The prayers of Paul
1 Timothy 1:12-17 part 1 v 12
This is a series of the prayers of St Paul found in the letters attributed to him in the order he is believed to have written them. Letters to the same place or person will be treated with the first letter to that destination.
12 I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service, 13 though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, 14 and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 15 The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. 16 But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. 17 To the King of ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.
1 Timothy 1:12-17 ESVUK
The last three letters attributed to Paul are different from those we have looked at previously, of Paul writing as a pastor to churches he has founded, have been established via churches he has founded or wishes to visit. These are letters to pastors on how to lead churches although there is still an element of Paul being a pastor of these pastors.
The story so far
The prayer does not appear at the very start of Paul’s letter. Instead, he sets out some basics. Verse 5 sets out these basics, “The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.” Genuine love, good conscience and sincere faith are the basics a Christian leader needs, beware of those who try to make it complicated. Paul is concerned that all who call themselves Christian should allow the Gospel to transform their lives so that what we do outwardly should be an outpouring of what is inside us. He is also concerned that Christian communities should be built in mutual love and support rather than behaviour that tears it apart.
Commandments
The law. Is it good? That is Paul’s question before the prayer. Yes, he says it is very good, but it has a purpose: The Old Testament law is like road signs telling you where obstacles are or like the signs on a demolition site saying DANGER: keep out. They tell us what not to go, and what the dangerous areas of life are. What they do not do is tell us what to do. Paul is talking about the law, but the examples he uses map the 10 commandments pretty closely. (Except for keep the Sabbath holy, which was a contentious issue at that time).
| Commandment | Commandment | Paul’s commentary |
| 5 | Honour your father and your mother | for those who strike their fathers and mothers |
| 6 | You shall not murder | for murderers |
| 7 | You shall not commit adultery | the sexually immoral, men who practise homosexuality* |
| 8 | You shall not steal | enslavers |
| 9 | You shall not bear false witness | liars, perjurers |
| 10 | You shall not covet | whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine |
Paul is not giving a list of bad behaviours for its own sake but is saying that if you want to use the law to show where dangers lie that is fine. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is just as concerned about bad behaviour but is more concerned with God’s glory being revealed. If you teach the New Testament as law all you are doing is putting up more signs saying, “DANGER, KEEP OUT.” The law is good, but the Gospel is about God’s glory being revealed in Jesus Christ. The Gospel is not the law. Law is about keeping rules, about what not to do; the Gospel is about transforming people’s lives, about relationships with God.
That is the background to Paul’s prayer, to make this easy to understand I have split this post in two. The content of the prayer comes in the next part.
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Making an ass of myself 