Timothy and Titus

Paper instructions:
There are two questions. Answer bother questions.

Question 1

Women (1 Timothy 2:9-15)

In our politically correct age, this passage certainly causes much distress. Some would want to view this culturally, contending that this was a middle-eastern attitude that held women in total subjection (something we still see today). This becomes a dangerous precedent to write off a passage as purely cultural because if we can do it here, we have liberty to do this through the bible, making is only a representative witness to the teachings of Christ that may be out of touch with our current culture. What will be beneficial is to explore two main ideas in these verses.

The first idea is in verses 9-10 where the woman’s demeanor is in question. He is using dress and jewelry as an external indicator of their attitude (Lea and Griffin, 96). We do this today. Sharing a quick experience, I was driving through Cleveland (OH) one day and saw this young lady dressed in, well, let us say very revealing apparel. However, I soon realized that she was not a prostitute (as I had assumed). Rather, she was lost, having been directed to this part of town by someone with mal intent in mind. I rescued her, taking her home. This is just one example of how dress gives us impressions as to the nature of the person. This is what Paul is telling us. To dress modestly demands that the women dress tastefully and not provocatively. They will further contend that the Greek for dress supports this (Lea and Griffin, 96). This is a truism no matter the time or culture. This is why women in the Middle East must dress in a totally unrevealing manner.

The second idea is more specific. This one deals with leadership in the church. The passage deals directly with the church gathering, i.e., public worship (Hendriksen and Kistemaker, 108; Robertson; Lea, 97). The woman’s position cannot be one of the master or dominion over the church (Robertson). Now, if the passage stopped here, then we would have cultural problems as it would be easy to assume this to be an old, middle-eastern idea. However, a theological reason is given for this. Hendriksen and Kistemaker say it best, let a woman not enter a sphere of activity for which by dint of her very creation she is not suited (109). Paul uses the creation account to validate this with two reasons. First, Paul relies on the creation account for support (The conjunction ??? signifies that the statement that follows provides the reason for the previous command. (Knight, 142)). Adam (man) chronologically preceded woman. This gives man the position of priority (Lea, 100). Paul reinforces this in 1 Corinthians 11:8 by repeating the statement that woman came from man and not man from woman (Knight, 143). Knight defends a second position based on the facts of the fall (shift from Genesis 2, creation, to Genesis 3, the fall). Here, Paul emphasizes that Eve (representing all women) was deceived and then led Adam astray. Robertson notes that the compound states she was completely deceived (Word Pictures). In this, Paul is preventing the possibility of this occurring in the church by having men take the leadership role.

Question: Is it fair that God puts all women under this penalty? If so, what about Paul’s statements in Romans 5 that all men are under sin due to Adam? Can we disallow one but not the other?
Question 2
Titus 1:1-4

The introduction to Titus is rich in understanding of the mind of the Apostle. He calls himself a slave and an apostle. He is writing to those chosen. In this ing statement, Paul gives a quality of God vital to his argument regarding the sound teaching€”God cannot lie.

Vital to the message is the historical Jesus. Paul refers to his birth in verse 3 by talking about a proper time. He had made a similar statement in Galatians 4:4

Questions (answer only one):

Contrast the two terms Paul uses about himself in verse 1: slave vs. apostle.
Choosing for Paul deals with election. What is the significance of calling his audience chosen?
Why would Paul need to remind Titus that God cannot lie?
Compare Paul’s proper time the with Galatians passage about the fullness of time.