Deep Creek Anglican Church Blog

Chapter Twenty Two: 1 Timothy 2:15: Salvation through “the Childbirth”

¹⁵But women will be saved through childbearing-if they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety.” (NIV)

How should this verse be understood, coming at the end of 1 Tim 2:11-15?  It has generated some amazing interpretations, and not just by so-called ‘liberal scholars.’  The author of Man and Woman, One in Christ: An Exegetical and Theological Study of Paul’s Letters, Philip Payne, tackles this challenging verse in the same way he has done throughout the rest of the book – with very detailed exegesis (with focus on immediate context, broader context of book and author, and canonical context), careful and close scrutiny of alternative views and an eye to historical interpretations.

Key points include:

• Verse 15 stands in direct contrast with the negative statements about woman’s deception and transgression in verse 14
• “be saved” refers to spiritual salvation with God as the agent of salvation.  Its future tense points forward beyond Eve to the Promised Saviour
• Eve is treated as representative on women in general
• Salvation from the fall (appealed to in v15) is that same salvation through the seed of the woman identified in Gen 3:15b
• “The terrible consequences of Eve’s deception highlight the seriousness of the deception of women in Ephesus.  Yet the story of Eve also offers women hope and dignity.  Although women experience pain in childbirth as a result of the fall, a woman gave birth to the promised Seed who will destroy Satan and overcome the fall.  Not only was woman the vehicle for the entry into the world of sin, dearth, and the power of Satan, she was also the vehicle for the entry into the world of the Savior who delivers people from sin and death.” (422)
• “though childbearing” (NIV) is literally “through the childbirth”: ‘through’ indicates the means, instrument, agency through which salvation came; ‘the childbirth’ refers to a specific childbirth – that of Christ.  Payne comments, “Paul evidently chose the particular expression “the childbirth” (as opposed to simply “Christ”) in order to highlight the positive role of woman in salvation and to counterbalance his immediately preceding citation of her negative role in the fall.” (437)
• v15 is not simply a call to a role; it is a call to the Saviour.
• v15b shifts to the plural – Eve’s descendants, to experience the salvation that Christ provides, must abide in faith, continue in love (defining mark of a Christian) and holiness (inevitable result of the work of the Holy Spirit).
• Paul is not advocating legalism to the women of Ephesus: bear children, be good.  Instead he is pointing them to ennobling life in Christ, who alone saves.” (441)

Chapter Three: The great need: peace with God, with one another and for the cosmos

As the author of God the Peacemaker says, we live outside of Eden and therefore “our great need is peace…with God, with one another and for the cosmos itself.”

Do you agree with Graham Cole that in the West, peace with God is not such an obvious need?  He explores in Chapter Three the barriers to enjoying shalom:

• problem of sin: we inherit a corrupt nature (its influence is seen in every part of our lives) and consequently we act in sinful ways.  This creates “moral guilt before a righteous God” and “ought to cause shame before a holy God”
• problem of wrath: sin offends God personally and invites divine wrath – the expression of divine holiness against human sin
• problem of judgment: sin puts us in the wrong before a righteous God and invites judgment.  The Bible reveals all facets of justice – deterrence, reformative, restorative and retributive (ie. we get what we deserve).  “A universe without final retribution, even a hell, would be a morally indifferent one.”
• problem of the human other: our relationships with one another are spoiled because of sin
• problem of the god of this world: Satan uses our sin to hold us in bondage – as an instrument of fear and oppression.  Our author gives a succinct summary of the ‘doings’ of the devil – he is “evil’s all too personal face.”
• problem of the groaning creation. The created order also needs liberation (Rom 1.21 cf. 8.20).

Graham leads us inevitably to the all-encompassing need for deliverance, as he asks:

• how can forgiveness and cleansing come?
• how can divine wrath be assuaged?
• how can anyone face the great white throne judgment?
• how can interpersonal hostility be removed?
• how can the evil one be defeated? and,
• how can the creation be set free?

We as individuals, nations and the material universe have a great, great need – and Graham Cole spends the remainder of his book unveiling “God’s project” – the reclamation of creation.

Bought God the Peacemaker yet?

