1 Timothy | Chapter 2 – Scripture Supply

1 Timothy Ch. 2

The Church and its members

“Much prayer, much power”

2:1-15 The Church and its members

2:1-8 Preeminence of prayer

2:9-15 Propriety of women

Vs. 1a Why prayer

Vs. 1b Three types of prayer

Vs. 1c Praise

Introduction

Having discussed the importance of proper doctrine within the local church Paul now moves on to discuss the proper devotion within the church. When People think of the church most think only of Sunday, they believe that is the only day that the church has any relevance into people’s lives. The truth is what happens on Sundays is only a tape measure or thermometer of what ought to be happening throughout the week. I recall the story of a Christian father with his son as they were touring a historical church building in another town.

As they went into the sanctuary the boy asked his dad what the bronze plaque on the wall was for. The father glanced at it and said, “Son, that’s a memorial to remember all the people who have died in the service.” The boy didn’t quite understand as he related it to his own church and asked his dad, “Which service did they die in, the first or the second?”

Too many folks that have died spiritually in the public worship service at church as they haven’t realized what this time is for. Chapters 2-3 bring in the 2nd division in the main teaching which is to instruct on the order and leadership of the local church. This will be divided into two groups:

2:1-15 The order of the public worship service
3:1-13 The qualifications for leadership within the local church

The first order to set straight is public worship service which has three elements: PRAYER, PRAISE and PREACHING. We shall only look at prayer this morning.

Vs. 1a Why prayer

Vs. 1a The use of the phrase “first of all” does not refer to time but importance. Paul is saying that “prayer” is the most important part of public worship. Before discussing important issues as the qualifications for leadership, or how to run benevolence within the church Paul sets out to prioritize the Church service and first on that list is prayer. It is a sad truth that prayer has for the most part lost its number 1 status. In most churches if you announce a banquet or some other activity people will come out for it but if you announce prayer very few folks show up.

Most churches spend more time on the announcements than they do in prayer. It is one of if not the reason for the decline of the western Evangelical church. The truth is where there is “Much prayer, there is much power! But where there is little prayer there is little power!” The practice of public prayer cannot be regulated and forced by outward command; it must be prompted by inward conviction of need. Jesus quoted from two passages in the Old Testament (Isa. 56:7 and Jer. 7:11) in Matthew 21:13 saying “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’” Paul put prayer first for two very good reasons:

Prayer focuses our attention on our sole resource right at the start: As we come into prayer our hearts may be heavy with need but by carrying them to the throne of grace to the one that promised in Matthew 11:30, “My yoke is easy and My burden is light” we can empty our heavy load. Peter encouraged us in 1 Peter 5:7 to “cast all our cares upon Him, for He cares for you.” There is never a better place to start a church service than to unload all our cares at His altar. Jesus invited us to do so in Matthew 18:20 saying “where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am in the midst of them.” In John 14:14 Jesus said, “Ask anything in My name, I will do it.” I’m not sure how we as a church can encourage this better but I wonder how much more glorious our time together with Jesus would be if we started with a time where we take the cares of our heart and bring them to the one that cares for us. Perhaps we could offer communion and prayer prior to service as well as after service? Or maybe we could have prayer cards that we could spend time in prayer over for those who wish? The challenge we have is to fit all into an orderly time frame.
Prayer puts everything into perspective: Many times as we get up and get ready we become preoccupied with our own daily grind just to get to church or we start to focus on what we have to accomplish after church. But when we get together and hear the real life burdens of our friends and family our hearts move off of ourselves and onto other’s needs. Without starting with prayer first we can succumb to the notion that what we are about to encounter is “all about us”. We are not at the center of our own universes, God is a God who cares for the hurts and heartaches of all humanity. We are here to come to work, and prayer is working wisely, bearing others burdens before the Lord in prayer. E.M. Bounds, that great prayer warrior once said, “It’s a great thing to be willing to go to men for God, but it’s a better thing still to be willing to go to God for men!”

