60 Chris said:

1 Timothy 2:14 and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor.

Eve performed the action. The action is completed: She became a transgressor. Her action has the consequences found in Genesis 3:15-16. The consequences continue.

The problem you have is that you ignored the grammar as pertaining to “the woman” and you appear to make it applicable to all women. However the particular grammar in question is the action “fell into transgression” that is found in 1 Timothy 2:14. The grammar is: verb, perfect, active, indicative, third person, singular. Here is the proper explanation of this grammar per Michael S. Heiser : Glossary of Morpho-Syntactic Database Terminology.

perfect — The verb tense used by the writer to describe a completed verbal action that occurred in the past but which produced a state of being or a result that exists in the present (in relation to the writer). The emphasis of the perfect is not the past action so much as it is as such but the present “state of affairs” resulting from the past action.

active — The grammatical voice that signifies that the subject is performing the verbal action or is in the state described by the verb.

indicative — The mood in which the action of the verb or the state of being it describes is presented by the writer as real. It is the mood of assertion, where the writer portrays something as actual (as opposed to possible or contingent on intention). Depending on context, the writer may or may not believe the action is real, but is presenting it as real.

It is the subject “the woman” who is in the state of being at the time of writing. This cannot apply to Eve.

You said:

The perfect tense presents no problem for my interpretation.
But let’s not just look at the definition. Here are a couple examples:

John 19:30 When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished (perfect tense),” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

The redemptive work of Christ is finished. The action is completed. The consequences continue. God’s elect are saved by the finished work of Christ.

The “is finished” pertains to the work of the subject. Jesus’ work is finished and Jesus (the subject) continues in that finished state. Your example cannot be applied to a continued state for Eve since she is not continuing in the state of transgression.

The grammar and your examples proves you wrong. “The woman” of verse 14 cannot apply to Eve. It is another specific woman that Paul is communicating to Timothy about her state of continued transgression.

You said:

Matthew 4:4 But he answered, “It is written (perfect tense), ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

It stands written. The action of writing is completed, but the word of God endures. The consequence is that you can continue to depend on it.

In the first example, there is no continuing state of finishing. It is finished. In the second example, there is no continuing state of writing. The writing is done.

The action of writing is finished, but the state of the writing as the written word of God continues.

Once again, the subject is what is in a state of continuing. Your examples prove that just as the grammar states. Therefore 1 Tim. 2:14 cannot be about Eve because at the time of the writing Eve was not in a state of continuation of her transgression.

It’s like you haven’t even read the definition. The action is completed. Please don’t conflate the terminology by saying “the fall into transgression is a complete state”.

This is a perfect example for those of you who should see how complementarians react when faced with solid biblical grammar that they cannot refute. The fall for “the woman” is an action that is in the past, but her continued state in the transgression noted by the specific grammar can only refer to a woman who is alive at the time of Paul’s writing who is continuing in her sin.

Again, the action of becoming a transgressor is completed. That Eve continued to be a transgressor after she became one is beside the point. Even on your interpretation, that ‘the woman’ is a specific wife, a continuing transgression would be problematic since Paul was supposedly stopping her from teaching false doctrine.

It is not beside the point at all. Eve did not continue in her transgression as she confessed her sin to God. There is no problem having “the woman” as a specific person who is continuing in her deceived state and who Paul stopped from practicing her error by making sure that she was not teaching the one who she was trying to influence with her false doctrine. You will have to prove how my interpretation is not acceptable in this text.

Eve’s death does not end the consequences of her transgression for women (Genesis 3:15-16).

First of all it is the subject who has a continuing state. The subject is not all women but one woman. If you say the one woman is Eve, then you are not able to have a state of transgression continuing with a dead woman. It fits perfectly, though, with a specific woman who is alive at the time of Paul’s writing.

Secondly Scripture never says that Eve’s sin is spread to others. The Bible specifically says that it is by ONE man that sin entered the world. Sin did not enter the world through Eve. So not only do you have a subject that is singular and not plural, you have a subject that must be alive, and the continuing state must be about that one subject. I would recommend that you do further reading on this particular Greek grammar. You have not followed the Greek rules and so your application is invalid and must be rejected.

62 Paula,

Very well said!

59 tiro,

Thank you for letting me know how clearly you can see my “can nots”. That was very encouraging to me!