NAS 1 Timothy 2 8 Therefore I want

NAS 1 Timothy 2: 8 Therefore I want the men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and dissension. 9 Likewise, I want women to adorn themselves with proper clothing, modestly and discreetly, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly garments; 10 but rather by means of good works, as befits women making a claim to godliness. 11 Let a woman quietly receive instruction with entire submissiveness. 12 But I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man, but to remain quiet. 13 For it was Adam who was first created, and then Eve. 14 And it was not Adam who was deceived, but the woman being quite deceived, fell into transgression. 15 But women shall be preserved through the bearing of children if they continue in faith and love and sanctity with self-restraint.

v. 9 -10 NAS 1 Timothy 2: 9 Likewise, I want women to adorn themselves with proper clothing, modestly and discreetly, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly garments; 10 but rather by means of good works, as befits women making a claim to godliness.

Three Commands 1. Don’t dress immodestly 2. Don’t give excessive attention, time and money to you physical appearance 3. Do “adorn” yourself with good works. No time for #2 and #3 today.

1. Don’t dress immodestly NAS: 9 Likewise, I want women to adorn themselves with proper clothing, modestly and discreetly, NIV: 9 I also want women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, “modestly” or “with decency”: aidos (#127), sense of shame (which causes one to avoid certain actions

What is shameful about immodest dress? Public nudity is consistently treated as shameful in the Bible. Genesis 3: 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings. NOT “knew that they were sinful”; gained knowledge of good and evil by sinning; could have gained it by obeying 1 Cor 12: 23 and those members of the body, which we deem less honorable, on these we bestow more abundant honor, and our unseemly members come to have more abundant seemliness

What is the standard? To help, consider a command written from the other side of the eyeball: Matthew 5: 27 "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery'; 28 but I say to you, that everyone who looks on a woman to lust for her has committed adultery with her already in his heart. 29 "And if your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out, and throw it from you; for it is better for you that one of the parts of your body perish, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.

Standard: Don’t be a stumbling block NAS Luke 17: 1 And He said to His disciples, "It is inevitable that stumbling blocks should come, but woe to him through whom they come! 2 "It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea, than that he should cause one of these little ones to stumble.

Suggested Specifics No showing: breasts / cleavage, upper thighs, belly No: tight across bust or buttocks No: sleeveless, shear / see through

v. 11 -14 NAS 1 Timothy 2: 11 Let a woman quietly receive instruction with entire submissiveness. 12 But I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man, but to remain quiet. 13 For it was Adam who was first created, and then Eve. 14 And it was not Adam who was deceived, but the woman being quite deceived, fell into transgression.

Definitions: What words are used and what do they mean? Man Teach Exercise authority (NIV: have authority over)

Man (aner (avnh, r), #435): adult male 1. Always means adult male; does not include minors. 2. Can’t mean husband in this passage • No major English version translates as husband • To mean “husband, ” the word must have possessive (“Joseph the husband [aner] of Mary”; “Joseph her husband [aner]”) or explicit reference to marriage (“he who marries one who is divorced from a husband [aner] commits adultery”).

Teach (didasko (dida, skw), #1321): teach within the Church • In the New Testament after Pentecost, generally refers to teaching God’s Word in a Christian meeting • Cannot be limited to being the “preacher” in a Sunday morning worship service • Can often be distinguished from evangelism (euaggelizo (euvaggeli, zw), #2097 ), which is preaching the gospel to unbelievers

Exercise authority (NIV: have authority over) (authenteo (auvqente, w), #831): take authority over within the Church • Word basically means to take authority over • In ancient Greek could sometimes mean “tyrannize” (be excessively authoritarian) • But by the time the New Testament was written in the 1 st century A. D. it basically meant to take command authority over with no necessary connotation of excessive authority. • Act of teaching the Bible to others is a form of authority

What is commanded / forbidden? Commanded Forbidden quietly receive instruction teach adult males entire submissiveness exercise authority over adult males • women may not teach in Christian meetings where adult males are present • women may not be in authority over adult males in the Church • therefore, women may not be elders / overseers / pastors

What do other scriptures teach? 1 Corinthians 14: 34 Let the women keep silent in the churches; for they are not permitted to speak, but let them subject themselves, just as the Law also says. 1 Timothy 2: 11 Let a woman quietly receive instruction with entire submissiveness. 12 But I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man, but to remain quiet. 1 Corinthians 14 1 Timothy 2 keep silent not permitted to speak quietly receive instruction not…teach remain quiet entire submissiveness not…exercise authority subject themselves

Where do these rules apply? 1 Timothy 3: 14 I am writing these things to you, hoping to come to you before long; 15 but in case I am delayed, I write so that you may know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth. • Context is within the Church • Parallel passage 1 Corinthians 14: 34 says: “Let the women keep silent in the churches”

What are women permitted to do according to this passage? • Teach females of any age (Titus 2: 3 -5) and teach minor males (Deut. 4: 10; Prov. 6: 20, 31: 1, 26) • Take appropriate authority over minor males and females (Ephesians 6: 1) • Singing (Compare Ex 15: 20 -21 & Ps 68: 2426 with 1 Cor 14: 34), praying & prophesying (1 Cor 11: 5) during a Christian meeting • Teaching or taking authority over adult males outside the Church (e. g. in school or company).

Good book on the topic: Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood. John Piper and Wayne Grudem, editors. Crossway Books.

Commonly heard but invalid objections Claim: “It was cultural, for that time and place. ” 1 Timothy 2: 13 For it was Adam who was first created, and then Eve. 14 And it was not Adam who was deceived, but the woman being quite deceived, fell into transgression. • The Holy Spirit inspired Paul to specifically say the rule was due to the order of Creation (see also 1 Cor 11: 7 -12). • Paul also seems to indicate that the rule was given because women by nature are more easily deceived than men.

• Absolutely nothing in 1 Timothy 2 or 1 Corinthians 14 (or anywhere else in the Bible) makes any mention of “cultural” reasons for not letting women teach adult males. We may not add to Scripture so that we can subtract from it’s commands! • This kind of baseless argumentation can be used to remove any command in Scripture (such as forbidding homosexuality).

• Places in the Bible telling us to respect cultural customs to avoid creating unnecessary barriers to people accepting the gospel or to avoid stumbling other Christians are always explicitly indicated to be concessions to cultural or religious sensitivities (e. g. Acts 15: 19 -21; 1 Cor 8; 1 Cor 9: 20 -21). In contrast, 1 Tim 2: 11 -14 and it’s surrounding context has no such indication.

Claim: “It was limited to some specific, untrained and/or aggressive and impolite women in Corinth, Ephesus, and/or Philippi. ” • The words used indicate the class of all women, not a subset • Paul told Timothy he was writing “so that you may know how one ought to conduct himself in…the church of the living God, ” and told the Corinthians the rule applied “in the churches” • Nothing in the passages indicates it was a directive limited to specific people; we may not add to Scripture

Conclusion 1 Timothy 2: 11 Let a woman quietly receive instruction with entire submissiveness. 12 But I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man, but to remain quiet. Matthew 5: 19 "Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and so teaches others, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. Galatians 6: 7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.