📖WEB · 1 Timothy 2:3
What does 1 Timothy 2:3 mean?
"For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior;"
— 1 Timothy 2:3 (World English Bible)
Surrounding context
I exhort therefore, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and givings of thanks, be made for all men:
for kings and all who are in high places; that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and reverence.
For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior;
who desires all people to be saved and come to full knowledge of the truth.
For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,
who gave himself as a ransom for all; the testimony in its own times;
Explanation
1 Timothy 2:3 cannot be fully understood on its own, since it points backward to what Paul has just said in verses 1 and 2. There Paul urges Timothy that "petitions, prayers, intercessions, and givings of thanks be made for all men: for kings and all who are in high places; that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and reverence." Verse 3 then affirms that this practice — praying for all people, including political leaders — is "good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior." In plain language, Paul is saying that God approves of and delights in believers praying broadly for others, not narrowly for themselves or only for those like them.
The letter was written by the apostle Paul to Timothy, a young pastor he had left in charge of the church in Ephesus. Paul writes as a mentor giving practical instructions for how the church should conduct itself, particularly in public worship and community life. Ephesus was under Roman rule, and Christians at the time had reason to feel either resentful of or fearful toward governing authorities, some of whom were hostile to the faith. Paul's instruction to pray for "kings and all who are in high places" would have been countercultural and even costly, since it called believers to seek the good of a government that did not always seek the good of the church.
Theologically, the verse reveals something important about God's character and priorities. By calling prayer for all people "good and acceptable,"
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