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1 Timothy chapter 2, last week 
we considered modesty and good works, specifically for women, 
in verses 9 and 10. Tonight we're going to take up 
the rest of chapter 2, verses 11 to 15, women, the word, and 
the ministry. These are specific instructions, 
specific directions from the Apostle Paul for both men and 
women in corporate worship. He deals specifically with men 
in verse 8, I desire therefore that the men pray everywhere, 
lifting up holy hands without wrath and doubting. Then he turns 
his attention in verses 9 and following to what women are to 
do, how they are to conduct themselves in corporate worship as well. 
I just want to begin reading in chapter 2 at verse 1. Therefore 
I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving 
of thanks be made for all men. for kings and all who are an 
authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness 
and reverence. For this is good and acceptable 
in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved 
and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one 
God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 
who gave himself a ransom for all to be testified in due time, 
for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle, I am speaking 
the truth in Christ and not lying, a teacher of the Gentiles in 
faith and truth. I desire therefore that the men 
pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting. 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. but which is proper for women 
professing godliness with good works. Let a woman learn in silence 
with all submission. And I do not permit a woman to 
teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence. For Adam was formed first, then 
Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but 
the woman being deceived fell into transgression. Nevertheless, 
she will be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith, love, 
and holiness with self-control. Amen. Let us pray. Father, we 
come to this passage of Scripture. We pray for the ministry of the 
Spirit. We pray that He would guide us and lead us into all 
truth, that You would protect us from error, that You would 
protect us from heresy, that You would protect us from seeking 
to accommodate your word to things that we prefer or things that 
we like. Help us, Father, to submit to 
the authority of Scripture in all its parts. Help us, Father, 
to see its profit in doctrine and in reproof and correction 
and instruction in righteousness. We do pray you'd thoroughly furnish 
us unto every good work. We ask through Jesus Christ our 
Lord. Amen. Well, as we come to consider 
this particular topic or doctrine or teaching with reference to 
women and the ministry, certainly there are a lot of competing 
views with reference to to this whole idea. As you've probably 
surmised, here at Free Grace Baptist, we do not believe that 
women ought to be preachers, teachers, elders, or deacons, 
and we take our marching orders from passages like these that 
God has spoken specifically to that particular issue. I want 
to consider this section under three observations. First, Paul's 
exhortation to receive the Word. Verse 11, Secondly, his prohibition 
against teaching the Word. And then verse 15, an explanation 
regarding women and the Word. Now I don't believe that all 
of your questions will be answered tonight. Verse 15, in the language 
of many commentators, is a notoriously difficult verse. So I'm going 
to do with verse 15 something I don't normally do, give you 
both the positions on it. I side with what's been called 
the messianic interpretation. I'll explain that. throughout 
the course of the message. But the meat and the potatoes 
and the rub specifically is found in verses 11 to 14. The Apostle calls upon women 
to receive the Word, he prohibits them from teaching the Word, 
and he argues from creation. His argument or his reasoning 
or his rationale is absolutely crucial for us to understand. 
It is theological in nature. It is not cultural, it is not 
based on preference, It's not based on who's good and who isn't, 
but rather, as is often the case, when the apostle is calling Christians 
to a particular type of behavior, he reaches back to the creation 
account. When you go back to Genesis chapter 
1 and 2, you see God's design. You see how God decreed for His 
creatures to conduct themselves. That is normative. That is the 
way men and women ought to live. In redemption, when Christ saves 
us, it's as if He puts us back on track so that we can do what 
God initially planned for His creatures. In other words, imagine 
it like a train track. God has determined that the train 
run down the track in a particular way. Well, in the fall, the train 
is derailed. In redemption, the train is put 
back on the track and we're called to obey God and His intention 
for men and for women the way that He created them. So that's 
sort of an overarching view. The position that I am preaching 
tonight is the traditional historic conservative interpretation. 
It was not always the case that women stepped into the pulpit. It was not always the case that 
women preached or taught or that women functioned as elders and 
deacons. It's probably a very relatively 
new thing in the history of the church. What I am preaching to 
you tonight I think is biblically, accurately, exegetically sound 
and it is the common interpretation of the churches throughout history. As well, by way of a preliminary 
observation, God made men and women equal. In terms of ontology, 
I'm going to mention that word tonight, it just means being. 
