Priority of the Woman in the Fall

Introduction: The Crucial Passage and its Context

0:05 This sermon was preached on Sunday evening, May 10th, 1981, at the Trinity Baptist Church in Montville, New Jersey.

0:16 And I hope much more good comes from an extended study in a passage such as this, but if no other good came, other than making you familiar with a portion of the Word of God by the frequent reading of it, that in itself would be profitable indeed. 1 Timothy chapter 2, follow please as I read, beginning with verse 8. I desire therefore that the men pray in every place, lifting up holy hands without wrath and disputing, in like manner that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with decency and propriety, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly raiment, but, which becometh women professing godliness, through good works. Let a woman learn in quietness, with all subjection. But I permit not a woman to teach, nor to have dominion over a man, but to be in quietness. For Adam was first formed, then Eve.

1:26 And Adam was not beguiled, but the woman being utterly beguiled hath fallen into transgression. But she...

1:34 She shall be saved through her childbearing, if they continue in faith and love and sanctification with sobriety.

1:46 We come this evening to the seventh message in our series of studies on this very crucial portion of the Word of God read in your hearing, 1 Timothy 2, 8 through 15. This passage, as you've been reminded repeatedly, is of peculiar importance, because of the widespread agitation of issues pertaining to male and female roles and functions, particularly in the home and in the church. In seeking to arrive at a proper understanding of this passage, which obviously addresses itself to those very issues, we have considered the passage in its broader biblical setting and in its immediate meaning, and in its immediate contextual concerns. As to its broader setting, we have emphasized again and again the unique and perpetual authority that stands above and breathes through this passage. This portion is a portion of the Word of God written by an inspired apostle, given unique authority to regulate the life and conduct of the people of God. And then we must understand the passage in the broader setting

3:09 of what Scripture teaches concerning those areas of essential equality between men and women. They share equally in the dignity of creation, the tragedy of the fall, and the privileges of redemption. But there must not only be that sensitivity to the broader setting of this passage, there must be a constant sensitivity to its immediate concern. And we have underscored those concerns in terms of the apostolic burden in this section of the epistle.

3:43 According to chapter 3 and verse 15, he is concerned that Timothy regulate behavior in the house of God, which is identified as the church of the living God. This passage is not dealing with the legitimate role of women in society at large, it is not taking up the question as to whether or not it is proper for a woman to teach men in an academic framework at a university. It is talking about issues pertaining to behavior in the house of God. And that contextual concern must constantly be kept before our minds.

4:28 And then, of course, we must always be sensitive to the pressure of the preceding verses, verses 1 to 7, as they throw light particularly upon verse 8, and of chapter 3, verses 1 to 13, as they obviously condition our understanding of this section. Now, as we have examined it phrase by phrase, and in some cases word by word, we have noted that the passage contains one very simple word of directive to the men. They are to take the lead in the public prayers of the people of God in the house of God. And then a more detailed word of directive to the women, beginning with verse 9 and concluding with verse 15. The first aspect of women's concerns that are set before us is their appearance in the house of God, verses 9 and 10. Then Paul moves on to deal with their conduct in the house of God, verses 11 and 12. Positively, they are to learn in quietness with all subjection, negatively, they are not to teach, nor are they to exercise dominion over men.

The Two Pillars of Apostolic Directives: Creation and Fall

5:43 Then as we began to consider last Lord's Day, in verses 13 and 14, the Apostle gives the fundamental reasons for the directives of the preceding verses. Why are the men to take the lead in prayer in every place? Why are the women to learn, and not to teach, nor to rule in the house of God? And the two fundamental reasons given to us in verses 13 and 14 are the priority of Adam in creation, for Adam was first formed, then Eve, and secondly, the priority of the woman in the fall. For Adam was not deceived or beguiled, but the woman being utterly beguiled, and the child hath fallen into transgression. Now in the consideration of the first of these reasons, last Lord's Day evening, we discovered that the fact stated in 1 Timothy chapter 2 and verse 13 is an allusion to the more detailed account of God's creative activity as given to us in Genesis chapter 2. And that in that, chapter of Genesis,