Many Christians have abandoned going to church completely and even more don’t see it as a priority as they say that they can just worship at home watching TV or walking out in the forest. I suppose that this is true to an extent as God is not limited to only being in a Church building. But Hebrews 10:25 tells us to “Not forsake the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.”

We gather not just to receive but to give to each other a little of our time to help carry someone else. We are a community of believers who ought to have the Navy Seal mentality of no man left behind! Almost every week someone comes up to me and tells me how their time here this hour and half has changed their life and I always say the same thing, PRAISE THE LORD. You see I know that it was not me nor someone else that has changed their life. It was that they, through the Holy Spirit, have had an encounter with Jesus who has done just as He said He would do when we are gathered in His name,

He was here! The Psalmist Asaph was experiencing an extreme difficulty theologically: “Why the wicked seem to prosper while those that love God seem to suffer.” He said in Psalm 73 verse 16-17 that trying to understand this was so painful it had begun to affect his witness of God until he went into the sanctuary of God! It was there as he lifted up that dilemma that he gained perspective.

Vs. 1b Three types of prayer

Vs. 1b There are over seven different words for prayer and four of those seven are used as we see the variety of prayer.

Supplication: The word literally means a petition or request of the people. These were requests and needs of the people, situation or circumstances of peoples pains, struggles, pressures and heartaches that they were going through. But unlike the word “prayer” below these are requests that the body of Christ can also get involved in. Like the request that may come in for a person in need of food and the Holy Spirit prompts you by reminding you that you have the means to answer that request. The early church was doing what Paul had said they should be doing in Galatians 6:2 “bearing one another’s burdens and so fulfilling the law of Christ.” One way in which we do this is by the use of what is called our “prayer chain” where the needs and requests of the people come to be prayed over by those who have requested to be on the list to pray over the needs of others

. I don’t know why someone wouldn’t want to be a part of this unless they just didn’t have a way to receive the list. Twice in the last week people who have been placed on this list for prayer have contacted me to say that because of those prayers God has worked in a powerful way to spare their life or the life of a loved one. This list can be anonymous, but it is confidential and we try to be very concise to the specific need so as to not to be weighed down by reading through it.

Prayers: This word in the Greek means prayer but it also is the word used for worship. The difference between “Supplications” and “Prayers” is that this is a request that ONLY God can meet. This is the kind of request where we have the privilege of lifting up our brother or sister who has a burden, suffering or heartache that requires only us to bring it before the everlasting throne of grace, peace and comfort. These are the kinds of needs that I don’t have answers for, and the great thing is that I don’t have too nor do I need to explain it before God so He can grasp enough of it to help. No, he knows before I ever have the privilege of carrying this burden before the King of Kings. We are to bring those requests before the Lord like the friends of the paralytic did by removing the roof of the house and lowering their buddy to the floor in front of Jesus to receive His touch.
Intercession: This word in the Greek literally means an interview, an “intimate request made by a friend to a king on behalf of someone else.” This is a wonderful expression of corporate prayer as we are children of the King and come to our Heavenly Father in the intimacy of that relationship sharing with a special need that someone else has. There is an old Hymn that puts it this way: “You are coming to a King, with great petitions to bring, for His love and power are such that no one can ever ask too much!” Far too much of our public “Intercession” sounds like we have mixed up who we are praying too.
I often hear well intentioned intercession sound like this: “Father God, I want to bring Old Fred too you now, He has just gone into the hospital, and the Dr. has told him he has a spot on the left lung about a ¼ inch in length that they used a MRI to detect. Father God, it would be really nice if you could visit him at St. Pats. He’s in room 703 and will be there on Friday the 7th.” Now, I know the intention of the heart is good but God the Father is all knowing and everywhere present, and all powerful. But that prayer has mixed up who the hearer is. The way that request was made shows that it was intended for human ears to hear. Now, if the person prayed to God the Father the prayer would sound more like this: “Father God, please touch Fred, you are Great Doctor, touch him and heal him according to your will and plan, reveal yourself and your presence to him Lord so that he would know your love. Thank you Lord for I know that you are going to do wonderful and great things for Fred, Amen!”

