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9 I
also want the women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety,
adorning themselves, not with elaborate hairstyles or gold or pearls or
expensive clothes 10 but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God.~ 1 Timothy 2:9-10
If men do not step up to be the leaders in our families, churches and communities, the framework God has given in His word for an effective society will not have the foundation it needs to work properly. So, having addressed the men, now the Apostle Paul addresses the women.
The Bible clearly reveals that both men and women are created in the image of God and stand as equals in the eyes of God. And, the Bible is also clear with regard to the roles of men and women. The pattern for these roles begins in the story of the creation in Genesis 2, and continues throughout both testaments of the Bible.
In today's text, the Apostle Paul is addressing the fact that in the church in Ephesus some women were flaunting their wealth, beauty, and bodies at inappropriate times. This was causing problems in the church. So, the Apostle Paul begins with a discussion about the appearance of the women. The contrast here is between the artificial and the authentic, the artificial glamour of the world and the true authentic beauty of a godly life.
The
culture in Ephesus had been long been influenced by the worship of Diana in the temple dedicated in her name. Diana, also known as Artemis, was the Roman goddess of the hunt. Worship in the Temple of Diana included erotic acts between the men and the temple prostitutes.
One writer from that time wrote, "There is nothing that a woman will not permit herself to do. Nothing that she deems shameful. And when she encircles her neck with green emeralds and fastens huge pearls to her elongated ears, so important is the business of beautification. So numerous are the tiers and stories piled one another on her head that she pays no attention to her own husband."
Now, to have the women in the church appearing like prostitutes would have been to cast the wrong message to the city they were all trying to reach. In addition, it would distract from the people worshiping God during the meeting. Paul was not forbidding the use of jewelry or nice clothes, but rather the excessive use of them as substitutes for real beauty which is of the heart.
In v.9 we read, "I
also want the women to dress modestly." The word “dress” is the Greek word kosme. We get our English word “cosmetic”
from it. It has to do with how a woman prepares herself. It means basically “to arrange,
to put in order, to make ready.” The Apostle is saying, "a woman is to make herself ready to worship God."
Like the men, the preparation for the women involved the proper adornment on the outside. She was to be dressed in a manner that fit her heart for God. Her clothing was to reflect a worshipful heart focused on God, not bring attention to herself.
At the end of v.9 we read, "not with elaborate hairstyles or gold or pearls or expensive clothes."
Now, the Apostle addresses a certain distinct style that was popularized in Ephesus at that time. It was common practice in their culture to braid their hair with a gold chain. It was a way of flaunting their wealth. Gold, of course, has always been valuable, and in those days pearls were about three times the value of gold, so a woman could put a fortune on her head. And, given the poverty in Ephesus at that time, this practice was a distraction to the poor.
In v.10 we read, "but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God."
The profession of our hearts love for God should be expressed in the way we carry ourselves. Paul's emphasis in the passage is on the heart. If we are giving to God our hearts, we will be defined by Him. The key to this kind of heart is to foster a Spirit-filled heart! To be Spirit-filled does not mean that we as believers need to get more of the Spirit in our lives. To be Spirit-filled is to be giving more of ourselves to God on a daily basis. It is really about who is in control of our lives.
Finally, it was the Lord Jesus who stood and in a loud voice declared, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come and drink. Whoever believes in me as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.’ By this he meant the Spirit." (John 7:37-38). This should be the experience of the believer in Christ. And, if it is not, we should repent of self and allow Him to call the shots in our lives. This will result in our increased worship of God which will in turn point others to worship Him as well.
