Women and the Local Church

Good morning, Harmony!

The past couple of weeks we have been in the book of 1 Timothy, where we have seen that we need to keep the gospel central and we need to be praying for everyone.

Now, in case you haven’t figured it out yet, the book of 1 Timothy tends to go against the grain of culture.

Paul was writing this letter to Timothy because of what is going on there in Ephesus, and it’s a letter to Timothy to instruct him on how to instruct and guide the church there.

So Paul isn’t writing about the world, or the lost, or those that are outside the gospel, he’s writing to Timothy about those that have received the gospel and how they should be acting in light of the gospel they have received.

He tells Timothy to guard the gospel, celebrate the gospel, and fight for the gospel in chapter one, and then he proceeds to tell him that as a believer in Christ that he should pray for everyone - including Emperor Nero, one of the most ruthless leaders against Christianity ever.

As you can probably tell by today’s title, Women and the Local Church, today we are going to look at more from 1 Timothy that is going to go against the cultural expectations of this world.

Today we are going to be in 1 Timothy chapter 2, and we are going to begin in verse 8. Our main point for today is that:

Main Point: Men and women should glorify God in the church by gladly submitting to the commands and patterns laid out in Scripture.

Men and women should glorify God in the church by gladly submitting to the commands and patterns laid out in Scripture.

What does that mean?

It means that because we are His, we have received His gospel and accepted it as the truth, then we should be gladly submitting to His truth.

So that means that today’s message, it’s for the believer in Christ, to live lives that are different from that of the world, while still being resident aliens in the world. It means the world then did not want to hear what Paul is writing, and guess what - the world today doesn’t want to hear it all that much either.

1 Timothy 2:8–15 CSB

8 Therefore, I want the men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands without anger or argument. 9 Also, the women are to dress themselves in modest clothing, with decency and good sense, not with elaborate hairstyles, gold, pearls, or expensive apparel, 10 but with good works, as is proper for women who profess to worship God. 11 A woman is to learn quietly with full submission. 12 I do not allow a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; instead, she is to remain quiet. 13 For Adam was formed first, then Eve. 14 And Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and transgressed. 15 But she will be saved through childbearing, if they continue in faith, love, and holiness, with good sense.

Prayer.

The observation that sex sells dates back to 1871, when the Pearl Cigarette Company began placing a naked woman on their cigarette packages. Then, in 1885, another tobacco producer, Duke and sons, began placing trading cards featuring - you guessed it, provocative women inside the packaging.

In the 1960s, the sexual revolution began and created a new belief on sexual behavior, spurning even more commercialization of sex, and the introduction of the birth control pill, thus allowing men and women to have sexual relations, outside of marriage, without the challenge of childbirth.

In the 70’s and 80’s, abortion became a woman’s right, instead of the right to life of the baby, because sex was convenient, even celebrated, but the consequences of that sex became too burdensome.

Beginning in the 90’s we see homosexual portrayals in television on the rise, as multiple so-called family friendly networks begin introducing the subject at younger and younger ages, and today we have an ever growing number of people who struggle to know their gender and even their species.

Many of us would like to say that this is a new and emerging challenge to Biblical manhood and womanhood, and biblical sexuality. But let’s consider something - Paul would not have written these words to Timothy if this did not exist in their time.

The city of Ephesus was, after all, the home of the Temple of Artemis, the Greek goddess of fertility and ironically, known for her chastity. But that didn’t stop the men from some challenges, nor the women from dressing for recognition.

They faced the same issues back 2,000 years ago that we do today - the sexual sins that stem from gender roles to sexual immorality are not new. The challenge that Paul has for Timothy though, the instruction that Paul is dishing out, is not for the world at large, but rather instruction for Timothy on how the church should behave - in a way that glorifies God by gladly submitting to His pattern and commands in Scripture.

Here, in our passage today, Paul provides three distinct instructions that are for the church today.

The first instruction, Paul picks up right where he left off in the first part of chapter 2, he says:

1. To divisive men in the church: pray! - v. 8.

1 Timothy 2:8 CSB

8 Therefore, I want the men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands without anger or argument.

Now we closed out last week with this verse because it brought closure to the passage, but it also brings an opening statement to this weeks passage.

Again, the very first thing that we should do is pray, for everyone, including those that we have a harder time getting along with.

And this verse is particular to men. Paul instructs Timothy that he wants all of the men, those of the church, to pray, to lift up their hands in holy surrender, without anger or argument.

Paul starts with men - why? Because we can be a pretty argumentative and angry bunch of people.

Paul isn’t saying that every man is argumentative or angry, but he is addressing that generally speaking, when a group of men come together and we lack prayer, chances are that there might be one that is argumentative there.

Again, all of this relates back to chapter one, where Paul has told Timothy to keep the gospel of Christ as the ultimate focus, the ultimate goal. In Ephesus, it’s a very philosophical landscape, full of men that are arguing to get their voices heard, to be seen and to be a prominent thinker.

This philosophical type of arguing has presented itself into the church. Men have begun philosophically arguing over how the church should function, and they have gotten to a point where it has caused a division in the church.

Paul says don’t be like them, seeking attention, but humble yourselves with lifted hands - what does it mean to others when we lift up our hands?

It’s an act of surrender - and for us as the church it’s lifting up holy hands in surrender to do His will.

You can’t realistically argue or be angry and be surrendered. Either you are fully surrendered, lifting up holy hands, or you aren’t. There really isn’t any in between ground when it comes to surrender.

Now, Paul is still instructing Timothy to guard, celebrate, and fight for the gospel, because these arguments are more like the ones that we have today - carpet color, music style, Bible version - can we just come to terms and agree that none of that is of biblical importance?

Let’s not act like the world and fight over silly things that are insignificant to the message of the gospel. Let’s lift up holy hands in surrender, and pray for the answers and pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ that we are to be working with.

The second instruction Paul gives to Timothy is to instruct a specific group of women in the church. Paul instructs Timothy to go and say:

2. To distracting women in the church: stop it! vv. 9-10.

Paul says to Timothy go to the women of the church and instruct them to dress in a way that glorifies God. Verse 9 says that this means modest clothing, that covers all of the parts that draw attention, and avoiding the things that draw attention to yourself - the fancy, latest hairstyle, gold, pearls, or expensive apparel.

Now women, before anyone wants to throw anything at me today, I agree with you that men should not be looking. We are going to cover that a little bit more next week, I promise.

That being said, Paul addresses the issue that sex sells right here.

Ladies, Paul says in the infallible, perfect, true and trustworthy Word of God, that how you dress and how you present yourselves matters.

Paul is both instructing you how to dress in order to prevent the sin of others and how to dress to glorify the only One that matters.

Now, Paul doesn’t say that all women have to wear dresses or can’t have nice hair or any jewelry. That isn’t what Paul is saying.

What Paul is saying is don’t dress to draw attention to yourself. Don’t wear things that are intended to draw public attention to something the public doesn’t need access to. Dress with decency and good sense, because you are representing, at all times, God.

How you dress matters to God. God says rather than drawing all of the attention of others by dressing in clothes that either show way too much or are too flashy all together, dress yourselves in a way that honors God, with good works, because that is proper for women who say that they follow Christ and have received the Gospel and are keeping that Gospel centered in their lives.

Then Paul drives the third instruction to Timothy in verses 11-15, he tells Timothy to go and explain to everyone in the church that they have these responsibilities that are gender specific, and that both must learn to do this one thing. He tells Timothy to address the roles of men and women in the church. He says:

3. To distinct roles in the church: submit! vv. 11-15.

Now verses 11 through 15 sound very pointed at the woman, and they kind of are.

But knowing next week’s passage on elders and deacons, and kind of men all together, we are going to read between the lines a little bit, or rather take some of next week and from other passages to make this more wholistic in concept.

The very first thing that Paul says of a woman’s actions is that she is to learn quietly with full submission.

This doesn’t mean don’t ask questions. This is simply addressing a problem in the church in Ephesus.

See, the city of Ephesus had a problem. The problem at Ephesus was that some women were actually more prominent than men. Paul strongly believed that God had a purpose for the specific gender roles.

And the first thing that we have to clear up is that there are only two genders when we look at this from the Word of God. Genesis 1:27 is pretty clear on the matter:

Genesis 1:27 CSB

27 So God created man in his own image; he created him in the image of God; he created them male and female.

In light of this information, Paul then begins to address the women of her role in the relationship and in the Kingdom.

He looked back at Genesis 3:16 very strongly for his convictions, and again, as believers that the Bible is the inerrant and perfect Word of God, we also believe that God specifically used the Holy Spirit to guide Paul and Peter to address the specific gender roles in the Church.

Genesis 3:16 speaks very much to the context of verses 11-15. In Genesis 3:16 God is speaking to Eve, and:

Genesis 3:16 CSB

16 He said to the woman: I will intensify your labor pains; you will bear children with painful effort. Your desire will be for your husband, yet he will rule over you.

Your desire will be for your husband, yet he will rule over you. In other words, you are going to actually want your husband to lead you spiritually, emotionally, and physically through life, not as a doormat, not as a slave, but as your companion for life. That goes back to chapter 2 of Genesis, in verse 18:

Genesis 2:18 CSB

18 Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper corresponding to him.”

God saw that Adam was alone, and He made Eve as Adam’s helper.

So that means that Paul in these verses is not just speaking to or about women here, Paul is also also subconsciously telling men that they need to step up and submit to their God given roles.

Verses 13 through 15 specifically point back towards the Genesis account, and they can be particularly uncomfortable to hear, and when both sexes hear these verses, there should not be any finger pointing or issues with the text by either sex.

