Dear John 3

Dear John,

I suppose it shouldn’t surprise me that you brought up Paul’s words in his first epistle to Timothy. After all, I opened the door to Paul in my last letter to you and this is probably the most common passage that I have heard men in leadership use to provide evidence as to why a woman should not be allowed to hold a position of authority in the church but especially one that puts them in authority over men.

I’ll give credit where credit is due – contextually, at least, you’ve rightly identified a passage of scripture that was written from the Apostle to a Pastor with the purpose of giving pastoral instruction on the establishment and functioning of the church community. That being granted to you, I fear the publisher of our trusted pew Bible may have overstepped in their addition of some of the section headings – especially this one at the outset of 1 Timothy 2. If it wasn’t for this section heading declaring this chapter to be addressing “worship” I could not see how the reader would come to such conclusion.

The simple addition of such a heading and the push to regard the instructions therein as declarative statements on the structure of the church raised me to be convicted that the God honoring, “right way” was to lift up my sons while I held down my daughters, despite their varying spiritual gifts, within the church. The greatest tragedy, though there are numerous, maybe that while I internally wrestled with all of it, the fire in my daughters’ eyes are gone, as they have accepted their “God ordained” limited roles within the Bride of Christ. Oh, how I must seek forgiveness and hope that such gifting can be rekindled!

And while you may see this as correct praxis and scoff at my note to the publisher of our pew Bible let me also point out for you something else that ends up being quite compelling. I shall set aside my conviction that chapter two doesn’t even apply to a church service (1) and instead are instructions to men, women and couples. I lay it aside and graciously will grant to you that it does apply to a church service1. John, as you asked of me in your letter, I ask only that you consider what is says in plain English: I do not permit a woman to teach or assume authority over a man; (2)

I’d like to highlight the word authority, as that is the very word that you predicated your argument upon in your letter to me. Paul uses the word authority in many places in his letters – exousia. Just like every pulpit pounding sermon on authority describes, it means authority in leadership or jurisdiction. It truly is the perfect word to use to disqualify someone from a position of leadership. But, John, it might surprise you to learn that Paul doesn’t use exousia.

Paul writes authenteō. Which is a very different word. Authenteō (3) means to dominate or to become an absolute master, to usurp authority or to kill with your bare hands. John, this is the word that we would use to describe what Cain did to Abel. And while this word is used only onetime in the entire Bible, if we look outside of the Bible to other historical sources where it is used we know that 100% of the time it is used, someone is killed, physically hurt or totally disrespected.

Paul’s prohibition of a woman to assume authenteō over a man is much different than the complementarian viewpoint that you taught me from the pulpit. This isn’t about women staying out of pastoral or spiritual authority. It certainly doesn’t mean that I should be guiding my gifted daughters away from these things. I know this, John: as a Christ loving father I do have an obligation to teach my sons and daughters alike that there is no room in the Kingdom of Heaven for them to assume authenteō over anyone!

John, if you allow your eyes to be opened about the word authority and consider that the publishers heading are not the Apostle’s words, it may allow you to see the second chapter of Paul’s epistle to Timothy as the equitable new creation (4) the way he meant for it to be understood.

Humbly,
New Creation Christian

1.Understanding that “church service” at the time of the writing of 1 Timothy would have looked quite differently than our modern understanding of “church service.
2.1 Timothy 2:12a
3.For more insight on this word and Biblical passage read Paul and Gender: Reclaiming the Apostle’s Vision for Men and Women in Christ by Dr. Cynthia Westfall
4.“equitable new creation” is an apt description of 1 Timothy 2 if you consider that it was likely that Timothy was pastoring in Ephesus around the Temple of Artemis which was run by female only priesthood. Paul’s instructions leveled the playing field for Gentiles by prohibiting authenteōwhich is how the female priesthood kept things in order but also elevated Jewish females by giving permissionfor them to learn (v11a) when in many cased Jewish women were kept from learning and left to gossip (1 Timothy 5:13).