1 Timothy 2:9-15 — Women in the Church
Take your Bibles and turn to 1 Timothy 2.
In a moment we're going to read starting in verse 9 down through the end of the chapter.
I was away this morning. I had been gone since Friday, visiting my family — my dad and my stepmother and my siblings on that side of the family — and taking part in my brother Patrick's wedding. It was a very non-traditional, non-Christian wedding.
The vows happened in downtown Richmond, which is a much bigger city than I ever imagined it would be, outside of a big open market in a Cuban restaurant on the roof. We were packed into this little rooftop patio like sardines in a can. And then after the vows, which didn't last very long at all, we all got up. They shuffled the tables out into that small space and then we sat around those tables like sardines in a can.
In most of the weddings I have been a part of there have been traditional vows. Part of those traditional vows included the bride saying to the groom that she will "love, cherish, and obey" her husband in joy and in sorrow, in sickness and in health, as long as we both shall live.
Well, this wedding went to great pains to say nothing like that. Because that idea is anathema to modern secular people. And if we're honest, it's also anathema to most modern Christian people.
Most modern Christian people do not like the idea of a wife submitting to her husband, of a wife taking a subservient place in the home. Most modern Christian people don't like the idea of women taking a subservient place in the church. There are few ideas that are more counter-cultural than this one.
But just because something is unpopular and counter-cultural doesn't mean that it isn't in the Bible. In fact, much of what the Bible teaches us is unpopular and counter-cultural.
So as we approach the Scripture tonight, I want you to try to set aside your personal prejudices about this passage and to understand with clear eyes what it says. Let's just take the Bible at face value and determine that we're going to let Scripture determine what we do — not culture, or even church culture.
Are you in 1 Timothy 2? Let's read starting in verse 9 down through the end of the chapter.
9 In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array;
10 But (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works.
11 Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection.
12 But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.
13 For Adam was first formed, then Eve.
14 And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.
15 Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety.
1 Timothy 2:9-15 (KJV)
Last Sunday night I looked at verses 9 and 10 and we talked about modesty. That was kind of a controversial message. The passage we're going to look at tonight is even more controversial. Because verse 11 starts here with a bang: "Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection."
That just sounds so mean, doesn't it? It goes so against the grain of our culture.
I want to spend a few minutes tonight talking about how modern people try to get around what these verses are very clearly saying, then I'll talk about what these verses are very clearly saying, and I'll finish with some advice from this chapter for godly women.
Let's pray and we'll get into that.
Opening Prayer
Lord, I want to thank you for the godly women that you've had in my life. I want to thank you for my mother, who made sure that I got a Christian education, who sacrificed herself on my behalf, who did maybe more than anyone to teach me the Word of God. I want to thank you for the godly women in the churches where I grew up who helped point me towards you — a woman like Mrs. Pollard, my fourth-grade teacher; Mrs. Groves, the godly older lady in our church who gave me books about missionaries. Thank you for my wife and my precious daughters. Lord, I pray that as we approach this passage tonight, you would show the women in our church, the girls in my life, my daughters, what your Word says to them about their precious, valuable, and essential role in what you're doing. Lord, help them not to think for an instant that because their role is a subservient role, that means they are less than equal in your eyes. Teach us your Word tonight. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.
Attempts to Circumvent This Passage
So this is a controversial passage of Scripture. It's up there with the passage in 1 Corinthians that talks about women's head coverings when they pray as one of the most controversial passages of Scripture in our modern-day society. Modern women hate what this passage teaches.
Now, up until about the 1960s, nobody — and I really mean nobody — ever taught that this passage teaches anything other than what it obviously says. But since the feminist revolution of the 1960s there has been an unending amount of scholarship trying to say that this passage doesn't mean what it obviously means, trying to undermine the clear meaning of this text. I think it's appropriate for us to address that for just a minute before we get into what it says.
(By the way, most of these are coming right from Kent Hughes and his amazing commentary.)
So the first way that some people try to get around this passage of Scripture is simply to say that Paul was wrong. There are scholars — and I'm using that word charitably — who say that Paul based this teaching on a misunderstanding that the Jews had of the creation story, that this is Paul being wrong and therefore not true.
