Before wrapping up this section with some concluding remarks, there’s one last part to this passage that has yet to be addressed.
Paul writes in verse 15,
But women will be saved through childbearing–if they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety. (1 Timothy 2:15)
One of the study Bibles I use calls it a “notoriously difficult passage to interpret.”
And it is. What does Paul mean?
I think one thing that we can definitely rule out is that he meant women need to have children in order to be saved. For as Paul said,
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God–not by works, so that no one can boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9)
What then does Paul mean?
Remember that in verse 14, that Paul had just said, “It was not Adam who was deceived but the woman.”
Those sound like pretty harsh words, and perhaps Paul knew it. It sounds like, “Women, it’s Eve’s fault that we’re in this mess.”
And so I think Paul was trying to soften his statement.
What I think he’s pointing to is the sentence that God passed on Eve. What was the sentence? That she would experience an increase in pain in childbirth.
And Paul is saying, “That pain that you go through in childbirth is symbolic of the pain that has come into this world because of Eve’s sin.
“But though you have this physical reminder of this spiritual reality, know that you will indeed be saved if you walk in faith in Christ and his work on the cross, in love for God and for others, and in the holiness of God.”
A similar use of the word “through” is used in I Corinthians 3:15, that though Christians go through the fire of judgment and some or even all of their works are burnt up, nevertheless they will be saved because of their faith in Christ.
So that would be my explanation for this passage. There are numerous other explanations, however, and I’m not going to dogmatically insist that I’m right on this question.
To conclude, I do think both sides need to think carefully about a few things. To their credit, most do. But I want those who are reading this to know what the issues are.
For those who think that Paul’s instructions were limited to the Ephesian church:
1. If the problem was that the women were improperly trained, why does Paul specifically restrict them from teaching men? Why not simply say, “I don’t allow women to teach at all”?
Surely we don’t think that while it was forbidden for them to teach men false doctrine, it was okay for them to teach other women and their children false doctrine.
2. Where is the evidence of false women teachers in the church? What are their names? We see evidence of false male teachers in the church and even have their names (I Timothy 1:19-20, 2 Timothy 2:16-17). Why not the women?
3. If Paul’s main point was to forbid people who were improperly trained from teaching or holding positions of authority, why didn’t he simply say, “I don’t allow any of the false teachers to teach or have authority”? Why specifically single out the women?
For those who believe that only men are to be the main leaders in the church:
1. What do we make of Priscilla who at least in a private setting taught men?
2. If leaders in the church were meant to be men only, and apostles were high on that list, what do we think of Junia in Romans 16:7?
Was she merely “noteworthy in the eyes of the apostles?”
Or was she “noteworthy among the apostles?”
Which is the best way to translate that verse? Can we get a definitive answer to that question?
Like I said, the two sides give far more detailed and nuanced arguments than I can give here in this blog, and I would encourage you to read both sides. Look at the arguments and see which you think is most biblical.
The best site for the complementarian side is here: https://cbmw.org/
The best site for the egalitarian side is here: https://www.cbeinternational.org/
But again, I would encourage you: don’t let this issue divide your church. If you find you simply can’t agree with your church on this issue, then go to one you can agree with.
Moment to Moment (Bible blog) 