Pastor Jonathan at Gracepoint Davis posted a blog last year, which helps in understanding this difficult passage found in 1 Timothy 2 as well as in 1 Corinthians 14.  The link he provides is written in laymen terms, so is also very easy to understand….

1 Timothy 2 DT Commentary vv. 1-4 “The gospel includes high and low. Both the Emperor in his power and the slave in his helplessness were included in the sweep of the gospel. Both the philosopher in his wisdom and the simple man in his ignorance need the grace and truth that the gospel can [...]

Introduction to 1 Timothy “1,2 Timothy and Titus are known as the Pastoral Letters because they give instruction to Timothy and Titus concerning the pastoral care of the churches.  All three letters probably were written not long after the events of Ac 28. “After his imprisonment in Rome (c. A.D. 60-62), Paul most likely began [...]

vv.1-5 “Paul left the eschatological teachings of chapter 2 and moved on to instructions for daily living. He began by asking the Thessalonians to pray for us. This request for himself, Timothy, and Silas shows the human side of these three great men. Like everyone else, they depended on the prayers of others to carry [...]

vv.1-12 A subject that Paul felt no need to write about in the first letter — when the Day of the Lord would occur (1 Thess. 5:1) — he does write about in the second letter. He does so because at least some members of the Thessalonians congregation had become persuaded that the Day had [...]

vv.3-4: “The Thessalonians’ growth in faith and love (cf. 1 Thess. 1:3) was taking place under the most adverse conditions: the continuing experience of ‘persecutions’ (diogmois; cf. Acts 8:1; Rom. 8:35; 2 Cor. 12:10) and ‘afflictions’ (thlipsesin, NIV ‘trials’; cf. 2 Thess. 1:6; also 1 Thess. 1:6; 3:3, 7). The church’s circumstances do not appear [...]

v.3 “Being sanctified or made holy is the process of living the Christian life.  The Holy Spirit works in us, conforming us into the image of Christ (Romans 8:29).”[1] vv.9-10 “As exemplary as the Thessalonians had been (1:3; 3:6), however, further progress remained a goal for them (3:12). […] More love is always possible for [...]

vv.1-5 Almost from the time Paul arrived in Thessalonica, the believers had experienced “trials” as a result of their conversion to Christianity. Indeed, Paul took it for granted (to the extent that he prophesied ahead of time, 3:4) that they would experience affliction to one degree or another, simply as a result of declaring their [...]

v.2 “In Philippi, Paul and Silas had been beaten and severely flogged; they had been put in prison with their feet in stocks (Ac 16:22-24) and cruelly mistreated because they had rescued a slave girl in the name of Jesus Christ. They had also been insulted by being arrested unjustly, stripped of their clothes, and [...]

v.2 “It was Paul’s practice to begin his letters by thanking God for his readers. Paul found much in the lives of the Thessalonians to be grateful for. In fact, he kept on being grateful (cf. “always”). Nor was he alone in gratitude. The pronoun “we” includes Silas and Timothy as sharing his appreciation.  By [...]