not deceived
1 Timothy 2:14
2:14 not deceived. In addition to the nature and purpose of her creation, there is a secondary reason why woman should not be taking the leadership role in the home or church. When the first woman took such a role, yielding to the temptation to reject God’s Word without first consulting her husband, she then induced Adam also to sin, thereby bringing sin into God’s perfect world (Genesis 3:6; Romans 5:12). Adam was not deceived by Satan’s lie, but deliberately associated himself also with Eve in her sin because of her wanting him to join her in eating the forbidden fruit (Genesis 3:12) and presumably also because of his love for her and his willingness to share her punishment. The many daughters of Eve share the trusting nature of their first mother and so (in general, at least) are more easily deceived by those evil spirits who can masquerade as angels of light (II Corinthians 11:13-15). Although there may be exceptions when—for want of masculine leadership—a Christian woman may be forced to assume the spiritual leadership in the home (for example, Timothy’s own mother and grandmother) or even in the family of God (e.g., Deborah—Judges 4:4, 8), this is not the divinely ordained way. There is no New Testament example of a woman serving as an elder or bishop or pastor of a local church, with the possible exception of the false prophetess Jezebel in the church at Thyatira (Revelation 2:20), who was evidently herself also deceived by Satan.