When the apostle left Titus on the island of Crete to serve as his representative, his mission was “to set right what was left undone” (Titus 1:5) by Paul. This included appointing elders for the churches, rebuking Cretan believers who conformed more to their native culture than to Christianity, and teaching sound doctrine to the whole church. Among other things, Titus was told to identify certain groups within the body and instruct them according to their unique circumstances and responsibilities.
“Older men,” Paul says, “are to be sober-minded, worthy of respect, sensible, and sound in faith, love, and endurance” (2:2). These qualities are essential for older men in the church, and so Titus and the godly elders he appoints must teach the men to be sober, that is, not drunk, to be honorable, level-headed, and to model faith, love, and patience. It’s probably not an accident that Paul starts with commands for the older men, since they are more likely to be leaders in the congregation, and the elders will probably be drawn primarily from their ranks.1
Next he turns to the older women and draws a direct comparison to the men of the church. “In the same way, older women are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not slaves to excessive drinking” (2:3a). While these terms are not identical to those given to the older men, they are certainly in the same vein, so that we would conclude both men and women need to pursue Christian maturity. Women must develop godly character, use their tongues with truthfulness and discretion, and practice self-control when it comes to alcohol.
But there is a unique role that is given especially to older women, that is, to teach the young women. “They [the older women] are to teach what is good, so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands and to love their children, to be self-controlled, pure, workers at home, kind, and in submission to their husbands, so that God’s word will not be slandered” (2:3b-5).
Who is more qualified to teach young women about marriage and family matters than older women who have already navigated those sometimes difficult waters?
While Titus is told teach the older men and women and to encourage the young men, he is never instructed to teach the younger women. Why do you think that is? There are probably a number of reasons for this: to avoid sexual temptation, to respect male headship in the home, and to place the most qualified teachers where they could have the greatest influence. After all, who is more qualified to teach young women about marriage and family matters than older women who have already navigated those sometimes difficult waters?
Paul does not view this as an inferior ministry role to that of the elders or of men in general. Women face unique challenges and opportunities as disciples of Jesus, and who better to guide them on this journey than other ladies who have grown to maturity in the faith? This is why it is so important for a woman “to learn quietly with full submission” (1 Timothy 2:11), so that she will be able to instruct other ladies in what it means to be a follower of Jesus.
It is not demeaning to expect her to take the primary role in discipling younger women, it is demeaning to suggest that discipling young ladies is beneath an older woman. Yet this is precisely what happens when women are told they must be able to serve as pastors or to preach and teach the entire congregation. We diminish the importance of Paul’s very clear and pointed instruction for the older women to teach the young.
What are women supposed to teach other women? Paul includes both domestic tasks as well as spiritual disciplines. Young women need to learn to love their husbands and children, not because they are disinclined to feel affection toward them, but because love is one of the most difficult things we are called to do. Love means being so committed to another person’s good that we are willing to sacrifice our desires, our priorities, our pleasures, our joys, and even ourselves. This isn’t primarily about techniques but about cultivating an attitude or disposition of love for her husband and children. That is a monumental task to which young women, chiefly, are called.
In addition, Paul says, they need to learn the same kind of self-control that is supposed to characterize church elders, older men, and older women. They need to be encouraged to be pure, which means to be able to tell right from wrong and to choose the right. Older women need to practice discernment, so they can teach the young ones how to remain pure in this very impure world. He wants women to learn to be diligent at home, not because they aren’t allowed to work outside the home, but because they may become lazy and self-indulgent. Finally, it goes against the grain to be in submission to their own husbands, but that is what Paul says they must be taught. Of course, older women cannot teach these things unless they learn to do them first. So these are part of Christian maturity for all women.
Paul concludes his instruction to the women by saying that the purpose for doing ministry in this way is “so that God’s word will not be slandered” (Titus 2:5). This means that we cannot overestimate the value of women faithfully teaching women how to grow in Christ and to live out the faith in their unique vocation as women. If we fail to do this, because we bow to the spirit of the day and treat women’s ministry to women as second-class ministry, then we risk subjecting God’s word to slander.
Ladies, embrace God’s good design for your life and ministry. For mature Christian ladies, this means cultivating godly behavior and looking for ways to encourage young ones to grow. If you are a younger woman, seek out ladies who have walked the road before you as examples of godliness and grace. Is this the only ministry women can do in the church? Are there other positions outside of those specifically mentioned in Scripture? We’ll try to sort some of that out next time.
1 I don’t want to make too much of the order here, since Paul does not spell out his reasons for starting with the men. We have seen elsewhere that God expects men to be leaders in the congregation.