“A Godly Woman” (Part II)
(1 Timothy 2:9-15)
Series: Reality Check: Keeping it Real at FBC
Rev. Todd A. Linn, PhD
First Baptist Church Henderson, KY
(9-21-08) (AM)
Recommended Study Link:
The Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood
- Take God’s Word and open to 1 Timothy, chapter 2.
This morning we are continuing the study of a very critical passage in the New Testament. I say critical because I believe it is a passage that has been overlooked by many in our evangelical churches and, for that reason, our churches have suffered and grown increasingly weak. We have treated the first few verses of the text, but I want to go back and read the whole passage again so that we reacquaint ourselves with its teaching concerning the differing roles of men and women in the church.
- Please stand in honor of the reading of God’s Word.
8 I desire therefore that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting;
9 in like manner also, that the women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with propriety and moderation, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly clothing,
10 but, which is proper for women professing godliness, with good works.
11 Let a woman learn in silence with all submission.
12 And I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence.
13 For Adam was formed first, then Eve.
14 And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression.
15 Nevertheless she will be saved in childbearing if they continue in faith, love, and holiness, with self-control.
- Pray.
Introduction:
The more I study this passage the more convinced I am that our failure to read it and apply its teachings results in behavior on one extreme or the other. Both men and women may be guilty of either becoming passive to the point of not exercising their God-given gifts and abilities, or they become domineering and treat the other in an unbiblical way.
I think I told you before about the guy who read the book, Man of the House during his commute home from work. Having finished the book the now enlightened husband stormed into the house to confront his wife. He pointed his finger at her and said, “From now on, I want you to know that I am the man of this house, and my word is law. Tonight you are to prepare me a gourmet meal and a sumptuous dessert. Then, when I’m done eating, you’re going to draw me a bath and when I’m finished with my bath, guess who’s going to dress me and comb my hair?” She said, “The funeral director.”
Well that’s one of the extremes we want to avoid this morning as we study this text. You’ll remember from last time that Paul is describing for us a godly woman, but in so doing he talks about the role and relationship of both women and men. He says in verse 8 that men are expected to take the lead in prayer. Men are to be the spiritual leaders in their home and in the church. We’ll see that again in our study this morning.
Then we looked at verses 9 and 10 where Paul tells us to consider the beauty of the godly woman. So our outline from last time is provided this week, too:
I. Consider her Beauty [9-10]
A) She’s known for her modesty (9)
B) She’s known for her charity (10)
And if you missed last week you can visit our website and either listen to the audio or print out the manuscript for your study. Then we turned to the next main point which was:
II. Consider her Behavior [11-14]
Having addressed the woman’s beauty, Paul turns to her behavior and the first sub-point:
A) She embodies biblical humility (11)
And this is as far as we got last time. We read verse 11 where Paul writes, “Let a woman learn in silence with all submission” and we talked about the fact that for Paul to even write that a woman could learn was a step forward given the way many rabbis viewed women in his day. Again, you can listen to last week’s message or read it online.
So let’s pick up our study now by moving along here at verse 11. Paul says that a woman is to learn “in silence with all submission.” The word “silence” there does not mean that a woman cannot talk at all in the worship services. We mentioned last time that 1 Corinthians 11 talks about women praying in church, for example. The Greek word here in verse 11 is probably best translated by the English word “quietly” as other translations have it. She learns quietly. She is not negatively argumentative, but embodies a humble spirit of learning.
Furthermore, she learns “with all submission.” Here is a reference to the woman’s role of gracious submission to the servant leadership of her husband at home and of her teachers at church. Now let’s flesh this out in the next few verses. Paul is treating the behavior of the godly woman. He says that the godly woman embodies biblical humility, then he says:
B) She embraces biblical authority (12-14)
12 And I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence.
That last word “silence” is the same Greek word we just mentioned. It is better translated “in quietness,” again referring to the humble spirit of the godly woman who lovingly and graciously learns and lives in a Christ-like way before others.
Now let’s look a little more closely at the first part of verse 12. Paul writes, “And I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man.” This verse clearly and unambiguously forbids women from doing two things where men are involved: teaching or having authority over a man. Why, Paul? Hang on. He’ll get to that.
Before we go further here, we remember the necessity of “comparing Scripture with Scripture.” That is, we know from other places in the Bible that Paul is not forbidding women from teaching at all. Paul writes in Titus 2:3-5, for example, that women are to be “teachers of good things—that they admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, and so forth.” Women are encouraged in the Bible to teach other women. Women are also encouraged, of course, to teach children. Paul mentions Timothy’s learning from childhood the wonderful teachings of his godly grandmother Lois and his mother Eunice (2 Timothy 1:5; 3:15). It seems clear enough that in both home and church women are encouraged to teach other women and to teach children. So Paul is not saying here that a women may not teach at all. Rather, he is saying that a woman should not teach a man or have authority over a man and, he is speaking in the context of a gathered Christian assembly.
