Tuesday’s Truth: Teaching what is Good: The Responsibility of Godly women in the church
In the past several installments of Tuesday’s Truth, we have looked at the truth about Gender in the Bible. It was designed by God, and men and women have different roles within the church and at home. It is clear that God has designed men to lead in the church and at home. When scholars teach on biblical manhood and womanhood, since it is often a defense against evangelical feminism, the emphasis is often on what women can’t do, focusing on verses like 1 Timothy 2:12-14. However, in this post I want to show that women have a responsibility to teach the word to other women in the local church. Let’s look at Titus chapter 2.
In Titus 2:1, Paul writes to Titus, “But as for you, speak the things which are fitting for sound doctrine. He then describes certain behaviors that older men must exhibit (2:2), and then older women (Titus 2:3).
Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good;
Most of what we see are character qualities, reverent, not gossiping, and not getting drunk. But then the older women are told to “teach what is good.” We see the result of her teaching in the next verse.
So that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored.
We see clearly here in this text that older women are to teach what is good to the younger women. What is included in teaching what is good? I believe this goes back to verse 1. What Paul admonishes Titus to do is to speak that which is fitting for sound doctrine, and in so doing the various members of the congregation older men, older women, young women, and young men will live godly lives. Older women have a responsibility to teach the young women what is good, that is, what is fitting for sound doctrine.
The result of this teaching is so that the younger women will be able to better love their husbands and children. It will be so that younger women will have a better theological understanding so that they will carry out their God ordained responsibilities so that God’s word will be honored. In order for the young women to not dishonor the Word, the older women have a responsibility to teach them the Word. Now, we don’t have an age requirement here for who qualifies as an older women. I believe the idea here is a mature, godly woman who studies the Word, knows the word, can effectively communicate the word to other women so that they aren’t just filled with theological knowledge but live godly lives. Women can love their families in the way that God has ordained to the extent that they know God’s Word.
Women must not just teach other women how to be home makers, but also to instruct young women to deny ungodliness and worldly desires, and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age (Titus 2:12), and these women must teach other women so that they will place their hope in Jesus: “looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.” (Titus 2:13-14)
As we want to be a church faithful to God’s Word, we must not merely respond to the false views of feminism and say what a woman can’t do. Sure, God has not ordained women to pastor and teach authoritatively over men in the church. But we must celebrate the many ways God has gifted women and embrace the ways God has biblically called women to serve in the church, and equip them to fulfill their God ordained responsibility to teach what is good to other women, so that God’s Word will not be dishonored.
When both men and woman are serving the church in the way God has designed them, God is glorified, His Word is Honored, and the church is built up, and Jesus is exalted!
