The Reason

I remember sitting in the lecture hall at univercity when these texts came up.

From day one in my Christian studies the verses saying what men and woman can and cannot do what downplayed.

“Its culktral”, It specific to that church. Its not applicible.

Excuses and dismissals and manipulations were presneted to us.

At the time I had no stake in the issue, i did not know so i simply believed my lectures.

But as the years passed, their reasons started to loose grip. I was given reasons why passages like:

1 Timothy 2:11–12 AV

11 Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. 12 But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.

Were not universal, not literal, not applicible. But the reasons where not biblical, that is if a truth taught in scripture is no longer applicible then the bible itself should say that.

look at the Law for example. We believe that the rules and regulations once stated in the Old Covenent are not in effect today, but we know this because the bible itself says so:

Romans 6:14 AV

14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.

In the same manner if God had changed the dynamic about men and woman then i wantd to hear it from God mouth.

And simply put, it was not to be found.

So if the proffesors could not give me a reason why these teaching were no longer applicible, then i had to turn to God to ask Him the reason as to why they are STILL applicible.

“God” i ask “If you said that a woman cannot teach or usur authrity over the man, why do you command such a thing? Wht is your reason?”

The reason it turn out matter more than we think.

If God’s reason is not univeral then we can ignore it if the reason does not fit.

For example:

If God says that the reason wives must submit to their husbands is because the “husband is taller than the wife”. Well then the reason is true for some, but not for those wives are taller.

If the reason woman cannot teach is because they dont know how to read, then the rule falls away if woman can read.

God’s reason therefore must be universally inclusive of all men and all woman.

So what is God’s reason?

God gives his reason following His most contrivercial statment:

1 Timothy 2:11–14 AV

11 Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. 12 But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. 13 For Adam was first formed, then Eve. 14 And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.

The word “for” in verse 13 is simply the word because.

So God is giving us his reason.

Before we even look at what the reason is we can rejoice because the fcat that there is a reason rules out any question about God’s fairness, goodness and supposed biased agaist woman.

So we have to ask about God’s reason:

Is it good?

It is universal?

It is true?

1 Timothy 2:13–14 AV

13 For Adam was first formed, then Eve. 14 And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.

At first glace God’s reason seems both strange and obscure. In fcat at first glace the reason looks like more mysoganitic rhetoric, showing he superiority of Adam over Eve.

But is this the case?

To answer and understand we have to go to what God is speaking about, the creation accaount of men and woman and the account of the Fall.

God’s reasons lie therin.

The creation Order:

God says that part of His reason is that:

1 Timothy 2:13 AV

13 For Adam was first formed, then Eve.

Our first action therefore to to see if this true according to the creation account:

Genesis 2:7 AV

7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

Genesis 2:18 AV

18 And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.

Genesis 2:21–23 AV

21 And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; 22 And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. 23 And Adam 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.

So from the narrative of the creation account we see that the premise of 1 tim 2:13 is true: Adam was created first.

However this not not explain why Woman must submit and are not permitted to teach.

One could aurgue that Adam being first was special, making men surperrior to woman, however that is not what scripture affirms.

Rather scripture affirms that BOTH men and woman are made in the image of God.

Genesis 1:26–27 AV

26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

With the New Testamnet we have many passages affirming the equal value of men and woman:

Galatians 3:28 AV

28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.

As well as the wonderful passage showing total dependace of one sex to the other:

1 Corinthians 11:11–12 AV

11 Nevertheless neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord. 12 For as the woman is of the man, even so is the man also by the woman; but all things of God.

So that Man was created first does not imply a 1st vs 2nd place stading or value between men and woman.

There must be more that we are missing as to why the creation order matters.

Let us contine to look at God’s reason as perhaps the answer will present itself:

1 Timothy 2:13–14 AV

13 For Adam was first formed, then Eve. 14 And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.

We have seen that the premise of verse 13 is true to the creation account, but what about verse 14?

Was adam decieved? or was it oly Eve who was decieved?

Lets look at the account:

Genesis 3:1–5 AV

1 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? 2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: 3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. 4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: 5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

Now verse 6:

Genesis 3:6 AV

6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

When God later confronts them what does each confess?

Adam says:

Genesis 3:12 AV

12 And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.

Eve repsonds with:

Genesis 3:13 AV

13 And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.

So we can see from both the narrative and their own testamonies that the premise is true:

1: Adam was not decieved.

2: Eve was.

This does not imply that Adam never sinned, he did sin, but he was not the one who was decieved by Satan.

Now that we are dealing with the Fall of humanity its important that we understand our connection to these two ancinet individuals: