1 TIMOTHY 2:8-152007 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: 1 Timothy 2:8-15

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2007. This morning I want to start off by just saying a couple things. First of all,

The Bible is not an encyclopedia. You know, if you want to find out something in an encyclopedia, all you do is you, well, you turn to the topic and, you know, the corresponding volume that you want to look up. And there, as you look up the topic, you will find everything that that encyclopedia has to offer regarding that particular topic.

The Bible is not that way. And so this morning, you need to understand as we study this portion of Scripture, it's not the all or the fullness of what the Bible has to say about the roles of men and women in the church. But what Paul is dealing with here is specific situations and specific areas that

That needed to be dealt with there in Ephesus, where Timothy was and the issues that needed to be addressed there, as well as since we are here this morning. This is what God wants to speak to our hearts. It's not necessarily the fullness of what God has to say regarding these roles.

But they are important nonetheless and exactly what we need to hear this morning. Paul did not write these things, you know, from within a bubble. Just, you know, having no idea what's going on and no context of the situation and the things. He didn't sit down and think, okay, I want to write Timothy a letter. What kind of things should I talk about?

man, I really want to talk about the women, so let me write some things about the women. And you'll notice the majority of the verses are dealing with the women within the body. Now, it's not because, again, Paul was just decided, you know, he drew straws and women got the short straws, so, hey, I'm going to write about them and beat on them a little bit today. But there was issues that were going on and situations that needed to be addressed and

Paul is writing to a specific person, a specific situation, and by the Holy Spirit, he is addressing the things they needed to hear. But also, since God has us in this passage this morning, it's things that we need to hear right now as well.

Remember, Paul is giving Timothy specific instruction on how the church is to function, the way that things are to take place within the body of Christ. He'll state that specifically in 1 Timothy 3, verse 15.

He says, I'm writing these things to you so that you know that if I'm delayed, you know how to conduct yourself in the house of God. That you know how things are to function and how things are to take place. And so Paul deals here with the roles of men and women within the body of Christ. That we might know the roles that we're to have and the way that God wants to use us within the body of Christ. So we start in verse 8.

Paul says, I desire, therefore, that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands without wrath and doubting. We begin looking at a very simple, a simple, that's a good word, a simple principle. Trying to combine those words is difficult. Simple principle. And that is men pray everywhere. That's what Paul says to the guys. Men pray everywhere. Everywhere.

Now he says, I desire therefore, and as I always share, when you see the therefore, you need to find out what it's there for. Looking at the context of where did Paul come from? He's just been writing about, well, it's what we concluded with last week. There is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself a ransom for all to be testified in due time.

Paul is saying this, since God wants everyone to be saved and there's one mediator, Jesus Christ, men pray everywhere. God wants everyone to be saved, so men pray everywhere. God wants to reach the whole world, so men, wherever you are in the world, lift up holy hands in prayer without wrath or doubting.

Paul here is encouraging the guys to pray, but not just pray. We looked at the importance of prayer and all types of prayer last week. But here Paul is emphasizing to the guys, guys, here's what you need to do. You need to pray, but not just pray when you're at church or pray in these specific situations, but pray everywhere.

We noticed last week the repeated word all throughout the first seven verses. And in the Greek, literally, that's what the word that is used again. It's not everywhere. It's in all places is how it's literally translated. Again, it's the all. It's to be all inclusive. Your whole life is to be affected by this. Men, wherever you are, wherever you live your life, wherever you happen to be, pray.

Lift up holy hands in prayer without wrath and doubting. You know, there's a book...

It's kind of a humorous title, and I think it's a humorous book as well. But it's entitled, Men Are Like Waffles, Women Are Like Spaghetti. Have you heard about that book? Basically, the idea is this. Men, they tend to compartmentalize everything, right? I mean, you have this section of your life, you have this section of your life. They're completely separate. They have nothing to do with each other. And that's just kind of...

typically how us guys think. Women, however, they're not the same way. Guys, if you don't know this, you need to know this, okay? The women are like spaghetti is what the book says. Now, that's that, you know, everything affects everything else. And every, you know, one thread touches everything else and affects every other part of life. And that's how women see life and relate to things. And men are just a little bit different. We typically compartmentalize. And I think that's something maybe Paul had in mind whenever he's talking about this.

Hey, life's a bunch of different compartment for you guys. But what you need to know is you need to pray everywhere, not just in the spiritual context of the church setting or not just in the home, but in the workplace or wherever you might happen to be. You know, if you're keeping with the waffle illustration, if you're like me.

I have to make sure that I get a little bit of butter in every square of the waffle. I don't like just the waffle and syrup taste. I have to have a little bit of butter. And so I take the time to meticulously put a little bit of butter in each compartment. And that's what Paul is saying here. Hey, if God's butter, put him in every compartment, man. Make sure that everywhere you go in every part of your life,

You lift up holy hands in prayer that you're not just a Christian here at church. You're not just a Christian and you have these different divisions of your life, but that you're a Christian and a godly person and in communication with God throughout your life. Paul says, put God in every compartment, pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands in

The word holy here is not the usual word for holy that we find in the Bible, which talks about being set apart. But this word for holy, when he says holy hands is a word that means undefiled or pure holy.

And so we understand, men, that as God has called us to pray, well, we need to have undefiled hands. We need to be able to lift up pure hands to the Lord, which means we can't live multiple lives in duplicity and be involved in sin in this area or be involved in sin in this situation. And we can do that.

We can have our fleshly work experiences, but then come to church and be spiritual because it's completely separate and distinct and we don't connect them, we don't put them together. But God says, look, you can't be involved in sin and lift up your hands in prayer. You need to lift up hands in prayer wherever you are, but it needs to be in holiness. Guys, you need to live undefiled lives, untouched by the world. You need Jesus to wash your feet clean.

As we saw in John chapter 13. We need to have that communion and relationship with God. The confession of sin and the walk in holiness are being undefiled by this world. He says to lift holy hands without wrath. That word wrath, it's not just anger, but it's anger that's coupled with punishment. It's defined as a desire to punish one who seems to have hurt them.

Guys, there's no place. As you lift up holy hands in prayer wherever you are, there's no place to be angry or bitter or desiring to inflict punishment upon those around you, to lash out and pay back for what people have done to you. You need to lift holy hands, undefiled and pure, but it also needs to be without wrath.

Without the desire to pay back, just like Jesus did as he was being crucified. And he said, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. And he says, without doubting, without doubting. Now, this is something that maybe you can relate to as well. This word doubting, it's based on the word that we get the word logic from. It's a rationalization or a doubtful reasoning.

And we can do that so many times. We can have the reasonings and the rationalization of things in our minds and trying to figure things out and begin to doubt the work of God. And how does this really help? And why does prayer mean anything? And what is this going to actually accomplish? And all the things that we can think about in our rationalization, in our doubting, in our thinking.

And Paul says, look, okay, guys, here's three things. I'll keep it simple for you because you can't keep more than that in your head at one time. Lift up holy hands, don't have wrath, and don't doubt. Wherever you go, wherever you are, pray everywhere. Now, men, I have a special favor and task for you now.

Pray for me now, right now, right here where you are, because now I got to talk to the women. Verse nine and 10. He says, in like manner also that the women adorn themselves in modest apparel with propriety and moderation, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly clothing, but which is proper for women professing godliness with good works. So Paul says to the men, here's your role, guys.

Okay, sorry. Richard's in the back going like, yeah, go for it. Okay, here's your role, guys. Men, pray everywhere. Women, here's what you're to do. Dress to profess godliness. Dress to profess godliness. That's what Paul says here in verses 9 and 10. He says, guys, I want you to pray everywhere, but in the same way, girls, here's what I want you to do. Adorn yourself in modest apparel with propriety and moderation.

He says in verse 10, that which is proper for women professing godliness with good works. Women dress to profess godliness, dress to represent God, dress to, well, dress appropriately to

For a person who represents God and worships God. The whole point here is not that women cannot wear jewelry or makeup or anything like that. Paul's not going there. And some people will take this and begin to twist it and turn it to mean things that Paul is really not trying to say. Peter put it this way. 1 Peter 3 says,

Verses three and four, Peter says, do not let your adornment merely be outward, arranging the hair, wearing gold or putting on fine apparel. Rather, let it be the hidden person of the heart with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God.

Peter says, hey, beauty on the outside, it's just skin deep, but don't focus on those things. Don't don't be caught up in those things. Let your beauty come from the hidden person of the heart. Let it come from within the quiet and gentle spirit, which is precious in the sight of God.

