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Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Happy holiday.

Good morning. Welcome to worship today at Ebenezer Presbyterian Church. It is a blessing to welcome all of you here and especially if you are a guest today.

We are very uh happy to have you as a part of this time. Pray that you will be blessed and come back and worship with us again in the future. Would you please take the friendship pads and fill in that information and pass it down the row so that others can do the same.

if you are a a guest, uh if you would include your email address, that gives us an opportunity just to reach out to you uh a little later on this week to say hello and thank you for being here. Few announcements that I do want to point out in our bulletin today. Reminder, there is not going to be an evening service tonight.

uh instead uh there's a lot of work that has to go on in preparation for VBS, but we will pick back up with e evening worship next Sunday uh night and also on that night on that evening service we will celebrate the sacrament of the Lord's supper. So I want to encourage you to come and avail yourself of that means of grace and use this week uh to prepare yourself to come to the Lord's table and to examine yourself uh before you come. Also, uh reminder or actually an announcement um that I was given a little bit ago and that is for the youth group tonight uh you will be meeting at PW's uh ice cream at 5:00 pm.

Uh if you have any questions about that uh you can speak to Will. And then the last announcement has to do with your insert to your bulletin of vacation Bible school starts tomorrow. Uh this is always a big time for Ebenezer.

Uh we have been blessed for so many years um with this ministry. I do want to encourage everyone to pray for it. Uh pray for the week ahead for all those that are involved from the adults and such here at Ebenezer to the kids that will participate in it as well.

Uh there is an insert to your bulletin and that is for the um what is that for? >> It's for the Friday. Okay.

I thought that's what it was, but I didn't see the QR code. Okay, sorry about that. It's for the Friday night meal.

So, uh, this is Friday night's the culmination of VBS, and we always have a big celebration at this point. It's great for the, uh, adults of the congregation and the kids, the youth to come, but we also have a lot of the families uh, of the children that come to VBS. And so this is a really nice opportunity to reach out to them and thank them for being a part of uh BBS and to invite them to come and join us for worship as well.

So please come and be a part of that. It really is a special time for the church and a culmination to a good week. Well, you can look at the other announcements and uh and consider them for yourself, but let's take a moment now and prepare our hearts to worship the Lord.

As we gather together to worship our God, may we stand as he calls us to worship today from the book of 1 Timothy chapter 1 verse 17. To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

Let's pray. Oh great God, King above all kings, Lord above all lords, the one who has made all things, the one who holds all things together. Today we gather to worship you and you alone.

For you are the one that is worthy of all of our worship, of all of our praise. You are the mighty God. You are the God who is above all things.

You are the God that is immortal, the God that is invisible and yet has come in the flesh and his son that we might know you. That we might be your people and you would be our God. You and your grand wisdom who guides and directs all of our steps and all of history.

Indeed, oh God, we gather together to give glory to you for this and so much more. Lord, as we have come today, may you help us despite our sin to worship in a way that is pleasing in your sight. Help us to not simply go through this as if it is a routine.

But Lord, may we worship you in spirit and in truth. That we might come away from here today equipped for every good work and that you would be praised as you and you alone deserve. Accept our praise as pleasing in your sight.

We pray in Jesus name. Amen. Our first hymn this morning is connected with our call to worship as we sing hymn number 38, Immortal, Invisible, God only wise.

might bless mighty victorious. ing for the rul. Bless our mountainore.

All praise we help us to sing. This morning we come and we affirm our faith in our God from the Nyine creed. And this is a longer creed and not as easy to memorize as the apostles creed, but it still captures the reality of who our God is.

It brings out more of the truth of who Christ himself is. And so I would encourage you this week, take your bulletin home and compare this with the Apostles Creed and see yet again just who our Savior is as his word teaches us. So I ask you Christians this morning, in whom do you believe?

We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible. We believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds, God of God, light of light, very God of very God, begotten not made, being of one substance with the Father. Through him all things were made.

For us and for our salvation, he came down from heaven and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary and was made man. For our sake, he was crucified under Pontious Pilate. He suffered death and was buried.

On the third day, he rose again according to the scriptures and ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end. We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son.

With the Father and the Son, he is worshiped and glorified. He has spoken through the prophets. We believe in one holy, Catholic, and apostolic church.

