I Timothy 2 v 11 to 14 – “Let a woman learn quietly with all submissiveness. I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet. For Adam was formed first, then Eve; And Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor.”
This is a tough text to confront because at first glance it seems sexist, unfair, and derogatory to women. So, it is important to wrestle with this passage on the foundation of the truth that God loves all his children without preference or partiality, both women and men.
Gal 3 v 28,29 – “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.”
We are all equally loved and positioned in Christ, and we are all benefactors of all His promises. If we read the verses in 1 Timothy as God’s preference for men over women, or his rejection of women in ministry, we will be in opposition to this truth in Galatians and continue to interpret these verses wrong. So, in the truth of His love for us, let us address these verses.
In the interest of not starting in a vacuum let us place these verses in their context. These verses are from the first letter Paul wrote to Timothy. He wrote this letter to advise Timothy, his spiritual protégé, on how to address the different issues that were coming up in the church at Ephesus. Considering it is a letter of instruction on the running of the church of God, we can know two things –
- It applies to God’s church even today (it is not time specific or culture specific – there is no indication in the Bible that these rules for the church can, will, or should change over time or cultures)
- Paul is not using metaphor or analogy here but literal instructions that should be followed as stated.
I am suggesting we work backwards here and read verses 13 and 14 before we address verses 11 and 12. Verses 13 and 14 say,
“For Adam was formed first, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor.”
At first it may seem like Paul is saying that because Eve is the one who ate the fruit, she doesn’t get to teach in church, and has to be quiet, and submissive to men. But let’s spend some time and see if that is really what he is saying. “For Adam was formed first and then Eve” -Here, the order God placed in creation is not about value or importance in God’s eyes, but suitability for the roles and the purpose he created each gender for. Adam was created first and given instructions to not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil even before Eve was created (he was given this instruction in v 16 and Eve is not created until v 22). Intended through this was Adam’s role to teach Eve what God had instructed, and Eve created later was to submit to that teaching and the God given authority of Adam to teach it.
Paul then follows with v 14 of what happens when they both fail in their God given roles. V 14 says, “Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in transgression.” The serpent cunningly chose to engage Eve (who was not the one who received the instruction firsthand), and Adam who is with her quietly watches as the serpent skews her understanding of God’s word and convinces her to reject Adam’s authority. There is no account of Adam interrupting the conversation, taking authority over the serpent (Genesis 1v28), or protecting the woman by insisting she obey. And so, Eve was deceived, right before Adam, and becomes a sinner. Eve then convinces (teaches) Adam against what God instructed him, establishing a role of authority over Adam, which was not intended in the roles infused into their creation. Adam follows suit and eats the fruit she gives him and becomes a sinner as well.
Paul is not instructing women in the church of Ephesus, as to her role in submission to authority, as a consequence to or punishment for what Eve did. Rather Paul means to make clear the alternative and even solution to what Adam and Eve did in the garden. The right course of action then is that men be fully prepared to take on the role of leadership and authority that God has given them, specifically the teaching of God’s word, and women be completely willing to submit to this God given teaching and authority, without rejecting the teaching or the teacher.
With this understanding, let’s now read the specific instructions Paul gives to women in verses 11 and 12,
“Let a woman learn quietly with all submissiveness. I do not permit a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man; rather she is to remain quiet.”
What could be hard to digest, at least for most of us, are the phrases “learn quietly” and “with all submissiveness”. Let’s tackle them one at a time.
“Learn quietly” – What does Paul mean when he says learn quietly? Does he mean that women should not speak in church? The Greek word originally used for “quietly” here is “hesuchia”. This same word is also used earlier in this chapter in verse 2 – …” That we may lead a peaceful and quiet life”. Obviously, in verse 2 it doesn’t mean that we may live lives in which we do not speak. Rather, the word hesuchion refers to not making trouble or not being in opposition. So, when Paul says to women to learn quietly in church, he is not saying that they should not speak in church but that they should not speak in a manner that opposes or compromises the teaching from the pulpit.
Now, let’s tackle the “s” word. “Submissiveness” – to submit to something means to accept the authority of it. So, when Paul instructs women to “learn quietly in all submissiveness”, he is saying that women should not oppose but submit to the teaching from the pulpit, accepting the God given authority of the men teaching it.
Lastly, when it comes to “I do not permit a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man, rather she is to remain quiet (Hesuchion)”, Paul is not forbidding women to teach at all. The reason I say this is because there are multiple instances in the Bible where Paul himself affirms the teaching of women. Examples:
2 Timothy 3 v 14 – Paul reminds Timothy to remember what he has learned and believed, knowing from whom he learned it from childhood on. From 2 Timothy 1 v 5, we know that Paul is referring to Timothy’s mother and grandmother, Eunice and Lois, who taught Timothy the Word of God.
Acts 18v26: Priscilla, along with her husband Aquila, hear Apollos speaking publicly in the synagogue and seeing that his understanding of baptism was incomplete, “took him aside and explained to him the word of God more accurately “.
Titus 2v3: Paul says older women are to teach what is good, and so train the younger women.
So clearly Paul does not believe that women should not teach under any circumstance and is not forbidding women from doing so. The best way to understand the kind of teaching Paul is forbidding in this particular verse is in the context he provides in it – to exercise authority over man. Women must not teach men in a manner that requires men to submit to their teaching as opposed to the teaching of the church. Rather, women should teach in agreement to what is being taught from the pulpit, to encourage whomever they are teaching to submit to the God given authority of the teaching of the leadership of the church.
My final thoughts: This passage in the Bible that we read in 1 Timothy chapter 2 is not about women submitting to men. It is not about women not speaking in church. It is also not about women not teaching the word of God to others. These verses are instructions on the beauty of God given roles, how to fill God-ordained ministry roles as men and women of God, and how to do so in a manner that glorifies the Creator.
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