Our Sisters
7 min read
11 A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. 12 I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man; she must be quiet. 13 For Adam was formed first, then Eve. 14 And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner. 15 But women will be saved through childbearing—if they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety.
— 1 Timothy 2:11-15
When I was studying for my MDIV in seminary, I was having lunch with one of our professors, and I mentioned to him that I thought that the role of women in the church would become one of the most divisive topics for the church in the near future. That was over fifteen years ago.
I’m certainly not a prophet (in the sense of receiving a direct revelation of the future from God and sharing it), but I was certainly not wrong.
The battle lines of this debate over the role of women in the church are drawn based upon how one interprets specific passages in the Bible. And this passage is the one that many people use to claim that women must not have any position in the church where they might be teaching men or exercising authority over men.
In my humble opinion, that interpretation of this text is too restrictive. In my humble opinion, that interpretation disregards important context in both 1 Timothy and the rest of the Bible. But that opinion does not come from me. It is an opinion that belongs to one of the readers of my dissertation, Craig Blomberg (truth: he is far smarter in a hour than I will ever be in my lifetime).
Craig Blomberg’s opinion is that the restriction placed upon women here is real. However, the restriction is that women are not to hold the office of the LEAD pastor of a church. The role of the lead pastor is to exercise authority over the whole church and to be the steward and guardian of the teaching for the whole church.
And so 1 Timothy 2:11-12 does not preclude a woman from having ANY authority in the church or ANY teaching position over men. The restriction precludes women from having the ULTIMATE teaching authority over the whole church.
Of course, there are also extremely smart people who hold to the more restrictive view, too. Nevertheless, I have personally found Craig Blomberg’s arguments to be the most reasonable, even if they may not be the most popular among complementarians (the idea that men and women are equal but have complementary roles according to God’s design).
I would guess that most of the sisters in Canvas are totally fine with Craig Blomberg’s interpretation of the passage. In fact, there may be some sisters who are totally fine the the more restrictive interpretation of women not having ANY teaching authority over men.
But what in the world about verses 13-15? Again, Craig Blomberg has been very helpful in my understanding of this text.
The key is that the word “saved” in verse 15 is not merely referring to our eternal soul salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. Paul uses that word to refer to the restoration of God’s design for the world in Christ Jesus. It is similar to when I always say - God singular purpose for us is to fill the earth the glory of God in Jesus’s name through God-fearing, God-honoring, God-worshiping, God-loving communities and families, the church. We are “saved” when our lives are restored to God’s intended design for our lives.
Jesus came so that we might have life and have it to the full.
I really hope that many of our Canvas sisters will attend the conference being taught by Jen Wilkin. And if it would not cause “weaker” brothers and sisters to stumble, I would love to attend the conference too (Romans 14-15).
Father, You are love. You are grace. You are mercy. I confess that we so often let our sinful hearts take over our lives. We always want to divide and separate, but You want to make all people holy through our salvation in Christ Jesus. Forgive us for our bickering over words and losing sight of Your heart of love and Your original design for our lives to be in Your presence. In Jesus’s name. Amen.