We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. And we look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Amen.

You may be seated. Again, we are reminded of how great our God is and how far we have fallen. We have all sinned and fallen short of his glory each and every day.

we fall short. And none of us deserves anything from him but his wrath. And yet our gracious God has been merciful to all who would confess their sins and turn to Christ Jesus in faith that they might find forgiveness and hope for eternity.

And so as we have gathered together today, may we come before our holy God and confess our sins, trusting in his care first individually and then together as a body. Let's pray. Would you join me in prayer?

Heavenly Father, we have sinned against you and done what is evil in your sight. In your holy law, you have set the standard we are to reach, but we have fallen short of your glory. We have honored you with our lips, but failed to honor you in our lives.

Out of the evil treasury of our hearts, we have brought forth sinful habits, words, and attitudes. If you were to keep a record of sins, oh Lord, who could stand? But with you, there is plentiful forgiveness in your son.

Because of him, we confidently draw near to your throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. refresh, renew, and revive us in this grace in which we stand that we may delight in your love and love you with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength through Jesus we pray. Amen.

And for those that will confess their sins and turn to Christ to be assured of your forgiveness from Psalm 40 11. As for you, oh Lord, you will not restrain your mercy from me. Your steadfast love and your faithfulness will ever preserve me.

And as is fitting for such wonderful news. May we now stand our song of praise as we sing. My heart is filled with thankfulness.

My heart is filled with thankfulness to him for my name. who the depths of my disgrace and gave me life again. who crush my curse of sinfulness and clothe me in his light and wrote his love right upon my heart.

My heart is filled with thankfulness to him who walks beside. Who we strength and fears to fly. Everyone for every step I take me with arms of love and crown me with My heart is filled with thankfulness to him who wisdom is my perfectly Every thought is for every day I have on earth is given by the king.

So I will give my life my love and follow him. For every day I have earth is given by the king. I will give my life to love and follow him.

Amen. Be seated. This morning, our Old Testament reading comes to us from the book of Isaiah, chapter 40, verses 6- 11.

Hear now God's word. A voice says, "Cry." And I said, "What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all its beauty is like the flower of the field.

The grass withers, the flower fades, when the breath of the Lord blows on it. Surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.

Go on up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good news, lift up your voice with strength. Oh Jerusalem, herald of good news, lift it up, fear not. Say to the cities of Judah, behold your God.

Behold, the Lord God comes with might, and his arm rules for him. Behold, his roar is with him, and his recompense before him. He will tend his flock like a shepherd.

He will gather the lambs and his arms. He will carry them in his bosom and gently lead those that are with young. The word of God for the people of God.

Thanks be to God. I want Glory. You are to the cross.

Is Glory. Let's go again before our great God in prayer. Almighty and everlasting God, again we are privileged and blessed to be able to come before your throne of grace in prayer here today.

Lord, we deserve nothing good from you. And yet you have freely given freely given your son that by his shed blood we would be forgiven. But not only that we also would be brought into your family as sons and daughters of the living God.

Not by any merit of ourselves but because of the Lord Jesus Christ. Because of him, we can draw near to your throne of grace with confidence here today and every day, wherever we might be, whatever we might be going through. And we can trust that you hear us, that you answer us, and that all things work out according to your will, a will that ends with your glory and our good.

Oh God, we recognize this truth. And so we can come here today and lay all manners of requests at your feet and trust in your provision. We come here today and we think of the different aches and ailments many of us face.

We think of the diseases, some mild but some life-threatening for both ourselves and for our loved ones. We come and we think of the stress and the pains and the problems in our jobs, in our relationships, with our own sin. And yet, you are a God who is able to help us in all of these things.

You are a God who is able to heal. You are a God who is able to encourage. And you are a God is who is able to help us overcome.

And so, oh God, whatever we come to you with today, Lord, may we trust that you are indeed able, Lord, as we consider the things that are going on this week, not only in our own lives, but in the lives of our church, Lord, we also come to you with these requests. Lord, we come to you first in the meeting of the general senate this year. Lord, we pray that you would be with all the ministers and the elders that are going, Lord, to go would be about your business.

