A woman
should learn in quietness and full submission. I
do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man; she must be
quiet. For Adam was formed first, then Eve. And Adam
was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a
sinner. But women will be saved through
childbearing—if they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety. 1
Timothy 2:11-15
Paul
addressed the role of women in 1 Timothy 2, in what has become controversial
for women. When some read this, they
hear, “Women, shut up and listen to the man.”
That’s not the case.
Women have
certain defaults in their design that are excellent qualities. They are verbal communicators and
relationship oriented. These bring
balance to a relationship with men who tend to be more intuitive communicators
and independent.
However,
those qualities in women, when out of balance, have perpetuated stereotypes
that are indeed more likely true in most women than in men—they love to gossip with
other fellow communicators and assert their authority verbally over men (aka
“nagging”).
Paul saw
this in the church and commented. Men,
he stated in Ephesians 5, need respect and they respond to the respect of other
men. When women move into authority over
men, men don’t respond well. Women and
men both respond well to male leadership, which Paul encouraged in the church.
“Quietness
and full submission” does not mean sit down and shut up. They mean don’t overstate or over communicate
and allow a man to work out and act out his need for respect and leadership
skills.
Paul pulls
the “Eve” card and plays it. He looks at
creation and states that man was created first and it was woman who encouraged
the first sin. The judgment on them by
God (found in Genesis 3:16-19) changed the hierarchy of the relationship. Women have been fighting to reverse that, but
it’s best if they concentrate on what incredible value they bring to humanity,
beginning with childbirth and raising a family in faith, love and holiness.