I Timothy 2: Living In (Biblical) Tension

Do you demand complete clarity in your Bible?  Do you insist everything be a matter of black-and-white when it comes to biblical teaching?  If so, you may have difficulty reconciling various passages of scripture that approach some issues differently!  While I agree that the vast majority of scripture is quite plain and straightforward, there do exist areas of tension that arise naturally from the context of the verses in question.

I Timothy 2 presents us with two such issues: how Christians ought to relate to the government and how women should conduct themselves in the faith.

The Bible provides numerous teachings about how to get along with governing authorities:

• In the Old Testament, we have both a theocracy established by God which calls for utter obedience (Deuteronomy) as well as pagan administrations which justifies civil disobedience (Daniel).
• In the New Testament, Jesus was asked about paying taxes.  He famously took a very even-handed approach, proclaiming, "Render to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's." (Mark 12:17)
• Taking a strongly positive angle, Paul urges every person to submit to the governing authorities, which have been instituted by God.  Whoever resists authority resists God. (Romans 13:1-2)
• Yet worldly authority is also depicted in the Bible as flowing not from God, but from Satan, who claims to have the power to give thrones to who he wants.  (Luke 4:6)  In fact, the demonic "beast" of Revelation will be given worldly power and authority for forty-two months. (Revelation 13:5)
• While Paul in Romans 13 intimates that the government is not interested in punishing the righteous, Peter is not so sure.  In I Peter 4:16, he speaks of suffering for being a Christian in the context of criminal justice.

In light of this spectrum of situations, we should heed the instruction that Paul gives Timothy to pray for everyone, including kings and those in high positions.  It's always right to pray!

Second, what about Paul's stance here that a woman "learn in silence with full submission" and to have no authority over a man.  While the words are clear, is the teaching?

What do we do about passages that point in the other direction?

• Several women in the Old Testament exercise leadership roles among God's people, including Deborah the judge and Hulda the prophetess.
• One of the very first evangelists, who rallies her town to come and hear Jesus, is the five-times-divorced Samaritan woman at the well. (John 4)  That's breaking several taboos right there!
• The first witnesses of the resurrection - who brought back the news to the disciples - were a small group of women.
• Priscilla (mentioned first) and Aquila - a wife and husband team in the early church - jointly instructed Apollos and gave him a "more accurate" understanding of the Way. (Acts 18:26)
• Paul goes to great lengths to argue that there is no difference between Jew or Greek, slave or free, or male or female, for we are all one in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3:28)

We so often want to make it "one way or the other" when it comes to thorny issues.  But the truth appears to be more nuanced, needing context and interpretation and discernment and a reliance on the Holy Spirit to navigate. 

I would not say that Paul's words in I Timothy 2 about women need to be discarded as the relic of a misogynist past - nor would I say that they should be wielded as a theological club to put women in their place.  I would say that we need to strive for balance in allowing the whole counsel of scripture to inform our attitudes and practices on issues where there is no single area of clarity. 

Perhaps the wisest approach would be to consider the words of Ecclesiastes 3: "There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven...A time to be silent, and a time to speak."  Can you live in that kind of tension?