That is, the Scripture forbids a woman from teaching a man in the public gathering together of persons for biblical instruction. This would include not only the gathered church but any gathering together of men and women for biblical teachings, including parachurch groups or organizations. So much of what you see on Christian TV involves just this. You see a popular woman preacher or teacher and she’s teaching to a large group where men are present.
Now this does not mean that a man cannot learn a thing or two from a woman. How many of you ladies believe a man can learn a thing or two from women?! Some of you may say, “How much time do you have?!” Well, I agree and more importantly, the Scriptures agree, too. The Bible tell us that a man named Apollos learned a thing or two from a wonderful Christian couple in the private context of their home. In Acts 18 the Bible says that this godly couple, Aquila and Priscilla, took Apollos aside and helped him understand the Scriptures more adequately. They didn’t do it publicly. They did it privately. Paul is addressing here the public teaching where men and women are present. And he says that women should not teach the Scriptures to men. Why is that, Paul? Hang on!
Verse 12 not only forbids women from teaching men, but it forbids women from having authority over men. Do you see that in verse 12? There are two things there. Paul says, “I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man.” So any role in the church that involves authority is limited to a man. The most obvious role, of course, is that of pastor. A pastor is the shepherd of the flock, the spiritual leader of the congregation and while he has authority in this role, he is under the authority or headship of the Lord Jesus Christ. But he has authority in the sense of leading, providing, and protecting. So the Bible restricts the pastorate to that of men. Verse 12 makes this abundantly clear, especially given the fact that the primary role of the pastor is to teach! He teaches the Scriptures. That is his main duty.
Now all of this does not surprise the majority of us. We are, after all, Southern Baptists, and we have believed this way for years. And we believe this way not because we’re some strange kind of knuckle-dragging Neanderthals, but because we interpret the Scriptures in a plain, straigthforward manner. Our main confession, the Baptist Faith & Message, addresses this in Article VI: “While both men and women are gifted for service in the church, the office of pastor is limited to men as qualified by Scripture.” We treat the Bible in a plain, straightforward manner and we understand the 1 Timothy 2:12 forbids women from teaching men or having authority over men. And why is that? Hang on!
We must also stress that verse 12 does not forbid women from serving in leadership roles outside the church. I’m amazed at some who are saying that evangelicals might have a problem voting for a woman. They’re saying, “Well, Sarah Palin is on the McCain ticket as his vice presidential nominee and that could be a problem with evangelicals.” But the Bible nowhere teaches that kind of thing! Verse 12 does not forbid women from leadership roles outside of the church where she may have authority over men. This verse is not forbid women from serving in public office or business or the medical profession and, so forth. It is dealing with matters in the context of the gathered Christian community, primarily the church.
It’s important to stress all of this because some would like to read verse 12 differently. With the growing popularity of an unbiblical form of feminism that is creeping into so many churches, some look at verse 12 and say, “Well, we’ve missed this all along. This is Paul saying this. This isn’t Jesus. Jesus would never talk this way” or, “Well, Paul was just writing out of the domineering patriarchal culture of his day.”
Well first, let’s remember that 2 Timothy 3:16 says “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God.” Admittedly Paul was a fallible human being. He even referred to himself as we saw back in 1:15 as the “chief” of sinners. But Peter was a fallible being, too, and so were Luke and John, and all of the biblical writers. The doctrine of biblical inspiration and authority teaches us that the Holy Spirit used fallible human beings to produce an infallible book. It is not whether Paul is fallible and prone to mistakes. It is that God used Paul just as God used countless other writers in such a way as to produce this inerrant book, the Bible, God’s Holy Word.
As to whether Paul was writing out of the domineering patriarchal culture of his day, we can’t go there either as we’ll see in just a moment. But let me say this first. Would we charge our Lord Jesus with the same charge? Is it not significant that, where it came to leadership, that Jesus chose 12 men to be His disciples? Is it not significant that the apostles were men? You see, there is a reason for what Paul teaches here in verse 12 and to that reason we now turn.
What is the reason for what Paul teaches in verse 12? Why does Paul say that a woman may not teach a man or have authority over a man? He gives the reason in the next two verses, verses 13-14:
13 For Adam was formed first, then Eve.
Now stop right there. Just notice for a moment that Paul backs up what he says in verse 12 with Scripture. If you asked Paul, “Paul, why do you say that a woman must not teach or have authority over a man?” he would answer, “Because of Scripture; because of what the Scripture teaches.” Don’t miss that. Paul appeals to Scripture to defend what he has taught in verse 12. This is very similar to what Jesus did in Mark 10 when asked about marriage and divorce. When asked by the Pharisees whether divorce was permissible, Jesus quoted Scripture and took them to the very text Paul takes us to here in verse 13. He takes us to the doctrine of creation in Genesis 1-2.
Doing so, you see, suggests that this teaching transcends all time and culture. The reason Paul’s teaching here should never change is because the order of creation has never changed. Paul says, “Adam was formed first, then Eve.”
