How To Read the Bible Week 4

Good morning friends. Today we are continuing our series on Hermenutics…one that I’ve titled “How to Read the Bible.” We have been going on a journey in which we have been talking about the 5 steps of biblical interpretation, as they relate to 1 Tim. 2: 8-15. Later on this week I will be taking down the link to Dr. Eby’s teaching on this subject, so, if you haven’t taken the time to listen to it, I would encourage you to do so in the next day or two. I was planning on finishing up this series today, but as I dug in, I realized we will need one more week. We have a lot to get through today, so I’m going to dive right in. Also, if you have not been here or watched the other sermons in this series, How to Read the Bible, I would encourage you to do that, because what we are talking about today flows from everything we have covered so far.

Let’s Pray!

Instead of starting out reading our entire passage, today we are going to focus on vs. 12-15… as those are the verses that lead to the issue at hand.

1 Timothy 2:12–15

“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.”

Last week we did step 2 and worked began steps 3 and 4. That said, the most important part of step 3 is to state the main theological principle in the text…I saved that for this week. Up to this point, we have sort of collected information and have been working our way toward a potential principle. So, Today we are picking back up in step 3 and will start by posing the 2 most common universal theological principles that we find for this text…considering everything that we have covered in Weeks 1, 2, 3. After I put forward the principle, we will finish up step 4, (comparing the principle to the rest of scripture), by determining whether or not that universal principle stands up under the weight of the Biblical map.

STEP 3: What is the theological principle in this text?

To find this out, we must look at these passages from 2 different perspectives and see which one is the most reasonable, given what Paul says here, other places in scripture, what the Bible says as a whole, and that takes into account the differences between the original audience and us.

Women are unable to teach men or hold positions of authority within the church, nor should they desire such roles.

Those who are unqualified to teach should not do so, nor should they hold positions of authority in the church, nor should they desire to do so.

These are the two possible universal, theological truths that can be pulled out of our passages. So, let’s look at these 2 and determine which one is more likely. Unlike the first couple of weeks, where I did my absolute best to avoid any interpretation, we are now at the point where we must take our universal truth and interpret it, according to the biblical map.

Step 4: How does our theological principle fit within the rest of the bible?

Women are unable to teach men or hold positions of authority within the church, nor should they desire such roles.

OK. Last week I read a couple passages from 1st Corinthians where Paul was giving instructions to women and men, for that matter. Paul said that women should be quite in church, they must have a head covering and not not ask questions while in the church. In 1 Tim. 2:12, Paul then adds our the theological principle we are considering. Also last week, I touched on some of the inconsistencies in how modern churches follow most of Paul’s instructions. That said, just because people are inconsistent does not mean that our theological principle is not accurate. I say that because I want to be as fair as possible, as we should not discredit something in scripture, based on the fact that people may be inconsistent or have ulterior motives for only wanting to keep one of Paul’s commands, instead of all of them. For example, Jim Baker used to get up and preach about the principle of tithing…well, turns out he stole money and committed fraud with that money…but, does that make the principle of tithing untrue? No. So, while perhaps certain people or churches may have flawed principles of interpretation, we are going to keep our eye on the ball.

I’m going to break this part up into 3 sections:

The reasoning behind the principle

The biblical application of the principle

The real life application of the principle

The reasoning behind the principle

1 Timothy 2:13–14

“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.”

So, Paul says that the reason that women can’t teach a man, or hold positions of authority within the body of Christ is because Adam was born before Eve…and because Eve is the one who was deceived and not Adam. Paul also uses this reasoning in 1st Corinthians…that because of the birth order and the fact that Eve was deceived. I can not tell you how many books and commentaries have been written on this subject. There is a very important thing that you must believe, in order to accept that Paul is issuing a universal command…that Adam and Eve were not equal before the fall of man. I will explain why as we move on to number 2.

2. The Biblical Application of the principle

The reasoning behind our universal theological principle…that men were created first and that the woman was deceived, but Adam wasn’t. Sounds like a pretty sound argument. And for those who subscribe to the complementarian point of view…that is where they make a hard stop. They argue that everything Paul teaches about men and women and families is rooted in the order of creation and that God did not view Adam and Eve as equal before the fall of man. Does scripture support the notion, that because man was created fist, as well as the fact that Eve was deceived and Adam wasn’t, that a woman can not teach a man or hold any authority in the church? It is important to remember, that in order to believe that Paul issued a universal command, we MUST believe Adam and Eve were not equal before the fall. The entire argument hinges upon that…for a very important reason. I will try and explain why, so it is easy to understand. And this is where I think the argument takes a wrong turn. You see, Why is this important, because if Adam and Eve were equal before the fall, that means that it was the fall that caused women to be subject to man. In other words, the thing that makes men and women not equal, spiritually is the curse of sin…and guess what, believers are no longer under the curse of sin. We have been set free from the curse of sin. Does that mean that we still do not suffer the consequences of that curse…of course we do, but they are consequences of sin, not the natural order of creation…there is a big difference between the two. So, does Genesis 2 support the notion that God did not view Adam and Eve equally, before the curse of sin? Let’s read it.

