1 Timothy 2:15

Justification: Happens when we are saved. God’s righteousness is imputed to us. In other words, when God now looks at us, he sees Jesus, a perfect person

Sanctification: Literally means to set apart for special use or purpose--- that is to make holy. Growth in grace should continue throughout every person who has accepted Christ. I think that getting married makes us holier because we again have to die to ourselves and become like Christ. Getting a dog, makes you sanctified because you have to suffer and die to yourselves. And certainly, having a baby makes you holier by daily dying to your own self and putting another person’s needs before your own. There is nothing wrong with being single. In fact, people that are single have more time to devote to spreading the Gospel.

Glorification: I believe this does not completely happen till be receive our glorified bodies after Christ returns. The Baptist Faith and Message defines it has the culmination of salvation and is the final blessed and abiding state of the redeemed.

My point of this post is that children make us more like Jesus. They teach us to die to ourselves. However, our society says we have to do things for ourselves, and we do not want anything that is hard or to have anything that might make us suffer even a little. Isn’t through great sorrow comes the greatest joy you could ever know? Is it not he will of God for us to suffer? We today have really gotten so “me” centered that no one dare want you to have more than 2.5 kids. Isn’t the heart of the Gospel to die to self and depend on God for everything?

1 Timothy 2:15, “But women will be saved (or restored) through childbearing---if they continue in faith, love, and holiness with propriety.”

Maybe Mark Driscoll (http://www.marshillchurch.org/) is right that Paul here is talking about us being becoming more like Jesus when we give birth to a child and raise them up in the admonition of the Lord. Having children is part of the sanctification process for women. What do you think? Do you think he is talking about Eve, and Christ coming through the seed of Adam and Eve?

Biblical Womahood Continued

The following is my conclusion on biblical womanhood from a 50-page paper which I wrote in seminary.

Conclusion

• As we have seen throughout this paper, God affirms: the beauty of manhood and womanhood, the equality of the both genders, and the striking differences in roles of both men and women found throughout the Bible to show his glory. God created women to perform a different function than man for His glory. Women can ultimately glorify him by adhering to what the Bible states her role should ultimately be. When a woman does not do the role God called her to, His glory may be hindered. We, as women, need to seek God’s glory in everything we do.

• John Piper sums it up best when he states, “at the heart of mature femininity is a freeing disposition to affirm, receive and nurture strength and leadership from worthy men in ways appropriate to a woman’s differing relationship.”[1] Piper is quick to affirm that we cannot and should not prohibit women from influencing men. Prayer is certainly a God-appointed means women should use to get men to where God wants them to be. At the home, when a husband leads like Christ and a wife responds like the bride of Christ, there is harmony that is more beautiful and more satisfying than any pattern of marriage created by man. Biblical headship for the husband is the divine calling to take primary responsibility for Christlike, servantleadership, protection and provision in the home. Biblical submission for the wife is the divine calling to honor and affirm her husband’s leadership and help carry it through according to her gifts. This is the way of joy. For God loves his people and he love his glory. And therefore, when we follow his idea of marriage “we are most satisfied and he is most glorified.”[2] God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him and his plans for us. God intends for the entire church, both men and women, to be mobilized in ministry. Piper concludes that perhaps the most devastating sin today, is not the so-called women’s movement, but the lack of spiritual leadership by men at home and in the church.

• In conclusion, Piper gives a challenge and prayer for all women that is important to keep in mind when going through women’s roles throughout the Bible. First, a woman in all her life, whatever the calling, needs to be completely devoted to the glory of God. Second, that she be a women of the Book who love and study and obey the Bible in every area of its teaching; that meditation on Biblical truth be the source of her hope and faith; that she continue to grow in understanding through all the chapters of her life, never thinking that study and growth are only for others.[3] That if she is single, she is completely devoted to God (the way Jesus and Paul and Mary Slessor and Amy Carmicheal did) and she is not paralyzed by the desire to be married. And finally, if she is married, she creatively and intelligently and sincerely support the leadership of her husband as deeply as obedience to Christ will allow. That she encourage him in his God-appointed role as head; that she influence him primarily through her fearless tranquility and holiness and prayer. Lastly, all Christians must elevate God’s words found exactly in the text over experience or culture. Nonetheless, in the gender role debate, complementarians and egalitarians are prudent enough to know that the only way to maximize their ministries is to completely submit to the Word of God when it is correctly interpreted.

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[1] John Piper, “A Vision of Biblical Complementarity: Manhood and Womanhood Defined According to the Bible,” in John Piper and Wayne Grudem, eds. Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood: A Response to Evangelical (Wheaten: Crossway, 1991), 46.

[2] Ibid., 52-3.

[3] Ibid., 54-5.

