Let a woman learn in silence with all submission. And I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence. For Adam was formed first, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression. (1 Timothy 2:11-14)

Women’s Role In The Church

On the sixth day of creation, God created man from the dust of the ground and called him Adam. All of the animals had been created in the heavens, seas, and dry land. The Lord brought them to Adam to see what he would name them, but there was not found a creature compatible for the man. God placed Adam in a deep sleep and created woman by taking a rib from his side. When the Lord brought the woman to Adam, the first man said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.” (Genesis 2:23)

God placed the man and woman in the Garden of Eden with every blessing of the garden at their disposal. The only prohibition was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the garden’s midst. God had told them they could not eat of the tree lest they die. Satan knew the command of the Lord and, desiring to destroy the creation of God, sought a way to tempt the woman. Using the form of the serpent, the most cunning of creatures, Satan spoke to the woman, challenging what the Lord had told her about the forbidden tree. He convinced the woman she would not die if she took of its fruit, and she would be like God.

The woman gazed upon the tree and saw that it had beautiful fruit. She thought it would be good for food and she would be very wise. Tempted to disobey the command of God, the woman took of the fruit and gave some to Adam. The eyes of both of them were opened immediately, and they knew they were naked. Hearing the sound of the Lord walking in the garden, Adam and his wife hid from the presence of the Lord. Confronted by God by what they had done, Adam blamed the woman, and the woman blamed the serpent. The Lord cursed the serpent, who would later be identified by the apostle John as Satan. Turning to the woman, God pronounced that she would give birth in pain due to her rebellion. Far more reaching than pain in childbirth, the Lord changed the relationship between Adam and his wife.

When God created woman, He brought to Adam a helpmeet, a companion equal to him. Because of her rebellion and being deceived by the serpent, the woman’s desire would always be for her husband. This law was established in the Garden of Eden and has not diminished. Every time a woman gives birth to a child, the consequence of her deception reminds her of her subjection to the man. The apostle Paul would use this story to explain the relationship of the woman’s role in the church. In 1 Timothy 2:8-15, the Holy Spirit establishes the woman’s role in the church as limited. It does not suggest there is nothing for the woman to do in the church’s work, but a limitation is placed upon her.

A woman cannot usurp authority over the leadership of a man. This shows that while women are created in the image of God like the man, they cannot take the leadership role of preaching and teaching over the authority of men. Paul gives two reasons for this prohibition: first, Adam was created before Eve; second, Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived fell into transgression. The woman’s subjection to the man is a law established in the garden of Eden that has remained unchanged in the mind of God.

Writing to the church at Corinth, Paul admonished the women to keep silent in the churches (1 Corinthians 14). Speaking of the worship on the first day of the week, the apostle outlines various charges of how the assembly is carried out. The use of the gifts of tongues was limited and controlled, including the woman’s activity. Women are not permitted to take leadership roles such as preaching. They are to be submissive according to the Holy Spirit. Their general conduct is to learn in quietness but not permitted to teach or have authority over a man.

Prohibiting the woman’s role does not limit her to no work at all. Paul admonishes the wives of bishops and deacons to be teachers of good things and for older women to admonish younger women. This requires teaching. As a wife, the woman can be a vital asset to her husband in helping others learn the gospel. Aquilla and Priscilla (Acts 18) are an excellent example of the unity of Spirit in teaching others the way more perfectly.

There is much work for women in the church, like Eunice, Lois, Dorcas, Phoebe, Mary, Tryphena, Tryphosa, and Nereus’s sister, to name a few. In the modern world of loose interpretation of scripture, women are beginning to take on the roles in the Lord’s church without the authority of scripture. Within the family of God, women lead singing (praise groups), serve on the table, make announcements, and preach. This is a false doctrine and without authority from God. The implications of the Garden of Eden remain as much as pain in childbirth. God prohibits the woman from having authority over the man.