Prayers, Authority and Order | 1st Timothy: 2

Prayer for Rulers and the Meaning of “All Men”

Open your Bibles now to 1 Timothy 2, verse 1. Therefore, I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and a peaceable life in all godliness and reverence.

For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself a ransom for all to be testified in due time, for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle.

I am speaking the truth in Christ and not lying, a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth. I desire, therefore, that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands without wrath and doubting. In like manner, also, that the women adorn themselves in modest apparel with propriety and moderation, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly clothing, but which is proper for women professing godliness with good works.

Women, Silence, and Authority in the Church

Let a woman learn in silence with all submission. And I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence. For Adam was formed first, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman, being deceived, fell into transgression.

Nevertheless, she will be saved in childbearing if they continue in faith, love, and holiness with self-control. You may be seated. In 1 Timothy, we have Paul writing to Timothy, and this is generally accepted to have been written in the 60s A .D.

Most of the time, pretty close to the end of Paul's life, 64 is when Pastor Kaiser gives it for his timeline of when this was written. The interaction here with the church at Ephesus is something that needs to be taken note of.

We have Timothy here, he's in Ephesus, and if this were simply a church planting exercise, where Timothy were working as an evangelist to bring the gospel to a new place, you would expect that to be completed within a period of maybe a few years or some period of time, certainly not decades.

Ephesus, Acts 20, and the Presbytery

But what we find is Acts 20, which occurs at about 54 A .D., a decade earlier than 1 Timothy, we are introduced to a rather robust presbytery. So go with me to Acts 20. Acts 20 at verse 17. Acts 20, verse 17.

From Miletus, he's sent to Ephesus and called for the elders of the church. In Ephesus, we are already informed there's a very large number of believers. The believers at Ephesus are in such large number that the church at Ephesus is used normally by Presbyterians as an example of a church that must have had a presbytery, because it's called the church here.

So he was sent to Ephesus and called for the elders of the church. So there's a single church. In what sense is it a single church? Well, in the sense that there's a covenanted union, so that there's a shared court.

And so we have the elders of the church being called. So this is the presbytery at Ephesus. And when they had come to him, he said to them, you know from the first day that I came to Asia in what manner I always lived among you.

Serving the Lord with all humility, with many tears and trials, which happened to me by the plotting of the Jews. How I kept back nothing that was helpful, but proclaimed it to you. And taught you publicly and from house to house.

Testifying to Jews and also to Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. And see now, I go bound in the Spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing the things that will happen to me there.

Except that the Holy Spirit testifies in every city saying that change and tribulations await me. But none of these things move me, nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy.

And the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. And indeed, now I know that you all among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God will see my face no more.

Therefore, I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men. For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God. Therefore, take heed to yourselves and to all the flock among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers.

Notice in verse 27 that Paul says he's preached the whole counsel of God to them. And he calls these men to take heed for themselves. Because the Holy Spirit has made them overseers. And that word overseers is the word for bishop.

Made them bishops. They are called elders at the beginning of the chapter. He called the elders of the church. They're elders and they are bishops. It's the same office. And they're called to shepherd the church of God.

That word there for shepherd is just the verb form of pastor. They're called to pastor. So an elder is a bishop, is a pastor. They're called to pastor the church of God. It's actually in the majority text, the church of the Lord and God, which he purchased with his own blood.

For I know this, that after my departure, savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Okay, so there's a danger of wolves, false teachers entering into the church. And also, verse 30, also from among yourselves.

So also wolves will arise from among the existing elders. So savage wolves will come in and savage wolves will come from among themselves. Also from among yourselves, men will rise up speaking perverse things to draw away the disciples after themselves.

Therefore watch and remember that for three years, I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears. And Paul was there preaching and teaching a lot, because there were a lot of converse. There was a lot of work to be done.

There was a lot to establish there. And his work he accomplished there. There's many elders. Verse 32. So now brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.

I have coveted no one's silver or gold or apparel. You yourselves know that these hands have provided for my necessities and for those who are with me. I have shown you in every way by laboring like this, that you must support the weak.

And remember the words of the Lord Jesus that He said, it is more blessed to give than to receive. And when He had said these things, He knelt down and prayed with them all. Then they all wept freely and fell on Paul's neck and kissed him.

Sorrowing most of all for the words which he spoke, that they would see his face no more. And they accompanied him to the ship. This is 54 A .D. Revelation 2. We're looking at verses one through seven.

To the angel of the church of Ephesus write, these things says he who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands. I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil.

And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not. And have found them liars. And you have persevered and have patience. And have labored for my name's sake. And have not become weary. Nevertheless, I have this against you, that you have left your first love.

Remember therefore from where you have fallen. Repent and do the first works. Or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place unless you repent. But this you have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.

He who has an ear, let him hear what the spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God. This letter shows that the Ephesians, after this letter to Timothy there, fought the false teachers.

The false prophets. The false apostles that came to them. And were victorious. They kept the faith. Timothy was not someone who was just traveling around trying to get elders into place. Paul had been there.

There was a Presbyterian place at Ephesus. Timothy had taken up a work at Ephesus that was a long-lasting work. Timothy receives a letter from the Apostle Paul as regards the organizing work at Ephesus.

I believe that Timothy is the angel of the church of Ephesus. Who are the angels of the churches? The angels of the churches are not angels. They're not spirits who are disembodied. The angels of the churches are messengers of the churches.

The messengers of the churches, the ones who are these speakers of the church, one of the jobs of a preacher, of course, is to give a message, to be a message bearer. And in particular, the angels of these particular churches, these are people receiving letters.

The Apostle John is not sending letters via heavenly post office to particular angels that are disembodied spirits or non-bodied spirits because angels aren't disembodied. They just don't have bodies.

Now, this is for men who are at those churches and these are the moderators of the councils of those churches. At Ephesus, the church, again, is so large that we're talking about there being a presbytery, perhaps with multiple levels, in Ephesus because there are thousands of believers in Ephesus.

And so Timothy, as the moderator of that presbytery or synod, would be the one who receives this letter. So these things says he who holds the seven stars in his right hand. The seven stars are the churches that are being written to.

Who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands. The lampstands are the word of God in those churches. I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. Notice this is not being written to an angel.

The commendation of the church is not to some spiritual angel. It's to an angel in the sense of a messenger, somebody who is a preacher in the church. He's writing to the church itself. I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil.

And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not. And have found them liars. And you have persevered and have patience. And have labored for my name's sake and have not become weary. So this fighting for Christ's name without growing weary.

Nevertheless, I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Remember, therefore, from where you have fallen. Repent and do the first work, else I will come to you quickly. Repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place.

Quick judgment comes following the abandonment of committing with God and the removing of teaching in the public sphere that is illuminating. Unless you repent. But this you have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.

And so those were people who were bringing in all sorts of immorality and licentiousness. And we saw the argument against lawlessness in 1 Timothy 1. He who has an ear to hear, he who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

To him who overcomes, I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God. Okay, so that's the, I wanna give you a sense that 1 Timothy is in between those two things.

It's in between Acts 20, and it's about a decade after that, and it's a couple years before Revelation chapter two is sent as a letter by the Lord Jesus Christ through the hand of John. So Timothy in his work as an evangelist but as a moderator of this presbytery is responsible for thinking about everything being put in good order.

So again, like I talked about this morning, this is a text that shows us how to think about church life, and it kind of gives us a bird's eye view of the community of the saints and how it's supposed to be done to build up the church and to have a well-ordered society, a well-ordered city of God.

The Faithful Saying, Apostasy, and the Nations

So we've looked at the need to deal with protecting Sola Scriptura carefully, and we've looked at this idea that there was the first faithful saying in verse 15, that Christ Jesus came in the world to save sinners of whom I am chief.

This is a statement that we should all be able to say, acknowledging our own sinfulness. And then Paul was given to us as one who was a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a rebel, and yet could be forgiven as a pattern to those who are going to believe on Christ for everlasting life.

