Are any of you ladies like my wife? Looking through her closet saying, “What am I going to wear?” Sometimes it’s funny just watching her mix and match blouses with skirts, then the shoes… Then when I think we’re all ready to go, she comes out wearing something completely different than what she was going to go out in!
Ladies, do you ever find yourself doing on Sunday mornings? Asking, “What am I gonna wear to church?”
Well, our study today is going to address this issue… No, I won’t be reading from Ladies Home Journal, or Mademoiselle, or Cosmopolitan. We’ll be studying the Word of God.
We’re going to find out that for a Christian woman,
Big Idea: What you wear communicates what you believe.
Paul’s Purpose:
…I write so that you may know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth. (I Tim 3:15)
As we study the Scriptures, it becomes very evident that God desires for the church to reflect the purity and orderliness of His creative design.
God’s standards prove to be the best:
God wants the church to operate by the standards that He has set up because He knows that in so doing, the church will bind itself in unity, efficiency, impact, and orderliness. If we follow by that which seems right in our own eyes, there is only disorder, poor organization, conflict, political correctness, and down-right sinfulness.
God’s standards serve as a witness:
God wants the church to look like Christ, rather than looking like the world. The Lord wants His church to accurately represent what He is like, so that this unfallen world sees with their own eyes “Christ” living through us, and thus be drawn to Him.
As we delve into our passage this morning, we are obviously confronted with a delicate topic: women’s roles in the church.
Why is this so touchy? Because our society has come so far in the way of advancing women’s rights in allowing them to vote, to run for office – even for president, to lead companies, to work in settings where once only men worked, and to call their own shots. In many ways these advancements have been very good. And in some ways, they have led women down an extreme path of worldly, selfish ambition that is outside of the design of God.
And when we read these verses in I Timothy, at first blush, it sounds as if Paul is shutting down all of these privileges that women have come to enjoy having. So Paul has been accused of being “sexist,” or “backwards.” And as a result, it doesn’t appear to be the way of “wisdom,” nor a “good witness” to society.
Therefore, as we approach our text today, the question of relevancy will be raised. We will have to answer the question as to whether or not the commands Paul gave were limited to the Ephesian church in its own time, or do they apply even to today – even here at GEFC…
Big Idea: What you wear communicates what you believe.
I. What to Wear on the Outside: Modesty (vv. 9-10)
A. The Principle of Modesty (v. 9)
Paul refers to the elaborate hair syles which were then fashionable among the wealthy and also to the styles worn by courtesans. The sculpture and literature of the period make it clear that women often wore their hair in enormously elaborate arrangements with braids and curls interwoven or piled high like towers and decorated with gems and gold and pearls.
Though Paul’s specific examples were limited to the time of his writing I Timothy, the principle of modesty is universal.
We should note that principle of Modesty is Universal. It is applicable to every church, in every age, including today. In every way possible, we should make an effort to reflect the purity and grace of our holy God.
How sad it is when a Christian woman betrays her testimony of being a child of God, when she is wearing clothing that courts the devil!
Styles come and go, but the principle of modesty does not.
Christian women must be discerning in what they choose to wear and how they fix themselves up, because whether they realize it or not, they are revealing something about inner motives. And her motives need to be pure and holy, not flashy and flirty.
B. The Motivations of Modesty (v. 10)
It would probably do little good for me to spend much time rattling off a list of immodest clothing. I think we all recognize that certain styles, though popular in today’s culture, are inappropriate for a Christian woman to flaunt herself with.
The question a Christian woman should ask is, “What is my motivation in wanting to dress in this or that way?”
· How a Christian woman dresses should reflect the holiness of God. How?
1. Purity
Worldly reason: Showing off for men? – lust!
They say that church is the best place to meet women. That is true!
But the motivation for meeting women in church should be to find a compatible mate, who loves the Lord and wants to serve God from the heart. It shouldn’t be to find “hot babes!”
