The Role of Women in the Church

Well, throughout history, women have been devalued and considered inferior. That was certainly true in the Greek and Roman world of the first century, the time of the New Testament. But even beginning with the life of Christ and His ministry and on up through the institution of the Church and the Book of Acts, Christianity gave a much greater dignity and spiritual privilege to women than was afforded in the culture of the first Testament. However, the Bible, in spite of those great advances in women's rights, if you will, privileges and responsibilities and dignity, the Bible does reserve some leadership roles for men in both the home and the church. In our day with the complete blurring of genders to uphold the scriptural teaching about roles in the church leadership is seen at best to be demeaning to women and at worst it is seen to be an attempt to put them back in their place of inferiority that reminds us of the ancient world. Even the word submission and the mention of that word has some people seeing red today. Well, there's no more controversial passage on this subject of the role of women in the church than our passage we come through today in 1 Timothy, 1 Timothy chapter 2 and verses 8 through 15. The secular world finds this passage shocking, archaic, sexist. Liberal Theologians agree and just toss out the passage altogether as not even being worthy of consideration. And even many evangelicals, I'm talking about people who claim to believe the Bible is true and it is our authority for faith and practice. Even many evangelicals feeling embarrassed to seem out of touch with modern culture have decided to put a different spin on this passage. And typically the spin that is given by those who don't want to admit what the passage is clearly teaching is this. Well Paul was addressing a specific cultural issue in Ephesus and it really has no lasting value for us today. No lasting binding authority for us today. Well in fact as we get through the passage itself we'll see that Paul makes it very clear that is exactly not what he's doing. So we must be honest with the text of scripture. That's really the key here today. I want to quote a couple of well-known authorities on this particular issue. Bob Yarbro who was a professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School where I did some graduate work a few years ago in preparation for a book on the role of women in the church and the chapter he would write in that book. He did a survey of all the scholarly articles on this topic and on 1st Timothy 2 throughout the history of theological journals and that's fairly easy to do with computers now. I did a very similar type thing with my doctoral dissertation but he did that for this particular topic and he found that it was only in 1969 that the what he calls the progressive revisionist view of this passage the more liberal view of this passage it kind of throws it out. Only in 1969 did that view begin to appear. It had never appeared throughout church history up until 1969. But since that time he recognized that there was a rise and just an avalanche a flood of articles taking that new and supposedly improved view. He basically concluded that the rise of that interpretation followed the women's movement in the 1960s and I quote is indebted significantly and at times probably culpably. In other words the reason for the change in the view of the scripture is what happened in the culture. He says it is indebted significantly and at times probably culpably to the prevailing social climate rather than to the biblical text. Another professor in that same institution Trinity Evangelical Divinity School Harold O. J. Brown who by the way is no slouch intellectually. He has four earned degrees from Harvard University to earned degrees in Europe ranging from biochemistry to church history to theology of really brilliant scholarly man who was a leading Evangelical in recent years. He said this when opinions and convictions suddenly undergo dramatic alteration although nothing new has been discovered and the only thing that has dramatically changed is the spirit of the age it is difficult to avoid the conclusion that the spirit that spirit of the age has had an important role to play in the shift. I think they are right on I think they've nailed the issue the question really comes down to when we deal with the role of women in the church the question really comes down to what authority will we turn to to define how the church should operate? Will our authority be the spirit of the age or will it be the text of scripture? And as I have done for 43 years and do not intend to change I will rest with the text of scripture. I want to be culturally relevant but not beyond the text of scripture. In first Timothy chapter 2 Paul is giving us timeless instruction on worship in the church and I want to make sure that we understand this is related to worship in the church because it will help us understand where he's coming from in his instructions about the role of women in the church. He first addressed the subject of prayer that was the most important thing on his mind when it came to worship in the church was our prayer and last week we saw how that connected to the broader mission of the church to reach the world with the gospel and that was the passion of Paul's heart that prayer be tied to the passion to reach the lost. But secondly and there are only two issues he addresses that Timothy in operating the church in regard to worship secondly he deals with the role of women in the church particularly primarily in this passage in regard to the worship services because he ends the first section in verse 8 by talking about men everywhere praying lifting up holy hands without anger and disputing will come back to that verse in a little bit but then he says