He just made men and women in His image, and we are ontologically 
equal. In redemption, we are redemptively 
equal. That's Galatians 3, 28. It's 
neither male nor female. Paul's talking about in terms 
of redemptive benefit. And then in 1 Peter 3, the Apostle 
says that wives are co-heirs of the grace of life. So ontologically, 
in terms of what we are in our base makeup, we are equal. When it comes to redemption, 
we are equal. But God has instituted functional 
distinction. Within gender, there are particular 
roles that are appropriate and defined by God. In Psalm, God 
has made men to lead in the church and in the home. And tonight 
we're looking at a passage where he deals with man or male leadership 
in the church. The point. Notice first, with 
reference to the exhortation to receive the Word, verse 11, 
let a woman learn in silence with all submission. Remember 
the context. Chapter 3, verse 15. Paul is 
speaking to church life. He's speaking to corporate worship. 1 Timothy 3.15, but if I am delayed, 
I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself 
in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, 
the pillar and the ground of the truth. Now the words that 
the Apostle uses here could be translated husband and wife. Could be translated husband and 
wife or male and female, man and woman. I think man and woman 
or male and female is a better translation. That Paul isn't 
only dealing with husbands and wives ought to be apparent in 
verse 8. He is not telling only married 
men that they are to pray in the context of the local church. 
He is telling men. In verse 9, he's not just telling 
married women that they are to dress modestly. He's not suggesting 
to the non-married women that you can dress in any old fashion 
you want. I think the New King James is 
accurate here. Probably most translations reflect 
this. The idea here isn't husband and 
wife, it is man and woman. In the home, of course, the wife 
is to submit to the husband. When it comes to the context 
of the local church, males are to lead, and the women, according 
to verse 11, let a woman learn in silence with all submission. The women, like the men, are 
to come under the Word of God. Now some have seen in this a 
bit of a revolutionary position that in the Roman Empire and 
in Judaism women were discouraged from learning. Now there are 
vestiges or hints of such an approach. There was one statement, 
a Jewish writer, saying it would be better to burn the Torah than 
to teach it to women. But that wasn't the common report. 
The emphasis here isn't so much on the fact that she gets to 
learn the Word of God. The specific contrast in view 
is that she's not supposed to teach the Word of God. And in 
light of that, while she is forbidden from teaching and exercising 
authority over a man, she is not forbidden from access to 
God. Her responsibilities, like men 
in the church, is to come and to learn scripture. She is to 
understand. She is to be doctrinally sound. There is an excessive position 
where women are marginalized. And because we argue for male 
headship in the home and male headship in the church, we somehow 
think that a woman can just be a dingbat. Well, that's simply 
not accurate. She must learn. She must listen. She must read. She must study. She must understand the system 
of revealed truth that comes from Genesis to Revelation. Ladies, 
you can never say, well, I'm a lady and I'll never be able 
to teach, so it really doesn't matter if I understand the Trinity. 
It really doesn't matter if I understand Sola Fide. It really doesn't 
matter if I understand eschatology. It doesn't matter if I understand 
Christian ethics, because I'll never have to teach these things. 
Well, there's a whole host of men in our churches that will 
probably never teach in a particular context. Does that mean they 
can just tune out? Does that mean we can just turn 
off? Does that mean we don't have to pay attention to the 
Word? No, if anything, the Apostle says, let a woman learn in silence 
with all submission. Turn over to 1 Corinthians chapter 
14, where a similar injunction is seen, again, in the context 
of the church at worship. In 1 Corinthians 14 at verse 
34, let your women keep silent in the churches, for they are 
not permitted to speak, but they are to be submissive as the law 
also says." What is Paul referring to when he says, as the law also 
says? Is there an 11th commandment 
that says, women, thou must be submissive to men? The law there, 
in the hands of the Apostle, is the Torah, specifically the 
first five books of Genesis, and specifically the five books 
of Moses, the book of Genesis. The law, Genesis chapter 2, where 
God has established at creation specific role distinctives. And Paul incidentally argues 
the same way here in 1 Timothy chapter 2. He appeals to Genesis 
chapters 2 and 3. to make his case for this abiding 
principle that is not culturally conditioned. It is not to be 
because Ephesus had a problem, but it's because God has spoken 
to this particular situation. Going back to 1 Timothy 2.11, 
let a woman learn in silence with all submission. Some have 
said, she needs to not be disruptive. She needs to not be disorderly. The word silence could be translated 
quietly as well. And I believe some of your Bibles 
reflect that. But the contrast between teaching 
and silence makes better sense. The idea isn't that she's just 
not to be disruptive, she's just not to be disorderly, she's just 
not to speak in the context of the gathered church when there's 
preaching and teaching going on. That is the particular issue. When he says, let a woman learn 
in silence with all submission, the idea is clear. Silence manifests 
or it reflects beautifully this submissive spirit. You see, a 
woman who is speaking up, a woman who is challenging, is not manifesting 
a submissive spirit. So that's the first section that 
we need to take into consideration. The exhortation to receive the 
word. Let a woman learn in silence 
with all submission. Ladies, come to church. Ladies, 
be under the preached word. Ladies, listen. Ladies, pay attention. Compare Scripture with Scripture. 