Many women don’t even realize with what ease they tempt men by what they are wearing. What good can that possibly do in a church? Rather, think of what harm that can do in the church!
Later in this book (5:2) we will see that Paul instructs men to treat young women as sisters. The relationship between men and women in the church needs to be upright and good, not profane and prostituted.
A sad reality is that many men do not respect women largely because they see them only as sexual playthings. Women, help men in the church to respect you, as sisters in the Lord Jesus Christ by preserving an attitude of sexual purity – because it advertises itself in the way you dress.
· Ladies, ask yourself this – “Am I trying to catch men’s eyes with what I am wearing?”
If your answer is YES, then don’t wear it!
2. Fellowship
Worldly reason: Showing off for women? – Rivalry!
This can be as common as showing off for men’s attention. Yet, think about how it erodes the unity of fellowship that should be between sisters of faith. How silly it is to let petty things like cloth, hairspray, and fancy makeup to divide women who have been bought by the blood of the Son of God. When we think of how much God paid for our sins, it seems ridiculous that women would be catty with one another over such temporal matters such as clothing.
Similarly, a Christian’s motivation ought to be to build one another up – not tear anybody down. When there is unhealthy rivalry in the church, who wins? NOBODY!
· Ladies, ask yourself this – “Am I trying to ‘outdo’ my sisters in Christ with what I am wearing?”
If the answer is YES, then don’t wear it!
3. Humility
Worldly reason: Showing off for themselves? – Pride!
I think that most women who would say that they are wearing racy clothes for themselves are in denial of something deeper.
But for those who do dress immodestly for their own sake, what else could that possibly be but pride, which God despises. “If you got, flaunt it!”
· Ladies, ask yourself this – “Am I using my revealing clothing as a way to build my self-image… or is it something else?”
If the answer is YES, then don’t wear it.
If it is something else, then admit it and start taking steps toward getting right with God about it.
Again, styles come and go, but the universal principle of modesty remains the same. Think through these three motivations as you contemplate if something is appropriate for you to wear or not.
Women should adorn themselves with good works. Make your apparel be something much more important than the vanity of fancy clothing and jewelry to turn people’s heads. Instead of spending all your time “primping,” use it to glorify God with doing honorable things in His sight.
The way a woman dresses reflects to the world your values. For the Christian woman, modest dress communicates the holiness of God.
Big Idea: What you wear communicates what you believe.
Transition:
But as we move on in this passage, Paul moves from discussing external clothing, to “internal clothing.” In other words, what a women is to wear on the inside…
Peter describes a very similar concept:
And let not your adornment be merely external-- braiding the hair, and wearing gold jewelry, or putting on dresses; but let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God. (I Pet 3:3-4)
II. What to Wear on the Inside: Submission (vv. 11-15)
Definition in marriage: “the wife ducking out of the way so that God can hit the husband.”
Submission is a dirty word in our culture. It carries with it thoughts of oppressive abuse – like a jealous husband that won’t let his wife use the phone or leave the house. But this is entirely different from what Biblical submission is.
The concept of submission is seen throughout the Scriptures:
Submission at the Cross:
For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. (Jn 6:38)
Father, if Thou art willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Thine be done. (Lk 22:42)
Submission in the Trinity:
But I want you to understand that Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of a woman, and God is the head of Christ. (I Cor 11:3)
Submission in the Home:
Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body. (Eph 5: 22-23)
In the same way, you wives, be submissive to your own husbands so that even if any of them are disobedient to the word, they may be won without a word by the behavior of their wives, (I Pet 3:1)
· Hasn’t Christ torn down the barrier of gender roles? Doesn’t faith in Christ set us free from that?
The popular verse used to substantiate this view is Galatians 3:28
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. (Gal 3:28)
But a closer examination of the context of Galatians 3 shows that Paul isn’t talking about gender distinctions or roles, but of salvation. Everybody has the same free access to salvation. There is no hierarchy to faith in Jesus. Though men and women are equal in Christ, equality does not remove the distinctions between manhood and womanhood or of roles and responsibilities.