Paul says:

1 Timothy 2:13–14 CSB

13 For Adam was formed first, then Eve. 14 And Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and transgressed.

Adam was formed first, then Eve. Not only that, but Eve was formed out of Adam - as a companion and a helper. They are to leave their parents, and the man is to lead his family well - we’re going to hit on that more next week.

And then Paul says something that is hard, but again, true to the Genesis account. He says Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and transgressed.

Let’s talk about this verse for just a second.

First, this verse is not saying that Adam did not sin. What this verse is saying, again, very subtly because Paul is going to address it more later, is that Adam failed to be the leader and gave that role to his wife in the Genesis account. He knew what the fruit of that tree looked like, he knew he wasn’t supposed to eat it, and he followed his wife in sin. Adam failed to lead the way he was supposed to.

Eve both was deceived because Adam wasn’t around to lead her as he should have and because she was not designed to be in that predicament in the first place. But because she was in that situation, she was deceived and she sinned, and therefore she led her husband to sin, which he did.

Paul is addressing both roles that God had ordained for men and women. Men, you have a role to lead your wives in a way that honors God - that isn’t slavery, that isn’t she takes care of the house and you don’t, that is that she is your companion and your helper. Treat her with the dignity and respect of being a part of you that makes you one, not as a separate partner in a beneficial relationship. Love her and lead her the way she not only desires but the way that God intended, as a strong, godly man who back up to verse 8, prays, with holy hands lifted to be a good witness to his wife and family.

Ladies, submit to God and to your husbands in a way that honors and glorifies God, not as slaves or as doormats, but as women of the Word who trust their husbands to lead, allow them to lead, and work as their companion and helper to lead families that demonstrate the love and power of our God and His commands.

To understand the terms of submission that God has laid out, it can be viewed and most recognized when both men and women submit to the biblical call of submission.

That means that wives follow your husbands as he follows Christ.

Men, that means that your role as husbands is intended to bless and protect your wives, not to enslave them.

It means that you share a voice in the decision making process and that submission is never to be used by force or to force wives to do something that is against God’s Word, because men we are to submit to Christ who would never ask that of us.

That submission cannot be used as an excuse for evil by husbands or wives, because men are to submit to Christ and treat their wives in view of how Jesus treats us, and it should glorify God at all times.

This submission of a wife is not an indication of inferiority on behalf of the wife, rather it should be a willing response from a woman who says how secure and loved she is by her husband.

In the church that has similar implications, the men are to be elders and deacons who lead, submitting to God and leading based upon His Word and His calling upon their lives.

That means godly leadership that does not exploit or take advantage of anyone in the church, especially the women, and that the men who are called to be elders and deacons are not lording it over the women rather they are seeking to do everything in accordance with Scripture and being Gospel-centered.

Women do however have a very prominent place of leadership that they are called to in the church - look at verse 15. Paul says:

1 Timothy 2:15 CSB

15 But she will be saved through childbearing, if they continue in faith, love, and holiness, with good sense.

But she - the woman - will be saved through childbearing, if they - women - continue in faith, love, holiness, with good sense.

Women, what this is saying is that you do have leadership roles in the church and in the home.

Paul isn’t removing everything from the scope of female leadership.

Paul is saying that even though the woman transgressed first, she is also the bearer of salvation.

Without childbirth, there would be no salvation. Women, as the managers of the home, you have unique roles to lead your children in faith, love, and holiness.

In the church you have the ability, and frequently the calling, to selflessly work in the children’s ministry, serving to care for and nurture children that need the gospel taught to them.

While this passage assigns the leadership roles of elder and deacon only to men, it does not preclude women from serving faithfully and leading other women and children and being good sensed as Paul puts it in verse 9 and here at the end of verse 15.

In the book of Titus Paul actually gives women direct instructions to lead other women. In Titus 2:3-5 Paul says:

Titus 2:3–5 CSB

3 In the same way, older women are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not slaves to excessive drinking. They are to teach what is good, 4 so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands and to love their children, 5 to be self-controlled, pure, workers at home, kind, and in submission to their husbands, so that God’s word will not be slandered.

We have separate, God-given roles that God has designed for us, so that we can share in those roles and can bring glory and honor to His name. Men, we must submit to our roles so that we can lead our homes and our church well, and so that we can demonstrate the Christ-centeredness that we rely on.

Ladies, you must submit to your role so that you can demonstrate the love God has for you and so that together we, the men and women of Christ’s church, can be faithful witnesses that are glorifying God, guarding the gospel, celebrating the gospel, and fighting for the gospel to reach a lost and dying world.

Church, Paul is challenging the church to live lives that demonstrate the life-changing gospel that resides in us as believers in Christ. That means that there is grace for when we make mistakes and for when we occasionally miss the mark, because God knows that we are still going to mess up from time to time, and when we do we should repent of that and seek to be re-centered on His Word.

And when we do that, we experience the grace and the change that living a life centered on the Gospel produces in our lives.