The role of women in the church is a subject that has caused such vexing problems for interpreters to arrive at the proper understanding and conclusion and has ended up dividing up the body of Christ in various ways. What could have possibly led to Paul addressing this issue concerning women in worship?

          Paul was writing this letter to Timothy to instruct him on how believers ought to conduct themselves in the church with respect to proper belief and behavior (1 Timothy 3:15). Based on his exhortation on the appropriate moral behavior for women in the church (1 Tim. 2:9-10), we can conclude that part of what caused Paul’s charge generated from the lack of proper conduct on the part of women. Another thing to take note of is that while Paul is dealing with women in the household of God, it is also clear that the responsibilities of wives and mothers were also in his mind[1] (1 Tim. 2:15).

Let a woman learn quietly with all submissiveness (1 Tim. 2:11 – ESV)

          In contrast to the Jewish culture, which didn’t give much attention to women, Paul is promoting the idea that women ought to learn[2], but they need to do that in “quietness.” Paul begins with the word “likewise,” (1 Tim. 2:9) which connects to his charge towards men in verse 8, where he had instructed the men to lift up holy hands without anger or “quarreling.” Paul’s focus is on peace and order among believers inside the worship service. He is telling women to live an orderly life free of strife and discord (quietness).

          One thing that is clear in this passage is that Paul is combining both the family life context and the household of God context, and he is applying both at the same time. In this verse, “let a woman learn quietly” is specifically in the household of God context, and “with all submissiveness” is taken from the marriage or family life context, which intersects directly with church life. For example, in 1 Tim. 2:10, Paul urged the women to produce good works (in Church context), but later on, Paul would explain that the good works he had in mind must first appear in the home (1 Tim. 2:15; 5:9-10, 14). The Bible Knowledge Commentary also explains that “when the word submission occurs elsewhere in the New Testament with specific reference to a woman, it always refers to a married woman who was to be subject to her husband.” ^[3]

I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet (1 Tim. 2:12 – ESV).

          In 1 Timothy 1:18, Paul told Timothy that “I give you this command,” using the term “give” that is also used in 2 Timothy 2:2 to describe passing on Christian traditions from one generation to another.[4] Paul had the apostolic authority to appoint elders who were responsible for teaching and passing on Christian traditions from one generation to another, and he told Titus to do the same (Titus 1:5). In this passage, specifically for women, Paul says that “I do not permit a woman to teach,” with apostolic authority. It is possible that the women in Ephesus were quarreling over the position of eldership, which came with the responsibility of teaching. It is not surprising that in the next chapter, Paul quickly talks about the qualifications of an elder, and women are not included. Paul’s heart and passion have always been to create order in the body of Christ, especially in worship, and the “silence” of women is in this sense of keeping order in the church (1 Cor. 14:26-40).

          Paul not only forbade women from teaching but also forbade them from exercising authority over a man. The meaning of the word “authority” here is greatly disputed by scholars, and most scholars lean towards the idea of the authority a teacher has over those who are learning[5]. But, as I have already explained earlier, Paul is trying to kill two birds with one stone here. “I do not permit a woman to teach” is specifically referring to the church context (doctrine), and “I do not permit a woman to assume authority over a man” is specifically referring to a marriage context (practice) between wife (woman) and husband (man), which is directly intersecting with church life.

For Adam was formed first, then Eve (1 Tim. 2:13 – ESV).

          The fact that “Adam was formed first, and then Eve” has no direct connection to “I do not permit a woman to teach (church life)” but is directly connected to “I do not permit a woman to assume authority over a man (family life).” Paul is dealing with marriage or family life in this verse, giving an explanation to his appeal on the issue of “authority.” The primogeniture of Adam in creation carried with it the headship role in the marriage, and a woman is not to quarrel about that but to submit.

“and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor” (1 Tim. 2:14 – ESV).

          What is the danger that is present in a wife (woman) assuming authority over her husband (man)? A husband is called to protect, feed, and take care of his wife, just as Christ does the church (Eph. 5:25-30) and his prayers might even be hindered if he doesn’t do that (1 Pet. 3:7). Eve decided to get out of that protection and Paul says that she was deceived by the enemy, outside the protection of her husband and she became a transgressor. In Romans 5:12-21, Adam is the main subject of the fall, but Paul here points out the danger of the woman taking up a role that doesn’t belong to her. The role that a man has implies certain specific abilities to fulfill that role, and the role the woman has also comes with certain abilities to fulfill that role. There is a way that the roles of a husband and wife in family life directly flow into church life. For example, Paul had warned the Ephesian elders to watch out for fierce wolves and “protect” the flock (role of man/husband) by paying attention to themselves and to all the flock (Acts 20:28-31).

Yet she will be saved through childbearing—if they continue in faith and love and holiness, with self-control (1 Tim. 2:15 – ESV).

          The New American Commentary points out the fact that “The NIV translation obscures the fact that Paul made a subtle shift from Eve to “the women” in Ephesus in v. 15[6]. The first part of v. 15 is a continuation of what Paul has been talking about in v. 14. The first possible interpretation here is that “she” is specifically referring to “Eve,” and in saying that Eve will be “saved through childbearing,” Paul might be citing from Gen. 3:15 where God was going to put enmity between Eve and the Serpent, between Eve’s offspring and the Serpent’s offspring, directly referring to the birth of the Messiah, the savior of the woman and the rest of the world. The second interpretation has to do with the role of a woman, and “saved” in this case is clearly not salvation from eternal condemnation but “fulfillment” of a woman. The question is also about who is meant by the third-person plural pronoun “they” in v. 15? Considering that it represents children a woman is going to bear, then if her children continue in faith, love, and holiness, with self-control, then she will be saved, that is, fulfilled.^[7] Paul was not promising salvation of women through bearing children or safe delivery in childbirth, but promoting the role of a woman in being a model wife and mother whose good deeds include marriage and raising up children in the fear of the LORD (1 Tim. 5:11, 14). This is what needs to keep her busy and not quarreling about the headship of a man in the home or the position of eldership in the church.

          Older women inside the church have a big responsibility of training the younger women “to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the Word of God may not be reviled” (Titus 2:3-5).