Cheryl Schatz

I am going to start today with a couple of the last questions at then work my way back.

Craig,
You said:

If v11-15 are not about church meetings at all, and it is all about what is going on at home, then who is the woman to learn from- only from her husband. I had assumed she possibly attended the church gatherings, had some interest in Christian things, but was deceived in certain things and not yet a Christian.

The previous verses would have been concerning public service of women as Paul isn’t telling women what they should wear in the privacy of their own home. But the sudden shift from plural to singular is the key to understand that Paul is going from general to particular and we will need to note what the context is regarding the forbidden actions.

We can assume that the woman has attended Christian meetings since her deception was not about how to make money or how to raise children, but like that of all the other deceived teachers, her deception would be a perversion of Christian teachings concerning myths, endless genealogies and the law (1 Tim. 1:4, 7) . We know for sure that Paul did not instruct Timothy to stop the teaching of the truth, so the teaching that is being restricted would not be truthful, godly or Christian.

Secondly we can know that her husband was a Christian since Paul only appears concerned about the salvation of “she” not “they”. Note that “she will be saved….if…” Some have speculated that her husband was one of the leaders at Ephesus. That certainly is a possibility. And it may be why she had come to the attention of Paul and Timothy if one of the leaders had repeated what she had spoken to him in private. If he was a leader and not doing anything about her deception, it would give a false message to the body that this kind of teaching was not in error or that it was not so bad.

However Timothy came to know about the situation, both he and Paul were familiar with the problem.

Does it seem strange that Paul would not see the role of the whole body in helping this woman? The responsibility for teaching her lies with just her husband at home?

I do believe that Paul sees the whole body as a help to this woman. In verse 11, the implication is that she should take the stance of a disciple and this discipleship would be in the presence of and under the supervision of God’s gifted teachers. That is body ministry.

I don’t see the husband’s responsibility as teaching her so much as bringing her to the place of submission to the teaching and to the church’s teachers so that she can unlearn the false the relearn the truth. He is necessary as a facilitator and an incentive to stay into the light of God’s word. It is the church itself who will teach her. But if he allows her to stray without correction and without encouragement to stay with the revealed word of God, she may not come out of her deception.

Or are you saying she is totally outside the church. If so, why would she accept the apostle Paul telling her what to do?

That is a great question! I don’t think that she is totally outside the church, but I think that she has been influenced outside the church in her deception. As far as accepting the apostle Paul’s telling her what to do, I don’t think that she would listen if it were not for her husband also going along with the instruction given by Timothy. I believe this is why Paul says that “she will be saved…if they continue…” Her husband is going to be key to helping her have an incentive to learn. He is also going to be key to helping her stay away from error and to respect the wisdom of the godly leaders and the instruction of Paul. He is also going to be key in stopping his silence. For her sake he must speak out about the deception and help his wife. Without that partnership she is in trouble for she truly believes she has the truth. I believe that verse 15 holds many keys to our understanding of the passage.

1. There is only a concern about salvation for “she” not for the man.
2. Her salvation is going to depend on his partnering with her in the truth as there is a condition of “they” have a continuing walk in the truth.
3. Self control is a key to her salvation and this is where he can help her to stay within the boundaries of orthodoxy.
4. Spiritual deception is no automatic death sentence if one can have help in exiting the deception that has taken over one’s mind and soul. Paul’s statement that she “will” be saved is a positive belief that her husband’s cooperation and the resources of the church will bring her to the foot of the cross. And God is more than able to take what was meant for evil by our common enemy and turn it around for good. After all the “childbearing” (definite noun) that came into the world through the very first deceived woman was God’s amazing ability to bring triumph out of a situation that looked bleak and hopeless. God specializes in taking the ones whom the enemy has deceived and uses them to remove victims from the kingdom of darkness once they have been set free.