As Paul the
apostle continued his discourse concerning women in the church, he
told young Timothy his “son in the faith” they should
“adorn themselves” modestly, profess “godliness with
good works”, “learn in silence” and “not teach
or usurp authority over the man”, because “Adam was first
formed, then Eve”. At first glance we may not understand why
Adam being formed first was significant, however in chapter two and
verse fourteen of his letter Paul lets Timothy know why. We read:
And Adam
was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the
transgression.
The
verse begins, “And Adam was not deceived,...”
As a continuation of Paul's thought concerning Adam, he employed the
word “And” and
wrote, “Adam”
whose name means “the red earth” “was not deceived”
or “apatao ou apatao” in the Greek which means “not cheated or
beguiled”. In other words, Adam knew exactly what he was doing. No
one fooled or cheated him. He deliberately knew what he was about to
do.
The
verse continues, “...but the woman being deceived was in
the transgression.” Paul then
addressed how Eve was in the transgression by writing, “but”
which is the disassociation conjunction which means what is about to
be stated takes precedence over the previously stated one, “the
woman” which means “a woman
of any age, whether a virgin, or married or a widow” and in this
case “Eve”, “being
deceived” which is the same
Greek word “apatao” used earlier and means “cheated or
beguiled” “was in the transgression”
which literally means “a going over” or “breach or violating of
a definite, promulgated and ratified law”. In other words, “Eve”
was deceived into violating God's law, Adam was not.
While
we think on Paul's words and particularly the way it relates to the
way a woman is “not to teach or usurp authority over the
man”, it is important that we
realize the difference between a “sin” and a “transgression”.
Both of these are violations against God's law, however, a “sin”
which literally means “to miss the mark” may be acted upon
verdantly or inadvertently. These are called “sins of commission”
and “sins of omission”. A “transgression” is a willful
violation of God's law. The person who “transgresses” knows what
he or she is doing is wrong and does it anyway. We read in the book
of Genesis in chapter three and verse six:
And when
the woman saw that the tree was
good for food, and that it was
pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one
wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto
her husband with her; and he did eat.
Both
Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden fruit of the tree, however, Eve was
deceived and Adam was not. The inference is that Eve had a propensity
to be beguiled, and although she was guilty of disobeying God, she
was tricked into it. This is why the caution comes from Paul to
Timothy concerning women teaching and usurping authority over the man
in the church. As we conclude this thought, the idea of value comes
to our minds, and in the church Paul wrote in his letter to the
Galatians in chapter three and verse twenty-eight:
May
the Lord Jesus teach us the full counsel of His word, and the value
of every person who reads it.
Next
time Paul tells how women will “be saved in childbearing,
if they continue in faith and charity”,
so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow…there is more…
Look
for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From
Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be
Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the
Mount” in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com
; http://www.barnesandnobles.com
; download to e-books, and find it locally at
http://www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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