 Welcome back after break. Just before we went for the break, we began looking at Studying Chapter 2 of First Timothy. We looked at verse 7 where Paul says he's appointed as a preacher and an Apostle and also a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and trust. Okay? We'll move on to verses 8 to 10. Can somebody read verses 8 to 10 please? Can somebody please read verses 8 to 10? Verses 8 to 10. I desire therefore that the men pray everywhere lifting up holy hands without wrath and doubting. In like manner also that the women adorn themselves in modest apparel with propriety and moderation, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly clothing, but with proper women professing Godliness with good works. Amen. Thank you, Jeffina. So in the light at all that Paul has been talking about prayer, he is coming back to the main point and he's saying, you know, he desires that men pray everywhere. And here the Greek word he uses is not anthropos, which is people, but he uses the Greek word anal, which is referring specifically to the male gender. And he's saying he wants men to pray everywhere. And how should men pray everywhere? What does he say? Lifting up of hands. Okay? What does lifting up of holy hands mean? When you lift up your hands, what are you basically doing? You're trying to reach out to God. When we lift our hands, what are we showing? What does it show? What is a sign? Surrender, right? You know, you're surrending yourself to God. What is holy hands? What is lifting up of holy hands means your surrendering is lifting up. What is holy hands? You're basically doing this in holiness and reverence, no argument or doubting, okay? Sorry, no argument. And also it says, you know, without wrath and doubting. So what is wrath? Not in anger, okay? And doubting is without anger, without quarreling and no strife, okay? So he's saying, men everywhere, I want you to pray surrendering yourself to God in holiness, you know, without any argument or doubting, which means without anger or without quarreling or strife, okay? So he's saying in the like manner women should also pray, okay? There's no excuse that only men, you know, must lift up holy hands and pray. Without wrath and doubting, but without quarreling, he's saying that even women need to do the same, okay? And then he says that, you know, he talks about women adorning themselves in modest apparel with propriety and moderation, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly clothing, okay? Which is proper for women professing godliness with good works. So as Paul here is saying that women should not, you know, dress with braided hair, you know, not wear any gold or pearls or not wear any costly clothing. What do you think? So can we take this and say that today in our churches women should not do all of these things? What is your viewpoint? What is Paul basically saying here? Any thoughts on this? This is quite, you know, a concern because many of them use this verse in our modern day churches as well and say, you know, women should not braid their hair, should not wear gold, you know, pearls, costly clothing. So please share your thoughts on this. I'll just share my thoughts. I strongly believe it's not about not to wear jewels or something. Might be some cultural background which I may think of. But I think it's more about what your motives are. You want to show the godliness, you want to show the good works. I think that may still apply now. Like some day churches is not about dressing up and going. It's about just coming together as a fellowship and being there for each other and coming together and worshipping God. It's not about what you wear on some days. Maybe that could be a point we could take out of it. But I don't think it really talks about braiding the hair or things. This is just my point of view. Okay. Thank you, Jafina. Anyone else? So Paul is basically saying here that women need to dress modestly and engage in good works so that, you know, they demonstrate godliness. And he's saying, you know, how people who believe or profess their faith in Jesus Christ need to dress up. And, you know, so the word modest apparel, actually these words propriety and moderation help to understand or explain what he meant by, you know, modest apparel. Modest apparel means to dress in propriety and moderation. So what is propriety? It basically asks this question is, you know, is it appropriate for the occasion? The way I'm dressing, is it appropriate for the occasion? Am I overdressed or I'm underdressed? You know, it's important to ask these questions. Is it going to call for inappropriate attention to myself? Is my dressing going to be provocative? So when I go to church, am I dressing up to provocate men? Am I dressing up just to, you know, honor the Lord? The way I dress is what I'm wearing appropriate to where I'm going. Sometimes if we look at people, even when they come to church in the way they dress, we feel that it's so inappropriate for the place that they are in. You know, the place they are. Some of them dress like they've come to, you know, they're going to the beach or they've come to the beach. You know, they come in shorts and t-shirts and, you