How To Read The Bible: Week 2

Next Sunday we will be honoring Joe and Pam and will have lunch after service next week. We will also be taking a break from the series, as Joe will be bringing up God’s word.

Good morning. Welcome to week 2 of our series: How to read the Bible. As I mentioned last week, this is a teaching series, where we are going on a journey to the land of exegesis…but how we get there is by way of hermenutics. If you were not here last week, I would highly encourage you to watch last weeks sermon on our YouTube channel, as we spent pretty much the entire time setting up this week, along with the next 2 or 3 weeks. This morning I will do a very brief recap, then we will dive right in and start on step one of (what I call) the interpretive journey. Let’s pray

PRAY!

Before I read our text and get started, let’s quickly recap the outline of what I talked about last week.

How we view God, the gospel, and other people is determined by the way we interpret scripture.

Consistency is key to accurate biblical interpretation

Context determines meaning

Hermeneutics: The principles we use in order to perform a proper exegesis or explanation of scripture.

Interpretive Steps:

Step 1: Grasp the text in their town.

What did the text mean to the original audience?

Step 2: Measure the width of the river to cross.

What are the differences between the biblical audience and us?

Step 3: Cross the principlizing bridge.

What is the theological principle in this text?

Step 4: Consult the biblical map.

How does our theological principle fit with the rest of the Bible?

Step 5: Grasp the text in our town.

How should individual Christians today live out the theological principles?

Also, last we used Joshua 1: 1-9 as an example and did a brief application of our 5 steps. Now, let’s turn our attention to our passage and what we are looking at today.

As I mentioned earlier, step one of our process is:

Step 1: Grasp the text in their town.

What did the text mean to the original audience?

This is what we are going to be doing today with our passage. We will read it in a moment, but first I want to explain what step one kind of looks like. Typically, I’ll read our passage then go through it, hopefully explaining it and pulling out certain theological principles. Today, I will not be doing that. Step one is all about the original audience of Paul’s letter and what this text meant to them. That is why I’ve asked you to view this series as a teaching series, as we will not be doing any interpretation today or trying to apply what we’ve read. That comes later on in our interpretive journey. So, I think what we will do is read the text, then we will talk about the historical and literary context a bit (I’ll explain what that means), then we will walk through the text and pull out what it meant to the original audience. That said, don’t worry, we won’t walk away without applying some general ideas…just not what is written in our text.

1 Timothy 2:8–15

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

To be honest, it takes a lot of self-discipline to not start pulling out meaning before we discuss the general context…that is really easy to do. I do not mean to beat a dead horse here, but keep in mind, for the most part, we are simply gathering information.

Typically, when I start a sermon I will spend some time going over the context of the passages we are covering. For example, when we were looking at the life of Solomon, I spent some time discussing what it was that led Solomon to become king…think of that as step one in our journey. While that’s normally only a small portion of my sermons, today context IS the sermon or teaching.

HISTORICAL CONTEXT

The information about the period, the place, and the events that caused the author to write.

When doing step one, there are a series of questions that need to be answered before we can move forward:

Who was the author

What was his background

When did he write

What was the relationship between the author and the recipient

Who was the biblical audience

what was happening at the time (in the geographical area) when it was written

The New Testament book of 1 Timothy is part of (what is often referred to as) the Pastoral Epistles (1 & 2 Timothy; Titus); they are a series of letters written by the Apostle Paul. The Pastoral Epistles (1 & 2 Timothy; Titus) were written during the final years of Paul’s ministry, although the exact date is unknown. In this particular letter (1 Timothy), Paul was addressing a church in the town of Ephesus. The book of 1 Timothy was written to Timothy, the pastor of the church in the town of Ephesus. Ephesus was a Roman colony with a tradition of worshiping Artemis; in fact, the town was largely comprised of Hellenic polytheists (people who worshiped the Greek gods). This was very concerning to the Roman aristocrats, who were very, very fond of their power.

Now, we do not have time to read through all of 1st Timothy…but if I were at home doing this, before finding out everything I just said, I would have read through the entire letter a couple of times. Upon doing that we would discover a bit more about the general context of the letter. For example:

It is clear in 1st Timothy that there were problems going on in the church. Paul was addressing some very specific things throughout the letter. Among these issues were the proper qualifications for a pastor, heretical teaching, the overall order or disorder in their services, and advice regarding specific church members.

Now, just from that little bit of information, we answered some of the earlier questions…and for today, that will have to suffice. However, if I were reading that for the first time I would immediately begin to ask some further questions. These are the questions you ask as a part of step one…mind, we haven't even gotten to the actual letter yet…this is all background. For example:

What was Paul’s relationship with Timothy

What was Paul’s relationship to the church

Those are just a couple of examples. The information we just talked about is a good example of historical context. We could go even further and pick apart the information already presented to find out even more information. For today, before we move on to pulling out some meaning, I want to address the every unique aspect of what was happening in the town of Ephesus..namely, the widespread worship of Artemis. I chose this because it is one of the historical pieces of context that really stick out and is a unique circumstance not only in the town of Ephesus, but also in the town of Corinth. Both of these tows were known for their pagan worship, that in itself wasn’t that uncommon back then, what was unique to Ephesus and the town of Corinth was the worship of the goddess Artemis. Who was this goddess and why was this a big deal? Again, these are questions we would answer in step 1, as it relates to the historical context and background of the people.

Worship of Artemis

Artemis was a Greek goddess that was known to protect the chastity of young virgins. Her story is that she was a very strong woman that did not allow herself to be wooed or controlled by a man. She was seen as being very independent. The women of Ephesus and Corinth established a cult like religion, where they worshiped Artimeis very devoutly. In a manner of speaking, Artimeis was the symbol of women’s liberation from man.

As I mentioned earlier, this was terribly concerning to the Roman Aristocrats. For example, a guy named Plutarch (46 AD to around 110 AD) was a very well known philosopher. The Roman Aristocrats followed this guys teaching. Here is a sample of one of his writings from around the time Paul would have written his letters:

Paul, Women & Wives: Marriage and Women’s Ministry in the Letters of Paul Opposition to Foreign Cults

A wife ought not to make friends on her own, but to enjoy her husband’s friends in common with him. The gods are the first and most important friends. Wherefore it is becoming for a wife to worship and to know only the gods that her husband believes in, and to shut the front door tight upon all queer rituals and outlandish superstitions. For with no god do stealthy and secret rites performed by a woman find any favour.

So, that is just some of the information about the historical context of 1st Timothy. Next, we move on to examine the literary context of the letter.

GENRE & LITERARY CONTEXT

Genre refers to the different categories or types of literature found in the Bible.

If you didn’t know, the Bible is made up of many different types of writing styles. In the O.T. we have

Narrative; Law; Poetry; Prophecy; Wisdom

Each of these genre’s should be looked at a bit differently. For example, when Moses wrote down the account of creation for the young Israelite nation, he was writting in a narrative style. This is much different than what we see in Leviticus. Additionally, there is a big difference between the poetry of Psalms vs the book of Ezekiel. Each gener is looked at a bit differently, however, the basic steps of interpretation still apply.

The same is said for the N.T. There are a few different genres in the N.T. and each must be examined a bit differently, depending on the specific genre.

The Gospels; The Acts of the Apostles; Letters (Epistles); Apocalyptic

Again, our overall steps of interpretation are the same, but there is a difference between say Matthew recounting the earthly ministry of Jesus and Paul writing a letter to a specif church, addressing a specific set of circumstances. As I mentioned earlier, 1st Timothy is an epistle, a letter.

In general, an Epistle is a letter written to a church and is meant to be read aloud, for all to hear. So, after Paul wrote this letter, it would have been sent with a messenger, who would have read it to the congregation.

That’s a brief rundown of the genre we are looking at.

So, as a part of step one, we’ve looked at a bit of the historical context, the literary or genre context, now we must go through and kind of sum up the more immediate context of what comes directly before and after the passage we are studying. This will then give us a good starting point to start pulling out what the passages meant to the original audience. Since we are dealing with the second chapter, we must first get a feel for what Paul was saying in the 1st chapter. It is important to remember that when the letters were written, there were no chapters or verses.

While we do not have time to read all of chapter 1, I will do a very brief rundown.

In 1 Timothy ch. 1, Paul addresses a couple of different issues.

Paul opens by telling us who he is addressing: Timothy (Vs. 1-2)

1 Timothy 1:1–2

“Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus according to the commandment of God our Savior, and of Christ Jesus, who is our hope, To Timothy, my true child in the faith: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.”

However, as we already talked about, even though he only says Timothy, these letters would have been read aloud.

2. Paul addresses false teaching and immoral behavior within the church (VS. 3-11)

3. Paul is establishing his own testimony (vs. 12-17)

4. Paul addresses Timothy directly and encourages him; Paul also references 2 false teachers (vs. 18-end of chapter)

1 Timothy 1:18–20

“This command I entrust to you, Timothy, my son, in accordance with the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you fight the good fight, keeping faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and suffered shipwreck in regard to their faith. Among these are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan, so that they will be taught not to blaspheme.”

So, that is the general context of Ch. 1, now we move on to our chapter. This is where we look at the immediate context of our passages. In most of your Bibles, you might notice that 1st Tim. 2 is broken up into 2 sections. vs. 1-7, then 8-15. Let’s see what Paul is talking about in the first section, the one that leads into our passages.

1 Timothy 2:1–7

“First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony given at the proper time. For this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying) as a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.”

OK, so going off what Paul is writing, he is talking about being sure to pray for everyone, for the purposes of living a quiet life, with dignity. Paul then says that living in quiet dignity is good and acceptable to God…who desires all men to be saved. Paul then emphasizes God the father and God the importance of Christ’s sacrifice. This section then closes by Paul, once again, like he did in Ch. 1, affirming his own testimony.

Now, we finally get to the passages we are studying. We’ve done quite a bit of background at this point. Now we re-read our passages and try to determine what it meant to the original audience, keeping in mind all of our background work.

1 Timothy 2:8–15

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

So, right away, in vs. 8 we see the word therefore. I’ve talked about his before. When we see this word, it means that the writer is coming to a conclusion, in reference to a previous statement. Remember, just before this, Paul was talking about praying, leading a tranquil or quiet life before the Lord.

Therefore, or because of this, I want the men in every place to lift up holy hands without wrath or dissension. So, now, it seems as though Paul has shifted his focus to giving some specific instructions to the men. So, even before addressing women teaching, Paul first addresses the men. Then we see the word

“Likewise”: in the same manner or in the same way

So, men, be sure to worship the Lord without wrath or dissension. In the same manner…then Paul switches his attention to the ladies and starts by Paul telling the ladies to wear proper attire, to be modest in their dress and demeanor. The reason for this is because a woman, who claims to be a Christian can not be dressing like or acting like those who are not Christians. Makes sense. If you are going to claim to be a Christ follower, make sure to act like one and present yourself like one. Of course, Paul lists some specific things to avoid: braided hair, expensive jewelry and expensive clothing. I could explain the significance of those things, but that is not our purpose today..the ladies back then would have know exactly what Paul was addressing.

This is where the controversy of these passages come into play. Today, let’s keep our focus off how we feel about the text and only look at what is said, point blank. Again, our goal is to determine what this meant to the original audience. Starting in verse 11 and continuing on through verse 12, Paul tells the church that women are to learn quietly and that he (meaning Paul) does not allow a woman to teach or “exercise authority” over a man, but instead of trying to do these things, ladies are to remain quiet. Paul then finishes up by giving his reasons for the instructions. He does not permit a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man, because Eve was the one who was deceived first, before Adam. Lastly, Paul continues the same thought by telling the ladies that they will be preserved or saved through childbearing, as long as they continue living with love and self-restraint.

OK. That sums up much of step one. The historical and literary context; we carefully looked at the context of the verses surrounding our passages and we went through and examined what was being said, without any sort of interpretation of what Paul meant or what it means to us today. Regardless of how you feel about that text, if you are unable to process them w/out the emotion, whether for or against, it is impossible to get to the actual meaning behind them. 2 quick things of note before we wrap up. An additional part of step one should include (what are called) word studies. This is where we take words that are repeated many times or words or phrases that may be difficult to understand. Word studies help us understand more about the intent behind the words Paul used, as sometimes Greek words loose something when being translated to English. In the passages we are looking at there are a couple of ideas, words or phrases that stick out.

For example, when Paul says: I do not permit a woman to exercise authority. One way I determine if a word or phrase if difficult is to check different English translations. If the word or phrase is translated different in the NASB compared to the ESV, that gives me notion that the word or phrase could be debated or in question. IN our passages there is such a phrase and it is probably the most highly debated phase in the entire Bible.

The second word or phrase is one that is repeated by Paul a few times, the idea of being silent or quiet. Paul uses these words multiple times in these passages.

Again, studding a certain word or phrase is not the same as interpreting the theological or universal principle; it is merely getting a better understanding of the original verbiage that was used, which gives us a clearer idea of what it meant to the biblical audience. We are running out of time, so I will give but a brief rundown of these two words or phrases.

To have authority/To exercise authority

NASB & ESV: To exercise authority

American Standard: 12 But I permit not a woman to teach, nor to have dominion over a man, but to be in quietness.

NIV: 12 I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man; she must be quiet.

KJV: 12 But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.

Now, I’m not going to comment on those, as that would quickly turn into interpretation. Keep those different translations in mind though.

In this passage, vs. 12, the word that Paul uses here is the Greek word:

authenteo.

Paul’s use of this particular word is interesting. No where else in scripture is this word used. It is known as a

Hapax Legomenon: A word that is only used one time within a body of literature.

The word Paul uses for authority here is a Hapax Legomenon. Nowhere else in all of scripture is this term used. Other passages that talk about the idea of authority or having authority use a completely different idea. This is why the different Bibles translate it differently. Some say: To exercise authority, while some say to usurp authority. Take that for what you will. The problem with a word like this, is that we have no way to check what it could mean in other cases, used in scripture. What did Paul intend to convey here? If we turn to a Bible dictionary, it is defined a couple different ways:

Vines Dictionary: "to exercise authority on one's own account, to domineer over."

Greek English Lexicon: “to have full power over”

Because the word is so unique, we do not know, I will leave it at that, but there is a big difference between the two, which we will talk about more in some of our later steps.

Lastly for today, Paul repeats the idea of being quiet or silent. In vs. 12, Paul says:

“to remain quiet:” According to Vines Dictionary, the word “quiet” can denote a person who does not mettle into other people’s business, or it can simply mean silence

While this phrase is more common in scripture, it is still debated, as far as what Paul was intending to convey. According to Vines Dictionary, the word “quiet” can denote a person who does not mettle into other people’s business, or it can simply mean silence. For example, the same word is used in the book of Acts Chapter 22... “And when they heard that he was addressing them in the Hebrew dialect, they became even more quiet.” Similar to the word authenteo, how “quiet” is interpreted can make a big difference in determining what Paul was trying to convey.

SO, that is a pretty faithful representation of Step 1. We covered a lot of information, without trying to determine the larger theology behind it or trying to apply it to our lives today.

So, what would 1 Tim. 2: 8-15 mean to the original biblical audience? To figure this out we must take everything we have gone through into account…the author, the audience, the culture they lived in and were surrounded by…everything. Also, understand that what it meant to the Biblical audience may or may not align with a larger theological truth, as we have yet to compare these passages to the rest of scripture or determine the difference between them and us. As for what it meant to the Biblical audience, I think it’s pretty clear.

Paul instructed both Timothy and the entire congregation to conduction themselves in a godly manner

The audience would have taken Paul’s instructions to heart and would have followed them faithfully.

Regarding how the women would have reacted to our passages,

I think

they would have understood Paul’s heart and they would have understood why Paul gave these instruction at that time, given the issues going on in Ephesus.

I believe that because that was the culture they lived in. I can’t view it through my own lens, thinking that the ladies would have been offended, because that is (more than likely) not the case…given everything I have learned and read about that time period and the fact that the church was doing its best to build a godly culture among pagan worshipers. We can’t in good conscience try and claim that the original audience would have been deeply offended by these things.

Step one complete, hopefully you now have a grasp on what these passages meant to the original audience, as that was our goal today.

Let me now take 2 minutes to give you some application, not over the main portion of our passages necessarily, but over the general idea of what we are talking about. Aside from the instruction to women, Paul gives some general advice to the church in Ephesus: he says:

Therefore I want the men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and dissension.

The idea that we get here is one of unity, in fact I would argue (without addressing specific instructions) the general idea of 1st Timothy is that Paul wants the believers, all believers to operate in such a way that they are a good example to outsiders and in a way that creates a unified body of believers. Would everyone agree with me there? I also think we can all agree that it is not or was Paul’s intention to cause conflict or dissension, can we agree on that? OK, given that, Paul desired the church in Ephesus be united and live as a godly example to outsiders…that was his goal.

That is a universal, theological principle we can apply to the modern day church, without a doubt. When we come into God’s house, the idea of “lifting up holy hands” has less to do with the actual position of our hands and more to do with the condition of our hearts. Paul would likely give Ottawa First the same message: that when we come into God’s house, we must come in with an attitude of surrender to God, our hearts must be surrendered to the Holy Spirit, to the point where the anger and disunity that is the hallmark of the culture that surrounds us does not make its way into the body.

All that said, even though we are doing a series that is pretty heavy and had the potential to cause disunity, let’s make sure our hearts are surrendered before the Lord and that we have a desire to learn and grow together.

Let’s Pray.