1 Timothy 2:13-15

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13 For Adam was formed first, then Eve. 14 And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner. 15 But women will be saved through child bearing—if they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety. ~ 1 Timothy 2:13-15

The church at Ephesus was born during Paul's third missionary journey. It was then that the Ephesian believers turned their backs on their former way of thinking and living and turned to being defined by the Lord Jesus. In fact, they came to love the Lord so much they were known for their love for Him most. Yet, the Apostle Paul wrote this letter to address the influence false teachers who had crept in and weakened the theology of the Church.

These false leaders ungodliness manifested itself in many ways. One of the ways involved the woman’s role in the church. In the church in Ephesus, there arose certain women who were desirous of usurping God's definition of leadership for the Church. God had given man the responsibility to lead and the women who had arose were undermining of the Word of God. God had given the wives the role of submission to their husbands which was a part of His original creation. And, our submission to God and His definition of all things is the key to spiritual growth and ministry. 

In v.13-14 we read, "13 For Adam was formed first, then Eve. 14 And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner."

The Apostle makes his appeal on the basis of the fact that God created Adam first. The submission of wives to their husbands is a part of the original creation. A woman’s place in the Church was ordained in the order of the creation. God says that man was made for God and woman was made for man. Eve was made to assist Adam. She was made to be his helper. According to Genesis 2:18-25, the woman is the glory of the man. A tendency to follow Adam was built into Eve until the Fall, and then came the curse, and in that curse the tendency to rule and to create conflict came. This is obviously not a cultural issue.  

In v.14 we learn that Eve fell away from God first and that happened when she got out from under the leadership of Adam and tried to operate independently in conflict with the enemy. She did this because she was deceived. She needed the protection of Adam, but she had wandered from him. Having been created from the rib of Adam, she was designed with the need for a leader. This underscores that a woman has a heightened deceivability when out from under the headship of a man. 

Now, the term for being deceived is very strong. It is stronger than just a common word for deceived. It has the addition of a preposition on the front of it, it means to be fully deceived, to be thoroughly deceived, to be completely deceived.

So, the Fall was the result of not only disobeying God’s command not to eat of that certain tree, but it was the result of violating the divinely appointed role of the woman to act dependently upon man. And, yes, Adam messed up his role, instead of being the leader, he allowed Eve to wander off and be deceived. This is why God holds Adam responsible for the Fall. 

In v.15 we read, "But women will be saved through child bearing—if they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety." 

The Apostle uses the future tense and the plural pronoun. This is talking about more than just Eve or just one woman. This means all women will be saved through childbearing. Obviously, this isn't talking about saved from sin. Another translation of the word saved is delivered. All women are delivered from having caused the Fall by stepping out of their God-intended design, but they cab step back into the responsibility and privilege of raising godly children. A women led the race into sin, but God has given them the privilege of leading the race out of sin through her godliness. Eve may have caused a generation to plunge into sin, but she can, by being a mother who raises godly children, bring a generation to God. 

In order to do this, a woman must accept her God-given role, and that role is not to give outward overt leadership to the church, but to raise godly children, and that’s why he says she’ll be saved in childbearing. That is only if she continues in faith, love and holiness with propriety. The Church is led by men, but the perfect balance of that is the influence of godly women that raise godly children.

Some of the consequences of the men not leading in the family, the church and society are multifaceted. Both boys and girls are equally susceptible to leaderless dads. When the authority of the men in society is abdicated or undermined, a vacuum is created. There aren’t many gang members or women in the sex industry who come from homes with a strong dad in place. Men must find a way to lead for when men do not, the consequences can last for generations.  

In fact, eighty-five per cent of all children who show behavior disorders come from fatherless homes. Seventy-one percent of high school dropouts come from fatherless homes.  When dad is not leading his family, the likelihood of scholastic trouble skyrockets. The feeling of abandonment leaves a child unable to trust. This lack of trust leads to recklessness which can take many possible paths. And, those successful in crime are some of the most intelligent people in the world. 

