We now consider New Testament doctrine regarding the roles of brother and sister in respect to speaking, teaching and public prayer. There are three main passages, 1 Timothy 2:11-15,1 Corinthians 14:34-35 and Titus 2:3-5, each of which will be considered in its context. These passages provide principles for ecclesias [churches] in every age, and our ultimate aim will be to consider how these principles are to be applied today.
Both Paul’s life and the age of the Spirit-gifts were coming to a close when the epistles to Timothy and Titus were written. The letters have the common characteristic of containing instructions for the organisation and running of ecclesias devoid of direct Spirit guidance.1 The basis of authority becomes the interpretation of existing revelation, both the Old Testament Scripture and the teaching of the New Testament writers (see 2 Timothy 2:15 and 3:14-17). The emphasis on sound teaching is striking; the phrase “sound doctrine” (or variations on it) occurs no less than eight times in these three epistles, but nowhere else in the New Testament.2 Parallel with this phrase comes an equal emphasis on choosing the right people to teach, to be elders or deacons, and to beware of false teachers.3 It is against this background that we find the specific instructions regarding man and woman in 1 Timothy 2:8-15.
The passage starts in 1:18 with, “This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy”. It concludes in 3:14-16, these verses being particularly important because they tell us what the charge has been about: “These things write I unto thee ... that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God ...”. The passage, then, has to do with behaviour in the household of faith, the ecclesia. More than this, the instructions are of a general nature, applying to all brethren and sisters, not just to Timothy. The Greek is particularly impersonal, and the NIV captures it well: “you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God’s household”.
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Author: Michael Lewis
Keywords: Oppression of women, Women priests, Women pastors, Women bishops, Women evangelists, Women in the church, Serving women, Women, Feminism, Anti feminism, misogynist, misogyny, Women to remain silent, Silent in the churches, Women should not teach, Women are not to teach men, Women to be in subjection, Sexist, Paul sexist, Sexism, Women of prominence, Chauvinism, Male chauvinism, Chauvinist, Male chauvinist, Deborah and Barak, Debra and Barak, Ezer Kenegdo, Helpmeet, Help mate, Helpmate, Role of women in the church, Role of woman in the church, Woman's role, Feminist, Equality of women, Equality of woman, Equality of the sexes, Female bishop, Deaconess, Phoebe, Phoebe deaconess, Female deacon, Female deaconess, Headcovering, Head covering, Covered head, Covering the head, Women's hair, Public prayer, Women speaking, Women teaching, Usurp, Usurp authority, Usurping authority, Women's role, Women's role in the church
Bible reference(s): Genesis 2:18, Genesis 2:20, Genesis 3:16, Judges 4, Acts 18:26, Romans 16:7, 1 Corinthians 11:3-16, 1 Cor. 14:34-35, Gal. 3:28, Ephesians 5:22-24, Ephesians 4:11, 1 Timothy 2:9-15, 1 Timothy 3:2-3, 2 Timothy 2:2, Titus 1:5, Titus 1:8-9, Titus 2:3-5, 1 Peter 3:1-6
Source: “Man and Woman,” The Testimony, Vol. 60, No. 710, February 1990, pp. 43-51.
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