Hey, Bible readers, I'm Tara Lee, Cabal, and I'm your host for The Bible Recap. Our New Testament readers finished their 17th book today, and our full Bible readers finished their 56th book. Today and tomorrow, Paul is writing letters to the young new leaders of relatively young churches. One of the things that's interesting to notice is which information he shares with both leaders and what is specific to just one leader. That can help us as we try to learn more about the context of each church's problems and/or which instructions and counsel are universal to all churches. Timothy is one of the leaders of the church in Ephesys, which Paul planted. Ephesis is the town where they worshiped so many false gods, specifically the Goddess Artemis, that the Silversmith Union started a riot over the Gospel. The Ephesians are so steeped in their culture of pagan worship that Timothy has a real battle on his hands when it comes to good doctrine and orderly practice. They are wheels off. So Paul's letter is bookended by his desire for them to have good doctrine. They're proud and unteachable and to make matters worse, they want to be teachers and leaders.

But good leaders are first and foremost, good followers. You can imagine how intimidating this scenario could be for Timothy. He's the new guy in town and he's younger than most of the church members. Here Paul is telling him to rebuke the locals who want to be leaders but who aren't even obeying the moral laws God laid out and who don't want to listen. But there's hope for these sinners yet. After all, God saved Paul. His story is a canvas on which God's mercy and patience shines. That's his hope for the two men he hands over to Satan at the end of Chapter 1, just like the guys in 1 Corinthians 5. Paul always aims for restoration and repentance. In Chapter 2, Paul encourages them to pray for those in authority over them. He wants the believers in Ephesians to live in a way that is dignified and respectable, not only because it will hopefully keep them from being persecuted, but also because it's winsome to outsiders. He wants their lives to draw people into the faith, not repel them. Apparently, the men here are inclined to fight and be prideful, and the women are given to being flashy and arrogant and loud, so he tells them to reel it in.

The extent of Paul's statements to the women here is fairly complicated to unpack, but here are a few things worth noting. First, the word silence means quietness. It doesn't refer to total silence. I've heard it described as more of a posture. It carries a tone of humility. This is positioned as the opposite of exercising authority over men. Second, to further complicate things, the Greek phrase used for have authority is only used in this one spot in the whole Bible, so we don't have anything else to compare it to. The perspectives and opinions on what Scripture teaches here are wide and varied. On one end, there's the belief that it doesn't matter what scripture teaches because it's outdated and doesn't apply to us anymore. Then there's the belief that women can serve in any and all positions, or that women can serve in almost all ways as long as they're serving under the authority of the male, or women can't serve in any positions at all. Some say it's okay for women to teach about God as long as it's outside the church or in the church, but not on Sunday mornings. You can see that there are many different ways these verses can be interpreted and applied, and the reality is all but one of those options has to be wrong.

But it's challenging, even among God-loving, Christ-exalting, spirit-filled people to reach complete agreement on what Scripture says here. All that to say, we'll link to some resources from different vantage points in the show notes. We've tried to choose resources that address the topic with scripture and reasoning, not just subjective experience. As for verse 15, where it talks about being saved through childbearing, there are lots of different takes on this as well. The primary one being that Christ was born to a woman, therefore, that's how salvation came to the world. But one thing all the viewpoints agree on is that Paul is not saying women are granted eternal life by having babies. That not only rules out a lot of women, but it's also contradictory to everything else Paul says about how salvation is granted to us. Chapter three gives us a list of qualifications for elders in the church. It points to character more than skill set. In fact, the only skill it lists is able to teach. Character is so important among leaders and timing is important too. Paul says that when leadership is given too soon, it can evoke pride in the leader. He wants the church elders to be respected by insiders and outsiders alike.

Then he talks about deacons, which is a gender neutral term that means servant. It seems like Paul is establishing this as an official position in the church under the leadership of the elders. The requirements for them are still high, but not as high as the elders. Just like with anything else, increased authority means increased responsibility. In chapter four, Paul leans on the good doctrine button again. The Ephesians are so used to worshiping multiple diverse gods that it likely feels normal to them to tack something else on to their worship of Jesus. They're prone to believing any false teaching, whether it's blatantly wicked like Pagan religion or whether it's dressed in a Jesus costume but is really just the law rebranded. Some of the false teachers have a list of things they've commanded people to avoid, but Paul shakes his head at all of it and says, as long as they can legitimately praise God for what they partake in, they're good to go. But it's not like we just live however we want. Paul says God's kids should train themselves for godliness. He says, Be intentional about it. Bodily training is good, he says, but it's temporary.

So while you may put some energy into aiming for a beach body, he says, Put more energy into aiming for a beach heart or something. In verse 15, Paul says, Practice these things, immerse yourself in them so that all may see your progress. This takes aim at any perfectionism in Timothy because Paul is basically saying, You're going to start out slow, but you'll see improvement over time. This instruction will not only help keep Timothy humble, but it will encourage those around him, too. By the way, in verse 10, Paul isn't making a statement of universalism. He says God is the savior of all people. But if this statement meant everyone is saved, then why is Paul risking his life to share the gospel? Why is he enduring prison and persecution to share Jesus with people who don't even need to know him? There are a few different ways this verse can be interpreted to fit in with the rest of scripture, but the one many scholars land on is that this verse is saying, God will save people from among every people group. And more specifically, the people he'll save are the ones who believe in him.

In chapter five, Paul continues to help Timothy walk in humility while creating order in the church. There were some issues in this church with widows, apparently. Some of the younger widows may have been taking advantage of the church's provision when they actually had other means of sustaining themselves. Paul says, set up some boundaries around who the church will support. Don't just throw the bank account gates wide open without discernment. It has to be challenging to set up structure for caring for needy people in the church. Paul is giving Timothy some wisdom and guidance on how to set up a system that honors God and the people of the church simultaneously. He tells Timothy to pay the people who lead the church, make sure they're well taken care of. Then he gives him instructions on how to rebuke people who persist in sin. But he adds that some sins are the kinds that don't really show up. They're internal more than external. They're slower to surface. He talks a lot about money and how to handle it in Chapter Six. There's nothing wrong with money, he says. It's a blessing that should be used to honor God.

He wants us to delight in the things he gives to us. Money isn't the problem, the love of money is. So Paul doesn't condemn their wealth or command them to get rid of it. Instead, he says, Hold it loosely and view it rightly. It's not sturdy enough to set your hopes on. My Godshot comes from this section too. In verses 6-7, he says, Godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into the world and we cannot take anything out of the world. He reminds us that being godly and content is the best set up imaginable, which should also serve to remind us that our obedience to God, any level of obedience we might have, it's not a claim ticket for our desires, godliness and contentment. Is godliness enough for our contentment? Is knowing Christ sufficient for our joy? You already know what I think, but I'll say it again for the people in the back. He's where the joy is. Tomorrow we'll be reading the short book of Titus. We've linked to a video overview for you in the show notes. It'll only take you eight minutes to watch. Out with the new, in with the Old Testaments.

We finished the New Testament in 13 days, and we'd love for you to plan to join us again or for the first time when we relaunch with Genesis 1. We're posting an episode today that will fill you in on all the new things, changes and additions that we have coming your way. So be sure to check that out. We'll also be posting our prep episodes again. So if you haven't listened to those or if it's been a year since you did listen, today is a great time to freshen up on those. We're so excited to launch back into this with you on January first. We can't escape Christmas music. We hear it at the grocery store, at the mall, while Christmas shopping, and on every radio station this time of year. But how well do you really know Christmas songs? Watch Hope Nation's new Christmas song battle with your family and friends and see who of you knows your Christmas music best. Click the link in the show notes to check it out.