But women will be saved through childbearing—if they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety.
Summary: Paul’s words can feel challenging, yet if we look at them in the fullness of his meaning, we discover a message that is both egalitarian and demanding.
Paul’s view of men and women is interesting.
Earlier in verse eight, Paul says he wants men to pray, lift up holy hands, and do this without anger or disputing. Prayer requires a man to rely on God instead of themselves. Lifting up “holy hands” means our hands are clean — we haven’t been doing something we shouldn’t. Doing anything without anger and disputing can be challenging. But Paul is not finished yet. He goes on by telling women how he wants them to address their challenges, and then he says this:
“But women will be saved through childbearing—if they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety.”
How does that work?
We normally talk about being saved by faith, but Paul adds childbearing, love, holiness, and propriety. Is he serious? Whatever happened to “saved by grace?” (Ephesians 2:8-9)
Let’s begin with childbearing, love, holiness, and propriety, and then we can return to the question of faith.
Mankind is created in God’s image and was created “male and female” (Genesis 1:27). Man and woman are a team. God said:
“Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” (Genesis 1:28)
Our work is to “fill the earth and subdue it.” Since men can’t bear children, Paul points to childbearing as the responsibility of women.
The love (agapē) Paul mentions is the same love required of men (John 6:29). There is no difference between men and women here. In fact, the same is true of holiness (holy hands) and propriety (without anger and dispute).
So what about faith?
One of the most plain-spoken passages in the Bible about faith was written by James. He bluntly says, “faith without deeds is dead” (James 2:26). He is not saying we don’t need grace, nor is he saying our deeds save us. What he is pointing to is that faith bears fruit. The fruit of faith in Jesus is seen in the deeds of the believer (Galatians 5:22-23), just as the fruit of the flesh is seen in deeds of the flesh (Galatians 5:19-21).
Are women saved because they bear children?
No, of course not. They are saved because they live their faith in God by bearing fruit of the Spirit. Bearing children is simply one expression of that fruit.
Application: Live your faith.
Food for Thought: Why does the serpent like to confuse our thinking about faith and works?
The serpent likes to confuse us, which is to create doubt, so that we rely on our own experience rather than God.
Faith requires us to submit to God. Faith requires us to trust God. It goes against our sinful nature. Relying on works places us in control, not God. It caters to our sinful nature. When the serpent tries to confuse our thinking about faith and works he is tempting us to doubt God and follow our sinful nature. Probably because it “feels” easier for mankind to trust what they can see or touch. It is a testament to our relationship with God that through Christ, through the Holy Spirit, He lives within us as we abide in Him, and the relationship is outside anything we see or can touch in the world.
1 John 4:13 By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.
John 14:17 …the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.
John 15:5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
1 John 4:16 So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.
Thank you, Chris!
Well said! I especially like that you tied in the fact that God himself is in the believer to testify to the Truth.
Why does the serpent like to confuse our thinking about faith and works?
The apostle Paul, in his second letter to the Corinthians, warns us that “Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light”, 2 Corinthians 11:14. This suggests Satan’s ability to deceive by presenting falsehood as truth, is a tactic that naturally leads to confusion among believers.
Jesus himself, in the Gospel of John, refers to Satan as “the father of lies” John 8:44, indicating that deception – which often results in confusion – is fundamental to Satan’s nature and methods.
Our salvation is to study and receive the full word of God.
Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock, Matthew 7:24
Thank you, Ron!
Welcome back! You’ve been missed!!
Thank you for pointing us back to 2 Corinthians 11:14 — Satan can not only sound deceptive, but he can appear deceptively, too.
Well said!