"THE FIRST EPISTLE TO TIMOTHY"
Instructions To Women (2:9-15)
INTRODUCTION
1. The purpose of 1st Timothy is found in 1Ti 3:14-15...
a. That we might know how to conduct ourselves in God's family, the
church
b. E.g., Paul's instruction to men regarding prayer - 1Ti 2:1-8
2. In 1Ti 2:9-15, Paul addresses the women, and gives instructions
concerning...
a. Their adornment - 1Ti 2:9-10
b. Their submission - 1Ti 2:11-15
[His instructions may seem antiquated, but women seeking to please God
will do well to give earnest heed. Consider, then, what is written
about...]
I. THE ADORNMENT OF WOMEN
A. "IN LIKE MANNER..."
1. Just as men are to pray 'everywhere', 'without wrath and
doubting' - 1Ti 2:8
2. So these instructions to women apply 'everywhere', 'without
wrath and doubting'
3. "The apostle had stated particularly the duty of men in public
worship (1Ti 2:8), and he now proceeds to state the duty of
women. All the directions here evidently refer to the proper
manner of conducting public worship, and not to private duties;
and the object here is to state the way in which he would have
the different sexes appear." - Barnes
a. "He had said that he would have prayers offered for all
people (1Ti 2:1ff), and that in offering such petitions he
would have the men on whom devolved the duty of conducting
public devotion, do it with holy hands, and without any
intermingling of passion, and with entire freedom from the
spirit of contention." - ibid.
b. "In reference to the duty of females in attendance on public
worship, he says that he would have them appear in apparel
suitable to the place and the occasion - adorned not after
the manner of the world, but with the zeal and love in the
cause of the Redeemer which became Christians." - ibid.
B. "ADORN THEMSELVES IN MODEST APPAREL..."
1. Lit., "adorn themselves in adorning attire"; the word modest
means:
a. "orderly, well-arranged, decent" - Vine
b. "well-arranged, becoming' - RWP
c. The NASB uses the word 'proper'
2. "It does not, properly, mean modest in the sense of being
opposed to that which is immodest, or which tends to excite
improper passions and desires, but that which is becoming or
appropriate." - Barnes
3. What constitutes 'proper' apparel is further defined by Paul as
he continues...
C. "WITH PROPRIETY AND MODERATION..."
1. Propriety means "a sense of shame, a shrinking from trespassing
the boundaries of propriety, proper reserve" - Hendriksen
2. Moderation (translated 'sobriety', KJV) means "sanity; then
sober-mindedness, moderation of the desires and passions. It is
opposed to all that is frivolous, and to all undue excitement
of the passions. The idea is, that in their apparel and
deportment they should not entrench on the strictest decorum.
Doddridge." - Barnes
3. The point is to avoid extremes: "Be not the first by whom the
new is tried, nor yet the last to lay the old aside." - Pope
D. "NOT WITH BRAIDED HAIR, GOLD, PEARLS OR COSTLY CLOTHING..."
1. Note that Paul is not dealing with brevity of clothing per se
a. Rather, clothing and hairstyles designed to draw the
attention of others
b. Of course, drawing attention through brevity of clothing
would violate the spirit of the letter, as well as the word
translated before as "propriety" or "shamefacedness" (KJV)
2. Is Paul condemning all adorning of the hair or wearing of
jewelry?
a. Compare what Peter wrote in 1Pe 3:3-4
1) Both appear to be a use of the comparative 'not'...
a) Where 'not' is not used as a literal prohibition
b) But to compare one thing to another (not this..but
this)
2) For example, look at Jn 6:27
a) Did Jesus condemn working for food?
b) No, He was emphasizing what is most important
b. Sarah evidently adorned herself such that her beauty could
not be hidden (cf. Gen 12:14-15), but her true beauty was
adornment of a meek and quiet spirit - 1Pe 3:5-6
3. "It cannot be supposed that the mere braiding of the hair is
forbidden, but only that careful attention to the manner of
doing it, and to the ornaments usually worn in it, which
characterized worldly females. It is not to be supposed that
all use of gold or pearls as articles of dress is here
forbidden; but the idea is, that the Christian female is not to
seek these as the adorning which she desires, or is not to
imitate the world in these personal decorations." - Barnes
E. "BUT, WHICH IS PROPER FOR WOMEN PROFESSING GODLINESS, WITH
GOOD WORKS..."