Genesis 2:20–24

“The man gave names to all the cattle, and to the birds of the sky, and to every beast of the field, but for Adam there was not found a helper suitable for him. So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh at that place. The Lord God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man. The man said, “This is now bone of my bones, And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of Man.” For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh.”

Eve was formed from the man, as a helper. The fact that she was formed from him does not at all imply that God intended Adam to “rule over her” similar to the animals. God does not tell Adam to subdue or rule over the woman. Paul says that woman was made for man and not the other way around…which is very true, but that does not imply that God intended Eve to subject herself to his authority. In fact, much like the biblical household code we see from Paul, God is the one in charge…God being the one in charge is the natural order of creation. We do not see that language until after the fall of man. It is a wide stretch to suggest that Adam and Eve did not share the same spiritual equality before the Lord. We will come back to this when we look at the other theological principle.

Just so you know, I’m not suggesting that Paul was wrong for suggesting the order of creation…let me make that clear. Paul knew exactly what he was doing and the church in Ephesus would have known his point. I think we miss the point…which we will get into in a bit, as a quick example, in the book of Romans, Paul uses the order of creation a bit differently.

Romans 5:12

“Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned—”

Let’s look at Paul’s own ministry and the early church to determine if in fact, that Paul consistently followed the principle we are looking at. In his letters, Paul doesn’t refer to individuals as pastors or as elders or as supervisors/bishops. (He attaches no names of individuals to these ministry terms.) Instead, Paul refers to his fellow ministers with terms that do not have a connotation of hierarchy, or power, or prestige.

For example, Timothy was a minister with an especially close connection to Paul, but Paul never refers to him as a pastor, or elder, or bishop. Rather, when Paul mentions Timothy in his letters, he refers to him as a co-worker

(synergos)

(Rom. 16:21; 1 Thess. 3:2), as a brother (2 Cor. 1:1, Phm. 1:1; Col. 1:1; 1 Thess. 3:2) and as a minister

(diakonos)

Christian ministers.

Paul’s favourite, most-used word, for fellow ministers was co-worker, but he also frequently referred to them simply as brother or sister, or as a diakonos.

The apostle Paul was consistent with how he used the word diakonos. He typically used the word for an agent with a sacred commission. In his letters, several diakonoi [diakonoi is the plural of diakonos] are described as being a diakonos of Christ (1 Tim. 4:6) or as being a diakonos of God (e.g. 2 Cor. 6:4), or as being a diakonos of a church—a church being a sacred community of “saints.” Not once does Paul use diakonos for ordinary servants. Rather, he typically used the word for Christian ministers.

Phoebe

Romans 16:1-2

Paul also referred to a woman, Phoebe, as a diakonos. In Romans 16:1-2, Paul introduces her to the church at Rome and he tells them that she was diakonos of the church at Cenchrea.

I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a minister (diakonos) of the church at Cenchreae, so that you may welcome her in the Lord as is fitting for the saints, and help her in whatever she may require from you, for she has been a benefactor of many and of myself as well. Romans 16:1-2

Paul refers to Phoebe as both “sister” and diakonos, similar terms that he uses for Timothy and for other ministry colleagues. Plus, he calls her a benefactor, or patron, of many and of himself. This indicates that Phoebe was an independently wealthy woman.

Many English translations call Phoebe a servant rather than a minister, but she could not have been a servant in the usual sense of the word. Rather, as a wealthy woman, she would have had servants of her own. And she had clout. Patronage was a social system that was pervasive in the first-century Roman Empire, and patrons could be influential people.

Furthermore, it is widely accepted that Phoebe had travelled from Cenchrea, a port town of Corinth, and hand-delivered Paul’s letter to the Christians in Rome. Phoebe was a minister who Paul trusted and commended.

Prisca:

Romans 16:3-5a; Acts 18:24-26; 2 Tim. 1:2; 4:19

After introducing Phoebe to the church at Rome, Paul goes on and asks that certain Romans be greeted. And who is first on this list of Roman Christians? It is another woman. A woman is at the top of the list of twenty-eight people. She is even mentioned before her husband. This woman is Prisca, also known as Priscilla.

Prisca and her husband Aquila were friends of the apostle Paul. The three had lived, worked, travelled, and ministered together for some time, and Paul refers to them with his favourite term “co-workers.”