I also and some translations say in the in the like manner or in the same way so he's he's basically saying here's the second issue to deal with church worship or order in the worship services so the second issue on his mind that he's addressing in regard to the worship of the church is the role of women in the church but Paul covers more territory than that he broadens his scope and rather than just limiting his discussion to the the role of women in the church gatherings like worship services like this he really addresses three areas of a godly woman's life so he broadens the scope to include some other things that that he needed to address I had a friend this week who offered to me knowing that on this day I would be announcing we would be announcing a possible replacement for me and that I would be preaching on the role of women in the church he offered to secure a room for me in the cardiac unit at Ronut Memorial Hospital so with bagspack I plunge in to first Timothy chapter 2 Paul addresses as I mentioned three areas of a godly woman's life and the first one has to do with her adornment I'm going to use that word I think it's the appropriate one the adornment of a godly woman look at verse 9 I also want the women to dress modestly with decency and propriety adorning themselves not with elaborate hairstyles or gold or pearls or expensive clothes but with good deeds appropriate for women who profess to worship God now notice he says he's addressing the issue of the way women dress he says I want the women to dress and then he describes proper and improper kinds of attire but I want you to focus on that word dress for just a moment some translations use the word adorn here and that really is the best word it's the word used in the King James it's also used in the ESV it's it's also in the more updated translation in IV translation which I'm using this morning the adorning themselves is added to help explain what the word dress really means the word dress literally comes from a word from which we get our English word cosmetics and the word literally means to put in order or arrange and that's the purpose of cosmetics right to put some things in order to arrange some things I probably don't need to explain any further on that but that's that's the idea here to put it in order to arrange literally has the idea of an ornament or a decoration and so this adorning has the idea of what is it that people first notice about you what is it that attracts people's attention to you now I would dare say that when people come into our auditorium at this time of year the thing that really strikes them and attracts their attention is the beautiful Christmas decorations those are decorations and adornments that that beautifully highlight the season in our auditorium and that's what probably would first attract people's attention that's the idea of the word here adorn or dress what is it that calls attention to you what is it that highlights the values that you want to promote as a godly woman that's the idea what is it that is your adornment your your decoration if you will your ornament if you what calls attention to you what people notice about you so given that's what he's discussing let's jump into what he says about a proper adornment notice he says I also want the women to dress or adorn themselves modestly now a lot of times we just kind of throw that word around we recognize it would be modest then we leave the definition of that up to whatever you want to think modesty is well let me let me go a little deeper than that and deal with the actual text here the word modesty itself is a word which means seemingly it means something which is seemingly for a Christian woman something which is in keeping with Christian standards with what you want to promote and portray as a woman who seeks after God whose heart is following God it is well arranged that's the idea as well but also primarily the idea of that which is seemingly in keeping with what a Christian woman wants to portray but the interesting thing to me is that Paul does not leave the explanation of the word modesty up to us to decide what it means he gives three descriptions of what modesty really is so we're not left to ourselves to think well is this modesty or not it does it fit these three characteristics notice what he says I want the women to dress modestly and then he says with okay so he's explaining what modesty means with decency and propriety and then he says down in verse 10 with good deeds now that is the proper adornment but what are those words mean what does it mean to dress modestly it means to dress with decency well what is that interestingly enough the word decency is a word which means shame or humiliation that's the root meaning of the Greek word and the idea is this you would be ashamed if you're a peril if your dress distracted from anything that you want to portray as a godly woman a woman who is following God you would be humiliated if people's attention was drawn to you because of a seductive appeal or the way you dress appealing to the baser instincts of someone else you would not want your dress to do anything that would would take people's attention away from someone who follows God someone who has is is dressing seemingly in keep with Christian standards that's what decency means and then he says with propriety the word for propriety is a word which literally means self-control so women are to dress first of all with a sense of I don't want any shame or humiliation to be brought to me because I'm giving off an impression that is contrary to a woman of God a godly woman but I also want to dress with self-control now the way I believe that should be understood in the context is we'll see a little bit later that you purposely discipline yourself to distance yourself from the kinds of styles that are promoted in the culture today that would not be appropriate for a godly woman we'll see exactly how that played out in Ephesus a little bit later because there's been some good study done on that about what kinds of dressing they were doing that Paul was speaking about but the idea is that I don't want to dress in a way that is out of control I will exercise self-control to properly attire yourself in a way that would present the dress of a godly woman and then the third issue is with good deeds he says he says dress modestly with decency and propriety adorning yourself not with elaborate hair styles or gold or pearls or expensive clothes but with good deeds the idea here is that you you actually present even by the way you appear the kind of woman who is most known for her godly life for the way she lives for Christ the first thing people are going to think of you is the kind of person you are the kind of inner person the heart that that evidence is itself in living for Christ in doing good works and good deeds in other words that's your adornment your declaration your adornment that which really calls attention to you is a lifestyle of deeds that served God it's not flashy extravagant clothing so that's proper adornment modesty as defined by those three characteristics but there is also an improper adornment that he mentions there in verse 9 he says I want the women to dress modestly with decency in propriety adorning themselves not here's the improper not with elaborate hair styles or gold or pearls or expensive clothes and the key word is the word elaborate we might use the word extravagant today over the top way out there I mentioned earlier that some good study has been done on this there was a particular man who for that same book I was referring to earlier the role of women in the church did a study on what Paul was actually thinking about when he addressed the women in Ephesus what kind of in modest dress extravagant dress was being promoted in that culture and what he found through his discovery of archaeology and historical sources was that the women in Ephesus in particular were trying to model their apparel after the court in Rome so how does the senators wife dress how does the inferors wife dress and if you know anything about the Roman culture in the in the capital the empire it was very sensual and seductive and so that kind of extravagant over the top in modest seductive kind of apparel is what Paul is warning against if we were to put it in modern day terms I think it would sound something like this Paul would say please do not dress in the styles of out of control pop singers and starlets and actresses today don't let hollywood establish how you will dress let your dress be modest in the three ways in which he describes that in a way that that brings attention to the fact that you're a woman who's walking with God not a woman who's trying to look like hollywood and it is elaborate and extravagant I want you to understand hopefully given that context what a proper application of this passage is how would we see this passage these warnings about proper and improper adornment in our culture today I had a lady come up to me Wednesday night and and say John I know I can tell what you're preaching on Sunday you briefly referenced it last week and I looked ahead and saw the passage she said I'm willing to come to church with no makeup no jewelry straight hair a wrist length ankle length tent style dress to illustrate the way that passage is often understood and I said well you know that would be fine but I probably would not recognize you she said jokingly I said my response jokingly as well but I want you to understand this passage is not talking about being doubly being unrecognizable as a woman it's not talking about that the passage is not saying that you shouldn't fix your hair please do the passage is not saying that the passage is not saying you should never wear any jewelry that's not at all what it's teaching the passage is not saying that you should not have nice clothes it's not saying that the keyword again is elaborate hairstyles gold pearls expensive clothes and some people in Ephesus that study showed were spending a year's worth of wages on one dress that's how extravagant it was that's how elaborate it was some of them were dressing in an effigy to look like a knight in shining armor I mean they were trying to pattern what they looked like after the court in Rome which was entirely pagan and secular and ungodly and designed to arouse improper desires Paul says don't dress like that that's what he's referring to so he's not saying don't dress up and look nice don't he's not saying don't fix your hair don't wear jewelry not saying any of that he's saying don't go to that extravagant extreme Paul is not saying you shouldn't be attractive he is saying you shouldn't be seductive that's the bottom line and it is on that point that we run headlong into many of the fashions promoted in the culture today and that's what Paul is saying ladies please stay away from dress in a way that is modest decent self-controlled and promotes a woman who is more concerned about pleasing God with her life than attracting attention to herself by the way she dresses that's what Paul's saying that is the adornment of a godly woman the question really is what do you depend on for your adornment that which draws attention to you that which brings the first notice to you or the deepest notice what do you depend on for that your life or an extravagant appearance what do you emphasize in your life what do you really put the importance on the outward appearance or the inward character that's Paul's concern the adornment of a godly woman but then Paul talks about the submission of a godly woman again reminding you that my bags are packed this is the real difficult part of the passage verses 11 and 12 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 notice the statement of submission in these two verses the word submission is used in verse 11 and and the word submission really is a military term it was a term which had to do with rank it has nothing to do with equality of nature or person has nothing to do with ability it simply has to do with proper rank in the military services in the army a kernel has a higher position of authority and leadership than a private he may not be a better person they are certainly equal before god as far as person is concerned but he has a different role he has a different role of leadership kernel does and that's the thought behind the word submission it is a military term that has nothing to do with personhood equality as far as your nature and godliness and spirituality and all those things are concerned all it has to do with is the proper order of authority in the church in the church and I want to make it very clear that Paul is not saying anything about teaching or authority in the marketplace or in the school system or even in government he's not saying anything about male and female equality as persons or equality spiritually that is clear in the New Testament Galatians chapter 3 and verse 28 says this there is neither June or Gentile neither slag nor free nor as their male or female and female we are all one in Christ Jesus now that passage has to do with our position and and privileges in the body of Christ spiritually before god we are one there's no difference we are equal we are equal as far as personhood is concerned as far as importance ability relationship to god privileges in the body of Christ we are equal in that Galatians 3 is not talking about the same thing first Timothy 2 is talking about first Timothy 2 is talking about order in the local church not relationship to god spiritually but the Bible says here that a woman is not allowed to teach in the context and the way this word is used in the past orally pistols to teach in first Timothy 2 Timothy in Titus it is clear and even the construction here in the original language it is clear that what he's talking about is the official authoritative teaching position in the church of a pastor teacher that is the role that is excluded for women it's clear that in the context he's talking about authority over a man do not permit a woman to teach to woman to teach or to assume authority over a man so it has to do with that position in the church of pastor teacher other teaching positions other positions of leadership in the church are wide open i'll get to some of the application of this in a moment but but a woman is not to be the official pastor teacher of the church that's clearly what Paul is saying the use of the word the context that he's talking about the way he uses that word in first and second Timothy in Titus it's clear when he says a woman is not to teach he's not saying she can't teach anybody or anything he's saying she should not be in the role of the pastor teacher the the authoritative position of the teacher teaching pastor in a local church one who opens the word of god and promotes it to the congregation preaches it to the congregation that's the role Paul says is exclusively given to men so she's not to teach secondly she is not to have authority the bible says i do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man a man now that goes back to the word submission remember that has to do with military rank it has to do with the position you exercise in an institution it has nothing to do with equality of personhood or equality of spiritual standing before god or anything like that it simply means that in leadership positions in the church a woman is not to exercise authority over the man in the church the third thing he says about this attitude of submission or this place of submission is the woman should learn in quietness and silence you see it in verse 11 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 now please don't misunderstand that that can be misunderstood quietness and silence as some translations render that second word quiet by the word silence that could give the wrong impression it can sound like Paul is saying okay women keep quiet that's not that's not the idea this is not a male superiority dictating that women ought to be quiet not that at all the word quietness comes from a Greek word which means to have a peaceable demeanor and the idea is an argumentative combative spirit that questions and causes disturbance so it means that when a woman is listening to the pastor teacher expound the word of god she is not to raise her voice and say I disagree or even to turn to her husband and straighten out the preacher wait till you get home to do that but he's clearly saying a woman should not exert that kind of argumentative spirit in questioning the teaching of the word of god in the assembly the word silence has to do with respect to the teaching responsibility to the entire church doesn't mean a woman needs to keep her mouth shut doesn't mean that at all that that is putting a woman in a place that is not appropriate it means that she should be silent in the context as regards the teaching pastor teacher position in the church so what is Paul saying he's saying this in regard to this submission of a godly woman a woman is not allowed to have the pastor teacher position in a church a pastoral role that is responsible for teaching the word to the congregation a woman is not to have a position of leadership in the organizational structure of the church which gives her authority in the church over men and a woman is to learn with quietness in the sense of having a peaceable spirit not an argumentative spirit and that's also in joint of men in other places in the scripture and she is to be silent as far as the official