Vs. 1c Praise

Vs. 1c Next Paul brings up in conjunction with prayer the 2nd aspect of the Sunday worship service and that is PRAISE! Singing God’s praise is the natural and normal way of expressing ourselves after we have come to Him in prayer as we begin to praise Him before we ever have received an answer to our prayers. We aren’t just singing songs, we are praising God!

Over the years I have had folks come and complain about worship and generally what they are complaining about is style and I always tell them that the worship music isn’t for them, it’s too God. He is far more interested in the heart that is praising Him than He is into the tempo and style of the music! How else can we explain why God recognizes the poor quality of sound some folks like me have and God accepts it as worship?

Like most things in a Church service people just forget who they are singing too. Ah, but you watch the same folks at a sporting event or a sale at their favorite store and man are they excited and animated singing the praises of the team’s win or price they got on sale. Why can’t we get that excitement about our Lord who “Only does great things” on our behalf? I think there ought to be some unhindered alleluias, some heart felt spontaneous applause to our Heavenly Father. At very least just a little more passion in our thanksgiving. These songs are “Love Songs” to our Savior, expressions of our heartfelt gratitude for all that He has done and is doing on our behalf.

1 Timothy Ch. 2

The Church and its members

“The challenge of prayer”

Vs. 1c-2 Twofold effect of our prayers

Vs. 3-4 The aim of prayer

Vs. 5-7 Four truths

Introduction

Paul started the 2nd chapter of his letter to Timothy with the elements and order of the worship service, now he gives Timothy the aspects of what “Prayer” will accomplish if we devote ourselves to this. We will be challenged to pray for “all men” and specifically for “kings and all who are in authority” and with our current political climate many will find this difficult. But I remind you that long before the broken campaign promises of past and present presidents there was a world political figure named Augustus Caesar so named because he thought himself the “highest One.”

He said in his own way, “No new taxes” and “If you like your insurance and doctor you can keep it!” but broke those campaign promises by raising taxes and sending the young couple named Mary and Joseph to a different doctor in a different city. Little did he realize that this broken campaign promise was being used to fulfill biblical prophecy of Micah 5:2.

So Augustine was really being led by the Almighty One who was guiding the birth of His Son to Bethlehem. Saints,

we have never met a person that doesn’t need prayer nor a person that we cannot or should not pray for! Jesus said in Matthew 5:44 “But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you.”

Vs. 1c-2 Twofold effect of our prayers

Vs. 1c-2 The greater question based upon the text is, “Who shouldn’t we pray for?” as Paul starts out in verse 1 saying “all men” and by that he does not mean for the church to pray for all mankind as that would be a very long service. What he means is all mankind without exceptions or distinctions. And I’m not certain if this was Paul’s intent but it works quite well with our current dislike for Politician’s Paul says, “Just so you know the depth by which I mean there ought to be no exceptions, pray for those who have the responsibility to regulate the affairs of your life, those who are over you.” The emphasis in this passage is upon the little three letter word ALL as Paul uses the word 5 times in the first seven verses.

Early Christians were often accused of being against the state as they wouldn’t worship the King as they worship a higher King, but here we see that Paul encourages the believers to not worship the king but to pray for him. Now it is safe to say that there were scant few of those leaders in Paul’s day that were godly but yet Paul still says to pray for them. We are to pray for kings and even for bad presidents because they are in positions of authority by the predetermined counsel of God. Paul had recently been released from imprisonment because of his faith in Christ by the cruelest Roman Emperor Nero, yet as Paul wrote this letter to Timothy he was including Nero! I’m afraid that far too often the Christians in history have been far too quick to pick up arms instead of bend their knees in prayer.