And so Timothy is being called to do his work and to wage the good warfare. So chapter one, verse 18, this charge I commit to you, son Timothy, according to the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you may wage the good warfare, having faith and a good conscience, which some having rejected concerning the faith have suffered shipwreck.

The rejection of the prophecies results in a shipwreck of faith. Our faith is in the word of God. We wage war with the word of God. Verse 20, of whom are Himenaeus and Alexander, whom I delivered to Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme.

So these were examples, these were sort of early examples of these false teachers. And the great apostasy that's going to hit around the time of the destruction of Jerusalem, a little bit before, where there is this large portion of people falling away, there's this huge rejection of Christ by the Old Testament church, is kind of the centerpiece of the danger here.

There's this increasing tension between the new covenant church and the old covenant church, with the old covenant church rejecting Christ. And so only a portion of the old covenant church accepts Christ.

And so you end up with this international new covenant church displacing the parochial old covenant Jewish church. It's not replacing in the sense of a total discontinuity, but in the sense that there's a continuing church existence but most of the local congregations reject Christ.

And its general assembly, the Sanhedrin, rejected Christ. So chapter two, verse one, therefore I exhort first of all, that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men.

Prayer for Every Station and Nation

In that context, we come into this idea of this is not just about the Jewish church anymore, it is about men from every station and every nation. When you read this, it sounds like, and many people will emphasize, that Paul is saying, therefore I exhort first of all, that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for every single individual man.

We just finished studying 1 John not too long ago. Do you remember that we were commanded there to not pray for every single individual man? That we were not to pray for those who would send us in unto death?

So if that's what Paul is saying, it's just a contradiction. But what we have is an explanatory statement at the beginning of verse two that helps us to see for all men in what sense? For kings and all those who are in authority.

So people in every station, every level of authority, we are to pray for. That we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. So notice this, we're praying for kings and for everybody who's in authority.

And what we're praying for is that they would govern in such a way that we can live a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. To live a quiet and peaceable life. The people who would be most thinking about these governors would be the men who are the leaders responsible for their homes.

And there's a tendency amongst men to either be rebellious, to seek to throw off authority, even potentially legitimate authority. And there's also a tendency amongst men to abdicate. And so the danger of either being a disturber of the peace or being one who just lets stuff go that shouldn't be let go are both being opposed.

There's a work of prayer to be done for all of those who are in authority. Every station. And that prayer, we're to call down from God, blessing on the church, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life.

A life that's undisturbed, quiet. A life that's peaceable, where our work is not disrupted. That we might live in godliness. A dutiful working, a pious working, and reverence. That we would be able to behave in a dignified way.

To behave in a manner that is respectful and fears legitimate authority. These are the things that we are to pray for that would allow us to see the city of God thrive. Verse three, for this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

Now that all men is the same all men as well going up into verse one. Let me ask you a question. Is God all powerful? Good, I'm glad we agree. God is all powerful. So when you're all powerful, do you get everything you want or are there things that you want that you don't get?

Because if there's stuff you want and you don't get it, it seems like you could be more powerful, right? Because getting everything you want is more powerful than not getting everything you want. Are we following the deep logic of this so far?

Getting everything you want, more powerful than not getting everything you want. Okay, so if you're all powerful, you get everything you want. The Psalms say he does all that he pleases. Everything he pleases, that's the stuff he does.

So if that's the case, if he desires the salvation of everybody, guess who's gonna get saved? Everybody. But wait a second. Do the scriptures teach that everybody gets saved or do the scriptures teach that some people go to hell?

The scriptures teach that some people go to hell. So if we're gonna try to reconcile those two things, they can't just be flat contradictions. So let's read this and think about the context. Therefore I exert, first of all, that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men.

Remember, we've limited the all men there by men of every station, because otherwise this would contradict 1 John, which says don't pray for all men. We keep going, for kings and all who are in authority, that's the defining of all men, that we may lead quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence, for this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself a ransom for all. It just keeps piling on, right? Did he ransom everybody? Did he pay for every single individual?

I mean, this doubles the problem, okay? If he desires the salvation of everybody, then everybody's saved. And if he paid a ransom for every single individual human being, then guess what? Nobody owes a debt to God.