7:07 God has forever fixed the relative roles of males and females, and that refusal to acknowledge that fixation changes nothing. We cannot alter the fact that Adam was first formed, then Eve, nor can we alter the divine intention in that fact, namely, that to the male, is given the awesome responsibility of exercising sensitive, loving, but authoritative leadership over the woman. And we may willfully ignore the fact, we may subtly seek to undermine the implications of the fact, but all we do is incur sin, create confusion, and commit acts of sacrilege in the house, in the house of the living God. Now we come this evening to consider the teaching of verse 14. The second fact which undergirds both the positive directions and the clear prohibitions with respect to the roles of males and females in the house of God. The first reason would be reason enough.

8:32 But the scripture says at the mouth of two earthlings, three witnesses, let every word be established. And so, by the inspiration and direction of the Holy Spirit, the same apostle who is guided to give us these words of explanation, for Adam was first formed, then Eve, is equally guided by the same spirit to give us this second word of explanation and reason for the prohibitions, and the injunctions of the preceding verses. And it is what I am calling the priority, or if you will, the peculiar vulnerability of the woman in the fall. So we have these two great pillars buttressing the assignment of the specific roles and functions of men and women in the house of God. Pillar number one, the priority of Adam, Adam in creation. Pillar number two, the priority of the woman in the fall.

Meaning of the Words: Adam Not Deceived, Eve Utterly Deceived

9:42 Now in seeking to open up the meaning and significance of these words, and that is the task of an expositor, is it not, to open up the meaning of the words of the living God, we shall follow the following track. Number one, we will try to open up the meaning of the words in the text itself. And then we'll consider the second meaning, the source of these words in the text. Thirdly, the significance of these words in the text for the issues at hand.

10:13 And finally, an application of these things to our present situation. First of all then, the meaning of the words in the text. Now clearly, we have first of all a negative statement, then a positive. Look at it as it is set before us.

10:32 And, Adam, Adam was not beguiled, negative, but, positive, the woman being beguiled hath fallen into the transgression. Adam was not beguiled, we would use the word deceived. Now notice it does not say, Adam did not sin. That would contradict the Genesis account, it would contradict the clear teaching of the Bible, that with respect to the circumstances pertaining to the fall, Adam stood in a position of representative headship and responsibility that was peculiar to himself, and made his guilt in one sense far greater than Eve's. The Bible does not say, as in Eve, all die. It does say, as in Adam, all die. So the passage is not saying that Adam did not sin.

11:40 This, I say, would be a contradiction of the clear teaching of the Word of God in Genesis, and in the other portions of Holy Scripture. However, what it does say, that in is, that in the particular circumstances of the fall, Adam did not sin by deception. Adam was not beguiled, or deceived. Now think for a moment, what is it to be deceived?

12:10 Well, it is to have things presented to the mind, otherwise than they really are. That's to be deceived. To have something presented to the mind, to the eyes, to the touch, to the senses, in a form other than what they really are. I hate to pick on used car dealers, but perhaps this illustration will be most relevant.

12:33 Someone is looking for a set of wheels, and they can neither afford or share the conviction that a new car is generally a poor investment, and so they are looking for a used car. And they end up at Smiling Jack's Used Car Lot on the avenue, and sure enough, he says, I have just the car for use. And he takes them to this shiny little set of wheels, four years old, and then you get the typical pitch. An old lady had it, she never had it.

13:03 She never drove it further than the back of her garage, and it's four years old, but 17,000 original miles. She liked to move front and back a lot in her garage, and all the wonderful virtues of this car. Well, as the person who's not too discerning looks at the car, it seems to be garage-kept, very shiny, a nice set of tires on. Everything looks nice.

13:27 Well, after a week, the person finds out that he was beguiled. He was deceived. In rummaging through the glove compartment, he happens to find a slip that is a receipt from some service that was done on the car by a particular service station, in which they changed the oil and did some general servicing, and they had the mileage on there, and lo and behold, it said 79,500.

13:55 And then other things begin to come to light until the poor person finds that they were utterly, or he was utterly, beguiled, deceived. They bought the car under the appearance that it was something that it was not. Now look at the text. The text says, For Adam was not deceived.

14:19 When Adam sinned, he did not sin because things appeared to be other than they really were. He sinned with his eyes wide open in a blatant act of revolt, appearance, tyranny of what the Bible calls open disobedience against God. Now all we're trying to do is open up the meaning of the words. And the first set of words tells us Adam was not deceived.

14:50 Then we have the positive statement with regard to Eve. The fact and its results. But the woman, having been beguiled, or having been utterly deceived, have fallen into transgression. Now here the apostle uses a little different verb than the one used with respect to Adam.

15:15 He takes the same root word and adds a little prefix that intensifies the meaning of the word. That's why when I have read it in these past weeks, I have read it this way. Adam was not beguiled or deceived, but the woman being completely or utterly beguiled. Beguiled or deceived, hath fallen into the transgression.

15:38 And this is precisely the word which the apostle uses in 2 Corinthians chapter 11 and verse 3 in a direct allusion to this same fact. 2 Corinthians 11 and verse 3. But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent utterly beguiled Eve in his craftiness, Therefore we are told by these words that in the circumstances of the fall, Eve was duped. Things were presented in such a way as to take her in, not by high-handed rebellion in the same sense that Adam sinned, but by means... By means of deception.

16:38 Things appeared to her in such a light that she was deceived as to reality. And the result, according to our text in 1 Timothy, is that she has fallen or come into the fatal stepping aside. And he uses the word for sin translated transgression, which means a stepping aside from the path that is marked out, by God. Now this is simply and obviously the meaning of the words of the text.

Source of the Words: The Genesis 3 Narrative

17:13 Now the question is, where did Paul get this information? Did he concoct it in order to project a male dominance throughout the church for all ages?

17:29 Or did he receive it by a direct revelation to pass it on to the church? No. He got this information in precisely the same place that you and I get, from the third chapter of the book of Genesis. And now I want you to turn with me to Genesis chapter 3.

17:51 Having opened up, very briefly, the meaning of the words of the text, we now move on in the second place to consider the source of the words of the text. As Paul is giving this second pillar of rationale for the association...

18:08 He says, "...assignment of the relative roles of men and women in the church." He says, "...Adam was not deceived.

18:14 The woman, being utterly deceived, hath fallen into the transgression." Having ascertained the simple meaning of the words, we are now concerned to nail down the source of these words found in the text. Paul assumes that Timothy is familiar with the Old Testament scriptures. You remember in his second letter he said, "...from a child." Little did he know that he was a child. "...from a baby." You have known the sacred writings which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. And then he goes on to say, "...all scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for teaching, reproof, correction, instruction, and righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto every good work." And so Paul assumes that when he says to Timothy in his letter, "...as the reason for..."

19:09 "...the assignment of the road, Adam was not deceived, but the woman was utterly deceived," that immediately there would come to Timothy's mind the fuller statement of these facts as found in Genesis chapter 3.

Key Facts of the Genesis 3 Narrative

19:24 Now what are the major facts of the narrative of Genesis 3? Follow as we seek to capture them. We find in verse 1 these words, "...now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field, which was not to be eaten by men, which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, and what should strike us immediately is that chapter 2 closes with God bringing the woman whom he has made to the man, the man standing in wonder and amazement as he beholds his counterpart and says in verse 23, This is now bone of my bones, flesh of my flesh. She shall be called woman because she was taken out of man. Therefore shall a man leave his father and mother and cleave to his wife, and they shall be one flesh.

20:16 Now notice, they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed. And there is the picture of the man and the wife standing together, perhaps clasped in the warm embrace as they discover in each other the wonderful creative wisdom and goodness of God. But somewhere between the end of that chapter and the opening of chapter 3, the woman is separated from the man so that she is vulnerable. And here's the first fact of the third chapter of Genesis that is significant.