Greet Prisca and Aquila, my co-workers in Christ Jesus. They risked their lives for me. Not only I but all the churches of the Gentiles are grateful to them. Greet also the church that meets at their house. Romans 16:3-5a

There is little doubt that Prisca was a well-known minister in Rome, but also in Ephesus. A few years earlier, when Apollos was an up-and-coming apostle and was teaching in Ephesus, it was Prisca with her husband who corrected his theology, and Apollos accepted their correction (Acts 18:24-26). No one else is mentioned as being involved. Correcting the doctrine of a visiting teacher is usually a role of church leaders.

When Paul wrote his second letter to Timothy who was in Ephesus, he sent greetings to Timothy, to Prisca and Aquila, and to the household of Onesiphorus (2 Tim. 1:2; 4:19). No other Christians in Ephesus are greeted. Were these four named people the leaders of the Ephesian church?

Prisca and Aquila’s name comes up six times in the New Testament, and Prisca’s name is usually mentioned before her husband’s. This may indicate that her ministry was prominent than her husband’s.

In Romans 16:5, Paul asks that Prisca and Aquila’s house church be greeted. In New Testament times, most churches (that is, most Christian communities) met in homes. There were practically no church buildings before Christianity became a legal religion in the year 313.[10] Christian congregations could not legally own property before then.

Prisca and Aquila were hosting and managing a house church in Rome when Paul wrote to the Romans in around 56 AD, but earlier they had a house church in Ephesus (1 Cor. 16:19). Nympha is another woman who hosted and managed a house church. She is mentioned in Colossians 4:15. Euodia and Syntyche are two women in the church in Philippi who may have hosted house churches. In Philippians 4:2-3, Paul referred to Euodia and Syntyche as his co-workers and he indicates that these women were involved in challenging and difficult work with him.

Mary, Tryphena, Tryphosa and Persis

1 Thessalonians 5:12-13; Rom. 16: 6 & 12

Back in Romans 16, Paul mentions a man named Epenetus in verse 5, and then in verse 6, Paul mentions another woman. He writes, “Greet Mary, who laboured very hard for you.” “Labour” and “labourer” are other words Paul commonly uses for Christian ministry and Christian ministers. He uses the words several times for himself,[11] and he uses them in reference to the leadership ministries of others.

For example,

Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to acknowledge those who labour (kopiaō) among you, who lead [or care for] (proistēmi)[12] you in the Lord, and who admonish you. Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. 1 Thessalonians 5:12-13  (See also 1 Tim. 5:17).

In Romans 16, Paul uses “labour” words for the ministry of four women. As well as Mary of Rome, he uses “labour” words for Tryphena, Tryphosa, and Persis (Rom. 16:12). While Paul occasionally uses the word in the context of ordinary manual labour (1 Cor. 4:12; 1 Thess. 2:9; 2 Thess. 3:8), the phrase “in the Lord” in 16:12 makes it plain that Tryphena, Tryphosa and Persis laboured in Christian ministry:

Greet Mary, who has laboured hard for you. … Greet those labourers in the Lord, Tryphaena and Tryphosa. Greet the beloved Persis, who has laboured hard in the Lord. Romans 16:6, 12.

Paul further qualifies their labour with the word “hard.” These women were hard workers. Christian ministry could be difficult and even dangerous work in the first century. In 1 Corinthians 16:16, Paul tells the Corinthians to submit to everyone who ministers as a coworker and labourer.[13] Cooperating with such labourers will make their hard work easier.

Note that these four labouring women in Romans 16 are not mentioned with a man. Many of the women Paul names in his letters seem to be acting independently of husbands or fathers. There are one or 2 others, such as Junia…but that will have to do for today.

Paul’s Theology of Ministry

Romans 12:6-8; 1 Corinthians 12:28; and Ephesians 4:11.

All in all, Paul mentions 10 women in Romans 16 if we include Phoebe of Cenchrea. If we include women from Paul’s other letters, the number of women he mentions rises to 18. Paul valued the ministry of women and he regarded many of them as ministry partners. He never referred to them as pastors or elders, but he never referred to his male ministry partners as pastors or elders either. As I’ve said, Paul referred to his fellow ministers in terms that did not suggest power or prestige. He understood that they were his brothers and sisters and that, just like him, they were agents of Jesus Christ.

Also, it is important to remember that Paul is known for listing out the various ministries of the church or within the church. He does not exclude women from any of the ministries in these lists. These lists can be found in Romans 12:6-8; 1 Corinthians 12:28; and Ephesians 4:11.

Here’s what Paul says in Romans 12:6-8 (NIV):

We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.

