance, the theological importance of his ministry. So in verse seven, the one that you have in front of you, the apostle says that for this he has been appointed as a preacher, as an apostle and a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and in truth. And then he has a parenthetical coming there to enforce what he's saying. He says, I'm telling you the truth. I am not lying.

He has been ordained. He has been appointed. He has been called as a preacher, as an apostle and as a teacher of the Gentiles. I'm going to submit to you that actually the this verse seven as we understand verse seven or they are understanding the verse seven helps us to understand the previous section. Why?

Because the apostle says for this, everything that comes before is the reason with the foundation of the calling off poll as an apostle, a preacher and a teacher to the Gentiles. And I'm going to submit to you that actually the reason why the apostle puts the comment there is that we may have a good understanding of the things that he has said so far and that we have explained throughout this Bible studies. Now, before verse seven, there's a very important thing that he says here. Oh, let's just go from verse five and pay attention to that, because this is what our brother explained to us last week. Apostle says that there is one God.

And that there is one mediator between God and men, and that is the main Christ Jesus. And this main Christ Jesus, he gave himself as a ransom for all. And this which is the testimony given at the proper time. And then the apostle says for this. for everything that I've said so far from the fact that God is only one and that there is only one mediator between God and men.

And that's the God made Jesus Christ, who gave himself as a ransom for all. All of that is being that a testimony manifested at the proper time. All of that is the foundation of the calling of the Apostle Paul. So then we are to ask ourselves, what is that that precedes or the foundation of the calling of the Apostle Paul? I could spend a lot of time trying to explain to you that, but scripture interprets scripture on the apostle actually answers that call, who answers that question in second Timothy.

So let's go to second Timothy, because in second Timothy, the apostle is going to expand on the reason why he has been called as a preacher, an apostle and a teacher to the Gentiles. In chapter two, he's going to give us more light about his calling, the reason of the calling of Paul as an apostle, preacher and teacher. And brothers and sisters, this is very important, because what I'm trying to do here is set the foundational, the theological foundations for the practical implications of his ministry to the life of the church. So in chapter one, in verse eight, the apostle is going to expand Well, let's say the Holy Spirit through the Apostle is going to expand on these recent of the calling of the Apostle Paul in verse eight, it says. Therefore, it's easy speaking to Timothy again, right?

This is second Timothy. Therefore, do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord. nor of me, his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, God who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works, but because of his own purpose and grace. Stop there. He says he called us to a holy calling, not because of our works, but because of his own purpose and grace.

The apostle is going to replace now purpose and grace with a relative pronoun that is which. his own purpose and grace, which, his purpose and grace, he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, and which, his purpose and grace, now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who, Christ, abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, for which the gospel I was appointed. a preacher, an apostle and a teacher, which is why I suffer as I do. Let's read it again. It says from verse nine, beloved.

Let's read it together again. I want you to get the flow of the idea of what the apostle is communicating here. God saved us. and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works, but because of his own purpose and grace. He's going to replace purpose and grace now with a relative pronoun, which is which which his own purpose and grace he gave us in Christ Jesus when.

before the ages began. This is way in the past, in eternity past, and which his purpose and grace now has been manifested. This was predestined in eternity past. He was promised before the ages began, but now his purpose and his grace have now been manifested through the appearing of our savior Christ Jesus and Christ Jesus abolished death and brought life and immortality to life through the gospel which is basically the work of Lord Jesus Christ when he was manifested in this time for which I, Paul, was appointed a preacher and an apostle and a teacher. Brothers and sisters, this is written to a church at Ephesus.

He's a Gentile church. And now the apostle is saying something very important, that the purpose and the grace that was in crisis, this was planned. This was for them before the ages began. And this was manifested in time in the person of Jesus Christ. This is.

the testimony that was manifested at a proper time. And for this reason, for the reason of the gospel of Christ, the beloved son of the father who was for ordained before the foundation of the world and then manifested in the proper time. Paul was ordained as an apostle and a preacher and also as a teacher to the Gentiles. Go to first Peter because I want to see this same thing in the mind of the puzzle. Go to 1 Peter, please.