I'm not comfortable studying the Bible to discuss how Paul or any of the other God-inspired writers of Scripture were wrong. I am not comfortable putting myself as a Bible student over the words of God. So we're throwing that view out completely.
The second way that people try to dodge the plain meaning of this text is to say things about Ephesus — that Ephesus was a bastion of feminist supremacy in religion, and that Paul's prohibitions against women exercising authority and teaching were aimed at the excesses of Ephesus, not against normal teaching and exercise of authority. The problem is that that version of Ephesus never existed. It was made up for this purpose. Ephesus was just like any other Roman city. There is no historical record of female rulers of Ephesus or of that being a problem in the church.
A third thing that some people try to do is take the phrase "to exercise authority" and change its meaning to "to domineer" or "to be controlling." They say Paul wasn't really telling women they can't teach in the church or have authority in the church — only that they can't be obnoxious about it. There are two problems with this approach:
- It makes no sense in context. Why would you even say that? If that's a negative thing, why would Paul mention it here? Why would he be talking about these things and then all of a sudden say, "Oh yeah, women — don't be domineering when you're in places of leadership"? That's the kind of thing that would only be invented by someone trying to undermine what this passage is saying.
- That's not what these words mean. The words "to teach" and "to exercise authority" are always treated as positive things in Paul's writings, never negative. So why would Paul suddenly use them in a negative way?
The fourth thing people do is claim that what Paul was saying here was temporary — only for this church. But Paul used this kind of language all the time for things that were meant to continue. Paul also argues not from temporary circumstances but goes back to the creation order in Genesis to prove his point. This is not a temporary thing; this is a universal and enduring thing.
Finally, a lot of Christians want to go to Galatians 3:28 and try to use it to erase everything else that Paul wrote about gender. Galatians 3:28 is a wonderful passage. It says:
28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.
Galatians 3:28 (KJV)
In God's eyes we're all equal. That's what this passage teaches us. Jews and Greeks are equal. Slave and free are equal. Male and female are equal. We're all the same in the eyes of God. As they say, "the ground is level at the foot of the cross." Praise the Lord for that!
But that doesn't mean that our roles are all the same on this earth. That doesn't mean there are no distinctions in the way that slave and free behave, or that Greeks and Jews behave, or that male and female behave. In fact, Paul — who wrote Galatians 3:28 — also wrote lots of specific instruction for how ladies are supposed to act and how men are supposed to act, and how employees are supposed to treat their bosses and bosses their employees. This idea that we can take Galatians 3:28 and use it to level out every human interaction is a liberal pipe dream.
So let me summarize all this by saying: there are a lot of liberal Christians who want to erase this passage of Scripture. They've used all kinds of tricks to try to do so, but none of them hold up to honest scrutiny. None of them hold up when we apply regular hermeneutics to how we understand Scripture.
So I've talked a lot about what this passage doesn't mean. Let's talk about what it does mean.
Look at verse 11 again:
11 Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection.
12 But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.
1 Timothy 2:11-12 (KJV)
Let's just break this down. It tells us what women should do, how women should do it, what women must never do, and finally it gives us a biblical and historical example of this.
So let's walk through that:
1. What Women Should Do
It says, "Let the woman learn."
So we have to stop here and say this: it is God's desire that women learn. It's God's desire that women be educated in the truth. The truth of Scripture, the doctrine of Scripture, is not just for men. Women are to learn just as much as men do.
Let me say this — it doesn't even need to be said, but let me say it anyway. When it comes to intellectual ability, most women are running laps around most men. Some of you guys, your wives are smoking you on the intelligence scale and the learning scale, and you'd probably say amen to that.
God doesn't want women to be in a situation like they were in most of the ancient world, where they were never taught to read and were never taught anything beyond the home. God doesn't want women to be like they are in much of the Muslim world, where they're not allowed to learn and the teaching of the Scriptures is only for the men.
Paul says, "Let the women learn." Let them study. Allow them to learn all of the Scripture.
Ladies, I want to challenge you to spend time loving the Lord with all your heart and all your soul and all your mind. Learn as much about God and the Scripture as you possibly can. God is in that. That is a good thing.
The Scriptures are not just sufficient for men. They are just as necessary for the women in the church.
Let me also say that God doesn't have one set of Scripture for men and another completely different set for women. There's one doctrine. There's one truth.