pastor teacher role in the church is concerned that I believe is the best understanding of this scripture now everybody wants to know okay John what does that mean what can a woman do and not do according the scriptures in the church here's my best attempt to make an application of this should women be pastors preaching the word and be ordained for that purpose this passage says no should women be deacons or elders have a role on a board that carries some authority in the church over the church this passage says no should women lead in prayer in public church services that's one that's often wondered about here I go back to verse 8 where Paul ends his section on prayer by saying therefore I want the men everywhere to pray lifting up holy hands without anger or disputing in other words whoever prays ought to pray first of all with a holy character with no anger toward others and no disputing against God and what time to go into it any death but that's that's what he means but the word he uses for men here I want the men to pray is not the generic word for man onthropos which means mankind and could include men or women it's the Greek word on air which is a man in distinction to a woman and so when Paul is giving instruction about someone who leads the congregation in worship in the prayer public prayer portion of that worship Paul restricts that to men again that's not my rule that's God rule just so you don't misunderstand I said something like that last week so my misunderstood thought I was disagreeing with the Bible I agree with that I agree with that but that's not my rule that's God rule and so that's the reason why when we call on people to pray to lead the congregation in that aspect of worship in the services it's a man now should a woman be allowed to pray in group settings where men and women are together pray sure because that's a different role should women be allowed to teach yes of course should they should they be allowed to teach adult classes mixed adult classes of men and women well that's a little shady it's not real clear how Paul would address that I would say maybe that would be allowed as long as she is not taking the authoritative pastor teacher position in the church that might be allowed it's not a hill I would die on but that one's a little unclear because it's clear Paul uses the word teach here and having authority over men of the authoritative position of a pastor teacher in the church can a woman teach ladies classes youth classes children's classes of course no question about those is a woman allowed to speak in a conference to a mixed audience yes does not violate this text is a woman allowed to teach in a Bible college yes that does not violate Paul's instruction is a woman allowed to give a testimony in a church service and give a missionary presentation in the service yes again Paul's injunction that a woman be silent in public worship is not that she cannot speak at all it's that she should not have that public role of the pastor teacher that's the degree to which she is to remain silent can a woman serve on the board of a Bible college or a Christian school yes and women serve as ushers in the church on committees even church officers committees which choose decad yes I don't think any of that violates these principles of scripture but there are certain exclusive roles for men in the church and I think the primary one has to do with being the pastor teacher or being on a board and authority leadership board of some kind of church deacons elders whatever you want to call it so the best of my ability to understand this text that's what Paul is saying so that is the submission of a godly woman but notice quickly the reasons the reasons for this submission in verses 13 and 14 Paul gets two reasons 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 the first reason for this teaching on the submission of a woman to male leadership in the pastor teacher role and in the authoritative board kind of role the reason for that teaching is first of all rooted in the order of creation the order of creation did you know that that headship and submission as regards the home that wouldn't come obviously for the church until later but for the home was established clearly that creation not in the fall there are some people who believe that headship and submission was a part of the curse Genesis 3 16 your desire will be for your husband and he will rule over you and some people think that is headship and submission it was instituted as part of the curse no no not at all headship and submission as Paul makes clear here goes all the way back to creation it has to do with the order of creation this is not a male superiority kind of thing man was created first woman was created out of man after man and to be a helper to man that's the order of creation and Paul roots his argument about leadership in the local church to that creation argument notice it is not culture that Paul's dealing with Paul's not saying I've got a special situation here in Ephesus where some women are getting out of control no that's not the reason for this injunction the reason for this teaching is creation the order of creation no less an authority than John's thought who I've referenced before one of the greatest leaders in evangelicalism in the last 50 years said this all attempts to get rid of Paul's teaching on headship on grounds that it is mistaken confusing culture bound or culture specific must be pronounced unsuccessful it remains stubbornly there it is rooted in divine revelation not human opinion and in divine creation not human culture in essence therefore it must be preserved as having permanent and universal authority and later than when he wrote that book he was being interviewed by Christianity today and someone asked him a question about the role of women in the church