I would like to begin our time tonight by making two notes about last week that I want to add to it. So if you have your notes from last week, you can add these two details to it, but otherwise you can also get somewhat a review, if you will, from our conversation last week. We were together in the book of one Corinthians, chapter 14, and I made particular reference to verse 34, which says the women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the law says. We talked about last week how this reference to as the law is not a reference to an Old Testament law, because within the laws of Moses that are recorded in scripture, there are no laws that would prohibit women from speaking in worship, but rather what is being referenced here is a societal or cultural law. I intended to give you a reference as we were having that conversation. So, to your notes, if you would like to add the societal law that was in place at this time was a law in English known as the opian law, that is, op p I a n. It came in effect around the year 250 BC, and at its core of foundation, it was a law meant to prohibit women in any sort of display of financial wealth. We used the example of a woman participating in a business transaction over her husband. So this law, or a law similar to it, would have been in place that would be referenced for this church and would be very influential in the culture and the life of the Corinthian church. So that's one note that I wanted you to have as a reference point. The second note that I wanted to give you in reference to last week, but really, for all of our weeks, is a word about Bible translations at your tables. There are probably three or four different Bible translations right here tonight in the room. We are blessed as a people in the age in which we live, in which we have incredible biblical scholarship, and we have multiple good translations that have made scripture extremely accessible to us today. It is a good practice for us in our time to use multiple translations in the study of God's word. Now, there are some that we should give more weight to than others, but what we must recognize is that we need to read broadly in our translations, particularly when we are at a level of detail that we are in this conversation. We are parsing words, and every word matters. And so translations, then, can bring great light into our conversation. Anytime you find yourself struggling with an understanding of a passage, one of the first steps that I would encourage you to do is look at different translations, see if different translations help illuminate your understanding and bring about that clarity. If you use a Bible app, that is one of the best benefits because you can simply click at the top and quickly find hundreds of different translations to sift through. So I wanted to give you that word to acknowledge the differences that exist here in our room, but also to encourage you to read broadly on passages of scripture when you're studying for a deeper and greater understanding. And that will be of particular importance for our conversation tonight in your Bible. I would like to invite you to turn with me to the book of First Timothy. We are going to spend two weeks together in the book of First Timothy. And so this will be part one and then part two. So if you have not already registered for next week's dinner, you can go ahead and do that because you'll have to come back to finish tonight's conversation. We are going to be considering first Timothy together tonight, and I just want to remind us all, while you turn there, that for 2000 years the church has wrestled with this passage in particular. And quite simply, the reason the church has wrestled with this particular passage is because it presents some interpretation challenges, which I am going to be honest with you tonight. I'm going to be clear on what those challenges are and lay them before us in God's word. And so as we move into first Timothy, I want to remind us all that we need to approach it with a measure of great humility, recognizing that we are not somehow going to figure this out. The church has wrestled with this, and while we can bring some clarity, there is still some ambiguity in a few of the things that we will look at together in God's word. As a reminder, there are 27 books to the New Testament. 21 of them are letters written either to a church or to a specific individual. Last week we looked at the letter of one Corinthians that was written to a church. Tonight, we are going to look at the letter of first Timothy that is written to an individual, written to a person, a young man named Timothy, who is pastoring a church in Ephesus. We know that Paul on what would have been about his fourth missionary journey, not recorded in the book of Acts, but in the fourth missionary journey. Paul has assigned Timothy to stay and pastor the church at Ephesus. And so we're going to read this letter to Timothy, a young pastor, as he leads the church at Ephesus. I'd like us to begin in the introduction of one Timothy, chapter one, beginning together in verse three, as I urged you, Timothy, when I went into Macedonia. Stay there in Ephesus so that you may command certain people not to teach false doctrines any longer or to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies. Such things promote controversial speculations rather than advancing God's work, which is by faith. The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good, conscious