September 8, 2019
Evening Service

This morning we looked at the attitude that we need to have as we approach God either in prayer or into assembling or ourselves together.  We need to come with a prepared heart anticipating God to fulfill His promise to be present wherever two or three are gathered in His Name.  The Hebrew writer encouraged us to “not forsake the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is, but exhorting one another and so much more as you see the Day approaching.”  The assembling of ourselves together, or as we call it church, is a vital part of our walk with the Lord.  It is how God designed for us to follow Jesus.  We are better together.  Tonight we will look at more instructions that Paul lays out for Timothy (and us) to follow as the church grows into all that God wants it to be.  Next we will look at Paul’s teaching on women’s role in the church.

1Ti 2:9-11 in like manner also, that the women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with propriety and moderation, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly clothing, (10) but, which is proper for women professing godliness, with good works.  (11)  Let a woman learn in silence with all submission.

            Peter likewise addressed woman and their role as well in his first letter.

 

1Pe 3:1-6 Wives, likewise, be submissive to your own husbands, that even if some do not obey the word, they, without a word, may be won by the conduct of their wives, (2) when they observe your chaste conduct accompanied by fear.  (3)  Do not let your adornment be merely outward—arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel— (4) rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God.  (5)  For in this manner, in former times, the holy women who trusted in God also adorned themselves, being submissive to their own husbands, (6) as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord, whose daughters you are if you do good and are not afraid with any terror.

            Paul and Peter are very clear that it is not the outward adorning of a woman that will make her beautiful but the it is the “incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit.”  Woman in Ephesus, as they do now, often used their outward appearance, braided hair, jewelry and expensive clothing to gain respect within the society and even the church.  They make it clear that her focus should be to adorn herself with a submissive and quiet spirit to win others to Christ by her good works rather than her good looks.  If a young woman were to ask me about whether something was appropriate to wear, I would send them to these scriptures to read and pray over.  The Holy Spirit will deal faithfully with each one and make the answer clear if they choose to follow it.  Paul now continues with what is somewhat of a controversial topic in our society.

 

 

1Ti 2:12-15 And I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence.  (13)  For Adam was formed first, then Eve.  (14)  And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression.  (15)  Nevertheless she will be saved in childbearing if they continue in faith, love, and holiness, with self-control.

        Just as Paul placed the man the head of his wife in the marriage relationship, he follows suit in the leadership of the church.  He makes it very clear that a woman is not to be placed in an authoritative position to teach the scriptures in the setting the assembling of the church.  She is not to be allowed to stand here in the pulpit and expound upon the scriptures.  As we will see in chapter 3 in the requirements for the office of bishop, she is not eligible to hold that position which is also called the overseer or pastor.  This is no way is meant to be degrading to a woman, but it is simply how God designed it.  Our culture is now becoming even more strongly opposed to any limits that are imposed on women.  They are pushing for an equal opportunity for all regardless of our sex or what the scripture clearly teaches us here.  Paul gives us two reasons for this and neither one ties to the culture back then or now but to simply how God designed it.

            First, he links this with the order of creation of man and woman.  Man was created first and given the leadership role.  It was Adam that God addressed in the Garden at the time of the fall, not Eve.  That was because he was the one in charge and was held responsible.

            Secondly, Paul refers also to that time of deception when Eve “fell to transgression.”  It does not suggest that women are more inherently vulnerable to being deceived, but that certainly was the case in the Garden.  The destructive consequence came when there was a breakdown in the original roles that were given.  Eve should have never tried the apple without consulting Adam, and Adam should not have stood by passively and watched the whole event take place right before his eyes without stepping in.  God created these roles of authority and if they are followed correctly it will create a safeguard for us against making some terrible mistakes.  Troubles will arise when a woman steps into that authoritative position whether out of her own desire to fulfill it or the man’s lack of desire to fulfill it.  God set it in order this way and if we follow it, He will bless us for it.

            Paul then states that women will be “saved in childbearing if they continue in faith love, holiness and self-control.”  The idea behind this is that women will be preserved from the influences of false teaching as she focuses on her role of being a wife and mother.  She can accept her role in the family unit and truly thrive fulfilling it as it is there that she will find true peace and contentment.

            We also need to be clear that Paul’s command that “women do not teach or have authority over a man” does not mean she cannot teach at all.  Paul in his letter to Titus addressed this in chapter 2 as he tells him to “speak things which are proper sound doctrine.”

 Tit 2:2-5 that the older men be sober, reverent, temperate, sound in faith, in love, in patience; (3) the older women likewise, that they be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things— (4) that they admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, (5) to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be blasphemed.

        It is the responsibility of the older women in the church to teach the younger next generation of women what their roles are and how to fulfill them in God’s grand plan.  They are to explain to them how to accept their roles and be the strong help mate to their husbands encouraging them to lead the family as God has designed. 

We must as a church find a way to give opportunity to the older generation to invest in the younger, both men and women.  That passing of wisdom from one generation to the next has become something that our society does not the needed emphasis on.  Today if we have trouble we “Google it” to find answers rather than seek out someone who is older and seen much more than we have.  Think of all the times you are doing something and there is some certain way you do it simply because Grandma, Grandpa, Mom or Dad did it that way.  “Older” ladies and men alike we need to look for younger women and men to invest in and pass on the guidelines that God has set in place for us to follow. 

In summary, Paul is teaching that women cannot fulfill the leadership role of pastor in the church having authority over men.  She, as we do allow, can participate by teaching children and other women the scriptures.  She, as we do allow also, be allowed to testify and sing within the structured service as long as she does it in a respectful manner and refrains from expounding upon scripture.  Ladies you are a play a vital role in the success of your household as well as in the success of our fellowship.  I encourage you to embrace your roles in both and watch God bless you for it.