Women in the Assembly? (2)
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Last Time You All Saw Me…
We Looked at 1 Corinthians 14…
And What that Text Says about Women Being Silent in the Assembly
It’s Important to Remember When Reading 1 Corinthians…
That We’re Reading a Response Letter
Paul was Answering Some of Their Questions…
And Dealing with Some Situations that were Taking Place in Corinth
We Don’t Know the Exact Questions They were Asking
We Don’t Know the Exact Situations that were Taking Place
So, Interpretation can Be a Little Difficult…
Because We Don’t have All the Information
So, What are We to Make of What Paul Says in 1 Corinthians 14…
When He Paul Tells the Women:
To Keep Silent in the Assembly?
They’re Not Allowed to Speak?
They’re to Subject Themselves?
If They Want to Learn Anything to Ask Their Husbands at Home?
It’s Unacceptable for a Women to Speak in the Assembly?
I’ll Give My Answer, & You’re Free to Disagree:
I Believe, Based on the Context…
And the Fact that Certain Men were Told to Keep Silent…
In Certain Circumstances in the Assembly as Well…
That Paul was Dealing with a Specific Issue in Corinth
The Entirety of Chapter 14 is about Disorder & Disruptions in the Assembly
People weren’t Being Edified the Way They were Conducting Their Gatherings
That Being Said…
I Believe There were Women Being Disruptive & Disorderly…
And Hindering Edification in the Assembly in Some Way
In What Way were They Doing that?
We Can’t Be Entirely Sure
But it Seems They were Asking Questions in a Desire to Learn…
And in Some Way that was Being Disruptive…
Or Possibly Even Insubordinate to Their Husbands
Does that Mean Women Can’t Participate in the Assembly By Talking & Asking Questions Today?
I Don’t Believe So
But Women Shouldn’t Talk/Behave in the Assembly in Such a Way…
That Disrupts the Flow of Edification/Learning…
Or
That Shows Her to Be a Loud/Obnoxious/Insubordinate Woman
Women have Been Blessed with the Role of Quiet/Submissiveness
That is Not a Negative Thing
It’s a Beautiful, Attractive, & Effective Thing
1 Peter 3:1–4 (NASB95)
1 In the same way, you wives, be submissive to your own husbands so that even if any of them are disobedient to the word, they may be won without a word by the behavior of their wives, 2 as they observe your chaste and respectful behavior. 3 Your adornment must not be merely external—braiding the hair, and wearing gold jewelry, or putting on dresses; 4 but let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God.
Women have Incredible Power & Responsibility…
To Lead Others to Jesus, Be Pleasing to God…
By Taking a Role of Quite Submission
Not Being Loud, Obnoxious, & Parading Herself Around
A Beautiful Flower Gathers a Crowd of Admirers…
Not By Being Loud, Flashy, or Flamboyant
But By Humbly & Calmly Showing its Natural, God-Given Beauty & Elegance
This Word “Quiet” is Found 11 Times in the NT
Sometimes it Gives Off the Meaning of Silence
Many Times it can Give Off the Meaning of Rest or Calmness
Paul Wrote to the Thessalonians & Timothy…
About Living a “Quiet Life”
A Calm, Modest, Minding-Your-Own-Business, Not-Bothering-Anyone…
Kind of Life
And that Same Word for “Quiet” is Found Twice in Our Next Text…
About Women in the Assembly
1 Timothy 2:11–12 (LSB)
11 A woman must learn in quietness, in all submission. 12 But I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man, but to remain quiet.
The 1st Thing We See Here is that Women are to Learn
That wasn’t Common in that Time/Culture
Christianity was a Very Freeing Religion as it Pertains to Women’s Rights
Under King Jesus, Women are Equal to Men
They are to Learn in Quietness
That could Mean:
Women are to Learn & Stay Silent in the Assembly
Or
Women are to Learn in Quietness/Calmness
These 2 Ideas aren’t Mutually Exclusive
They are to Learn in All Submission
They’re to Take a Submissive Role in the Learning
The Next Part of the Passage Seems to Explain that
Paul Doesn’t Allow a Woman to Teach or have Authority Over a Man
In the Assembly, Men:
Are to Be the Teachers
Are to have the Authority
Women are Encouraged to Learn & Be Edified in a Calm, Peaceful, Quiet Manner…
But Men are to Be the Teachers & Leaders
Where is Paul Getting These Ideas?