On the other side of the coin to submission, is loving leadership. Nowhere in the Bible does it ever teach that men are to lord over women with an iron fist!
Therefore, we are going to look at one way women are to show their submission in the church…
A. Submission in Teaching (vv. 11-12)
It has been alleged that Paul was just another Rabbinical Jewish man who was reflecting the chauvinistic mindset of the day. One of the popular sayings of the day was, “Thank you, O God, for making me a man – instead of a woman or a Gentile dog!”
Jews, along with the Greek and Roman worldview of that day greatly frowned on the education of women. But the fact that Paul commands for women to learn shows that his thinking was not “rabbinical” at all! He fully expected women to increase in their knowledge and application of God’s Word – a foreign concept to the chauvinistic mindset of his day.
Illustration: Silent women
I heard of one church where they were so strict about women being silent in the church, that the women literally wouldn’t speak a word once they were inside the building. A couple of women bumped into each other in the kitchen, but no one said, “excuse me,” or, “Oops… I’m sorry.” That is a ridiculous example of misunderstanding what is being meant here.
“Hesuchia” – means silence but carries with it connotations of peacefulness and restfulness. Paul is not calling for “buttoned lips,” but for a quiet receptivity and a submission to authority. Paul is calling for willing self-restraint.
· The question has been raised, “Is this just a temporary restriction, or a universal one?”
In other words, the argument goes: Wasn’t Paul’s command for women not to teach because women were just not educated in those days, or because women were particularly caught up in error in the Ephesian paganized culture? If Paul was living in the 20th century, he most certainly would have taken another stance… right?
The answer is NO. This command is not temporary. Just as the principle of Modesty is intended to be universally applied, so is the principle of submission. It is a standard set for the church for all generations.
B. The Reason for this Command (vv. 13-14)
The reason men are supposed to be responsible for teaching other men is rooted in God’s creation of man and woman.
The rationale given against this is that male headship was only instituted after the Fall.
But if we were to turn back to Genesis 2, we make these observations:
1. Adam was first created (Gen 2:7)
2. Adam was responsible for maintaining the garden (Gen 2:15)
3. Adam was given instruction from the Lord (Gen 2:16-17)
4. Adam was given authority to name the animals – and Eve. (Gen 2:19-20)
5. Adam was the originator of Eve (Gen 2:21-23)
6. Adam (not Eve) was held responsible for Original Sin (Gen 3:9, 17; Rom 5ff)
· Man’s headship wasn’t established after the Fall, but before it!
It was only after the Fall that there begin to be a problem with that.
To the woman He said, "I will greatly multiply your pain in childbirth, in pain you shall bring forth children; yet your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you." (Gen 3:16)
Note that “desire” in this verse is not regarding sexual desire, but that the woman would desire for the headship of the man, but yet the husband would maintain his headship over her.
God’s intended order was to be:
God – man – wife
But instead, it was turned upside down to:
Satan – wife – man
So where are we going with this?
The command that women are not to teach or exercise authority over men is not to be understood as a culturally bound restriction, but universal, for all generations within the church because it reflects God’s design from the beginning.
That may make us feel uncomfortable in some ways, but it is important that we teach and practice what the Bible commands – not what our generation thinks is right.
The ramifications are two-fold: 1) women must submit to the fact that this type of teaching role is supposed to be for a man, and 2) men must step up to their great responsibility to do the job that they are supposed to do!
The way a woman dresses on the inside reflects to the world your values. For the Christian woman, submission communicates the orderliness of God.
C. The High Call of Motherhood (v. 15)
This is no doubt a difficult verse to understand.
What does it mean that women shall be “saved” through childbirth, as it reads in some translations?
Remember, the context of this passage has to do with teaching, not salvation…
I think that the way this passage unfolds, Paul is now addressing the question on women’s minds, “If us women aren’t supposed to teach or exercise authority over the men in the church, then what’s left for me?”