Grow in the grace and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. 
Learn theology. Learn the truth. Do not be satisfied 
with this much. It's not as if God looks down 
and says, women, you're ontologically inferior. It's nice that you 
just look at picture books. No! That's not it at all. He 
wants you to learn. He wants you to understand. He 
wants you to know. Study the Confession of Faith, 
study the Scriptures, study Birkhoff, study good theology, be readers, 
be students, be growing in your understanding of these things. 
You need to exercise responsibly this particular facility that 
God has equipped you with. Receive the Word. Let her learn 
it with all submission. Now notice secondly, verses 12 
to 14, the prohibition against teaching the word. There's a 
bit of a contrasting word inserted between 11 and 12. It's translated 
in the New King James as, and. It's a soft adversative. It means 
but. I think what's going on here 
is that verses 12 to 14 illustrate or demonstrate or highlight what 
genuine submission looks like. In other words, in verse 11, 
let a woman learn in silence with all submission, and here's 
what all submission looks like. Some of the translations say 
full submission. Well, what does full submission 
look like? It looks like verse 2 or 12. 
I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over 
a man. This is what submission looks 
like on the part of Christian sisters in Christian churches. It doesn't mean you lie down 
on the floor and all the men walk over you. It means that 
you do not teach or exercise authority over a man. Notice 
the Apostle's authority here. He says, I do not permit. Again, 
if Jim says, I do not permit for you to walk up into the kitchen 
during a sermon... Anything to do with Pastor Cam, 
I don't know where he went, it just jumped into my head. If 
I do not permit that, you don't have to take that as law. You don't have to take that as 
the authoritative statement of Christ's appointed apostle. When 
Paul says, I do not permit, he is speaking with the authority 
of God Himself. And so we cannot say, well, this 
is just Paul's opinion. We cannot echo or imitate the 
Irish playwright, George Bernard Shaw, who lived in 1856 to 1950. He said that Paul came off as 
the eternal enemy of women. He didn't. Paul's not an enemy 
of you sisters. Paul loves God, and he loves 
sisters, and he knows that when sisters do what God says, life 
is good. He is not the eternal enemy of 
women. His authority is apostolic in 
nature. 1 Timothy 1, 1. Paul, an apostle 
of Jesus Christ, by the commandment of God our Savior and the Lord 
Jesus Christ, our hope. Verses 11 and 12, according to 
the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which was committed to my 
trust. And I thank Christ Jesus, our 
Lord, who has enabled me, because he counted me faithful, putting 
me into the ministry. Verse 7 of chapter 2. for which 
I was appointed a preacher and an apostle. I am speaking the 
truth in Christ and not lying, a teacher of the Gentiles in 
faith and truth." Verse 8, "...I desire therefore that the men 
pray everywhere." Verse 9, "...I desire therefore in like manner 
that the women adorn themselves." You see, he's got apostolic authority, 
he is speaking as the spokesman of Jesus Christ, what he says 
is binding in the churches, his argument is binding in the churches, 
and we to our peril put women in the pulpit. We, in rejection 
to the living and true God and His Word, go against this particular 
passage. Notice, the Apostle prohibits 
first, women are not to teach men. Women are not to teach men. Again, in the house of God, which 
is the church of God, the pillar and ground of the truth. It does 
not mean, ladies, that if your husband's about to hit his thumb 
with a hammer, you can't say, don't do that. He's talking about 
the corporate body of Christ's people and the teaching in view 
is in the sense of handing down a fixed body of doctrine which 
must be mastered and then preserved intact. Notice in 1 Timothy 4, 
11, these things command and teach." 1st Timothy 6 and 
verse 2. Teach and exhort these things. 2nd Timothy 2-2. He says, "...and 
the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, 
commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others 
also." And again in Titus chapter 1. Titus chapter 1 verse 11, 
this is in a bad way, "...but whose mouths must be stopped, 
whose subvert whole households, teaching things which they ought 
not for the sake of dishonest gain." The apostles' prohibition 
extends to women in the Church of our Lord Jesus Christ. According 
to the Apostle, in other portions of Scripture, outside of the 
gathered Church of Christ, women can teach. Women can teach other 
women. Titus chapter 2, verses 3 and 
4. Again, I don't believe it's a 
corporate setting where everybody's together and Paul says to the 
lady, tell everybody to tune out if you're a man and just 
the women. It's private. Private. Women are to teach children, 
obviously. I mean, how does Timothy come 
to know the Savior? Because he's taught by Lois and 
he's taught by Eunice. He is taught from his childhood 
the sacred writings which are able to make him wise for salvation, 
which is through faith in Jesus Christ. And there's an instance, 
brethren, outside of the corporate body of Christ, outside of the 
gathered church at worship, where a woman, along with her husband, 
privately instructs a man. In the book of Acts, in Acts 
chapter 18, there's a man by the name of Apollos. And he's 
described as eloquent, a man mighty in the Scriptures. His 
hermeneutic had not fully blossomed and developed though, so Priscilla 
and Aquila taught him in a more excellent way. So ladies, you 
have that blessed privilege that you can exercise, but when it 
comes to the church of our Lord Jesus Christ, women are not to 
teach men. Secondly, women are not to exercise 
authority over men. Notice in verse 12, and I do 
not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man. And the word authority here, 
it's the only time it occurs in this form in the New Testament. So a lot of people have said, 
well, it doesn't mean just to have authority. It means to domineer. Gordon Fee translates it this 
way. That's not what's in view. A woman is domineering her man. 