Chapter Two: The glory and garbage of the universe

I´m regularly amazed by the wonderful sacrificial acts of my fellow mankind and simultaneously stunned and horrified by the savagery and depravity of mankind.  This is often seen in `natural disasters´ – great acts of bravery and practical love; looting of people´s possessions with their lives already devastated.

How do we make sense of this? Graham Cole in the second chapter of God the Peacemaker: how atonement brings shalom clearly shows what God says in His Word about glory and garbage in the universe.

Glory?  Humankind has been created in the divine image and lieness (Gen 1:26-28).  We are like God in some unique way, but as Graham rightly points out, this image is not clearly defined in the Genesis text (but in the totality of Scripture, “life, will and moral sense are necessary conditions for the exercise of dominion that is done in concert with others”).

In discussing `glory´ Graham highlights the biblical theme of tabernacle/temple (discussed in Gordon Wenham´s Genesis 1-15 Word Commentary), starting in Eden with Adam keeping the garden like later priests were to tend the tabernacle.

Garbage?  We can trace it back to Adam and Eve´s rupture of their intimste relationship with their Creator: “fear and flight replace intimacy and fellowship.”  Not only is the vertical relationship ruptured, but male/female relationships become strained as does the realtionship to the environment.

Peace with God has been broken.  Human nature is now flawed.  The image has been seriously `cracked´ – but not destroyed.  It requires renewal (Col 3:10).  Before our author explores in depth what is required to renew our cracked image, he will make sure we properly understand the problem that atonement remedies.  That´s for chapter 3 in God the Peacemaker and will be our next post from this book.

Does the impact of the Fall – its breadth and depth – sometimes hit you in the face?  I’m posting this from a chemotherapy ward, where my wife is undergoing treatment.  People of all ages are here – from teenagers through to seniors.  Suffering is etched on the faces of the sick as well as their loved ones.

But in the midst of this scene, there is much evidence of God’s common grace – the provision of the medical facilities and highly qualified staff; the availability of treatment regimes that, for some, significantly enhance their quality of life; the wonderful support of the caring nurses and doctors.

Tomorrow I’ll take our youngest son to hospital for an operation to allow him to continue to be fed through his stomach ‘peg.’  Early this week I spent two days visiting someone in a special medical unit, that cares for people struggling to cope with the pressures of daily life.  Again, those suffering spanned a broad age range.

Without Christ, is it any wonder that so many folk seek to dull the pain of living in this fallen world?  The tragedy is that so often the ‘escape pursuits’ so often increase the pain of daily living.

Praise God that there is healing in the atonement.   In God’s grace and wisdom, for some they will experience some respite from suffering in this life.  For all who are ‘in Christ’, healing will one day be comprehensive.  The New Heaven and New Earth is a future reality.

For sure, difficult to imagine in our current existence.  But as certain as the Lord Jesus came the first time, He will return and usher in a renewed and transformed cosmos.  Totally free from sin, disease, death.  A physical existence in the very presence of the Lord.  This is a certain hope for every follower of the Lord Jesus.  Praise God for this rock solid certain hope.

Chapter One: Backgrounds to Paul’s Teaching Regarding Man and Woman

Payne begins Man and Woman, One in Christ with an examination of the various influences on Saul / Paul:

• his Hellenistic and Jewish cultural context, including Gamaliel his early teacher
• the Scriptures
• Jesus.

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Hellenistic Culture: There was considerable variety in the treatment of Hellenistic women across the various regions.  Women had more freedom in the western portions of the Hellenistic world and in Egypt.  In 1st century Hellenism, women were generally treated as their husband’s property.  There were strong social conventions so as not to give the appearance of an adulteress or prostitute.  During Paul’s lifetime, women began to assume new roles.  But most women lacked formal education.

Gamaliel and contrasting Jewish culture: See Acts 5:34; 22:3.  Rabban Gamaliel I was held in high esteem.  His sayings in the Mishnah indicate a favourable attitude toward women in sharp contrast to the rabbinic tradition as a whole.  Payne notes that with few exceptions, the overall picture of Jewish tradition from around the time of Paul is fairly consistent in its low view of women – as witnessed in the writings of Josephus, Philo and Sirach.