And that's what Paul is dealing with here. He's saying, look, you're not to be caught up in these things. You're not to be caught up in this situation in the Greek culture, especially there in Ephesus where Timothy was ministering. That was one of the things that the culture was dealing with. The women would array themselves in these huge displays of.

To capture the attention of those around them as they went through the town or the marketplaces. It was somewhat like a fashion show. And we could relate today for sure. There was that tendency to call all this attention to yourself. And so Paul says, that's not what you're to be caught up in. That's not what defines you. No, instead, dress to profess godliness.

The word modest that he used when he says, let the women adorn themselves in modest apparel. The word modest literally means to be well arranged, orderly or decent. So, ladies, make sure you

That what you wear is well arranged. Now, this is the biblical basis for making sure that the colors match. You know, all your leathers got to match your shoes and belts and purses. Okay, never mind. This is, well, it needs to be orderly and well arranged. It needs to be decent. It needs to cover everything that needs to be covered. It needs to be nice and tasteful. It needs to be well arranged and put in order. The word propriety that he uses there is,

In verse 9, it means honor. Again, it means modesty. It also has a regard for others or it means to have a sense of shame. And that just means to know when you should be ashamed if you're not dressing appropriately properly.

To have a sense of shame whenever you are dressed, whenever you are preparing to walk out the door. And then in moderation, he ends there also in verse 9, just means self-control or soberness or sobriety. The idea here, Paul is saying, look, have a clear head when you put on what you put on. Put it on well. Make sure it's well arranged. Don't be...

Revealing in a seductive sense, but also don't be calling attention to yourself and all caught up in the fashion and in that sense as well. He says not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly clothing. You should dress in such a way that you do not show off yourself or that you do not show off what you are wearing.

Now, Paul is not trying to establish a dress code, nor is he saying that the church should impose a dress code. Could you imagine the horror and the nightmare of that? And I remember talking to my boss back when I worked at Paycheck's.

And it was just funny. It's just funny. Offices, they just always have a difficult time with the whole issue of dress code and which shoes are appropriate for the ladies. Oh, my goodness. There's all this. I can't even get into it because it's too technical. But could you imagine, okay, the ushers at the door. Yeah, that's...

pumps or high heels or Mary James or whatever they're called, right? Well, those are good. Hey, that's open-toed and it doesn't have a heel. You can't wear those. You can only wear open-toed when it has a heel or it has to have a strap or, you know, get in all the technicalities. That's not what Paul's trying to do. He's not trying to say, okay, you have to meet this certain criteria in order to come to church or anything like that. He's saying, look, use your heads. Be modest. Be well-arranged. Dress to profess godliness.

Dress in a way that is proper for women who profess godliness. Dress in such a way that people will not be surprised when they find out that you're a Christian. You know, if they find out you're a Christian, they kind of give you a once over, you know, then you should be worried like, hey, why are they dressed like that when they say that they're a Christian? Paul says, no, you need to dress in a way that's in according with godliness.

In a way that people would recognize, yeah, I can see that. There's godliness in this person because they're respectful and modest and appropriate in what they wear. You know, at Disneyland, they have different employee entrances throughout the park.

And so the employees, when they're working, you know, they can come in and get out as they need to. But at the right at the end of of the entrances, right before the employee exits into the park, they have a big mirror at all those entrances into the park. So that the idea is how many follow. I don't know. But the idea is so that you can get one last look at yourself. Am I presentable here?

I'm there and I'm part of the show, part of the whole scenario or the whole scene there at Disneyland. Do I fit the part? Do I play the role? And so, ladies, I would encourage you to do the same. Have the mirror and check. Hey, do I profess godliness? As you begin to walk out the door, as you begin to leave, ask yourself and question, do I profess godliness in the way that I dress?

As we continue, once again, guys, I would encourage you to be praying everywhere at all times as we get in more troublesome waters. Verses 11 and 12. Let a woman learn in silence with all submission. And I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence. See, this is why I want you guys to be praying. The two S words, silence and submission. It just doesn't sit well with most ladies.

Paul now begins more specifically, what role are women to have within the church? What is the role of women within the church? Now, this is an important question. And I was listening to Brian Brodison share on this as well. And he shares, if you listen to pastor's perspective, you can bear witness at least every other day.