and his answer included this but he says but then I can't dismiss masculine headship in the cabalier way in which some evangelical feminists do there is something in Paul line of teaching teaching about headship that cannot be ignored as a purely cultural phenomenon because he roots it in creation we may find his exegesis of Genesis 2 difficult that women were made after men out of men and foreman but he does root his argument in creation and then he goes on to say I have a very high view of apostolic authority I don't feel able to reject Paul's exegesis and I would agree Paul gives his reason for this order in the church and it goes back to creation the Genesis 2 the second reason for this order in the church is because of the fall the order of the fall for sport team and Adam was not the one deceived it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner now a lot of people have misunderstood that and one of the biggest arguments against the view I think the scriptures teach here is that you're saying women are more naive more gullible that they listen to Satan when men wouldn't no that is not what Paul saying he's not talking about a woman being more naive or more gullible you know what the real problem was in Genesis 3 when Eve took the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil she abandoned and overthrew the order of creation she did so without her husband providing the spiritual leadership in the home that God had instituted at creation not that she was more naive and more gullible and easier pray for Satan it's that she abandoned the role that God had given her and did not give Adam his role of spiritual leadership and to Adam's shame he did not exercise his role of spiritual leadership in the home and with eyes wide open took the fruit and sinned and so Paul uses this illustration of the fall not not implying that women are less knowledgeable than men or anything like that he's simply restating the case that Eve left the position that God had given her in creation and did not defer to Adam's spiritual leadership in the home and because she just went after the temptation on her own overthrowing the the role of creation that God had given her that's what caused the problem so the reasons for this submission are very clearly rooted in scripture Paul doesn't say anything about addressing a cultural issue if that were so then maybe this wouldn't apply to us today maybe it would only apply to Ephesus but the reason Paul gives for this is clearly biblical and so that's the reason why I cannot resist Paul's argument either although many many many evangelicals have done that today I still believe Paul is clear about his reasons for instituting this headship and submission in the church but quickly we've got to deal with verse 15 because it's the most confusing verse in the whole passage I think and probably raises the most questions it was raised a few weeks ago in the grow class when I touched on this passage and I deferred to this sermon so I'm I'm hoping that whoever asked that question is here today because I'm going to answer it now hopefully it has to do with the fulfillment of a godly woman verse 15 does let's read it but okay so you can see after talking about the order in the church of headship and submission and the reasons for that ending with the woman was deceived in the fall left her position of submission he says but in order to offer some hope and to not put women down he says women will be saved through childbearing if they continue in faith love and holiness with propriety I believe Paul is addressing the greatest fulfillment of a godly woman but the interpretation of this passage has taken a lot of different weird terms there are some people who believe this passage teaches that women who die in childbearing will be saved and go to heaven obviously that's wrong nobody goes to heaven except through the blood of Christ and through what Christ's work on the cross did for us nobody goes to heaven because they die in childbirth it's obviously a wrong interpretation some people interpret this passage to mean that a Christian is promised safety in childbirth obviously that's not true either that does not always bury out an experience but there are a couple of interpretations of this passage that I think are good and really get to the point of what Paul is saying and they kind of go together the first one is this if you take the word saved to mean spiritual salvation that a woman will and everybody else will be able to be saved through childbearing then the only thing that can mean is that it is through means of childbearing that god will bring a savior into the world it is through the means of a woman being able to bear a child that the Messiah would come that the Savior would come and although in the curse after Adam and Eve sin although in the curse god added pain to childbearing in spite of the pain there is the great privilege of being the means through which god will redeem the race and give possibility of salvation through the Messiah I think that's at least included here but I think there's something else that maybe Paul's really driving at sometimes in the New Testament the word saved can be used of not spiritual deliverance the word save literally means to be delivered sometimes it's not just used of spiritual deliverance but of physical deliverance or some other kind of deliverance from danger or oppressiveness or something like that and I think that maybe what Paul has in mind here because he's just talked about the fact that god has not given the position of leadership a pastor teacher or authority over men to women in the church they're not able to fulfill those roles he's just talked about the fact that that Eve was instrumental in the fall because of her abandoning her god-given role of submission to Adam so it sounds like down on