There are a lot of ladies' Bible studies and ladies' conferences — and to a lesser extent, men's versions of these things too. I think a danger of these is the idea that there is one set of truth for women and another set for men. The truth is, God has given us one truth. He's given us His holy Word, and all of us need it. All of us need to learn it.
So Paul said, "Let the women learn." That's what the women should do. The next phrase tells us:
2. How Women Should Do It
Our Bible says, "in silence and in all subjection."
Now I actually think "silence" here is not talking about keeping your mouth shut — like, be silent, shut up. I don't think that's what that means. I think it's talking about your spirit, having a meek and quiet spirit, as the Scripture says. That word "silence" is translated elsewhere in the text — when referencing men — as "quietness."
For instance, 2 Thessalonians 3:12:
12 Now them that are such we command and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work, and eat their own bread.
2 Thessalonians 3:12 (KJV)
"Quietness" — or "silence" — here is not so much about never opening your mouth in church. What it is about is minding your own business.
One particular temptation that women have, one way that women sin, is with slander and gossip. You can get up in arms with me about that if you want, but the New Testament specifically addresses this sin among women in several different places.
For instance, look at the next chapter. It's talking about the qualifications of pastors, bishops, and deacons. It goes through and gives all these qualifications, and then in verse 11 it says something very interesting. Look at it:
11 Even so must their wives be grave, not slanderers, sober, faithful in all things.
1 Timothy 3:11 (KJV)
Why does it say their wives must not be slanderers? Because this is a sin that women have a particular tendency toward. This is a particularly female-coded sin.
You can look at the book of Titus, chapter 2, verse 3, where it says "the aged women likewise, in behavior as becometh holiness, not false accusers."
There is a particular temptation among women to gossip, to spread false accusations, to say negative things about people when they get together. I think that's what this word "silence" is talking about. I think it's talking about being careful, being quiet in your spirit, minding your own business, and not talking about others.
It's related to what Paul said in verse 2, where he talked about how we pray for others so we can live a quiet and peaceable life.
The second way that women are to learn is "in all subjection." That phrase simply means they learn in a submissive way. One way to say it is: women should learn quietly and submissively in the church.
Another particular tendency — a particular sin that women have — is not wanting to follow but wanting to lead. It's the "no one is going to tell me what to do" spirit. And Paul says, "Ladies, when you come to church to learn, you can't have a loose tongue and you can't have an unsubmissive spirit."
You know, Spurgeon pastored his great church for many decades and he wasn't known for biting his tongue. One of the things he said is, "I've only seen the devil show up in my church two or three times, and each time he was wearing a skirt." One of the worst things that can happen to the spirit of a church is when women start spreading false stories, spreading gossip, and tearing down the leadership of the church. It is destructive, it is caustic, and it's been happening since the dawn of the church.
And so Paul is saying, "When you learn, be sure to learn with a quiet spirit and a submissive spirit."
3. What Women Shouldn't Do
So we've talked about what ladies are supposed to do and how they're supposed to do it. The next verse tells us what they shouldn't do. Look at verse 12 again:
12 But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.
1 Timothy 2:12 (KJV)
This is talking in the context of the church. We need to be clear here. Paul goes from talking about men leading prayer at the beginning of this chapter right into talking about preachers and pastors in the next chapter. The context here is very much centered on the church. This isn't talking about what happens in the classroom at a university, and it's not talking about who runs a business. This is talking about churches.
What Paul is saying here, I believe, is that it is not appropriate for women to lead the church or to preach or teach the Scriptures with authority. The word "to teach" here always refers to the authoritative transmission of biblical truth — authoritative doctrinal instruction in public. What this is talking about is women preaching or women holding the office of bishop or pastor in the church.
This is not saying that it's always wrong for a woman to teach a man. We know that because the Bible commends Aquila and Priscilla, who together taught Apollos the doctrine he needed. They helped straighten him out — both of them. There were also prophetesses in the New Testament, women whom God used to share a special message. But that doesn't mean they were elders in their churches, and it doesn't mean they were preaching from the pulpit.
Ladies, we need you to teach us the Scripture — teach us in conversation around the dinner table, teach us in fellowship. What is forbidden is for ladies to take positions of authority in the church and to teach or preach with authority from the pulpit.
