Shepherd the Flock

**UPDATE: CNN has linked to my previous post on this subject (I believe it was an automated link, because my post didn’t really discuss the actual controversy). However, after reading the article over at CNN, my post below (written before I read the article) speaks well to the argument made there by Roland S. Martin.**

In my last post, which dealt with LifeWay bookstore’s decision to pull a Gospel Today magazine from their shelves over a cover photo picturing five female pastors, an assertion was made by someone in the comment section that 1 Tim 2:12, “I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet“, was simply the Apostle Paul giving his own personal opinion to Timothy, and that this preference of Paul and Timothy was far from a mandate by the Lord concerning leadership in the church.

In other words, the commenter argued that this passage does NOT teach us that women are prohibited from teaching and/or exercising authority over a man, but it is rather a simple statement of preference by the Apostle Paul.

Now, to be crystal-clear with my intention here: this is not a full treatment of the question ‘did Paul give personal opinions in his epistles that we are not bound to obey?’. Nor is it a defense of any one particular position regarding male versus female leadership in the church. I simply want to examine this assertion about Paul’s opinion in light of the rest of 1 Timothy Chapter 2.

That is, let us see what this type of interpretation of 1 Tim 2:12 leads to:

Question:
Is Paul simply giving Timothy his personal preference, as opposed to a command for the entire church to obey?

To help answer this, first look at the language Paul uses in the rest of the chapter. Sure, Paul says ‘I do not permit’ in Verse 12, but we must look at his other uses of this language:

Verse 1-2: “I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.”

Is it just Paul’s preference that we pray for all men, hence him saying ‘I urge’, or is this a command we are bound to? In other words, would it be a sin for me to willfully refuse to pray for all men on the grounds that Paul is just giving us his opinion?

Verse 8-10: “I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling; likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire, but with what is proper for women who profess godliness—with good works.”

Is it simply Paul’s preference that men devote themselves to prayer and not to quarreling, hence him saying ‘I desire’? Can we too chalk that up to the ‘maybe it’s good advice, but not a matter of obedience’ category?

Furthermore from this section, it is simply Paul’s preference that women adorn themselves modestly, or is this again personal opinion? Can we encourage our women to just dress anyway they like because Paul doesn’t really mean to give a command or a mandate here?

Verse 11: “Let a woman learn quietly with all submissiveness.”

Since here Paul does NOT use the terminology ‘I desire, or ‘I urge’, or ‘I do not permit’, can we assume that he here in fact means to give a specific command? If so, how does this fit in with a woman pastor if they are instructed to be quiet? Wouldn’t this support not permitting women pastors rather than undermining it?

Verse 12-14: “I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet. For Adam was formed first, then Eve; and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor. Yet she will be saved through childbearing—if they continue in faith and love and holiness, with self-control.”

Lastly, if the ‘I do not permit’ is simply Paul’s preference, and we’re free to take it or leave it, then the following 2 verses, which cannot be separated from verse 11, are also just personal opinion. Therefore, Paul’s using Adam and Eve as a foundation for his argument is really just pointless, and the whole ’saved through childbearing’ is irrelevant and should really just be ignored.

Conclusion:
My friends, even looking at one chapter alone reveals that the use of the term ‘I do not permit’ in no way indicates that Paul wasn’t giving a command with the Apostolic authority of Jesus Christ. And if we were to look further, just in 1 Tim and 2nd Timothy alone, we’d run into all sorts of theological problems if we interpret the ‘I urge’/'I permit’ passages in this light (1:3-4, 1:18 for example).

Thus, it should be clear: any honest and serious interpreter of scripture must recognize that to throw out 1 Tim 2:12 as ‘Paul’s personal opinion’ is to essentially leave all of Paul’s writings up for debate, which would of course rob the Word of God of it’s authority and its power.

“Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ. Now I commend you because you remember me in everything and maintain the traditions even as I delivered them to you. But I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, the head of a wife is her husband, and the head of Christ is God.” – 1 Cor 11:1

“Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us.” – Phil 3:17