1 Timothy 2:11-15

Summary retelling of 1 Timothy 2:11-15

Paul encourages Timothy to remind the women that they should learn with submissiveness.  He also says that He did not allow women to teach or exercise authority over a man.  Paul reminds Timothy that in the order of creation that man was created first and then Eve was created.  He also reminds Timothy that it was the woman who was originally deceived, not the man.  Then Paul makes an interesting claim: women will be saved through childbearing if they remain in faith, love, holiness, and self-control.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

Okay, admittedly this is a passage that sounds absolutely foreign to our modern ears.  So, let me unpack what Paul is saying for a second.  First, remember that the church in Ephesus was a church with a fair amount of conflict.  The church had a number of groups vying for power and control.  This is why in the book of Ephesians (Paul’s letter to the church in Ephesus) we can hear Paul talk about the love of Christ, the love we should have for one another, our unity in Christ, how to speak to one another in Christ, and why Christ is the head of the church.  We hear several sections on family dynamics and authority.  The reality is that the church in Ephesus struggled with accepting authority.  We must also remember that Timothy was left in Ephesus to help that church.  Thus, one of Timothy’s main tasks was to help the Ephesians learn how to submit to authority.

Why is it important to remember the context of Ephesus when looking at 1 Timothy?  If Timothy is working in a church struggling to learn to submit to authority, why does it make sense for Paul to encourage a clearly defined structure within the church?  Do you think that a church that readily submits to authority needs to necessarily have such a rigid structure of hierarchy?  Why do people struggle to accept authority from someone else?

{We must also remember to think about the big picture here.  Remember that Timothy himself was brought up in the faith by his grandmother, Lois, and his mother, Eunice.  There is a clear example where Timothy knows for certain that a woman taught a man – albeit a young man in Timothy.  Remember also that Paul related to Lydia as the head of the church in Philippi – a church that contained men.  Paul sent Phoebe to deliver his theological treatise to the Romans and thus instruct them in his teaching.  Certainly the church in Rome had men in it.  Paul had incredible respect for the ministry of Priscilla (and her husband Aquila) and it is largely Priscilla who helps train Apollos in the teachings of Jesus.  This is just the tip of the iceberg with Paul, not to mention the rest of the New Testament!  These examples don’t count the times that Jesus called women into leadership and places of proclamation and teaching.  Thus, there are plenty of reasons to suggest that passages like this must be interpreted through the lens of the context of Ephesus instead of read as “rules that must be absolutely followed in any situation.”}

Second Thought:

Many people get hung up on Paul’s teaching that women should learn with submissiveness.  For the record, those same people get hung up on Paul’s advice in Ephesians 5:22-33where he teaches very similar things.  But in both cases, you should notice something.  There is a condition that is assumed before submission is asked.  In the passage from Ephesians, Paul tells the husband that he is to love his wife unconditionally and to live in such a manner as to be willing to give his life up for his wife.  If a wife has a husband who lives in that manner, why would she not be willing to submit?  In 1 Timothy passage, the condition for the submissiveness is that the men are deeply connected to God – especially in prayer, as we talked about yesterday.  The same question remains.  If there is a group of people who are spiritually deep and close to God, why would others not be willing to submit to their authority?  So many people want to make this passage about gender and the chauvinism of Paul when this passage is really about looking around to see who is spiritually connected to God and being willing to submit to the authority that God is working through them.

If you recognize someone in your life as being spiritually mature, are you willing to submit to their authority?  Do you ever seek to be mentored by them?  Do you think there is anything wrong with submitting to another person’s authority?  Is submitting a good thing?  If it is a good thing, why don’t you see very much submission to authority in the world today?

Third Thought:

Paul makes an interesting claim at the end of this passage.  He says that women will be saved through child-bearing.  I’ll be honest; this passage has confounded Biblical scholars for centuries – if not millennia.  I would like to put as best of a possible understanding on the table as I can. 

It is my belief here that what Paul is trying to do is to give an example of why he isn’t being chauvinistic in this passage.  I’ve already shown that in many places Paul has no issue with elevating woman up to the level of teacher.  Paul has to worry about the infighting and lack of submission in Ephesus, so he has to come down hard on side of structure.  In doing so, he recognizes that his words can be misinterpreted to “put women in their place.”

Thus, Paul tries to remind everyone about the promise that the Messiah would be born of a woman.  Paul wants to remind people that women are not to be looked down upon.  Women are to be valued and treasured.  It was a woman that God chose to bring His Son into the world.  He is God, after all.  He can think outside the box.  There are many avenues that God could have used … especially since we know Jesus has existed since the beginning.  The fact that God chose to use a woman should speak to us about God’s perspective of women.  Therefore, I believe that Paul is trying to remind us all that women are not to be mistreated when they do adopt a position of submissiveness.  We are not to take advantage of the submissiveness of any woman who chooses to submit to a spiritual authority.  Rather, women are to be treasured and honored for their willingness to submit to a godly spiritual man in their life.

After all, what does Paul say?  They are saved … if they remain faithful.  It isn’t the birth process that saves; it is the faith within {and its dynamics of loyalty, love, obedience, etc}.  This is a difficult passage to wrap our heads around what Paul is saying, but I believe Paul is trying to make sure that his words are not used to subjugate women.  Trust me, in spite of Paul’s efforts, these words have been used and abused against women too many times as it is.

Do you think Paul is genuinely worried about how people treat women?  Why is it easy to read this passage as though Paul thinks of women as a “second-class” of people?  If you can see this passage in a new light, what are you going to do about the fact that many people use this passage to subjugate women?

Passage for Tomorrow: 1 Timothy 3:1-3