Next Paul mentions “and all who are in authority” which would include all subordinate positions in government all the way down to the local levels without bias, even those that are unrighteous and ungodly, cruel and vicious! Now we can say that God would open the eyes of their hearts that He would transform their lives but the truth is that God doesn’t have to do so to use them. Proverbs 21:1 tells us “The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord, like the rivers of waters; He turns it wherever He wishes.” We need only to turn the pages of our Bibles to read of kings like Nebuchadnezzar, Cyrus the Persian and others who are called the “servant of God” even when their hearts weren’t right with God and they were punishing God’s people. The result of our prayers for those in Government is that we can expect that our prayers will have a twofold effect:

Leads the citizens of all societies into “a quiet and peaceable life…”: Wow, Saints, have you ever thought about the fact that peace and peacefulness of our society lay in the hands of those believers who pray? Conversely the opposite is also true, when God’s people aren’t praying for the government. In 2 Chron 7:14 God says to His people, “if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”

Would you categorize this time we are living in as quiet and peaceable? If not, we now know the reason why, God’s people are not humbling themselves and praying for the leadership of the nation! By the way, “complaining about leaders is not the same thing as praying for our leaders!”

Leads the citizens of the Kingdom of God “in all godliness and reverence.”: The first result when we pray for those in leadership over us in our Government is outward, a peaceful life. The 2nd thing we can expect is inward transformation that will result in us becoming more godly and reverential.
Godly: This word in the Greek is not normally translated “godly” as it means “a consciousness of what is required in life with respect to God, your fellow man, and yourself.” Paul says, when we pray for our leaders we will go through life knowing what is required of us in all circumstances and situations. Praying for those who govern us will cause us to better understand:

What is really happening

Why they act and behave the way they do

The forces and pressures that are at work against them in society

As such we don’t get all amped up and angry at them and instead of praying for them we are able to live with a sense of assurance and confidence in spite of the world we live in.

Reverence: The word in the Greek would better be translated as “respectful or courteous” . We will treat our fellow humans better when we are praying for them as we realize that they, just like us, are a victim and not the problem. When we pray for those over us we will become more courteous and grace filled people.

Vs. 3-4 The aim of prayer

Vs. 3 Prayer accomplishes the will of God. Paul tells us that prayer is the means by which God opens people’s hearts to the gospel that they may become believers. Prayer is the first thing that God uses to “till the ground” for the seed of the gospel that it may bring forth fruit in its season! When God’s people pray for folks, even though they have heard the gospel multiple times prior, they will start hearing and light will begin to creep into dark hearts.

Vs. 4 He desires “all men” to be saved to come to the knowledge of the truth! And again the word all here means “without distinction” He has no bias towards anybody, all kinds of people can be saved. Let’s put this to the test, let’s put on the prayer group people we know that are away from the knowledge and experience of the love of God and watch what God will do in opening their hearts!

Vs. 5-7 Four truths

Vs. 5-7 God’s desire is that “all men” to be saved and Paul clarifies the way in which prayer will accomplish this as he lists four specific truths with regards to the means of man’s salvation:

There is “One God…”: There is only One God, there is not a god for the Muslims, a god for the Hindus’ a god for the Buddhist’s. No, there is One God and one way for a person to come into a relationship with God.
There is “one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus”: There is no other means possible by which man can know God except through Jesus. When Jesus walked upon this other people marveled not because they believed that He was God, they marveled because He was like no other man in the way He lived, spoke and interacted with others. Jesus said it in John 14:6 “No man comes to the Father except through Me.” Saints the truth is there are many paths to Jesus but there is only one path to God and that is through Jesus! Jesus said in Matthew 7:14 “Narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.”
There is One who gave Himself a ransom for ALL..” The Perfect Lamb of God paid the price and through His death, we have been set free from the penalty and power of sin. Some folks say that there are many different ways in which you can relate to that One God and that they have chosen to relate to that God through Islam, or Mormonism but there is only one way to relate to God and that is through the perfect man Christ Jesus. Jesus gave Himself so that all kinds of people, from every walk of life may come to Good through Him.

