Reading: 1 Timothy 2:8-15
Text: 1 Timothy 2:11-15
Theme: The Lord instructs us regarding the conduct of women in the church
- What women are called to do
- What women are forbidden to do
- The reason for such a call and prohibition
Intro: Philip Ryken points out in his commentary on 1 Timothy that as we approach the biblical teaching about the role of women in the church, there are pitfalls on every side. Entire denominations have split over the issue of women’s ordination to the ministry and others have formed over it. We only have to think back a little over ten years, when the United Reformed Churches were formed in response to the ordination of women in the Christian Reformed Church. And so, there is, in the very addressing of this issue, the danger of controversy, Ryken says.[1]
Second, there is the danger of letter culture drive our understanding of Scripture. On so many fronts, God’s teaching in the Bible stands squarely against the prevailing mentality of our day, and this is seen most clearly in the roles that women are called to play in the church. In fact, as I was reading The Reason for God by Timothy Keller this week, Keller points out that one of people’s main objections to the Scriptures is what they believe to be gender discrimination. The very idea that women should be forbidden to preach, teach, and have authority over men in the church is a deal-killer for them. Yet we may not let the culture of our day define what God has said about the way his church should function.
Thirdly, there is the danger of allowing our personal opinion distort our understanding of Scripture. We might feel a certain way, or think that things should be done a certain way, but we must allow God’s authoritative Word correct what may be personal beliefs about the role of women in the church of Jesus Christ. And this goes for those who hold to the traditional understanding of the role of women in the church. A, “well, we’ve always done it that way” mentality simply won’t do on an issue that is so controversial in our day. We must desire to know what God has said. And so this morning, that is what we are going to do. We are going to let the Lord instruct us regarding the conduct of women in the church. That is our theme, because that is what is going on here. The Lord is instructing us regarding the role of women in the church. And I want us to see two things this morning (see above).
And so FIRST, the Lord instructs us as to the role of women in the church this morning, and first we must look at what women are called to do. And simply put, they are called to learn. They are called to be learners of God’s Word. Now, this might not at first strike us as very intriguing and groundbreaking, but I guarantee it was for the women to whom Paul was speaking. You see by calling women to be learners, he is going against the conventions of his day. In the Roman world, and even in the Jewish world during Paul’s day women were considered second class citizens, and they certainly were not thought of as those who were worthy to be called learners. The system of education set up by the Roman government and Jewish culture was set up primarily for men, not for women. In fact, according to the Jerusalem Talmud, “It would be better for the words of Torah to be burned, than that they should be entrusted to a woman.”[2] In other words, teaching women was simply not worth the time it would take.
It is over and against this mentality that Paul stands and says, “women are to be learners.” They are to be those who are students of the Word of God. They are to seek to know it and to know it well so that they might use their gifts for the glory of God. But we would not be faithful to God’s word if we simply stopped there and said that women are called to be learners of God’s Word. In fact, that is not even the focus of Paul’s exhortation, though it is important. The focus is the manner in which women are called to learn in the church. Notice two things: The outward manner in which they are to learn, and the inward manner in which they are to learn.
First, women are called by Paul to learn, “in silence.” The word can also be translated “quietly”. The exhortation from Paul comes amidst, we must not forget, the false teachers of his day that were disrupting the church. Though we are not sure of the precise content of their teaching, there are good reasons from the rest of the Timothy to believe that they were calling women in particular to buck the authority of their husbands and leaders in the church. Paul exhortation to young widows in the church comes in the context of warning against false teachings. In 2 Timothy 3:6-7 Paul says, “For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, lead away by various lusts, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.”
In other words, the problems arising, perhaps with women in the church of Ephesus, were rooted in the false teachings, and so this is the occasion for Paul to speak about the role of women, and they are first called to lean in silence, or quietly. It is the same word used the crowd when Paul spoke in Acts 21:40. They were hushed and became quiet. In other words, Paul is telling women that they are to give their ministers and elders their undivided attention, to open their ears and close their mouths.