So we've talked about what ladies are supposed to do, how they're supposed to do it, and what they cannot do. The next verses tell us why.
4. Why Women Shouldn't Teach or Hold Authority
Paul says in verses 13 and 14:
13 For Adam was first formed, then Eve.
14 And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.
1 Timothy 2:13-14 (KJV)
Paul goes all the way back to the creation order. That means this isn't a cultural thing, and it isn't a situational thing. Paul is basing his point on creation itself.
Church, God created equal. Male and female are equal in worth in God's eyes, but that does not mean we have the same function. It doesn't mean that we have the same authority in the family or in the church.
Paul says this pretty consistently. Look at 1 Corinthians 11, verses 8 and 9:
8 For the man is not of the woman: but the woman of the man.
9 Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man.
1 Corinthians 11:8-9 (KJV)
In that passage Paul is talking about head coverings, and he again bases his argument on the creation order. God could have made Adam and Eve at the same time, but He made Adam first and then made Eve to be his helper. God was setting a pattern there.
In Scripture, firstness connotes authority. The firstborn son was the heir and the ruler of the family. And Paul is applying that principle to authority in the church.
Ladies, this is a crass illustration — I hope you'll forgive me for it — but I have a whole workshop full of tools. Among those tools I have hammers and I have screwdrivers. I have measuring tools and I have cutting tools.
Now I can use those tools for things they weren't created for. I can bang in a nail with the back of a screwdriver. It's not pleasant, but it can be done. I can twist in a screw with the edge of a ruler. Again, not pleasant, but it can be done. But things work much better when tools are used as they were designed to be used.
A hammer is so much better for pounding in a nail than it is for twisting a screw. A screwdriver is so much better at twisting a screw than it is at pounding in a nail.
And when I insist on using a tool for something other than it was created for, I usually end up damaging that tool or making a mess of things.
Folks, God designed men and women differently, and that's a beautiful thing — because who wants a workshop full of hammers? The world would be such a boring and awful place if there were only men in it. It would be a pretty dim place too. A bunch of dumbos running around.
I am so grateful for the women in my life, and I wouldn't want a church without the ladies who do so much around here and are in so many ways so much smarter than some of us men.
But things work best when they are used the way God designed them to be used. I believe people are happiest when they accept God's wonderful design for them. That means if you're a man in the church, God has a different design for you than if you're a woman in the church. And that's okay.
Ladies, you might think, "Well, the men have all the power." Listen — if you're a man and you're all about power, you're misusing your authority. God has given us authority to serve. God has given us authority to lay down our lives, just as Christ laid down His life for the church. If a man reads this and thinks, "Oh yeah, I'm the man, I'm gonna boss everybody around, everyone's gonna serve me" — he is completely missing the point of Scripture. That is not Christian in the slightest.
Look at the last verse. This is a somewhat confusing verse, but I think it's simply making the point I just made:
15 Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety.
1 Timothy 2:15 (KJV)
I think what Paul is saying is, "Ladies, embrace what makes you uniquely women." Now not all women have children — not all women are blessed by God in that way — but the vast majority are, and only ladies can have children.
I think what Paul is saying is: you have been given an awesome responsibility to bring up children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. That is something you do far better than men do, so embrace that.
Conclusion
As I wrap this up I want to say this: where are we going to get our view of the world from? Is our view of the world going to come from the spirit of the age, or is it going to come from the Scripture?
Are we going to decide how men and women should act in the church — and any number of other controversial things — based on what's popular on a secular college campus? Or are we going to decide based on what God's Word clearly says to us?
Church, I think we have to go with what God's Word clearly says. If that's unpopular, if that makes us seem like bigots to the world, it doesn't matter. These are the words of life. These are the words of truth. If God tells us to do something, He knows better than we do. What He tells us, the direction He sends us, is going to be beautiful.
Are you a person of the Book or a person of the world? You have to make that decision, and I'm just asking you to apply that decision to this controversial subject — because I think what this text says is clear. Men and women have different roles and different positions in the church. There are things that are appropriate for men to do that are not appropriate for women to do, and vice versa. There are sins that men particularly struggle with and sins that women particularly struggle with, and God knows best. We need to follow what God's Word says.
Let's stand together and pray.