20:54 The serpent makes a direct approach to Eve. See it? And he said not unto them or unto the man, but he said unto, Yea, hath God said ye shall not eat of any tree of the garden? And the first significant fact of the Genesis 3 narrative is the serpent's direct approach to Eve which was impossible apart from Eve being separated from Adam.

21:30 And the second fact is this. Eve enters into direct conversation with the serpent, verses 2 to 4. And the woman said unto the serpent, Of the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat, but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God is said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die, for God doth know that in the day you eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as God, knowing good and evil.

22:05 Here is first of all the direct approach of the serpent to Eve, and then secondly Eve's direct conversation with the serpent. There is no consultation with Adam. There is no intimation that she even looks over her shoulder and says, Adam, should I even enter into conversation with this subtle creature? No.

22:28 She takes upon herself the prerogative of entering into direct conversation with the serpent. And then the third tragic but major factor is the fact that she is not alone. She is not alone. She is not alone.

22:37 She is not alone. She is not alone. She is not alone. The third tragic factor in the narrative is Eve's seduction by the serpent's lies and half-truths.

22:46 Eve's seduction by the serpent's lies and half-truths. His lie is, Ye shall not surely die. That's an outright lie. God had said in the day that you eat, Ye shall surely die.

23:03 In dying, you shall die. And he lies and says, You shall not surely die. You shall not surely die. And then there's a half-truth.

23:11 For God doth know that in the day you eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened. Yes, they would be opened, but not for blessing. You see, there's the half-truth. Her eyes would be opened, but not for blessing, but for cursing.

23:26 And ye shall be as God, or God's, knowing good and evil. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food and that it was a delight to the eye, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof. What happened? No longer was she looking at reality as reality.

23:52 She was utterly beguiled. And she was now looking at a situation like that poor man looked at that shiny car thinking for sure he was buying a wonderful piece of transportation when in reality he got a piece of junk. The used car salesman had to deceive him before he could get him to buy the product. And here the tempter, the serpent, utterly beguiles Eve so that she no longer is looking at reality.

24:25 She looks upon the food and this now fills her mind. It seems to be such as will bring immediate pleasure in the eating. It certainly is pleasant to the eyes. And if it has, if it has this capacity to make one wise, then surely there is no reason to be morose and think long and hard about God's Word.

24:49 Ye shall surely die. So Eve no longer is in touch with reality. She is in a living, throbbing communication with lies and half-truths. She's out of touch with reality.

25:05 And getting out of touch with reality, the Scripture then records that she ate of that fruit. She had God's command and God's threat before her, Satan's lies and half-truths before her, and she accepted the latter and thought that indeed it was reality. And the next significant fact is given to us in the latter part of verse 6. And she gave also, unto her husband with her.

25:42 And somewhere between these opening verses, Adam now comes into physical proximity with Eve. Gave unto her husband with her, and he did eat. No word of the tempter spoken to Adam. No selling job presented to Adam.

26:05 The simple statement she gave to Adam, Adam with her, or to her husband with her. And with his eyes wide open to reality, the reality of God's command, thou shalt not eat of this tree. In the day that you eat, you'll die. He chooses to eat in blatant, open-eyed disobedience to the living God.

26:32 He was not deceived. Eve was.

Confirmation of the Facts by God's Interrogation

26:37 And then Adam's eating of the fruit from the hand of Eve, I say, with no direct dealings with the serpent in a way of seduction or of deception. Do you see those facts in the passage? Now, have I read anything in? Has there been any twisting?

26:52 Has there been any clever manipulation? Well, you see, it is a summary of those facts as given in the narrative that constitute the thrust of the apostles' words there in 1 Timothy 2. Why is it that in the house of God, the men should take the lead in prayer in every place? Why is it that women are to learn in subjection and quietness?

27:20 Why is it that they are not permitted to teach nor exercise authority over men? Well, not only because of the priority of the man in creation, Adam was first formed, but because of the very circumstances of this passage. Adam was not deceived. The woman being utterly deceived hath fallen into the transgression.

