A note from our Pastor:

“For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;”

1 Timothy 2:5

Good Morning Dearly Beloved,

In the first four verses of this chapter, the Apostle has been instructing Timothy and others regarding the need to pray. He has provided instruction regarding how to pray and whom to pray for as well as the purpose of those prayers. Now in our study verse for this week, the Apostle shifts from the earthly side of prayer to the heavenly side. A key element to understanding this verse is remembering the revelation of all things unto the Apostle by Jesus himself.

The Apostle begins with an absolute truth—there is one God. In the world we live in today we are fractured and divided among no religion, multiple religions, and countless denominations. Different beliefs are held, different terms and names are used, and different forms of worship are engaged in. However, in the end there is one God and people of all nations, tongues, peoples, places, religions, etc. are and will be in heaven.

Then the Apostle advances to the next thought—there is one mediator. The definition of a mediator is different than being a messenger or translator. A messenger is responsible only for taking the message between one person and the next with nothing added or subtracted. A translator has a duty to convert the message from one language to another while changing the meaning as little as possible. However, a mediator is charged with helping two parties understand one another better in order to reach common ground.

The Apostle in this verse specifically describes Jesus Christ not as our messenger or translator but as our mediator. Christ does not simply take our prayers and relay them to God the Father. Rather, Christ hears our prayers and presents them to the Father in a way that pleads our case. Fortunately, in the wisdom of God’s Holy plan, Christ presents our prayers to a Father who loves his people and desires to be merciful unto them.

Finally, the Apostle makes the point that Jesus Christ is both Christ and man. In other words, he is both heavenly and earthly. If it were necessary to establish the qualifications of Christ to be our mediator, this would be an important point in that Jesus Christ has an understanding of both parties for whom the mediation is being performed.

What a blessing it is to our prayer life to have a mediator and not a translator of our prayers.

Our Prayers are with you daily,

Brother Jeremiah