Women and Christian Ministry

What on earth is this all about?

1 Timothy 2:11 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.

The way it's normally read and interpreted, it sounds like nonsense unless we're prepared to accept a really old-fashioned conservative view, and, even then, it doesn't make much sense. We know that most people today would just dismiss it, but Paul himself wasn't likely to mean it that way.  Let's see what he actually said.

At the start of this section, Paul is not talking about teaching, he's talking about learning:

11 Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. (King James Version)

'Let the woman learn!'

That's his first instruction.

The church at Ephesus began with believers who had left the synagogue (see Acts 19:8,9). 

In the synagogues, women were forbidden to study God's word, so this was a progressive idea.

(There are still countries today where it's revolutionary! I know we are thinking primarily of learning about the word of God, but, by extension, we could think of Paul saying, 'Let a woman be educated: allow her to go to college or university!' The general principle would still apply.)

The King James Version says 'in silence', while the NIV has 'in quietness'.

The Greek word does not mean 'not speaking' but to be still or in quietness, so, here, the NIV is better: 'in quietness' as is normal when listening or learning. Also it's possible to read it as 'leave her in peace' to learn: 'don't disturb' her, 'don't bother' her: let her learn! Compare with the beginning of the chapter where there is a similar idea about living peaceful lives free from persecution.

1 Timothy 2:1 I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people

2 for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.

full submission

We're so bound up with the idea that Paul was chauvinistic or misogynistic that we assume his meaning: it's due to the way this passage has been interpreted and taught. However, we've already seen that that wasn't the apostle's attitude to women at all. Submission here is not to men, leaders in the church or even their own husbands: it's submission to God's word! Paul hasn't mentioned men at all so far in this passage, so why would we read it that way? The King James Version uses the word 'subjection' rather than 'submission', and it can be used in the sense of submitting to God's word. In 2 Corinthians 9:13, for example, we find 'subjection unto the gospel of Christ', and it's the same Greek word used here.

12 I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man; she must be quiet.

I do not permit! The Greek implies: 'I will not roll over for that.' He's asserting his full authority as an Apostle: 'Do you think I'm a pushover?' We may well be surprised that Paul makes such an issue of it. If it were merely a matter of respecting the prevailing culture, would he speak with such force? Surely there must be something more at stake. There is a conjunction in the original Greek: 'but I do not permit …'.  We have the sense of something which is entirely opposite to what has just been said. Remember though that the submission is to the word of God! So the complete opposite in every way is to teach without being submitted to God's word. Wouldn't that be false teaching?

The real issue is what it means to 'assume authority'. Nobody really objects to women teaching: even the most conservative churches allow women to teach children or women's groups. Also, everyone agrees that there is a close connection between teaching and assuming authority: they're not two distinct things but part of the same thing (assuming authority by teaching).

In what way could teaching be destructive or cause death? It's clear enough that we must be talking about false teaching! If true teaching brings life, then false teaching brings death.

(We might think, for example, of literalistic or legalistic teaching as in 2 Corinthians 3:6: He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.)

Does this make sense in context? 

First, we go to the beginning of this passage: 'let the woman learn': a woman who has studied the word of God would not teach false doctrine, but anyone might if they were not allowed to learn! 

Second, go back to the beginning of the letter:

1 Timothy 1:3 … stay there in Ephesus so that you may command certain people not to teach false doctrines any longer. It's hardly necessary to point out that Paul says certain people not just certain men. It's obvious that this is a major theme, if not the main theme, of the whole letter: his concern is about false teaching.

Also, Paul has not said here that he is talking only about teaching in the church meetings: there's nothing in the context to show that. Gifted women should be free to teach in church meetings, but they would 'teach' anyway; in the market place or in the kitchen. Forbidding women to teach in the meetings would not solve the problem: letting women learn would! It's an inspired solution: instead of you men trying to keep control of things and forbidding women to speak and so forth, let the women also learn the word of God so that they can go around spreading the good news wherever they go! It's not a matter of if they teach or where they teach but what they teach.

'over a man'  There's some debate about whether we should take this to mean men in general or their own husbands. It's not, of course, the same thing, and we shouldn't confuse ideas about ministry in the church with what we believe about relationships between husbands and wives. However, the two things are not unconnected. Women will have an influence and, obviously, especially on the men they are closest to.

'she must be quiet'  this is almost a repetition of the earlier 'in quietness', and you won't be surprised that we're dealing with the same Greek word. It doesn't mean 'to keep quiet' but to be 'in quietness': not causing trouble or disruption, which, I suggest, would result from spreading false doctrine. (Now someone might be asking why the same doesn't apply to men. Of course it does, but they would already know that they were supposed to be instructed in God's word!)

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.'

Again, if we take this as an explanation of why women should submit to men, it's utter nonsense! We are to accept that, because man was created before woman, men should always be in charge for evermore, and, because Eve was deceived, women can never be trusted again!  Could Paul, as an intelligent man, really think this?  However, we've seen that this passage is not about that sort of submission anyway, so what can Paul mean?

This reference to Adam and Eve, far from being ridiculous, actually confirms what I've been saying. Paul is not explaining why women should submit: he is using a well known Old Testament passage to illustrate his point about why women need to be established in God's word!  Eve was deceived and went on to lead Adam astray. Isn't this a perfect example of what I've been saying about false teaching leading to death and destruction?

If the women are not permitted to study and understand God's word, they will remain ignorant and influence their men too with wrong ideas (not all the men would be strong Christians), tearing down and destroying rather than building up. Paul will not permit that! In verse 12, we saw that the Apostle cannot put up with such a thing. This makes much more sense of the sentence about Adam and Eve: it fits the context and agrees with the rest of Paul's teaching.

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We naturally think of Bible teaching in the context of church meetings, but, once that principle is established, it has far reaching consequences. Paul was overturning an institutional tradition that oppressed women.

2 Timothy 2:2 And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others.

Some of the older Bible versions have faithful or reliable men. e.g. the King James’ Version: 2 Timothy 2: 2 And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also. However, the Greek word is ä'n-thrō-pos: a human being, whether male or female, so this version of the NIV is better here. If Paul is instructing Timothy to start a Bible College to train ministers, it would have been open to both men and women. Let the woman learn. (1 Timothy 2:11 KJV)