Does Gender Matter in Ministry? Part One
(1 Timothy 2:9-15)
Note: For more on this issue, I've written a paper on gender and church leadership. In the years since I gave this message in 1999, I've found that my position has shifted on this issue.
- there is a book out with the wonderful title: Trembling at the Threshold of a Biblical Text
- and that’s how I feel tonight
- I approach this text with a great deal of respect and a little bit of fear for two reasons:
- first, the text we have before us is a difficult one to understand
- anyone who approaches this text thinking that it is simple and straightforward simply doesn’t understand the issues involved
- there are complex questions to be answered
- and to top it off, one of the key words in this passage occurs only once in the entire New Testament
- we need a great deal of divine wisdom as we approach this text
- the second reason I tremble at the threshold of this biblical text is that the stakes are so high
- this is probably the key text in the New Testament on the role of women
- it is the clearest in its apparent prohibition, and in my opinion the most difficult to explain away
- it is also the one most frequently used to prohibit women from teaching, leading, or even voting within the body of Christ
- because of the difficulty of this text, and the fact that the stakes are so high, I want to do three things
- tonight I’m going to lead you through this text and teach it
- I’m going to arrive at some preliminary conclusions tonight
- but two weeks from now, I want to come back and draw some applications for the church on the role of gender in ministry
- this is an issue that we must face and address, and it won’t help anybody to ignore the issue of gender in ministry
- then, finally, we will have some questions and answers
- but before I begin to look at this text, let me quote from a description of the book I mentioned, Trembling at the Threshold of a Biblical Text
- "Interpreting the Bible, whether you are a scholar, pastor, or layperson, is a serious responsibility. Is the Bible really saying what you think it's saying?"
- and I would add another two questions:
- are you reading your ideas into the text?
- are you coming to the Bible with your mind already made up?
- tonight we need to approach this text with humility and wisdom
- before we do so, let’s pray
- Father, thank you for the privilege of studying your Word
- we approach a passage tonight which will require the best of our human understanding
- and it also calls for the help of your Holy Spirit
- so be with us
- prevent us from error
- and glorify your Son’s name, Amen.
- let’s begin to read 1 Timothy 2:9-10
- (1 Timothy 2:9) I also want women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes,
- (1 Timothy 2:10) but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God.
- Paul is addressing the subject of public worship – specifically praying – within the church
- in verse 8, he turned his attention to men and wrote:
- (1 Timothy 2:8) I want men everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer, without anger or disputing.
- it appears that this was the type of instruction that the men needed
- in verse 9, Paul continues by literally saying, "In the same way…"
- it is apparent that Paul is not addressing the dress of women in general, but the clothing of women as they came to church
- he prescribes that women should dress modestly – or in a well-ordered way – using two words:
- with decency – literally, with feminine reserve in the matters of sexuality
- in other words, dress in such a way that you shrink from overpassing the limits of reserve
- it’s not, as the King James translates it, shamefacedness
- rather, it carries with it the idea of shunning that which is repugnant in the area of dress
- the second word is propriety – a word that means self-mastery in the physical appetites
- it is good self-government, and reign over one’s passions and desires
- applied to women and their dress, it had a sexual nuance
- that’s how women are to dress
- not, as Paul says, "with braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes"
- Paul is describing the dress of well-off women in that society
- his point is not that women should lack adornment in the church, or that women today should not have braids in their hair or wear pearls
- Paul’s concern is that women do not flaunt their wealth in extravagant displays of luxury
- it appears that some were flaunting their dress, jewelry, and lifestyle in a way that hurt the poor and disturbed the church
- Paul says that what really counts is "good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God."
- but here we come to what at first glance appears to be a clear and timeless prohibition against women holding positions of teaching or leadership within the church:
- (1 Timothy 2:11) A woman should learn in quietness and full submission.
- silence was required of women within Jewish synagogues
- within the church, however, there was a sort of emancipation of women
- women were experiencing their newfound freedom and liberty in Christ
- even here, Paul says something revolutionary for that day
- he said a woman should learn – something that was not encouraged in most of the world at that time
- and how are women to learn?
- in quietness – not absolute silence, as some people interpret it, but rather as opposed to teaching
- and in full submission – at least to their husbands, put possibly to the male leaders of the Ephesian church
- and then we come to the key prohibition:
- (1 Timothy 2:12) I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent.
- Paul here appears to link two actions together: teaching and having authority
- in some way, it would appear, the act of teaching is tantamount to having authority
- the word authority is not the usual word that Paul uses
- although some have developed fairly elaborate theories about the meaning of the word, it appears to mean "to dominate, to misappropriate authority"
- it would appear to refer to the exercise of the office of elder or pastor
- put it all together and you have a clear attempt to restore peace to the worship service by placing certain limits on the role of women – at least in that church at that time
- now, let’s ask some questions
- WHY DID PAUL PLACE THESE LIMITS ON WOMEN?
- it’s pretty clear that some restrictions were placed on women at least at that time and in that church
- the question is, why?
- let me give you a few options
- option one: Paul is prohibiting women from teaching in that congregation only because some of the women were teaching false doctrines
- in other words, the problem is not women teachers in general
- the problem is that the women teachers in Ephesus at that time were untrained and were teaching false doctrines
- since 1 Timothy is concerned with the spread of false teaching within the Ephesian church, Paul is silencing those in the congregation who were teaching the false doctrine, specifically women
- in this case, the prohibition would not be a permanent one
- it was a temporary restraining order to curb the activities of certain women in that congregation at that time
- option two: Paul is prohibiting women in general – not just then and there but everywhere and at every time – from the office of elder
- in other words, it is a permanent prohibition against women pastors, or women who teach and have authority
- which view is right?
- well, to find out, we have to look at the next two verses
- (1 Timothy 2:13) For Adam was formed first, then Eve.
- (1 Timothy 2:14) And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner.
- the two reasons for the prohibition are the creation order and the order in which Adam and Eve were deceived
- in other words, Paul is basing the prohibition on Genesis 2 and 3
- it’s possible that here Paul is correcting the false teaching present in Ephesus
- in other words, he’s saying, "Your false teachers are saying that Eve was created first. Let me tell you something. Genesis 2 and 3 are clear on this. Adam was formed first; then Eve"
- it’s possible also that Paul was teaching a timeless principle that applies to all ages
- in this case, the order in which man and woman were created says something about their relationship
- there is a difference not in dominance, but in role
- the distinction between the sexes, in this case, existed before the fall
- God’s plan for a woman is rooted, therefore, not in time or culture, but in creation itself
- further, the Eve serves as a prototype or representative of all women
- it’s not as if Adam wasn’t guilty; Paul made that clear in other passages
- but Eve was a model to describe the dangers posed by false teaching
- since the woman was deceived, as Paul said, women are not to be entrusted with the teaching function of an elder or pastor at the worship services of a church
- which view is right?
- is Paul correcting an error of the Ephesian church, or is there something implied in the creation order about the function of men and women?
- the answer, I believe is found in other Scriptures
- the birthright, you know throughout Scripture, belongs to the eldest
- the birthright belongs to the oldest son, and carries with it the idea of leadership
- the fact that God created Adam first implies, according to other Scriptures and this one, that there is an abiding distinction in the roles that God has given men and women
- in fact, Paul uses the same argument in other passages such as 1 Corinthians 11:7-9
- verse 15 concludes with a puzzling statement:
- (1 Timothy 2:15) But women will be saved through childbearing--if they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety.
- this is perhaps one of the most troublesome verses in the New Testament
- there are a number of different interpretations
- but let me give you what I believe to be the compelling, majority view
- the false teachers of that day had a very disparaging view of sex
- Genesis 3:16, however, predicted that motherhood would be a woman’s appointed role
- what Paul is saying is that the domestic role of the mother is the normative, acceptable role that women are to pursue
- not all women are going to be married and have children, but a woman who accepts God’s role for her – whether married or not – will honor God, if she continues in faith, love, and holiness with propriety
- you might be lost in what has been a more technical discussion than usual, or you may be not too convinced
- but let me draw some conclusions before we return in two weeks to draw some applications for the church today
- my first conclusion is that this passage is a difficult one
- it is not as straightforward as some people might have led you to believe
- there are alternate translations
- I have led you tonight to what I believe is the correct interpretation, but let’s be humble enough to realize that this isn’t the last word
- entire books have been written on this passage
- my second conclusion is that we must take our cues from Scripture rather than our own minds or culture
- it seems deeply offensive at first to think that women might be prohibited in any way
- but we must choose to submit to God if that is what he is saying, as offensive as it might be to some of us
- within my heart, I would tend to be a complete egalitarian
- why? because I’m a product of my culture, and because I have a deep and abiding respect for women
- I wish I could teach the egalitarian view of this passage, but I believe the evidence points elsewhere, and I must fall in line with Scripture
- my third conclusion is that there is a permanent and abiding distinction in the roles of men and women
- there is not a difference in terms of equality or value, but there appears to be, from this passage, a distinction in the roles, specifically within the church
- my fourth conclusion is that this passage, in my view, does not prohibit women from everything people say it does
- and with this I’ll close
- I can’t escape the conclusion that, based on this passage, the creation order, and other passages, there is a distinction in the role of men and women
- but it doesn’t go as far as some people would argue
- this passage, in my opinion, is a timeless prohibition against women serving as elders or pastors of a church
- but it isn’t a prohibition, in my opinion, of women voting within the church, or of carrying on vital ministries, or even (I think) of teaching under the authority of a male senior pastor
- it’s a prohibition that applies within the context of the church
- there is a role for women to be on the platform; for women to use the spiritual gifts that God has given them
- and it certainly isn’t an excuse to view women as second-class citizens
- we’ll talk more in two weeks about some applications on this topic, but I invite you to do something
- in two weeks, when we meet, I will give you some of my thoughts on how this applies to Richview
- but I also want to give you an opportunity to ask questions
- if you would write them out and submit them to my office within the next week, that would give me time to respond to them
- if we get enough, we might take a whole night to do so
- but let’s close tonight by praying that we as men and women may be everything God has designed us to be
Note: For more on this issue, I've written a paper on gender and church leadership. In the years since I gave this message in 1999, I've found that my position has shifted on this issue.