This question is asked, if not every day, many times. This question is a big question and it comes up a lot in our culture. There's a lot of different churches and a lot of different teachings that say all kinds of different things and have all kinds of different views. The one end of the spectrum is women are to be silenced, never to be heard. They're not to share. They're not to encourage. They're just supposed to be women and wives at home. And that's it. Now, the other end of the spectrum is, well,

Galatians 3.28. Women are no different than men. They can be pastors and teachers. They can do anything they want in the ministry. They can go anywhere. There's no distinction between male and female, Paul says in Galatians 3.28. And so you have these two ends of the spectrum. Now, what is the truth? Where is the balance? And that's what we need to find here as we look at this portion of Scripture in verses 11 and 12.

Paul says, let a woman learn in silence with all submission. Silence. He uses that word twice. Once in verse 11, once in verse 12. It's a word that's also translated quietness in other portions. It's very closely related to the word that's translated peaceable in verse 2 of 1 Timothy chapter 2.

Where Paul says that we would have peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. And so, Paul is not saying that women are to be silent. Pastor Sisko was joking. He says, this is what you're doing. This is what I want you to do. No, that's not what Paul is saying. That women are to be silent. That you're not supposed to ever say anything. And that your voice in the church is not to be heard. That's not what Paul is saying.

The issue that Paul is addressing seems to be, well, it's something that's disruptive. Again, Paul is writing to Timothy specifically for what is happening in Ephesus, giving him the truths and principles that he needs, but targeting this prophecy.

specific place and situation. And so some have suggested that the women were causing distractions and problems during the church services, which is entirely possible. Paul will continue on later on in this book, as well as Second Timothy, to talk about some of the disruptions and things that were taking place with some of the women in the fellowship. Others suggest that the church may have been set up like the Jewish synagogues.

And that's possible as well, that the women would be on one side and the men would be on the other side. And so if the women wanted to talk with their husbands or ask questions or ask, what did he say or what did he mean? Well, it's not just like, you know, you guys whisper to each other during the whole time that I'm teaching. It's it would be shouting back and forth, you know, like, hey, what happened or what do you say? Or I didn't get that. Or can you explain that to me? And so Paul's saying that.

It would be disruptive in that sense. And that's what is believed to be in view as Paul is dealing with this similar issue in 1 Corinthians chapter 14. That there was this situation in this context and it was disruptive and distracting during the service. And so the point here is not silence in the sense of never to speak, but do not speak disruptively.

We know that women are encouraged to speak in the church in the right context. Paul in 1 Corinthians chapter 11, another portion I would encourage you to spend some time in if you want to dig into this a little bit deeper. 1 Corinthians chapter 11, but in verse 5, he says, Every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head, for that is one and the same as if her head were shaved.

Now, there in 1 Corinthians chapter 11, Paul is dealing with a cultural issue of whether or not they should wear head coverings in prayer. And the men, he dealt with them, and the women, he dealt with them with this whole issue of head coverings. That's not the point I want to get into. But he says, every woman who prays or prophesies,

Paul acknowledges there is a specific role or there's the possibility or encouragement for women to pray and prophesy within a fellowship. Again, it's not that silence, you know, is meant never to be speaking, but in its proper place and when it's appropriate and not disruptively.

And so that's what Paul is saying here when he says to learn in silence with all submission, that it's to receive and be submitted so that it's not distracting and not disruptive to the service. That word submission, of course, is a difficult word not to understand, but just to swallow. It's a difficult word to put into practice. Paul's saying women are to be submitted to the authority by not disrupting the service.

It doesn't mean that men are not to be submitted and that men can disrupt the service. Again, Paul is just addressing that situation. He's not trying to teach everything there is to say upon the subject. There is to be decency and order within the body, within the fellowship. And so Paul says the women are to learn in silence with all submission. In verse 11, he goes on to say this.

But he does not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence, to teach or have authority. Paul connects these two things together, to teach and to have authority. Now, I would ask you to think, as we consider what Paul is saying here, where are these two things connected? The teaching and the having of authority. Where are these two things connected? Well, they're connected here.

In the role in the office of the pastor or the overseer, the teaching and the having authority. They were, Paul tells Timothy and Titus, to appoint elders, to appoint overseers, to appoint pastors who could lead and were able to teach.