Lord, may you give them wisdom. May you give them unity. May you give them hearts for you and for your people that all that would happen will be with a desire for your glory and our good.

Lord, may you be with all those traveling, see them safely to and from. May you be with those that are leading, whether it be the moderator, the the clerks, whether it be any of the committee leaders, whatever it might be. Lord, we pray that your spirit move mightily and that all will be done for you.

Oh God, we also pray for that which is going on here in our church. Lord, as we look to this week of vacation Bible school, we are reminded that the lost ranges from young to old. And Lord, that there are children that will be here this week that do not know you.

Oh God, we pray that you would use us in a mighty way. That Lord, these children would leave here by your grace and mercy and your spirit knowing you as their Lord and Savior. Be with each and every one of these volunteers, whether they be the ones that are leading the classes, those that are assisting, those that are running recreation or crafts or helping out behind the scenes.

Lord, give us opportunities for gospel conversations with each and every one of these students. Help them to ask meaningful questions and help us to have the right answer and help us in all that we do this week. Point them to you, Lord.

Our best efforts will be for not. But because we have you, we know that you can use our broken words and all that has happened here to prepare for this for your glory and that these children would come to know you as their Lord and Savior. So, oh God, we pray that you would be with them this week, also be with their parents and those that would be bringing them this week, those that come on Friday night.

Lord, also give us opportunities to share the gospel there, whether it be through our mouths or through the mouths of their children. Lord, may they come to know the saving grace of Jesus Christ as well. And oh God, for those that do know you, may you continue to build them up this week.

Help equip them for every good work to honor and glorify you in all things. May we may those that are helping volunteer this week also get fed also grow closer to you and to one another. And oh God, we know that there are many other things going on all in our lives and the life of our church.

But with all of these things, Lord, we trust in your sovereign care. And Lord, we are reminded that even when we are unsure of exactly what to pray, when words seem to fail us, not just repetition, but we can genuinely pray the prayer you taught your disciples praying. Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.

Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

At this time, any children four years old or in kindergarten that would like are dismissed to children's church. As our God has blessed us all, may we now return a portion of those blessings and our tithes and offerings while we sing hymn number 538. More about Jesus, what I know.

Glorious. Jesus. Jesus.

Glor. Jesus, Glor. Jesus.

Glory prince of peace. Jesus. Jesus.

Please turn in your copy of God's word to our scripture reading this morning. We're continuing in First Timothy. So, we'll look today at 1 Timothy chapter 2 verses 8-15.

If you're using one of the Pew Bibles, you can find that on page 991. Let me begin by praying for us. Almighty God, would you subdue our rebellious spirits that we would humbly yield ourselves to the authority of your word alone?

Please grant to us open minds to understand the scriptures and softened hearts to accept your will for our lives. And thus may we live in a manner pleasing to you and worthy of the gospel of your son. We ask this in his name.

Amen. Second Timothy chapter 2, beginning in verse 8. Listen now to the word of God.

Paul writes, "I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling. Likewise also the women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire, but with what is proper for women who profess godliness, with good works. 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. The grass withers and the flower fades, but the word of our God endures forever. Amen.

When it comes to interpreting the Bible correctly, there are certain distinctions that we must make. And if we ignore those distinctions, we can get ourselves into a world of trouble. For instance, in prophetic writings, a distinction must be made between those things that are to be interpreted literally and those things that are symbolic.

Another distinction involves things in the Bible that are descriptive. simply telling us what happened and those parts that are prescriptive, telling us this is the way that it should be. For example, in Acts 1:26, we find the apostles casting lots in order to choose the replacement for Judas.

Is Luke recording this for us to tell us this is simply what they did? Or is he telling us that casting lots is the way that we should make our decisions today? These are just a couple of the distinctions that we must recognize if we are to interpret the scriptures rightly.

Well, another distinction that we must make and keep in mind relates to our text today. And it involves distinguishing those commandments that are limited to their immediate context and those that transcend their context and apply to all times. Let's see how this distinction plays out in our text this morning.

Paul continues where we left off last week. You will remember that in the first part of chapter 2, his attention has been on the issue of the church's corporate worship. And a special concern to him is the importance of prayer in the gathering of God's people.

