1 Timothy 2:14 – first and thereafter

And Adam was not seduced, yet the woman, being deluded, has come to be in the transgression…

Here Paul further explains his instruction that a woman should not teach or dominate a man (:12). He gives two reasons for this, both of which take us back to the beginning of human history. Adam was formed first and then Eve to assist him. This is not just history, but it also tells what male and female mean. Without knowledge of their origins we cannot possibly understand the principles of these concepts.

Paul’s second motif underlines his argument. The reasoning is of course not that the woman is punished to this day because of Eves deception. No, the history in Genesis 3 demonstrates what happens when man reverses the roles God has assigned to man and woman. In the garden she guided Adam while she herself was deceived. Thus the first human couple fell into transgression. Adam apparently did this consciously because not he, but the woman was deceived, we read. She chose based on feelings and impressions. Her sensitivity may be her strength in general, but in this it is her weakness. Emotions are a gift of God, but unsuitable for leadership.

Delen: