Rightly Dividing: What Saith the Scripture?

The Apostle Paul, the most influential missionary in church history, a man of unwavering faith and perseverance, openly confesses here that he was "pressed out of measure, above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of life." This is not a casual statement. The Greek word for despaired (ἐξαπορέομαι, exaporeō) means to be utterly without a way out, completely at a loss, to feel trapped with no escape.

This is the inspired Word of God - Paul is not exaggerating here. He is describing a moment in which he and his companions believed they were going to die.

And yet, what do we see in this passage? That God had a purpose even in this depth of suffering—to strip Paul of all self-reliance and teach him to trust only in "God which raiseth the dead” (v.9).

This passage is not just about suffering; it is about where we place our trust in suffering. Paul’s affliction serves as a lesson for us: When we reach the end of our rope, the end of our strength, we discover the sufficiency of God's power.

Let’s examine four key truths from this passage that will help us understand how we, as believers, are to respond when we find ourselves despairing even of life.

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Paul is about to lay down qualifications—not preferences, not cultural norms, not church customs, not traditional requirements, but divine biblical requirements. The character of these men will determine the health of the church.  If they are compromised, the church will be compromised.

If they are men of God, as imperfect as these men may be—

then the church will be strong, the church will be steadfast, and the church will be unshakable.

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This is one of the most controversial passages in 1 Timothy. And one of the most controversial and ignored or twisted passages in all of Paul’s letters, of the New Testament, and all of the Bible. It has not always been controversial, twisted, or ignored.

That is a more recent phenomenon in the history of the church. And controversial does not necessarily mean unclear. It is very clear.

The passage itself is not too difficult to understand. Our problems with it today have to do with the proper and biblical application of this text. It has been gotten wrong, and misused and abused – quite often in my opinion, among conservative circles.

We believe the Bible is God’s Word to us. We believe this passage is God’s Word to us. So we cannot ignore it. We should not abuse it. We must strive to get it right – and then believe it, preach it, teach it, and live it out.

If this is not God’s word, then the problems with the application of this passage disappear. Then you can simply say, Times have changed. But we are not a liberal church – we are a biblical church.

So we affirm this to be God’s Word for us today – just as much as it was God’s Word for the 1st century Christians that first heard it. It is as relevant today as it ever was.

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This passage assumes that we already have a grasp on God’s purpose for men and women. Paul assumes that is basic and elementary, but in our society today, unfortunately for many this is not the case.

Paul refers back to Genesis 1, 2, and 3 — so, there is something that we need to know from Genesis before we can make sense of 1 Timothy. With this sermon, we are going to go back to the basics and seek to give a concise theology of the sexes. I am using the word “sexes” intentionally because I am trying to get at the normal, natural, biological reality of men and women. 

Now, we are called to honor God's design in an Age of Confusion. We are living in a day where the world has lost its mind. The culture we see around us is not just confused—it is in open rebellion against the God of the universe.

It has forsaken truth, rejected creation, and shaken its fist at the Almighty. One of the clearest battlegrounds of that rebellion is the denial of God’s design for men and women.

And it will shout down, cancel, and destroy anyone who dares to stand against its radical self-destruction. And yet, stand, we must!

Because this is not about personal preference or cultural tradition—this is about God’s glory. This is about obedience to His Word. This is about whether we will bow to the spirit of this age or whether we will submit to the unchanging and holy authority of Scripture.

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In these verses, God is summoning us through His Word to a life of prayer that shakes the heavens and transforms the earth. 1 Timothy 2:1, 7-8 stands as a holy command, beckoning us to prioritize prayer—not as a perfunctory duty, but as an all-encompassing posture of our lives before the living God.

The Apostle Paul’s words thunder down through the centuries: "I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men… [then verse 8] I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting."

What does this mean for us today?

But here is the question that presses upon us with unrelenting urgency: Do we live as if prayer is our lifeline to God? Or have we allowed prayer to be reduced to a hurried formality, a rushed checklist, or a desperate last resort?

Paul’s exhortation cuts through our complacency like a blade: Pray! Pray everywhere. Pray with holy hands lifted, hearts unshackled by anger, and minds fortified against doubt.

This is not a casual request; it is a divine summons to live with heaven in view and Christ at the center of all we do. It is a call to be a people who pray with urgency, speak truth with boldness, and approach God with faith that moves mountains.