And this continues in our text today. Look with me at verse eight. Paul writes,"I desire that then that in every place the men should pray lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling." With this phrase every place, Paul has in mind every place in which the people of God are gathered together in worship.

He's talking about the corporate worship of God's people on the Lord's day. Now, we know that women also prayed in worship. 1 Corinthians 11:15 mentions this specifically, but Paul addresses men here because of the problem in the church at Ephesus where Timothy was to pastor.

And that problem is there are angry men who are quarreling with one another. Some might say, "What's new?" But this issue was made worse in Ephesus where these certain persons from chapter 1:3 were attempting to spread their different doctrine. False teaching and false teachers inevitably create discord and conflict in the church body by undermining the church's unity in Christ and its common faith that is centered on Christ.

False teaching provides an easy playground for Satan to stir up dissension among believers. And sometimes even godly people on the side of truth can respond in ungodly and less than righteous ways. How do we combat this?

Well, in chapter one, Paul already told Timothy to confront these false teachers. They are not to continue in what they're doing. He is to command that they be silent.

But in addition, Paul elevates the importance of corporate prayer. Through our collective prayers, we humble ourselves before the Lord. We pray for forgiveness, not only for our own sins, but also the collective sins of the church body.

We seek the Lord's guidance and protection. We ask him to restore our unity in his truth. And anger and quarreling become difficult to maintain when the church is gathered together at the throne of grace.

What about Paul's instruction for the men to lift holy hands as they pray? What is the significance of this? Well, Paul is addressing one's posture in prayer.

We see the same thing in Psalm 63:E4 where David writes, "So I will bless the Lord as long as I live. In your name, I will lift up my hands." At other times, people would prostrate themselves before the Lord. As we see in Numbers 16:22, Moses fell on his face before the Lord.

Sometimes people would kneel in prayer as Daniel did in Daniel 6:10. The Jews of the first century typically stood during their prayers in the synagogue as we see in Matthew 6:5. All of these speak to the person's outward posture in prayer.

And no one posture is more valid than another. And these outward postures are intended, they are designed to give expression to the inner posture of a person's heart. To lie face down in prayer before God or to kneel or to lift up one's hands.

These are physical expressions of humility and submission and sorrow and repentance and surrender and reverence and awe and devotion and more. But the outward act must never be separated from the inward disposition or else what you have is hypocrisy. This explains why Paul does not just refer to lifting one's hands in prayer, but rather lifting holy hands in prayer.

Hands represents a person's actions, what they do. And holy refers to that which is consecrated to God, set apart for his purposes. So the outward lifting up to the Lord in prayer, not just hands, but hands that are holy, represents one's inward devotion to God and desire to be used as his instrument.

And this was in contrast to the anger and the quarreling some of the men in Ephesus had given themselves over to. Now, how do we apply Paul's words to ourselves today? Men, are you sinning when you do not lift up your hands during our times of prayer?

Well, the physical act of lifting hands seems to have been part and parcel to the church culture in the first century, coming likely out of the synagogue worship, and it is not a transcendent mandate. In Romans 16:16, Paul also tells the brethren to greet one another with a holy kiss. This was another practice in the early church that I think could be wildly misinterpreted today.

But while the physical posturing of posture of lifting one's hands to the Lord is optional, the inner posture is not. We must come to the Lord with humble, submissive, and kindly spirits, always desiring to be used by him and according to his purposes. Now, having addressed the men in worship, Paul turns his attention to the women.

Look with me at verse nine. Likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire. In preaching circles, this is what is commonly called stepping on toes.

Some might say that this is the line from preaching into meddling. Not to understand Paul's instruct to to understand Paul's instructions rather we need to consider again the context. The city of Ephesus was one of the largest and most prosperous cities in the Roman Empire.

It was thoroughly cosmopolitan embracing all aspects of the Grecoman culture. And within this culture, wealthy women often emphasized their social standing by their appearance. Their clothing, their hairstyle, their jewelry, all functioned as neon signs to convey the message, "I'm important.

I'm special. I'm elite. Look at me." It was the height of vanity.

And this is how many women lived and those who didn't wish that they could. But in the place of such ostentatious displays, Paul says that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel with modesty and self-control. Respectable is the word that is used of elders in chapter 3:e 2 and describes that which is orderly and dignified.