The King James, I think, is inaccurate here. It says it usurp authority. Well, usurpation in and of itself 
is the bad thing. You're not supposed to usurp 
authority in any given context. But some could say, as long as 
she doesn't usurp the authority, but the authority is granted 
to her on the up and up, well, then it's okay for her to authorize 
it. No! The idea here is to exercise 
authority. It is wrong. Paul prohibits it. I do not allow them to teach 
or to exercise authority over a man. There is an instance in 
the New Testament scriptures in 1 Corinthians 7 where a woman 
does have authority over man. A woman has authority in terms 
of the home with reference to the conjugal relationship. That 
is an instance where women are granted authority over a man. 
For the most part, men don't generally have any problem with 
that particular use of authority on the part of their wives. But 
Paul is clear. As I've said before, and I'll 
say it again, we, to our own peril, reject this teaching. 
We, to our own peril, say, well, you know, that's just the way 
it was then. But we've arrived. We're better 
now. Women are better educated. They're 
more knowledgeable. They're more excellent. They're 
more wonderful. All those things may be true, 
but Paul says, I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise 
authority over a man. A third observation with reference 
to this prohibition, women therefore are not to hold the office of 
elder. They are not to hold the office 
of elder. And I think Paul's argument here 
is brilliant. Because imagine for a moment, 
if the Apostle said, I do not permit a woman to be a pastor. 
What would conventional wisdom dictate? Well, she can't be a 
pastor, but she can exercise her gifts. I mean, after all, 
there's men who preach that aren't necessarily pastors, right? But 
by forbidding the activity, he forbids, by extension, the office. When he says, I do not allow 
a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man, he is blocking 
them from the office of elder. When we get to 1st Timothy chapter 
3 and verse 2, one of the primary qualifications of the elder is 
that he must be apt to teach. When we drop down to verse 5, 
another qualification for the elder is that he must be apt 
to rule. And so when Paul says, I do not 
permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man, 
he is prohibiting them from the office in the church. It truly 
is a brilliant way to deal with this particular issue. And then 
notice, fourthly, the Apostle says they are to be in silence. I do not permit a woman to teach 
or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence. How many times does the Apostle 
have to say it? He brackets this section. Verse 
11, receive the word in all silence. Do not teach or exercise authority 
over men, but be in silence. Why is it that we think in the 
21st century that doesn't mean what it looks like it means? Why do we think it's okay to 
throw off this imperative and to let women preach and teach 
and exercise authority over men? There's absolutely no reason 
for it other than the pressures of our own sinful hearts and 
our desires to do what we want to do. I tell you, this is a 
very appropriate passage of Scripture for our generation and for our 
day. We have real challenges when 
it comes to this whole issue of male headship in the church, 
not to mention male headship in the home. Men need to be faithful 
and need to grasp the baton that the Lord God has handed to them 
and run with it the way that they are supposed to. So he has 
authority, he makes specific prohibitions. Now notice, thirdly, 
by way of this overarching verses 12 to 14, his reasons. His reasons. Verses 13 and 14. 
Notice four. This is a reason. Some of the 
things that some of the people who approach this text differently 
suggest are these. I'm going to give you a few things 
along the way. The Apostle does not allow deceived 
women to teach or exercise authority. That's what he's talking about. 
He doesn't let deceived women teach or exercise authority. 
