Bible Study: Women In Church Leadership • Part 3

Read about my personal journey that led me to this study:
" The Woman Sexist Against Women"

The Three Mistranslations of Scripture corrected:
I Corinthians 11:3-12; 14:34-36 & I Timothy 2:11-15

I Timothy 2:11-15
HISTORY: Ephesus at this time was a place of idolatrous paganism based upon, in part, a matriarchal society and entirely saturated with goddess worship. It was the religious myths believed by both the Romans and the Greeks of the day (although with slightly different versions and different names). The Gnostic heresy began with the false teaching that Eve was the First Virgin, the one who had no husband, and the originator of all life. She was the “Illuminator”, full of wisdom (given to her by the snake in the garden – through showing her the fruit of good and evil). This Eve saw her co-likeness lying flat on the earth and she commanded him to live. When Adam saw her, he said, “You will be called the mother of the living because you have given me life”. Eve “brought knowledge to Adam” when she shared with him the fruit. Therefore the followers of this Gnosticism believed that women bring knowledge to men, that women cannot be mistaken because they are all wise. The great mother goddess later became known as Artemis (to the Greeks) or Diana (to the Romans) and then became Diana of the Ephesians. Therefore, when the people there got converted to Christianity, some of them saw the similarities between what they’ve always believed with the new revelation of Jesus Christ and started incorporating the two beliefs together. Ephesus is where Mary was first called “the mother of God” – and so it is easy to understand how Mary worship started. This heresy also included a strong and powerful evil surrounding women – women were known to curse men to death, for example. The city itself was filled with temple prostitutes; the spirit of domination and seduction was wrapped up the their worship of the goddess Diana. From the religion, to the personal and family values, to the governing laws of Ephesus, the people of that city were slaves to the demonic spirits, twisting the truth by rewriting the Fall in the garden to make Satan (the snake) out to be God, the one who gave wisdom to Eve. Satan’s deceit perverted and accelerated the corruption of God’s design for holy relationships between men and women and between husbands and wives – as he was doing all over the known world at that time and still trying to do today.

POPULAR MISTRANSLATION:
“A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent. For Adam was formed first, then Eve. And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner. But women will be saved through childbearing-- if they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety" 1 Timothy 2:11-15 NIV.

This section of Scripture had been translated to English through a cultural bias that has caused nothing less than bondage, division, and much confusion within the Body of Christ – not to mention has been a poor witness to the world. Even though one could teach correctly this part of I Timothy using less than perfect translations, many still choose not to, and wording used in these translations help to only serve those who wish certain things of God to remain in the dark. The trick word in particular is the Greek word authentein that was translated “authority”. But what we mean as authority today isn’t at all the meaning of this original word, but still, translators chose to use authority as the translated word. Another purposeful translation goof is the wording “A woman”, making the Scripture sound like a general rule to apply to any and all women. This is poor translation, compared to the context, the grammar, and the doctrines taught throughout the rest of the Bible. And then lastly, the original translators left out a word in verse 15, “the”. The Childbearing continues Paul’s theme in teaching the truth about the Fall of humans. God promised a Child in Genesis 3:15, “an Offspring” that would crush the enemy’s head. Paul’s wording points to a specific Childbearing and not to childbearing in general. Without that exact detail known, readers see that God’s redemption plan for women is conditional based on whether or not they have children. What a terrible contrast to the reality of God’s character! Let us study the heart of God on this matter . . .

ORIGINAL MEANING: First of all, we can make a pretty fair guess as to what Paul is answering in his letter here by looking at his earlier introduction in this book, I Timothy 1:3-7. Using both the cultural setting and the rest of the context, the passage of Scripture suggests that there were women - or one woman in particular – who was bringing Gnosticism into the church there at Ephesus. The woman was most likely promoting herself with highest honors, teaching it, and beating the men over the head with it. This was a major problem and needed to be addressed quickly and sternly. In Verse 12, the word for “authority” here at the time it was written meant more like the word for “domination” or “origin”. The word had a dark connotation to it – also meaning “to murder” and was connected to the idea of “sex & murder”. By 200 A.D., the word also held the meaning “to claim ownership of property”. Verse 12 could be better translated into English saying, “I am not allowing the woman, (or this woman) to teach or proclaim herself or preach women the originator(s) of men or as having domination over men.” This translation not only fits the context of I Timothy perfectly but also the context of the whole Bible. Paul then goes on in verses 13-15 to back up his statement, giving the reason for his statement, and correcting the Gnostic heresy. Paul is actually being very kind and restorative to this women, (remembering how Jesus had brought him out of false thinking and used him despite his past; vs.12-17) instructing that she simply stay quiet and learn the Truth of the One True God.

Here is an updated and re-examined translation of this passage in I Timothy 2: 11
The woman must quietly receive instruction with entire submissiveness. 12 But I do not allow that woman to teach authority or exercise “authority” over a man, but to remain quiet. 13 For it was Adam who was first created, and then Eve. 14 And it was not Adam who was deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into sin. 15 But the women there will be preserved / restored through the CHILDbearing- if they continue in faith and love and sanctity with self-restraint.


APPLICATION TODAY: The Word of God is living and active (Hebrews 4:12) and so we cannot dismiss, overlook, or ignore any part of Scripture – we must find the original meaning of God’s Words in order to correctly apply them. Looking in-depth at this Scripture, we can take to heart the fact that false doctrine is very serious, and anyone teaching it should be silenced. We can also learn that women in ministry positions need to always submit to the Body of Christ (Ephesians 5:21) and to the Holy Spirit (Romans 8; James 4:7), as well as do men in ministry. Neither gender is “above” the other, as Paul tries to explain here and in various other places (Galatians 3:28; I Corinthians 11:11-12). What we cannot do, is take these verses literally as popularly translated and use it to apply oppression or restriction on all women in ministry – that would be mishandling the Word of God. Another application that comes from this Scripture is that those who are teaching, preaching, or leading, must be well studied up first, regardless of gender. There are certain qualifications God expects out of leadership in the church, not just character qualifications, but also true knowledge of the Word of God interpreted correctly by listening to the voice of the Spirit as He leads us to Truth (John 16:13). Heavy price tags are attached to people in leadership who teach false doctrine, man-made traditions, or to place up stumbling blocks for other believers (James 3:1; Luke 11:52;17-1-2; Matthew 23:13-16) .

See the next post to continue:
Bible Study: Women In Church Leadership • Part 4