The word modesty according to one commentator has sexual overtones to it. It refers to dress that is not seductive or suggestive in manner. The NIV uses the word decency.

Lastly, self-control care can refer to soundness of mind or self-mastery. Some translations use the word moderation. So, in contrast to the showy self-d displays of the women in Ephesus, Paul insists on a different way, a countercultural way.

Those who identify with Christ should cultivate an appearance that is respectable, not ostentatious and showy and attention seeking. An appearance that is modest, not seductive or disregarding of propriety, and an appearance that is moderate, not extravagant, and self-indulging. Now, what do we take away from this, ladies?

Is Paul telling you to scrap your wardrobe and replace it with a bunch of burlap sacks? Is Paul against you having your hair done or wearing earrings or putting on makeup? Well, once again, Paul's instructions are in response to a specific situation in Ephesus.

This is not a timeless command against women wearing braided hair or having jewelry or wearing nice clothes. Yet we must acknowledge that there is a principle in play that reaches beyond Ephesus to today. Words like respectable and modest and moderate are not time sensitive.

They are good words that reflect righteousness at all times and provide good boundaries when it comes to how we present ourselves to others. On another level though, clothing and outward appearance are secondary issues to the deeper issue of the heart. What does an obsessive interest in clothing and jewelry and appearance indicate within?

You see, the issue isn't just one's clothing, but one's attitude behind the clothing. and what for many people is an unhealthy obsession with appearance which screams of selfidolatry. In contrast, this is what Peter wrote in first Peter 3 3 and 4.

Do not let your adorning be external, the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry or the clothing you wear, but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with imper the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit which is God's which in God's sight is very precious. Parents, you need to help your daughters understand this. Teach it to her and model it in your own life.

Because one thing is certain. If you do not teach her how to think as God thinks about this, the world will be more than happy to educate her for you. Prophet Samuel said, "For the Lord sees not as man sees.

Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart. How often people read these verses and all they come away with is the question, can I wear this or can I wear that? The real question is, what is going on in my heart?

To whom am I looking for affirmation? How can I use even my appearance to honor and to please God? These are the kinds of questions that we all should be asking ourselves.

And if the heart is in sync with Christ and pursuing his will, I think you will find that things like clothing and other aspects of our outer appearance will take care of themselves. coupled with what Paul what is proper rather for women who profess godliness Paul adds in verse 10 good works isn't this what all Christians are made for in Ephesians 2 8 and 9 Paul says for by grace you are saved through faith and that not of your own works it is the gift of God not of your works or not of your doing So therefore, we have no reason to boast. There is no work that you or I can do to earn salvation or to merit God's grace.

It is the free gift God gives simply through faith in his son. He exchanges the rags of our sins for the royal robe of his righteousness. And we are welcomed by the father, adopted as his sons and daughters.

But that's not all. In verse 10, Paul adds, "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them." The Christian is made for good works. And who more so than a godly woman?

For by these works we give evidence to our salvation, and we glorify the Father, who has saved us in the Son. Now, as we move into verses 11- 15, we enter one of the more highly debated parts of the Bible. And that is the role of women, particularly when it comes to the preaching and teaching ministry of the church.

Since it is expected in the next chapter, chapter 3, that the elders of the church, both teaching and ruling elders, the pastors and the elders will bear the teaching preaching responsibilities. This issue also relates to church leadership and the exercising of authority. Now, we should be very clear that except for some minor exceptions, these verses were not debated in the history of the church until rather recently.

And many have argued that the change in some churches in this area is due not to a corrected understanding of the Bible, but rather to the church embracing the practices and the mindset of the contemporary culture. Kent Hughes writes this, "My concern is this. If we do not invite the Bible, biblical text to define church order, the intrusive culture will, the zeicist, the spirit of the age is a tyrant to be resisted, not embraced.

As we begin in verse 11, remember that the context is corporate worship. And as he was led by the Holy Spirit, Paul writes, "Let a woman learn quietly with all submissiveness." That Paul insists on women in the church being given the opportunity to learn would have been considered quite liberal and radical by Jewish standards of the day and even those of the larger Greco Roman culture. But Paul was simply following the pattern of Jesus himself who had many female disciples, some of whom supported him financially.