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No amount of effort or ingenuity could ever bridge that gap. Yet, into this hopelessness, God Himself provided the only solution. He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, not just to show the way, but to be the way—the one and only mediator who could bring sinful humanity back into fellowship with God.

Today, we turn to one of the most powerful and foundational texts in Scripture: 1 Timothy 2:5-7. Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, declares with clarity and urgency, “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.”

This passage confronts a world that loves to believe in “many ways” to God, in endless “doors” to heaven. It contradicts a culture that prizes individualism and self-made spirituality. But here we see an unyielding truth:

This message is more than theology; it is the heartbeat of the gospel. It declares the exclusivity of Jesus as the only means of salvation and emphasizes that His work on the cross was sufficient and final.

Let us fix our hearts and minds on the grandeur of God’s righteous judgment, a truth proclaimed from the pages of His eternal Word.

As we delve into the mystery of divine justice upon Babylon, that city of ancient pride and rebellion, we are drawn to the sovereign orchestration of God in the affairs of nations, “For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will” (Revelation 17:17).

Babylon—first among the Gentile kingdoms to subdue God’s chosen people, Israel—was not merely a tool of conquest but an instrument of divine discipline.

Thus saith the Lord through His prophet, "And I will render unto Babylon and to all the inhabitants of Chaldea all their evil that they have done in Zion in your sight, saith the Lord" (Jeremiah 51:24).

How sobering is this truth: God, who raises up rulers and nations, also casts them down for their pride and iniquity. Babylon, far more than an ancient empire, stands as a symbol of every false system of worship and rebellion against the Most High.

From her idolatrous foundations to her end-time personification as the harlot of Revelation 17, she epitomizes humanity's defiance against the holy God.

As we contemplate this, let us marvel at the divine paradox: God’s sovereign use of evil to accomplish His purposes while rendering just recompense to wickedness.

Babylon’s rise and fall unveil both the holiness of God and the rebellious heart of man. Yet, in these judgments, we see the gospel’s shadow—pointing to the ultimate victory of Christ, the Lamb who was slain, who will one day cause every knee to bow and every tongue to confess His Lordship.

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For the church to fulfill what I Timothy 2:1-4 teaches us, and tells us the church is supposed to do, we need to be a healthy church, a biblical church, in other words, a strong church.

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Have you ever paused to consider what it means to worship a God who is infinitely wise?

His wisdom is not like ours—limited, flawed, or bound by time. His wisdom is eternal, universal, and incomprehensible.

But more than the grand works of creation, consider this: God’s wisdom reached into the abyss of human sin and, through the foolishness of the cross, made a way for sinners like us to be reconciled to Him (1 Corinthians 1:21 - For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe).

Think about it—while we were lost, blind, and running headlong into destruction, God’s wisdom wove a plan of redemption so perfect, so profound, that even the angels marvel at it (Ephesians 3:10).

The wisdom of God is not a mere theological concept; it is the foundation of our faith, the comfort of our trials, and the guiding light for our lives.

This is our fourth message in I Timothy and we have seen a charge, its purpose, and why it was necessary in 1:1-7. Paul introduces his letter to Timothy with a command: “charge some that they teach no other doctrine, Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith: so do” (vs.3-4).  

The charge is a command to not teach things that undermine, mute, or contradict the gospel or engage in needless debates or questions that do not edify.

Its aim is love from a pure heart, good conscience, and sincere faith. The implication is that true doctrine creates and sustains a pure heart, good conscience, and sincere faith, and in so doing produces love.

Paul is saying that everything he teaches, and every command he gives to be rid of false doctrine is for the sake of faith that produces love.   

It was necessary because some men who wanted to be teachers of the law were misusing it and in so doing undermining the gospel. This leads Paul to an explanation of the law and its proper use in verses 8-11.

Paul then spends 6 verses explaining how he came to have this ministry of ensuring that truth was being taught in the local church; and how God transformed him from a blasphemer into a faithful gospel teacher (1:12-17).  

And then there is a hard stop at the end of verse 17.  A very strong, “enough about me.” A point at which I think a summary is appropriate.

Like Paul, Timothy is to call others to believe and teach “sound doctrine; According to the glorious gospel of the blessed God” (vs.10-11). Or another way to word it or look at it:

This leads us to our current text, which can be summarized this way: War a good warfare for the sake of your faith.