The Context of 1 Timothy 2:12: Is It All About the Worship Service?

Many scholars and complementarians assume that 1 Timothy 2:1-15 is about the worship service (Denis Burk^[1], Rachel Green Miller^[2] , and Kevin DeYoung^[3] are recent examples). This would mean that Paul is preventing women from teaching men during the worship service and could therefore not preach or be pastors or elders in our churches today.  I will discuss several reasons why limiting 1 Timothy 2 to the worship service is not justified and what this means for our interpretation of 1 Timothy 2:12.

Why do people think it is related to the worship service?

There are several reasons why people assume 1 Timothy 2 discusses proper conduct during a worship service. Some will highlight that 1 Timothy 2 talks about men praying and lifting Holy Hands, so they assume this is prayer in the worship service^[4]. Others believe that the “authority” referred to in 1 Tim 2:12 is speaking about a pastoral authority as outlined in 1 Tim 3^[5]. Still others may note that this is about decorum in the “household of God” (1 Tim 3:15) and so is specific to church gatherings^[6].

Prayer during the worship service?

1 Timothy 2 begins with an encouragement to all to pray abundantly (1 Tim 2:1-7), and then a particular request that men pray lifting holy hands (1 Tim 2:8). I do not doubt that prayer was a regular part of worship services in the 1^st century, but prayer was a part of everyday life for the early Christians who Paul told to pray incessantly:

“Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert and always persevere in supplication for all the saints.”

( Ep 6:18, NRSV)

“… pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

(1 Th 6:17-18, NRSV)

I find precisely that 1 Tim 2:8 mentions that these prayers should be in all places:

“I desire, then, that in every place the men should pray, lifting up holy hands without anger or argument” (

1 Tim 2:8, NRSV)

This reference to prayer, therefore, cannot be used to contend that Paul is talking about the worship service in the rest of the chapter as Paul actually says this praying ought to be done “in every place.”

Pastoral “authority”? 

The section after 1 Timothy 2,  1 Timothy 3, talks about proper behavior or qualifications for those who desire to be an overseer (ἐπισκοπή) or deacons in the church. No doubt we are talking about the leaders within the church community, but is one only a pastor, elder, or overseer during the worship service? Are not these pastors or elders to care for their fellow Christians in all places and times according to their needs? Is one called an elder or pastor only on Sundays during the service? No, so I do not see how this can be used to say that 1 Tim 2:12 is limited to the worship service. 

One would also need to defend that the teaching and “authority” talked about in 1 Timothy 2:12 is that of an overseer, which is not at all clear from the context. It was not only the overseers or their equivalent that brought teachings during the worship service (see 1 Corinthians 14:26 that each person could bring a teaching when they came together to worship). Surely an overseer is to be able to teach (1 Tim 3:2) but nowhere does it say that teaching is restricted to overseers or their equivalent. So there is no indication in 1 Tim. 2:12 that Paul is talking about the proper qualified teaching of an elder or overseer.

The household of God

Does the reference to the household of God limit the context of 1 Timothy 2 to church gatherings? We read:

“I hope to come to you soon, but I am writing these instructions to you so that,  if I am delayed, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and bulwark of the truth.”

(1 Tim 3:14-15, NRSV)

Is the household of God the church building? Just as the temple was designated to be the house of God in the gospels around that same time (Mt 12:4)? Or does the house of God refer to the people that belong to God’s family, such as the descendants of Jacob being referred to as those of the house of Jacob (Mt 10:6; Lk 1:33; Acts 2:36; Acts 7:42). The house of Jacob obviously does not refer to a physical house or building. In Greek, the word for house is also used to speak of the members of a household, not just the physical structure. The “household of God” is “the church of the living God,” that is to say, the people, not the building.

Here Paul talks about how one ought to behave as a Christian, not just as Christians when we happen to be in a place of worship—especially considering that the Christians did not have temples or church buildings but gathered in private homes. Would you expect their behavior to change in that very same home where the church gathered when there was not a church service going on? And so, again, this statement should not be used to justify limiting 1 Tim 2 to a worship service.

Take, for example, the call on women to dress modestly and not flaunt their wealth (1 Tim 2:9-10). These women should be professing godliness not solely to other Christian but, one would expect, primarily before non-believers. Paul is also asking these women to dress in good works. I assume most of these good works were done outside of the realm of the worship service, such as praying, caring for the sick and elderly, helping the poor, showing hospitality, etc. (1 Tim 5:10). 

What is the context of 1 Timothy?

Context matters when it comes to interpreting Biblical passages. The decisions we make when determining the relevant context of 1 Tim 2 will change our interpretation of these passages. 

I hold for granted that this is a personal letter from the apostle Paul to Timothy as that is what the letter professes to be the case (1 Tim 1:1-2). I hold this letter to be authoritative, yet we must at least ask whether the instructions therein, addressed to his co-worker Timothy (and not intending to be a general letter to all believers), are to be held as appropriate for all people in all situations. We should also ask whether there was a particular grave situation in Ephesus that Paul addressed. Should we apply his recommendations today, or would some of them go against the spirit of the rest of the Scriptures or of Paul’s teachings elsewhere?

I think the context of the letter, in general, is outlined in 1 Tim 1. There were false teachers in Ephesus, people that needed to be silenced because they were deceived (sounds familiar?) and did not know what they were talking about:

“I urge you, as I did when I was on my way to Macedonia, to remain in Ephesus so that you may instruct certain people not to teach any different doctrine, and not to occupy themselves with myths and endless genealogies that promote speculations rather than the divine training that is known by faith. But the aim of such instruction is love that comes from a pure heart, a good conscience, and sincere faith. Some people have deviated from these and turned to meaningless talk, desiring to be teachers of the law, without understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make assertions.”

(1 Tim 1:3-7, NRSV)

If the problem was mainly with some women (or a woman), would it not then make sense for Paul to say that these very women should learn quietly (1 Tim 2:11) instead of “turning to meaningless talk,” and not teach (1 Tim 2:12) instead of “desiring to be teachers of the law,” since they were deceived just like Eve was (1 Tim 2:14). 

Paul also tells the women not to authentein (usurp authority over/control) a man (or their husband)^[7]. This is obviously reprehensible behavior in all situations I can think of, and men should not do this either^[8]. Still, if these women were usurping authority to teach false doctrines, it is even worse. People teaching false doctrines was the reason for Paul writing this letter, so the probability is high that if he is forbidding certain people from teaching in 1 Tim 2:12, he is forbidding them from spreading false teachings. Why would Paul prevent the gospel from being preached?

Also, if the context of 1 Tim 2 is not limited to the worship service, then the statement that women are not permitted to teach or to control men in 1 Timothy 2:12 cannot simply be limited to the church service. It would make no sense that Paul would allow these deceived women from teaching their heretical doctrine to men or women outside of the church service, and so I see no reason it should be limited to the worship service. 

But this is unlikely to be a blank statement that all women must never teach men or their husbands. This would be incoherent with other biblical passages. Take, for instance, the wives that may save their unbelieving husbands; it seems impossible to do so without a minimum of teaching (1 Co 7:12-16). Also, all the women named as co-workers of Paul in Romans 16 must have used the spoken word (teachings) to labor for the Lord as Paul did. How could it be otherwise? 

We should also note that Priscilla and Aquila taught Apollos. Priscilla is named before her husband and was likely the most prominent of the two in this encounter^[9]. Paul obviously approved of Priscilla by his numerous mentions of her. Additionally, this event is recorded in Acts with no indication that it was improper (Acts 18:26). Paul must therefore not approve of a universal ban on women teaching men. 

This instruction to Timothy may be for an emergency situation in the church in Ephesus that was plagued by false teachers. Caution should therefore be used if applying it uniformly to women who are not deceived but are indeed Godly instructed women with gifting to teach and serve the church.

The situation in Ephesus was grave indeed, especially among the women for Paul says:

“But refuse to put younger widows on the list; for when their sensual desires alienate them from Christ, they want to marry, and so they incur condemnation for having violated their first pledge. Besides that, they learn to be idle, gadding about from house to house; and they are not merely idle, but also gossips and busybodies, saying what they should not say. So I would have younger widows marry, bear children, and manage their households, so as to give the adversary no occasion to revile us. For some have already turned away to follow Satan.”

(1 Tim 5:11-15, NRSV)

These young women were going about from house to house (possibly meaning the church service), being gossips, and saying nonsense. Paul even says that some of these women have turned away to follow Satan! I have no doubt why Paul encouraged these women to learn quietly and to stop teaching their evil lies. 

But why would we then assume this is a proper instruction in a normal situation where women are not spreading lies but rather the truth of God that he has put in their hearts to share? For these situations, we have other teachings of Paul:

“What should be done then, my friends? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up.”

(1 Co 14:26, NRSV)

That Greek word for lesson used here, διδαχή, means teaching. Paul does not indicate that he was only talking about the men. Therefore, women were teaching men during church services, just as they were prophesying (1 Co 11:5), speaking in tongues, interpreting, or sharing hymns.

Suppose we believe that the context of 1 Timothy 2 is Paul addressing the problem of false teachers and not talking about a regular church service. In that case, our interpretation and application will be quite different. We can only speculate as to what this false teaching was precisely. As Paul then mentions the creation order and Eve’s deception, some women may have had distorted ideas about what occurred in the garden of Eden, perhaps even some distorted ideas about childbirth (1 Tim 2:13-15). Much of the context is foreign to us but would have been well known to Paul and Timothy. But since we know that Paul was writing to prevent the spreading of false teachings, that likely is what Paul is talking about in 1 Tim 2:12. 

Conclusion

In conclusion, I believe the context of 1 Timothy 2 is that of a church suffering immensely because of all the false teachings being spread, especially by women. This was not limited to the worship service, although it definitely applies to that context as well. Therefore, we must understand the restrictive passages on women in 1 Timothy 2:9-15 within this context and not then use it uniformly in other contexts foreign to the situation in Ephesus. This letter highlights several times the gravity of the crisis caused by all these false teachers. The instructions to the women to learn instead of teaching highlight that these were not women that were educated with sound doctrine but rather deceived women. In our churches today, we should not let any person (man or woman) teach false doctrines that go against the gospel. I think this is how we should apply these passages; not by a uniform banning of any woman teaching during the worship service (i.e. preaching) that is not even in harmony with the practices of Paul or his teachings elsewhere.

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References

^[1] Burk, Denny. “A mere complementarian reading of the most contested verse in the evangelical gender debate—1 Timothy 2:12.” January 23, 2018. The Council for Biblical Manhood and Womanhood. https://cbmw.org/2018/01/23/a-mere-complementarian-reading-of-the-most-contested-verse-in-the-evangelical-gender-debate-1-timothy-212/

^[2] Miller, Rachel Green. Beyond Authority and Submission: Women and Men in Marriage, Church, and Society. P&R Publishing. 2019. Phillipsburg, New Jersey. Kindle Edition Loc 517

^[3] DeYoung, Kevin. “The Heart of the Matter 1 Timothy 2:8-15” in Men and Women in the Church: A Short, Biblical, Practical Introduction. 2021. Crossway. Wheaton Illinois.

^[4] See Marshall, I. H. Pastoral Epistles. ICC. 1999. T&T Clark.  Edinburgh. p. 417.  “The theme is prayer in the church meeting.” As Cited by Westfall, Cynthia Long. Paul and Gender: Reclaiming the Apostle’s Vision for Men and Women in Christ (p. 286). Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. Loc 7884.

^[5] BibleRef. “1 Timothy 2:12 Parallel Verses.” https://www.bibleref.com/1-Timothy/2/1-Timothy-2-12.html Accessed 2021-10-07.

^[6] Wedgeworth, Steven. “Good and Proper: Paul’s use of Nature, Custom, and Decorum in Pastoral Theology.” November 20, 2020. The Council for Biblical Manhood and Womanhood.  https://cbmw.org/2020/11/20/good-and-proper-pauls-use-of-nature-custom-and-decorum-in-pastoral-theology/

^[7] See Marg Mowczko. “The meaning of authentein in 1 Timothy 2:12, with a brief history of authent– words.” June 29, 2017. https://margmowczko.com/authentein-1-timothy2_12/

^[8] Chrysostom was of this opinion saying that a man should not authentei his wife. See Marg Mowczko. “The meaning of authentein in 1 Timothy 2:12, with a brief history of authent– words.” June 29, 2017. https://margmowczko.com/authentein-1-timothy2_12/ as she cites John Chrysostom. Scr. Eccl. Vol. 62, page 366, line 29. Source: Thesaurus Linguae Graecae.

^[9] John Chrysostom. “First Sermon on Priscilla and Aquila.” Translated from the Greek, by Catherine Clark Kroeger. From Priscilla Papers.Summer 1991. https://www.cbeinternational.org/resource/article/priscilla-papers-academic-journal/john-chrysostoms-first-homily-greeting-priscilla

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