Vs. 6b-7 Finally Paul mentions the 4th and final truth with regards to mankind’s salvation as well as the third aspect of what goes into the Church worship service preaching the Word of God. There is only one gospel, one truth to be taught with regards to mankind’s salvation and that is teaching the good news about Jesus. Paul was appointed to that very work to speak the truth about Jesus into every type of person to Jews and gentiles alike. You can see why the priority of the Church worship service is designed for prayer, praise and preaching so that God can change broken hearts and ruined lives!

This is what “body life” within these walls is supposed to be and by the power of God working through us I pray it is what we are growing into. We need to realize like what God said through Jeremiah 29 that we are only going to be in our Babylon 70 years so go ahead get married, have children, build houses, have a career but don’t get too attached because you are only going to be here 70 years are so.

1 Timothy Ch. 2

The Church and its members

“Dressed for prayer”

Vs. 8 The heart of the man who prays

Vs. 9-10 The heart of the woman who prays

Introduction

There are times when studying the New Testament that you really wish you could call on the writer to do a little Q and A as to just what he was thinking about. But that’s just not possible as we approach this passage which is one of the more disputed verses in the entire bible. Of utmost importance is the context of this passage we are about to study: Paul is writing to Timothy about the proper order of the worship service and he has said that it involves three things, PRAYER,

PRAISE, and PROCLAMATION. Paul spent a good deal of time dealing with both the aspects and objects of prayer. Here in this section Paul touches on men’s and women’s role within the confines of the worship service. Paul said that corporate and private prayer within the Church enables society to live peacefully and for the Christian to live wisely within the world they have been placed in. He went on to say that prayer is an effective and powerful instrument for the salvation of all mankind.

In fact in verse 4 the phrase “who desire ALL MEN to be saved” includes all kinds of humanity (men, women, boys and girls) without distinction. The focus of verses 8-10 is still on the subject of prayer but here Paul is writing about having an atmosphere in which prayer can be made that will cause it to be more effective. Specifically Paul addresses the attitudes of both men and women within the Church setting and how this ought to look so as to maximize the effectiveness of prayer.

Vs. 8 The heart of the man of prays

Vs. 8 First Paul says, “I desire that the men pray everywhere…” Some have taken this out of context and have taught this to mean that when in public ONLY men should pray but that is not what Paul is saying. Instead what he is saying is WHEN men pray in public they should do so in a threefold way. It is clear that Paul’s concern is not WHO prays but rather HOW they pray. Paul writes of three essentials for effective prayer for men, UPWARD, OUTWARD and INWARD:

UPWARD: Holy hands: This is characteristic of a Jewish synagogue where men prayed while standing with their arms lifted up. This was an outward posture that symbolized an inward heart; the hands were opened, facing out and up and in so doing they were saying in prayer to God that “I’m letting go, I have nothing to hide and I’m keeping nothing back in my communication with you.” Interesting that we read Paul’s admonishment of the position of our hands and head in prayer and it is not folded hands and head bowed, yet we have taught our children to do this. The reason I suspect is that a child with hands together and head bowed and their eyes closed is a child that will not get into too much trouble. But now that we are adults we can entertain the idea that there is far more liberty in our physical position in prayer. We can walk and pray, drive a car and pray, lie down with our face to the ground and pray as it’s not the position of the body that matters it’s the position of the heart. Holy hands speak of a set apart life where we are no longer practicing sin, Psalm 66:18 reminds us that if we regard sin in our heart, the Lord will not hear our prayer.
OUTWARD: Without wrath: The first essential was upward as men needed to check their heart before God. This next essential deals with an outward behavior and requires us to live without anger towards our fellow man. When we approach God we need to first deal with our hearts before those whom we have held a grudge or resentment towards before we go before the Lord in prayer.
INWARD: “Without” doubting: This last essential deals with an inward aspect of our heart as we must have trust and not be in dispute with God about the request or the outcome. It is clear that what Paul is saying is that when men pray in public they need to be doing so in a way that is consistent with their private life, towards God and towards their fellow man. Paul didn’t care about making the prayer pretty to the ears of their fellow man but he wanted them to be aware that what they were saying publically to God had better be true to what is in their own hearts! I believe that Paul nails public prayer for men, as the issues he raises here for men really haven’t changed as we often battle wanting to be seen by others as open to God when in reality we want to control God and we want to be seen as spiritual but in reality we are not what our prayer is to others.

