Men and Women in the House of God
Ethan Sayler
1 Timothy • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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1 Timothy 2:8-15
What is a man; What is a woman?
What is a man; What is a woman?
Our culture cannot answer this question - either tries to blend and make the two indistinguishable, or drives them to their extreme of Toxic Masculinity and Radical Feminism.
Men who don’t know what’s expected of them, and are lured toward an aggressive and domineering personality - or the very extreme opposite…
Women are told they can be everything a man is, and more, and only end up never feeling fulfilled…
God's design for His Church, His household, includes His purpose for us as men and women. Men and women who are saved by grace in Christ will embrace their roles as a new creation and live out their salvation accordingly.
Principle for approaching the text: We are called to bring every thought captive to the word - where we have troubles, it is often because we are influenced more by the world than the word - but God’s word speaks to every aspect of our lives, and gives us clear direction.
Men in the Church
Men in the Church
To the men first. Men are spoken to first here because it is their particular responsibility to lead the church in its worship, prayer, and work.
A Christ centered framework for manhood -
A Christ centered framework for manhood -
He came as prophet, priest and king.
A Christ like man will lead as prophet (speaking the word of God), priest (praying and worshiping God), and king (defending and protecting God’s people).
Lifting up holy hands in prayer…
Lifting up holy hands in prayer…
It’s not so much about the posture of prayer, but about the heart that approaches God in prayer
Holy hands = Piety, reverence, godliness
Our expressions of worship must flow from a life marked by holiness. No anger or quarreling.
Paul highlights the besetting sins of men that most affect their prayer for others by setting barriers between them and God.
Jas 4:1–3 What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.
Before we turn to God’s design for women in the church - men, how are we doing in our calling?
Women in the Church.
Women in the Church.
Likewise women… This is still in the context of worship, coming together for prayer. Men are to pray without division, women are to pray without ostentation.
How women adorn themselves.
How women adorn themselves.
Speaking of modesty and respectable apparel is difficult as “what is modest” is always changing.
“Not with elaborate braids, gold and pearls, extravagant clothing.”
The church in Ephesus was surrounded by the cult of Artemis, and a vital part of their worship was the temple Priestesses and prostitutes.
The influence of their culture was spilling into Christian worship in the way that the women would dress. Does ours?
Deeper than the way we dress: this is not a hair issue, or haute couture issue, this is a heart issue.
The focus of the men and women as they gather for prayer should not be on outward appearances, but on the inward reality.
If the way you dress for worship is meant to call attention to you rather than God, then who is the object of your worship?
Genuine beauty is found in through godliness, not glamor; by what you do, not what you wear.
1 Pe 3:3–4 Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious.
Let a woman learn in quiet submission
Let a woman learn in quiet submission
Women are called/commanded to learn - discipleship
This would have been radical - women weren’t taught the faith in the Jewish tradition. Paul is saying that women are to learn as disciples, just like the men.
“Quietly” does not mean that women are never to utter a word when the church gathers for worship.
This would contradict what Paul says about women in 1 Corinthians 11, where he tells the women how to pray and prophesy in church. When we are commanded to pray for a “peaceful and quiet life” (vs 2), that does not describe a life in which no one talks, but a life “without turmoil.”
So “quietly” does not mean silence but “without turmoil.”
God calls women to have a “quiet demeanor and a peaceable spirit.”
“Submissive” - the command is to learn, not to submit. Submission is the posture in which we learn.
Learning requires a teachable spirit. It is impossible to teach someone who thinks he or she knows all the answers already. To learn is to submit to the knowledge and authority of a teacher.
Paul is calling godly women who want to learn not to argue with and usurp the role of the elders but to submit to their authority.
Women are not to teach or have authority over men in the church.
Women are not to teach or have authority over men in the church.
Authority here refers to the teaching and preaching of the word of God.
This does not forbid women having authority in other contexts, nor does it keep women from serving in the ministry which every disciple has, to proclaim the gospel, loving one another as we love God supremely.
However, the offices of authority in the Church are reserved for men - who are then to support, equip, and encourage every member in his or her ministry.
Rationale: Rooted in the created order in Adam and Eve.
Adam was first, to lead, guide, and guard.
Eve was second, in the image of God, equal in dignity, with different responsibility; she was created as a helper to Adam.
The Fall -
Eve was deceived - she took the lead
Adam was passive - he listened to her instruction
The curse - her desire will be to rule over her husband.
Sin came into the world when the Serpent strove to assault God’s order. To subvert the headship principle that God established would be to subvert God’s design.
The point is that Adam was not deceived. Unlike Eve, he knew full well what he was doing when he ate the forbidden fruit. The woman fell because Satan blinded her to the true nature of sin, but the man sinned with his eyes wide open.
The authority issue is not with women, but with men who reject their God-given duty as prophet, priest, and king, to teach, to pray, and to defend.
Saved through Child-Bearing???
Saved through Child-Bearing???
Salvation is by grace through faith…
Salvation is by grace through faith…
Salvation is the gift of God, which we receive by faith in Jesus Christ
We persevere in salvation in the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit, as our identity is shaped by the Word of God and we hold to faith, love, holiness and self-control.
The possible meanings of this verse:
The possible meanings of this verse:
Having kids will save you… this cannot be the case.
Those who are believers will survive childbirth… we know this isn’t the case
Saved through “a” childbearing -
Eve sought a savior who would be born - Gen 3:15
The savior was born of a woman - Gal 4:4
Saved through Childbearing - being who God designed you to be
Childbearing is uniquely feminine, no man has, can, or every will give birth. Even if you cannot have children, or have not had children, the message is this, you don’t have to give up being a woman to be saved.
A woman is not saved by becoming a man, but by embracing her God-given calling as a woman; while continuing in “faith and love and holiness, with self-control” will find themselves saved on the last day.
Being Men and Women in the House of God
Being Men and Women in the House of God
God's design for His Church, His household, includes His purpose for us as men and women. Men and women who are saved by grace in Christ will embrace their roles as new creations and live out their salvation accordingly.