And that means if God punishes anybody, and their debt's been paid, God's unjust, right? The justice of God is supposed to be the reason for the punishment. You owe me a debt for sin, I have to punish you.

I'm going to punish you. I'm gonna show my justice. So is this text teaching that Christ gave himself as a ransom to pay for the sins of every single individual, to be testified in due time? For which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle.

I am speaking the truth in Christ and not lying, a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth. Hey, who was Paul appointed an apostle to? Was he an apostle to the Jews? Oh no, he was an apostle to the Gentiles.

And it says that right here at the end. He was appointed a preacher and apostle, a teacher of the Gentiles. The ransom for all is a ransom for all nations. The earlier statement, who desires all men to be saved, is desiring men from every nation.

And so what we have here is we're supposed to pray for men of every station and nation. And God desires salvation of men in every station and nation. And Christ paid for the sins for men of every station and nation.

The alternative is that the Bible contradicts itself because Jesus paid for everybody's sins and yet God still punishes some people. And also that the Bible says to not pray for everybody, but also pray for everybody.

If that's the Bible you wanna believe, then you believe nonsense. That's not what the Bible says. The Bible teaches us a coherent set of doctrines. The word of God cannot be broken. It does not contradict itself.

We have to interpret the Bible looking for literal meaning based upon the rules of grammar, using context to read, and systematically comparing scripture with scripture. The rules of grammar make it so that we have to interpret the all, all of what?

We have to supply a noun that the all is modifying. Talks about all men in one place. And the all is not talked about in another. And then we have all men in another. So we have all men, all men, and a ransom for all.

The men can either be every single individual and the grammar would allow for that. But contextually, it talks about men of different stations. And then it talks about the nations. The context supplies the meaning.

Systematically, it's necessary that we read it that way or it just contradicts other places of scripture. When you read the Bible and you come to a hard place, that's how you always have to read. If you don't understand how a text doesn't contradict another text, what you're looking for is how do you make this fit using the search for a literal meaning according to the rules of grammar that fits with the context and allows for the systematic wholeness of the Bible without contradiction.

If your interpretation doesn't meet all of those, your interpretation is wrong. And so it is your duty when you read the Bible to look for meaning with that process. If you don't understand the meaning, you're not being edified.

Getting the meaning of the text is how you're edified. And the meaning involves all of those things. So to remind you of the meaning of this text, chapter two, verse one. Therefore, I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for men of every station.

This is worded like this. For all men, for kings, and all who are in authority. That interrupter is a definer. That we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. If kings are converted, they're going to treat the church well.

Does that make sense? Yes. Pray for them to get converted, because when they get converted, they treat the church well. And Isaiah prophesies that kings and queens will be nursing fathers and nursing mothers of the church.

So we should pray for magistrates to be converted. Verse three. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God, our savior, who desires men of every nation to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

For there is one God and one mediator between God and men. That argument right there, there's one God and there's one mediator between God and men. It's the same mediator for men of every nation. The man Christ Jesus.

Verse six. Who gave himself a ransom for men of every nation, to be testified in due time. For which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle. I am speaking the truth in Christ and not lying. A teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.

Why does he take the time to swear an oath as an interrupter there? Like when you're just talking, when you're writing a letter, do you just randomly, randomly interpose oaths? Oaths, where you're just like, I swear I'm telling the truth.

You're just like, I'm going to send you a box of paperclips. I swear I am telling the truth. And that box of paperclips will be real paperclips. You don't do that. You do it on points that matter. The points that matter are the points that are the emphasis.

The emphasis is that Christ was a ransom for men of every nation. And he is swearing to be telling you the truth. He was made a... Him going and bringing the gospel to the nations is the fulfilling of the due time where the message gets taken.

Christ came at a particular time and offered himself as a sacrifice in due time. All of these things were appointed to be done at a particular point in history. And they are being fulfilled. So this text is teaching us that we're supposed to pray for men of every station and that God desires the salvation of men from every nation, and that Christ paid His own blood as a ransom to save, to pay for men of every nation.