know, footwear. I mean, it's okay, but you know, it's okay. But for me, it's not okay for them. It's okay. You know, but I feel like, hey, it's so casual in the way they have come to church. I mean, I'm sure they won't dress like this when they go to their workplace. And, you know, that's why now they're coming up with dress codes even in colleges and in workplaces. In schools as well. I'm making it more strict. So, Propriety basically asks the question, is it appropriate for the occasion? Is it overdressed or underdressed? You know, or I'm calling inappropriate attention to myself. It's very, very important. And I think it's so important these days, the way people are coming dressed to church sometimes, you know, am I dressing up in a way that this inappropriate is calling attention to people. Another word that he uses here to explain, help explain modest apparel is moderation. So when you're thinking about moderation, you know, moderation asks, is it moderate? Is it just too much or far too little? Okay. So moderation is basically middle ground being balanced in the way you dress. And he talks about braided hair or gold or pearls or costly clothing. You know, and Paul mentions that too much of these actually is going against the principles of Propriety and moderation in that culture. Because I think it had to do so much with the culture that they were living in, in the city of Ephesus. You know, we talked about in the introduction, the background to the study of Ephesus. You know, the main goddess that was worshipped there was the goddess Diana, right? And because she was a goddess, they were women priests. And, you know, the way they used to dress up, it had a huge cultic sexual, cultic perversion to this whole thing. And a cultic sexual cultic undertone to this whole thing. So the way they dress and everything was so, you know, inappropriate, was so, you know, calling attention to themselves, because they were seeking attention to themselves as women priests, and it was so inappropriate. So when they became believers coming to the church, you know, they would be dressing the same way. And so that's why I think Paul is addressing this matter and this issue. So Paul is saying that women, you know, when you get together, pray and your prayer should be focused not on the way you're doing yourself, but on Godliness and good works. And so when we are trying to understand this passage or we're trying to interpret it, we always need to interpret in the light of the rest of scripture. So the rest of scripture is it mentioned anywhere that women should not wear jewelry? Okay. Do the rest of scripture strictly prohibits women from wearing gold jewelry, braiding their hair, wearing costly clothing? What is the answer? Do the rest of scripture mention this? No, it does not mention. Okay. You know, but it tells us to consider the example of Abraham's wife, Sarah. Look at what 1 Peter chapter 3 verses 1 to 6 says. You know, in 1 Peter chapter 3 verses 1 to 6, Paul, Peter is writing and saying, you know, you know, wives to submit to their husbands. And he says, you know, live pure, reverent lives. And inversely, he says, your beauty should not come from outward adornment such as elaborate hairstyles and wearing of gold and jewelry or fine clothes. He does not mention it should not wear. He said it should not come from outward adornment such as elaborate, you know, of all of these things what he mentions. But of the inner self and unfading beauty of the gentle and the quiet spirit, which is great work in God's sight. And then he talks about, you know, be submissive to your own husbands like Sarah who obeyed Abraham and called him her Lord. Okay. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear. So, you know, here it talks about following the example of Abraham's wife, Sarah. And, you know, Sarah, we also knew in that time would have worn ornaments and jewelry because if you look at Genesis chapter 24 verses 22 and was 53. We see that, you know, when Abraham sends his servant to choose his wife for his son, Isaac, you know, and the servant goes waiting on God. And when the camel that finished drinking, you know, the girl who draws out water and feeds all the camels, he knows that this is the one, you know, he is going to take back as a bride for Isaac. He took out gold, a gold nose ring weighing a becker and two gold bracelets weighing 10 checkers and gives it to her. So we know that, you know, in that culture, they wore a lot of gold and jewelry and, you know, Sarah would have also worn a lot of ornaments. So when he's saying follow the example of Sarah, he's saying follow the example of her, you know, being obedient and being submissive to her husband. It's not saying, you know, you shouldn't be wearing gold ornaments and costly clothing. So when we interpret scriptures like this, we need to interpret it in the light of the rest of scripture. And so the rest of scripture does not say anywhere that women should not wear gold or silver or pearls or costly clothing. Okay, versus 11 to 15. Can somebody read that please versus 11 to 15. Anyone can read versus 11 to 15 please. 