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It is not that men are better characters, cleverer or better teachers than women. It
could often be the other way around, but God Who has a good and sufficient reason for
all He does and commands, has made His mind known on this subject, and we do not
believe that any Christian women who reverences the Lord and is sensitive to His mind
and will is going to object to this.
The question of the relationship of the sexes is taken further by the Apostle:
"For Adam was first formed, then Eve; and Adam was not beguiled, but the
woman being beguiled hath fallen into transgression: but she shall be saved through the
child-bearing (or her child-bearing, margin), if they continue in faith and love and
sanctification with sobriety" (2: 13-15, R.V.).
In I Cor. 11: 9 Paul had already taught that the priority of man's creation places him
as head in relation to the woman. This relationship, as E. K. Simpson has pointed out
was `not competitive, but concordant and counterpart'--it is not a question of superiority
or inferiority.
Another reason given by the Apostle here is that Adam was not deceived, but the
woman was, and became a transgressor. At the same time Paul did not absolve Adam
from responsibility and sin as Rom. 5: 12 and onwards makes perfectly clear. "By one
man sin entered the world, and death by sin", and in this context, Eve is not mentioned.
There was evidently a reason why the tempter approached Eve rather than Adam.
Generally speaking, women, with their more sensitive nature and awareness, are more
impressionable than men.
This in many respects may be perfectly harmless, but when it comes to spiritual things
can be very dangerous, and Satan knew only too well than his arguments and deception
would have far greater effect on Eve than Adam. It is significant that many of the false
religious cults have originated from women and an all-wise God has ruled that women
teaching men is not allowable in connection with Christian doctrine and its proclamation.
From the reference to Eve, Paul passes on to women in general, by stating `she shall
be saved in child-bearing' which is one of the most difficult expressions used in the
Pastoral Epistles.
In what sense is the word `saved' used here?
There are at least four different
explanations to be considered:
(1) Moffatt translates the phrase "women will get safely through child-birth", giving
them encouragement to have children without fear and this accords with Gen. 3: where
a doom is pronounced on Eve, that in sorrow she shall conceive and bring forth children.
It could be that child-bearing is emphasized here to counter the false teachers who
advocated abstinence from marriage (I Tim. 4: 3).
(2) In this view the word `saved' is used in its spiritual sense, but this brings
tremendous difficulties for this would make women's salvation from sin a matter of