And so these two things are connected by the Apostle Paul here in verse 11. They're connected by what he gives to Timothy and Titus in the role of the overseer. And we can recognize then that what Paul is talking about here is specifically the role or the office of a pastor or an overseer. And so he's saying, I do not permit a woman to have that role, to have that office.

Now, another thing that makes this clear is what Paul goes into in chapter three. Remember that there was not chapter divisions as Paul is writing to Timothy. He didn't write a big three on the left hand side of the page. And so, OK, I'm starting a new subject now. Put all that stuff out of your mind. Start fresh with this one. No, it was the continuation.

And so the end of Titus chapter two, what we're studying today as he's talking about the role of women within the church feeds right into, he says, hey, this is a faithful saying. If a man desires a position of a bishop or overseer, he desires a good work. And then in verse two, a bishop then must be blameless. The husband of one wife.

See, Paul is making it very clear, the contrast. Women are not to have this role, but whoever desires this role, it's a good thing. There's some qualifications, and one of the first is he must be the husband of one wife. Paul is not dealing with all things universally, but he's dealing with a specific office and function within the church, the role of a bishop or overseer or pastor. Those words are synonymous throughout the New Testament.

He's talking about this role specifically, and he says, I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence. To teach, in the Greek, it's the word didasko, which always means throughout its use in the New Testament, the teaching of doctrine. Paul's saying, look, God will raise up and appoint a man to lead the church and to teach doctrine to the body. The woman is not to have that role.

To teach or to have authority. That word have authority means to govern or to exercise dominion over. Again, Paul says this is not the role that God has given to women within the church. Now, please understand, Paul's not down on women. He's not against women. The Bible isn't either. The Bible simply promotes the order that God has given. This is the order that God has given. It's not a statement of value, ability or worth.

It's simply the way that God has ordered things. I often relate it to this. If I were to have you stand up and line up tallest to shortest, would that then be a lineup of least valuable to most valuable or least important to most important? No. The lineup, tallest to shortest, has nothing to do with a person's ability or worth or value. It's just the order that is created. And in the order that God has created...

It has nothing to do with value or worth or ability. It just has everything to do with God has set this order and he wants things done according to the way that he has laid it out in decency and in order. Within the home, he has set the order of the husband being the head of the wife. Ephesians 5.23 says...

Just as Christ is the head of the church, he sets that order within the home. Again, not a statement of value or worth or ability, but there needs to be order. And so God supplies us the recipe for that order, the way it is to be carried out, the way it is to be fulfilled within the home. And then as we're looking at First Timothy, chapter two, within the church, understand that if Jesus wanted to set a different order, he could have appointed six people.

Men apostles and six women apostles to set the tone and let us know, hey, I'm going to use them the same way in ministry. They're going to be used equally. And anybody can have this role or this position of authority within the church. But Jesus didn't do that. Why? Well, because...

He was following the order that God has established. Now, some will say this is so archaic. This is 2007. I can't believe we're having this discussion. You know, this was just a cultural thing. It was just the way their culture was, has nothing to do with today or now. You know, that's just way long time ago and doesn't apply today. But I disagree. Again, in 1 Corinthians chapter 11 says,

As Paul is dealing there with the subject of head coverings and whether or not men and women should have their head covered when they pray, he ends the discussion making it very clear that this is a cultural thing. In verse 16 of 1 Corinthians chapter 11, he says, if anyone seems to be contentious, that is contentious about all the things he's just been discussing, he says, we have no such custom, nor do the churches of God. This is not a big deal, Paul is saying, regarding the head coverings.

Which you'll notice, I don't think any of us have head coverings today. So, you know, we understand that. We're not taking those things of chapter 11 to apply to us today. Because there was that specific culture and issue that Paul was dealing with there. And he states it clearly. This is something that is cultural. It's a custom. We don't have this custom, nor do the churches of God in general. It's just Corinthians and your situation. This is the way that you need to...

to, you know, to proceed or go forward. This is the way that things need to take place within the church because of the immediate context of where they were. But Paul doesn't do that here in 1 Timothy chapter 2. Instead, he kind of does the opposite. Instead of saying, hey, this is cultural, this is temporal, this is because you're in Ephesus. If you're somewhere else, then it would be different. No, instead of saying anything like that, he goes back to the beginning of

Which strikes out the whole idea of culture. And he looks at the way that God established it in the beginning to support what he is teaching. It's much like Jesus did when the Pharisees wanted to test him and trap him in his view of marriage and divorce. And Jesus, to remove any question of culture or practice...