Complementarian Interpretation of 1 Timothy 2:11-15/ A Rebuttal

• Complementarians believe that the coupling of “teaching” with “having authority over men,” in this passage, means that teaching of men is inappropriate for a woman in a setting or way that dishonors the calling of men to bear the primary responsibility for teaching and leadership. Complementarians affirm from this text as well (1 Corinthians 14:34-36; 11:2-16, ect.) as others that the office of pastor or elder is the responsibility of the man. Douglas Moo affirms that women are not to teach or have authority over men. They are not to do so because of the order in which God created man and woman and because of how man and woman fell into sin.[1] Moo goes on to assert that complementarians believe that 1 Timothy 2:8-15 imposes two restrictions on the ministry of women: “they are not to teach doctrine to men and they are not to exercise authority directly over men in the church.”[2] Only two restrictions of women in ministry in the local church are found in this passage; there are numerous other roles women can fill in their church.
• First, the setting of 1 Timothy 2:11-15 is very interesting. Thomas Schreiner affirms that if one could show that prohibition against women teaching men were explicable on the grounds of false teaching and its specific features, the egalitarian position would be greatly strengthened. [3] Kroeger do argue that Paul was speaking to false teachers who proclaimed the priority of Eve over Adam and that Eve enlightened Adam with her teaching. Paul’s words on Adam being created first were a direct response to this teaching. If Kroeger’s reconstruction is right, then this restriction for temporary use is enhanced. However, according to Schreiner, Kroeger constantly appeals to later sources to establish the contours of heresy, and the lack of “historical rigor is nothing less than astonishing.”[4] Kroeger is clearly looking at sources that are far past the time that Paul was writing this letter.
• Second, when one looks at the 1 Timothy 2:11-13 he sees that a women should learn submissively and quietly, and she is not to engage in teaching or exercising authority because of the created order. When Paul states in 1 Timothy 2:11, “Let a woman learn in silence with all submission,” the focus on the command is not on women learning, but the manner and mode of their learning.”[5] Paul wants women to learn in silence with all submission. Moreover, most scholars today argue that the word “silence” or “quietly” found here does not mean silence but rather refers to a “quiet demeanor and spirit that is peaceable instead of argumentative” (see 1 Tim. 2:2 and 1 Peter 3:4).[6]
• Third, when looking at verse 12 where Paul says, “And I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence,” two things are forbidden: teaching and having authority over a man. Paul does not mean that once a woman has learned they can teach or that the word permit means just for a certain period of time. Bilezikian argues that in the verse the only reason for prohibition on women teachers was lack of education or the influence of false teachers.[7] If Paul wanted to say something about false teachers or lack of education he would. However, here teaching that Paul is describing involves the authoritative and public transmission of tradition about Christ and the Scripture” (1 Cor. 12:28-29); Eph. 4:11, 1 Tim. 2:7; 2 Tim. 3:16, James 3:1).[8] Women can still privately teach other women, children, and privately. The key issue here is that women are prohibited from the function of public and authoritative teaching of men in this verse.
• Fourth, a powerful objection against the complementarian position is that prophecy is just as authoritative as teaching (1 Cor. 12:28; Eph. 2:20; 4:11). Since it is clear that women could prophesy in the public assembly (Acts 2:17-18; 21:9: 1 Cor. 11:5), it is therefore concluded that women should be permitted to teach.[9] However Wayne Grudem asserts that prophecy is very different from teaching. Prophecy involves impulsive revelations in which truth is mixed with error.[10] Prophecy is more vertical in nature, while teaching is more horizontal. One could say that prophecy is much like a woman reading Scripture. In all the biblical texts where women are prophesying, they do not teach the Word that was given to them, they just proclaim it. Grudem also affirms that, “there is not one example in the entire Bible of a woman doing the kind of congregational Bible teaching that is expected of pastors/elders in the New Testament church.[11] This statement has huge implications. Even the prophets Deborah and Huldah prophesied only in private, not public. Moreover, Schreiner asserts that “1 Corinthians 11:2-16 shows that women with the prophetic gift should exercise in such a way that they do not subvert male leadership.”[12] This passage does mean that the gift of prophecy can be done without overturning male headship, whereas 1 Timothy 2:11-15 demonstrates that women cannot regularly teach men without doing so.
• Finally, women are prohibited from teaching or having authority over men because of the created order. 1 Timothy 2:13-14 states, “For Adam was formed first, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression.” The creation of Adam before Eve, signaled that men are to teach and exercise authority in the church. Furthermore, the events in Genesis 3 confirm the need for male leadership. Eve took leadership and responding to the serpent and Adam just stood back and did not lead Eve. He allowed Eve to sinfully react to the serpent. However, even though Eve was the first to sin, the responsibility for the sin is given to Adam in Romans 5:12-19. Lastly, a woman, by performing her role in childbearing is not sufficient for salvation; women must also practice other Christians virtues to be saved.[13]

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[1] Douglass Moo, “What Does It Mean Not to Teach or Have Authority Over Men? 1 Timothy 2:11-15,” in John Piper and Wayne Grudem, eds., Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood: A Response to Evangelical Feminism (Wheaton: Crossway, 1991), 179.

