Instructions on Prayer
1 First of all, then, I urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone, 2 for kings and all those who are in authority, w so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness x and dignity. y 3 This is good, and it pleases God our Savior, z 4 who wants everyone a to be saved b and to come to the knowledge of the truth. c
5 For there is one God d and one mediator e between God and humanity, the man f Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all, g a testimony at the proper time.
7 For this I was appointed a herald, an apostle h (I am telling the truth; I am not lying), and a teacher of the Gentiles i in faith and truth.
Instructions to Men and Women
8 Therefore, I want the men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands without anger or argument. j 9 Also, the women are to dress themselves in modest clothing, k with decency and good sense, not with elaborate hairstyles, gold, l pearls, or expensive apparel, 10 but with good works, m as is proper for women who profess to worship God. 11 A woman is to learn quietly with full submission. n 12 I do not allow a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; instead, she is to remain quiet. 13 For Adam was formed first, then Eve. o 14 And Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and transgressed. p 15 But she will be saved through childbearing, if they continue in faith, love, and holiness, q with good sense.
A. The prayer of all for all (2:1–7). 2:1–4. When Paul thinks of the church gathered, he thinks of a praying community (2:1). He calls for prayer for all people and for those in authority. The prayer that authorities “may lead a tranquil and quiet life” (2:2) is not a prayer for the “peace and quiet” of middle-class complacency. Paul wants the best platform possible for pressing upon all people that God “wants” them “to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (2:4). As inevitable as persecution is (2 Tm 3:12), Paul nonetheless believes that a better climate for the church’s witness is one of political and social peace.
2:5–7. Paul differs from his opponents in seeing the scope of Christ’s mission, and thus the church’s, as being worldwide. That difference comes to elegant expression in the theological support Paul provides for his prayer for all people (2:5a). Paul means all people (see also Rm 3:29–30) have access to God’s salvation (note: 3:1, believers pray for all; 3:4, God wants all to be saved; 3:6, Christ gave his life for all).
2:8–11. Men are called to holiness and peace (2:8). Angry fists over who is to teach and what is to be taught need to yield to cleansed and peaceful hands in prayer. A reference to the phrase “in every place” in Mal 1:11 sets the men’s prayers in the new context of God’s promise to bring salvation to the nations.
2:12–14. Commentators have taken the prohibition of women’s speech (2:12) in a number of ways. Some believe the prohibition is absolute. However, Paul seems to endorse women ministering through speech in the congregation in 1 Co 11:5; moreover, from Ac 2:17 and 21:9 it appears that the NT church was familiar with the prophetic ministry of women.
2:15. “But she,” probably refers to Eve, who was the subject of the previous two verses. Counterpart to Adam in Romans, Eve here serves as a representative woman who “transgressed.” In Ephesus, some women have followed her example and have “already turned away to follow Satan” (5:15) under the influence of “deceitful spirits and the teachings of demons” (4:1). The Ephesian women must decide to whom they will listen: lying spirits and demons or the Lord himself (thus the emphasis in 2:11–12 on a quiet demeanor). Paul points to a salvation that comes “through childbearing.” The Greek actually includes a definite article (“through the childbearing”); thus, some interpreters believe that Paul has in mind one particular instance of childbearing: Mary’s giving birth to Jesus. Paul seems to be asking women to take their bearings in their relationship with God, not from Eve’s deception by Satan, but from Mary’s receptivity to God’s promise. Mary’s faithful “May it be done to me according to your word” (Lk 1:38) brought about the human race’s salvation “through (the) childbearing”—and established a model for “faith, love, and holiness, with good sense.”