and a sincere faith. Some have departed from these and have turned to meaningless talk. They want to be teachers of the law, but they do not know what they are talking about or what they so confidently affirm. Paul's there in the introduction, Paul is advising Timothy about issues that exist within the church at Ephesus. As again, let me remind us all that this is a letter written to people who were facing a real situation. The main concern that the church at Ephesus is wrestling with is they're dealing with false doctrines that are being taught by people within the church. Notice that description in verse three. He's speaking to Timothy and he says that I may command certain people, certain people, not to teach false doctrines any longer, although these certain people are not called out by name. What we need to understand from this is that there are people within the church that Paul is advising Timothy to deal with, to address, and to speak to, because what they are doing is in fact causing division.

You'll see in verse seven that as a result, or, excuse me, in verse six, that as a result of their teaching, some have departed from the true meaning and the true message of the gospel. When we read the entirety of this letter, we know that these false teachers were teaching a false application of the law. They were teaching a false interpretation of the laws of the Old Testament. We know that they were teaching a false teaching about biblical's guidance on marriage. We know that they were teaching some false things surrounding foods and what foods can be consumed. So Paul gives us a glimpse into some of the things that they are teaching that are incorrect according to scripture. But notice that Paul's goal, that which he desires for Timothy to do, the spirit behind this command is stated in verse five. The goal of this is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. Paul's intent in this is love, and he wants the way that this to be dealt with in the church to be done in a loving manner. The intent behind Paul's commands and the instructions that he gives to Timothy is to be done in a spirit of love. And I want to encourage you that as we read Paul's words, that we need to read them and we need to receive them in a spirit of love. We need to recognize that Paul's intent and his goal and what he is going to instruct us in worship upon is to be received in a loving

manner because Paul has the heart and the best intentions of the church at the center of his instruction. It is Paul's goal, and let us keep it as our goal, a heart of love for the church. So step into chapter two with me. We're going to read the entirety of the chapter in two parts. Paul says. I urge then first of all that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgiving be made for all people, for kings, and all those in authority, that we may live peacefully and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good and pleases God our savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. One of my favorite verses in the Bible. For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all. This has now been witnessed to at the proper time. And for this purpose I was appointed a herald and an apostle. I am telling the truth. I am not lying. And a true and faithful teacher of the Gentiles. What Paul is doing here is he is making an appeal based on his apostolic authority. The church in one Corinthians had appealed to Paul, and now we see the reverse of that. Paul is appealing to the church on the basis of his authority as a teacher and as an apostle unto the Gentiles. And so Paul is establishing, or, excuse me, reestablishing his role and his right to speak into the life of the church. And he gives these instructions. Verse eight. Therefore, I want the men everywhere to pray, lifting up holy hands without anger or disputing. 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, but with good deeds appropriate for women who profess worship of God. A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man. She must be quiet. 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 still be saved through childbearing if they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety. One Timothy. I'll take a deep breath, and you're welcome to take a deep breath, too. First Timothy, chapter two, verse twelve is the key passage of scripture for this conversation this is the passage of scripture that is the headliner of the discussion. This is the passage of scripture where the disagreement and the conflict has begun to arise. Really, the conversation, though, involves verses eleven all the way through verse 15, although we're most familiar with verse twelve. But really it's verses eleven all the way through verse 15. My goal for our time considering verses eleven through 15 is not to give you a watertight argument for everything that exists in these four verses of scripture, but rather my goal for our time together is to be honest as we read it and to remain committed to our understanding that the Bible has full authority in our lives and within the church. But what will be abundantly clear at the end of our conversation tonight is that this passage is not as straightforward as some assume, or as you might even be thinking it is tonight. And so, with that in mind, let's start at the top of verse eleven. Paul says a woman should learn in quietness and full submission. First, let's recognize the revolutionary