Small Group Guide“The Attitude of the Church”

1 Timothy 2

Message Summary

As the Apostle Paul writes to Timothy regarding the church at Ephesus, he warns him about false teachers and provides direction regarding what it looks like to live life together as a faith family. Although 1 Timothy 2 is controversial passage, this epistle does contain background information regarding what was happening in the Ephesian church: the believers were arguing about pet theological ideas (1 Tim. 1:1-5, 18-20), there were false teachers in the church and dysfunctional leadership (1 Tim. 1:6-7), men were praying out of an angry or argumentative spirit (1 Tim. 2:8), and women were dressing to draw attention to their wealth, their bodies, or both (1 Tim. 2:9-10).

While there are challenges to interpreting 1 Timothy 2, we do see in this chapter two portraits of a quietly dignified community: (1) the missional power of prayer and godliness and (2) the curious beauty of modesty and dignified submission. The prayers, concerns, and actions of God’s people should accurately reflect God’s character and the priority of gospel advancement. How we as Christians respond to authority is included in this - both civil authority as well as God’s structure of headship and submission in the church and in the family. This is important, for our response to authority also has missional implications. In light of Paul’s teachings in 1 Timothy 2, let us pursue the quiet strength of prayer and of learning God’s Word, and let us pursue health as a family.

Discussion & Application Questions

After briefly reviewing the message summary, use these questions to further examine the sermon and to discuss how these truths apply to daily life, so we can “be doers of the word, and not hearers only” (Jas. 1:22). Based on your knowledge of the people in your small group, select the questions that will best help you frame the group’s discussion of this sermon and sermon text.

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THE MISSIONAL POWER OF PRAYER AND GODLINESS (VV. 1-10)

1. What kind of people does the gospel create? What should be the character, the demeanor, of the people of God? Why?

2. Read 1 Timothy 2:1-2. How is prayer and godliness missional?3. How does prayer unify the church?4. Application: What does prayer and godliness look like in your own life? What is one

way in which you need to grow with regard to prayer? With regard to godliness? How can you take a step to grow in that this week?

5. Application: What does prayer and godliness look like in your small group? How can you grow in prayer together and prioritize praying for each other, for

civil authorities, and for mission (local and global)? How can you check in with each other and spur each other into connecting the

truth of Scripture with how you live and feel?6. Application: Together, evaluate the small group. Based on what the last 2-3 meetings

looked like, what would stand out as priorities of the group? Do those priorities align with the purpose of the church - worship, nurture, and mission? Identify one area (worship, nurture, or mission) in which the group needs to grow. What is one way the group members can take a step to grow in that particular area?

7. Based on 1 Timothy 2:1-7 and Romans 13:1-7, what should dictate a Christian’s response to abuses or injustices in our culture and in politics? How can a Christian respond to such wrongs in a way that doesn’t confuse the world about what the Bible teaches?

THE CURIOUS BEAUTY OF MODESTY AND DIGNIFIED SUBMISSION (VV. 9-15)

8. Based on 1 Timothy 2:8-12, what can be gathered about the attitudes and actions of the men and women in the church at Ephesus?

9. Read 1 Timothy 2:8. What does it look like to pray without anger or quarreling? How can corporate prayer be twisted into a weapon for retaliation, gossip, self-righteousness, etc.? How can we avoid such things? What does this sort of praying indicate about the person’s heart?

10. Application: Read 1 Timothy 2:9-10. For the ladies in the group, what should modesty, decency, good sense, and good works look like in your life? In light of this, what needs to change or occur in your life? How can you move towards God’s design?

11. What does the world proclaim about beauty and fitness? What is true based on Scripture? How can we combat the lies of the world with the truth?

12. How do we identify the motivations behind our actions? How do we then address the heart behind the actions?

13. For women, what is often the heart behind how you dress? Why would a woman dress immodestly?

14. For women, how can we pursue “modesty and self-control” like 1 Timothy 2:9 commands without becoming legalistic and creating a “modesty checklist”? How do we “pursue what is proper for women who profess godliness” without comparing ourselves to other women or judging other women?

15. How is it true that submission is not demeaning in the Bible? How did Jesus submit to the Father? What was true about Jesus’ attitude towards submission and about Jesus’ worth as He submitted to God?

16. Application: How should Jesus’ example affect your attitude towards submission in marriage? Towards submission to authority (in the workplace, in culture, in family, to God, etc.)? How do we change our attitude?

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17. The Holy Spirit does not give some spiritual gifts only to men or only to women, so when women are given the gifts of leadership, teaching, shepherding, or administration, what are biblically appropriate ways that both single and married women can exercise those spiritual gifts?

18. In what way(s) have churches responded to 1 Timothy 2:9-15 by swinging to extremism in response to this passage? Why have they done so? How can this be avoided?

19. In what ways can church leaders and small group leaders of co-ed groups, allow women to exercise their spiritual gifts while adhering to God’s design? What happens when space is not created for women to cultivate and exercise such gifts?

20. How are God-ordained authority structures in the church and the home for our good and His glory?

21. Why does God give authority and headship in the church and in the home to the man instead of the woman?

22. How was the authority structure of God’s design overthrown in the Fall (see Genesis 3:1-7)?

23. Read 1 Timothy 2:15. In light of the rest of the New Testament, what can this verse not mean? Why?

24. Application: For spouses and for parents, in what way(s) do you need to pursue health as a family? This week, how will you take a step to do this? What does this look like for husbands, for wives, for parents? In your marriage?

Things to Consider

If you have people in your group who did not hear the sermon, read the sermon text 1 Timothy 2) together and briefly summarize the main points of the sermon. Recapping the sermon text and sermon outline can also be a helpful way to start the group, even if everyone did hear the sermon.

Because 1 Timothy 2 contains a challenging set of verses to understand (vv. 9-15), this can be an opportunity within small group to discuss how to address difficult texts in the Bible. How should we respond when we do not understand what the Bible teaches, or when we do not immediately like what the Bible says? In reading the words of 1 Timothy 2:9-15, why is this passage controversial? What is the initial response of those in the group, particularly to verses 11-12? When reading a difficult text, it can be helpful to identify our biases. What is true, and what do we want to be true?

We should acknowledge our bias and ask God to give us understanding as we study His Word and that He would help us not to look for a work around or to twist His Word to suit our desires. As we study the Bible, are we willing to read it with humility and to submit ourselves to God, trusting Him to be good and right in all that He says?

When we come to a difficult passage in the Bible, it can be helpful to identify the context (both the historical and cultural context as well as the context of the text within that particular book of the Bible). With regard to 1 Timothy, what is happening in the church at Ephesus? How does this play into Paul’s commands in chapter two? To know this, we have to look at 1 Timothy as a whole. We cannot fully understand what a Bible passage means for us today if we do not know what it meant for the original audience. As a group, take the first two chapters of 1 Timothy and characterize the church at Ephesus. What was it like? What was happening in the church?

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Based on just the first chapter of this epistle, we know the church at Ephesus was a mess with false teachings, theological squabbles, angry disagreements, and women who were dressing and acting inappropriately in the church.

In addition to identifying the context of a difficult passage of Scripture, it is helpful to examine that text in light of Scripture as a whole. For example, while 1 Timothy 2:15 states that a woman “will be saved through childbearing,” what does the rest of the New Testament tell us with regards to how one is saved? So what does 1 Timothy 2:15 not mean?

Another example would be 1 Timothy 2:11-12. Paul’s command for women to “learn quietly with all submissiveness” does not mean that women must refrain from speaking, for 1 Corinthians 11, which Paul also wrote, provides instructions regarding how women are to pray and speak in worship gatherings. While 1 Timothy 2:11-12 is not commanding outright verbal silence, it does refer to a woman’s role in church leadership and restricts her from responsibilities belonging to pastors, which is further described in 1 Timothy 3.

As can be seen, it is important to interpret Scripture in light of the whole counsel of God, the entire book of the Bible, and study tools such as commentaries, systematic theologies, Bible encyclopedias, and concordances can also aid us in piecing such things together.

Weekly Prayer Focus

Pray for Our Church: Pray for wisdom and humility for those in positions of authority and for them to submit

their lives to Christ. Pray for those who do not yet know Christ to be open to the gospel and for opportunities

for us to share with them. Ask the Spirit to guide our understanding as we study counter-culture Scriptures such

as1 Timothy 2.

Pray for Our City: Pray for our ESL (English as a Second Language) Ministry, which aims to meet an

essential need for English learners while providing a strategic avenue for God’s character to be displayed and His gospel to be declared to internationals living in our city. To learn more about ways to serve, visit brookhills.org/serveESL

Pray for Birmingham International Church and for Pastor Ron Higey.

Pray for Our World: Pray for the citizens of Texas who have been affected by Hurricane Harvey and for our

partner Samaritan’s Purse as they provide help in the aftermath of the storm. For more information on how we are helping as a church and how you can participate, visit brookhills.org/harvey

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