The Eden Podcast with Bruce C. E. Fleming

Here is my paraphrase of 1 Peter 3:1-7Advice to witnessing wives1You unequally-yoked wives, be submitting yourselves to your own husbands so that even though they do not yet believe the Word, through your conduct without using a word, they may be won to faith in Christ, 2 when they observe your God-fearing, pure conduct3not outward adorning or special coiffure, or the wearing of gold, jewelry and fine clothes 4but the inner adorning of the heart by your incorruptible meek and quiet spirit which is of great value before God5for indeed this is how the holy women of old, who kept hoping in God, adorned themselves as they submitted themselves to their own husbands.6Sarah, for example, trusted in God and submitted to Abraham her husband after the angel came. You are now her daughters by your well doing and your fearlessness of any disappointment.Advice to witnessing husbands7Likewise you unequally-yoked husbands, use good sense as you dwell with your unsaved wife while she is the weaker partner, treating her with dignity as a fellow human being, so that your prayers for her salvation might not be hindered.Not all spouses are ready to receive Christ when their partner first comes to Christ. It can be a sad and distressing experience to find that the other spouse is not ready, is closed, or even hostile, to the good news about Jesus. It is hard for a new believer to realize that just because one of them now has and understands new life in Christ, that the other may not yet be ready to believe!In verses 1-7, Peter tells these Christians how to get their message across, even if they find themselves prevented from speaking a single word! First he addresses Christian wives with unsaved husbands, and then he writes advice for Christian husbands with unsaved wives.These spouses are for at least a time “unequally yoked.” These spouses are joined together in marriage but each one is not pulling their full weight in the spiritual realm. One is alive in Christ. The other, as yet, is not.GO DEEPER: Please visit Tru316.comHave you read the foundational research that makes all these studies possible? Please read The Book of Eden, Genesis 2-3 by Bruce C. E. Fleming (based on the research of Dr. Joy Fleming).  The Tru316 Foundation (www.Tru316.com) is the home of The Eden Podcast with Bruce C. E. Fleming where we “true” the verse of Genesis 3:16. The Tru316 Message is that “God didn’t curse Eve (or Adam) or limit woman in any way.” Once Genesis 3:16 is made clear the other passages on women and men become clear too. You are encouraged to access the episodes of Seasons 1-11 of The Eden Podcast for teaching on the seven key passages on women and men. Are you a reader? We invite you to get from Amazon the four books by Bruce C. E. Fleming in The Eden Book Series (Tru316.com/trubooks). Would you like to support the work of the Tru316 Foundation? You can become a Tru Partner here: www.Tru316.com/partner

What a  joy it is to see the rising number of episode downloads as YOU listen to the life-changing meaning of the passages we are studying together. Thank you so much. You are making a great investment in your life, the life of your family and friends and the life of your local church.Our launch Episode, Episode One, Season One, of The Eden Podcast has been downloaded many more than a thousand times. Listeners have gone on to download the equivalent of 10 more times each, downloading more than 15,000 episodes! Listening to Seasons One through Four is equivalent to your taking a year’s Introductory Course in Bible Content and Practical Theology on Genesis 3:16 and the related Old Testament and New Testament passages! Congratulations!!!Now that you have listened and learned so much what comes next?** Most listeners will be a basic learner. Maybe that’s you. You have been learning in order to apply what you have learned. God is helping you have confidence in the Bible and to boldly live out in your daily life what you have been learning. And that’s great! Please try to listen to all of the first four Seasons of The Eden Podcast where we think again about the key passages on women and men in the light of a true understanding of Genesis 3:16. We learn that in Genesis 3 God didn’t curse Eve (or Adam) or limit woman in any way. You can now get and study the books in The Eden Series. There are Study Guides that go with each chapter to help you go deeper! Book One in the Series is The Book of Eden, Genesis 2-3 by me, Bruce C. E. Fleming.** Some listeners, perhaps every listener, will be gifted by God to help others. Maybe this is you?? In what ways can you help others? Pray for those who are listening to The Eden Podcast, including you. Pray for others who need to find out about The Eden Podcast and the books in The Eden Series. Refer them to episodes of The Eden Podcast that interest them. Refer them to a book in The Eden Series that interests them.Engage with others in informed, loving conversation. Point them to the website of the Tru316 Project with its blog, shop, products, transcripts of the podcast episodes, links to the YouTube Channel and more.Refer them to a Tru316 Project mentor who can answer their questions.** Some listeners will be called by God to do more. To take action. Maybe this is you? In what ways can you take action?Organize a listening group or a book club to go through an episode or a chapter.Apply to be a Mentor with the Tru316 Project to answer questions on the content of The Eden Podcast. Attend live, or by replay, the Monthly Mentoring Meetings.Be an activist encouraging translation committees, authors, pastors and educators to update their materials in light of the correct understanding of Genesis 3:16. This action is the very reason I founded the Tru316 Project! This is what I pray for!** One or more listeners will join the team of the Tru316 Project part- or full-time. Maybe that’s you. What skills could you bring to the Tru316 Project that would strengthen the ministry of the people just described? What will happen if you go deeper with the Tru316 Project? More will happen! Much more! You already know what happens on The Eden Podcast. You share our love and respect for the Bible, even in the so-called difficult passages, which turn out to be full of good news. For whatever level of engagement you choose to make, make it a good one. Pray about it. Keep listening to The Eden Podcast. Keep reading your Bible.  Refer others to the podcast and the books. Step up and start making monthly financial support to the Tru316 Project as an e-patron over on patreon. Above all - take action!GO DEEPER  The Tru316 Foundation (www.Tru316.com) is the home of The Eden Podcast with Bruce C. E. Fleming where we “true” the verse of Genesis 3:16. The Tru316 Message is that “God didn’t curse Eve (or Adam) or limit woman in any way.” Once Genesis 3:16 is made clear the other passages on women and men become clear too. You are encouraged to access the episodes of Seasons 1-11 of The Eden Podcast for teaching on the seven key passages on women and men. Are you a reader? We invite you to get from Amazon the four books by Bruce C. E. Fleming in The Eden Book Series (Tru316.com/trubooks). Would you like to support the work of the Tru316 Foundation? You can become a Tru Partner here: www.Tru316.com/partner