From His Misogynistic, Woman-Hating Culture?
1 Timothy 2:13–14 (LSB)
13 For it was Adam who was first formed, and then Eve. 14 And it was not Adam who was deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into trespass.
Paul’s Argument is Essentially:
Adam was Created First…
And Eve Sinned First
Some Believe There’s a Hint in this Passage at the Situation in Ephesus:
The Women There were Being Easily Deceived By False Teachers…
Therefore, They Don’t Need to Be Teaching
But it Seems the Basic Idea is This:
God Made Adam First
Therefore, Man Ought to Be the Leaders
And On Top of that, the First Sin Happened Because a Man was Leading His Wife…
But Instead He Allowed Her to Take the Lead & He Followed
Therefore, Women are to Be Submissive & Men are to Be Godly Leaders
1 Timothy 2:15 (LSB)
15 But she will be saved through the bearing of children, if they continue in faith and love and sanctification with self-restraint.
This is a Difficult Passage to Interpret
But the Best Interpretation I’ve Heard…
That Fits the Context is this:
Paul Speaks of “Bearing Children” as a Figure of Speech…
That Represents the Entire Role of Women
Bearing Children is a Quintessential Marker of a Woman
It’s Something a Man will Never Be Able to Do
So Essentially, Paul would Be Saying:
Women will Be Saved if They Accept Their Role as the Quiet, Submissive Spirit…
That Lives By Faith, Love, Sanctification, & Self-Control
There’s a Lot of Women in the World Who Want to Rule Over Their Husbands
They Want to Be Authority Figures
They could Never Be Rightfully Described as Quiet, Submissive, Calm, or Humble
But Those Women Who Accept that God-Given Role…
Will Be Saved
I Want to Touch on One Last Thing
It’s a Bit of a Pet Peeve of Mine
And this isn’t Just about Women
It Affects All of Us
We have Become Too Focused on the Sunday Assembly
I Think Christians have Been for Most of Our 2000 Years
Let Me Make this Practical Before I Explain:
Too Many Women Today Look at 1 Cor. 14 & 2 Tim. 2 & Say:
“So, Women can’t Do Anything?”
“The Only Service We can Offer God is to Sit in Silence?”
And There are Too Many Men that Say:
“I Think I’m Going to Start Serving.”
And What They Mean is:
“I’m Going to Start Passing Communion Trays or Reading Scripture.”
And Some Other Zealous Guys Get Fixated on Wanting to Preach or Teach…
And When They Don’t have the Opportunity to Do So…
They Sulk Up & Talk about How Useless They Feel in God’s Kingdom
All of These Things Get on My Nerves…
Because They are All Based Upon a Misunderstanding of Kingdom Service
They All Stem from the Long-Held Tradition…
Of Making the Assembly the End Goal…
Instead of the Means to the End Goal
Here’s an Easy Illustration that You’ve Probably Heard Before:
The Assembly is Like a Football Huddle
The Team Gathers Together…
And They Decide What Play to Run Next…
And How to Execute it
They Make Sure Everyone Knows What They’re Supposed to Be Doing
When the Huddle Breaks…
The Players Don’t Run Back to the Sidelines & Wait for the Next Huddle
When the Huddle Breaks…
That’s When the Game of Football is Actually Played
When Christians Assemble…
It’s Meant to Be a Time of Edification/Growth/Learning/Encouragement
Everyone is Supposed to Learn What We’re Supposed to Do
Then When the Assembly is Over…
That’s When Kingdom Service/Work is Supposed to Begin
We’ve Made Christianity & Kingdom Service All about the Assembly
That’s Like Playing Football…
But All the Team Ever Does it Huddle
They Never Actually Execute Any Plays
Women, it’s Limitless What You can Do in the Kingdom
You’ve Got a Number of Gifts & Abilities to Use for the Glory of God
But When We Think of the Assembly…
As the Primary Place Where Christianity is Practiced…
Then of Course You’re Going to Feel Like You aren’t Allowed to Contribute
Because, in the Assembly, Men are to Teach & Lead
But Out in the Real World…
Women are Expected to Teach, Preach, Serve, Lead…
Just as Much as the Men
Men, You May have Gifts & Abilities to Use in the Assembly to Edify & Encourage
But, a Football Player Doesn’t Use His Skills in the Huddle
Our Greatest Service to God Takes Place Out There, Not in Here
We’ll Talk More about this Sort of Thing in the Coming Weeks