1. Here is where the emphasis is to be, not on outward apparel!
2. As per 1Pe 3:3-4: "Do not let your adornment be [merely]
outward - arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on
[fine] apparel - rather [let it be] the hidden person of the
heart, with the incorruptible [beauty] of a gentle and quiet
spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God." (NKJV)
3. Good works befits women professing godliness (godly piety)
- e.g., Dorcas, Ac 9:36,39
[Sisters in Christ, what do men notice most about you? Attention to
physical adornment, or your godly conduct? Be careful not to let the
physical take precedent and block out the spiritual! Now consider
Paul's instructions regarding...]
II. THE SUBMISSION OF WOMEN
A. "LEARN IN SILENCE WITH ALL SUBMISSION...TO BE IN SILENCE"
1. The word "silence" (NKJV, ASV, NRSV) - 1Ti 2:11-12
a. Translated "quietness" (KJV), "quietly" (NASB)
b. Found here and in Ac 22:2 ("all the more silent") and 2 Th
3:12 ("work in quietness")
c. Related to the word used in 1Ti 2:2 ("peaceable life")
2. "The apostle goes on to give some other instructions to women,
how they should behave themselves in public worship, in the
church of God;" - Gill
a. "he would have them be learners and not teachers, sit and
hear, and learn more of Christ, and of the truth of the
Gospel, and to maintain good works;" - ibid.
b. "and he would have them learn in silence, and not offer to
rise and speak, under a pretense of having a word from the
Lord, or of being under an impulse of the Spirit of the
Lord, as some frantic women have done;" - ibid.
c. "and if they should meet with anything, under the ministry
of the word, they did not understand, or they had an
objection to, they were not to speak in public, but ask
their own husbands at home; see 1Co 14:34." - ibid.
d. "And thus, they were to behave with all subjection; both to
the ministers of the word, and to their own husbands; - ibid.
3. Thus women should "listen attentively to instruction, without
attempting to teach in public" - Barnes
B. "DO NOT PERMIT A WOMEN TO TEACH OR TO HAVE AUTHORITY..."
1. Note that this pertains to "over a man"
a. Compare his comments with those in 1Co 14:34-37
b. Women may certainly teach other women, children - cf. Tit 2:
3-4
2. Both 1Ti 2:11-12 and 1Co 14:34-37 appear to deal with the
conduct of women in the public assemblies and worship of the
church
C. REASONS AND REASSURANCES FOR SUCH CONDUCT...
1. Reasons for the submission of women in the church - 1Ti 2:
13-14
a. Adam was formed first, then Eve
1) "Man was made as the lord of this lower creation and
placed in the garden, and then the woman was made of a
rib taken from his side, and given to him, not as a lord,
but as a companion." - Barnes (cf. Gen 2:7-23)
2) "All the circumstances combine to show the subordinate
nature of her rank, and to prove that she was not
designed to exert authority over the man; compare notes
on 1Co 11:8-9." - ibid.
b. Adam was not deceived; Eve being deceived, fell into
transgression
1) Neither the serpent nor Eve deceived Adam; he allowed
himself to be persuaded by Eve after she ate - cf. Gen
3:17
2) Eve was deceived by the serpent, which she readily
acknowledged - Gen 3:13
3) The woman's susceptibility to deception is thus offered
as a reason why women are not to have a leadership role
over men in the church
2. Reassurances for women who learn in submission - 1Ti 2:15
a. "She will be saved in childbearing" (NKJV)
1) "To be understood not of a temporal salvation, or being
saved through childbearing, through the perilous time,
and be delivered out of it..." - Gill
2) "...for though this is generally the case, yet not
always, nor always the case of good women. Rachel died in
child bed." - ibid.
b. But though subject to man, with no leadership role in the
church, and susceptible to bearing children in pain and
sorrow (cf. Gen 3:16), a woman can be saved as well as a man
- cf. Ga 3:28
c. She can be saved even in this function (childbearing), not
by means of it - RWP
1) Paul is not saying women must bear children to be saved,
for he teaches elsewhere the value of the single life
- cf. 1Co 7:32-35
2) Yet generally speaking, this is God's creative purpose
for women (motherhood)
d. "Provided they continue in faith and love and holiness, with
modesty (self-restraint)"
1) Faith, love, holiness - virtues necessary for salvation
2) Modesty (self-restraint) - virtue necessary for submission
CONCLUSION
1. In a world obsessed with fashion and equality, it is not easy to be a
'daughter of Sarah' today
2. But for women 'making a claim to godliness'...
a. Their adornment will be modest and discreet, accompanied with good
works
b. Their service will be faith, love, and holiness, accompanied by
submission and self-restraint
In the words of Peter, such conduct is "...very precious in the sight of
God. For in this manner, in former times, the holy women who trusted in
God also adorned themselves..." - 1Pe 3:4-5
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