He goes back to the beginning. He says it was not so in the beginning. And he looks at that, what God did in creation as the model for the way that God continues to work. And so Paul does the same thing. We see that in verses 13 and 14. He says, Guys, are you still praying for me? Okay.

Paul bases this order upon the order of God's creation. This is the order that God established. Now, I know the world disagrees, but we should expect the world to disagree because the world is opposed to God's order. In the church, we should respect and honor the order that God has given.

In Genesis chapter 2, verse 18, it says, The Lord God said, It is not good that man should be alone. I will make him a helper comparable to him. Man was created. Woman was created after man to be a helper comparable to him. Woman was created for the man. God created woman and brought her to the man.

That is the role and the place that God has given her. Again, not an issue of value or worth or ability, but simply the order and the roles that God has given. Adam was formed first and then Eve. So Paul says this is the way that God has ordered it and this is the way that it should be within the church. He goes on in verse 14 to say something that's very alarming to some.

Difficult to understand. For Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived fell into transgression. So what is he saying? He's pointing the finger at woman and saying, it's all her fault. No, that's not what he's doing. The Bible's clear. Adam bears the full brunt of sin. We find that in the book of Romans, where Paul makes it very clear. It's because of Adam's sin. It wasn't because of what Eve did. It was because of Adam's sin that sin entered into the world.

But what Paul is saying here is Adam was not deceived. The whole issue with Adam was that he wasn't fooled. He knew what he was doing. He made a deliberate choice to disobey the will of God and eat the forbidden fruit with full knowledge, knowing well what he was doing. The woman, however, the woman was deceived by the serpent. And so she fell into transgression.

Now, there's lots of speculation about what Paul is trying to point out with this verse. Some say that Paul could be saying that it's easier for women to be deceived. I don't know if I necessarily agree with that, but they point out that, well, you know, women are more spiritual by nature than men are. And that is true. Women are quicker to come to the Lord, to walk with God, to have relationship with God, to seek out the Lord than men are. And so there's some truth to that.

But I don't think that necessarily that's what Paul's trying to say. Here's really what I see from this. Again, Paul is dealing with the roles of leadership within the body of Christ. How things are to take place within the church. He's going to go on and give the qualifications for those who desire to be a part of that leadership, a desire to be in the office of an overseer or a pastor. And so the point I think Paul is making is,

is Adam was not deceived. The woman was deceived. She fell into transgression. And Adam, knowing what he was doing, followed. And the point I think Paul is trying to make is that men will gladly follow women, even when they know it's wrong, just so that they don't have to lead. God has given men the role of leadership within the home, within the church. But even though God has given this role to men,

Most of the time, much of the time, men would rather sit back and let women lead and do the work and make the decisions. And like Adam, even if it's a wrong thing that we know full well, but rather than cause the trouble, have the fight, rather than make the waves, well, I'll just follow. And we quickly and easily surrender to that. Paul says, look, guys,

you're called to lead. Women are not called to that role. We have the model of creation first. We have what took place afterwards. And so guys, you need to step up and lead. Fulfill the role that God has given to you. But ladies, God has not given you that role of overseer or pastor within the church.

Verse 15 gets even more difficult. Nevertheless, she will be saved in childbearing if they continue in faith, love and holiness with self-control. So here Paul says, OK, you'll be saved as long as you bear children. You'll be all right. No, that's not what he's saying. Is it what he's saying? Well, there's all kinds of discussion. And this is an incredibly difficult verse to interpret and understand. So I'm not going to pretend like I know all the answers.

Let me give you three basic views that most scholars hold to, and you can take your pick, and I'll share with you what I believe. The first view is that it refers to women being saved spiritually first.

through the most significant birth of all. That is the birth of Jesus Christ. Instead of saying she'll be saved in childbearing, it's saying she'll be saved by the birth of a child. In other words, connecting it with verse 14, the woman was deceived, she fell into transgression, but she will be saved because from her, through her, the Savior Jesus Christ will come and thereby salvation will come through the woman even as...