Only that's not what he says. He says women. The Apostle does 
not allow women to teach false doctrine. As if he'd actually 
need to even say such a thing. Man, I don't want you to teach 
false doctrine. He doesn't say that though. I do not permit 
a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man. The apostle 
does not allow women to teach or exercise authority over elders 
in the church. He doesn't say elders, he says 
man. And the Apostle does not allow 
women to teach or exercise authority in Ephesus because of the cultural 
problems that were affecting the church. Now, I don't doubt 
there were problems affecting the church. In fact, you can 
see some of it when you look at the passage. Look at 1 Timothy 
4 for just a moment. Notice what was being forbidden 
in verse 3, to marry and commanding to abstain from foods which God 
created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know 
the truth." There was this idea, this prohibition against marriage. That definitely blurs the lines 
between male and female relationships and healthiness. Notice in 1 
Timothy chapter 5, Paul, in verse 14, speaks again to a particular 
cultural issue. Therefore I desire that the younger 
widows marry, bear children, manage the house, give no opportunity 
to the adversary to speak reproachfully, for some have already turned 
aside after Satan. Paul seems to indicate that there 
is a problem in Ephesus that involves this whole idea of marriage 
and childbirth. When we get to verse 15 and the 
Apostle highlights childbearing, we have to ask the question, 
Paul, why do you do that? probably because in Ephesus there 
were some issues going on. But I think Doug Moos speaks 
to this very well. He says, by citing creation rather 
than a local situation or cultural circumstance as his basis for 
the prohibitions, verses 13 and 14, Moose says, Paul makes it 
clear that while these local or cultural issues may have provided 
the context of the issue, they do not provide the reason for 
his advice. Just because things are messed 
up in a particular way, does not affect the way that he reasons 
to them from creation. In other words, the apostles' 
method here shows us that this ethic is normative for the church, 
whether she's in Ephesus, whether she's in Chilliwack, whether 
she's in Vancouver, or whether she's in Africa. It does not 
matter, because the binding principles are those found in Genesis chapters 
2 and 3. That's what's normative, that's 
what's foundational, and that's where we'll go here. Notice his 
reasons. First, creation. Verse 13, For 
Adam was formed first, then Eve. Some of you brothers probably 
know that book, Infant Baptism and the Covenant of Grace, by 
Paul K. Jewett. It's a very helpful book 
on the whole idea of infant baptism and the covenant of grace. He's 
against the doctrine of infant baptism. He argues covenantally 
to oppose that. Well, Mr. Jewett had a different 
view of women in the ministry. And to this argument of the man 
being formed first, he says, well, animals were formed before 
Adam. Does that mean they have superiority? Well, I don't think 
it's the chronology, though that is applicable, but it's the whole 
text. It's the whole order. It's what 
God does in Genesis. It's what the Lord is fashioning 
in the garden. There's a structure. There's 
distinction. There's functional difference. 
There is a man that is to exercise dominion, and a woman who is 
to be his helpmate in that particular procedure. So the Apostle appeals 
to this whole idea in the created order. Verse 13, For Adam was 
formed first, then Eve. This is why I do not permit a 
woman to teach or to exercise authority. The creation account 
is the reason for the prohibition of verse 12, not culture. When Jesus is queried about the 
issue of marriage in Matthew chapter 19, is it lawful for 
any reason for a man to divorce his woman? Where does Paul go? He goes to the creation account. From the beginning it was not 
so. God made male and female and 
He brought them together. What He's brought together let 
not man separate. In a similar passage to 1 Timothy 
chapter 2, in 1 Corinthians 11 and again in 1 Corinthians 14, 
when the apostle is dealing with male headship in the church, 
he appeals to creation. When He deals with male headship 
in the home, in Ephesians 5, 22-33, where do you think He 
goes? He goes to creation. He goes 
to Genesis chapter 2. There is a similar appeal in 
each of these instances, and that dictates, or it mandates, 
or it exemplifies for us that what God does in Genesis 2 and 
3 remains binding on the people of God throughout all ages. And then as well, with this appeal 
first to creation. Look at what he is saying. These 
role distinctions, these role distinctiveness was in place 
prior to the fall. You see, some have taken male 
headship and female submission in the home and the church, and 
they said, well, that's a result of the fall. No, the fall certainly 
twisted and distorted and messed with some of those things, but 
God's purpose was in Adam and Eve prior to the fall. Right? Everybody with me on that? Very 
important. You've got to get that down. 
You have to understand. Male headship and female submission 
in the church and in the home is not a result of the fall. 
Sisters, you can't say, well, if they hadn't have fallen, then 
I wouldn't need to submit. She was His helper prior to their 
fall into sin. She was created for that purpose, 
to be His helper before the fall into sin. Now, the fall into 
sin, as I've already mentioned, the woman would have this desire 
in her not to have this convention. But, prior to the fall, God instilled 
in man and in woman this particular order. Adam and Eve were both 
created in the image of God. Adam and Eve both possessed equality 
ontologically. That means in terms of their 
being. It's not as if the dirt that 
Adam was made with was somehow more valuable than the rib that 
Eve was fashioned with. It doesn't mean that man is somehow 
better, it means that they are the same in terms of creation, 
but function is different. Role distinctiveness. So I've 
said before, God made fish to swim. He made birds to fly. He made men to lead and He made 
women to help. I don't know why that's such 
a problem. I really don't. I don't get it. I like to think if I was a woman, 
I would gladly embrace this calling. I don't understand what it is. 
I don't know why we balk at this. I don't know why it's such an 
issue, or why we have to have equal rights, or why women have 
to be preachers, or what. Why? What's driving this? What has affected us? What is 
it about God's created order that bugs us? Submission is not 
bad. Jesus Christ submitted to His 
Father every step of the way. Jesus Christ submitted to His 
earthly parents, sinners as they were, He continued in subjection 
to them. Jesus Christ submitted to the 
civil government, which was Rome. Jesus paid His taxes to Rome 
because He submitted to the governing authorities. You see, in a real 
sense, my dear sisters, there is a calling on your life where 
you get to be like Christ in a very peculiar and blessed way. 
But even men, no man is an island unto himself. We need to submit 
to ecclesiastical leadership. We need to submit to civil leadership. You don't just bolt down the 
street and the policeman pulls you over, I'm a man, I can do 
what I want. No! You submit. What is it about 
this that so causes us to buck against it? Well, I know what 
it is. It's sin. It is the tendency 
to call that which God has made bad. We don't want it this way. We think women are gifted and 
women ought to preach and teach. Women are gifted. Women sometimes 
are more gifted. Women are sometimes very intelligent. The prohibition here isn't just 
keep dumb women out of the pulpit. It's keep the women out. It is 
the way that God made his earth. Clark says it this way. Paul 
here lays down some rules for human relations, and he bases 
them on the Mosaic account of creation. If God is not the Creator, 
as Moses said He was, Paul reflects only his own absurd opinions. Otherwise, God's laws obligate 
all human beings, and they do. It's another reason, just real 
practically, why we ought not to give up the doctrine of creation. Why? There's scholars out there 
denying the historicity of Adam and Eve. Well, they weren't real 
people, that's not what matters, it's just the story. If they're 
not real people, what does it matter if Jesus is a real person? 
It is to our peril that we have given away the farm of Genesis 
1-11 to the God-hating humanists. We need to fight for this truth. 
I think it's like 54 times. I think that's a number I pulled 
out of a book by Douglas Kelly. I didn't read the book. It's 
called Creation and Change. I've heard it's a very good book on 
the doctrine of creation. But that much I did read. 54 
allusions in the New Testament by Jesus and the apostles to 
Genesis 1 to 11. It's Genesis 1 to 11 that's under 
attack when it comes to the whole doctrine of creation. 54 times 
Jesus and his apostles reach into Genesis 1 to 11 as either 
a specific quotation or an allusion in an argument. Mounce says, 
with reference to this creation argument, the specific application 
of this principle is that the Ephesian women should not try 
to reverse the created order by being an authority over men. It's his first reason, verse 
13. For Adam was formed first, then 
Eve. Notice in verse 14, now he comes 
to the fall. And Adam was not deceived, but 
the woman being deceived fell into transgression. The fall 
is appealed to as a beautiful illustration of the prohibition 
in view. In other words, men formed first 
are to exercise headship. When we come to the fall, that 
is what has been sacrificed. The woman is now thinking her 
own thoughts after herself. She has distanced herself from 
her physical head and she is coming out from under the authority 
of God Most High. This is a perilous position to 
be in. Again, Moose says verse 14 in 
conjunction with verse 13 is intended to remind the women 
at Ephesus that Eve was deceived by the serpent in the garden, 
precisely in taking the initiative over the man whom God had given 
to be with her and care for her. This is what happened in the 
garden. It was a role reversal, wasn't 
it? God made Adam to rule over his 
wife, she is to be his helper, and they together are to rule 
over the created order. We get to Genesis chapter 3 and 
the talking snake is addressing Eve and then she takes the fruit 
and gives it to Adam. It is the absolute opposite of 
God's intention. Some glean from Genesis 2 and 
3, and all of the passages that deal with the woman, that she 
is ontologically inclined to being deceived. I personally, 
and this is up for debate, I don't think any of us will go to hell, 
I hope, differing on this particular point. I don't know that she's 
ontologically inclined to being deceived. That would create a 
problem for Paul allowing her to teach other women. Do they 
not matter? Of course they matter. Would 
be a problem if she's ontologically inclined to being deceived that 
she should teach children. No, we don't want her to do that 
if she's got a character defect. I think the point of the illustration 
is simply this. In verse 14, what we see is an 
inversion of God's created order. And as a result of that, chaos, 
calamity, and problems. Ephesian women, Chilliwackian 
women, women throughout the ages, pay attention and do not teach 
and do not exercise authority over men in the context of the 
local church. And as we leave verse 14, we 
need to understand as well that the apostle here does not clear 
Adam's guilt. In fact, Gordon Clark's commentary 
on this highlights that Adam was more guilty. She's deceived. She's not thinking 
properly. She takes the fruit and eats. He's standing there, culpable. 
He's standing there watching the whole thing. It says nothing 
about him being deceived, but rather he chose her over God. That's a whole nother developed 
thought, but Romans 5 indicates that it's in Adam that we die. 1 Corinthians chapter 15 indicates 
that it's in Adam that we die. So the Apostle's argument, in 
summary, is simply this. I do not permit a woman to teach 
or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence. Why, Paul? Because God, at creation, created 
Adam first. Paul, or God at creation, stationed 
man over his wife to protect her, to watch over her, to guard 
her. And at the fall, the woman inverted the order, being deceived, 
listening to the snake. She eats, rebels, hands it to 
her husband, and he eats, and plunges the race into sin. It's very difficult to come out 
of 1 Timothy 2 verses 13 and 14 and believe that Paul does 
not believe that this is an ongoing principle. It is not culturally 
conditioned. It was not just an issue at Ephesus. 
It is an issue that faces us today, and we, with the Apostle, 
must stand firm, we must stand fast, and we must resist the 
tendency of so many to sacrifice the truth of God for pragmatic 
considerations about how gifted women are and how they ought 
to be teachers and preachers in the Church of the Lord Jesus 
Christ. Well, verse 15, as I said, when 
good commentators call it a notoriously difficult verse, I think they're 
on to something. Notice verse 15, nevertheless, 
she, singular, will be saved in childbearing if they, plural, 
continue in faith, love, and holiness with self-control. It's 
a bit of a difficult sort of a thing to wrap one's mind around. 
The common interpretation, Moose spells it out, the idea here 
is not that she will be saved in childbearing in terms of spiritual 
salvation. If you're not a saved woman, 
don't think that just because you're now pregnant, you're going 
to heaven. That's not the point. We're saved 
by grace through faith in Christ. We're not saved because we are 
gestating a little human being. Then every pregnant woman who's 
ever lived would be in heaven. The verb there usually means 
saved in a spiritual sense, but it can have the idea of preserved 
in the physical sense. I think perhaps the NIV has it 
that way, or NASB. So Moose says, the idea here 
is not that she will be saved in childbearing in terms of spiritual 
salvation, but rather the passage designates the circumstances 
in which Christian women will experience or work out their 
salvation. In maintaining as priorities 
those key roles that Paul, in keeping with scripture elsewhere, 
highlights. Being faithful, helpful, wives, 
raising children to love, and reverence God, managing the household. So the idea is simple. reference 
to women. You're prohibited from teaching 
and exercising authority, but be faithful where God has you. Right? Now, it doesn't mean every 
woman is going to have babies. It doesn't mean that every woman 
who doesn't have babies is somehow not going to be saved. But the 
majority report in the history of the world, generally speaking, 
is that women get married and have babies. So, in that context, 
you will be preserved, you will persevere, by the grace of God, 
in childbearing, continuing in faith, love, and holiness, with 
self-control. The second interpretation, I 
think, makes better sense, and that's the messianic. Nevertheless, 
she, Eve, as we've just been talking about Eve in verse 14, 
She has been deceived. She has transgressed. She is 
the subject of the verb, be saved. Nevertheless, she will be saved 
in the child bearing, specifically pointing to the birth of the 
Messiah. Now this may be a stretch, and 
it may be hard to sort of compartmentalize at this point, but just consider, 
in Genesis 3.15, there's a promise concerning a coming Redeemer, 
He would be born of a woman and He would deliver a death blow 
to the serpent. And so Eve, looking to that, 
looking to the Messiah, is saved by God's grace, through faith, 
in the Lord Jesus Christ. There are other markers or tokens 
or evidences that Adam and Eve were saved. That God made this 
garment to cover them in their sinfulness. So notice, there's 
a shift then from Eve to other women. Back to the context. Women, you're not supposed to 
teach or exercise authority in the church. Ladies, you're supposed 
to conduct yourself with modesty and propriety. Nevertheless, 
she, Eve, will be saved in the childbirth if they, now it's 
more of a general application to Christian women subsequent 
to Eve, if they continue in faith, love, and holiness with self-control. So that's the messianic interpretation. Now, as we end, this is a tough 
sermon. These are tough sermons at times, 
you know? Trying to explain what is very 
easy to just read. Notice that? Verses 12 to 14 
stand up without Jim Butler standing up here telling you about them. 
As I've said, people manipulate the text. People try to finagle 
their way through the clear meaning. Some common objections. It was 
a cultural problem, not an abiding rule. You ever heard this? Have you ever been in a debate 
concerning this subject? Well, it was just a cultural 
thing. That was emphasis. It doesn't speak to this. I like 
what Clark says. Paul's divinely inspired teaching 
was not culturally conditioned, but too much contemporary exegesis 
A second thing is, this is indicative of Paul's problem with women, 
a la George Bernard Shaw. Well, that, unfortunately, has 
found its way in the church. Sometimes people think that Paul 
had a bit of a chauvinistic bent about him. I mean, after all, 
he doesn't let ladies teach in church. He doesn't want women 
to be the leaders in their home. He says to be submissive. We're 
conditioned to think that means chauvinistic pig! Paul was the 
eternal champion of women. Paul wants you ladies to be on 
track and to go according to God's will and God's law, because 
they're in his blessing, they're in his joy, they're in his happiness. Thirdly, this position does not 
account for Deborah in the book of Judges. You ever heard that? Well, Deborah was a judge in 
Israel. What do you do about that? I quote Calvin, Extraordinary 
acts done by God do not overthrow the ordinary rules of government 
by which He intended that we should be bound. The extraordinary 
events that God has jumped into with a Deborah does not overrule 
the ordinary rules for our conduct. Fourthly, some would say it takes 
a woman's right, takes away a woman's right to use her gifts. Well, 
she's gifted. She has ability. She can teach. She can preach. She's very educated. That's great. Amen. That's awesome. But the God who 
gifted her has also told her where she can and can't use those 
gifts. A lady came to D.L. Moody and 
said, Pastor Moody, I want to preach the gospel. He says, do 
you have children? She says, yes. He says, well, 
then go and preach to them. That's it. exercise the gift 
according to where the giver dictates. And then fifthly, and 
these are more pragmatic arguments, it complicates church life, especially 
when there are no qualified men. Why should we be without elders? Why should we be without deacons 
when our men are unqualified, but our ladies are so qualified? They are disqualified by virtue 
of the fact that they're ladies. When we get to 1 Timothy 3, when 
we deal with the elders, when we deal with the deacons, it 
is conspicuously men that are to occupy these offices. Necessity does not dictate other 
than we pray more for God to raise up men that are qualified 
and can serve as teachers and those who exercise authority. Well, brethren, those are some 
common objections. We dealt with some of the more 
exegetical objections through the course of the message. We 
need to make sure that we understand this is the consistent testimony 
of the Holy Scriptures. This is the consistent testimony 
of the Church of Jesus Christ. throughout her history. This isn't the novel approach. 
This isn't the new thing. This isn't an introducing something 
that was never before heard of. This is just garden variety, 
walking through the text, seeing what the Apostle says, seeing 
why he says it, and understanding that the doctrine of creation 
that he appeals to in Genesis 2, the doctrine of the fall that 
he appeals to in Genesis chapter 3, have binding authority for 
us in the New Covenant era, in the Church of Jesus Christ, and 
for us to reject this, for us to despise this, and for us to 
put ladies in pulpits. is to sin against Christ. It is to sin against God. It is to sin in His household. It is to sin in His church, which 
is the pillar and the ground of the truth. May the Lord indeed 
keep us from such sin. May the Lord indeed bless you, 
dear ladies, in your growth and grace, and in your knowledge 
of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, And may you embrace your 
God-given role and do what you do happily and joyfully as unto 
the Lord. And may it not be the case that 
because we're weak, passive men that do not rise to the occasion 
and take responsibility that we're creating confusion in the 
context of the local church. May the Lord raise up leaders 
among us, men to function as elders and deacons and men that 
will indeed conduct themselves in a righteous manner in the 
house of the living God. Well, let us pray. Our Father, 
we thank you for this, your holy word. We pray that you would 
help us to internalize these truths. We praise you and thank 
you that... that up to this point in our 
context as a local church, it's not been a challenge. We thank 
you, Father, for the guiding scripture, the truth that speaks 
to all matters of faith and practice. We thank you that you've legislated. 
We thank you that you've ordained the way things ought to be. Help 
us to be obedient. Help us to be compliant. Help 
us to receive these things with glad hearts. And we ask through 
Jesus Christ, our Lord, amen. We'll close with a brief time 
of meditation.