1 Peter 1 verse 20. We have preached before already about this verse. First, Peter chapter one, verse 20. Speaking of he who is he is Christ. He says he was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you.

Very similar thing. He was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but he was made manifest for the sake of you. Who is this you? Who is this you? That's a question.

Christians, but if you come to to the the beginning of Peter is not only Christians. Peter says Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ to those who are elect. Exiles of the dispersion, impotence of Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia. Brothers and sisters, these are Gentiles. I cannot communicate with the weight that this contains, because we are Gentiles.

And we, by nature, just assume that the gospel has been always for us. But what the apostle is saying to Timothy is actually the main argument that he's trying to prove to him. You know how we invest time trying to prove who is all men. And if God decides every person to be safe, we have to do that because of the contemporary theological thing that we have to address. But Paul, what he's trying to show to Timothy is that this salvation that Gentiles believe that only belong to the people of Israel is actually for all men.

As a brother explained, men were divided in Jews. and Gentiles. So then when Paul says, for all men, he is not so interested about, oh, are they going to believe that I'm referring to every human being? No, he's saying, this which was hidden before and it was kept for the people of Israel, this is also for you. So that's why the Apostle Peter, in verse 10, in the same chapter that you have in front of you, and a passage that I've quoted many times, he's going to say something glorious.

Verse 10 chapter one concerning this salvation, the prophets from what testament, the Old Testament, who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours, search and inquire carefully, inquiring what person or time the spirit of Christ, which is the spirit of God in them, was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ or the Messiah. and the subsequent glories. Now it was revealed to them. This is it was revealed to Old Testament prophets who were prophesying about this Messiah that was gonna come, who were prophesying about this humble servant prophesied in Isaiah that was going to say save the people of Israel that they were not serving themselves. but that they were serving you in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preach the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven.

Who is Paul? Who is Paul? Paul is a preacher of the New Testament church, the one who was preaching the good news of salvation, of the grace that was prophesied before of all to the Jews. This grace that was to be yours, the church and Paul was preaching this message by the Holy Spirit that was sent from heaven, brothers and sisters. Think about this.

Salvation was kept for the people of Israel in the Old Testament. If a person wanted to be saved, theoretically, this is a scenario if a Gentile wanted to be saved. Under the Old Testament, that person would have had to come and join through circumcision and the keeping of the law, the covenant that was given to Moses. But we know that salvation is not by the keeping of the law because salvation has been by grace always. But that person would have come to the knowledge.

of the God who gives grace through the people of Israel, because God had chosen a people to reveal himself and to give those people his oracles and his word. God had chosen a special people to reveal himself and to have this special covenantal relationship with these people. So Gentiles did not have access to the oracles of God. Gentiles did not have access to the word of God or to the revelation of God. If God providentially was going to save a Gentile, as I said, this person would have come and joined by the flesh, initially the Mosaic covenant or the covenant of Israel.

And then if he was a person who was chosen before the foundation of the world, grace would have given to that person. So then faith in God and in the gospel that was revealed to that moment. would have been given to that person, and that person would have been saved. Brothers and sisters, here we have in our text a man, a man that was made a preacher of the message of salvation. A man who was made an apostle off God, which is equivalent to the prophets of the Old Testament.

and also a teacher to the Gentiles, a preacher of the message of salvation that belonged only to the people of Israel, a holder of the oracles of God. You may remember in Romans three, probably Romans two. In the end of Romans to the apostle, the apostle Paul is the same apostle that we're speaking about. He's saying that the true Israelite or that a true Jew is not the one who has been circumcised in the flesh, but that the true Jew is not is not the one outwardly, but is the one inwardly who has been circumcised in the heart, not of the flesh, but of the spirit. that this is the true Israelite that always has been by grace, that is not of the flesh.

He finishes chapter two, and then he says something very important in chapter three. What then is the advantage of the Jew? Question. Second question. What then is the value of circumcision?

Question. You know what the answer is? Let's just see with our eyes. Go to Romans three. Let's see the glorious answer the poll gives to those two questions.