Vs. 9-10 The heart of the woman who prays

We live in a day of the equality of women, the thought that men and women can do everything the other can but as popular as that notion is, physically it just isn’t true on both sides. The fact remains that men and women are created differently, not better and worse but different and together they make a perfect pair. So in the place of women and men in the local church Paul wrote down God’s heart. First he deals with the artificial beauty of this world where women are valued primarily upon their appearance contrasted against the true beauty of women which is based upon the character of her heart. The truth is that women whose value is rated upon the artificial and temporary attraction of the externals will garner attention but in the end it will be at the expense of lasting affection and security. The inward beauty of a gentile and quiet heart may not attract the temporary attention but it will win lasting affection and security.

Vs. 9 The phrase “in like manner also, that the women…” is a phrase that means “in like manner to men, women are to pray” and again this is an indication of the public involvement of women in the early church service. Taking this passage alongside Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians in chapter 11 he writes, “every woman who prays or prophesies…” It is clear that he intended women to pray and expound scripture but that they need to do so demonstrating agreement with the principle of headship established in the body of Christ which is what was meant by “head covering” in that passage.

Paul goes on to deal with HOW they are to be mindful of a few attitudes of the heart. He wants to make sure that like the men their public prayer is not a mere outward show for others to see. And just like the above instruction with men one deals with outward and the other inward: That “the women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with propriety and moderation, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly clothing”.

Proprietary asks: “Is it appropriate for the occasion? Is it overdressed or under-dressed? Is it going to call inappropriate attention to myself?”
Moderation asks: “Is it moderate? Is it just too much – or far too little?” Moderation looks for a middle ground.

Paul was not trying to regulate women’s fashion; what he was trying to establish is the attitude behind the way some women came to public prayer which was demonstrating that they were far more interested in being seen by others than being seen by God. It is interesting that the word “modest” means “decent and orderly” and is where we get our English word “cosmetic” from. I am in no way suggesting that women should not wear makeup, only that they should avoid the extremes so as not to draw attention away from the Lord either positive or negative. Ephesus was a wealthy and commercial community and it seems as though some women were competing for attention and popularity.

“The fanciest clothing and expensive hair dos are no substitution to a godly character and good works”, Paul says! Remember ladies, glamor and glitz can be applied from the outside but the true beauty of godliness can only come from the inside! Phyllis Diller once said that, “She would spend three hours a day in the beauty shop … .and that was just for the estimate of what work needed to be done.” Just because someone dresses down doesn’t mean that they aren’t trying to attract attention as some churches have emphasized that women wear their hair in a bun, put on no makeup and generally try to look as plain as they can. But that in itself is trying to be noticed for being spiritual. It is not what is on the outside that God is impressed with but rather what is on the inside.

“Which is proper for women professing godliness, with good works”: Instead of the outward preparation for prayer just like the men, women needed to be focused on the inward heart. All this will be seen in her talk matching her walk as she will be not just talking but noted for doing “good works”. We have some truly beautiful and outstanding women in this fellowship who have what Peter described in 1st Peter 3:4 as an “adornment of the hidden person of the heart,…the incorruptible beauty of a gentile and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God.” In other words their outward beauty is only succeeded by their inward beauty towards the Lord!

1 Timothy Ch. 2

The Church and its members

“The hand that rocks the cradle”

Vs. 11-12 Silence?