Paul’s point here is that there is a divine order that God intends with respect to men and women and this order was given before the Fall. Adam was formed first, then Eve. This does not mean that one is superior and the other inferior. No, the two are equally created in the image of God. Men and women are equal in their essence, but they have different roles. It’s like the trinity. God is one in essence though there are three distinct persons. The Father, Son, and Spirit are all essentially equal, but they have different roles and functions. Similarly, men and women are essentially equal before God, but they have different roles and functions. Man is the spiritual leader and the woman graciously follows his servant leadership. In fact, the very text Paul quotes shows us how those roles were reversed in the fall.
By being passive, Adam abdicated his role as spiritual leader thus allowing Eve to partake of the forbidden fruit. Eve, usurping Adam’s role of leader, partook of the fruit and sin entered into the world. Do you see the role reversal there? That’s why after sin entered the world in the Garden of Eden, God did not come asking questions of Eve first, but of Adam. He comes to Adam. Why? Because he was formed first. Because he was the spiritual leader. His role was that of leader, protector, and provider. He abrogated that role and Eve sinned because she was not acting under the protective headship of Adam. This is what Paul explains in verse 14:
14 And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression.
Adam was not deceived. That doesn’t mean he didn’t sin. Unlike Eve, Adam sinned with his eyes wide open. The woman was deceived. Why? Because she is more gullible? No! She was deceived because Adam failed to provide leadership, direction, and protection. He was formed first. That was his role, but he became passive and Eve usurped that role and was consequently deceived by the serpent. So, because she was not acting under the protective headship of her husband, she “fell into transgression” and brought sin into the world.
So Paul is reminding us that God has a divine order with respect to men and women. Men are to be the spiritual leaders in their homes and in their churches and women are to graciously and lovingly follow that leadership. So the godly woman embraces biblical authority, recognizing that she is not to teach or have authority over a man.
So the man is to rise up and lead. Just as we talked about last time with respect to prayer, so men are to rise up and take the lead of teaching, if they are gifted, and lead a class. Women may help men do this by not assuming that role themselves. It’s interesting that in the Book of Judges we read about a woman rising among the men to lead because, apparently, none of the men would do so. In the Book of Judges God raised up a woman named Deborah to essentially rebuke a man named Barak for not getting up and leading as he should. So where a woman was used by God to lead it was, in fact for the purposes of judgment upon men. It wasn’t to be taken as the norm, but rather quite the exception. It’s as though God was saying, “You men need to get up out of your seats and lead. Rise up, O men of God!” Men are to recognize their God-given role in the church and rise to fulfill it.
Alistair Begg told an interesting story about a woman he heard speak about her work with Wycliffe Bible Translators. She explained how she and a female colleague had gone to a remote tribe in South America. They began to translate 1 Timothy. And there was a man there who was the translator from the village. And in the course of this work, this woman and her friend taught and worshiped as best they could and they shared their faith. After some time this man came to trust in Christ. And as he trusted in Christ he continued to translate the New Testament. And when he came to this section and translated it, he said to the female missionaries, “Now you must stop and I must start.” And they did stop. And he did start. Rise up, O men of God!
III. Consider her Blessing [15]
A) She has a wonderful role (15a)
Men and women have different roles. I believe verse 15 addresses the woman’s role.
15 Nevertheless she will be saved in childbearing
I believe this means she will be saved from the consequences of usurping the authority of man by accepting her God-given role. That role is best illustrated in childbearing, in motherhood. Paige Patterson, “The calling to be a Baptist preacher is the second greatest calling. The first greater calling is to be a mother.” I don’t think this means that the woman has to be a mother. I think that’s just the best illustration of a woman’s accepting her role of womanhood. She has a wonderful role and:
B) She has wonderful responsibilities (15b)
if they continue in faith, love, and holiness, with self-control.
Here are four Christian virtues women should embrace: faith, love, and holiness, with self-control. Let me just add that while the text addresses a couple things women are forbidden from doing that there are a number of things women may do in the church. Here are just a few:
- Personal witnessing and evangelism
- Prayer
- Influencing the culture by their word and example
- Singing
- Music ministry
- Drama ministry
- Helping in youth ministry
- Giving testimonies
- Addressing mixed audiences (men and women) concerning insights and experiences
- Advancing the spread of the gospel through missions (on the mission field women have historically taught that governance and authoritative teaching is to be done by men)
- Teaching a women’s Bible class
- Leading and teaching in various women’s ministries areas
- Teaching video-formatted teaching lessons (i.e., non-authoritative teaching) to men and women
- Supporting a husband teacher in a couples class by providing testimony, illustration, and application
- Teaching younger women about godly behavior (Titus 2:3-5)
- Teaching children
- Writing biblical literature including Bible teaching lessons and scholarly theological papers
- Ministering to the sick
- Ministering to the elderly
- Ministering to the disabled
- Ministering to the poor
- Ministering to prisoners
- Ministering to all church members
- Fighting against abortion
- Fighting against pornography and other social evils
- Writing to governmental leaders concerning righteous causes
- Teaching people to read and write
- Counseling—spiritual, financial, etc.
- And many, many, other things!
Everyone knows that women are better than men—at being women! And men are better than women—at being men.
So let’s be who God called us to be and let’s do what God called us to do.
- Stand for prayer.
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