idea that Paul is proposing in verse eleven. He is saying that women should learn. Don't run past that. Recognize what Paul is doing and let us recognize how countercultural the statement that Paul has just given. He has just said that women are to learn, and in particular, they are to learn Christian theology. Now, understand first century Jews and Greeks. They did not permit women to learn. They did not have any sort of formal education that included women in any discipline, much less alone in the study of theology. But what Paul has done is he has just picked up where Jesus has left off. If you study the life of Jesus, you will recognize that what Jesus did for women is he not only included them in ministry, but he also elevated the role of women in society as a whole. And so Paul continues the work of Jesus to elevate the women within their role of society in a radical way in which he commands. He says, women must learn. And I want you to know that this is the only imperative command in the entire passage of scripture. And the command is that women would learn. Paul is encouraging women to dedicate themselves to the study of scripture and to study the matters that they are understanding and hearing within the church. This letter is written to a people who were struggling with teachers who were teaching a false doctrine. There is one way to fix that, and that is to run the false teachers out of town. But the other way to fix that is to educate the people in truth. And if the people are educated in truth, then they can identify false teaching, and they can also correct false doctrine when it is given. And so Paul is addressing the issue within the church by encouraging education. He's saying the women should learn. And as they learn, it will help address the main concern that the church is having and what they are struggling with. And he says they should learn in quietness and in full submission. Now, that may sound somewhat harsh to you, but please understand. What Paul is saying is that the women should learn in humility and they should be willing to be teachable. He's saying that they should submit themselves to a season of learning and they should approach it in a teachable way. They should not approach it with arrogance. They should not approach it like the false teachers have in verse seven, which, if you remember what he described in verse seven of chapter one, they want to be teachers of the law, but they do not know what they are talking about or what they so confidently affirm. So unlike the false teachers, what Paul wants them to do is have humility. The women should learn with quietness and full submission. They should submit themselves to a season of learning and studying. And so Paul is, in fact, encouraging a very positive and a very good thing that I am certain we could all affirm. It is good for both men and women to learn with great humility and a teachable spirit. And so he moves to verse twelve. I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man. She must be quiet. Now, last week we spent the majority of our time talking about this call for silence. In fact, that's entirely what we dealt with. And so I'm not going to address that phrase here in this passage of scripture. She must be quiet because we covered it last week. But I do want to address the two other prohibitions here in which he says, I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man. We need to dedicate our time now to these two things for the remainder of the night. First, he says, I do not permit a woman to teach. There is no ambiguity in what he just said. There is no lack of understanding in what it means to teach. Paul said what he just said. He just said, I do not permit a woman to teach. He said it. Now, don't leave me yet, because we're going to continue. But let us acknowledge that there's no ambiguity in that prohibition. I do not permit a woman to teach. Now, if you think about it in the context of the ephesian church, it would make sense, right? If women are not given equal access under education, if they're not given equal opportunity to learn, it would make sense why Paul would give such a command or such a prohibition. But the second part of this in which he says, or to assume authority over a man, this is where we need to dedicate our attention, because it is our understanding of this word, assume authority. That is perhaps the most illuminating of this entire passage. And really, in my opinion, this entire conversation. Paul says, I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man. Now, what is important to know is that this word assume authority only exists one place in the New Testament, and it is right here. You're all familiar with the discipline of doing a word study in scripture. When we do a word study, we are attempting to gain a better understanding of the meaning of a word, to better interpret a passage of scripture. Word studies are primarily conducted in two ways. The main way is that we will go back to scripture, and we will look at other uses of the word and based on other uses of the word, it will help interpret the passage. That is unclear. The other way that we do word studies is we use extra biblical material that is outside of the Bible. How has this word been used in its context, in its historical context to help us understand, then, how to interpret and apply the word? The problem with the word assume authority, which is one word in Greek, two here in