Bible Phrasing: 1 Timothy 2:11–15, Part 2

The second part of 1 Timothy 2:11–15 is this: Yet she will be saved through childbearing--if they continue in faith and love and holiness, with self-control. 

Several features are worth noticing:

1) Paul begins verse 15 with "yet."  How should we take this transition? 

2) Paul also states that she (singular noun, woman) will be saved. He later shifts to "they" (plural noun, implying women). Is a particular woman in mind (i.e. Eve maybe?) or are all women (in general, or universally) in mind? 

3) What does Paul mean by "will be saved"? Throughout the letter, "to be saved" refers to God's salvation of humanity from sin (1 Timothy 1:15; 2:4; 4:16). Several people have put forth their interpretations:

    - The woman will be converted to Christ. This interpretation would fly in the face of what Paul teaches through the Pastoral Letters, but also with what the entire New Testament teaches about salvation by grace. 

    - The woman will be saved (from divine wrath is implied from the deception and transgression of Eve). Same as the first option. 

    - The woman will be delivered once and for all (from the snare of the devil/serpent). Christian women know from experience that childbearing is not a guarantee of a "once and for all deliverance" from Satan's schemes.  

    - The woman will be saved from the erroneous teaching of roles in the church at Ephesus. This is unlikely since the text does not say this clearly. 

    - The woman will be saved through her perseverance. Paul's use in other places seems to make a distinction between perseverance and salvation. For instance, in 1 Timothy 4:16, Paul tells Timothy that he will be safe by holding fast to his teaching. The context is key. Here, perseverance is ruled out because the context suggests that the woman will be saved from transgression and deception. 

    - The woman will be delivered (in a non-salvific way) despite childbearing.  This is an awkward way to phrase what Paul intends. Not all women who continue in the faith are kept safe despite childbearing. Some godly women have died. Another problem with translating "through" as "despite" is that "through" hardly ever carries a concessive meaning. 

    - The woman will be delivered (through the childbearing/childbirth of Christ). It is true that the birth of Christ was necessary to begin salvation, but it's unlikely this is what Paul has in view. It would not fit the context. 

I believe the most likely interpretation that fits in the context is the following one:

    - The woman will be saved through faith, demonstrated in fulfilling her role as God intended according to creation. Two principles lead to this interpretation: 1) Adam was formed first, then woman. This statement supports the assertion that women should learn quietly and not teach or exercise authority over a man. This argument is an argument from creation. Adam came first, then Eve. 2) Next, Paul argues from the order of the fall. Eve was deceived first, and she became a transgressor. Together, these two principles--the creation and fall orders--help us understand the nature of verse 15. If women continue in faith and love and holiness, with self-control, they will be saved. Their salvation will accord with their role in the created order, namely through their child-bearing. The result of the fall is not childbearing. It is pain in childbearing. Nevertheless, Paul is arguing that Christian women are fulfilling their role as godly women through the good work of childbearing. 

Do all women have to have children in order to fulfill what Paul teaches? That can't be an option since Paul elsewhere encourages singleness (1 Corinthians 7). Rather, Paul likely chose childbearing here to distinguish between the capability that only women have, namely, to bear children, and the capability only men have, namely, their preeminence in the created order. Similarly, the roles men and women play in the household of God are beautifully distinct: men teach and women learn. Men should not try to do what only women can. And women should not do what only men are commanded to do. 

4) Saved "through childbearing" also raises questions. First, what is the meaning of "through"? And second, what does "childbearing" mean in relation to verses 13 and 14. 

    - The meaning of "through" can mean "by means of" childbearing. "Through" can also be used to convey the idea that she will be saved in spite of childbearing. The same construction appears in 1 Corinthians 3:15: "though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire." In order for this to work, however, the syntax should match. 

5) Finally, how should interpreters take the conditional statement at the end of verse 15? "If they continue...." 

These main observations have brought on a bevy of interpretations. Interpreters fall on a spectrum that usually results in one of two extremes. First, some interpreters claim the text says implicitly what it does not say explicitly (i.e. the woman is saved through Mary's childbearing of Christ). The other extreme takes the text in question and pins it against other passages in the Bible so that it results in a meaning that contradicts what other texts say clearly (i.e. Women cannot be saved from wrath and condemnation through good works according to Ephesians 2:1–9). The middle-of-the-road approach seems best when seeking to understand Paul's meaning here. There are roles women and men have in the household of God that should not be violated. These roles were revealed in the created order and the order of the fall. These roles are now at play in the context of God's community, his local church.