27:48 Now, it's interesting that when God comes to reckon with the man and with the woman, these facts are given back to God without dispute, without any negation, in the interaction between God, Adam, and Eve. Notice verse 9. And the Lord God called unto the man, and said unto him, Where art thou? And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.

28:20 And he said, Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree? Whereof I commanded you that you should not eat? Have you disobeyed me?

28:31 Adam's answer is this. The woman thou gavest to be with me, and there is probably in that an attempt, as it were, to blame God, ultimately, but we can't be certain. But there's no contradiction of fact. The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, notice, she gave me of the tree, that's not a lie, that's exactly what we read in verse 6, and I did eat.

28:58 There's a confirmation of the fact. Adam, what have you done? My wife gave me of the fruit, and I ate it. But now notice when he comes to the woman, the response.

29:10 Verse 13. And the Lord God said unto the woman, What is this that you have done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat. So that Eve acknowledges that her eating was preceded by the beguiling, the deception, getting out of touch with reality.

29:36 And so not only does the narrative underscore Paul's summary statement, in 1 Timothy 2, but God's dealings with Adam and Eve after the facts of the fall confirm those facts in their details.

Significance of the Facts: Obedience to Apostolic Authority

29:55 Now what do we say in summary then? Having looked at the source of the information Paul imparts in 1 Timothy 2, we can say this. The set of facts asserted in 1 Timothy 2 are embedded in the biblical text. The biblical record.

30:15 And are brought forward as the second reason for the directions and prohibitions of male-female roles in the house of God. Now before we move on to seek to understand the significance of these facts with respect to the issue at hand, remember, Paul didn't invent them, and Paul didn't put them in the Bible. Almighty God revealed them, and by the Spirit through Moses, God recorded them in Genesis chapter 3. So if an apostle is directed by Christ, the head of the church, to state these facts as constituting one of the reasons why men should take the lead in the prayers in the house of God, why men, should take the lead in government and service, why women are to learn in silence and subjection, why women may not teach and exercise authority over men, then whether we understand the connection between the facts and the prohibition is in a sense totally irrelevant.

31:36 You see the point?

31:38 If an apostle, under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, says those facts, the facts embedded in the narrative of Genesis 3, constitute the second great pillar supporting these prohibitions and positive injunctions, whether we can see the connection or not is in one sense absolutely irrelevant.

32:06 A little measure of humility and respect for the authority of the Word of God and for the uniqueness of the role of the apostles would cause us to say, God, I don't quite understand the connection between Adam's sin being a sin that was not precipitated by deceit, though Eve's was. I don't see the connection between that and your word. I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to exercise authority over a man. Let a woman learn in silence, but God, if you say there's a connection, I can't change the facts.

32:44 The reality of that, I don't see the connection, but as a humble, obedient disciple of the Word of God, by your grace, I can obey. And that's entirely different from the arrogant, blasphemous spirit abroad, not just in the world. We expect nothing more from the world, but within the very professing Church of Jesus Christ, in which people dare to say, well, I don't see the connection between that. That seems like a specious bit of garbage.

33:18 It seems like the Apostle Paul was really desperate to project male dominance in the Church, and he's grabbing at straws. My friends, in the name of the God of Heaven, be careful! Lest in your blasphemy the judgment of God fall upon you. For in a parallel passage, the Apostle says, if any man seem to be spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things which I say unto you are the commandment, of the Lord.

The Heart of the Significance: Vulnerability to Deception

33:52 But now having opened up the meaning of the words of the text, having considered the source of the words of the text, now let's address ourselves thirdly, to the significance of these words with respect to the issue at hand. Having said we ought to obey, whether we understand the reason or not, I believe God has given us enough information in His Word to see that there is a rational, the reasonable, connection between these things. What relationship does the set of facts considered from Genesis 3 have to these directions with respect to male, female roles and functions in the house of God? Well, it appears to me that the heart of the matter is this. Follow closely. When Eve took herself out from under the canopy of Adam's appointed place of headship and dared to enter into direct dialogue with the serpent, she was vulnerable to the power of deception in a manner that Adam was not and thereby fell into transgression.

35:19 As one author has tersely stated, Paul's point might then be paraphrased, commenting on the passage in Timothy that we're studying. The man upon whom lay responsibility for leadership in the home and in religious matters was prepared by God to discern the serpent's lies. The woman was not the appointed religious leader and therefore was not prepared to discern those lies.

35:53 She was taken in. She was duped. Christian worship involves re-establishing the creational pattern with men faithfully teaching God's truth and women receptively listening. This interpretation brings Paul's remarks into line with his other uses of Genesis.

36:17 It is yet another call to re-establish the creational relationship in the time before the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. Now, to amplify that seed thought, I'm going to do something I rarely do and I'm doing it for two reasons. I'm going to read about a page and a half from a commentator. And I'm doing it for two reasons.

36:42 Number one, because the commentator has expressed these things with a beauty and an eloquence that I don't believe I could do. And secondly, in order to underscore the fact that the position taken is not a bizarre position, the commentator is Patrick Fairbairn, one of the great Scottish theologians and commentators and exegetes of another generation. And I'm quoting from the Zondervan classic commentary reprint on the Pastoral Epistles. Listen carefully to Fairbairn's words.

37:16 Commenting on our 1 Timothy 2 passage has already indicated that the case is referred to as a grand though mournful example at the very commencement of the history of the world of the evil sure to arise if in the general management of affairs women should quit her proper position as the handmaid of man and man should concede to her the ascendancy. She lacks, by the very constitution of nature, the qualities necessary for such a task, in particular, that stability of temper, the practical shrewdness and discernment, the firm, independent, regulative judgment which are required to carry the leaders of important concerns above first impressions and outside appearances to resist solicitations and amid subtly entanglements and fierce conflicts to cleave unswervingly to what is right. Now listen carefully. Her very excellencies in other respects and she does have excellencies in other respects that are different from and in which she excels men.

38:44 Her excellencies connected in other respects, excellencies having to do with the finer sensibilities and the stronger impulses of her emotional and loving nature tend in a measure to disqualify her for this kind of leadership. With man, on the other hand, in accordance with his original destination, the balance as between the intellectual and the emotional, the susceptible and the governing powers, inclines as a rule in the opposite direction. Hence, in the great trial to which the parents of the human family were subjected as the test of their allegiance, it was Adam who was mainly charged with the responsibility and who should have been, in everything relating to it, the prime agent. But Eve, affecting to play the master and to decide the question for herself and her husband, soon gave proof of her incompetency. She was overreaching by a subtler intellect than her own and induced under specious pretext to prefer an apparent good to the real good. And she admits this in Genesis 3.13,

40:03 the serpent deceived me and I did eat, was her confession before the judge, thereby in effect acknowledging her weakness and folly in taking her impressions from such a quarter and acting independently of her appointed head. Yes, God had given her, not for authority and rule, but for kindly ministrations, to be a helpmate by his side, not a directress to control his judgment or determine for him the course of his life. And in allowing her to become this, in what touched the very heart of his calling, whether it might be in the way of deception or by threats of evil, it mattered not. Adam showed he had fallen from his true position and ceased to rule as he should have done with God. This aspect of the matter is not necessary for the apostle to bring out distinctly as his theme was the place and calling of females in respect to that part of the transactions connected with the fall which more directly concerned Eve. He presents it as a consideration, and in particular to the female members of Christian congregations, lest amid the greater liberty of gospel times they might be tempted

41:31 to assume functions for which they were not qualified or called by God to fulfill. In a sense, the tragedy of the fall in Eden is a tragic account of the first and radical role reversal in human history. And what was the result of it? And wherever there is the following of that pattern of reversal, tragedy, unmixed, undiluted, heartbreaking tragedy is sure to follow.

42:14 And that I perceive to be the heart of the significance of those words. Why is the woman to learn in submission with quietness why is she not permitted to teach nor exercise authority over the man in the house of God? And I keep emphasizing that because that's the concern of the passage. Adam was first formed, Adam was not deceived, but the woman being utterly deceived hath fallen in the transgression.