Chapter three. As I said, from chapter 2, verse 28, for no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from men, but from God. And then he has the question, verse 1, then what advantage has the Jew?

What is the value of circumcision? Much in every way, he says that the advantage and the value of belonging to the old covenant is matching every way. And to begin with, the Jews were entrusted with the oracles of God. Brothers and sisters, the oracles of God are the words of God. And the apostle says that the old covenant people were privileged because they were given the words of God.

You know what happened when Christ came to this world and he died upon the cross on the curtain was turning to and then he was powerfully he died and he was probably resurrected. And then he was taken up in glory. And when the Holy Spirit came and when people started to preach the gospel, the oracles of God were given to the Gentiles. Brothers and sisters, Paul speaks as an apostle the words of God. Don't you remember that we spent like what?

Six weeks trying to prove this, that apostles are the equivalent to the Old Testament prophets. And when apostles speak that they're speaking the words of God. The privilege that was kept and given only to the Old Testament people has now been given to the Gentiles. The Gentiles have now been recipients of the oracles of God through the ministry of His holy apostles. So just as Old Testament people receive the word of God, the church, after Christ came and was ascended, also received the word of God through the preaching of the gospel, the preaching of the message of salvation and by the giving of the apostle of the Gentiles.

Cephas and Peter was a apostle to the Jews. Paul was the apostle to the Gentiles. Brothers and sisters, and when you see your Bibles, the New Testament are mostly written to Gentiles. Gentiles were the recipients of the oracles of God. So the fullness of the revelation of his creature will be given to the people of God.

Brothers and sisters. Now the question is, how is this? How is this important and practical for the life of the church? How is this beneficial for the church and for us as a community? Brothers and sisters, one would think, well, you know, he was Paul.

He was inspired by the Holy Spirit. He was preaching the gospel and he had this special ministry. But brothers and sisters, the same thing that the apostle had in his possession is what the church has. He was a preacher of the gospel, which we have. He was an apostle to give words of God to the church, which we have in its fullness.

And he was a teacher, one who will build upon sound doctrine and sound doctrine for the edification of the church. We have the fullness of a scripture in our hands as Gentiles. And we also have teachers that God has appointed within the church. so that the church may grow in maturity and go in towards perfection and completion of what the church is to be. This is incredible because what God accomplished through a man, he has promised that he will accomplish through his church.

And now think about it. Sometimes we say that a small group of men turned the world upside down when the Lord Jesus Christ was resurrected. And that's true. That's true, because Christianity was nothing, of course, before the Lord Jesus Christ came. But then with the disciples was something so small.

But these disciples turned the world upside down. But one could say that the world was turned upside down by the ministry of the apostle of the Gentiles, by what the Lord Jesus Christ did through these men. And what he has in his hands is the same thing that the church has received. Go to Ephesians three. Because in efficiency, the apostle is also going to speak of his ministry brothers and sisters as an apostle.

And then he's going to say something very important about the church. Chapter three, verse seven of this gospel. I was made a minister according to the gift of God's grace, which was given me by the working of his power. To me, though, I am the very least of the Saints. Doesn't sound familiar to you what he was saying in first Timothy.

This grace was given to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God, who created all things. Now pay attention. So that through the apostles or through the prophets, No, so that through the Church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. This was according to the eternal purpose. that He has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in Him.

So I ask you not to lose heart over what I am suffering for you, which is your glory. The Church is the means by which the meaningful wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities. Go to first Timothy and think. Keep that in your mind. That is the church, the means by which the many full wisdom of God is now being made known.

Now, if you go to first Timothy, sorry to first Corinthians, We know this portion of the scripture very well in chapter two, in which the apostle will say to the Corinthians that when he came to preach the gospel to them, that he did not preach the gospel with human wisdom or with lofty language or with lofty words, but rather he preached this gospel with trembling and with much fear so that their faith may not rest upon the wisdom of men, but that their faith may rest in the power of God. This is what he says from verses one through verse five. But sometimes we forget what comes next, because the apostle is preaching there is pointing to the point in which he brought the gospel that saved them so that their faith may not rest upon the wisdom of men, but their faith may rest upon the power of God. But yet he says something very important yet. not the wisdom of men.

