9/8/11
Later in the evening after the last blog. I began searching "prayer" in Strong's. While looking up those passages I came upon Matthew's version of "Do Not Worry." The passage was Ch. 6:23-34. The final verse struck me as profound.
"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."
Back to searching for prayer. The first look up took me to Matthew 6:5-15.
"This, then, is how you should pray:".... vs. 9
And the passage proceeds with The Lord's Prayer. How obvious, yet completely over-looked?!
Being lead to 1 Timothy 2, I found a section entitled: Instructions for Worship. I read the whole passage verses 5-15, but it is verses 11-15 which bother me. Why can't women teach?! That is how I was lead to do this Bible study, by Joyce Meyer, a female tv evangelist! Then it goes on to say that women can only be saved through childbearing!!! What happens if she is barren?! This is the New Testament, what happened to being saved by personally accepting Jesus Christ into your heart as your Savior and Lord???!!!! Can anyone shed some more light on the meaning of this passage?
I don't believe these things but I just read it in the Bible. Which brings me to these next questions. Is the Bible supposed to be read 100% literally, 100% figuratively, or some combination there of? But if a combination, which parts are to be read which way? And if combination, do the correct combinations differ from Christian to Christian. Seems like it could be the case, seeing as we are all unique individuals, with our unique relationships with God, it stands to reason we would read the Scripture differently. However I see that is likely where extreme interpretations come from, but what is too extreme? So many questions, it makes my head hurt. But I want to keep reading the Bible, I feel like I am missing something in my life and I keep having Faith and God laid upon my heart.
Loren,
ReplyDeleteI think that in studying these verses, it is important to look at the context in which Paul wrote.
In 1 Timothy 2:12, Paul wrote: "I do not permit...". Paul was exercising his authority over the church, which is particularly important when considering the status of many women at the time it was written. In that day and age, women were often less learned, which Paul felt made them more easily taken in by false teaching. The context seems to indicate that some women were... very strong willed, and teaching over others without fully understanding (or flat out getting wrong) the message being conveyed. Paul was within his rights here as a leader of the church.
The key thing to state, though, is that this was a command from Paul, not God, as is explicitly called out. I find this to mean that it is not a overall commandment that extends to this day and age. Today, both men and women are learned and have the ability to teach each other. I think the "usefulness of teaching" ("All scripture is God-breathed, and useful for teaching..." 2 Timothy 3:16) comes from the understanding that people, as a whole, should not be allowed to teach if they have only have part of the message, or in other words, are only partially learned in the scripture. This includes the busybodies who think they have it all figured out (Which seems to be the call out in the passage you read), as well as new followers of Christ who don't have the whole picture yet.
As for the childbearing portion. Again, this seems to be about context. In the absence of any other way to demonstrate faith, wives could show saving faith by doing the things required to raise children. Here, childbearing doesn't have to mean giving birth, it can mean more the context of child rearing. These acts are to demonstrate love, holiness and propriety, which are exactly the things listed afterward in verse 15. They demonstrate to others the inward grace that we have been given. These are things that are demonstrable outside this context towards others. Paul here seemed to (again, in the context of the times) be boiling it down to something that was applicable to almost all women at the time. I don't think it should be seen as a statement that only mothers can be saved, or that barren women cannot be saved. Saving grace is still true, this is a statement about demonstrating the grace we have been given, one which men also can learn from today.
Hey Loren! I just found your blog the other day, look forward to keeping up with it.
ReplyDeleteLike the commenter above me, the key to reading Scripture is context- Paul is writing to equip Timothy, as the next major leader in the church. He's teaching him how to handle situations. Contextually, we've learned that Paul was addressing specific problems with men and women in the church. In order for there to be any kind of order in the church, women needed to obey and submit to their husbands compassionate leadership- and that meant not causing a riot in the middle of church.
Paul was not writing to say that men and women are not equal, or one lesser viewed in the eyes of God, but rather that they do have different roles, and this is how those different roles play out in church. Just as in a marriage God has made the man the 'head', or the main decision maker, and thus the one who must answer to God for the choices of his family, etc- so also we can extend the metaphor that God ordained in marriage to the church. Women were not to have teaching authority over men in the church. In many churches today, you'll see that in cases where women may not be a senior pastor, or restricted to pastoral roles over women alone, etc. Again, this isn't necessarily about ability or capability: it's about responsibility and roles before God.
I'm sure that many people who adhere to a stricter interpretation of those verses, where women do not have teaching authority over men in the context of church (which is something I myself agree with) would have little problems with what Joyce Meyer's does. Again, it's all about context.
As for the verses regarding childbearing- just as the commenter said above me, it's about context. Paul is reminding them that all people were born fallen, (referencing Adam and Eve...) but that through Christ we have a new beginning! He is saying here how the original, the ideal can be restored- as God wanted it and designed. How the church, how the marriage, how the family was supposed to work without sin. For women, it is a reminder of one of the purposes God has given us; to be caregivers, helpmates, to be submissive to our husbands... etc.
This is much like what Paul calls "working out our salvation" in Philippians 2:12 "... work out your own salvation with fear and trembling..." not meaning that it is salvation through works, but that with faith, comes works. The book of James has a huge theme of this: works do not bring about salvation, but if one is of Christ, then the fruits of the Spirit, the works of the Spirit, are evidenced in our lives.
One thing that I'd suggest, if you haven't already- is to grab a Study Bible. I'd never be able to get along without mine. Also, there are a ton of commentaries available online, through sites like Logos, and BibleGateway.com, etc. Those will be immensely helpful in digging into the Word.
Always remember when it comes to reading: there is one meaning. God is not some vague or ambiguous God, but there are plenty of people who disagree as to what that one meaning is. It does take some research and time to figure out different stances, etc- but in the end remember that as a Christian, you are gifted with the Holy Spirit residing inside you, and that is best help to understanding the Scriptures that anyone has ever been given!