Abstract The question whether to ordain women or not threatens the fabric of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. The anti and the pro-ordination argument hinge on scripture, the only source of authority for the Remnant Church. This paper has made a critical observation of the arguments and concludes that neither of the camps is right. It has made a brief excursus into the backdrop that may have influenced the prohibitions and observed that it (the backdrop) may not certify the prohibitions to be eternal interdiction on women participation in ministry. The study realizes that the seeming interdictions are statements aimed at setting the church in orderhaustafeln to defocus believers from their individual self in order to refocus them to their divine calling as colabourers with Paul in Christ. Because the NT seems quiet on the issue whether to, or not to ordain women, and because the texts used for or against seem to be read either at an apparent level, or applied without a keen regard to the contexts, this paper suggests further study of the verses that form the backbone of arguments before any action is taken by the world church.

1. 1
2
3
Should the NT Haustafeln1 Argue for or against the
Ordination of Women, or Should the Current
Trends Open up the Opportunity?
4
5
6
7
8
Simon Bwambale, PhD
Lecturer, Bugema University, Kampala Uganda, Dec 2013
The question whether to ordain women or not threatens the fabric of the Seventh-day Adventist
9
Church. The anti and the pro-ordination argument hinge on scripture, the only source of authority for the
10
Remnant Church. This paper has made a critical observation of the arguments and concludes that neither
11
of the camps is right. It has made a brief excursus into the backdrop that may have influenced the
12
prohibitions and observed that it (the backdrop) may not certify the prohibitions to be eternal interdiction
13
on women participation in ministry. The study realizes that the seeming interdictions are statements aimed
14
at setting the church in orderhaustafeln to defocus believers from their individual self in order to
15
refocus them to their divine calling as colabourers with Paul in Christ. Because the NT seems quiet on the
16
issue whether to, or not to ordain women, and because the texts used for or against seem to be read either at
17
an apparent level, or applied without a keen regard to the contexts, this paper suggests further study of the
18
verses that form the backbone of arguments before any action is taken by the world church.
Abstract
19
Introduction
20
In the paper presented by the writer to the ECD Biblical Research Committee of
21
March 19-21, 2013, it was noted that "the practice of, or the mere prospects to the
22
ordination"2 of women is a wage that may soon or later break the cords that holds a
23
majority of the Christian denominations including the Seventh-day Adventist (SDA)
24
Church.3 "Conservatives" (hereafter, "exclusivists") perceive gender inclusiveness as
_______________
1Houstafeln is a plural form of the German word Haustafel which may literary be interpreted as House
Table, denoting house or community decorum. Marshall H. Lewis categorises Haustafeln as first, Church
order regulations (1 Tim 2:8-15; 6:1-2; Titus 2:1-10; 1 Clement 1:3; 21:6-9). Second, haustafel may be in form
of wisdom (Did 4:9-11; Bar 19:5-7). Third, it may be station codes as exemplified by Eph 5:21-6:9; Col 3:184:1; 1 Pet 2:13-3:12. Lewis observes that "early Christian station codes typically mention three station pairs:
masters and slaves, husbands and wives, parents and children, with the instruction that the latter are to
submit to the former." See Marshall H. Lewis, "The Petrine Haustafel: A Contemporary Interpretation," A
Paper Submitted in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements of Ch 522 Theologies of the New Testament,
Chicago Theological Seminary, April 1995, 3.
2Simon Bwambale, "Where is the Ordination of Women in the NT?: A Review of Views, and
Recommendations," A paper Presented at the Biblical Research Committee, Advent Hill, Nairobi, Kenya,
March 2013, 1.
3The
researcher conducted a simple survey to sample the perception on WO. The first group
comprised students of the School of Theology and Religious Studies, Bugema University. In attendance was
265 students out of the 326 students reflected in the records from the Registrar's office. The nationalities of
the students included Kenya, Tanzania, South Sudan, Rwanda, Burundi, Zambia, Malawi, and the
Democratic Republic of the Congo. The survey question was "Should the SDA Church Ordain Women?
Yes, No. Give reasons for your answer." Out of the 265 students, 108 said "Yes," 146 said "No" and 11 had
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2. 25
contrary to biblical revelation. On the contrary, the pro-ordinationists (hereafter,
26
"inclusivists"), too, regard women exclusion from ministry as contrary to the biblical
27
perspective of the role of women in God's mission,4 and are confident that time and
28
trends will take care of entrenched male prejudice that deters the progress. The above
29
views exhibit for each other a disdain that fails to acknowledge the bitterness and the
30
divisions generated by the debate.5
31
This paper endeavours to make an additional excursus on the issue of women
32
ordination (hereafter, WO) to ministry by, first making a summary of the pull-and-push in
33
the SDA Church discussed in the previous paper. Second, the paper is an attempt to
34
exegetically elaborate the NT haustafeln that supply to the exclusivists the basis for rejecting
35
WO. Third, since, like the exclusivists, the inclusivists often seek the mandate of scripture
36
to advance their propositions, this paper seeks to further investigate the major texts
37
alluded to. Fourth, the paper recommends a way forward for the Seventh-day Adventist
38
Church leadership to deal with the challenge.
39
40
A Summary of Argument for and
against Women's Ordination
41
Though the voices for or against WO are equally strong and divisive in other
42
denominations, this section concerns itself with the phenomenon in the SDA church.
43
Percentage wise, the voices for and against WO cut the SDA church midway though there
44
might be varying concentrations on the globe. For the exclusivist camp, the Bible is
45
basically the foundation for the argument against WO6 and maintain that biblical texts
46
that regulate women's participation are extremely clear, and need not be subjected to the
_______________
no position. The second survey was conducted after a devotional of the Uganda Union committee members
and staff. Out of the attendance of 45 people 15 said "Yes," 26 said "No," and 4 had no position. Apart
from those who had no position, both groups gave reasons that were based on Scripture. Though not
conventionally samples, the perception of the groups may, to some degree, a representation of the
perception in the Church in East Central Africa Division.
4See Nancy Vyhmeister, ed., Women in Ministry: A Biblical and Historical Perspective, (Berrien Springs, MI:
Andrews University Press, 1998).
5 Gordon Wenham, "Ordination of Women: Why is it so Divisive," Churchman, 92(1978): 310.
Rodney A. Whitacre also observes that the ordination of women is not only a complex topic, it is also an
emotionally loaded topic because big issues are at stake. It is obviously such for women who feel called to
ordained ministry. More generally, for many folks it is seen as an issue of equality, and there is anger at the
injustice and oppression involved if women are not able to serve God as they feel led. See Rodney A.
Whitacre, "Reasons for Questioning Women’s Ordination in the Light of Scripture," 2013, 2.
6Samuel
Koranteng-Pipim, "Campaign for Women's Ordination: Role of Church Leaders and
Scholars," Excerpted and modified from Must We Be Silent?: Issues Dividing Our church, (Ann Arbor, MI:
Berean Books, 2001), xx.
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3. 47
exegesis that water down their prescription to the modern church.7 They do acknowledge
48
their role.8 A host of Adventists call for a return to Scripture to guide in the question and
49
sound a caveat that a firm stand on the "truth" may be at the expense of positions and
50
comfort.9
51
As the case is with the exclusivists, the inclusivists' voice are loud and firm from men
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and women who aver that the Church has unnecessarily delayed to endorse WO, and
53
argue that because the trends have given a new perspective to human roles “time has
54
come to stand up and be counted and truly act on what we believe, that God is no
55
respecter of persons and that, in Christ, there is no male or female.”10 A social argument
56
sticks out strongly and as Keren Katoske contends the Church's endorsement to WO
57
would “not only follow biblical instruction but also to maintain credibility before our younger
58
members who are keenly aware of gender issues” (emphasis supplied).”11 The endorsement is
59
sometimes viewed as heeding to the biblical-eschatological call to involve all co-laborers in
60
the thrust of the end-time proclamation; a heed to the call for justice (Micah 6:8),
61
egalitarianism (Gal 3:28) and selflessness (Matt 7:12).12 Furthermore, ‘Priesthood of all
62
believers’ is another factor fronted for WO for reasons that faith in Jesus elevates believers
63
to a common platform irrespective of gender.13 Ray avers that ordaining women “not only
_______________
7Samuel Koranteng-Pipim, "Answers to Questions about Women's Ordination" Adventist Affirm
(1987): 1-3.
8Ibid, 2; This camp observe the conspicuous role of women in the OT and NT: “Huldah who
counseled the prophets, (2 Kgs 22:13, 14), women who sang and attended to tabernacles and Temple (1
Samuel 2:22, 1 Chr 25:5, 6, Psa 68:24, 25), women who prayed aloud and prophesied in the church (1 Cor
11:5), and those who laboured with Paul (Phil 4:3). In the NT Paul strongly commends some, including
widows (Rom 16:1-5, 6, 12, 13, 15; Acts 9:39). Despite their importance, women did not serve as priests in
the OT (Exod 28:1, Num 3:1-13)”(See Bwambale, 5). The camp studies the texts including 1 Tim 2:11-14;
3:1-7; Titus 1:5-9; 1Cor 14:33-36) and conclude that women did not serve as leaders; nor did they serve as
teachers, elder, pastor in the New Testament (Ibid.)
9Speaking against the decision at PUC, Christine G. Byrn, working in the Education Department at
the Conference, boldly assert that women are already active in ministry. It is unwise to create an impression
that would create schism within the Church (Bwambale, 5 ). See also Christine G. Byrn, to Elder Rothler,
March 26, 2012, an email as response to the Action of PUC on Women’s ordination, accessed Feb 21, 2013.
10Lourdes-Morales Gudmundsson, to Ricardo Graham, March 14, 2012, an email response to the
action of PUC on the issue of women’s ordination, accessed on Feb 21, 2013.
11Keren Katoske, Walace D. Minder, to Ricardo Graham, March 14, 2012, an email response to the
action of PUC on the issue of women’s ordination, accessed on Feb 21, 2013.
12Dan Smith, to Ricardo Graham, March 14, 2012, an email response to the action of PUC on the
issue of women’s ordination, accessed on Feb 21, 2013. On the point of equality, see also Randall I. Roberts
et al., Rob and Daphne Thomas, to Ricardo Graham, March 14, 2012, an email response to the action of
PUC on the issue of women’s ordination, accessed on Feb 21, 2013.
13Courtney Ray, Gilbert M. Valentine, and Jared Wright, to Ricardo Graham, March 14, 2012, an
email response to the action of PUC on the issue of women’s ordination, accessed on Feb 21, 2013.
3

4. 64
bears a witness to the world that God truly is not a respecter of persons, but it also shows
65
our commitment to the biblical concept of the priesthood of all believers!”14
66
The consequent tension ought not to be underestimated. The remark captured by
67
Gary Patterson that the GC has no authority over ministers and, thus, “overstepped its
68
bounds in seeking to tell the unions”15 what to do on the matter, ought to be a signal of
69
the iceberg. "Objection to ordain, according to him, is interfering with the eschatological
70
mission work of the Holy Spirit to inspire sons and daughters" as stated in Acts 11:17,
71
18.16
72
Yes, in terms of percentage, the voices for and against WO in the SDA church are
73
equally strong , and each voice integrates scripture in the argument. The last paper
74
concentrates on identifying the textual challenges overlooked by each side as they employ
75
them (albeit sometimes eisegetically). The next section is dedicated to hermeneutical and
76
exegetical study of the common NT haustafeln texts that are often employed by exclusivists
77
to ground their argument in Scripture.
78
Some NT Haustafeln and Exclusivism
79
It may be proper to restate in this paper that "on top of the exclusivist views being
80
skewed to personal feelings, socio-cultural and psychological presuppositions, most of the
81
exegetical exertions have a GIGO tendency that goes into the biblical text using a
82
particular hermeneutic approach to scoop out information bent towards a premeditated
83
goal."17
84
85
The Historical Setting of Some Haustafeln
The first century Christianity was operating in a contextual mix of a conglomerated
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Gnostic philosophic structure which the NT interpretations earlier than our century have
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not delved into. This may not be a surprise. The quiescence of Gnosticism might be
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attributed the blow that buried the philosophy into oblivion. According to Gary C. Burger,
89
Orthodoxy Christianity struggled against Gnosticism in the fourth century and gave a
90
lasting blow to the philosophy by cutting it off from Christianity, ostracizing its teachers,
_______________
14Ibid.
15Gary
Patterson, “Six Points on the Ordination of Women Issue,” paucadmin.adventistfaith.org at
@EbookBrowse (Feb., 13, 2013). 1
16Bwambale,
6.
17Bwambale, 7. For the meaning of 'GIGO' see Rod Short, "GIGO," The International Maritime Human
Element Bulletin 4(July 2004), atsb.gov.au/marine/pdf/184_hanjin_ dampier.pdf, (Accessed March 4, 2013).
4

5. 91
and cracking down on their literature. This state of affairs continued until the 1945 Nag
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Hammadi discovery of more-than-a dozen remaining scrolls that for over a millennium
93
had been hoarded. After unearthing the complex teaching and lifestyle advocated by this
94
philosophy, fresh light has been flashed on some statements of the NT thereby making
95
them clearer to the present age.18
96
The convoluted structure of Gnosticism has precipitated debate among historians
97
over the cradle of Gnosticism. While Some observe Gnosticism to be a pre-Christian
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philosophy that may be traced back to the Persian and Babylonian times, others associate
99
it with Zoroastrianism. On the other hand some have regarded it as an offshoot of
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Judaism. In connection with this, Willis Barnerstone and Marvin Mayer observe that the
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distinction between transcended god and the creator of the world might have been the
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impact of the monotheistic affirmations of the Jewish Gnostics. Perhaps, they avers, the
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Gnostic mythology of two far apart gods may have been a construct of a merge of the
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Jewish apocalypticism and the reflections of the Hellenistic Jewish thinkers that emerged
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after the destruction of the Jerusalem temple in 70 A.D.19
106
The hue of the philosophy does bring in other speculations. In the introduction to
107
the book The Gnostic Gospels, Elaine Pagels advances that as early as before the first century
108
A.D., there existed trade interactions between the Greco-Roman and Indian communities.
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Because of these links the Buddhist missionaries may have infiltrated and might have been
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proselytizing in and around Alexandria. It may be precisely averred that the consequence
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of this inroad may have caused a hazy divide between the Gnostic and the Eastern,
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religions.20
113
An overview of several of Paul's admonitions may be a foretaste that the Greco-
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Roman world embraced the gospel with a worldview that challenged or, at best,
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compromised some Christian doctrines. In an attempt to set the Christian "house" in order
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Paul makes statements to check the inroads of the Gnostic mythology and practice into
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the believing community. George E. Buttrick, too, avers that Paul strongly charged
_______________
18Gary C. Burger, "The Gnostic View of the Feminine, 2. Available at
http://www.newmediaministries.org/DaVinciCode/GnosticFeminism_S.html, October 12, 2013.
19Willis
Bernstone and Marvin Mayer, Gnosticism, Gnostics, and the Gnostic Bible, (London, England:
Shambhala, 2003), 3.
20Elaine Pagels, The Gnostic Gospels, (New York, NY: Vintage Books Edition, Random Books, Inc.,
1989), xxi.
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6. 118
Timothy with the task of combating heresies in order to maintain orthodoxy. In the
119
epistles, Paul
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
"...flings an accumulated heap of epithets at his opponents denouncing them
with scathing and scorching language. They profess to know God, but actually know
nothing. Their minds are corrupt and depraved. They have rejected the truth. Their
knowledge is falsely so called. Their wrangling is only godless chatter, dispute about
words, godless and silly myths...Having departed from and missed the mark as regards
faith being disobedient, insubordinate and unbelieving, they have become subjects to
deceitful spirit and doctrines of demons, caught up in devil's trap."21
127
All such as above were not from human revulsion of opponents,22 rather it ought to
128
be viewed as a bid to inhibit the state of affairs that would gradually "orthodoxize"
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heresies by popularizing them. Such common-placing in the believing community of the
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amalgamation of the heresy-orthodoxy would produce an amorphous conglomeration of a
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type of hybrid Christianity far removed from the cause of Christ to which Paul and his
132
fellow labourers were called.23
133
Jacob E. Sofra and Jorge A. Caurz observe that "the Gnostics sects of the 2nd
134
century made use of the Hebrew and Christian religious writings, employing the allegorical
135
methods to extricate Gnostic meanings from them."24 Conversely, some Christian
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teachings owed much from the Gnostic philosophy to the extent that some Christians
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practiced "quasi-Christian Eucharist and baptisms and others rejecting all aspects of
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conventional worship including prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Notions of ethics likewise
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varied widely."25 In addition to Gnosticism, Buttrick mentions that Jewish and pagan
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influences "were freely circulating and seeking incorporating themselves into the rapidly
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growing Christian movement becoming. As the church was expanding and embracing
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individuals, various points of view were being incorporated in the new faith. Commenting
143
on insinuation circum locution obtrusive simulation
144
Thus, whatever might have been its cradle, and whatever might have been its
145
constituent philosophies and teaching, Gnosticism had prevalent influences in the world in
146
which the apostle Paul did missionary work. It is, therefore, pertinent that this study
_______________
21George
E. Buttrick, ed., "1 and 2 Timothy, Titus," in The Interpreter's Bible, 12 vols., vol. 10,
(Nashville, TN: Abingdon, 1956), 350.
22See
Andes Erickson, "'Women Tongue Speakers, Be Silent': A Reconstruction Through Paul's
Rhetoric," Biblical Interpretation, 6(1998), 82. Noteworthy is the fact that Paul's rhetoric in his epistles is
inclusive. The situation he addresses determines his rhetoric approach. While in 1 Cor 12-14 he employs an
insinuatio, in the text of our reference he uses imperatives to directly address the issues.
23Buttrick,
24Jacob
351-7.
E. Sofra and Jorge A. Caurz, New Encyclopædia Britanica, 15 th ed. London, UK), 315.
25Ibid.
6