[2] Ibid., 180.

[3] Andreas J. Kostenberger and Thomas R. Schreiner, eds., Women in the Church: An Analusis and Application of 1 Timothy 2:9-15, 2^nd ed. (Grand Rapids : Baker Books, 1995), 88.

[4] Ibid.

[5] Ibid., 97.

[6] Ibid., 98.

[7] Gilbert Bilezikian, Beyond Sex Roles (Grand Rapids; Baker, 1985), 179.

[8] Kostenberger and Schreiner eds., Women in the Church, 101.

[9] Ibid., 102.

[10] Wayne Grudem, “Prophecy – Yes, but Teaching – No: Paul’s Consistent Advocacy of Women Participation without Governing Authority,” JETS 30 (1987): 11-23.

[11] Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology (Grand Rapids: InterVarsity, 1994), 942.

[12] Kostenberger and Schreinder, eds., Women in the Church, 102.

[13] Ibid., 120.

Egalitarian Interpretation of 1 Timothy 2:11-15

• Overall, egalitarians see the declaration found in this passage to be a temporary ban that involves just the women in Ephesus. Egalitarians look at the historical reconstruction and find that Paul is intent of silencing the Ephesian women because they are involved in some sort of heresy or they were just not educated. Stanley Grenz and Denise Kjesbo assert that when Paul says that women are to “learn in silence,” the word silence does not actually mean “not speaking” (compare Paul’s use of the word in 1 Tim. 2:2).Grenz and Kjesbo state, “rather it implied respect or lack of disagreement”(as in Acts 11:18, 21:14).[1] Furthermore, the phrase “with full submission” does not mean that women have to be in submission to either their husband or church leadership because Paul does not explicitly state that they have to in this passage. Rather Paul is suggesting an attitude of receptivity with regard to submission and to silence. To whom are women supposed to submit if they are not submitting to their husband (Ephesians 5) or church leadership?
• Egalitarians see the phrase “I permit no woman to teach,” as a temporary command to a specific situation. Grenz and Kjesbo explain that it is on the basis of Paul’s choice of the present active indicative (epitrepo) rather than the imperative that gives strong evidence for Paul not voicing a timeless command. They conclude that this statement really means, “I am not presently allowing.”[2] However, complementarians cite other present active indicative verbs which do have the power of an ongoing rule (1 Cor, 14:34; 1 Tim 2:1, 8). Additionally, when Paul prohibits women from exercising authority over men, Richard and Catherine Clark Kroeger conclude that Paul’s directive should read, “I do not permit woman to represent herself as originator of man.”[3] Aida Spencer takes the interpretation of this verse a step further when she states that “Paul here is not prohibiting women from preaching nor praying nor having an edifying authority nor pastoring. He is simply prohibiting them from teaching and using their authority in a destructive way.”[4] Moreover, whatever the results of Eve’s sin it is no longer in effect now that Christ has come and established a new community. Spencer, like most egalitarians, believes Paul, even though he does prohibit women from teaching or having authority over man, means that this prohibition only pertains to the women in the church in Ephesus who were probably acting disruptive or preaching heresy.

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[1] Stanley J. Grenz and Denise Muir Kjesbo, Women in the Church A Biblical Theology of Women in Ministry ( Downers Gove, Il: InterVarsity, 1995), 128.

[2] Ibid., 130.

[3] Richard Clark Kroeger and Catherine Clark Kroeger, I Suffer Not a Woman: Rethinking 1 Timothy 2:11-15 in Light of Ancient Evidence (Grand Rapids, MI : Baker Book House, 1992), 103.

[4] Aida Besancon Spencer, Beyond the Curse: Women Called to Ministry (Nashville: T. Nelson, 1985), 88.

1 Timothy 2:9-15

Oh yes, this week in Sunday School, Charlie is going through the Baptist Faith and Message, and he is going to go verse by verse through this passage on why Southern Baptist do not affirm women pastors...should be interesting. I thought I would post a part of my 50 page paper on this issue. You decide what camp you fall under. Wherever you fall, the question we need to ask ourselves is what do we do with this passage....we cannot just throw it out.

"I also want women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God.

A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent. For Adam was formed first, then Eve. And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner. But women will be saved through childbearing—if they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety."