God’s High Calling for Women
"And I want women to be modest in their appearance. They
should wear decent and appropriate clothing and not draw attention to
themselves by the way they fix their hair or by wearing gold or pearls or expensive
clothes. For women who claim to be devoted to God should make themselves
attractive by the good things they do. Women should listen and learn quietly
and submissively. I do not let women teach men or have authority over them. Let
them listen quietly. For God made Adam first, and afterward he made Eve. And it
was the woman, not Adam, who was deceived by Satan, and sin was the result. But
women will be saved through childbearing and by continuing to live in faith,
love, holiness, and modesty." (1 Timothy 2:9-15, NLT)
I want to address the subject of women, their place before
God, and their standing in the church.
This has been a subject that has had a lot of stuff said and written
regarding it. I've read some things I've
liked, I've read some stuff I didn't like, and I've read some stuff that down
right enraged me. What I hope to do with
this presentation is to present what I feel the Bible teaches on the
subject. I understand from the outset
that there will be some who disagree with me; perhaps vehemently. I want to say to those who do that you
refrain from harsh criticisms and ad hominem attacks. Let us extend grace to one another as
children of God. We're not going to
agree with everyone 100% on our theology.
The place of women before God and the role of women in the church, I
believe, is NOT a matter of
salvation, but one of obedience. In
other words, to agree or disagree with me doesn't call into question one's
eternal salvation. It does call into
question, however, one's level of obedience to the word of God; which in turn
affects God's blessing in their lives.
This is not to say that I am absolutely certain that my interpretation
of Scripture is 100% correct. I will
admit up front that my interpretation my be wrong, so while I ask for those who
disagree with me to extend grace; I to am willing to extend the same grace.
With that being said, the passage I wish to look at is from 1
Timothy 2:9-15. I believe this is the
definitive passage in regards to women and the church. The first part of the passage deals with how
women carry and adorn themselves in the normal church gathering. Remember, 1 Timothy was written by Paul to
his young son in the faith, Timothy, to help Timothy through some issues he had
in the church in
First Paul instructs Timothy to pray for all people including
people in civil authority because this pleases God. Second, he tells Timothy to have the men in
the church pray. Thirdly, he tells
Timothy how the women should appear in the church worship service. Paul says, "And I want women to be modest in their appearance. They should
wear decent and appropriate clothing and not draw attention to themselves by
the way they fix their hair or by wearing gold or pearls or expensive clothes.
For women who claim to be devoted to God should make themselves attractive by
the good things they do."
There is nothing mystical or deeply spiritual in this
instruction. It is intensely
practical. Women are to dress in such a
way that they don't draw attention to themselves. Why?
Because it is distracting to others and betrays the heart intention of
the woman; i.e., "notice ME and not God." What defines modesty? That's going to vary from age to age and
culture to culture, but the underlying principal is that women should appear
modestly dressed. It doesn't mean they
should dress as in the Victorian age, but it also means they shouldn't dress
like they just came from a brothel either.
This is an intensely personal thing between each individual woman and
God. Each woman should decide in her
heart whether her mode of dress is modest or not. Unless it is completely obvious, I don't
think it's the place of any man (or woman) to tell someone their dress is
immodest.
Now how come it doesn't address the issue of men's
apparel? Is Paul being sexist here? No.
The reason, I believe, that men's mode of dress isn't addressed is
because, in general, men and women react differently to visual stimuli. A woman who is dressed immodestly will be
noticed by men quicker than a man who is dressed immodestly by a woman. Men are stimulated visually, and a woman who
is dressed immodestly will be a greater distraction to a man than vice versa (I
speak from experience).
Paul now moves on to the manner of women in church: "Women
should listen and learn quietly and submissively." This verse has been so misquoted and abused
by those on both sides of the issue.
What is Paul saying here. I think
this verse can be split into two parts.
The first part is a command from Paul for women "to listen and
learn." Contrary to popular
opinion, Paul is NOT a chauvinistic pig!
This verse is actually one of the greatest verses for female equality in
the Bible. The culture in which this was
written was a completely male dominated culture. The Jews treated women as second class
citizens, and the Romans treated them even worse. For Paul to tell Timothy to let women be
instructed in the church would have been an utterly foreign concept for a
Jew. Women should learn in the
church. They need to be right there with
the men receiving the instruction from the word of God. Why?
Because no one has more influence on the life of a child than a
mother. How is a mother going to raise
godly children if she isn't properly instructed in the word of God. Timothy himself was instructed by his godly
mother and grandmother (2 Timothy 1:5).
Now comes the hard part.
How are the women to learn?
Quietly and submissively. What
does this mean? It means exactly what it
says. Can anyone, much less a woman,
learn unless they're quiet and submissive?
Does a woman have to learn quietly and submissively, but a man can be
boisterous and insubordinate? No. Everyone has to be quiet and submissive while
learning. So why is this instruction given
specifically to women? I believe it is
because women in
What liberation am I talking about? Consider Galatians 3:28: "There
is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male or female. For you are all
Christians—you are one in Christ Jesus." Many people take this verse to mean that
gender roles and distinctions between men and women have been obliterated. That is not what this verse is saying at all! This verse is saying that in Christ and
before God we are equal. This is a
spiritual equality. There is no
difference between a man in Christ and a woman in Christ because both are in
Christ and both are eligible for the spiritual blessings that entails. However, this has nothing to do at all with
roles. Do not confuse subordination of
roles with inequality before God! The
two are not the same. My employer has a
role, as do I, an employee. Within the
setting these roles apply, I must be submissive to my employer. Now if we're both Christians, does that mean
God looks at my employer as better than I am because he is in the role of an
employer? Absolutely not! If we're both Christians, we're both in
Christ and both eligible for the same spiritual blessings all Christians enjoy.
God has established the role of leadership in the church, as
in the family, to the man. How do I know
this? Because, as Paul says, "I do not let women teach men or
have authority over them."
This does not imply any inherent inferiority or deficiency in the
woman. It's not that women can't handle
the burdens of leadership. It's not that
women have any physical limitations that keep them from leadership. So why do men have the leadership in the
church? Because that's what God
says. God says through the apostle Paul,
"I
do not let women teach men or have authority over them." Now remember, the context of this command is
the church worship service. Does this
mean mothers cannot instruct their male children or exercise authority? No!
Remember, Timothy was taught by his godly mother and grandmother. Does this mean women can't be Sunday school
teachers? No. Sunday school was a concept foreign to the
early church, as such it couldn't be within the scope of this instruction. So what is the scope of this
instruction. I believe it is restricted
to the office of official teacher in the church; i.e., the teaching elder. The church is to be governed by a group of
elders (1 Timothy 3). The elders are to
be men (as implied in the qualifications of an elder). One of the roles of the elder is to teach the
congregation (the elder must be able to teach, 1 Timothy 3:2). If the elders must be able to teach, and the
elders must be men, then it stands to reason that the authoritative role of
teaching elder cannot be held by a woman.
That's what Paul means, and that is ALL that he means.
Does this mean that women cannot EVER speak in church? You know, 1 Corinthians 14:34 says, "Women should be silent during the
church meetings. It is not proper for them to speak. They should be submissive,
just as the law says." The
situation in
So back to the previous question. Can a woman ever speak in church? Of course she can! A woman, who has the leave of the elders, can
address the congregation; she can even be a guest speaker. A woman just can't usurp the authority of
leadership within the church. Everything
within the church has to be done in an orderly fashion and with the permission
of those in a leadership position ("For
God is not a God of disorder but of peace, as in all the other churches."
1 Corinthians 14:33, NLT).
Someone is undoubtedly going to bring up the exceptions, such
as Deborah. I believe God will use women
from time to time in a position of leadership for the express purpose to rebuke
the men in leadership. In other words,
God would be saying in these situations, "I'd really love to use a man for
this task, but I can't find one godly enough for what I want to do." And don't forget that even Deborah worked
with Barak; she didn't go it alone.
I close with this. God
has a specific and beautiful calling for women.
A calling that they are uniquely qualified for: the raising of godly children. Paul continues, "For God made Adam first, and afterward he made Eve. And it was
the woman, not Adam, who was deceived by Satan, and sin was the result. But
women will be saved through childbearing and by continuing to live in faith,
love, holiness, and modesty."
The reason men are in the position of leadership is simply because God
made them first, and even though it was the woman who was deceived (whereas the
man directly disobeyed), she can remove the stigma of that deception by raising
godly children. Women are in a very
strategic position to radically influence society. The children they bear and raise will be the
people who take over the world when we're gone.
Now, I am not advocating a "barefoot and pregnant"
philosophy. I understand the
difficulties of modern society; it is much harder to get by unless both parents
are working. Harder, but not
impossible! I don't want to offend
anyone, and I'm not judging anyone, but I question the commitment of married
women who think maintaining a certain standard of living is more important that
raising their children. There are always
exceptions, but when it comes right down to it, a married woman who works is
placing material wealth above their children; they are trusting someone else to
raise their children. This doesn't mean
that a woman can never hold a job, but if a job makes them spend a significant
amount of time away from home and their kids (especially kids who are not yet
school age), then they are doing their children a great disservice. Again, this doesn't mean that all kids coming
from homes where the mother works a full-time job are going to be sociopaths,
but it does heighten the possibility.
Just like smoking doesn't automatically lead to lung cancer, a mother who
works instead of raising her children doesn't automatically lead to messed up
children; but the chances are greater.
I submit this work in love and humility. It is my hope and prayer that it edifies
all. To those who vehemently disagree
with what I said, I ask that you prayerfully consider what has been said. I believe it is God's will. This post is not meant to offend or judge,
but to present what the word of God has to say on a very contentious subject.