Men, Step Up!

1 Timothy 2:12-15 - Men, Step Up!

Paul’s purpose for writing this letter is found in 3:15 – so that we would know how to conduct ourselves in the house of God. He wants the church to reflect the purity and orderliness of His creation. In other words, the church is to operate by the standards that He established. We all have a role to fill, and in the church, as it is in our families, when we don’t accept our role and perform our responsibility, everyone suffers.

This is a touchy subject, and I assure you, I have no desire to make women into second-class citizens. I have a wife, two daughters, and two granddaughters, and I want them to be honored in every way. But I want to honor God more. I want them to be fulfilled in every way, but the only way they will ever know true fulfillment is to follow God’s way. I believe that was Paul’s desire, too.

I know it seems that Paul was trying to set the women’s movement back even farther than it was in his day, but I don’t believe that’s true. As I stated previously, Paul wanted women to learn in the church – something Jewish women were never allowed to experience in the Temple or synagogues. So what is Paul saying to our 21^st Century culture?

First, Christian women are to be submissive. I know that is a dirty word in our world today, but truthfully, it is what God has called all of us to be. Jesus was submissive to the Father. Our submission to Jesus is required. And all Paul is calling for in these verses is to recognize the roles that God created us for. Submit to God’s plan.

In verse 11, Paul’s command for silence should be understood as submission to the authority of the spiritual leaders in the church. It’s part of what makes a woman beautiful. You have to understand that the powerful women of Ephesus were used to getting their way, and some of them wanted to be the pastor of the church. Paul said, “No!” As he wrote in chapter 3, the pastor’s role belongs to a man – that’s not my teaching; it’s God’s plan. I honestly don’t believe that Paul was prohibiting women teachers. In Acts 18, we read that both Priscilla and Aquila taught. In 1 Corinthians 11, we see that women prayed and prophesied in the church. I think his prohibition was against women serving as the Senior Pastor of a church.

I will admit that I don’t fully understand all that Paul has to say in vv. 13-15, but we will talk about that later. You see, God’s plan from Adam’s creation was for Adam to be the leader of his family. He wasn’t, and sin entered the world. Adam wasn’t called to be the head of his family after the fall; he was the leader from the beginning. The organizational chart was always intended to read God – Adam – Eve. Adam was given that role by God. Unfortunately, when Adam stood by and allowed Eve to listen to the serpent, the chart changed: Satan – Eve – Adam. Not God’s plan. Had Even not been the one to take the lead and Adam the follow, things may have been different. That is why following God’s way is always best.

Now to take on the hard verse, Paul said that Eve was utterly deceived and that Adam wasn’t. Do you know what that means? Adam willfully chose to sin. Eve did so because the serpent convinced her that he was telling the truth. Not Adam. He purposefully rebelled against God. He knew better, but he did it anyway. Maybe it was because of his love for Eve and he knew the outcome of her sin. Who knows? Here is the point: God’s plan is for the man to lead his family. When he takes the backseat, bad things happen!