It is very clear what Paul’s overall theology of ministry was…if you have a gift, use it to build up others in the Lord, not to bring personal attention to yourself or reproach on the church. If in fact, Paul intended to issue a universal command, that means that if 2 people were standing before Paul, one of them a man, who is a new believer, who doesn’t understand God’s word yet; while the other person is a seasoned, Godly, mature woman who did understand God’s word, to the best of her ability, it means that Paul would choose the man. Not only that, he expects us to do the same, when given no other choice. That is the opposite of how Paul operated.

Let’s finish up this week with the 3rd area:

3. The real life application of the principle

Our principle states that because Adam was born before Eve and because Eve was deceived and Adam wasn’t, a woman is unable to teach a man or hold a position of authority in the church setting. That is normally how it is stated, for those who believe it to be true. Therefore, while the example I gave above may seem silly, that is the real-life application of this principle, whether we like it or not.

That said, Upon first examining the instruction by Paul and then looking at the idea of the natural order of creation, an honest person should be able to acknowledge some merit to the argument. I’ve always claimed that I can understand why people are given to taking the instruction and claiming it as a universal principle. At first glance, it appears to make sense…after all…Paul said it and for many people, that settles it. The problem with that, we only approach scripture that way when we are trying to prove something or disprove something. We tend to take the parts that confirm our belief and explain away the parts that do not. Again, both sides of this argument are guilty of doing that. One of the most challenging things to do is approach a difficult passage with as little bias as possible.

I disagree with the universal application of Paul’s statement, not because my entire ministry is build around a certain type of theology…therefore, regardless of any evidence, I can never change my mind. In fact, I grew up in a church and family that believed in a watered down version of this universal principle. The reason I do not support it is because there is too much evidence to the contrary and the fact that one must believe that Adam and Eve were not equal before the fall. I also do not support it because of how, if indeed, Paul intended it to be a universal truth, it would be lived out in our everyday lives. Again, I’m not talking about how Paul’s command has been watered down over the years…I’m talking about the actual reality of what the principle would look like if lived out properly. I believe that a real-life application of the principle would be no different than trying to follow the O.T. law. I’ll give you a couple of examples as I close. If indeed this principle is truly rooted in the natural order of God’s creation, and that is what Paul was getting at....it would apply both inside and outside the church…no different than every other universal theological principle stated in scripture. Like marriage, murder, salvation, salvation by grace, the cross…all of those are universal theological principles…and all of them are true for those inside and outside the church. To be honest, both the church and society lived out what it looked like, exactly according to Paul’s instructions for the majority of recorded history. It means that any woman who holds a job or positions, in which she has the ability to either teach a man or tell a man “no” (holding authority over him), then that woman is sinning, no different than a gay couple getting married…which is rooted in the order of creation. Now, no one actually believes that was Paul’s intention, to make a bank teller or a university professor equal to adultery or idolatry. I do not believe, one iota, that is what Paul intended…and neither do parliamentarians. They have taken Paul’s instructions and watered them down to appease society and apply them only in the church…and even then, only certain instructions from Paul. However, I’m not basing my disagreement on that…I only find it interesting that this universal theological truth, which comes from the very order of creation only applies to church services.

I’ll end with this, then we will finish the series in 2 weeks, as Sam is going to speak next week.

I believe that, when we take a consistent hermeneutic and apply the principles....are intellectually honest, we should at least come to some doubt, if for no other reason that it is very easy to see how inconsistent we must be to claim Paul is issuing a universal, theological truth. “But Paul said it” and that’s good enough for me is normally the response that follows…and they are right. Paul gave the instruction one time, to a church that was steeped in radical idolatry, where the women were trying to usurp the Godly authority placed over them. Paul also highly advocated for speaking in tongues and prophecy, yet most complementarians do not believe those things are for today…that is what I mean by an inconsistent hermeneutic. The problem arises when we claim that Paul issued a universal command…not only do we see Paul using women in his own ministry, but he openly lauded the women for being co-laborers with him. Not only that, and we will get into this more when I finish up the series…when we look at the entire arc of scripture…from creation, to the fall, to what Christ and Paul taught as a whole and not in part... how the earth will be after Christ returns, it is clear that our role as men is to lift women up, to be a part of their redemption from the curse of sin.

Now, all of that to say, I know a number of well-meaning complementary who look at scripture differently. There tends to be vitriol on both sides. Both sides accusing the other of bias. As I said earlier, an intellectually honest person who is truly seeking God’s best for the church must grapple with a number of issues. If we think we have it bad, think about the early church, where Gentiles were streaming in…both men and women, bringing with them the pagan Greek culture…The newly converted Jews would have been appalled by the actions of the Greeks. Just a basic understanding of the culture tells us how difficult it was for Paul and Timothy and the disciples to manage that and maintain unity. Why do you think there is such a heavy emphasis on unity and false teaching in Paul’s letters…if they could navigate such difficulties, we can as well.

Colossians 3:12–17

So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful. Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.