The True Church Worships Jesus Christ | 1 Timothy 2:1-8
The Church Needs Jesus
The Church Needs Integrity
The Church Needs Sound Doctrine
The Church Worships Jesus. We should say, “The True Church Worships Jesus.”
Last week we looked at the need for Sound Doctrine. The main reason for Paul writing to this church is to help them get rid of the false teachings of Christ from within the church (1 Tim. 1:3). Paul will remind Timothy, and this church, of the rampant problem of apostasy which will come up later in this church AND the church in general.
“But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, by the hypocrisy of liars, who have been seared in their own conscience…”
--1 Timothy 4:1-2
Paul follows a similar structure in all of his letters to the church (Ephesians, Philippians, Galatians, 1 & 2 Timothy, 1 & 2 Corinthians, Romans, Colossians, Philemon, Titus, 1 & 2 Thessalonians). A Greeting, Thanksgiving for the church, Theological teaching or the law of God (given for correction), and to follow that teaching came Conduct—or application. How do we live according to the theological teaching or law?
“The faith: This doesn’t mean losing the ability to believe, but losing the content of what Christians should believe. It describes the essential teachings of the Christian faith. When some… depart from the faith, they are abandoning the essential teachings of Christianity.”
--Enduring Word Commentary
Paul is clearly doing this in 1 Timothy. 1 Timothy 1 is the reminder for correction based on God’s law; Paul shares the gospel of Christ then he will follow up chapter 1 with how the church is to act, to apply what they have just learned, how to conduct themselves in light of God’s law and the gospel.
What must the True Church do to remain in a faithful relationship with Christ?
- Worship Jesus Christ. The King of All.
“And He is before all things, And in Him all things hold together. And He is the head of the body, the church;”
--Colossians 1:17-18
“First of all, then, I exhort that petitions and prayers, requests and thanksgivings, be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior…”
--1 Timothy 2:1-3
What is worship? The definition of the word is to lower oneself and to elevate a deity, a person over yourself. For proper worship to occur, the worshiper, must be lowered, they must be under the feet of the God they are worshiping. Paul is now going to move into the portion of his letter to Ephesus where he will teach them what God-pleasing worship looks like as they gather for Sunday morning, corporate worship.
The end of this portion of scripture reads:
“Therefore I want the men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and dissension.”
--1 Timothy 2:8
Greek word for “men” in 1 Tim. 2:2
ἀνθρώπων — 99x ἄνθρωπος, -ου, ὁ, [perhaps from ἀνήρ and ὤψ, i. e. man's face: Curtius, § 422; Vanicek, p. 9. From Homer down]; man. It is used
1. universally, with reference to the genus or nature, without distinction of sex, a human being, whether male or female: John 16:21.
Greek word for “men” in 1 Tim. 2:8
ἀνήρ, ἀνδρός, ὁ, a man, Latin vir. The meanings of this word in the N. T. differ in no respect from classic usage; for it is employed
1. with a reference to sex, and so to distinguish a man from a woman;
Paul is shifting it from “humanity” to “men” within these sections of verses to build up the men of the church in Ephesus (including Timothy) to worship Christ by having petitions and prayers for humanity, for their men and women who sit under them in their church. Point your church to Christ! Pray on behalf of men and woman to Christ! Prayers are made for everyone by Holy Men lifting their holy hands and worshiping the Holy God/Man Himself—Jesus Christ.
--1 Peter 5:1-6 “Elders” are “older-men” and “young men” are to subject to the elders/ overseers of the church.
“For all kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil life and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.”
--1 Timothy 2:2
Prayer is essential to the Christian Life—how does one live a life of worship to God? They use the most important tool in their tool belt, the greatest weapon in their arsenal, prayers and petitions.
“Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you…’You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.’”
--Matthew 5:11-12, 43-48
All Kings, all authorities, all that happens on the earth is UNDER God, UNDER Christ. The Prayers of the worship service, the prayers of the church are not DECLARATIONS rather they are PETITIONS. Paul is putting the worshipers of Ephesus in their place before God, under God.
“Petitions or Entreaties.”
δέησις, -εως, ἡ, (δέομαι);
1. need, indigence (in Severe Poverty, in a desolate position, in severe need) (Psalm 21:25 (Ps. 22:25)); Aeschines dial. 2, 39f; [Plato, Eryx. 405 e. bis]; Aristotle, rhet. 2, 7 [ii., p. 1385a, 27]).
Corporate prayer, song singing, partaking of the Lord’s supper, learning from God’s word is all worship to God. It creates a posture of humility, it lowers us, and elevates God. It reminds the church how much they need God and who truly oversees the church—it isn’t the pastor, overseer, elders or deacons, the authority of the church is King Jesus, The LORD of All.
Corporate worship realigns us into what is right in God’s eyes:
“On account of this, do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father; and being subject to one another in the fear of Christ.”
--Ephesians 5:17-21
Corporate worship and the Holy Spirit empowers us to do ministry outside of these walls, outside of our church community:
“But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.”
--Acts 16:25
Corporate worship reminds us of God’s peace, of His sovereignty and that we are in His pasture, in His family:
“Make a loud shout to Yahweh, all the earth. Serve Yahweh with gladness; Come before Him with joyful songs. Know that Yahweh, He is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.”
--Psalm 100:1-3
We are to come to church not to worship ourselves, not to satisfy are earthly culture, not to satisfy our fleshly ambitions or desires rather we come to church to worship God—to understand His desires, to understand who Christ is, and to be empowered by the Holy Spirit to share His Gospel.
- Worship Jesus Christ. The Church’s Saviour.
“...who desires all men to be saved and to come to the full knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the witness for this proper time.”
--1 Timothy 2:4-6
In 1 Timothy Ch. 2, Paul, is bringing order back to a disordered church. He is reminding this church of where their authority comes from—of who has true authority—it is Jesus Christ. He then will be using this chapter to correct the church and to establish as strong foundation for corporate worship and communal living under God’s headship. The fact the church exists in the first place is because Jesus gave His life to save her! Jesus has served the church in the greatest way. Serve Him! Worship Him! Please Him!
“Jesus answered, ‘You would have no authority over Me, unless it had been given you from above; for this reason he who delivered Me to you has the greater sin…Therefore when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, ‘It is finished!’ And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit…But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out. And he who has seen has borne witness, and his witness is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you also may believe.’”
--John 19:11, 30, 34-35
We ought to Worship Jesus. For His glory. For our betterment. We must Worship our Savior.
Over years, centuries, and generations, Satan has been trying to destroy God, trying to deceive many away from Christ and His gospel.
The Roman Coliseum was an amazing feat / monument to violence, gratuity and entertainment. It held just over 50,000 people—it was the largest ancient amphitheatre of its time. It was a statement of power and control for the Roman empire. The emperor’s seat
Kanye West is a famous rapper, he is very controversial and his music is lewd and crude. He recently had two concerts in Los Angeles at SoFi stadium (2nd biggest NFL stadium—seats roughly 70,000 people). He sold out the show breaking the record for most attended hip-hop show of all time. He brought in $33 Million dollars between both nights (April 1st and 3rd, 2026). He has been compared to the success of Taylor Swift.
These are history shattering moments; massive feats of engineering, Kanye is famous because of his music, people loving, singing and connecting to him through his music.
Yet, You probably haven’t heard of Kanye West before and the Colosseum is in ruins with a cross standing where the emperor would typically sit—and you sit in this church, Shellbrook, Sk, 2026 and you have heard of one name: Jesus Christ. His name will endure. His name is above all names.
In John 20:1-10 Jesus is nowhere to be found—His tomb is empty. Jesus was dead for three days and now He is alive! No human, no rapper, no empire, no human authority can achieve what Christ achieved—the salvation from death, the forgiveness of sins, the gift of eternal life with Him.
“Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne and the living creatures and the elders; and the number of them was myriads of myriads, and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, ‘Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing.’ And every created thing which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all things in them, I heard saying, ‘To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be the blessing and the honor and the glory and the might forever and ever.’ And the four living creatures kept saying, ‘Amen.’ And the elders fell down and worshiped.”
--Revelation 5:11-14