Finally, we must get back to God's definitions of all things for it is the best of all things for us. I can only imagine where I would be had I not become a believer in the Lord Jesus, and yet, I have such a long way to go.

1 Timothy 2:11-12

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11 A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. 12 I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man; she must be quiet. ~ 1 Timothy 2:11-12

In 1 Timothy 2:9-15, the Apostle Paul gives us, with very few words, God's definition of the role of women in the church. In these brief verses, we are given God's ideas regarding a woman’s place in the church. This is not talking about the home or secular society here, it is about the role of a woman in the church when it comes together for worship.  

In v.11 we read, "A woman should learn in quietness and full submission." 

The Greek word for "learn" in v.11 is manthan, the verb from which we get our English word disciple. This means "be in on the process of grasping, understanding, and applying divine truth. And don’t let the influence of the Jewish culture or the Greek culture which diminished and denigrated the role of women, hinder you from learning the truth of God."

Now, the words "quietness" and "submission" in v.11 give some people difficulties. God is directing the women to be discipled in stillness, quietness while respecting the God given role of the men to teach. This does not mean that women can not teach, nor does it mean a woman has no leadership skills. It just means in the context of the meeting of the Church, God would have the men to lead.

In v.12 we read, "I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man; she must be quiet." 

 

God doesn’t mean that the women can not sing or pray or praise God. He doesn’t mean that women could not ask a question. What he means is that the women are not to be the teachers and not take on a task that God has not designed for them. To men God has given the leadership role. When a man operates within God's definitions for him, many things happen in result. And these reasons were not only for the benefit of a church meeting.

 

God's reason for women to learn in silence was for their benefit. This is not sociological or psychological. It does not mean that a woman can never, under any circumstances, speak in a group of Christians. What this means is the women should not undermine God's issuance of roles in the Church.  There are times when the preacher or teacher deflects the communication responsibility to others in the meeting, but he does not give up his responsibility to lead. Women can enter a discussion of a Bible passage, but she should never usurp man's responsibility to lead.

 

Have you ever noticed that God chose not to create man and woman at the same time? He chose to take the woman out of the man. This has more implications than just the order in a Church meeting. God has designed all of human life in terms of this key relationship. God emphasizes relation. He created husbands and wives, fathers, mothers and children.  

 

Everybody has their God-given role. Yet, in our culture and our society, the word is not relationship, the word is individuality. Everyone wants their rights, but this is not God's design. The American family is being destroyed because of our selfishness and our unwillingness to trust the word of God to provide for us His best. Yes, there will be and are many times when we will not understand why God tells us to do something, but that is no excuse to ignore God on a given subject. This is the answer, my friends! There are and will be many things in the word of God that we do not understand, yet we must trust Him.

 

In Judges 7 Gideon took 300 Israelites to battle 135,000 enemy soldiers. The odds were 450-to-1. God had the soldiers take torches, trumpets, and clay pots, a command I’m sure Gideon thought was ludicrous. Of course, this was not the first thing God did in this story that didn't make sense to Gideon, yet he obeyed. 

 

Then, God told Gideon to put the clay pots over the torches so the light couldn’t be seen at night and to go surround the enemy’s camp. God said, “When I tell you to, blow the trumpets, break the pots, and let torchlight suddenly shine out in the darkness. It will look like a huge army is surrounding the camp. It will cause mass confusion, and the enemy soldiers will end up fighting each other.”

Gideon obeyed, even though it didn’t make any sense to him! The Israelites blew their trumpets, broke their pots, and revealed the light from their torches. The enemy soldiers woke up in shock and started fighting each other instead of the Israelites. Gideon did what God told him to do, and the Israelites won the battle.

Sometimes God tells us to do something that appears foolish, like going into battle facing overwhelming odds. Faith is obeying God even when we don’t understand what He is telling us to do. We can not live by faith without risk. But God knows why He is asking us to do it. We can trust Him.