Sermon Tone Analysis

“Let a woman learn quietly with all submissiveness.

I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet.

For Adam was formed first, then Eve; and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor.

Yet she will be saved through childbearing—if they continue in faith and love and holiness, with self-control.”

[1]

Gender battles are an integral part of the social landscape today.

Beginning early in the last century and continuing to this day, a crescendo of strident voices sought to convince women that they were oppressed.

Because they were said to be oppressed, they were encouraged to unite together with their sisters to cast off the bondage of patriarchal slavery.

Bra burning during the sixties has given way to political action groups today.

The pendulum appears to be swinging in the opposite direction today, however.

The current hot, political trend is for men to organise into political groups, their express intention being the assertion of masculine rights in contrast to feminine rights.

Some have suggested that among the churches, there are three genders—male, female and clergy.

Tragically, that assertion may be accurate.

Like contemporary politics, the modern pulpit appears to be overly sensitive to women’s issues, rather than addressing the human condition.

Pastors are trained to be cautious rather than bold, and rather than equipping parishioners to confront the great issues facing them by a bold pursuit of the truth, churches are more concerned with training adherents to bury their heads in the bottom of a tissue box.

In the process of empowering women, the modern pulpit has destroyed male leadership in the home.

Having done this, we are surprised that men now attend church disguised as empty pews.

It is tragic enough when gender battles are ongoing in society—ultimately they affect each of us.

If gender fights in society have such tragic consequences, consider what must happen when these same issues invade the Body of Christ.

Women within the evangelical community vociferously voice the complaint that they are excluded from power within the churches.

They insist they will assume a place even as overseers in the Body of Christ.

In exercising this drive for power it is necessary to dismiss the history of the churches; it has become necessary to explain away the writings of the Apostles and even the words of Jesus.

Assumed rights and feelings have replaced human responsibility and divine revelation.

Even Bibles are rewritten to ensure that masculine pronouns are removed so as not to offend women.

Men respond by ignoring the churches while forming their own religious events consisting of sporting events, shared experiences in dangerous situations and the camaraderie of the bar.

What cannot be explained away is the fact that in the churches, Christ and His Word must prevail, leading us to peace.

Instead of leading society, the churches of this day are more often led by society.

Instead of being the moral conscience for society, the churches of this day exalt the most strident voices as conscience for the Body of Christ.

Brothers and sisters, this ought not to be.

To fail to heed the instruction of the Word is to ensure that we shall not long continue as a force against the darkness of this world.

Listen, then, to the Word of God that together we may learn what God has to say about gender and leadership in His church.

THE PRINCIPLE — “Let a woman learn quietly with all submissiveness.”

The verse before us makes no reference to ability, but rather it speaks of the attitude which should be exhibited among women of God.

The passage says nothing concerning the worth or merit of either gender.

Neither does this statement infer that women are inferior in intellect, in spiritual perspicuity or in capability.

We have already established that before God both male and female have now received the full rights of sons.

Each alike has already received divine adoption permitting access to the Father and ensuring each a place in God’s family.

Women are not proscribed either from praying or from testifying in the services of the church, though they are taught to demonstrate propriety and a submissive spirit—exhibited first toward their own husbands.

It would be a dreadful error for anyone to infer from these words that women have no ministry within a church.

We have already demonstrated that women have received a vital ministry which is to a tragic extent neglected or ignored in this day.

Older women are responsible to teach younger women in the church—a ministry which no conscientious pastor dare undertake without exposure to serious consequence.

Women are to teach their own children and they are encouraged to teach other children.

Women are encouraged to glorify God through sharing in the teaching of “psalms and hymns and spiritual songs” [COLOSSIANS 3:16].

Among the early churches, women even baptised other women—a practise that has fallen into disuse in this day.

In society, women are encouraged to witness to the grace of God, endeavouring to turn family, friends and neighbours to faith in the Risen Lord.

If someone contends that women are excluded from leadership, the implication lingering that women are excluded from power and decision-making, I remind you that each Christian is to aspire to serve … not to lead!

That individual who would be a true leader of God’s people must be the servant of all.

Jesus has taught us, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all” [MARK 9:35].

Later, the Master makes the case for voluntary servanthood stronger still.

“Whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all.

For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” [MARK 10:43-45].

Let women who think they are kept from power weigh this thought, even as men who are prone to abuse the responsibility of occupying the position of a pastor/teacher must also confront this truth.

The issue before us is as simple as the pronouncement of the Word of God which we must either embrace as His revealed will for us or reject as culturally bound and thus irrelevant.