How does this fit together as a logical unit? You need to pray for kings and people in authority, in every station of authority to be converted so the church can live peaceably. And that will result in nations being converted, being covenanted, being baptized, because Christ came to save every nation.

The funny thing is that the way this gets read oftentimes by Arminians, they not only make it about every individual, but they totally ignore the national and civil magistracy emphasis of the text. This text is telling us that the way nations, the way nations get saved is through the ordinary means of individuals being converted, especially those who are in authority getting converted.

The way civil covenanting occurs is through magistrates covenanting with God and with the people. And so this text is teaching us that we're to pray for men of every station because Christ desires the salvation of men from every nation.

And Christ gave himself a ransom for men of every nation. And the apostle Paul is an apostle to the nations. Verse eight follows on from that as a continuing of the argument. The argument is this. Since we're supposed to pray for everybody, sorry, we're supposed to pray for people in every station because God desires the salvation of people in every nation and Christ paid for people in every nation and I'm a preacher to the nations.

Since those things, I desire therefore that men everywhere lift up holy hands, everywhere. This is about nations being converted. This is about magistrates being converted to lead their people in covenanting to see right worship done everywhere.

I desire therefore that men pray everywhere. This is about the catholicity of the church, the church being universal and going out to all the nations. I desire therefore that men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands and lifting up the hands is you have the form of the blessing.

You have the idea of receiving. You have the idea of lifting up hands as a part of bowing. These are the types of the lifting up of hands that you find and the various forms that exist there for the lifting up of hands.

So that men pray everywhere lifting up holy hands without wrath. What's wrath? Wrath is hatred. Okay, love is the seeking of the well-being of the object. Hatred is the seeking of the not as well-being of the object.

It's the seeking of the harm of the object. Okay, so hatred is the seeking of the harm of the object, the mal-being. So we're to lift up holy hands, hands that are set apart to the service of God without hatred toward God or man and without doubting.

And the word there is basically dialogue. Okay, it's without self-contradiction. We're not supposed to be praying with doubting. We don't need to have contradictory. We don't wanna have like James talks about the thoughts that contradict or double speak in our mind that blow us about.

So Paul desires therefore that men pray everywhere lifting up holy hands without hatred and without an instability of faith. What he wants to see is love and what he wants to see is solid, sturdy knowledge.

He wants to see faith where men can justify from the word of God what it is that they believe. Verse nine, in like manner also that the women adorn themselves in modest apparel. Okay, so the like manner is there's some way in which the behavior of the men is one thing and the behavior of the women is the feminine counterpart to the masculine behavior of the men.

The men praying in public everywhere. This is churches. This is the worship of God publicly in every nation and there's a lifting up of hands without wrath or doubting. So this is especially going to be referent to the blessing, the benediction, the lifting of hands as a symbol of blessing in prayer occurring everywhere.

In other words, Paul desires to see churches in every nation and that kind of makes sense since Paul spent all his time trying to plant churches in every nation. So Paul, it's kind of easy to get him.

He's a simple man. He just wants to take over the world for Jesus. Simple man, simple desires. Church is everywhere. I desire therefore that men pray everywhere, lifting up hands without wrath and doubting.

In like manner also that the women adorn themselves in modest apparel. Now the word adorn there is cosmene and the word modest apparel here is, the word modest is actually cosmeo. So the better way of writing this would be in like manner also that women beautify or order themselves in orderly apparel.

They order themselves in orderly apparel. They beautify themselves in beautiful apparel. A lot of people want to read this as women need to wear burlap sacks with propriety and moderation, no braiding the hair, no gold, no pearls, no costly clothing.

What this is saying is to beautify yourself with beautiful apparel, with propriety and moderation there is that root word that you hear me talk about so often, the Sophrona word, which means wisdom. This is prudence.

They're supposed to, this idea of they beautify themselves with beautiful apparel with propriety and prudence or propriety and wisdom. So they have to think about what kind of clothing is going to beautify themselves with beautiful apparel that's proper or fitting, reverent, and also is prudent or wise.