women you know women really have a bad rap in in the whole biblical scheme of things so I think in contrast that's the reason Paul says but you can be delivered from a meaninglessness purposeless existence through the highest privilege that god will ever give you and that is to bear children and to rear godly children it is in this childbearing and rearing of children the resultant responsibility in the home that you find the greatest fulfillment that god can give a woman I think that fits what Paul's accomplishing and teaching in the context here he's been speaking of her place of submission he's been speaking of her role in the fall and now he says but wait a second god has actually given women the highest privilege of all of mankind and that is to bear children thus being potentially the means of bringing the Messiah into the world and being the means through which the human race can be saved by the grace of god but also to have the fulfillment of rearing godly children that responsibility provides the highest and greatest fulfillment for a woman the greatest privilege and fulfillment you can have is to teach and train and mold children so in other words Paul saying you do not have an inferior position you are not relegated to some second class citizenry as a woman god's given you the highest privilege and responsibility of anybody in the human race and that is the privilege to rear children who are trained and molded to walk with god now please don't misunderstand that doesn't mean that if you're not able to have children or you don't have children you're somehow second rate this is this is in general terms speaking of women in all in the total scheme of things god's greatest honor to you and the greatest privilege and a responsibility you have is to be able to be a homemaker and to rear godly children that doesn't mean you can't work outside the home that's not the issue the issue is your highest responsibility your highest privilege is to be someone who rears godly children you'll be delivered from any kind of inferiority or meaninglessness or purposelessness in life when you fulfill the highest role god could ever give anyone and he's reserved that role for women to rear children to have children and rear them for him now he says you will reach that ultimate stage of fulfillment and rearing godly children if you continue in faith love and holiness with propriety and only time to go into all those words but they're pretty self explanatory Paul is not saying as some have taught from this verse that you will be saved you'll go to heaven if you continue in these qualities no no no please don't misunderstand that makes salvation dependent on me that's a works kind of salvation that I will only get to heaven if I do or keep such and such and such and such can't be what Paul's teaching what he is teaching is you will fulfill you will find the greatest fulfillment in the life and the only women who do find the greatest fulfillment of rearing godly children are women who live in this way with faith love holiness propriety or self control to live for Christ then you have the fulfillment of rearing godly children and that is the highest fulfillment a woman can have that's what Paul's teaching there's never been a day when Paul's instruction is needed more so much confusion trouble heartache would be avoided if only we followed the scriptural guidelines for the church and for the home please understand this is not about male superiority this is not about suitability for leadership as I've said before there are women who are more suited for leadership than men in some cases for many leadership roles in the government maybe or in the school or in the marketplace businesses or corporations Paul's not addressing that he's addressing the role of leadership in the church the church is to reflect the creation order that's Paul's point so there's nothing about male superiority here there's nothing about who's better suited for leadership that's not at all a part of this passage and by the way leadership in the church is not about power anyway it's about being a servant that's what Jesus taught the princes of the Gentiles lead by a flexing muscle and making sure everybody knows who's in control Jesus says if you want to be a leader in my kingdom you'd be a servant you'd be the least of all so that that's what leadership is supposed to be anyway so if men are leading in the right way there'll be no male superiority put women down kind of mentality anyway you know what this is all about it's all about faithfulness to God's word taking the positions I've taken today are not easy in the culture that we live in but this really is about allowing God's word to shape the church not allowing the culture to shape the church what is our authority what will we turn to because everybody else is teaching that women should be pastors and women should be deacons or elders and that we're squashing women under our heels if we don't allow that is that what we should follow the drift of our culture no no my friend we need to stick to what the text of scripture teaches let's pray together father thank you for your word and that you do address such issues as our very relevant in our culture today 2000 years ago nearly you addressed that issue in a way that still is very relevant to our culture today Lord I pray that you'll help us to keep the proper order in the church as far as pastor teacher is concerned as far as board leadership is concerned but help all of us who maybe in those positions and all of us as a church to recognize that it is a servant heart and a humble leadership that is what God wants any of us to have may we not put anyone down may we raise raise both men and women created in your image to fulfill all the potential you've given them in Christ father thank you for your word in Jesus name amen