7. 147
discusses some scriptural references that are often approached subjectively with a mindset
148
that does not consider them as haustafeln within their sitz em leben, the situations that
149
prompted Paul to strongly address issues in those particular texts. This section intends to
150
point out the backdrops of certain texts that are used in the WO debate.26
151
152
Women Submission in Eph 5:22
Even taken as a text that configure a family as a miniature Christ-Church relationship,
153
Eph 5:22 is explained out of its contextual gist and out of its possible background. Before
154
attacking this text as patriarchy driven, it may be pertinent to make a brief excursus into
155
what might be taking place in the background.
156
The Historical Setting behind Submission
157
Ephesians 5:22ff should not be confined in the bracket of men's subjugation of
158
women, nor should it be viewed as a family life text. Rather, Paul in this text seems to be
159
strongly airing an exhortations that particularly address waves that were negatively
160
impacting the believers' concentration on their spirituality. According to Edwin Yamauchi,
161
Gnosticism, a major philosophy prevalent in the first century, seriously perverted
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Christianity to the extent that, as the second century reveals, almost hijacking the new
163
faith. Gnostics distorted the OT by reinterpreting it in terms of the Gnostic world view.
164
Yamauchi notes that Gnostic claim that the OT messianic prophecies were pointing to a
165
Gnostic Saviour.27 They believed that "man was not a transgressor but a victim, and that
166
the fall was not man's but rather Sophia's. Man was alienated from a true knowledge of
167
himself and fettered to earth by malevolent ignorance described as sleep, drunkenness,
168
forgetfulness.... Man experienced a nostalgia, a homesickness for the lost paradise.
169
Salvation for the elect pneumatics consisted of a recognition of their true celestial origin."28
170
Other doctrines of Gnosticism include the reservation of the pneuma since there is no
171
resurrection; a drive to get out of femininity since that state was considered sin. For any
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woman to be saved, her femaleness must be transformed into maleness. Gnostics nullified
173
the cross and resurrection claiming that Christ had no physical body of flesh and blood (cf.
174
the text in 1 Tim 2:5)29 and thus "neither the cross nor the empty tomb have any
_______________
26Erickson,
27Edwin
28Ibid.,
17.
Yamauchi, "The Gnostics and History," Journal of Evangelical Theological Society, N.d, 34.
34.
291 Tim 2:5 reads: For (there is) one God, and (there is) one mediator of God and men (anthropon),
the man (anthropos) Christ Jesus. Note that, unlike the Gnostic teaching that Christ had no physical body
7

8. 175
redemptive significance. As Christ had had only the resemblance of a body the suffering
176
on the cross was apparent not real."30 The above sample of the Gnostic teaching argue for
177
the fact that the NT Christian mission was not a walk over. Rather it was a tread in the
178
thorns, as it were, and it was necessary for the apostles to draw out a clear line between the
179
gospel of salvation in Jesus Christ and the blossoming conglomerations of the Hellenistic
180
philosophies and teachings in the Greco-Roman.
181
Discussing the NT epistolary imperatives and exhortations ought to be done with a
182
keen sense to the external waves against true Christianity. This study strongly agrees with
183
Carl P. Cosaert who advances that our dependence on the scripture does not call for its
184
simplistic deduction, nor its disdainful dumping on the heap of its historical context.
185
Rather, a scrutiny of the background of the text upholds the principle that "our belief in
186
the authority of the scripture requires that we do all we can to understand what this
187
passage meant to its original audience so we can faithfully apply it to our setting today."31
188
Most attempts to study the Pauline silence-submission texts often miss the mark
189
when they take the common misunderstanding that the NT generally portrays a rabbinic
190
picture of the woman. This perception, however, overlooks the fact that the Pauline
191
writings address a Hellenized Jewish woman whose social status is exalted above both the
192
Roman and the Jewish woman.32 Narratologically analysed, the complexity of, and the
193
concern of Paul for the mission in Ephesus is portrayed by the amount of narrative space
194
(two chapters, 19 and 20) that Luke dedicates to the account.33 Paul's and the narrator's
195
attention are justifiable because the status of men and women in Ephesus often interfered
196
with some tenets of the teaching of Christianity.34 Witherington observes that
_______________
of flesh and blood, Paul underscores the fact that the mediator between man and God is also man, thereby
affirming a contrastive teaching peculiar to Christianity.
30Yamauchi,
37.
31Carl
Cosaert, "Paul, Women, and the Ephesian Church: An Examination of 1 Timothy 2:8-15,"
Wala Wala University, June 2013, 1.
32Cosaert,
10.
33Philip A. Brown, “Nehemiah and Narrative Order in the Book of Ezra,” BS 162 (2005): 179. Luke's
narration of Paul's missionary activities appear to indicate a narrative temporal proportionation. Brown
describes that “temporal proportioning in a narrative involves three elements: the total amount of time the
narrative covers, the distribution of that time across the narrative, and the relationship between the speed of
time inside the narrative and the speed of time outside it.” Observation of the narrative time given to the
period of Paul's stay in Ephesus reveal that Paul gave a considerable amount of attention to issues in
Ephesus.
34Ben
Witherington, Letters and Homilies for Hellenized Christians, vol., 1 (Downers Grove, IL:
InterVarsity Press, 2006), 218. Witherington avers that the inscriptions in Ephesus facilitate knowledge into
the ethos of Ephesus.
8

9. 197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
Our concern here is with the public roles that women played, particularly in
religion in that city, and so with expectations that the high-status women might have
about the roles that they would play in the fledging Christian community in that place.
There can be little doubt that 1 Timothy is attempting to address some high-status
men and women, who, as the case was in Corinth, are creating some of the most
serious challenges to Paul's authority and mandate for the house churches there. The
critique about the love of money in 1 Tim 6, as well as the critique about the women
wearing expensive apparel or having too much time on their hands, are clear signal
that such high-status persons in Ephesus are a particular concern of the apostle.35
206
Based on archaeological information, Ephesus, as the rest of the Hellenistic world,
207
had highly venerated women placed in public and religious life of society. Witherington
208
names Verdia Marcia, a woman who was a pytany36 that served in the temple of Artemis.
209
The second woman, Aelia Ammia, was praised in terms similar to those Paul uses in 1 Tim
210
2:9; 3:11; Titus 2:3-5. 37 A third woman, Apollonis, was so exalted that at her burial all
211
shrines were ordered to be closed and a public mourning was declared. The fourth woman
212
character worth mentioning is Epiphania described as wealthy and a teacher of other
213
women. Though this character lived in the second century A. D., her position facilitates
214
history to envisage that the esteemed position of women and their leadership positions in
215
society continued after the apostolic era.
216
Given such a picture of the position of women and men in Ephesus, and generally in
217
the Hellenistic society, it may be appropriate to suggest that the Pauline haustafeln is in the
218
context of regulating the sense of self that undermined the Christian ethic of humility that
219
is modeled after Christ himself (see Phil 2:1-11). It may be based on this context that Paul
220
calls believers to shift from the worldly positions and lofty exaltations to focus on their
221
spirituality that causes in them actions that are redemptive in nature. With this in mind,
222
therefore the paper turns to an analysis of the text of humility in Eph 5.
223
The Purpose of Submission in Eph 5
224
225
Women's submission in Eph 5 is easily seen by an eye that is laden with the
emancipationist viewpoint. However, submission is not the major issue here. The
_______________
35Ibid,
218.
36According to Witherington, 218, pytany was a title given to a man or woman "who was the keeper of
the sacred fire of Hestia, but who also was one of the chief magistrates of the city , and official documents
would be dated by listing who was serving in this office at a particular time."
37Ibid, 219. Noteworthy is that Some descriptive words like sophrosunes (good sense, sound
judgment, modesty, decency), semnos (serious; of good character, honorable, worthy, respectable), and
philathropos (loving one's husband) employed to describe the high priest Aelia Ammia also appear in 1 Tm
2:9,15; 3:11; and Titus 2:3-5.
9