English. The problem is that this word is only used one time in the Bible. And so if we are to understand this word, we don't have anywhere else we can go in scripture to understand this word. That is further compounded by if we want to go outside of the Bible and look at its historical use. There are only eight recorded uses of this word in 400 years. In the first four centuries, we don't exactly have a wealth of material to draw from to understand this word. But I want you to understand something that I believe, as I believe that Paul is being very intentional in choosing this word. There are two other words that are very familiar to the Bible that he could have used to address authority. There are two other more common New Testament words that speak to authority, but Paul has chosen not to use them. He's chosen a very particular word, and I believe he's chosen that for a very particular purpose. And because he's trying to communicate something very specific to us. This is one of the places where the NIV, which is our pew Bible and the one that I am reading from, does a really good job translating this moment of scripture. You'll notice that the NIV translates this. I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority. Some of your translations may not have the word assume there. What we know about this word authority, as it exists in its original context, is that when anyone used this word, it was used to speak to someone who was trying to usurp or take over someone in a position of authority. Anytime we have a historical use of this particular word, it is being used to describe someone who has fought their way to a position of power, and they have taken control by will over someone who has been rightfully and appointed in that place. Paul has chosen to use this particular word. Paul has chosen to use a word for authority that describes a behavior that is domineering, that is assuming, and that is taking over by force, someone who is taking over, someone who has been appointed rightfully and correctly to a position of authority. And I believe that the reason that Paul is using that word is because, again, he's addressing the behavior that is causing the problem within the church. There are certain people who are not only teaching false doctrines, but there are certain people who were fighting their way to a position of authority. And in this case, we can conclude from the conversation that there are women who are fighting their way unto a position of authority. They are assuming authority over a man who has been rightfully appointed to that place within the church. That will become more clear as we work through verse 13. Let's keep going. Paul says, for Adam was formed first and then eve. Adam was not the one deceived. It was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner. But women will be saved through childbearing. The same behavior that was happening in the ephesian church, the same behavior that Paul is trying to address with Timothy in this letter, is likened to the behavior that we saw between Adam and Eve in the garden. And Paul is using Adam and eve as an illustration to communicate his intent. For Timothy, notice what he's doing. He's saying, for Adam was formed first, then even Adam was not the one deceived. It was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner. Can we look at that moment in scripture together for just a second? Let's go back in your Bible, if you'd like. Turn with me to Genesis chapter three. And let's recall this moment, because this is where Paul is taking us. Paul wants to take our mind back to the garden, back to the moment with Adam and Eve, and he wants to illustrate something that occurred in scripture and Genesis, chapter three, beginning in verse one. Now, the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, did God really say you must not eat from any tree in the garden. The woman said to the serpent, we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, you must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it or you will die. You will not surely die. The serpent said to the woman, for God knows that when you eat from it, your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil. When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked. So they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. Consider this moment in scripture with me. One thing I want to make clear. I want to make clear that it is not Eve's fault that sin has entered into the world. It is Adam and Eve's fault that sin has entered into the world. I have foolishly heard some conclude from verse 13 of one Timothy, chapter two, that it was Eve's fault that sin entered the world. But Paul clarified that in Romans, chapter five, verse twelve, he said that when Adam sinned, sin then entered the world. But you can also see that right here in this story. I want you to notice that when Adam and Eve sinned, there were two bites out of that piece of fruit. And let me ask you a question. Where was Adam when Eve ate? Go back and look at verse six. She took some and ate. And she also gave some to her husband. And where is he who was with her? And he ate it. They are together. It is not Eve's fault. It is Adam and Eve's fault. They both ate of it simultaneously, and the effect of sin falls upon them simultaneously. Notice the result. Then the eyes of both of them were opened. The effect is immediate in both of their lives. But I do want to ask you a question. Who did the serpent talk to? The serpent talked to Eve, and the serpent engaged Eve in a theological conversation. The serpent actually challenged Eve. On the basis of understanding what God had said and the nature of God. Satan calls into question the love and the grace and the kindness of God. The serpent engaged Eve in this conversation, and that's what's recorded in scripture. And so let me ask you another question. Who did God command not to eat from the tree of the garden of the knowledge of good and evil? It was Adam. Go back and look at chapter two of Genesis and verse 15. Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and to take care of it. And the Lord God commanded, any tree in the garden may be eaten from, but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. For when you eat from of it, you will certainly die. Then God said, it is not good for man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him. God commands Adam to not eat from this tree before Eve is even created. And so think with me about what happens in this moment in the garden. Adam is carrying a command from God in a position of authority. Eve, who has not necessarily been given that command directly by God, oversteps, falls prey to Satan's deception, takes of the fruit, and then turns to Adam and gives it to him. Now, some of us could easily say, Adam should have spoken up. Adam should have intervened, but we would simply be speculating. But notice what happens in here. Adam carries the command from God. Eve is deceived. Adam is deceived as well. But Eve is deceived. She eats, she turns, she hands it to him. It sure does sound awfully familiar to what might be happening in the church in Ephesus. There just might be some women who have not been equally informed or equally educated to no fault of their own, but because of the way things are, and they've begun to teach false doctrines and they don't know fully what they are teaching. And so Paul says, I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume a position of authority. For just as Eve, Paul starts calling our mind back to the garden to illustrate that which he's teaching. Timothy, now go one further with me in verse 15, because there's one more verse, and he says that the woman will be saved through childbearing. Now, if you were with us last semester, you know that we did a series of first principles and we talked about what our core beliefs are. And one of the core beliefs that we have as a church that is taught in scripture is we believe that salvation comes only by God's grace through faith in Jesus Christ. There is nothing that we can do or achieve that will affect salvation outside of faith in the work of Jesus Christ, Jesus'death and resurrection have completed the work of salvation. We do not add to it or take away from it. We simply exercise our faith and apply it unto our sins and apply it unto our lives. Yet in verse 15, he says the women will be saved through childbearing. What on earth does childbearing have to do with someone's salvation? Think about what that would mean for women who are single. Think about what that would mean for people who are married and can't have children. If women are saved through childbearing, or somehow childbearing has any bearing on salvation, we have a bigger problem on our hands. But again, Paul has called us to the garden, and there's something in the garden that helps us understand this reference to childbearing. We taught about this last semester in our first principles. I'm going to ask you to reach back a little bit with me. Look back at Genesis chapter three, and look at verse 15. God is speaking to the serpent about the judgment or the effect of sin. And God said, and I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your offspring and hers. He will crush your head and you will strike his heel. Now, oh, let's not end on that note, I don't have time to fully teach, but I have taught on this last semester, and I just recall with me for a moment, Genesis chapter three, verse 15, is the first reference to the redemptive work of God through Jesus Christ. The moment that sin entered the world, God revealed his plan to redeem it and to help us recover and to be forgiven of our sins. And Genesis chapter three, verse 15, is the first mention of Jesus. Let me show it to you, he says, and I will put enmity between you that is the serpent and the woman, and between your offspring and hers. And he that is Jesus will crush your head and you will strike his heel. What God is telling us here is that ultimately he will send his son, who will be born of a woman, who will ultimately be an offspring of Eve. And that woman, although she has sinned, she will have the opportunity to participate in the redemptive work by bringing forth a child who will be Jesus. His heel will be struck when he dies upon the cross, but he will not stay in that place. God will be victorious, and he will raise him from the dead. And when God raises Jesus from the dead, Jesus defeats the serpent, and the power of sin is broken. You will strike his heel, but he will crush your head. Paul has called this back to the garden, and so he's again helping us understand what he is teaching about the church in Ephesus. And he's using this as an illustration. So let me summarize with this. I know that we've covered a great deal, but let me recap three things about one. Timothy two. One is Paul has commanded that women learn that they dedicate themselves