And so he talks about not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly clothing. And here's how people often read this that are more conservative but also want to maintain the right to be beautiful. They'll go, a braided hair is what's being talked about and what's being talked about is braided hair with gold in it and pearls and costly clothing and so this is not modest, it's luxuriant.

And that is one thing to be guarded against. But if the Apostle Paul, who wrote 1 Timothy, also under the inspiration wrote 1 Corinthians and he taught head coverings, then the covering of hair would be part of what should be covered in the public worship.

So beautifying yourself in beautiful apparel with propriety and prudence, not showing off your glory or gold or pearls or costly clothing. And so this making yourself glorious but which is proper for women professing godliness with good works.

The way a lot of people read this is that they should adorn themselves with good works and not worry about adorning themselves with any sort of external beauty. The other thing you'll hear is from people who want to say modesty has nothing to do with covering your body.

Well, that's bogus too. The modesty is here and it's not merely saying that you should avoid looking luxuriant in what you're wearing. A part of the modesty here, the apparel word, is a word that has to do with covering of the body.

And the scriptures teach us that we should cover ourselves from the top of the breast, so basically the clavicle, to the bottom of the thigh. In other words, this idea of covering the thighs, covering the chest, covering the stomach, the covering of that space.

And that applies to men and women. Apparel, covering, relates to that. But the beautifying, we're supposed to have the beautifying of the self, the woman, with a beautiful covering, and that's to be done in a reverent or proprietous way with prudence, as opposed to showing off your hair, which is your glory, as opposed to showing off gold, which was used in the temple, by the way, to show glory, the glory of God, or pearls or costly clothing.

So as opposed to being luxuriant or immodest, we want to be properly covered in a beautiful way that is prudent and proprietous. Verse 10 says, but which is proper for women professing godliness with good works.

They want to make the good works into the thing that's being used as the beautifying. But instead, what I think is being said here is adorn yourselves properly in a way that's fitting to women who profess godliness accompanied with good works.

So if you're a woman with a profession of godliness, and you have good works as a part of your testimony, what kind of clothing would you want to have on? You would want it to be beautiful and modest, and to not be trying to distract people by glorifying yourself in the worship, but instead seeking to give all the glory to God.

Now it's funny, because I can hammer on men all day long, and it's kind of like, yeah, do the thing. Talking about women's stuff, sort of verboten. The Apostle Paul didn't get the memo. The Apostle Paul talks about women's stuff, and he's a man, right?

I mean, he didn't even get the DEI training to realize if somebody's gonna talk about it, make sure there's a representative from that community. So you'd think he'd be like, now the women's minister, Deborah's gonna come up now, and she's gonna talk to all you ladies about how to dress.

Now what he does, he says, here's the memo about women's ministry, by the way, just real quick interrupter, while we're talking about what you women should be wearing, here's the memo about women's ministry.

Women’s Teaching, Submission, and the Creation Order

Let a woman learn in silence with all submission, and I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence. Yeah, that's what he says. He's talking about church. The difference between church and non-church is when you have the public assembly, when you have the public assembly, the public assembly is the time of gathering where the saints are gathered together, where they're called to appear by the authority of the church.

Let a woman learn in silence with all submission. In other words, it is inappropriate for women to get up and to speak, to lead in the public assembly. Women are supposed to speak when the whole congregation speaks.

Amens, singing together. Those are the appropriate times. Let a woman learn in silence with all submission. Now that word submission is used in Galatians 2, verse five. Paul says when he's talking about how there were people who were trying to say, hey, you shouldn't have the Gentiles and the Jews eating together.

Paul wasn't in submission to them for even an hour. Instead, he rebuked Peter to his face in front of other people immediately when he found out that Peter was failing to tear down the wall of separation between the nations, between the Jews and the Gentiles.

In 1 Timothy 3, verse four, that same word is used in this way. One who rules his own house well, this is talking about the qualifications of an elder. One who rules his own house well, having his children in submission with all reverence.

Same word. Verse 11, let a woman learn in silence with all submission. Godly women who profess godliness and who do good works should beautify themselves, not steal glory to themselves, cover themselves properly, and then not seek to speak in the public assembly and not seek to rule, but instead submit to godly, lawful church officers.