In answer to this question, Paul uses a form of argumentation in which the part represents the whole. A portion of a group represents the whole of the group. In biblical times, certainly, most women married. Of those married, most women had children. So in using Paul’s line of reasoning, childbearing was a euphemism for marriage, which in turn speaks for most all women. Remember, Paul didn’t command that everyone must marry. In fact, he preferred the state of celibacy (I Cor. 7:7).
But in regards to the desire to have authority over men in teaching, as some Ephesian women were apparently doing, Paul says that their God-given divine privilege of raising and teaching their children was the highest calling that a woman could fulfill. Paul had a high view of motherhood.
Have you ever heard the saying, “The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world?”
But looking at this passage and verse, we are so quick to condemn him as a sexist because of the way today’s society sees motherhood:
· Motherhood is seen as an inconvenience…
· Whether its day care, or a nanny, or TV – something or someone else is appointed to raising our children besides mom…
· Families are much smaller than they used to be…
· Having kids is pushed off in favor of a career…
· Children are no longer viewed as a blessing from the Lord…
· Abortion is seen as an acceptable form of birth control…
But just think of what kind of influence a mother has on her child’s learning!
Just think of how many great people of history there have been, and yet every one of them had a mother to raise them and teach them the values that they carried into adulthood.
Does this mean that Paul thought women were stupid and could only manage teaching children? NO!
· I believe that women are given all of the same spiritual gifts that men are given. However, they are to be used in a capacity that does not usurp authority over the male leadership in the church.
· Women teaching in the church is a very important ministry! It is only not supposed to be exercised over men. Paul taught that older women are to teach younger women (Titus 2:4). Paul praised Timothy’s mother and grandmother for teaching him in his youth about the word of God (II Tim 1:5). Paul also thanked women, who co-labored with him in the ministry (Rom 16:1-3).
· The prohibition, remember, is based not on bias, but on God’s creative order and design for the home and the church.
· And since when did we start thinking that bearing, raising, teaching and instilling truth and values into children and teaching other women is any less important than teaching grown men? If anything, it’s more important!
Many of you ladies are older, and your children are grown. But you never stop being a parent, and you can have a wonderful impact on your grandchildren. Remember, Paul praised Timothy’s mother, Eunice, and his grandmother, Lois for their teaching of Timothy about the Lord when he was younger. So too can you impact your grandchildren.
Illustration: Orchestras
At a meeting of the American Psychological Association, Jack Lipton, a psychologist at Union College, and R. Scott Builione, a graduate student at Columbia University, presented their findings on how members of the various sections of 11 major symphony orchestras perceived each other.
The percussionists were viewed as insensitive, unintelligent, and hard-of-hearing, yet fun- loving. String players were seen as arrogant, stuffy, and unathletic. Brass players were overwhelmingly described as being loud people. Woodwind players seemed to be held in the highest esteem, described as quiet and meticulous, though a bit egotistical.
Interesting findings, to say the least! With such widely divergent personalities and perceptions, how could an orchestra ever come together to make such wonderful music? The answer is simple: regardless of how those musicians view each other, they submit their feelings and biases to the leadership of the conductor. Under his guidance, they play beautiful music.
And so it is to be in the church. Our conductor is Jesus Christ, the head of the church. Under Christ’s headship, both men and women are called to use their spiritual gifts to build up the church to God’s glory. But the responsibilities and roles for men and women are different, just as the percussion and flutes in an orchestra play different parts. Men are to take leadership in the adult teaching. Women should use all of their gifts and abilities in every area of the church, except only where it usurps the authority that God intends for a man to have.
As a result, we have a church that functions best by the wisdom of God, and it serves as a witness to society who God is and how He functions.
Ladies, there are two universal principles that should help you decide what to wear to church:
1. On the outside, wear modesty because it communicates the holiness of God.
2. On the inside, “wear” submission b/c it communicates the orderliness of God.
Big Idea: What you wear communicates what you believe.