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 than Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived fell into transgression. Nevertheless, she will be saved in childbearing if they continue in faith, love and holiness with self control. Amen. Thank you Rosalind. So here Paul is talking again about women and he's addressing another issue and here he's saying, let a woman learn in silence with all submission. And what does he say? What does he not permit women to do? What does he not permit women to do? Not to teach. And to have authority over a man. Okay, they're not supposed to have authority over a man, but they are supposed to be silent. Yes. Thank you Rosalind and Jafina. So what do you think? Women should not be allowed to teach. That means I should not be here teaching. Yeah. Should not have authority of man to be silent. Yes Rosalind. I guess it probably means that women should not be bossy over men. Okay, women should not be bossy over men. Okay. What else? But here he's saying, let a woman learn in silence. And he's saying, I do not permit a woman to teach, but to be silent. So many of them have taken this and have said, you know, when Paul says I do not permit a woman to teach, women cannot teach. So what are your thoughts on this? I think, thinking from the cultural perspective, like you said, they were woman-freezed. Maybe that could be one of the reasons for them to first learn. Because they would have come for such a culture where they were worshipping Diana, preaching about Diana. And might create a conflict. I just think like that because he said women-freezed. So for them first learn in silence and then maybe when they are really matured and matured in the understanding of the truth, they can start teaching. I think that could be it. Yes, that's a good thought. Thank you, Jeffina. Anyone else? So here if we look at these passages, we need to always interpret it in the rest of, or in the light of the rest of scripture. Right. We need to look and see if this is what Paul is saying elsewhere. Or is this the only place? And if this is the only place, why is he mentioning it here? So that is something that we need to see. If Paul is saying I do not permit a woman to preach and teach, Paul practices it himself. That's another thing that we need to see. And also we need to look at the context why he's writing this and what is the importance of him saying this. Is it relevant? Why is he saying this? And so what is the important context? But if you look here, I see the context that he's talking about is basically two things, submission and authority over man. These are two things that stand out for me, submission and authority. In this context he's talking about women should learn in silence. Women should not be permitted to teach. There should be quiet in the context of submission and authority over men. So we will look at this in the context of the rest of scripture and Paul's own ministry practices and the context why Paul is writing this here to Timothy. And we are going to look at it because people have used the scripture passage to prevent women from teaching and teaching. So let's look at Paul's own ministry practice. Did he have women in his ministry team? Did Paul have women in his ministry team? Yes, no. Can you remember some names of women? Priscilla is there. Priscilla husband and wife team. There was Phoebe. Okay, so we see that Aquila and Priscilla, their husband and wife, a couple are part of the ministry team. And Paul recognizes them. We read about this in Romans chapter 16 verses three and four. Paul also mentions or recognizes Phoebe as a women leader. And as a deacon, we learned about this in Romans chapter 16 verses one and two. Also in Romans chapter 16, the same chapter in verse seven, he talks about junior woman leader. And he mentions her as a fellow prisoner and also someone respected by the apostles and also by, you know, possibly by apostle Paul himself. Okay. And so she was basically also an apostle her herself. Okay. We also see that when, you know, Paul mentions about membership gifts in Romans chapter 12 when he talks about the gifts of the spirit in 1 Corinthians chapter 12. And, you know, when he's encouraging that all, you know, to prophesy and teach in 1 Corinthians chapter 14 verse 26. And when he talks about the ministry gifts in official Ephesians chapter four verse 11, you know, he does not specifically, you know, their talk about it in, you know, that it's only related to a specific gender. He just talks about the membership gifts, the gifts of the spirit, and also, you know, the ministry gifts in general context, which means that it can be distributed across all believers and there's no gender specificity given in any of these verses. Okay. None of these verses mention any specific gender. So we knew, and we know that even women, you know, received membership gifts that the church at current men and women were very eager to, you know, when they come to church to share what God has, you know, given to them with a sort of wisdom knowledge of prophecy. But he just talks about how to do it in a very cordial manner in a very in orderly manner so that it's not disrupting the whole service. Okay. So in all of these areas, you know, it's not talking about