10. 226
submission motif here rhymes with the rest of the submission texts in the Pauline writings
227
that stem from spiritual piety that is opposed to the prevalent equalitarian world view. This
228
is evident, especially, in the event of viewing the word "submit" (~upotasso,menoi) in 5:21
229
as the fifth Greek participle that is connected to the imperative "be filled with the Spirit"
230
(Eph 5:18). A disconnection of this participle from the thread of the previous four
231
participles (lalou/ntej, a;|dontej, ya,llontej, and euvcaristou/ntej) results in treating
232
~upotasso,menoi as separate command thereby exalting it instead of the substantive
233
command plhrou/sqe evn pneu,mati (be filled with the Spirit). When this error is committed
234
Eph 5 becomes a text of patriarchal subjugation, or at best, a text that intended to instill
235
order in a family. The family viewpoint should be read here in the context of the church, a
236
body of believers, for whose redemptive unity, cohesion and mutual submission Paul
237
endeavours to ensure. The structure below gives the thought flow of the text in vv 18-22.
238
plhrou/sqe evn pneu,mati
lalou/ntej,
a;|dontej,
ya,llontej,
euvcaristou/ntej
~upotasso,menoi
246
247
248
249
250
251
252
Be filled (plhrou/sqe) with the Spirit
by Speaking (lalou/ntej) to each other in psalms, and hymns and spiritual songs,
by Singing (a;|dontej) and psalming (ya,llontej) in your own hearts in the Lord
by Giving (euvcaristou/ntej) thanks to God the Father at all times ...
by Being submitted (~upotasso,menoi) to one another out of reverence for Christ.
Wives to your own husbands as to the Lord38
being submitted
253
It is notable from the above illustration that in the Greek text of Eph 5:22 the passive
How to be filled
by the H-Spirit
239
240
241
242
243
244
245
254
participle hupotassomanoi (being submitted) is absent and most Bible translators of verse 22
255
adopt the implied passive participle (being submitted) from verse 21 to complete the verb-
256
less clause (“wives to your own husbands as to the Lord”). Since, normally, a passive
257
requires a subject or an agent, then the acting force on men (v. 21) and women (v. 22 )
258
may be the impact of being filled by the Holy Spirit in verse 18. Verse 22, therefore,
259
appears to conclude the ‘how-words’ (participles) describing the manner (or means) by
260
which the believers can “be …filled with the Holy Spirit” (v. 18).
_______________
38Participles
are implied in the verb-less sentence “wives, to your own husbands as to the Lord (v 22).
10

11. 261
The structure further illustrates that the popular family submission text, often
262
verbalized by the exclusivists, seems to deal with a reorientation of a community of
263
believers whose bona fide Christian coexistence is threatened by Hellenistic and other
264
dominant worldviews that exalts individual self image of both men and women. The
265
submission of women to their husbands is in the context of the general Spirit generated
266
submission of the believers to one another to foster in the community of believers a
267
redemptive harmony that results from the abounding of the in-dwelling Spirit
268
referred to in verse 18.39
269
Examining Issues in 1 Tim 2:8-15
270
It is largely attested by commentators that the historical context of the letter to the
271
Ephesians is similar to that of 1 Tim 2:8-15. Francis D. Nichol advances that the
272
Ephesians is a pastoral letter that Paul wrote "to the church at Ephesus, a metropolis of
273
the proconsulate of Asia, with intentions that it should be sent also to other churches in
274
the area."40 This letter was a follow-up epistle on the missionary work that the author
275
engaged in for three years. First and second Timothy were written later to Timothy an
276
elder who took care of the church in the same metropolis.41
277
278
"Not to Teach, not to Domineer,
but Learn in Silence" (verse 11)
279
Paul's command prohibiting women not to teach, to domineer, and to learn in silence
280
(1 Tim 2:11, 12) is one of the Pauline commands that has provoked debate and has been
281
used by exclusivists as one of the arsenals to strongly knock out WO. However, like any
282
other text, this statement is often taken at face value neglecting the textual and historical
283
context based on which it ought to be interpreted. It may be suggested that the expression
284
"Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection" (1 Tim 2:11) belongs to the larger
285
exhortative context that begins from 1 Tim 1:17. Here a transitional conjunction de is
286
employed to change subject "to a new topic of discussion"42 that continues to 1 Tim 2:15.
_______________
39This
is in consonance with Rom 14:15, 20, 21 and 1Cor 8:13 where, for the sake of unity and
mission, Paul restrains himself from eating what is generally permissible (See also Rom 9:7-18).
40Francis
D. Nichol, Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 6, (Hagerstown, MD: Review
and Herald , 1980), 993.
41Nichol,
vol. 7, 285.
42 Daniel B. Wallace, The Basics of New Testament Syntax, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishers,
2000), 298-299.
11

12. 287
Furthermore, the application of the present active imperative verb manqane,tw in
288
verse 11 may be said to suggest that there is a sub-pericope that is indirectly connected to
289
the previous one. This being the case, then verses 11-15 ought to be interpreted as one
290
block text with all the nerve-racking ideas: woman learning in silence with all subjection,
291
not teaching, not usurping authority over the man, learning in silence, being secondary in
292
creation, being one deceived, and being saved through childbearing. Focusing on the issue
293
of silence and neglecting the above other ideas is ignoring the conjunction gar (for)43 in
294
verse 13 that apparently makes a logical connection between "silence" in verses 11 and 12,
295
and the order of creation and transgression in verses 14 and 15.
296
Many Bible scholars acknowledge that 1 Tim 2:12 and its preceding and subsequent
297
texts comprise one of the hard texts in the NT.44 However, the earlier agreement with Carl
298
P. Cosaert still holds: "as Christians who believe that Scripture continues to be
299
authoritative for all of life, Seventh-day Adventists cannot simply disregard difficult
300
passages like this...."45 The next section, therefore, is dedicated to probing into the
301
meaning of the "silence," with endeavours to find its meaning in collaboration with its
302
immediate, the larger context, as well as the historical context.
303
Why does Paul Stop Women from Speaking? There are few writings, if any, that crop
304
out without precedent and there are many propositions that suggest the precedent of this
305
statement. Carl P. Cosaert is one of the scholars who strives to make sense out of this
306
challenging text. Cosaert observes that "apart from the letter to the Romans, the rest of
307
the Pauline epistles were written in response to particular problems."46 The difficulty of the
308
idea in which the silence command is embedded deserves special attention. Rebecca
309
Merrill Groothuis challenges the exclusivist interpretation of the text and asks:
310
311
312
313
314
If Eve's deception is somehow the reason why all women for all time are
forbidden to teach men, then why should women be forbidden only to teach men but
not women and children (who, presumably, would be even more likely than men to
be deceived by the deceived)? And if Paul’s intended meaning is simply that women
are not to be pastors or elders, why doesn’t he say just that? Indeed, why does Paul
_______________
43The conjunction gar falls in the larger family of logical conjunctions "which relate the movements of
thought from one passage to another by expressing logical relationship between the connected ideas. See
Wallace, 298-299.
44David R. Kimberly itemizes a number of scholars who testify to the fact that the Pauline text of 1
Tim 2:11-15 is problematic. For details see David R. Kimberley, "1 Tim 2:15: A Possible Understanding of A
Difficult Text" Journal Of The Evangelical Theological Society 35/4(Dec. 1992), 481.
45Cosaert,
1.
46Ibid.
12

13. 315
316
nowhere state clearly such a straightforward prohibition? Why, instead, all the
roundabout, analogical language here?47
317
Based on the questions she asks, Groothuis argues that Paul wrote to Timothy to
318
address the issues of heresy in the Church at Ephesus and thus the statements in the
319
epistle ought not to be taken as an absolute prescription for the church today.48 She
320
continues that the term authentein translated as "teach" is a harpax legomenon in the NT
321
and Paul may have used in the term to convey a special meaning that was particular to the
322
situation addressed in the Ephesian Church. The meaning of authentein in this text,
323
Groothuis further postulates, is based on the usage employed during the time of Paul and
324
may have included "usurping authority, dominating, prevailing upon, or instigating
325
harm."49 Authentein, therefore, may not suggest a permanent injunction denying women of
326
the opportunity to participate in spiritual edification, as this may be contrary to OT
327
scriptural testimony and the testimony of the then praxis mentioned in Paul's other epistles
328
as well as those of his contemporary apostles.
329
The argument that the NT haustafeln texts are localized is attested when Paul issues
330
contradictory commands. In 1 Cor 11:5 he requires that a woman veils herself whenever
331
she is praying and prophesying, the actions that do go against "silence." Yet in 1 Cor
332
14:34, he commands women to "be silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to
333
speak, but should be subordinate." Thomas Harvey's comment on this seeming
334
contradiction affirms the claim that haustafeln are not eternal prescriptions but relevant
335
within their context. He argues that aware of the semantic application of the term gynaiki,
336
the Corinthian church might have identified a shift in the application from the generic
337
woman to wives who have husbands. Harvey states
338
339
340
341
342
343
344
Paul’s demand for silence fits with what we know of women in Greco-Roman
households. Sisters, single women and widows had a considerable degree of
independence and relative authority. Wives, on the other hand, had married into a
family and thus had a lower status. Given the hierarchical nature of Roman
households, wives speaking publicly in worship would bring shame on the husband
by upsetting proper household order and authority. On the other hand, widows or
unmarried sisters would represent no such indiscretion50
_______________
47Rebecca
Merrill Groothuis, "The Bible and Gender Equality," www.cbeinternational.org/files/u1/
resources/14-groothius-pdf.pdf, Accesses on October 9, 2013, 6.
48Ibid.,
6
49Ibid.
50Thomas
Harvey, "The Biblical and Evangelical Justification for Women Serving as Ministers and
Pastors in the Church," available at www.ttc.edu.sg/csca/CS/2002-Apr/Thom%20Harvey.pdf, October
2013, 49.
13

14. 345
Harvey observes that the unmarried women had a simple relationship as a redeemed
346
community and could easily interact within the saved community. However, this type of
347
flexible and free relationship could be detrimental for wives and husbands. This obliged
348
Paul to give strong exhortations to re-ground the deteriorating marital order in the
349
redeemed community. Harvey continues by saying that
350
351
352
353
354
355
356
357
In Roman society it was not uncommon for women to have positions of authority
and patronage. Thus for women to exercise power and authority in the church would
not have caused disruption or discomfort amongst Gentiles. Nonetheless, GrecoRoman society was hierarchical and issues of proper subordination did loom large in
Paul’s day. As converting and inverting message of the cross penetrated Roman
Society, it raised new issues with regard to social and familial decorum. Though Paul
recognizes the revolutionary nature of the Gospel, his letters are often at pains to
maintain those household and familial relationships necessary for sound order.51
358
Ben Witherington, on the other hand, suggests another dimension that explains the
359
Pauline order for women to keep silent. Comparing this text with 1 Cor 11-14,
360
Witherington suggests that this silence imperative is embedded in the larger section that
361
calls upon both men and women to observe order in the "somewhat chaotic worship
362
situation."52 This perception suggests that there is harmony in both of these passages, and
363
may become a case in point to derive the principle governing the rest of the NT
364
haustafeln.53 Based on this insight, the next section briefly deals with another of Paul's
365
statement in the pericope under study
366
Woman: Saved through Childbearing
367
As discussed in the previous paper, the Pauline elucidation that "For Adam was
368
formed first, then Eve; and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and
369
became a transgressor. Yet she will be saved through childbearing...." (1 Tim 2:13-15) is
370
one of the most difficult text in the Pauline corpus. David R. Kimberly concurs that "there
371
is no doubt that the passage raises numerous questions for the Biblical interpreters, all the
372
more so in a contemporary climate where reevaluation of the roles of both men and
373
women is taking place within society..."54 Before a brief study of the text, it is pertinent to
374
spell out the interpretive difficulty the text presents when taken at face value.
375
_______________
51Ibid,
47.
52Ben Witherington, Letters and Homilies for Hellenized Christians, (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity
Press, 2006), 213.
53Ibid.
54Kimberly,
481.
14

15. 376
The Interpretative Difficulty of 1 Tim 2:11-15
377
Andreas Köstenberger observes that apart from causing translational difficulties as
378
revealed in the diversity in different versions, the text has been a subject of contention in
379
church history. He notes the Church Fathers were divided on its interpretation: While
380
Augustine thought "Paul was here speaking of the bearing of 'spiritual children,' that is
381
good works," other ancient interpreters, such as Chrysostom and Jerome, thought
382
women's salvation was contingent on their (physical) children's perseverance in holy lives
383
of faith taking the later part of the verse ("if they continue in faith and love and chastity
384
with self-restraint") as referring not to the women themselves but to their offspring.55
385
Some of these influences linger and influence our contemporary elucidation on the text.
386
According to Jeffrey J. Meyers the theological complication implied in the word
387
"saved" precipitate the translation of the word as "preserve," "keep safe" to keep Paul
388
from seemingly drifting into righteousness by works. The semantic application of the word
389
sozo ranges from spiritual including salvation from eternal death, to physical nuances that
390
include healing, preserving, keeping safe. Unfortunately, the use of this word often focuses
391
on an inappropriate application of the meaning in the text. Meyers makes efforts to
392
interpret the verb sothesetai (will be saved) in terms of the spiritual redemption and tags
393
it to the protoevangelium in Gen 3:15 claiming that the childbearing (tes teknogonias) is
394
in reference to the birth of Jesus.56 This interpretation, however, falls short of satisfying
395
the unity of the sub-pericope that talks where silence and childbearing ought to be
396
interpreted together.
397
Koestenberger, on his part, avers that sozo in its passive application (be saved) "may in
398
certain contexts denote a person's physical or spiritual preservation from danger or harm."
399
Comparing the use of sozo in other texts like 1 Timothy 4:16, he finds the spiritual
400
salvation not implied because Paul charges Timothy to save his congregation by ensuring
401
that their ultimate salvation is assured on the last day. Regarding salvation through
402
childbearing, Koestenberger advances that childbearing connoted keeping in her feminine
403
domain assigned to her from creation.
404
405
406
407
It means, among other things, that she will not yield in her mind to false notions
of what it means for her to be a woman and in particular a woman of God. It means
that she will respect divinely set boundaries in the exercise of her spiritual gifts and
ministry calling in trust and obedience to God's Word. It means that she will find
_______________
55Andreas J. Köstenberger "Saved Through Childbearing? A Fresh Look at 1 Timothy 2:15 Points to
Protection from Satan’s Deception," a summary of his article "Ascertaining Women's God-Ordained Roles:
An Interpretation of 1 Timothy 2:15," Bulletin of Biblical Research 7 (1997): 1-38.
56Jeffrey
J. Meyers, "How are Women Saved," Biblical Horizons 134 (October, 2000): 2
15

16. 408
409
410
fulfillment in her domestic calling, in her relationship with her husband, in her role as
mother and maker of the home, and in proper ministry involvements in God's
"household," the church (see 1 Tim. 3:15).
411
He explains childbearing as the role given women from creation. The woman fell into
412
the snare of Satan due to disobeying the command to remain in her domain to be
413
constantly subordinate to her husband. Koestenberger's view, too, seems to overlook the
414
context in which Paul was operating.
415
Other exclusivist exegetes, grapple with the text and in a bid to get biblical mandate
416
for exclusivism find comfort in severing the idea in verse 13-15 from the silence section
417
(11, 12). To them, this is a prescription that throws women off the platform of pastoral
418
ministry. However, these proponents neglect the inevitable fact that the interpretation of
419
verse 13-15 ought to be in total conformity to the context of the pericope, the epistle as a
420
whole and the entire Pauline corpus and theology. This paper suggests that all dimensions
421
of biblical interpretation ought to be employed to seek the mind of Paul and what his
422
audience heard him speak through the text. If this is not done how can the apparent
423
“contradictions” be overcome, and how can the idea in the pericope be harmonized with
424
the rest of the context and the Pauline labour on the efficacy of the death of Jesus for
425
human salvation?
426
The difficulty still stands. As stated earlier that the silence section (1 Tim 2:11-12)
427
seems to be connected to the next text (verse 12-15) and the conjunctions involved attest
428
to the fact that it is one block text. The conjunction gar (for), according to Daniel B.
429
Wallace, fall in the larger family of logical conjunctions "which relate the movements of
430
thought from one passage to another by expressing logical relationship between the
431
connected ideas."57 Additionally, the same conjunction belongs to a subfamily known as
432
explanatory conjunctions that announces the arrival of additional information. It may,
433
therefore, be proposed that gar in verse 13 announces the onset of additional information
434
that is logically related to the idea in the previous verses.58 If this is the case then verses 11-
435
12 ought to be linked to the argument started, perhaps, earlier in verse 1 Tim 1:17. Thus it
436
would be an exegetical fallacy to make conclusion about the silence of women by a cursory
437
look at 1 Tim 2:11,12 in isolation of what might be Paul's overarching idea in the sub_______________
57See
Wallace, 298-299.
58Wallace
posits that the conjunction gar is described as an explanatory conjunction that announces
additional information. It is often translated "for," "you see," "that is," "namely." Wallace, 298-299.
16

17. 438
pericope.59 Paul’s total idea in the sub-pericope is constructed by the constituent
439
components: learning in silence, woman’s deception (not Adam's), and salvation through
440
childbearing. All of which components bound together in the function to elucidate on the
441
"silence" in verses 11 and 12.
442
In the above section it has been observed that first, the verses poise an interpretive
443
challenge. Second, it is insightful to note that the text of verse 11-15 is a sub-pericope that
444
advances a single idea relevant to the larger context that spans from 1 Tim 1:17-2:15.
445
Third, it has been realized that the idea in verses 13-15, taken at face value, stands contrary
446
to the Pauline theology that esteems the cross of Jesus as efficacious for human salvation.
447
The next section, therefore, endeavours to briefly discuss verses 11-15, in consideration of
448
its context, the historical setting and in the light of the unity of the Pauline rhetoric.
449
Guarding against Gnostic Influences
450
Commenting on the text, Kimberly proposes that "in order for this reading to
451
become definitive for 1 Tim 2:15, further research would need to document a significant
452
Gnostic presence in Ephesus during the apostolic era."60 He notes that Gnosticism
453
intermingled with Christianity in the Mediterranean region during the first century. 61 This
454
proposition conjures up the need to reexamine the text 1 Tim 2:11-15 in light of other
455
factors. The study earlier observed that Paul's statement in verse 15 seemingly disagrees
456
with his gospel, and sounds incongruent with the rest of the text in the sub-pericope,
457
which according to the earlier discussion in this paper, is bound together with the
458
conjunction gar in verse 13 as observed in the text of 1 Tim 2:8-15. To fully get to grips
459
with what Paul is concerned with, it may be pertinent to make a brief excursus into the
460
world that warranted him to restrain women from exercising authority over men and to
461
learn in silence, to strongly remind believers of the order of creationa teaching that was
462
popular with the harbinger of grace and faith, to emphasize that Eve was the subject of
_______________
59Gordon Fee, New Testament Exegesis: A Handbook for Students and Pastors, (Luisville, KY: John Knox,
2002) itemizes some guidelines for getting in touch with, and evaluating the cultural background and data of
any text under study. He recommends that an exegete ought to first, "determine whether some cultural
milieu of your passage is basically Jewish, Greco-Roman, or some combinations of both" (Ibid., 102),
second, "determine the meanings and significance of persons, places, events, institutions, concepts, or
customs" (Ibid., 104), third, "gather parallels or counterparallel texts from Jewish or Greco-Roman sources
that may aid in understanding the cultural milieu of the author of your passage" (Ibid., 105), fourth, "be
aware of the background information" with which he is dealing" (Ibid., 109), fifth, "determine the date of the
background information" (Ibid., 109), and lastly "be aware of the diverse traditions in your background
material and weigh their value for your passage." Ibid.,110).
60Kimberly,
486.
61Ibid.
17

18. 463
deception (contrary to his strong teaching on the two Adams), to argue that a woman's
464
salvation would be attained through62 childbearing. This calls for a scrutiny of the text
465
below
466
467
468
469
470
471
472
473
474
I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without
anger or quarrelling; 9also that women should adorn themselves modestly and
sensibly in seemly apparel, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly attire
10
but by good deeds, as befits women who profess religion. 11Let a woman learn in
silence with all submissiveness. 12I permit no woman to teach or to have authority over men; she
is to keep silent. 13For Adam was formed first, then Eve; 14and Adam was not deceived, but
the woman was deceived and became a transgressor. 15 Yet woman will be saved through bearing
children, if she continues in faith and love and holiness, with modesty (RSV, emphases
supplied).
475
Several scholars advance propositions that address this dilemma apparent in the text.
476
Peter Baylis, observes that the first century Church was facing Gnosticism—one of the
477
greatest apostasies. Baylis presents a synopsis of what would be the catechism on one of
478
the main strands of Gnosticism. The philosophy, according to Baylis, held that the
479
physical is evil, but the spiritual is good; salvation is attained when pure spirit escapes from
480
the evil body and ascends to heaven by means of gnosis (special knowledge); the OT god,
481
Yahweh, is evil because he created the evil physical world. The body is evil and ought to
482
be molested by fasting. In order to abrogates the law of the evil god, Gnostics glorified
483
sexual immorality and forbade marriage. However, childbearing was regarded as evil
484
because it creates more vile in the world, and all women involved were destined to
485
damnation. This quasi religion worshipped Eve as a "perfect, spirit-being who created
486
Adam and united with the serpent to enlighten humanity with gnosis. Knowledge of one's
487
origins via the family tree is vital for salvation because it links one to Eve the origin of all
488
creation and salvation. Gnosticism saw Christ as a being that did not have a physical body,
489
though he appeared to possess one. This particular teaching, Baylis observes, is the hue
490
behind John's statement: "Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is
491
from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the
492
Antichrist (1 John 4:2-3).63
493
494
Kimberly holds a similar view. According to him, Paul's strong assertion in this
pericope is a reaction against the Gnostic ideas that had impacted the perception of the
_______________
preposition dia in this context may be interpreted severally. There is a strikethrough in the
preposition 'through' because this paper suggests an alternative translation of dia that seems to agree with
the context employed in the text and the historical circumstances in play in the text.
62The
63Peter
Baylis, "Paul, Timothy, the Gnostics and Women," retreieved from
http://welivebythespirit.org/Paul_Timothy_Gnostics_Women/Paul_Timothy_Gnostics_Women.pdf,
October, 2013.
18

19. 495
believers in Ephesus. He observes that this command is in concomitance with his other
496
warnings in the epistle that some believers were involved with "teaching different doctrine
497
(1 Tim 1:3)...myths and genealogies (1:4), misapplying the law (1:7), rejecting conscience
498
1:19)." Kimberly further observes that in chapter four Paul warns about those who
499
prohibit marriage (4:3), and who instruct people to abstain from foods (4:3), a fact that is
500
attested in the Gnostic philosophy.64
501
Gnosticism had several strands that displayed divergent teaching that impacted the
502
life of the believers of Paul's time; one was exalting women, yet the other was misogynous
503
and denigrated femininity.65 One strand taught that at creation man was created as a spirit
504
and woman as matter. Eve is viewed to have created Adam by breathing in him her life
505
(Zoe) and making him complete human by teaching him knowledge that belong to the
506
cosmic realm.66 On the other hand, the philosophy had a negative perception of
507
femaleness.67 Gnosticism, Kimberly further advances, prominently articulates that the
508
dichotomy between male and female was an error. Salvation, according to the philosophy,
509
was a result of a dissolution of the sexes into an androgynous union.68 As a result of the
510
Gnostic teaching, there was no place for childbearing; women discarded childbearing as an
511
illegitimate occupation and sought to attain the androgynous status.
512
The above phenomenon inspired un-collaborative voices and perceptions in regard to
513
the status and role of a woman in the community of believers at Ephesus and in other
514
churches in the Greco-Roman world. Because women were on the fore front teaching this
515
Gnostic-oriented doctrine that seemed to confer a higher status upon them, Paul strongly
516
commands them to be silent and listen to their husbands who seemed less excited over the
517
Gnostic insights. Paul countered this teaching by articulating the order of the creation of
518
human beings: man first, then woman from man, and the subsequent blessing of
519
childbearing. Childbearing, on the contrary therefore, does not result in condemnation
520
upon a woman but even with69 childbearing salvation is possible for a woman as long as
521
she continues in faith and producing the fruits of faith.
_______________
64Kimberly,
484.
65Cosaert,
14.
66Cosaert,
15.
67Cosaert,
15.
68Kimberly, 485. Note that the term androgynous is a combination of two Greek words andros which
means "man" or "husband" and gune which often refers to "woman" or "wife."
69This
study notes that dia could be translated 'with.'
19

20. 522
In addition to the Gnostic influence, Cosaert proposes three more factors that might
523
be key players in Paul's command in 1 Tim 2:11-15 and in other haustafeln texts: the cult of
524
Artemis, the perception of the Hellenized Jewish woman, and the perception of the
525
Romanized woman.70 Cosaert avers that the community of Ephesus worshiped an all-
526
powerful female fertility goddess. According to Cosaert, "The influence of an all-powerful
527
female goddess was so strong at Ephesus that local legends at the time of the Apostle Paul
528
claimed that the city itself had been founded by powerful women, the mythical Amazons, a
529
group of dominant women warriors especially devoted to the worship of the mother-
530
goddess"71 Artemis. The worship of Artemis was mediated by women priests, a fact that
531
elevated the position of women far above men in religious matters. According to Cosaert,
532
533
534
535
536
537
538
539
Women's' "priesthood of the patron deity of Ephesus was important and one of
high public profile. With such a visible presence within Ephesus, Gentile converts
would not have needed to have been initiated members of the cult of Artemis to have
associated aspects of the role of women in the worship of Artemis along with those
of their new found faith in Christ. After all, the riot Demetrius the silversmith
instigated against the work of the apostle Paul in Ephesus indicates that we should
not assume that Christianity in Ephesus developed in complete isolation from the
worship of Artemis (Acts 19:23-41)."72
540
Cosaert's second factor, the pomp that the Hellenized woman aired, should not be
541
underestimated in mapping the tapestry that form the backdrop of Paul's haustafeln
542
imperatives. Unlike the sketch that the rabbinic Judaism exposes, a Hellenized Jewish
543
woman was an emancipated public figure that displayed a wider range of community
544
roles.73 Unlike a characteristic Jewish woman whose beauty was measured in terms of
545
humility, simplicity and rapidity at domestic chores, the Jewish woman in the Hellenistic
546
Diaspora was a smart daring personage that "occupied positions of influence in the highest
547
political circles...and sometimes "with an array of intriguing titles: leader, elder, mother,
548
father, and priestess."74 Thus, the Hellenistic influences left none unaffected. The trends
549
evolved a construct of the classic Jewish woman into a status that inevitably demanded the
550
epistolary to constantly appeal to women to return to the nostalgic Hebrew woman (1 Pet
551
3:5,6) in order to maintain focus on the purpose of life and the mission of Christ generally
552
espoused in the NT.
_______________
70Cosaert,
71Ibid.,
7-20.
7.
72Cosaert,
73Ibid.,
10
74Ibid.,
9.
11
20

21. 553
The third factor, Cosaert mentions is the prevalence of the impact of the
554
emancipation of women in the Roman Empire. The new form of governance instituted by
555
Augustus Ceasar brought with it an emergence of the new Roman Woman who moved
556
from a modest persona to a complex woman with styles, and lifestyle. This liberated
557
woman pursued trade opportunities, public ranks-including religious and social
558
positions. The Roman empire was so emancipating that laws on status, wages, property
559
ownership, and domestic supremacy, liberty to divorce and claim back her dowry, as well
560
as freedom to extramarital sex. On one hand, some aspects of this status was useful to the
561
ministry of the gospel as attested that "The pages of the New Testament also illustrate the
562
way in which these sorts of women contributed to the spread of Christianity" (Rom 16:1;
563
Phil 4:3; Acts 16:15; Col 4:15; 1 Cor 16:19). Yet on the other hand "some women used
564
their new freedom simply to enhance their own personal pleasure and
565
gratification...consumed with the beauty of the physical body, ...sensual attire, cosmetics,
566
expensive jewelry, and elaborate hairstyles...." Thus, much as it may be positively viewed
567
that Christianity flourished luxuriantly in the Hellenistic and other non-Jewish societal
568
mediums, in the light of the prophetic and redemptive nature of Christianity, there were
569
gross losses of the tinge of the orthodoxy and a gradual turn into "a wholly Hellenistic
570
thing."75
571
What, in Brief, is Paul Saying in 1 Tim 2:11-15?
572
Prayer and Women's Deportment
573
After an excursus through the historical circumstances in Ephesus that form a
574
background of Pauline epistle to Timothy, it may be pertinent to deal with the meaning of
575
the text of 1 Tim 2:11-15 in the light of the discovery of the issues and factors in play. In 1
576
Tim 2:1-6 the apostle evokes all believers, men and women, to pray for all people because
577
God desires all of them to attain salvation and for that reason the apostle was called. The
578
apostle here makes a reminder to their noble responsibility despite their theological
579
squabbling " endeavouring, as Cosaert avers, "to change the orientation of the church
580
from being inward looking to outward looking" because the "theological infighting among
581
the believers had caused the church to lose sight of the reason for its existenceits
582
mission to share the gospel to a dying world."76
_______________
75Buttrick,
351.
76Cosaert,
21.
21

22. 583
The next section, verses 8-10, discloses Pauls endeavour to defocus the believers
584
from the infighting to prayer. Their hands are holy, consecrated to God by a calling they
585
received by the anointing of the spirit. Such hands ought not to be lifted contrary to
586
purposes related to the calling. Elsewhere, holy hands are used for healing, blessing,
587
fellowship and commissioning. In Gal 2:9 the apostles gave Paul and Barnabas the right
588
hand of fellowship. In Acts 26:1 Paul raised his hand as he was making his defense for the
589
rationale of preaching the gospel of salvation. In Acts 3:7-8 Peter's hand held and lifted the
590
paralytic to the experience of physical (and spiritual) wholeness. Hands can be wrongly
591
used to implement acts of anger and strife. So Paul, in 1 Tim 2:8-10, is striving to restate
592
the holy use of the handspraying for those who believe and those who do not and
593
praying for the peace needed for the propagation of the gospel.
594
The subsequent section turns to the deportment of women who, too, owing to the
595
trend of women's self image, overly paid attention to themselves instead of perceiving
596
themselves as instruments of the grace of God. Cosaert observes that "liberalizing cultural
597
trends had influenced a generation of women/wives to reject the traditional modest
598
attire....In an age when a woman's dress would 'signal either modesty and dignity or
599
promiscuous availability' the situation among the believers in Ephesus was hardly trivial."
600
Condoning the situation would not only "bring shame on the women's husbands, but it
601
also had potential of severely damaging the reputation of the church in the eyes of the
602
unbelievers in Ephesusthe very people that the church wanted to reach with the
603
gospel."77
604
Women's adornment would not be the only damage to the cause of the gospel but
605
also their ascetic outlook through whose lenses they looked at their Christian life. An
606
amalgam of asceticism and the emancipationist worldview would lead to uncontrollable
607
proportions if they were left to soak up the women's self definition in a community that
608
defined itself in terms of the supra-mundanea community whose mission task was
609
tasking believers to forfeit their freedoms and rights for the sake of saving souls.
610
611
612
Connecting Issues: Silence, order of Creation,
Transgression, and Salvation
As stated earlier, the silence text (1 Cor 2:11,12) finds explanation in the subsequent
613
text that deals with the order of the creation of Adam and Eve, Eve being the transgressor,
614
and woman's salvation through child bearing (verses 13-15). In the light of the discussion
_______________
77Cosaert,
22.
22

23. 615
in this paper, verses 11 and 12 may justifiably find elucidation in verses 13-15 when Paul is
616
taken to be addressing the two strands of Gnosticism that are part of the factors at play in
617
the medium saturated with the emancipation of the Hellenistic Jewish women, the Roman
618
women with their public status, and the priestesses of Artemis.
619
Thus Paul's call for women's silence (vv 11,12) does not suggests that women ought
620
to be eternally tight-lipped on issues of sharing their salvation but should be seen as a
621
temporary halt on their zeal to share what they perceive to be their new light which, to
622
Paul, was a miscellany of a high percentage of error and a minimum percentage of the
623
gospel. Some may have wanted to exert themselves based on the fact that they are perfect,
624
spirit-beings who united with the serpent to enlighten humanity, possess gnosis to impart
625
onto their husbands and men, and deserved higher community status even beyond that of
626
Timothy and Paul.
627
The order of creation (vv 13,14) that, connected by an elaborative conjunction "for,"
628
fits here as an explanation to the silence. The conjunction seems to imply that Paul in
629
verse 13-15 is explaining the reason he calls for the silence of the women by emphasizing a
630
biblical teaching that is contrary to the Gnostic teaching they espouse. He explains that
631
Eve, a so called perfect spirit-being, did not create and give life to Adam, rather Adam was
632
created first and Eve was made from him.
633
Another conjunction de that joins verses 13 and 14 to verse 15 is vital to make Paul
634
deal with two strands of the Gnostic teaching. The conjunction may be translated "but,"
635
"to the contrary," "rather," "now," "then," "so." If the conjunction is translated as "then,"
636
it would allow the connotation of the English "also" to make Paul address a strand of the
637
teaching that is misogynous and makes women shun femininity, child bearing and all
638
sexuality in order to attain masculinity, a perceived highest status through which salvation
639
is attained.78 Since this teaching regarded childbearing as evil because it creates more vile, it
640
might have been pertinent for Paul to address it in order to reinstate the solemnity of
641
marriage, albeit with a redemptive hue (Eph 5:22-33), and in agreement with his other
642
epistles that emphasize marriage mutuality and complementarity.79
643
The text in verse 15, "yet she will be saved through childbearing, provided they
644
continue in faith and love and holiness, with modesty (NRS), is another text that has been
645
interpreted variously. To address the issues at hand, and to cooperate with the rest of the
_______________
78Cosaert,
15.
79J.
Carl Laney, "Paul and the Permanence of Marriage in 1 Corinthian 7," Journal of the Evangelical
Theological Society 25.3 (Sept 1982), 284.
23

24. 646
text to elucidate the silence idea in verse 11 and 12, an appropriate translation of the
647
preposition
648
translated as "through," "by means of," "with," "during," or "throughout." In the case of
649
the issue at hand the use of " throughout" would be relevant to render "also she will be
650
saved with childbearing, provided they continue in faith and love and holiness, with
651
modesty." Citing the text o[diV lhj nukto.j kopia,santej ouvde.n evla,bomen "master, having
652
worked throughout the whole night we caught nothing" (Luke 5:5), Alga Thomas exposes
653
that the preposition is also employed to refer to a "period of time throughout or after
654
which an action occurs."80 Following this, to get into the context of the text, it may be
655
suggested that Paul was attempting to undo the misogynous perception and encouraging
656
women to continue their God-given noble function of childbearing. Even as they continue
657
(throughout which experience) salvation is available to them. That is to say the saving
658
grace of God is available to a woman despite her life-long engagement in her duty to "be
659
fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it" (Gen 1:28).
ought to be ascertained. This preposition, used with a genitive may be
660
In sum, it may be proposed that verses 13-15 clarifies the silence in verses 11 and 12.
661
Paul does so to address, among other influences, the two strands of Gnosticism: one that
662
that overly exalted feminism and the other that played down on femininity. Paul strong
663
imperative that called for women's silence (vv 11,12) may not suggests a prescription but
664
was a temporary halt on women's teaching and domineering spirit that would have
665
bolstered errors and pride. The explication on the order of creation, the issue of
666
transgression of the woman, the childbearing indented to curtail the teaching that was
667
derailing the believers from biblical teaching. The proposition of this paper on the use of
668
the preposition dia used with a genitive may be contented, however, leaving the grammar
669
aside, the discussion of the background may justify the interpretation that Paul is
670
addressing the external trends.
671
672
Paul's Missional Rationale
Paul is belabouring with these issues setting in order the believing house in Ephesus
673
because the task of preaching the gospel cannot be accomplished when the community of
674
believers is fractured with strife resulting from external influences. His philosophy of life
675
constrains him to do things against his personal rights. In 1 Corinthians chapters 8 and 9
676
he expresses the preference of the gospel to any of the rights he and any genuine believer
_______________
80Olga A. Thomas, "Prepositional Systems in Greek, Gothic, Classical Armenian, and Old Church
Slavic," PhD Dissertation, Graduate Faculty of The University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, 2006, 32.
24

25. 677
possesses as gospel worker. In his perspective, a genuine Christian has theological,
678
eschatological, and Christological ethical imperative that ought to summon him/her to
679
answer a call to a service of reconciling people to God. "The atoning death, and
680
resurrection of Christ possesses power and authority within the ethical dimension of
681
Christian living (cf. 2 Cor 2: 14 -15; Rom 6; 14:8,9: 15:30; Phil 2:5-11; Eph 5:25)."81 In 1
682
Cor 8:9 he argues against cherishing too much on personal freedoms at the expense of
683
providing a growth experience of young believers.82 Commenting about Paul's burden
684
regarding fractures in the Corinthian church A. Rahel Schafer avers
685
686
687
688
689
690
...members of the Corinthian church were apparently demanding the prerogatives to
exercise their individual rights, in accord with the then-current philosophy. The
disunity of the church thus weighed heavily on Paul's heart as he wrote 1 Corinthians.
But the factions and other problems in the church also give a clearer glimpse of the
struggles Paul faced in understanding how Christian freedom relates to societal
traditions83
691
Thus Paul's concern in 1 Tim 2:11-15 is an endeavour to put the church community
692
"house" in order to defocus them from infighting and to focus them on the broader
693
gospel responsibility. He strives to reorient their life and aspirations in line with God's
694
desire to save all men, and that the cause of the gospel would be in jeopardy if they are
695
fractured along lines of philosophical teachings and individual freedoms fanned by secular
696
trends and external influences. The command for quietness is in agreement with his
697
personal philosophy to life and his conviction that love provides an ethical imperative that
698
summons every genuine believer to answer to a call to service of reconciling people to
699
God (2 Cor 5:14-21). So for the sake of the unity of the community of believers, and for
700
the sake of sticking to sound gospel doctrine, the women should abandon their lofty and
701
pompous preoccupation and cultivate humility and civility in the community of believers.
702
Conclusion and Recommendations
703
Conclusion
704
This paper started with a dilemma as to who is right: the conservative voices who
705
perceive gender inclusiveness as “contrary to the teaching of the Bible,” or the pro_______________
81H. H Drake Williams, "Living as Christ Crucified: The Cross as a Foundation for Christian Ethics
in 1 Corinthians" Evangelical Quarterly 75.2 (2003), 117.
82Ibid
129.
83A.
Rahel Schafer, "'Does God Care about Oxen?': Another Look at Paul's Use of Deuteronomy
25:4 in 1 Corinthians 9:9," Journal of the Adventist Theological Society, 21.1-2 (2010), 115. See also E. Coye still,
"Paul's Aim regarding Ειδωλοθυτα: A New Proposal for Interpreting 1 Corinthians 8:1-11:1," 334. A journal
available through ATLAS collections.
25

26. 706
ordination camp who regard women exclusion from the clergy as contrary to the "biblical"
707
perspective of the role of women in God's mission. This paper observes that neither of the
708
camps is right. The NT seems quiet on the issue of the Ordination of Women. After
709
analyzing Eph 5:22 and 1 Tim 2: 11,12 as a sample of the texts often alluded to justify
710
positions, this study submits that the texts are either read from the surface level, or are
711
applied without a keen regard for the context and syntactical relationship. Prohibitions on
712
women in the NT are more on the contextual address of the haustafeln than on permanent
713
interdictions on women to speak and share their gospel experience in public and in the
714
church congregations. Importantly, the study on the above sample texts gives a clue as to
715
what ought to be done with other NT prohibition texts so that they are not taken and
716
applied out of their respective historical contexts. This study has discussed the first part of
717
the topic that asks whether the NT haustafeln should argue for or against the WO in the
718
SDA Church. The next task will consider whether the current trends should pressurize the
719
Church to do so.
720
721
Recommendations
Based on the observations above, and based on the understanding that the Seventh-
722
Day Adventist Church was raised for the purpose of proclaiming the end time message
723
enveloped in the Three Angels’ Messages, this paper proposes that the World Church may
724
halt the Ordination of women to pastoral ministry. The paper advances the following
725
observations and their corresponding recommendations.
726
Observation
727
728
729
730
731
732
733
734
735
736
737
738
739
740
741
742
As stated above, the NT seems quiet on Ordination of Women and the texts employed
seem superficially and subjectively analyzed to justify positions. Prohibitions on
women in the NT are not a permanent interdiction; and liberty texts refer generally to
the redemptive status attained in Jesus Christ.
Recommendation 1
Based on this observation this paper recommends a halt on the Ordination to
allow more study and to establish redemptive grounds for “Yes” or “No.”
Observation
The Seventh-day Adventist Church recognizes the role of women and their rich variety
of gifts usable in the mission of the Church. There are specialized services that women
may do well, such services may not be ably handled by men. These services, however
may not necessarily require that the servant be an ordained person
_______________
26

27. 743
744
745
746
747
748
749
750
751
752
753
754
755
756
757
758
759
760
761
762
763
764
765
766
767
768
769
770
771
772
773
774
775
776
777
778
779
780
781
782
783
784
785
786
787
788
789
790
791
792
793
Recommendation 2
There should be a deliberate increase in women departmental appointments at
all levels. Women may be appointed elders as need arises, and as may be
socially and culturally acceptable.
Observation
To avoid the errors of studying the texts from goal oriented perspectives, the
Seventh-day Adventist Church should invest more in studies and researches on the
verses that both the pro-ordination and anti-ordination camps use.
Recommendation 3
All relevant hermeneutical principles ought to be applied in handling all
biblical passages that generate controversies. Themes and topics for GC and
Division Bible Conferences should be determined by issues on the ground, and
the main presenters should be people on the ground. BRI should listen to the
papers and advise, but not to be main presenters on issues they may have
limited experience.
Observation
The quinquennial theme “Revival and Reformation,” is relevant to refocus the
believers on their calling as the eschatological Remnant (Rev 14:9-12). The believers
should realize their status that “they are not of the world” (John 17:16) yet Jesus “sent
then in the world” (v 18) to be the rays of light given to them through the Lord’s
sanctification (v 19).
Recommendation 4
There should be decisive strategies to strongly address the over-domineering
secular influences that constitute the backdrop of pressures on the Church even
to the level of blurring her divinely assigned mission. This was Paul's burden, It
ought to be the church's and every believer's burden.
Observation
The Church should reemphasize her missional universality summed up in the
catchphrase “Unity in Diversity.” This reflects the NT operational structure
demonstrated in Acts 15:1-35 where the affluent Gentile church was is concord with
the leadership in the destitute Judean region. The settlement of theological and
missional issues at Jerusalem demonstrates “Unity for the Diversity” of mission that
Christ assigned the apostles. Further still, the modus operandi in the chapter
demonstrates “Unity through Diversity”—the Jerusalem Council observed the way the
Spirit had worked in divergent contexts and this became foundational for the
generation of a unity that flagged the expansion of Christianity.
Recommendation 5
Church in the western setting should benefit from the testimonies of the
“conservative” church in Africa by observing God’s works in the “primitive
Adventism” that is closer to the biblical culture. Let the West not only sing
“Give me the old, old religion” but come to Africa to practically see how the
Spirit works in the context of “the old, old religion.”
27

28. 794
795
796
797
798
799
800
801
802
803
804
805
806
807
808
809
810
811
812
813
814
815
816
817
818
819
820
821
822
Observation
Patterson argues that “ordination is, by General Conference policy, the purview of the
union level of governance. This being the case, the General Conference has
overstepped its bounds in seeking to tell the unions that they may or may not ordain
women to the gospel ministry.”84 If this is a subjective interpretation, it might indicate
that the GC’s scope of leadership is not well articulated. If Patterson is right, then the
current church power scope may not adequately empower the GC to keep the
doctrinal and structural harmony that is foundational for the denomination to realize
its gospel mission.
Recommendation 6
For the Church to remain faithful to Scripture, and to its mission, the
leadership, mainly the GC committee and GC in session must be bold
especially on decisions regarding doctrine and unity. The power scope of the
GC should be strengthened.
Observation
Too much power is invested in a pastor against the warrant of the NT. It may be
postulated that the scramble for women ordination is not because women want
empowerment to ordain church elders, to solemnize marriages, or to baptize. The
reason could be more about the rights and privileges that the church has made to be
appertaining for a minister who is ordained.
Recommendation 7
Based on the NT concept of ordination, the SDA Church should make clear the
perceived difference between ordination to ministry and ordination to other
offices like eldership or deaconry. The church should give the biblical basis for
the elevation of the clerics vis-à-vis the position of other church servants in
other ministries like healing and education
_______________
84Patterson,
1.
28