The
theme of the book of I Timothy is summarized in its third chapter, verses
14-15. There Paul writes this to his
spiritual son, Timothy: “These things write I unto thee, hoping to come unto
thee shortly: but if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to
behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of living God, the
pillar and ground of the truth.”
This instruction for the church
begins in chapter one with a warning not to give heed to false teachers. It continues in the second chapter, first
with an exhortation that God’s people pray for all kinds of men, especially for
rulers and those in authority. Then Paul,
inspired by the Holy Spirit, addresses the conduct of men and women in the
church. He notes that we must be more
concerned with the inward adorning of our hearts than the outward adorning of
our bodies (see also I Pet. 3:3-6). He
points out that God created Adam to lead; therefore, women are called to learn
in silence. He draws attention to the
fact that it was when Eve assumed the authority that was her husband’s,
answering Satan instead of referring him to her God-given head, that she fell.
I know that this teaching of the
Bible is not popular today, even in the church world. It’s a view that’s politically incorrect and largely regarded as
anti-feminist. Nevertheless, it’s God’s
Word. It’s a truth that’s asserted from
the first chapters of Genesis, where Eve is created to be Adam’s help, to the
final chapters of Revelation, in which the marriage of Jesus Christ the Lamb
and His bride, the Church, is finally and fully realized. (For texts closely related to 1 Tim. 2, see I
Cor. 11:3-12, I Cor. 14:34-35, and Eph. 5:22-33.) It’s part of our sinful nature, dear sisters,
that we desire the role given to men.
It’s not the fact that Adam would rule over Eve that was a part of her
curse, it was the reality that now she would chafe under that rule.
I’ve written this before, but it
bears repeating: Christianity does not promote equality. Certainly, “all have sinned and come
short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). And God calls His people from
both genders and from all classes (Gal. 3:28). He is our Father; we are
sisters and brothers, heirs together of the grace of life (1 Peter 3:7).
And yet, though He views each of us in Christ as a beloved child, He calls us
to occupy different places here on earth. I Timothy 2 and 3 agree with
all of Scripture in affirming that men are called to be the office bearers in
the church – and that includes pastors, elders, and deacons.
“Nothwithstanding,” begins verse 15 of chapter two,
meaning, “but,” “nevertheless” or, “in spite of.” The inspired apostle begins with that
conjunction to emphasize that though women are not called to lead, God has given them a place, a place which
they alone are able to occupy.
“Nothwithstanding,” he writes, “she shall be saved in childbearing.”
Already you can hear
the snickers and the scoffs, can you not?
Perhaps objections rise up in your own heart – they certainly do in
mine. “Keep the woman barefoot and
pregnant right? Don’t allow her any time
to socialize or to develop her own gifts.”
It’s our tendency to think that way, isn’t it? But God has given us women a calling – a high calling – and He has equipped us
for that task.
What is comprised in
the term “childbearing”? First, that
expression does not refer simply to conceiving a child and carrying that child
to term. “Childbearing” includes the
rearing of and caring for children as well.
This is evident later in I Timothy where the younger women are
instructed to “marry, bear children, guide
the house” and where the true widow is described as one who has “brought up
children.” What about single women? What about the unmarried woman without
children? For them, “childbearing”
includes the rest of those of those qualifications that define the true widow:
“if she have lodged strangers, if she have washed the saints’ feet, if she have
relieved the afflicted, if she have diligently followed every good work” (I
Tim. 4:10).
…To be continued…
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