Application: Confidence, Submission, and Balance

42:48 Now then, having looked at the meaning of the words in the text, the source of the words in Genesis 3, the significance of these words in their connection with the issues at hand, what is the relevance and application of all of this to us today? Well, the first point of relevance is this. We must not, we must not at any cost relinquish confidence in the historicity of the early chapters of Genesis. Now I had occasion to mention this last Lord's Day, but I mention it again for the simple reason that the first pillar upon which rests directions for conduct in the house of God, that pillar was constructed of the raw materials of Genesis chapter 2. Adam was first formed, then Eve. That's why the woman is not permitted to teach nor exercise authority over the man. That's why she is to learn in subjection, because Genesis 2 in its details of the creation of the male and the female indicate that the priority of Adam in creation means priority in spiritual headship and leadership.

44:06 And when Paul would construct by the Spirit of God the second great pillar to support the directives, lo and behold, he just jumps ahead one chapter and takes the raw materials, notice now, out of these specific linguistic details of Genesis 2. He does not build his argument upon some general allusion to some kind of a mythical description of the fall. He takes the very language, the linguistic detail from Genesis 3. You see the point?

44:50 And if we are to have any fabric out of which to construct ethics, morality, conduct for males and females in home and church, we must cling to those early chapters of Genesis in all the integrity of their God-breathed nature as the word of the living God. We must not at any cost, dear people of God, relinquish our confidence in the veracity, the historicity of all of the details of these opening chapters of Genesis. We are being told again within the evangelical community it's of little concern whether we have history in Genesis 1 to 11, whether we have saga, whether we have, as it were, some kind of a lovely poetic, imaginative description of creation, or whether we have a factual account. That's of little concern. Not in the mind of an inspired apostle, down toward the close of the apostolic age, fixing the blueprints for the life of the church for its entire existence until Christ returns. He goes right back into Genesis and gathers up all of his materials and he draws

46:18 his blueprints from Genesis 2 and 3. To me it is no wonder that there is such a cavalier indifference to passages such as 1 Timothy 2, 8 to 15 because there has been an erosion of deep heartfelt conviction as to the historicity of Genesis chapters 1, 2 and 3. But then a second word of application is this. Not only must we cling at all costs to the historicity of the early chapters of Genesis, but secondly we must not under any circumstances refuse submission to apostolic teaching regarding the true significance of the early chapters of Genesis. You see the progression in thought? We must not only cling to the fact that when we open up Genesis 1, 2 and 3 we are reading history, but when we come in the New Testament and we see inspired apostles, those peculiar foundation stones in the building of the living church, Ephesians 2 and verse 22, when we see them giving interpretation to the facts of Genesis 1, Genesis 2, Genesis 3, we must not under any circumstances refuse submission

47:47 to apostolic teaching regarding the significance of these early chapters of Genesis. I quote again 1 Corinthians 14, 37 If any man seemeth to be a prophet or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things which I say unto you are the commandments of the Lord. Let me give you the exact wording that's been a poor quotation. If any man thinketh himself to be a prophet or spiritual, let him take knowledge of the things which I write unto you that they are the commandments of the Lord. We're being told in our day by people who are at least a little more honest with a text such as 1 Timothy, why one cannot question the meaning is clear. Let a woman learn. I permit not a woman to teach nor to exercise authority. That's obviously what it says.

48:43 But who said it? A poor, blind, partially sanctified male chauvinist apostolic bigot. So we have the right to disregard what he says. No, no, my friend.

49:00 To disregard apostolic interpretation of the facts of Genesis is to disregard the word himself. And then to come along and say in the name of the Lord we offer such a treatment of the word of God to bring the liberating power of the Lord to our dear sisters in Christ. Rubbish! Anyone who would liberate you from apostolic norms is calling you to sin and to bondage.

49:34 Anyone who would seek to bring you graciously and lovingly to embrace apostolic norms is seeking to bring you into eternity. But then thirdly by way of application let me state this. We must not under any circumstances go beyond the teaching of this portion in our life together as the people of God. When Paul says Adam was not deceived, the woman was utterly deceived.