Vs. 13-14 Priority not superiority

Vs. 15 Rocking the cradle

Introduction

We come now to that controversial passage in First Timothy chapter 2 verses 11-15. As I said last week the importance in facing any difficult section of scripture is to approach it with an open heart and fresh eyes. It matters not what you think it means nor what the culture today says it must mean; no students, what matters is what it does mean and we must aim to inquire of the Holy Spirit the original intent of the writer to the readers of this letter. There are three keys as to unlocking the meaning of this passage:

Context: This is always an important first step as “context” asks what is the occasion of the writing of this letter, what if any truth does this shed upon the meaning of the passage.
Word meanings: It is also important that we define English translated words to what the original readers would have understood the word to mean. Sometimes the translators in their well-meaning attempt to use the shortest amount of English words fail as the word has a broader scope than the use of the word as the context of the phrase bears out.
Illustrations: Finally it is important to look carefully to determine whether or not Paul uses “cultural” or “creational” illustrations. If this was a localized situation then we could safely expect that Paul would illustrate his point with “cultural illustrations”. But if it was a general or universal truth then we would expect that the Holy Spirit would have planted in Paul’s mind “creational illustrations”. The importance of this fact can help in determining if what Paul is speaking of is still a truth that the church ought to obey or if it was merely a truth that this specific church should obey.

Vs. 11-12 Silence?

Vs. 11 The topic of the church service is still the focus when Paul changes from the place of women in prayer to the place of women in teaching the word. At issue for us is what exactly does Paul mean when he says in verse 11 to “learn in silence” and verse 12 “to be in silence”? The same word “silent” in verses 11-12 is also found as an adjective in verse 2 rendered “quiet” where no one interprets this word to mean that as citizens we are to live silently. There the word means that we are to live without being a hassle or harassing others.

Paul uses the same word in 2 Thessalonians chapter 3 verse 12 that believers are to “work in quietness and eat their own bread” and again he is not saying that they should work in silence but that they should work in a way that is peaceful and peaceful. Paul’s use of the word means that women are to learn “peaceably” as are the men, not argumentatively. He is saying that women are ALWAYS to be “peaceable learners” but he is NOT saying that they ALWAYS be learners and NEVER be teachers of any type. What is at issue is the attitude of the women Paul is addressing in Ephesus which seems to have been assertive, argumentative, aggressive and stubborn in nature.

The way this is worded in English implies something that Paul didn’t mean and that is that women were “ALWAYS and ONLY to be learners while men were ALWAYS and ONLY to be teachers”. Paul is saying that WHEN women are in the position of learners or teachers, that they do so without an attitude that is aggressive, loud and challenging in an assertive way.

Vs. 12 We move into a further detailed explanation of Paul’s with regard to women teaching in the church service. This is not a prohibition of women teaching “anywhere, anytime to anyone!” When Paul wrote his letter to Titus he instructed older women to teach younger women. There was also indication that women instructed men in specific cases as within Acts 18:24-28 where Aquila and Priscilla take Apollos aside and instruct him further on the doctrine of the grace and love of Christ.

The key to understanding this passage is the proper translation of the word “authority” over a man in verse 12. The word in the Greek means to “domineer, to usurp authority, to take what is not yours” and in the context deals with women “taking over the church and becoming the final authority on teaching and teachers.” I believe that this passage should not be stretched to be used with regards to leadership as clearly there were women in the early church involved in leadership roles. But the question is, “Can a woman be a pastor” and that depends on the context of how a person uses that word.

If the word “pastor” is being used biblically to mean a “shepherd” then the answer is YES as women have been shepherds of flocks since the beginning of the Church. Their “FLOCKS” have been made up of women, children and in specific situations men and they have been faithfully guiding them through the word of God. In fact we have many such Women “pastors or shepherds” here in our fellowship.
If the word “pastor” is being used in the conventional sense of the word where they are the “final authority” on teaching and teachers within the local church (which is the way that Paul is using the word in this sentence) then Paul says the answer is NO.

This is further illustrated by silence in the fact that there were no women apostles or conventional pastors in the early church. There were many godly women serving in the early church, Jesus mother Mary, Mary Magdalene just to name a few, yet Jesus didn’t appoint any to that position. At the time of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit was poured out there were many women present that fit the specific qualifications of an apostle mentioned by Peter but none were given this position.

In all the New Testament letters we don’t read of any women given the position of a conventional pastor. This has nothing to do with giftedness or capabilities as there were and are many godly and gifted women available but there was never one put into the position to become the final authority on teaching and teachers within a local church.

Paul is saying that the church should not recognize women as the ones having authority in the church regarding matters of doctrine and Scriptural interpretation. Whatever teaching is done by a woman must be done in submission to the men God has appointed to lead the church. If a women Bible teacher was teaching at a different time than our Sunday morning teaching then people would be free to attend or not attend so she would not be usurping any authority over men.

Vs. 13-14 Priority not superiority

Vs. 13-14 It is to that “conventional” pastor position that women are denied and Pail lists two illustrations as reason and neither are taken from the culture of the day instead they are drawn from creation:

Vs. 13 “For Adam was formed first, then Eve”: The first reason for male authority in the church is found in the priority of creation; Adam (man) was created first, and given original authority on earth. The first command God gave to the human race is found in Genesis 2:16-17: “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” This command was not given to women at all. In fact Eve was not yet created from Adam as he was given the job of tending the garden and naming the animals which was to examine them and name them based upon their characteristics.

This took a considerable amount of time as Adam researched each animal noting that they came in pairs male and female yet he saw that there was not one animal suitable for companionship for him. So from Adam’s side God formed Eve to which Adam exclaimed “Wow-man” as he said “I’m calling her this because she has taken a long time to get here.” And now you know fellas that our wives being late isn’t their fault they were created that way!

In this example we must keep in mind that “priority” does not equal “superiority” as men and women were both created in God’s image. The issue is the authority of which God established by creating man first before Eve.

Vs. 14 “For Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived, fill into transgression”: Paul 2nd argument also comes from creation and deals with mankind’s fall into sin as Eve was deceived while Adam’s sin was with his eyes wide open. The difference in the sin of Adam and Eve, flows from their difference in authority. Adam had a God given authority Eve did not have, but he also had a God given responsibility Eve did not have. Eve’s sin was the violation of God’s order of authority as she usurped her husband’s authority to which Adam listened instead of following God’s word. Eve was deceived not by the desire to do something wrong but rather with a heart that wanted to be more godly. Women have that wonderful quality and desire to have a relationship with God. They want to extract everything they can from God’s word, to worship and Satan knows this about them. This very desire makes them more susceptible to deception. Paul’s point is that there is a difference in creation between the leadership roles of men and women.

Paul is saying, women have a different role within the church and being the final authority on teaching and teachers does not fall into that role because God did not create her that way! Women are to teach, pray and exercise their gifts within the body of Christ adding qualities to church life that men cannot because they have been created by God differently. The point is not to focus on what we are not created by God to do but instead to put into practice what we are called to do.

Vs. 15 Rocking the cradle

Vs. 15 The translation of this verse into English causes confusion as we need to define two phrases “saved” and “bearing children”. The word “saved” holds the key to understanding the meaning of “bearing children” as Paul writes “she will be SAVED through CHILDBEARING.” We know that SAVED cannot refer to a woman’s regeneration as a lot of women believers have not had children. In 1 Timothy 4:16 Paul writes to Timothy saying, “Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will SAVE both yourself and those who hear you.” Timothy didn’t need to be born again, the context the word “SAVED” means to be “fulfilled, to find significance”. Paul’s statement to women it that they would find their “Significance, uniqueness, sphere of influence within the body of Christ with regards to teaching

primarily through bearing children and instructing them to continue in the faith and love of Christ.” The primary ministry of women is not to run the church, but to care for the home and raise children to the glory of God and they will have abundant opportunities to minister the Word in their local fellowships as well. Truly the “Hand that rocks the cradle rules the world!”