Wednesday, April 15, 2009, 7:04 a.m. – I woke to this song in my head:
Revelation / Third Day
My life,
Has led me down the road that’s so uncertain
And now I am left alone and I am broken,
Trying to find my way,
Trying to find the faith that’s gone
This time,
I know that you are holding all the answers
I’m tired of losing hope and taking chances,
On roads that never seem,
To be the ones that bring me home
My life,
Has led me down this path that’s ever winding
Through every twist and turn I’m always finding,
That I am lost again (I am lost again)
Tell me when this road will ever end
I don’t know where I can turn
Tell me when will I learn
Won’t You show me where I need to go
Oh oh
Let me follow Your lead,
I know that it’s the only way that I can get back home
Give me a revelation,
Show me what to do
Cause I’ve been trying to find my way,
I haven’t got a clue
Tell me should I stay here,
Or do I need to move
Give me a revelation
I’ve got nothing without You
I’ve got nothing without You
Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read I Timothy 4:
My Understanding: First of all, let me say that in order to see how this passage of scripture applies to us, especially to those of us who are female, we need to understand this principle of scripture:
II Timothy 3:16: All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
So, even though Paul wrote these words to Timothy, a man, still we, even as women, can learn from the principles of this passage of scripture and can apply them to our lives, with respect to the teachings of chapter 2 about women not being in authority over man.
I think that we who are alive in the 21st Century can certainly attest to the fact that we are living in these “later times” spoken of in scripture and that we are seeing many abandoning the faith and following after deceiving spirits.
Ok, now Timothy is instructed to “point these things out to the brothers…,” these things being what was said in vv 1-6. So, how does that apply to us women? Well, we are taught Biblically that if we see a fellow believer caught in a sin that we, who are spiritual, should restore that person gently, but to watch ourselves so that we are not tempted (Galatians 6). And, we are to carry one another’s burdens.
We are told this in Jude 1:22,23: Be merciful to those who doubt; snatch others from the fire and save them; to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.
Also, we are taught this in James 5:19,20 about turning a sinner from the error of his ways: My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins.
And, there are other scriptures, as well, that teach all believers to lovingly confront fellow Christians if we see them falling into sin, with the goal of restoration. So, from a Biblical standpoint, we all have a responsibility to address sin in the lives of individual believers as well as corporately in the church, but just not in a position of authority, for women, over men.
Ok, we also know that the Bible teaches historically, even in the NT, that there were women who prophesied and instructions are given to women and to the church on the correct manner for women and for men who prophesy in the church. Now, there are many different interpretations of these scriptures, and I believe that we can safely say that some of these instructions are cultural, such as braided hair and wearing gold jewelry today does not signify that a woman is of loose morals. So, when interpreting scripture, sometimes the culture of that day does need to be taken into account in order to correctly interpret what is being said.
For instance, this passage in I Timothy 2 states that a woman must be silent. There is at least one other passage in the NT that has a similar message. Now, this is where we have to compare scripture with scripture. Other passages give instructions on women prophesying and praying publicly in the church, so this is obviously not meant as a command to silence the voice of women in the church. In the Timothy passage, it appears to be primarily directed in the matter of women not instructing men in an authoritative manner, not meaning that a woman can not share a word and that she can not use the authority of the Word of God to back up her statements, but rather that women are not to be in positions of authority over men.
In another passage, it includes a statement about women asking their husbands questions at home, so some commentators feel that the silence of women there had to do with women who were disturbing the meetings by asking their husbands questions during the worship service, so they were being disruptive. Culturally during this time, women were not educated and they did not receive Biblical training like women do today. Also, my understanding is that the women and children sat on one side of the room and the men all sat together, so if a woman didn’t understand something that was being said, it is possible that what was happening is that a woman was audibly inquiring of her husband for understanding, and so the instruction was for the women to wait until they got home to ask their husbands.
Obviously this was not meant as a complete silencing of women in the church, otherwise there were not have been instructions regarding women prophesying and praying publicly in the church, some of which was also cultural, I believe, such as wearing long hair or covering the head. We don’t see much of that anymore, yet what I believe is important (same principle applies to the subject of circumcision or baptism) is not so much the outward form as what is displayed in the heart and the attitude of the woman in how she treats her husband and others in authority. The Bible states clearly that God does not look on the outward appearance of a person, but he looks on the heart, and sometimes the outward appearance reflects the heart.
Romans 2:28,29: A man is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man's praise is not from men, but from God.
Today’s passage in I Timothy encourages us to train ourselves to be godly, to set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity. This certainly is applicable to us all! And, the encouragement to not neglect our gift(s) can also certainly be applied to all. And, we should all watch our lives and doctrine closely and to persevere in them by our lives and by what we teach others.
Revelation / Third Day
My life,
Has led me down the road that’s so uncertain
And now I am left alone and I am broken,
Trying to find my way,
Trying to find the faith that’s gone
This time,
I know that you are holding all the answers
I’m tired of losing hope and taking chances,
On roads that never seem,
To be the ones that bring me home
My life,
Has led me down this path that’s ever winding
Through every twist and turn I’m always finding,
That I am lost again (I am lost again)
Tell me when this road will ever end
I don’t know where I can turn
Tell me when will I learn
Won’t You show me where I need to go
Oh oh
Let me follow Your lead,
I know that it’s the only way that I can get back home
Give me a revelation,
Show me what to do
Cause I’ve been trying to find my way,
I haven’t got a clue
Tell me should I stay here,
Or do I need to move
Give me a revelation
I’ve got nothing without You
I’ve got nothing without You
Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read I Timothy 4:
My Understanding: First of all, let me say that in order to see how this passage of scripture applies to us, especially to those of us who are female, we need to understand this principle of scripture:
II Timothy 3:16: All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
So, even though Paul wrote these words to Timothy, a man, still we, even as women, can learn from the principles of this passage of scripture and can apply them to our lives, with respect to the teachings of chapter 2 about women not being in authority over man.
I think that we who are alive in the 21st Century can certainly attest to the fact that we are living in these “later times” spoken of in scripture and that we are seeing many abandoning the faith and following after deceiving spirits.
Ok, now Timothy is instructed to “point these things out to the brothers…,” these things being what was said in vv 1-6. So, how does that apply to us women? Well, we are taught Biblically that if we see a fellow believer caught in a sin that we, who are spiritual, should restore that person gently, but to watch ourselves so that we are not tempted (Galatians 6). And, we are to carry one another’s burdens.
We are told this in Jude 1:22,23: Be merciful to those who doubt; snatch others from the fire and save them; to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.
Also, we are taught this in James 5:19,20 about turning a sinner from the error of his ways: My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins.
And, there are other scriptures, as well, that teach all believers to lovingly confront fellow Christians if we see them falling into sin, with the goal of restoration. So, from a Biblical standpoint, we all have a responsibility to address sin in the lives of individual believers as well as corporately in the church, but just not in a position of authority, for women, over men.
Ok, we also know that the Bible teaches historically, even in the NT, that there were women who prophesied and instructions are given to women and to the church on the correct manner for women and for men who prophesy in the church. Now, there are many different interpretations of these scriptures, and I believe that we can safely say that some of these instructions are cultural, such as braided hair and wearing gold jewelry today does not signify that a woman is of loose morals. So, when interpreting scripture, sometimes the culture of that day does need to be taken into account in order to correctly interpret what is being said.
For instance, this passage in I Timothy 2 states that a woman must be silent. There is at least one other passage in the NT that has a similar message. Now, this is where we have to compare scripture with scripture. Other passages give instructions on women prophesying and praying publicly in the church, so this is obviously not meant as a command to silence the voice of women in the church. In the Timothy passage, it appears to be primarily directed in the matter of women not instructing men in an authoritative manner, not meaning that a woman can not share a word and that she can not use the authority of the Word of God to back up her statements, but rather that women are not to be in positions of authority over men.
In another passage, it includes a statement about women asking their husbands questions at home, so some commentators feel that the silence of women there had to do with women who were disturbing the meetings by asking their husbands questions during the worship service, so they were being disruptive. Culturally during this time, women were not educated and they did not receive Biblical training like women do today. Also, my understanding is that the women and children sat on one side of the room and the men all sat together, so if a woman didn’t understand something that was being said, it is possible that what was happening is that a woman was audibly inquiring of her husband for understanding, and so the instruction was for the women to wait until they got home to ask their husbands.
Obviously this was not meant as a complete silencing of women in the church, otherwise there were not have been instructions regarding women prophesying and praying publicly in the church, some of which was also cultural, I believe, such as wearing long hair or covering the head. We don’t see much of that anymore, yet what I believe is important (same principle applies to the subject of circumcision or baptism) is not so much the outward form as what is displayed in the heart and the attitude of the woman in how she treats her husband and others in authority. The Bible states clearly that God does not look on the outward appearance of a person, but he looks on the heart, and sometimes the outward appearance reflects the heart.
Romans 2:28,29: A man is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man's praise is not from men, but from God.
Today’s passage in I Timothy encourages us to train ourselves to be godly, to set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity. This certainly is applicable to us all! And, the encouragement to not neglect our gift(s) can also certainly be applied to all. And, we should all watch our lives and doctrine closely and to persevere in them by our lives and by what we teach others.