But there is an inward attitude that must accompany this quietness. It is not enough, Paul knows, just to require an outward action, but such an outward action must flow from an inward attitude. The silence must be accompanied by “full submission.” Now, it must be said that quietness and submission is not something that women are exclusively called to. A minister or elder should not put up with a man that is loud and unsubmissive either, yet we remember that there are commands which are particularly important for women to follow as women, and men as men.
Full submission is what Paul calls women to as they learn. Now this does not mean that women cannot have questions about the sermon, or disagreements with the pastor or elders. Rather, it calls the women of the church to a willingness to receive the word of God with gladness. Think of Mary and Martha. When Jesus came regarding Lazarus, Martha was busy running here and there serving, while Mary sat at Jesus feet, listening and learning. Martha got so upset that she finally asked Jesus, “When are you going to tell her to get up and get busy helping?” to which Jesus replied, “Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her” (Luke 10:42). You’ve perhaps known women who have been quiet in church assemblies, but anything but submissive in heart. Jesus calls women to sit at the feet of their Master Jesus; even if he is speaking through the instrument of the minister of the church, or elder in the church. So women, you are called to be learners in the church, with the outward demeanor of quietness, and the inward demeanor of full submission to God-given authority.
Now, I don’t know many who would disagree with anything that has just been said. In one sense, quietness and submission to God-ordained authority is the call of every Christian, men, and women. But SECONDLY this morning, we not only see that women are called to be silent and submissive learners, but they are also prohibited from exercising authority over men in the church. This is where the offense from many sectors comes.
As one commentator said, “At the same time the Bible rules learning in, it rules teaching out…” This is a certain kind of teaching. Paul says, “And I do not permit a woman to teach or have authority over a man, but to be in silence.” Now, some have said this means that no woman should ever teach any man, anything, and many men, no doubt, want it to be saying something like that, but it doesn’t. Think of Priscilla, who with her husband Aquilla, sat Apollos down and taught him about the word of the Lord. Furthermore, this passage is not prohibiting women from holding positions of authority in the civil realm. Rather, what Paul is prohibiting is women exercising those roles which are held by qualified male leaders of the church. In other words, women are prohibited from preaching and teaching in the church of Jesus Christ (remember the context of 1 Timothy). Notice what is prohibited.
First, women are prohibited to teach in the church. Now, Paul has in mind public teaching, to the entire church. Women teaching other women is not prohibited. In fact, it is commended to us in Titus 2. Rather, women are not to teach men in the public assemblies of Christ’s church, in Sunday School settings, or Bible study settings in which the whole church, men and women are present. This authoritative teaching of God’s Word is to be done by the leaders of the church in most circumstances, though other qualified men may be chosen by the leaders.
Second, and very closely related to the prohibition to teaching, is the prohibition to have authority over men. And so, stepping back, we see the Lord forbidding women to teach men, or exercise authority over men in the church. Men, rather are to be in leadership in the church, teaching positions in the church, and exercising the ministry of the Word in church. Think of Elizabeth Elliot. What a wonderful example of a woman teaching women in the church, but not exercising authority over men. That is why in our church here, and in our denomination, we do not have women elders, ministers, or deacons because Paul prohibits women to hold positions of authority in the church. Rather, we seek to be faithful to the Lord’s command that in the church, women are to be silent.
And we should take issue, brothers and sisters, with those who insist that placing women in this position in the church is degrading to women. That is what we call in philosophy a non sequiter. It does not logically follow that because women are assigned this function in the church, it necessarily means they are inferior. That logic is bogus. It’s like saying that a female dance partner is an inferior dancer because the male dancer leads. No, both are professional dancers, but each serve their function. And God in his wisdom has ordained that men will be his leaders/teachers/preachers in the church and not women. Now, please understand that there is much behind what I am saying this morning that we simply do not have the time to address. And so if you have question, please do not hesitate t come and ask me after worship. Now, one of your questions might be, “but isn’t this just a cultural thing?” Paul answer that for us in these verses.
