WOMEN KEEP SILENT IN THE CHURCH

I Timothy 2:8-15

There are many brethren who sincerely wanted to know what the Bible says about women teaching men in the church. It is one of those questions that frequently get asked, because although the Scriptures speak to the subject, many Bible critics have done a good job of confusing people about what it means.

Many brethren want to know about women and their roles in the church. Jesus placed high value on women in His life and teachings. He recognized them as unique individuals, speaking to and with them in a kind and caring manner. He ministered to them and engaged them in ministry themselves. Jesus didn’t just have the men ministering and the women passively sitting by; He gave them responsibility and encouraged them to use their talents, gifts and abilities.

Men and women are on equal spiritual footing before God. God created male and female equality in that His design was that both men and women were created in His image. We were created to be reflections of who God is, not in form, but by bearing His nature, His personality, His moral and spiritual capacities, His emotions, intellect, conscience and will. God created both men and women to be images of His righteous character, of His holiness and of His unconditional love. However, having created us to equally bear His image, God also instituted male-headship: not as a result of the fall, but before the fall. Man was given and still has the primary responsibility to lead the home in a God-glorifying direction.

God places high value on women. Men and women are spiritual equals before Him, but God has given man the responsibility to lead, and women have been called to honor and affirm the man’s leadership and help him carry it out. Now, the real test of whether we have grasped the Biblical essence of manhood and womanhood and affirm it as good and right is whether Paul’s application of it to the life of the church surprises and offends us or not.

We must allow the Bible to interpret our beliefs rather than forcing our beliefs onto God’s Word so that we make it say something that it doesn’t. When our beliefs are not in alignment with God’s Word, we are the one who must change.

Our approach to understanding the text is simple. First we must understand what is meant by verses 11-12, and then understand why as a church we must be in agreement with what it teaches. In verses 11-12, there are three statements we must examine:

“LET THE WOMAN LEARN IN SILENCE”

There are some extreme views about this statement. Some explain it away by saying that women then were not treated with the same regard that we treat ours with today, so women don’t have to learn in silence. It is okay for them to talk. The other extreme is to say that a woman should keep her mouth shut in church. “Be seen and not heard.”

Both extremes are wrong and I think you can see this from how the word is used in some other places, two of which are in this chapter. In verse 2, Paul says, “that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.” The word peaceable comes from the same Greek word for silent.

In II Thessalonians 3, Paul pointed out how some in that church were walking disorderly and were busybodies. He said in verse 12 in regard to those people that they should work with quietness and eat their own bread.

The same Greek word is used to say silent, peaceable, and quiet. It doesn’t refer to absolute silence: a quiet and peaceable life is not a life of total silence. You can see this in verse 12. The same word is used again, but notice how it is used in contrast to the rest of the verse.

“I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.” In other words, this silence, or quietness is the opposite of exercising authority over men. “Don’t exercise authority over men, instead be silent.”

So what sort of silence or quietness does Paul have in mind? It’s the kind of quietness that respects and honors the leadership of the men God has called to oversee the church. Verse 11 indicates that the women were to learn in silence with all subjection, or submissiveness. So the point is not whether a woman says nothing, but whether she is submissive and whether she supports the authority of the men God has divinely appointed to lead the church. Quietness means not speaking in a way that compromises that authority.

“I SUFFER NOT A WOMAN TO TEACH”

What kind of teaching does Paul have in mind? This is the church assembled, so it doesn’t have anything to do with a woman teaching any number of academic subjects. Probably more damage has been done to this passage here than in any other place. Arguments abound as to why this is not a literal statement or why it is not applicable for us today.

1. The women then were teaching false doctrine.

2. The women then were not educated.

3. Women today are not deceived like they were then.

4. Paul only said it because women teachers were offensive to his culture.

Let us consider what Paul does mean when he says that he does not permit women to teach. Again we will appeal to other passages of Scripture.

In Titus 2:3-4, Paul said, “The aged women likewise, that they be in behavior as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things; that they may teach the young women…”
In II Timothy 3:14, Paul encouraged Timothy to “Continue in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them.” II Timothy 1:5 tells us that Timothy was taught by his grandmother and mother.

In the case of Priscilla Acts 18:26 says, “And Apollos began to speak boldly in the synagogue: whom when Aquila and Priscilla had heard, they took him unto them, and expounded, or taught unto him the way of God more perfectly.”

When Paul forbids women to teach, it quickly becomes obvious that not every kind of teaching is forbidden to women. They taught younger women, children, and at least one woman teamed up with her husband to give private instruction to a man.

Was Paul confused? If he was writing by the inspiration of God we know that he wasn’t. The next phrase is the key to understanding the prohibition. The next phrase says, “I suffer not a woman to usurp authority over the man.” You see, the two phrases cannot be separated; they go together, so that the phrase “I suffer not a woman to teach” means that Paul was forbidding women to teach when it meant exercising authority over men.

Now, remember that we’re dealing with a church setting, so the most obvious example of this prohibition would be found in a woman teaching a mixed adult class. Paul does not forbid women teaching other women, but he does forbid a woman to teach adult men.
“I SUFFER NOT A WOMAN TO USURP AUTHORITY OVER THE MAN”

This particular statement is simply an affirmation of God’s divine plan for male headship. It is not a coincidence that a large portion of the next chapter is given to explaining the roles of male leadership in the church. Men had two basic responsibilities: they were to govern and they were to preach or teach.

A point that often comes up at this point is this: If a man asks or appoints a woman to teach him, has she usurped authority over him? I will answer that question by saying that since Paul throughout this passage is teaching that a woman is not to exercise authority over the men in a church, so it really doesn’t matter whether she usurped that authority or not, she is exercising it. And I’d like to add this, that if the men of a church are so lazy or unwilling to perform their duties and responsibilities and lead the church like God expects, they’ve got worse problems than women teachers.

WHY IT MATTERS:

Does a strict adherence to this passage really make any difference? Considering the culture in which we live and the political correctness of our day, should we operate by this or just follow it loosely? Of the three statements, I doubt that any of you would argue that women can and should speak in church, and you probably won’t argue that women are to allow for male leadership in the church. The statement that rubs most people wrong is saying that a woman cannot teach men, either as the primary teacher or as a fill-in, so I want to give you two reasons why we must accept this teaching.

BECAUSE ACCEPTING IT AFFIRMS WHAT WE BELIEVE ABOUT THE BIBLE

There is no arguing that God has included some hard teachings in His Word. There are some things in it that we are naturally going to resist, but again, I am compelled to urge you to accept what it says and allow it to shape your beliefs.

Here is the danger. Suppose you come to the Bible and read a statement such as the one we’ve been considering. You read it, but think, “Surely this does not say what it appears to say. There must be some explanation for it, because it can’t mean that today.” So as a result we explain it away by saying that there was some cultural reason for it or some other reason why it does not apply today.

Let me ask you this then: what is to stop us from doing that with any other passage of Scripture? Listen, either it is the Word of God or it is not. We must either accept it as the truth or not. The Bible is not a book to be interpreted by culture or time. It transcends all those things and more. The Bible is the lens through which we must interpret every part of life. It is to serve as the filter through which we funnel all our thinking, all our beliefs, all our practices and doctrines and positions, and when our beliefs and opinions and positions fail to agree with the teachings of Scripture, then we must change our beliefs.

If you cannot accept this teaching, then you can disregard the whole thing, because you have chosen to allow your beliefs to govern your life rather than the Bible. We must be a people, a church that honors His Word.