any specific gender, but we know that's given to all men and women. And we also see that in Paul's ministry had many women and he mentions about their many acknowledges the work that they do. Also, we see that, you know, we can look at the context in which Paul is writing this episode to Timothy. Now, the context here is that, you know, again, had to do around this cult group, the goddess Diana. And like I said, she had many, the priest was serving her were basically women. And, you know, these female priestess of Diana, you know, they just invaded the first century church. And these preachers, this priest basically promoted blasphemous ideas about sex and spirituality. And, you know, they themselves performed rituals, which they pronounce curses on men and women. Basically, they did this to, you know, to declare their superiority over men. Okay. And I think they enjoy the superiority over men compared to the cultures around them because of the goddess Diana. And when they kind of became believers and they came into the church, you know, some of them were influenced by these priestess and their lifestyle and the way of living. And they would have done the same in the church where they were they're wanting to take over authority and they were not submitting to men. They might have been very loud in the way they were asking questions or talking or discussing in the church. And so, you know, the issue here was their submission. They're yielding to men, to those who are in leadership, those who were in places of positions of authority. And so Paul is reminding them that, hey, you know, I want all women to, you know, stay silent, to learn in silence and not to have authority over men. And, you know, to submit to Godly leadership, to submit to the men whom God has placed in authority and in leadership. Yes, in the temple, in the culture that exists in Ephesus, there's a goddess who is the God that is worshiped, you know, the goddess that is worshiped. And yes, there are female priests, but here in the church, this is the order we follow where, you know, men are in authority and leadership. And it is mandatory or required of women to submit to the men in leadership and in authority. And women should, you know, be silent. And he says, I do not permit a woman to teach, maybe because like, like again, Jeffina said, they had to come to a place where they were still learning, you know, learning the truths, the doctrines. And hence, he did not permit a woman to teach and to speak. But we see that in the church at Corinth, you know, women were flowing in all the gifts of the Spirit. They would also prophesy. They would also preach and teach. But we don't see anywhere there. Paul basically mentioning that, hey, women, you need to be silent. You can't exercise the gifts of the Spirit. But basically he was what he was saying there in church to the church at Corinth is do things in an orderly way. Wait for other people to finish speaking to say things. And then, you know, you take your turn. So do things in a very orderly way. Okay. So Paul is reminding them that in the governmental structure of the church, the authority structure that God is placed in the church. If you remember, we learned in the second year during the Kingdom Builders course in the Kingdom of God, that, you know, God has placed authority structures, governmental authority structures in our life in various areas in the home, in the church, in our workplace, in our society. There are authority structures that he's placed. And we need to respect those authority structures that we need to submit to those authority structures. So just like the authority structure in the home, the man is the head. So also in the church, the pastor, the priest is the head. So he's Paul is reminding them of man's headship in God's government in the church that are men. And he's saying, hey, women, I want you to submit to them. And then he says, for Adam was formed first, then Eve. So why is Paul mentioning about Adam and Eve here? Any idea? Why is Paul talking about Adam and Eve here? Any thoughts? So basically to explain to them that, you know, remind them of God's authority structure that he's placed, he's saying that, you know, that man is the head in God's government. And so he's mentioning about Adam and Eve. And he's saying Adam was created first, was formed first, and then Eve was formed. Okay. So Paul was basically not prohibiting women from being in a ministry or serving God or preaching or teaching. But he's here talking about active submission of women to men, which was the right proper code of conduct in the local church and in the cultural context of the church compared to the cultural context in the city of Ephesus. Okay. So that is the second point that we looked at the cultural context that he was writing this in. Then the third one is let us look at, you know, if women are not allowed to teach is this mentioned in the rest of scripture. Okay. Is it mentioned throughout scripture that women should not preach or teach? Sorry. Yeah, that is in the context in current, the church at Corinth, he's talking about how to, you know, exercise the gifts of the spirit in a very orderly way. Because everyone was so eager to come to church and just, you know, so-called rattle of what they have received, but Paul is saying, hey, do it in an orderly way. Okay. So we see that both in the Old and New Testament that, you know, women were anointed by the Holy Spirit. Yes, Abu Bakr. Yes, go ahead Abu Bakr, you have raised your hand. Sorry. It's my hand. Just, just ask you something. Intentionally. Okay. Okay, no worries. So we see that both in the Old and New Testament women were anointed by the Holy Spirit and used by God. And, you know, like Miriam, Deborah, Esther, Ruth, Anna the prophetess, Philips daughters who were also prophesying, you know, all of them prophesying, preaching and teaching as well. Okay. So that leads us to verse 14. Before that, anyone has anything to say? Anything you disagree? Anything in the light of what we have been talking so far? Any questions? Before we go on to verse 14. No question. Okay. Verse 14, Paul writes, and Adam was not deceived, but woman being deceived fell into transgression. So why do you think Paul is writing about this here in verse 14? It seems rather irrelevant here, but why is he writing it? Is he saying that women are easily deceived and hence they should not teach and preach because they will be teaching all their deceptions? What do you think? I think maybe it again talks about some mission. I just think like you're not sure. Wonder how the story would have gone if Adam cooked the fruit. Just wonder. Okay. Anyone else? I think he's just reminding the women about Eve, like what happened with Eve, so that the women in that church can be cautious and be alert. Okay. Thank you, Rosalind. So here he's saying that Adam was not deceived, but women being deceived fell into transgression. Doesn't mean that men will not be deceived. This does not imply that women are easily more deceived than men are. What Apostle Paul is simply saying here is he's stating what happened in Genesis in the Garden, Genesis chapter 3, when the serpent or Satan directly spoke to Eve and lied to her and easily deceived her and got her to be deceived so easily that she took the first bite and he did not have to deceive. There was no need for him to deceive Adam because Eve passed the fruit to Adam and he ate it without resting. Okay. And both disobeyed God and both equally sinned before God and both fell. Okay. So he's not mentioning here that women are more easily deceived in the context that because of their deception, they are not supposed to preach and teach, but he's just mentioning that both of them can fall into deception. But women need to be careful. Women need to learn. And just like Eve fell into deception and even Adam and they sinned before God. So he might be stating here that, you know, be careful. You know, if you don't submit to Godly structure, to Godly authority, you know, it can lead to deception. It can lead to shipwreck of your faith and a good conscience. Okay. And then he goes to talk about, you know, nevertheless, she will be saved in childbearing. They continue in faith, love, holiness with self-control. So why is Paul talking here about childbirth? Any idea? Why is Paul here talking about childbirth? Maybe he's just continuing in the same context of what happened as a result of the fall of, you know, or the sin of Eve, the curse that she received that, you know, she will give birth in pain. Okay. But, you know, she would be, you know, kept safe, preserved because of, you know, the salvation that they receive in Christ Jesus. Okay. They will be saved through the work of salvation. And we know that this word saved. The Greek word is sozo. Okay. The Greek word for salvation is sozo. It also means saved. What does sozo mean? What does sozo mean? Sozo means salvation. It means saved, but it also, you know, it's a very comprehensive word. It just does not include, you know, being saved from our sins, saved from death and from Satan, but also means healing from sickness. It means deliverance from every work of the enemy. It means rescue or preservation from a danger and harm. Basically means total wholeness. So it's a very comprehensive word. So sozo can, you know, mean to be saved, healed, delivered, victorious, rescued and preserved. It means all of these things at the same time. Okay. And this word sozo is a verb. It's an action word. Okay. Something that is done, something that happens because of the work of God in our lives happens because of the work of salvation in our lives. It is, you know, an action word. You know, we are saved. We are healed. We are delivered. We are rescued. We are victorious. We are preserved. And it basically means we are saved out from the devil's power and we are restored into the wholeness of God's order and the well-being of, or the wholeness of the well-being of God through the power of God's spirit or by the work of the holy spirit. Okay. So why does Apostle Paul talk about women and childbirth at this time? You know, again, we need to look at it in both the biblical context and the historical or the local context. Okay. The biblical context, we know that the curse that was given to Eve as a result of eating the fruit from the tree was, you know, that she would have pain during childbirth. But here the promise that Paul is giving them is they will be preserved. They will be saved, saved sozo because of their salvation, total wholeness, total well-being. Also in the cultural context, we see that, you know, the goddess Diana was, you know, some historians say is the goddess of the opposite, some disagree to this. You know, they say that she was basically a guardian of young children, you know, or basically supported women during childbirth. She used to protect women during the time of labor. And also she was, you know, the goddess of the opposites. The other side of her was, you know, they refer to her as Artemis. Basically it was, and some historians don't agree to this, but they say Artemis was a Greek goddess and Diana was considered a Roman goddess. But you know, some of them say that she was a goddess of the opposites anyways, just for us to understand, you know, she used to protect the women in labor. But also like Artemis was somebody who brought about sudden death while giving birth. So if Artemis was angry with you, you know, would cause sudden death when you're giving birth. And also Artemis was considered as a divinity of healing, but also was considered as someone who brought about disease like leprosy, rabies, and even gout. Okay, so the Apostle Paul is addressing this cultural issue, maybe because women would live in such fear of this goddess Diana that, you know, if they would not appeaser, then instead of helping and protecting them during childbirth would also cause sudden death while giving birth. So this was the kind of the mindset that the women had. And also some women would also, you know, consider that a curse that Eve received, you know, when she sinned. So Paul is reminding them that, hey, you know, yes, all this is there, but, you know, women as you have now believed in Jesus Christ, you are under the spiritual covering, you are saved, you have received salvation, so-and-so, you are protected, you are rescued, you are victorious, you are delivered from every attack of the evil one. And you're restored to wholeness, so believe that. And he's saying, you know, pray towards this, because he's talking about all of this in the context of prayer. So he's saying, pray towards this. And when you pray, you know, do this in a reverential way, in a way that is pleasing to God. And he's saying, you know, if you want to experience the so-and-so in your life, continue in faith, love, holiness, with self-control. Okay? So he's saying, you know, put on these virtues. Put on faith, put on love and holiness and self-control so that you can, you know, overcome all of these and you can experience the blessings of so-and-so. That is your spiritual inheritance that you've received as you've received salvation. Okay? So that is why he's writing this here in this context to the women at Ephesus. Any questions? Any questions? Anything you'd like to share? Okay, what really stood out for you all in chapter two? Anyone would like to, two or three can share? What really impacted you or stood out some new insights that you received from chapter two? Nobody wants to share? Everyone in class? I'll share. Yes. Yeah. So I like the when you said the ministry is not a matter of convenience, it's a command. And I think made me think about myself how seriously I have to take my works when I do something for God. I should be giving all of my 100% as much as I can. That's one of the things that really stood out. I think this chapter answered most of my questions like about the women especially. And there are even these generation people I've seen a young girl recently and she's a Tamil and she's getting famous just by saying that women should not preach. And as if she's speaking very theologically, she speaks and people are accepting it, people are moving towards it. And that's one of the things that was upsetting me and she quotes this scripture exactly. And I don't know if this is a question or something but what she says is that women cannot be fastest. Like they can't lead a church but they can be a preachers or evangelist. So if someone says like that, like I don't know like how to answer them because here it says women should not teach doesn't say that what she quotes is it doesn't say they should not preach. They just should not preach. That's what she says and people are believing it is in context. But yeah, I think this chapter answered a lot of questions. Thank you, Jaffina. Anyone else would like to share? Okay, anyone else? I just want you to repeat one thing about the king who was in that time when you said it was hard for the mother to pray for the king. I just missed to take it on my notes. Sorry, so she was asking about the king Nero and what I had mentioned. So I'm saying it's already there in the notes and she can just read it from there. Anyone else, any questions? Okay, we have five more minutes. Should we end class or can we just begin reading 2nd Timothy chapter 2? John Paul is already left the meeting. Okay, we'll stop here. We'll look, we'll begin chapter 3 next week. Okay, thank you all for joining class and have a blessed restful weekend. See you all next week. Thank you. Sorry, he left the class.