But as Paul continues, he adds a qualifier. As a woman learns in the context of worship, she should do so quietly and with all submissiveness. The word quiet is the same word that is used back in verse two of chapter 2 to describe how Christians are to live in society.

It is a word that speaks of a calm behavior. It's not suggesting that women are forbidden to speak in a worship service. We know from 1 Corinthians 11 that women prayed.

In some cases they prophesied. Most assuredly they sang. So quiet does not mean silence except in terms of the preaching, teaching, ministry.

Instead, quiet speaks to a posture of calm respect that is conducive to listening and to learning. In addition, Paul says that women must exercise all submissive submissiveness. The word submission can certainly be abused.

No doubt about it. but rightly understood. It has biblical precedence.

We all must submit to Christ as our Lord and our King. A wife is called to submit to her husband as the spiritual head of their home. Children must submit to their parents.

Church members are called to submit to the leaders of the church. To submit means to yield or to put oneself under. Now, contemporary minds naturally want to assume that submission implies inferiority, but that is not true except in our submission to God.

Instead, submission involves recognizing an order to our relationships as God has designed them. And when it comes to God's word, not just women, but men too must submit and put themselves under it. Next, Paul writes in verse two or 12, I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man.

She is to remain quiet. Teach and exercise authority are two distinct activities. Although there is a connection between them but they are two activities.

Now we know from other places in scripture that qualified women are permitted and they are encouraged to teach other women as well as to teach children. And there is also the account in Acts 18 of the husband and wife Aquilla and Priscilla privately explaining to Apollos the way of God more accurately. It certainly appears Priscilla was involved in this explaining.

But it must be noted that that was in a private and informal setting with her husband present. This is not the setting Paul is addressing which is the corporate assembly of the church. In this setting, Paul says that a woman is not permitted to teach.

And in the pastoral letters, when the church is assembled, teaching always involves the careful and authoritative communication of biblical truth. This would include preaching no less than teaching since there is commonality between them. Paul is clear.

Teaching and preaching the Bible are authoritative acts that are limited to qualified men. And incidentally, most men are not permitted to do either of these except those who are called to the offices of minister or in most cases the elders. In addition, by saying that a woman is not permitted to exercise authority in the church over a man, this limits the office of pastor and elder to men.

as these offices provide the spiritual oversight of the church. With this command, we must remember that Paul is addressing life in the church. And we would also add in the home.

Apart from these, many women can and do hold positions of authority over men and many lead very effectively. Now, what about some objections to what I've said? Some have argued that the Greek word that is translated as exercise authority really means something more like abusive authority.

And in that case, what Paul is forbidding is not women exercising authority in the church, but rather doing so in an abusive manner. Is that correct? Well, if you look to this word in other parts of the Bible to see how it is used, we're not going to have a lot of help because this is the only place it is used.

But if you go outside the Bible in the roughly 100 examples that exist, this clearly established meaning, the clearly established meaning is simply exercise authority with no negative connotations to it. And not surprisingly, in the 20 or so translations that I looked at, this is how it is rendered. Still others point to a text like Galatians 3:28, which says, "There is neither Jew nor Greek.

There is neither slave nor free. There is no male or female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." Does this verse do away with gender distinctions? No, does not.

This is a statement about our salvation and our spiritual equality in in Christ before God. Regardless of our status in life regarding salvation, we are all alike. Men, women, Jews, Greeks, slaves, free, all are one alike.

Sinners that are saved by grace. But this verse is not addressing distinctions between men and women in the home and in the church which Paul clearly affirms not only in our text today but in multiple other places. Well, some suggest that Paul's commands applied only to the church at Ephesus to this particular congregation in its setting.

As the argument goes, in Ephesus, where the temple to the female goddess Artemis was, attitudes were much more, as we would say, progressive toward women. And this created an atmosphere that caused some of the women in the church to involve themselves in areas of ministry they were not qualified for. And that is why Paul insists that they not teach or exercise authority.

His command applied to this congregation alone. Now that sounds plausible in theory, but there are two problems. First, there is not a shred of historical evidence to support this view of Ephesus.

