Summary of 1 Timothy, Chapter 2

Paul urges prayers for kings and all in authority, so that they may make it possible for Christians to live peacefully in piety and dignity. God wants all to be saved, to come to the knowledge of the truth in His Church.

There is only one God and one mediator between God and man, a man Christ Jesus. He gave Himself as the price of our redemption. He gave testimony at the proper time to the plans of the Father for our salvation. Paul was appointed herald and apostle of this truth, the teacher of the truth and faith to the gentiles.

Paul wants men to pray with hands upraised in every place where Christians assemble, without anger, without hostile thought. In a similar way he wants the women to adorn themselves in suitable dress, with respect and moderation, not with artificial hair styles and gold or pearls or costly garments, but rather, as it fitting for women, showing a promise of piety through good works. A woman should learn silently, in submission. Paul does not allow a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence. For Adam was formed first, and then Eve. Adam was not the first to be deceived -- the woman was, and was involved in transgression. But a woman will be saved through bearing and rearing children, if she remains in faith and holiness with modesty.

Comments on First Timothy, Chapter 2

Paul asks for prayers for rulers, so they may let Christians live in peace. At this time the chief Roman authority was Nero, then at about his worst. God wants all to reach salvation, and wants it to be done through full membership in the Church, even though as we saw in Romans 2:14-16, without formal entrance into the Church, a person can be saved.

There is only one God and one Mediator, Jesus Christ. He is the only one who by His very possession of two natures, divine and human, naturally goes between God and our race. Further, He is the only necessary Mediator, and the only Mediator that can act by His own power. Paul does not thereby exclude other lesser, secondary mediators, whose very power to act depends on the great Mediator. In His love of good order² God loves to have one thing in place to serve as a reason or title for giving the other thing, even though that reason does not strictly move Him, for He cannot be moved. Hence, in His love of objective order, and His love of us, He is pleased to make everything as rich as possible: He could have restored our race by even a mere animal sacrifice -- or could have sent His Son to be born in a palace, and to ascend after a short prayer -- that would have been infinite in worth -- but He chose to go beyond infinity, to go beyond the palace to the stable, beyond a short prayer to the cross.

He even, as Vatican II tells us,³ wanted to join the obedience of Our Lady, His Mother to the obedience of Jesus, in the covenant condition which was obedience, to make the titles for giving grace and forgiveness as rich as possible. This all pertains to the objective redemption, the process of acquiring a title to all forgiveness and grace, once for all.

There is also the work of giving out the fruits of this objective redemption, namely, the subjective redemption. And again in it, He wills to make all as rich as possible, and so in spite of the infinity of the merits of Christ, and the

marvelous merits of Our Lady, He wills to add even ordinary mediators, the saints.

Jesus gave Himself as the price of our Redemption, as we saw in commenting on 1 Corinthians 6:20 and 7:23. In this way, Jesus showed the concern of the Father for all good, and for our well-being. As part of this, He appointed Paul teacher of the gentiles.

Paul wants men to pray with holy hands upraised in every assembly of the Church, with placid mind. He also wants the women to be there in suitable dress, with respect and moderation -- in contrast to artificial hairdos, and adornments of gold and pearls and expensive robes, which could unduly distract men. We think again of 1 Corinthians 11 on veils for women. They should not distract the men by making themselves needlessly appealing during services in the church. As he said in 1 Corinthians 14:34, he wants women to be silent in the church, and not to take authority. Adam was made first, the woman second. And Adam was not deceived, but Eve was and she deceived Adam.

Women will reach salvation by carrying out the duties of their state in life -- ordinarily (except for those who will profess religious virginity) this will mean having a family and raising the children in the love and fear of God. To form children in the likeness of Jesus and His Mother is a far greater accomplishment than to carve marble like Michelangelo. In speaking of childbearing Paul perhaps also speaks against the false teachers who forbade marriage at that time. In this connection we recall that Jesus Himself spent about 30 out of 33 years in family life, showing how highly the Father values a good family life.