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Date:   7/3/2017 9:49:28 AM ( 7 y ago)

Extended Study on 1 Timonthy 2:11-15

1 Timothy 2:11
Note on 1 Timothy 2:11
Paul had just given instructions on how women should dress. As I explained in 1 Timothy 2:9, these instructions have to be modified to some degree according to the societies we live in. It’s the same with this instruction about women keeping silent in the church. That was a custom of the day. Paul was telling the women he ministered to how to conduct themselves in the church of his day. Our customs have changed, and therefore this command needs to change also.
Paul commanded slaves to obey their masters in all things, not because he approved of slavery, but that was the custom of his day. Now that we are free from slavery, we don’t have to go back into slavery to obey that part of God’s Word. Likewise, the position of women in our society has changed, and we don’t need to go backwards to a time where women were second-class citizens and unable to vote or speak. The spirit of these commands still exists. Women are supposed to submit to their husbands and honor and respect them, but they are no longer property to be bought and sold and controlled.
Life For Today Study Bible Notes
Note 6 at 1 Timothy 2:11: There is a great controversy in the church today over these verses. The contention has increased with the change of women’s roles in society. There isn’t a simple answer, but a subtle point in this passage should defuse much of the contention.
Paul was not teaching that women in general are to submit to men in general (Colossians 3:18). Paul was speaking about a wife not taking by force the leadership role over her husband.
That is the point Paul was specifying, that a woman should not “usurp authority over the man” (1 Timothy 2:12, emphasis mine). This singles out an individual man, not mankind. It refers to a wife not being her husband’s boss. Paul was saying that a wife is to let the husband take the leadership role in the church (Ephesians 5:22-24). She is to let her husband speak.
The word “usurp” in the next verse further strengthens this interpretation. “Usurp” means, “to seize and hold...by force or without legal authority” (American Heritage Dictionary). Paul was talking against a woman lording over her husband. We’ve all seen boisterous women with little mousy husbands. That’s what Paul was speaking against.
This is similar to what Paul went on to say about the men in the next chapter. He told Timothy not to make a man a bishop who couldn’t rule his own house. Likewise, he was saying that a woman should not speak in the church if she’s trying to usurp her husband’s authority. If a man’s home isn’t in order, he shouldn’t minister, and if a woman’s husband isn’t in agreement with her saying something, she should be quiet.
The reason for Paul’s instruction about the wife keeping quiet was to keep her from usurping authority over her husband. This does not forbid women to speak in the church if their husbands are in agreement.
Paul spoke of women praying and prophesying in the church services (1 Corinthians 11:5). Priscilla instructed Apollos (Acts 18:26), and Paul instructed the older women to teach the younger women (Titus 2:3-4). It appears that Paul did not forbid women to teach under appropriate circumstances.
In 1 Timothy 2:13-15, Paul continued his argument, using Adam and Eve as an example of a husband-and-wife relationship. This is not a “men are superior to women” passage of Scripture but a “husbands are the head of their wives” (Ephesians 5:23) passage.
Note 7 at 1 Timothy 2:11: The Greek word for “silence” here in 1 Timothy 2:11-12 is “HESUCHIA,” and it was also used in 2 Thessalonians 3:12 as a description “of the life of one who stays at home doing his own work, and does not officiously meddle with the affairs of others” (Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon). The word “officious” means “marked by excessive eagerness in offering unwanted services or advice to others” (American Heritage Dictionary). In that passage, it is clear that Paul was not telling people to work in total silence, but to mind their own business.
Likewise, here in 1 Timothy 2:11-12, Paul was not talking about complete silence. This same Greek word was used in Acts 22:2 and 2 Thessalonians 3:12 to mean undisturbed and settled down. Apparently, the women had gotten out of hand in the church services, and Paul was putting things in order by telling them to let their husbands do the talking.
1 Timothy 2:12
Note on 1 Timothy 2:12
Part of this command has to be interpreted according to the customs of the day we live in, like I explained in the preceding note. But this verse is really not asking anything of the woman that is not also demanded of the man.
Notice the word “usurp.” The dictionary defines “usurp” as “to seize and hold by force, without legal right or authority.” This is speaking of a rebellious woman who is not submitted to her husband or anyone else, trying to control and dominate a church assembly. Notice also the use of the definite article “the” in front of the word “man.” This is specifying a particular man, or the husband. This is not a command for women in general not to teach or usurp authority over men, but this is a command for a wife not to teach or usurp authority over her husband.
Similar commands were given in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1 to the husband. They were commanded that they could not be bishops if their wives were not in agreement. That’s what Paul is telling the women. If their husbands aren’t in agreement, then they shouldn’t be teaching or leading in the church.
Women can certainly speak in the church and teach if their husbands are in agreement. Likewise, men can teach and lead in the church if their wives are in agreement. But if they don’t have that agreement, men or women should not be teachers or leaders in the church.
1 Timothy 2:13
Note on 1 Timothy 2:13
Anytime you have two people together, there needs to be a system of authority in place to settle disputes. In the case of the husband and wife, the husband was given the superior authority, but not because he’s better. That’s just the way it happened. Adam was formed first and then Eve, and Adam was given the superior authority in the home.
This does not mean a man is supposed to lord it over the woman. They are supposed to be heirs together of the grace of life (1 Peter 3:7) and submit one to another in the fear of God (Ephesians 5:21). But the husband has been given the leadership role.
Life For Today Study Bible Notes
Note 8 at 1 Timothy 2:13: Paul reached all the way back to Adam and Eve to verify his point about the wife being in subjection to her husband. Some people focus on the curse in Genesis 3:16, where Adam was put in authority over Eve. Since Christ redeemed mankind from the curse (Galatians 3:13), it seems logical that men no longer rule over their wives.
The example Paul cited goes back even further than Adam and Eve’s fall and God’s subsequent curse. God created Adam first and then Eve. Paul referenced that act to validate his point. Therefore, the headship of the man in marriage is not a part of the curse and still applies today. Paul referred to this same truth in other places in Scripture (1 Corinthians 11:3, 7-9; and Ephesians 5:22-24).
Men ruling over their wives (as was, and still is, traditional in some cultures) was abolished through Christ. Jesus was the best thing to ever happen to the women’s rights movement. He set them free from being property and elevated them tremendously. However, the Lord still has a system of government for the home, with the husband in the position of leadership.
1 Timothy 2:14
Note on 1 Timothy 2:14
This passage reveals that Eve was deceived by the serpent. She really thought that God had held them back and eating of the fruit would make them more like God. But Adam wasn’t deceived. Genesis 3:6 reveals that Adam was there with Eve while the serpent was tempting her. He heard the same things that Eve heard, but it didn’t deceive him. Possibly, he saw Eve eat of the fruit and could tell by her reaction that everything the serpent had said was a lie. Whether he never fell for the deception or if he realized it was a mistake after Eve had eaten, when Adam partook of the fruit, he knew what the results would be.
We can only speculate why Adam ate the fruit when he knew it would be his damnation. I think it was because he knew Eve had fallen and he wanted to be with her, even if it meant his own destruction. This is a picture of how Christ gave His life for us.
1 Timothy 2:15
Note on 1 Timothy 2:15
Mormons have incorrectly interpreted this verse to say that a woman has to have children to be saved. That’s part of their justification for polygamy. This is not speaking of salvation in the sense of forgiveness of sins. The word SOZO, which was translated “saved” here, also refers to healing, prosperity, and deliverance, as well as forgiveness of sins. This is saying that if the husband and wife walk in faith, love, and holiness with self-control, then she will be delivered or healed from the curse of childbearing. That’s referring to an overabundance of children and the travail associated with childbearing.
Jamie and I believed this verse for painless childbirth and it worked. Jamie had Joshua and Peter without any pain killers or blocks. She started having pain with Joshua, but I prayed over her in tongues and she fell asleep. The doctor woke her up and presented Joshua to her. She did have pain with Peter, but it’s because the doctor messed us up. However, it was only a 30-minute delivery. Thank You, Jesus!
Life For Today Study Bible Notes
Note 9 at 1 Timothy 2:15: The first phrase that we need to look at in this verse is “she shall be saved.” This is not referring to the woman being saved from sin, as in the born-again experience (see note 2 at John 3:3). Paul spoke of her and her husband continuing in faith. He would not say that about a couple who were not born again. The women Paul was referring to were already Christians.
The Greek word “SOZO” was translated “saved” here, and as described in note 7 at Acts 2:21, SOZO refers to more than forgiveness of sins. “It is used in the New Testament, of the healing of a sick person in the sense that he is saved from illness and from death (Mark 5:34–”made whole,“ SOZO). It is used in the sense of being saved from drowning in a shipwreck (Acts 27:20). Paul used it in relation to being saved from becoming entangled in false teaching (1 Timothy 4:6)” (Wuest Word Studies in the Greek New Testament, Volume 2, pp. 49-50). SOZO literally means “to keep safe and sound, to rescue from danger or destruction” (Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon).
Therefore, the women being saved in childbearing refers to physical and emotional well-being, not the forgiveness of sins. This scripture promises to the couple (see note 12 at this verse) who are seeking the Lord (see note 11 at this verse) the safe delivery of their child.
Misinterpretation of this verse is where the Mormons get their authority for polygamy. They believe that women are saved (forgiveness of sins) through childbirth. Therefore, men are obligated to marry as many women as possible and have children with them. That, of course, is not what this verse is teaching.
Note 10 at 1 Timothy 2:15: This gives us a very important piece of information about the temptation of Adam and Eve that isn’t totally clear from just the Old Testament account. In Genesis 3:6, it is revealed that Adam was with Eve during her discussion with the serpent. We weren’t told what Adam was thinking.
This passage shows us that Adam didn’t fall for the serpent’s deceit. He knew that eating the forbidden fruit was not going to make them more like God. Eve was deceived, but Adam knew what he was doing (1 Timothy 2:14).
That raises a new question. Why did he do it? If he knew he was going to die instead of becoming more like God, why eat? The answer isn’t spelled out in Scripture; therefore, we can only speculate. It is possible, however, that Adam ate with full knowledge of the consequences, because of his love for Eve and desire not to be separated from her. That would be a type of what Jesus did for us.
Note 11 at 1 Timothy 2:15: The word “if” in this verse makes this promise about being saved in childbearing (see note 9 at this verse) a conditional promise. It is not conditional in the sense that the couple must earn God’s blessing, but they do have to believe the Lord for this benefit. It doesn’t come automatically.
Note 12 at 1 Timothy 2:15: Notice that it is not just the woman who is told to continue in faith, charity, and holiness with sobriety. This scripture says “they” both should continue. The husband is included in this process.

Andrew Wommack's Living Commentary.


 

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