But then he says, yet among the mature, remember that this letter he is going to give instructions to those who are acting in an immature way. But then he says in verse six, yet among the mature, we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age of the rulers of this age. We are who are doomed to pass away. But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. None of the rulers of this age understood this.

For if they had, they would not have crucified the lure of glory before. He said that it was not through the wisdom of the world that it pleased God that the world would know God. But it was through the foolishness of the preaching of the gospel. Brothers and sisters, then he says a verse. Verse nine is speaking of this wisdom, a very misused verse, because this is speaking of the wisdom of God that is given to his saints.

But what no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of men imagine, what God has prepared for those who love him. An understanding of God that cannot be obtained, that cannot be given by human means, brothers and sisters. So then we come to passages like the one that we have. Thank you, Anita. So when we come to passages like the one that we have in First Timothy.

In which we have difficult words and statements such as God design, all people to be saved and that all people might come to the knowledge of the truth, that there is one God and between there is only one mediator between God and men. This is what Paul is saying. that this God, who was the mediator only for the people of Israel, now is the mediator of all men. Don't you love what he said in verse 15 in chapter one? The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.

The Apostle John in his gospel, he will say that he came to his own But then Paul says that he came into the world to save sinners because now salvation has been made available not only for the people of Israel, but for all men. So God is truly desires all people to be saved because it's not only people that belong to the people of Israel, but actually is people from all tribes and from all tongues and from all nations. And for that, God appointed a man that would spread this message of salvation so that the Gentiles will be also participants of the salvation that once was kept for the people of Israel. Now, brothers and sisters, just as in the Old Testament, Not every human being was recipient of the covenantal benefits of the covenant of Israel. We've got just the same way in the New Testament.

Not every human being is recipient of the benefits of the New Testament or the new covenant given to the church. Just as in the past, only those who were in Israel was recipient of the benefits of that covenant and not every human being in the same way in the New Testament. Not every human being is recipient of the benefits of the New Testament or the New Covenant, because that's made with his chosen people. He had chosen a people in the Old Testament, the people of Israel as a type. of those for whom Christ Jesus was for known before the foundation of the world and was made manifest in the last time for the sake of them.

Brothers and sisters, as I said, is so difficult, is so difficult to. It is so difficult to communicate these truths just because we are Gentiles, because we are Gentiles, brothers. That's OK, just because we are Gentiles. But if we knew the importance, what it is represented for these people, we have lived in a world that has been Christian for 2000 years. These people were receiving the message of a man who claimed to be God, who had died a few years ago in a in a in a land or in a country that was so close that they only were reserved for themselves.

How would have those people believed? No other way, but through the preaching of the gospel, empowered by the Holy Spirit, which is the one that opens the heart for the understanding of the word of God given through the apostles, so that that church might be built up upon the doctrine given to apostles and to prophets. And now we are holders, brothers and sisters, of all the fullness of the revelation. And what I was thinking and meditating upon this afternoon is what It took one man for God to turn the world upside down, and he, this man, was given a promise that God was going to do something. God has given a promise to his church.

that he is going to save and that he's going to bring people from all tribes and from all nations and from all tongues. And that he has given us the same tool or the same weapon that prophets and apostles had, which is the proclamation of the gospel. And at the same spirit that was within the Old Testament prophets when they were inquiring about the Jesus Christ that was gonna come and the same spirit that was in the New Testament preachers while they were announcing the good news. is the spirit that is within us when we preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. Now, he has promised that he is going to extend his kingdom.

He has promised that he is going to edify his church. And what we need, it is contained in the book. And he has given us of himself so that by him dwelling in us, we may accomplish that which is the maturity of the church. It pleased God that is through the church that the many full wisdom of God may be made known to the heavenly to the in the heavenly places, brothers and sisters, that we may not be complacent or that we may not be just satisfied with the things that we have, because God is a God that is actually building up his church. And then we based upon that promise, we should labor.

We should do all the things for our brothers and sisters so that truly the Church of God might be edified upon the great foundation. That is his holy word. Amen.