to studying and greater understanding. He's also given a command here not to teach, and he's also given a command not to assume or usurp authority over God's appointed ones. Those three things are very clear here, and he's illustrated it by calling us back to the garden. The debate around this passage of scripture revolves around whether or not this has a universal application or a specific application. Some will say that this passage of scripture in one Timothy has a universal application, that is, that it is to be applied to all women in all circumstances, both then and now. There is a universal application that some apply from this text. Others say that this passage is not a universal application, but a more specific, a more nuanced application, in particular to the church at Ephesus. He's writing to Timothy to correct an issue, and he's advising Timothy how to do it. And so this is how he's advising Timothy to approach the concern. When we come to these places in scripture where we struggle understanding universal or specific, or we understand or struggle understanding what to do, the best thing for us to do is look to other scriptures. The best thing for us to do, really, when we make any point in scripture is to affirm it in another place in scripture. Any sort of theological idea that we have as a church should not be built off of one place, but should be built off of multiple places. We should be able to find it and affirm it or correct it or adjust it. And so with our two options of a universal or specific application, now what we need to do is we need to go to the rest of scripture, and we need to ask, what does scripture teach? Let me give you a couple of examples, and I'll close on this. The evidence that we see in scripture is that there are examples of women in church leadership. There's all sorts of examples in women in scripture. But what I want to highlight for you is that there are examples in scripture of women in church, New Testament church leadership. One such example is a woman named Phoebe in Romans chapter 16, verses one and two. Another example is a woman named Priscilla in Acts chapter 18. Another example is of two women, Eodia and syndicate, in Philippians chapter four. In these examples, we see women functioning in a role of authority, and we see women, even in a position of teaching over a man. And Paul in his own writings, does not seem to rebuke, but rather he seems to affirm. We look to the New Testament church, and we can look to Jesus. Jesus in John chapter four does an incredible thing in a samaritan woman's life. And that samaritan woman goes back and she testifies in a way that the whole town comes out to hear the news of Jesus Christ, both men and women. We see Jesus first sharing his news of resurrection with women, who then go back and share it with men. So when we're left with this discussion about universal or specific, we need to go to the rest of scripture. And the conclusion that I come to is that the teaching of one Timothy, chapter two, verses eleven through 15, is meant to be specific to the church at Ephesus. But that doesn't mean we ignore it. But rather we recognize that when we, as a church, face a similar problem, when we face someone teaching false doctrine, when we face someone trying to usurp authority, this is how we can address it. This is how we can fix it. So the instruction that Paul has given Timothy to address the problem still remains relevant to us as a church, because as a church, we still struggle with false doctrine. We still struggle with people trying to usurp authority. Women in Pastoral Leadership Part 2.txt[3/6/24, 1:51:10 PM] And so this passage gives us instruction that is still very relevant and still very applied to the church then as it is today. Now, if you disagree with that conclusion, I want you to know that I believe you have the latitude to do so, because the teaching of verses 1314 and 15 leave it open. It leaves it open for you to interpret and conclude differently. But what I would appeal to you is to consider the teachings of all scripture and the life of the New Testament church to better understand what scripture is teaching. One last thing, and then I'm done. I have obviously studied these passages for months. And there was a moment in my study of first Timothy, chapter two that I said, I don't think I said it out loud. I was by myself. But I said, why did Paul have to say this? And I even remarked, why did Paul have to say it this way? And almost as quickly as the words came out of my mouth or my heart, God said he didn't, but I did. All scripture is God breathed not an ounce of it, not a word of it is not given to us by God. It is all useful, it is all authoritative for teaching, rebuking and correcting and training and righteousness. And so, although this is a difficult one, it is still from God. Let me pray. Heavenly Father, thank you for your word. Father, we do not pretend to have it all figured out. But, Father, we do desire to be good students. We do desire to be faithful and obedient. And so, Father, help us be disciplined in our study. But, Father, help us also be willing to correct matters when we are wrong. Help us be willing to adjust, Father, when you illuminate and you reveal truth to us through your holy spirit and through your word. Father, give us a heart that is humble and submissive to you, for your word is good and it is alive and active. We ask all this in Christ Jesus name we pray. Amen.