50:09 He's not putting down women. We are not to infer from that that women are lunkheads, silly, flighty, feminine birds who don't know from nothing. My friend to deduce that from the passage is to rest the scriptures to your own destruction. Wherein a woman is weaker physically or in certain matters of judgment any manifestation of that weakness is not to call forth an attitude of superiority but according to the language of another apostle it is to call forth honor from a man.

50:51 Giving honor unto the woman as unto the weaker vessel. And wherein she has been made by God stronger and there are areas where she has greater strengths intuitively, emotionally and in the outworking of the life of the people of God and in our families we do not honor this passage or the God of this passage if we put down and do not nurture and seek to bring to its fullest expression those noble feminine graces and qualities and plead them for all they are worth. To the profit of our own hearts and lives as men, to the profit of the people of God and to the blessing of our families. We must not under any circumstances go beyond the teaching of this portion in our life together as the people of God. The passage in is not addressing itself to the question as I alluded earlier whether or not it is proper for a woman to teach a mixed group of men and women in a university. Whether it is proper for a Mrs. Thatcher

52:04 to rule as prime minister in England. Those issues are decided on the basis of other precepts and principles of the word of God. Paul is talking about behavior within the redeemed community. Within the community of those who are confessed as the ones who come under the power of the new creation. Who are seeking to be in grace. What we would have been had sin never entered. And as the church of God, the house of the living God, it can only bring tragic results when modern eves will be separated from their atoms and take a place of leadership which God is not assigned to them. Will take the lead in direct confrontation with matters for which God has not equipped them.

Application: Taking the Tragedy of the Fall Seriously

52:58 And then finally, my last word and I trust it will come home to some of you who hear my voice with power. We must not at any cost take lightly the tragedy of the fall. We must not at any cost take lightly the tragedy of the fall. When the apostle writes, Adam was not deceived, it is the same apostle who says elsewhere, as to the one man's disobedience, sin came upon all. As in Adam all die, the fall is a tragic thing. And my own heart was smitten that in my preparation I could study and meditate upon Genesis 3 and not weep. To find man the creature made for fellowship with God, made for communion with God, actually running from his God so that God has to come and seek him. You talk about tragedy, that makes anything Shakespeare wrote look like a kid's cartoon. The living

54:12 God who made man in his own image with a capacity for fellowship and communion with him, stamped his own image and likeness upon him to find that creature running from God, hiding in shame. What a tragedy! But my friend, that's not the tragedy of Eden alone, that's the tragedy of every single life by nature. That's the tragedy of your life.

54:36 And I may be speaking to someone in this auditorium or someone by his radio tonight who is a living monument of that tragedy. You cringe at the thought that God knows you, that God sees you, that God understands all about you, because your conscience is a constant reminder that you're a creature who's estranged from God and under the curse and wrath and frown of the Almighty. But oh thank God, Genesis 3 does not stop with God coming and forcing as it were from the man and from the woman an acknowledgement of guilt. God comes with a gracious promise in verse 15 and says, I I will put enmity between the serpent and the woman the seed of the serpent the seed of the woman, and then he gives a marvelous promise that the seed of the woman would crush the head of the serpent. And that's the first seed of gospel promise. And God in sovereign grace comes and plants it in the midst of Eden. And that seed has come to full bloom in the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ who when he came to this earth as the God-man lived the life we did not live died the death we should have died. And in the

56:01 consummation of his obedience unto death as we saw this morning from Philippians 2 he was able to cry to tell us time. It is finished! It has been accomplished! And the scripture tells us that he made a triumph over the powers of darkness in his death. My friend take seriously the reality of your guilt, the tragedy of your alienation from God. Because then and only then will you be prepared to take seriously the truth that almighty God has made a provision for sinners in the person of his own dear son. May God write his heart upon our word write his word upon our hearts and enable us to render the response of faith and obedience of which he is worthy. Let us pray.

56:54 Holy Father, bless to every heart the preaching, the teaching the application of your holy word. And to your name and to your name alone be praise honor and glory now and forevermore. Amen.