The challenge facing us is nothing less than that of submission to the revealed will of God; the issue is whether we will be holy and separated to the will of God or whether we will be fleshly and surrendered to our own febrile imaginations.

Remember that the whole of this chapter focuses on the church at worship.

Restating the principle, a woman is to exhibit a spirit of gentleness and submission … especially in worship.

When the Apostle writes of “a woman” [singular] he sets forth a principle embracing all women and not married women only.

The principle is binding, then, on all Christian women—married, single, formerly married or never married.

The second point emphasised by this principle is that a woman should learn … and not teach.

Clearly the Apostle says nothing at this point about women as teachers, but he does say clearly that women are responsible to learn.

All Christians are to grow, and especially would we expect growth “in grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ” [2 PETER 3:18].

Paul’s words are not an excuse for men to cease growing, but his attention is focused on women at worship.

Clearly, in the view of the Apostle, women are expected to learn.

The manner in which a woman should learn is “quietly with all submissiveness.”

There is nothing in this statement that we haven’t already discovered in the manner of life expected of all Christian women.

A wife is to be submissive to her own husband.

Such an attitude of gracious, voluntary submission honours Christ and is considered a virtue before Him.

In fact, to refuse to be subject to one’s husband is sinful.

Just so, an unmarried woman is to reveal a submissive spirit toward the leadership God has appointed in the church.

THE PROHIBITION — “I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet.”

Bear in mind that we are considering the church at worship.

The instructions deal with the people of God assembled as a congregation.

Simply stated, a woman is permitted neither to occupy the office of a teacher nor to wield authority in a pastoral capacity over men.

This prohibition is clearly based upon the principle previously stated.

One scholar addresses this particular issue in this manner.

“The permission for a woman to ‘learn’ is contrasted with the proscription for them ‘to teach,’ while ‘all submissiveness’ is paired with ‘not exercising authority over a man.’

The submission in view, then, [should be understood to be toward] men, since verse twelve bans women from exercising authority over men… Women are to learn with all submissiveness from the men who had authority in the church and manifested that authority through their teaching.

[2]

Years ago, J. B. Phillips produced a masterful translation of the New Testament; he translates the TWELFTH VERSE as follows.

“I don’t allow women to teach, nor do I ever put them in positions of authority over men—I believe their role is to be receptive.”

[3] The principle states that “a woman should learn in quietness and submission.”

We would thus infer that this divine command reflects her position in the home as well as her role in the church.

A submissive spirit honours the Lord; this is especially true when exhibited in the life of a Christian woman.

Tragically, many appear to misunderstand what a submissive spirit entails; but it assuredly does not require that a woman be a doormat.

No woman should ever tolerate threats or abuse, nor does Paul’s teaching imply that a woman should accept such any such abuse.

Likewise, a submissive spirit does not preclude thinking or holding an opinion.

A Christian husband is responsible to consider his wife’s view and to treat her with consideration; and that means that he must solicit her views and give due consideration to her needs and to her desires within the family as he exercises his divinely assigned responsibility as a husband.

A submissive spirit does mean, however, that the husband must ultimately bear responsibility for the direction of the family and for the decisions made in the home.

He bears responsibility for the decisions of the family, whether he personally made those decisions or merely approves them.

Similarly, in the church, a submissive spirit recognises that Christ the Lord is ultimately responsible for the direction of the church and for decisions made by the congregation.

The Master has, for reasons which shall shortly be addressed, chosen to assign that responsibility to those whom He appoints to serve as overseers.

Those whom He has chosen cannot be female according to His own Word; rather, they must be male.

In 1 TIMOTHY 3:2 we are commanded that the overseer must be a “one-woman man” [literal translation of mâs gunikòs ándra].

Specifically, the overseer of a congregation must be a male.

On the basis of this verse alone, women are excluded from consideration as overseers, elders or pastors.

As a vital aside, the terms overseer, elder and pastor each refer to the same office in the church.

Peter employs all three terms interchangeably within a few brief sentences.

“I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock” [1 PETER 5:1-3].

Peter’s words were addressed to the “elders” with Peter presenting himself as “a fellow elder.”

The elders are to shepherd [poimaíno—pastor] “the flock of God.”

The manner in which elders accomplish this apostolic charge is through “exercising oversight.”

Thus the terms “elder,” “overseer” (or bishop) and “pastor” are used interchangeably in the New Testament, unlike the situation in many denominations today.