And so THIRDLY, Paul gives us the reason for this command, and this prohibition, and notice that it is not rooted in the culture of his day. This arrangement of leadership in the church is not rooted in culture, but creation. This arrangement of leadership in the church is not rooted in culture, but in creation; and more particularly creation and the fall. In other words, this is not just a matter of culture. We can’t say, “this doesn’t apply to our day today.”
Notice first Paul gives his reasons, “for”. That is how that word functions here, he’s laying the basis for his prohibition. And his first reason, “man was created first.” In other words, the creational order of men and women is mean to reflect the church order of authority. Now redemptively, as far as salvation is concerned, there is neither male, nor female, Jew nor Greek. In other words, men aren’t more saved than women, and salvation is not more important for men than women. But as far as their function in the church, the order in which they were created is to be reflected in the authority structure of the church. Do you see how that is a “culture-less” argument. The authority structure of the church is rooted in the authority structure laid down at creation.
Then Paul moves on to the fall (2:14). Now this does not mean that Adam was less guilty than Eve. In fact Adam, in the Scriptures, is the one held responsible for plunging humanity into sin. This also does not mean that women are naturally more prone to be deceived than men. What Paul is getting at is that when Adam and Eve fell, the God-ordained roles were reversed. Eve now desired the position of her husband, and her husband was now willing to give that position up. And Paul is saying, “this role reversal that brought such awful consequences on the human race should not be repeated in the church of Jesus Christ.” The responsibility for teaching and leadership in the church falls on qualified men (3:1-7).
And the reward for submission is salvation from the curse (2:15). Now, I wish we had more time here, because this is an interesting verses and has been widely debated. Here are the arguments very quickly. 1.) Women will be kept safe through childbirth in spite of the curse. The problem with this view is that it isn’t true. 2.) Women will be saved (spiritually speaking) through bearing children. This is silly two as there have been many child-bearing women who have been lost in sin, and this would be a very vague way to say something like this. 3.) Women will be preserved from insignificance and find fulfillment in child-bearing. But this imposes an unusual meaning on the word saved, which is mostly used in a spiritual context in the NT. 4.) Women will be saved from the corruption of this sinful world by taking their proper places in the home. Again, though this might be closer to the truth, it does not do justice to the meaning of the word, “saved.” Finally, 5.) women will be save spiritually, with an emphasis on the future aspect of salvation, if their loves show the fruit of saving faith, namely, submission to God’s order as evidenced by taking their proper roles as godly mothers.
However, one more interpretation of this verse is gaining prominence and I believe has merit. Namely, as a reference to the birth of Christ. This view emphasizes that in the original language, childbearing has a definite articles, “the childbirth,” so that the verse could be translated, “Women will be saved through the bearing of a child.” This interpretation makes good sense, especially in connection with Paul’s reference to Eve’s deception, and in connection with Gen. 3:15, which promises that the offspring of the women will crush the head of the serpent. Chris accomplished this by his death on the cross, but of course he had to be born before he could die, and in this sense, salvation comes through his birth, though not by his birth.
With that view, as well, the rest of the view falls into place. Salvation is received by faith, and now Paul goes on to mention some of the virtues which always flow from a true faith-faith, love, and holiness with self-control. And now again, we are back to virtues that women of faith are to be marked.
And so is all this talk of submission and silence degrading to women? We need only look at the life of our Savior to answer that question. His life was one of full submission to that of is Father. He came, he said, to do his Father’s will. He said he did nothing without his Father, and only spoke what his Father gave him to speak. The Savior of the world, brothers and sisters, was a submissive Savior. Did that degrade him, not at all, did that devalue him, absolutely not. Did that bring out his beauty and his glory? Absolutely. And women, no doubt it will be the same for you as you follow in the footsteps of your Savior. Your glory and beauty as women, made in God’s image, is accentuated as you head the Lord’s instruction regarding your relationship to leadership in the church, and you are freed to served and minister to the best of your ability, to the glory of God and the good of his church.
The annals of church history are filled with women who, respecting their role in the church, did amazing things in the name of Christ. Let it be so with you, sisters, as well.
AMEN
[1] Ryken, Reformed Expository Commentary: 1 Timothy, pg. 87
[2] In Ryken, pg. 89
