What does Paul have to say about Biblical manhood? Looking to Christ Jesus, who is the ultimate man, the Apostle commands that Christian men gather for prayer (cf. 2:1) and do so reaching out to heaven with “clean hands”, expecting great things from God, and in unity with their brothers. The 1st Adam was created having received all things graciously from Yahweh, and yet he refused to guard that gift and trust his Creator for continued blessing, trusting in himself and the lies of the Deceiver instead (Gen. 3). The 2nd Adam and the True Israel, the Lord Jesus, succeeded in faithfulness where His image-bearers failed. Though He was and is and forever will be God, Jesus prayed (and prays!) continually to the Father by the Spirit, seeking to receive everything necessary for His mission from His heavenly Father. Truly manly men do the same, and Paul commends/commands this manliness to Timothy and men of the Church. The posture of prayer that Paul describes isn’t just figurative language a physical posture that trains, i.e. disciples, the heart. But for men to come to God and expect anything from Him we must come with clean hands. The word that Paul uses here not only draws on the Levitical purity language but also the Septuagint’s translation of a number of Pentateuchal references to the covenant (e.g. Dt. 29:19). Paul apostolically desires that men pray “in all places” (cf. Exo. 24:20) having repented of their sins through the Mediator, Christ Jesus. True repentance is revealed in the fruit of Christian men’s lives, particularly in their practice of consistently gathering for prayer without anger towards one-another or quarreling. Far from placid, effeminate domestication, such unity reflects the masculine discipline of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit worked-out through men who have experienced the ministry of reconciliation in Christ and have committed themselves even in the midst of their own sanctification to the salvation of the world through prayer.
APPLICATION
1. Repent of Adam’s effeminate sin of not protecting Eve and the Garden by following Christ into prayer.
2. Prepare for effective prayer lives by following Matthew 18 and steering clear of foolish quarrels.