Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction:

I.

The Proper Appeal (vs.

9)

1 Timothy 2:9

The word therefore deals with the previous section in the text and refers to how the Church, especially the me, should pray and how they should pray evangelically.

Paul, having stressed the importance of evangelical prayer, he now stresses the attitude that should be present when one is praying.

The word “want” is from “βούλομαι” and can be translated “I command” or “I purpose”.

“Men” is “ἀνήρ” and is speaking regarding men as opposed to women.

Men are the leaders when the Church meets for corporate worship.

When prayers are offered for the lost during those times, the men are to do it.

The premise for which the Apostle would be writing is that in the synagogues, only the men were permitted to pray and that was carried over into the Church.

When Paul uses the phrase “in every place” (everywhere) that appears four times in Paul’s writing (; ; ).

All four times it refers to the official assembly of the Church.

Some might argue that this teaching contradicts 1 Corinthians 11:5, where Paul permits women to pray and proclaim the Word.

That passage, however, must be interpreted in light of 1 Corinthians 14:34–35, which forbids women to speak in the assembly.

Women are permitted to pray and proclaim the Word, but not “in church”—that is, when the church meets for its corporate worship services.

That in no way marks women as spiritually inferior (cf.

Gal.

3:28).

Not even all men proclaim the Word in the assembly, only those so called and gifted.

Paul speaks regarding a picture from the OT saints and how they frequently lifted hands during their prayers.

Psalm

Now, the point here of the Apostle is not a particular posture for prayer.

“Hands” symbolize the activities of life, thus holy hands represent a holy life; for that is the prerequisite fir effective prayer.

“Holy” is “ὅσιος” and means “unpolluted” or “unstained by evil”.

The point is that those who pray for the lost must not be characterized by wrath and dissension.

They must be holy in heart and deed.

God honors evangelistic prayer and the proper behavior in the Church is having the proper appeal and that primarily the men’s responsibility.

II.

Proper Appearance (vs.

9)

The role of women in the church is a topic that is hotly debated today.

Unfortunately, the debate has left the pages of Scripture to find its resolution.

The traditional doctrines are being swept away by the flood tides of evangelical feminism.

The ultimate source of those attacks is the archenemy of God, Satan.

His goal, as always, is to overthrow God’s plan and corrupt His design.

He is behind the effort to entice women away from their God-created roles in society, in the family, and in the church.

Such a satanic enterprise is not new—in fact it was an issue in the church at Ephesus, because it was an issue in the Roman world of that time.

Keep in mind that the Church of Ephesus at the time was plagued with false doctrine and false leaders; therefore, it is no surprise to find them struggling over gender roles.

When Paul says “In Like Manner” he is not saying that as woman are praying for the lost, what he is saying is that “just as I addressed men, so now I address the women.

The word “adorn” is “κοσμέω”, from where we get our English word “cosmetic”.

It means “to arrange” or “to put in order” or “to make ready”.

Women are to make themselves ready as they prepare to join God’s people as they worship.

Part of that important preparation involves the outside, the wearing of proper clothing.

Proper translates kosmiō, which, like kosmeō, derives from the noun kosmos.

Kosmos is often translated “world,” but it really means “order,” or “system.”

It is the antonym of “chaos.”

Katastolē (clothing) encompasses not only the clothing itself, but also the look—the whole demeanor.

Women are to come to the corporate worship ready to face the Lord.

They must not come in slovenly disarray or personal display because of an unbecoming wardrobe or demeanor.

There is a place for lovely clothes that reflect the humble grace of a woman, as evidenced in Proverbs 31:22, “Her clothing is fine linen and purple.”

Proper adornment on the outside reflects a properly adorned heart.

From the general principle in the first part of verse 9, Paul moves to specifics in the latter part of the verse.

In so doing, he hints at some of the practices that were causing confusion in the assembly.

He starts with commenting about braided hair, a term that can generally mean “hair styles.”

His point is not that women should be indifferent to their hair.

That would contradict what he had just said about careful preparation to put oneself in order.

Paul’s intent is not to forbid certain kinds of hairdos, as if some reflected a more worshipful attitude than others.

He is confronting any gaudy, ostentatious hairdo that would distract attention from the Lord and the purposes that are holy.

Women in that culture often wove gold, pearls, or other jewelry through their hairdos to call attention to themselves and their wealth or beauty.

There is nothing wrong with owning jewelry.

Solomon’s bride in Song of Solomon wore gold and silver jewelry (Song 1:10–11; 4:9), as did Rebekah (Gen.

24:53).

There is an appropriate time and place for that, as affirmed by the words of Isaiah 61:10: “I will rejoice greatly in the Lord, my soul will exult in my God; for He has clothed me with garments of salvation, He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.”

But jewelry was (and is) often used as a way of flaunting a woman’s wealth or calling attention to herself in an unwholesome way.

It is that preoccupation which Paul forbids in the place of worship.

When a woman dresses for the worship service to attract attention to herself, she has violated the purpose of worship

The fourth-century Church Father Chrysostom said:

And what then is modest apparel?

Such as covers them completely and decently, and not with superfluous ornaments; for the one is decent and the other is not.

What?

Do you approach God to pray with broidered hair and ornaments of gold?

Are you come to a ball? to a marriage feast? to a carnival?

There such costly things might have been seasonable: here not one of them is wanted.

You are come to pray, to ask pardon for your sins, to plead for your offences, beseeching the Lord, and hoping to render him propitious to you.

Away with such hypocrisy!

Another way women in Paul’s day flaunted their wealth and drew attention to themselves was by wearing costly garments.

The expensive dresses worn by wealthy women could cost up to 7,000 denarii.

Pliny the Elder, a first-century Roman historian, described a dress of Lollia Paulina, wife of the Emperor Caligula, which was worth several hundred thousand dollars by today’s standards (Natural History 9.58).

Dresses of the common women could cost as much as 500–800 denarii.

To put that into perspective, the average daily wage of a common laborer was one denarius.

Because of the extreme expense, most women probably owned only two or three nice dresses in their lives.

For a wealthy woman to enter the worship service wearing an expensive dress would shift the focus of attention to her.

It could also stir up envy on the part of the poorer women (or their husbands).

III.

Proper Action (vs. vs. 10)

Those women who profess godliness should support that testimony with their demeanor and appearance.

Beyond those areas, they are to support it by being adorned by means of good works.

Agathōn (good) refers to works that are genuinely good, not merely good in appearance.

That befits women making a claim to godliness.

Making a claim is from epangellō, which means “to make a public announcement.”

Good works must mark Christian women, who by virtue of their profession of love to Jesus Christ have publicly committed themselves to pursuing godliness.

Godliness translates theosebeia, which refers to reverence to God.

To affirm that you are a Christian is to claim to love, worship, honor, and fear the Lord.

A woman cannot claim to fear God and yet disregard what His Word says about her behavior.

She cannot contradict God’s design for her in the church and yet claim to love Him.

IV.

Proper Attitude (vs.

11-12)

Paul continues his discussion of women’s duties by defining their role as learners rather than teachers during the public worship.

While they are not to be the public teachers in that context, neither are they to be shut out of the learning process as was generally the case in ancient times.

The verb in verse 11 is an imperative form of manthanō (“to learn,” “to be informed”), from which the Greek word translated “disciple” or “learner” derives.

When Paul says let a woman … receive instruction, he is not requesting, rather he commands that the women be taught.

It may seem obvious to us that women should be taught God’s Word, since they are spiritually equal in Christ and the commands of the New Testament are to all (1 Peter 2:1–2).