Let a woman learn quietly with all submissiveness.
I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet.
For Adam was formed first, then Eve;
and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor.
Yet she will be saved through childbearing—if they continue in faith and love and holiness, with self-control.

1 Timothy 2:11-15

You may be well aware that this passage of scripture, is a part of Paul’s letter instructing Timothy regarding order in the house of God,

I hope to come to you soon, but I am writing these things to you so that, if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth.

1Timothy 3:14-15 

this portion in chapter 2:11-15, relates to women’s presence in the mixed congregation, when Christians are gathered to worship and teach in Jesus name.

Verse 15 had been an enigma to me for many years, so during my recent study of 1&2 Timothy, as I read the verse, I continued to wonder how to understand it, because I couldn’t see how it applied, or how it related to the previous verses. After praying and multiple re-reading of the passage, with search into the original Greek text and specific word assessment, the meaning became clear.

Hermeneutics: The means of understanding scripture.

One of the barriers to comprehension of scripture, is the translation of the original languages of Hebrew, Aramaic or Greek, into the present readers language, which in my case is English. The original record of the Word of God is sometimes referred to as “The original autograph”, it’s the Truth, but the original autograph isn’t in my native language, and translators don’t always provide the original meaning of all words; this can be because of reasons including them introducing variation of text to attain or maintain copyright, or because of difficulty in matching the original word to the limited words available in the language it’s translated into, or it can even be the purpose of the translator intending to influence the reader in support of their own theological perspective, such as sects have done.
This is where the reader is responsible to apply diligence in study, to ascertain the Truth before concluding a perception of the meaning and subsequent application. Hermeneutics’ is the term used to describe the means of studying scripture, there are a few different points of assessment that comprise the process, including foundational hermeneutics, such as comparing the passage in different translations, another is grammatical: by examining the words and their interpretation subject to the context surrounding them, and comparing their use in other verses.

The following excerpt from an English translation is similar to many others,

Yet she will be saved through childbearing—if they continue in faith and love and holiness, with self-control.

however, the following excerpt from the Original Greek New Testament translation, shows that the above translation has been edited to convey in English, what the translators reasonably believe is the intent of the verse, (the last words in the verse are missing from the picture, they are “mental soundness” and can also be interpreted as “sobriety” or ” self control”, the last option is what I believe is likely applicable).

Assessing two key words:

  • The word “saved”, is used in the context of the women being kept (saved) from sinning, so that she doesn’t experience reduced fellowship with God, then God’s discipline and the subsequent effect of that sin to others.
    The word isn’t used in the context of eternal salvation.
  • The word “childbearing” is from the Greek word transliterated “teknogonia” which is used in the context of “the performance of maternal duties“, it’s derived from, but not the same as, the root word “teknogoneō” which means to “beget or bear children“. so the verse isn’t saying that through good works, she will be saved from death during pregnancy or giving birth, but if we take this view, we’ll battle to reconcile that godly Christian women have died while giving birth, and non-believing women have lived through giving birth, despite in some cases being very wicked women. I believe the verse is teaching something quite different to this perspective.
    The Greek word “teknogonia” in this context means that the woman is engaged in training up the child in the way it should go in Christ, and is caring for all it’s needs.

    To understand the verse in context, I offer the following paraphrased version:

She will be kept from sin and it’s subsequent results, by diligently fulfilling her responsibilities as a mother, in faith and love and holiness, with self-control.

Checking what is said by comparing it with God’s Word.

There need to be checks done to ascertain the validity of a proposal. so the application of a base hermeneutic is required to assess the above perspective. First, compare scripture with scripture, from this, we can see that the application of the principle of godly works, which is taught specifically in this context for mothers, is also taught to others in other passages, including:

  • Christian women should be occupied with godly works, such as those described as being done by widows throughout their lives: 1 Timothy 5:10 “having a reputation for good works: if she has brought up children, has shown hospitality, has washed the feet of the saints, has cared for the afflicted, and has devoted herself to every good work.“. otherwise, they can “learn to be idlers, going about from house to house, and not only idlers, but also gossips and busybodies, saying what they should not.” (v13), But through godly works, which are obedience, she is a blessing to the Church and is saved from the grief and detrimental result of many sins, and may also save others from sinning.
  • Men should be occupied with godly works: By example, when men (just as with women), don’t keep occupied with godly activities as scripturally instructed, they can also be led by the desires of the flesh rather than God’s spirit: King David should have been out at battle with his army, but instead he was on the roof of his house and saw BathSheba washing herself, then one thing led to another… But when men are active in good works of service (obedience) to God, they are also saved from the grief and result of many sins, and may also save others from sinning.

But although the scriptural principal has broad application to both gender, in 1 Timothy 2:11-15, it has specific application to women, with purpose of fulfilling God’s order in creation as expressed in the Church. It was written as instruction to Timothy, and to all other responsible godly Christian men and godly submissive women since then, primarily to make sure that God’s order in the Church is maintained in the aspect of women not teaching or exercising authority over men at times when both gender of the Church meet for teaching and worship in Jesus name. And if men or women have an argument about this God given instruction, they are arguing with God, not man, just as Paul wrote: “If anyone thinks that he is a prophet, or spiritual, he should acknowledge that the things I am writing to you are a command of the Lord.“. 1 Corinthians 14:37.
Some have said this teaching is now culturally irrelevant, but this instruction isn’t culturally subjective, it goes all the way back through every culture that has existed over the last 6000+years, to the garden of Eden, where Eve’s sin shows what can happen when God’s order of authority is not applied, Eve should have submitted her actions and words to Adam’s headship rather than being deceived through taking direction from the serpents words, and Adam should have submitted to God’s headship instead of taking Eve’s advice.

But I would have you know that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is the man, and the head of Christ is God.

1 Corinthians 11:3

We’re told to acknowledge the Lord in all our ways and He will direct our path, neither Adam or Eve did this, so because “Adam was first formed, then Eve.“, Adams disobedience caused the entrance of sin into the world, it’s attributed to Adam (man) as God’s primary authoritative representative, but there are specific ramifications to both men and women because of their individual actions on that day. Likewise, despite their many failures, men and women still have positions of responsibility and accountability on earth, according to the order God established from the start, for the purpose of expressing God’s glory to all mankind and to all heavenly beings. The heavenly beings obey God immediately, and His will which is revealed in the Bible, is to be done on earth as it is in heaven.

And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

John 8:32

God wants His children to grow in the knowledge of the truth for our good and His glory, through this, we’ll be lights in this dark world, and His church will mature to the full measure of the Christ.

A.P. Overton 3Aug2025