The Scriptures: The OT was a key influence on Paul, and in relation to women, especially the OT account of creation and fall.  Gen 1:26 reveals that God’s image is not restricted to the male, nor does the text imply any difference between the image of God in man and woman.  Gen 1:28 shows that God’s blessings encompass both man and woman and highlight intimate personal relationships.  The text of Gen 2-3 shows the equal status and mutual responsibility of man and woman.  Payne notes that a counter position is argued by some, viz. man is in a position of authority over woman and hence it is Christian duty for women to be subordinate to men.  Payne considers eleven arguments by such proponents, as follows:

1. Man was created before woman and therefore should have authority over woman. Payne however notes that woman was created second highlighting man’s need for a partner – Gen 2:18-20 does not imply that man has authority over woman.
2. Gen 2:18 stresses woman as ‘helper.’ Payne however states that the relevant noun is translated throughout the OT as ‘help, saviour, rescuer, provider.’  He concludes, “Only with her is he able to fulfill his command to multiply and fill the earth, and together they “rule over all creatures.”"
3. Man has authority because he has more active roles. Payne responds: God is the active creator.  At the crucial point of the creation of woman, man is entirely passive.
4. The woman is morally inferior. Gen 3:6 does not support this contention.  It simply tells us that the man was with the woman and he took the fruit from her.
5. Eve usurped the man’s headship. Again Payne notes that Gen 3:6 does not support this argument.  The sin is disobedience (Gen 3:11).
6. Gen 3:9 implies that man is God’s appointed head. Payne – both man and woman are called to account together by God
7. The man is responsible for religious decisions. Response: nothing in Gen 1-3 implies Adam’s religious or social leadership.
8. The prophecy to the woman in Gen 3:16 is a command ie. ‘he should rule over you.’ Payne in response quotes Claus Westermann: “the domination of the husband and the consequent subordination of the wife is seen as something which is not normal (hence as punishment).”  Man’s rule over a woman is a consequence of the Fall, and is not something good to be fostered.
9. Gen 3:17 implies that Adam abandoned his headship because he listened to his wife. Payne notes rather that Adam was fully culpable for eating the fruit and God’s rebuke highlights both his disobedience and his refusal to take responsibility.
10. The woman is not told that her curse flows from her deed.  Adam, as the head, was finally responsible. Payne comments that Gen 3:13 shows that God does care about the woman’s deed, and God’s statement of consequences for the woman precedes the consequences for the man.
11. God naming the human race ‘man’ in Gen 5:2 implies male headship. Payne – ‘man’ in Gen 1:26f and 5:1 refers to ‘man and female.’

Payne then lists twenty statements in Gen 1-3 that depict man and woman equally.

Having considered Gen 1-3, Payne looks at a woman’s marital position in Scripture.  He notes that in Prov 31:10-31 the “excellent wife” has a broad range of important responsibilities.

In considering a woman’s social position in Scripture, Payne notes those who held political leadership – Miriam  (Mic 6:4); Deborah (Judg 2:16, 18; 4:6); Esther (Esth 7:1-10).

The author then considers a woman’s religious position in Scripture.  He notes that in the OT there is no command for women to be silent in religious gatherings, indeed note Isa 40:9; Ps 68:11.  The prophetess Huldah is consulted by the priests (2 Kgs 22), when both Jeremiah and Zephaniah were available.  See also Joel 2:28f.  Payne postulates that the reason that women are not recorded in the OT as holding the office of priest is the association of priestesses in some heathen cults.

Jesus Christ: Jesus treated women as persons equal with God.  Against the culture He accepted a woman’s testimony (John 20:14ff).  He gives “no hint that the nature of God’s will for women is different than for men.”  But what about the choice of only men as His disciples?  Payne comments that women travelling with Jesus for three years would have raised legitimate suspicion, with the gospel undermined.

Comment: This is a helpful introductory chapter, examining the various influences on Saul / Paul.  The historical data on Hellenistic and Jewish attitudes to women is quite extensive.  The section on Gen 1 – 3 would have been assisted by verse-by-verse exegesis (at least the verses relating to the topic) rather than responding to somewhat disjointed objections.