1 Timothy 2:8-15

by | Jan 24, 2025 | 1 Timothy, New Testament

2:8 I desire therefore that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting;

Paul exhorted the men of the church to be men who pray.
This would have been public prayers.
I don’t know that Paul is trying to exclude women from public prayer.
He is certainly exhorting men to pray publicly.

Prayer may be one of the most neglected practices in our churches.
This includes both private and corporate prayer.

They were to pray w/o wrath.
orge, or-gay’; violent passion, punishment:–anger, indignation, vengeance, wrath.
Prayers for others were not to be made with bitterness in the heart.
doubting- They were to pray in faith.

No angry prayers.
No faithless prayers.

2:9 in like manner also, that the women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with propriety and moderation, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly clothing,

Paul begins to bring forth the picture of godliness for a woman.
He does so by use of comparison.
What a woman is known for, or how she is recognized.

propriety- That which is appropriate to the nature of what one is.

modesty in dress- appropriate not only in privacy, but in monetary cost.
Not only that which is not provocative visually, but that which does not provoke jealousies, concerns, or cause others to feel less presentable.

not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly clothing,
The prohibition is not against gold, pearls, or costly clothing.
Those things are all relative to a culture or social group.

What is appropriate here is considered luxurious in other countries.
Paul speaks of that which is not affordable and is inconsistent with the nature of the Christian woman.

Summary- A Christian woman needs to remember who and what she is.
She is a follower of Jesus, and she represents him upon this Earth.
He should not dress in any way that contradicts what she is or what she stands for.
She should dress morally, and not extravagantly.
Her appearance should not be distracting to men or to other women.
She needs to dress appropriately for her culture.
These are not guidelines to be turned into laws, but goals for a woman to decide upon.
2:10 but, which is proper for women professing godliness, with good works.
That which is truly attractive is a godly life. Good works.

Paul’s words are corrective, but not simply intended to be a list of prohibitions.
He is exhorting men to be godly men, which includes public praying faith and without anger.
He is exhorting women to be godly women, and to present themselves clearly as what they have become: daughters of God.
He exhorts the women to not be a visual distraction in any way, but to dress themselves in good works and godliness.

2:11, 12 Let a woman learn in silence with all submission. And I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence.

Silence- quietness; description of the life of one who stays at home doing his own work, and does not officiously meddle with the affairs of others; silence. Without contention.
Silence- found also in v. 2, translated “peaceable”.
NVI- 11 La mujer debe aprender con serenidad, con toda sumisión.
In life, things are created after a certain design.
They are the way they are, because God created them that way.
God, through Paul, seeks to show the place and position in life that woman have in relation to men in the church of Jesus Christ.

The Bible continually brings forth the headship, or leadership, of man over woman.
This is the order of God’s creation among humanity.

Within the Christian church, men are to lead, and not to be led by women.
Women are not to pastor over men, or take positions of authority over them.
This is the arrangement God has established for the functioning of His church.

I have read books by Christian women.
Some of them seem to be closer to Christ than I.
They have insights, experience, and wisdom that I have not yet experienced.
But they do not pastor me; that would not be in alignment with God’s design.

2:13 For Adam was formed first, then Eve.

Some say that this was a command just for Ephesus, and that there were cultural reasons for this command.
That is not accurate, for Paul bases his argument on what happened at creation.
Paul goes back to God’s original design and plan.

Paul seeks to show by order of creation that the man was first formed, and the woman created to come alongside him and help and support him.
The woman was created to fill what lacked in the man, not the reverse, though that is also true.

2:14 And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression.

In many traits of character, and among them those which are most lovely, woman is superior to man; yet it is undoubtedly true that, as a general thing, temptation will make a stronger impression on her than him. Albert Barnes

The statement tells us that through independence of the man’s leadership, the woman fell.
That generally, women are more susceptible to deception than men.
God had ordained that men should fulfill the position of leadership over his wife
Leadership w/in the church.

NOTE- Is this not one of the greatest complaints that wives have of their husbands?
No spiritual leadership.
Is this not the great failure of many Christian men?
They don’t lead their wives and families in godliness.
They are not the priests of their homes.

God’s ways become perverted.
The woman tries to do perform that which lacks in the home.
That is commendable, but it is wrong.

The man is lazy or indifferent, and is happy to let the wife take care of church, spiritual matters, and raising the kids in church.
He thinks that his wife and kids need Jesus, but that he doesn’t.

2:15 Nevertheless she will be saved in childbearing if they continue in faith, love, and holiness, with self-control.

What it can’t mean:
Salvation from sin, forgiveness of sins, justification, etc. Not Biblical
“They” doesn’t refer to the children, because then the woman’s salvation would depend upon the good behavior of the children. Not Biblical.
It can’t mean that having children will save you. That would disqualify all men and some women.

Saved- sozo- used also in 1 Timothy 4:16
Speaks not only of justification, but of wholeness, completeness, healing.

Matthew 9:21 For she said to herself, “If only I may touch His garment, I shall be made well.”
RV- 21 porque se decía a sí misma: «Con solo tocar su manto, seré salva».
NVI- 21 Pensaba: «Si al menos logro tocar su manto, quedaré sana.»

A Christian woman is made whole, complete, she is satisfied, when she fulfills her position as a woman, and does not try to find her fulfillment in trying to lead her husband, or pastor over a church.

Women often feel a great need to fill the position of leader because of the laziness or indifference of the man in the home, or the men in the church, or in the community.

A woman who is pastoring can be used by God, but the original design is that a man would lead the church, and lead the home.