It is pure speculation without any proof. The truth is Ephesus was a typical Greco Roman city of its day and so were the women in it. Second, as we'll see in just a moment, Paul does not ground the reason for his commands in some temporal situation, the church in Ephesus, but he establishes it in the very order of creation itself.

Friends, the straightforward reading of our text this morning is clear. There may be some side questions that need to be answered, but those do not obscure the main point. As Paul under the divine inspiration indicates, the authoritative offices of minister and elder who bear the charge to preach and to teach are limited to qualified men.

And to reject this, you have to work pretty hard to twist the text and make it say what it clearly does not say. Still though, Paul does not explain the rationale for his mandate. Certainly, there is no inferiority implied on the part of women.

Both men and women are made in God's image, ontologically equal. likewise competent and capable in all matters of intellect and faith. There is no difference in terms of salvation and standing before God.

There is no discrepancy in terms of piety and godliness. Why then this command that draws a distinction between men and women in teaching and authority? Well, as we see in verses 13 and 14, Paul's reasoning extends back to the earliest days of creation when God made the first man and woman.

And he writes, "For Adam was formed first, then Eve, and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor." The word for tells you that verse 13 is the explanation to verses 11 and 12. Paul bases his command on the very order that God has designed into creation. What we have here is a creation mandate built into the very fiber of the creation itself that transcends then all time and cultures.

God created the man first and in doing so established his authority and from him God made the woman who would be his helpmate. And this order God built into his creation prior to the fall note and thus it was good. And when this order is violated or it is disobeyed, as is often the case today since the fall, disorder and chaos erupt.

This is the point of verse 14. By saying that Eve was deceived and became a transgressor, Paul is not suggesting that she was more gullible than Adam. The point here is that she reversed the proper order of God's design which always results in disorder.

And rest assured, Adam was no less culpable. For instead of leading and protecting and caring for his wife, he passively yielded his Godmandated authority as so many men do today. Lastly, we read in verse 15, "Yet she will be saved through childbearing if they continue in faith and love and holiness with self-control." This is without doubt one of the most challenging verses in all of the Bible to understand.

There are a variety of views on it. I am not entirely sold on any of them. I'm inclined to believe that what Paul has in mind here is a reference to the birth of Jesus.

In the Greek language, the word for childbearing has a definite article in front of it, the word the. And so it could be translated not simply as childbearing, but the childbearing, as in the bearing of a specific child or offspring of Eve, who would bring salvation. This would also fulfill the gospel pronouncement in Genesis 3:15 where the Lord declared to Satan that the offspring of the woman shall crush him underfoot.

And that offspring, Eve's seed is Jesus. And not only Eve, but all women will find salvation in him, provided they continue in faith and love and holiness with self-control. I will confess that I am only slightly competent of this interpretation.

And as always, I would encourage you to be Bereans and go study it for yourself along with everything else that has been said this morning. friends in goodness. God has designed order into his church and churches ignore that oral order to their own peril.

To those who would ask, if women cannot preach and teach or exercise the authority of a church officer, what can they do? I would simply respond, what can't they do? Virtually everything else is open.

How narrow to limit the scope of ministry to these three things? Ladies, as you are gifted by God, any number of ministries are open to you, not only in this church, but outside as lights in the midst of this darkened world. And if you look for opportunities to serve and aren't sure where to begin, please speak to Pastor Jordan or myself and we are happy to help.

Let's pray. Lord Jesus, you are the head of your church and in it along with the home, you have designed a good order. Help us as men and women to respect that order and honor the roles that you have assigned to us.

We would flourish and in our relationships with one another, conform us by your spirit to your likeness that in all things we would honor you and give a good witness to the world of your kingdom. We ask this in Jesus name. Amen.

Would you please take out your hymn book one more time and let's turn to number 347, The Church's One Foundation. We will sing verses 1- 4. Please stand with me.

Churches I Father might earth. Holy Bless Every praise. Merc.

Bless. against Remember we will not have evening worship uh Tonight, please do be in prayer for vacation bible school as well as our senate meetings of the ARP church this week at Bon Clark and receive now God's good benediction. Go now in the power of the Holy Spirit to love and to serve the Lord.

May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with each of you now and forever more. Amen. Hallelujah.

Hallelujah. I'm going