As I noted on my Twitter/FB yesterday, I taught 1 Timothy 2 this morning at Crestview Church of Christ. For those who may not be familiar, 1 Timothy 2 can be a contentious text because it addresses gender roles in Christian congregations. Yes, this is "the" text that instructs women to remain silent, have no authority over men and to learn in submission. Generally this text gets a VERY favorable reading among contemporary hearers, as you can imagine. But, the quality of reception aside, 1 Timothy remains in the canon and has been preserved through the centuries as valuable for instruction for Christian churches. And, aside from how things may appear on the surface, 1 Timothy 2.8-3.1a pays off on this historic promise.
Before we even begin to read 1 Timothy 2.8-3.1a, we need to understand 2.1-7. In these verses, Paul urges Timothy to encourage those in Ephesus to turn to prayer on behalf of everyone so that (a) they may live quiet lives so that (b) the gospel may reach all people. Given the contentions among the Ephesians over the false teaching Paul talked about in 1 Timothy 1, Paul believes that the infighting may be harming the cause of the gospel. Timothy is instructed, then, to do what he can to encourage decorum among those who believe his gospel, which Paul summarizes in this section.
With this background, we can then read 2.8-3.1a. To the end articulated in 2.1-7, the men in Ephesus are called upon to end their disputations and pray, echoing 2.1. The women in Ephesus are called upon to conduct themselves in ways that are "fitting." This is a fascinating concept. The Greek word I translate "fitting" is actually a derivative of the word "worldly." Basically, Paul calls the women among the Christians in Ephesus to norm into their societal roles in regard to dress and public behavior.
Common women in the ancient Greco-Roman world were expected to remain quiet in public and to dress modestly. Men were public figures; women were private figures. The only public women were either prostitutes or wealthy women, generally speaking. Paul instructs Timothy to admonish women in Ephesus to conform to this societal standard. Why? Is it possible that in the background of this passage Christian women had embraced the freedoms they found in Christ? In other NT writings, we see Christian women at the forefront of Christian ministry, acting in ways that may have pushed the boundaries of Greco-Roman social norms (Phoebe and Priscilla, for example...there are others). Is it also possible that these women are the "weak minded women" Paul discusses in 2 Timothy 3 who were the victims of the false teachers in Ephesus? If either of these likely options (or both) are true, then Paul's admonition is that Timothy put these women back into their societal roles so that the Christian community will not appear suspect to Roman leaders and so that they will no longer propagate the false teaching they have learned. This is why Paul warns that these women should not have authority over men and that they should not teach, but learn quietly and in submission. This appears to be what is going on behind the scenes in Ephesus that prompts Paul's admonition to Timothy in these verses.
So what are the implications of this reading of 1 Timothy 2? First, a literal reading of Paul's instructions to women are not for all churches for all time, but very specific instructions for a particular congregation at a particular time. This finding poses significant challenges for Christian traditions (like my own Restoration Tradition) who have read these verses prescriptively and restricted women from positions of "authority over men." Ironically, given the cultural context in which American Restoration Churches find themselves, our treatment of women in our congregations has actually become an offense to the gospel for many. How many of our number have left Churches of Christ in the past 20 years (or more?) because they felt God's gifts to women could find no expression in our congregations, only to go on to productive ministries in other traditions? How many cannot seem to hear the gospel in Churches of Christ because of the witness of our treatment of women? I think these are questions worth serious consideration and prayer.
Second, Paul admonishes the Christians at Ephesus to conform to social norms so that they can live "mild and quiet lives" and thereby have a positive impact for the gospel of Christ. So often we emphasize our particulars and the way we distinguish ourselves from the broader culture. But what are we doing in the life of our congregations that are actively driving people away from the gospel of Christ? Are we bickering internally? Are we proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ AND something else, or showing forth the gospel of Christ unadorned with other trappings? Does some aspect of our traditional practices keep us from reaching out with the gospel into our society? Are we disengaged from the culture and, thereby, have no voice or no relevance in the broader culture so that the gospel doesn't have an opportunity to be heard? Again, these are questions worthy of consideration that may affect our congregations in Church of Christ.
Finally, a fitting application of this passage (as I've already alluded) would be in situations when some group within our congregations damages the quality of our gospel witness. If we have men fighting over the gospel, they should go and pray for everyone in order to bring them to a position where they can work through their differences. Differences are worked out differently if you are praying earnestly for those with whom you disagree. Also, if contentious gossip or some kind of specious teaching arises in our congregations, Paul would urge these people to remain silent and not have authority over other people in our churches until their gossip or false teaching was corrected.
1 Timothy 2, then, says something different than I imagine we anticipated and challenges us to ask the question: If God's goal is "to save all people and bring them into knowledge of the truth," then what am I doing to prohibit this work from happening in my ministry, and how may my community actively prohibit the embrace of God's gospel? Given the answers to these question, what can I do differently so that our ministry communicates properly to the environment in which my congregation finds itself?
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