The woman fell into transgression because she was deceived. And that's possible. It might be definitely what Paul is saying. Another view says that it refers to a woman being kept physically safe in childbirth.

Now, that's debatable, and there's a good discussion that we could have because not all women are kept safe in childbirth, whether they're Christians or not. And so what then is Paul saying, and what does that exactly mean? The final view, and there's actually many more, but I just summarize with these three, is that it speaks of the godly woman finding fulfillment in her role as wife and mother in the home.

And this one is where I take my stand and where I say this is what I believe Paul is saying. The word saved that he used here, it's used throughout the New Testament, sometimes speaking of salvation in the sense of eternal life with Jesus Christ. But many times it's also used in the sense of healing or being made whole, right?

And so it means to be saved, but it also means to be healed or to be made whole. And what Paul is saying here is, ladies, God has not given you the role of authority within the church, but he has given you this role of wife and the role of mother. And there you will be made whole as you continue in faith, love and holiness with self-control. That's where you will find fulfillment as you fulfill the role that God has given to you.

As you fulfill the pattern that God has given to us in his word, you will find the fulfillment for your life. You won't find it by chasing after the role that you're not called to fulfill or chasing after this authority or trying to. You'll find it.

And following the order of creation that God has given. He's not given you authority, the role of authority within the church. But he has given you the role of wife and mother. And that is where you will be fulfilled and satisfied. You'll be made whole as you fulfill your role. And so Paul says, men, pray everywhere. Women, dress to profess godliness and fulfill your role that God has given to you.

Now, in closing, just a couple last thoughts on the role of women within the church. So God has not given the role of overseer of pastor to women within the church. But what can women do in the church is the other part of the question. What we see in Scripture, 1 Corinthians 11, 5, specifically prayer, prophecy is made mention of. In Titus chapter 2, verse 4, Paul tells the older women to teach the younger women

To admonish them and disciple them. And so there's definitely that role within the body. We see in Acts chapter 21 verse 9. If you remember Philip the evangelist. It makes mention that he had four daughters who were prophetesses. They were prophetesses. Something like that. You know each one was a prophetess.

And so we know that there's that role and that function within the body of Christ. We also see as examples throughout the New Testament, the women who are with Jesus continually serving him, ministering alongside of him. We see the women were the most faithful ones at the cross. All the guys were gone except for John. But the women were there. They were they were faithful. They play a prominent role in the ministry of Jesus Christ.

We have the example of Priscilla in Acts chapter 18, verse 26. Priscilla and Aquila, they were a married couple.

And it says that Priscilla and Aquila, both the husband and the wife, took Apollos aside and further explained to him the gospel message or the truth of God. And so, although the role of pastor or overseer within the church was not given, there's still the role of discipling and teaching and the ability to do that alongside of the husband as Apollos was given.

admonished and encouraged by both priscilla and aquila paul makes mention of eodia and syntyche in philippians chapter 4 talking about them as laboring with him in the gospel and so we could look at many more examples but the point is there's lots of opportunities and tons of ministry to be accomplished and that god gives women the ability to do

The possibilities of what women can do for God really are endless. And so it's easier to list what women cannot do. And it's just this one thing, what Paul talks about here, only restricted from one thing within the church. And that is the role of overseer or pastor to teach or to have authority over a man. And so, ladies, God wants to use you and he has plenty of opportunities to use you.

So dress to profess godliness and fulfill the role that God has given to you and allow him to minister through you the gospel message. Men, pray everywhere. Don't live in duplicity or triplicity or how many ever lives you have. Include God with purity, without wrath, without doubting in everything you do. Be one with the Lord and walk in relationship with him. Let's pray. Heavenly Father,

Lord, as we look at and understand the roles that you've given to us within your body, Lord, I pray that all of us, men and women alike, Lord, that we would learn to fulfill the role that you've given to us, that you've called us to. God, there's much more that you call us to that's not mentioned here. And so, God, may we be faithful to search the scriptures and spend time with you. Lord, that you might teach us how you want us to walk, where you want us to go, and

the areas you want us to minister, the people you want us to reach out to. God, I pray that you would use us within this body, within the community, within our families, wherever you send us. You've called us to go and to make disciples. And so, Lord, may we be faithful to that. And may we find the full abundant life that comes with walking with you and fulfilling the role that you've called us to. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of His Word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.