Since God didn’t limit from ministry in any way, it should come as no surprise that many women participated in ministry in the early church. Others have described well their work but these women deserve mention once more.With Paul. Paul had many women co-laborers in public ministry. A third of those persons listed as ministering in Rome in Romans 16 were women. In Corinth and Ephesus, Paul worked openly and fruitfully with Priscilla, an accomplished theologian, teacher and church planter. In no place did Paul restrict women from use of any spiritual gift in the church, in the home, or in society. In order to shake out the cobwebs of the proposal from the legalists who wanted to limit women in ministry, it is helpful to review what the Old and New Testaments teach about women in ministry. Paul quoted their proposal in 1 Corinthians 14 verses 34-35 and then refuted their ideas in the very next verses.Old Testament. In the Old Testament, a number of women were great judges, prophets and queens. Miriam was one of the three great leaders of Israel during the Exodus (Micah 6:4). She sang the great song of celebration after the defeat of Pharoah’s army. The prophet Hulda’s threefold “Thus says the Lord!” led to a great revival (2 Kings 22:13-20). Judge Deborah was a leader in Israel (Judges 4:4-5; 5:1-2). Esther became queen for “such a time a this” (Esther 4:14). Her leadership resulted in many Gentiles coming to faith in God (8:17). She was recognized for her prudence and judgment and was vested with authority (9:11-12, 29-32).Hebrew pronouns, which are more gender precise than they are in English, showed that women were told in the Psalms and in Isaiah to proclaim the Word of God. Kroeger and Kroeger (p. 13) pointed out: "Psalm 68:11: The Lord gives the Word. Great is the host of women who proclaim it. Isa 40:9: O woman who is herald of good tidings in Zion, lift up your voice with strength, O woman who is herald of good tidings to Jerusalem, lift it up, fear not; say to the cities of Judah, ‘Behold your God.’”During the Old Testament period only the few Israelites who were descendants of Levi were allowed to be priests (Exodus 29:9, 40:15). Even those who were Levites had to disqualify themselves if they had a blemish or open wound of any kind (Leviticus 21:17-24). This was part of the symbolism embodied in the sacrificial system of the Tabernacle.Since women have regular menstrual periods, they were freed from duty as priests. This was in order to maintain the symbolism that the only blood in the Tabernacle or the Temple would be the blood of the sacrifice (Leviticus 10:1-3; 15:31-33; cf. 16:1-4, 17). This blood of the sacrifice represented Christ’s coming sacrifice in which his blood would cover sins (Romans 3:25). No other blood was allowed.This restriction due to the symbolism of the blood of the lamb was similar to the restriction placed on fire because of the symbolic importance of the fire used to light the sacrifice on the altar. Aaron’s eldest sons presented unacceptable fire to the Lord and were put to death (!) for doing so (Leviticus 9:23-10:2). All this was done to maintain the purity and the clarity of the spiritual meaning of these symbols.New Testament. Jesus replaced the symbolism of the Old Testament period with the real thing. Instructive symbolism was no longer needed. The rituals that pointed to the sacrifice of Jesus were no longer needed. Instead people could clearly point to Jesus dying for our sins on the cross. We all, each one of us, now can repent of our sins and invite Christ to send the Holy Spirit into our hearts. When we do so we are, to use Jesus’ words, born again. In the New Testament, with restrictions due to symbolism no longer necessary, both women and men are called priests and kings (Rev 1:6), as well as prophets and apostles. Peter taught (1 Pet 2:5, 9) that all believers are part of a holy priesthood. All believers offer up spiritual sacrifices and are to proclaim the praises of God.Some may ask, “Why wasn’t at least one of the twelve disciples a woman?” Discreet men of that time had only males as close companions if they wanted to remain free from the innuendo and accusations of outsiders. Jesus was a male and so he traveled with other males in his immediate group. But outside of his immediate companions, were a number of women who traveled with Jesus. In Luke, women learn and minister along with the twelve disciples (Luke 8:2-3; 10:38-42; 13:10-11; etc.). We know the names of the twelve disciples. The names of a number of women are known as well. They are Mary and Martha of Bethany, plus Mary Magdalene, Salome, Johanna, Susanna and Mary the mother of Jesus.In Acts 1:13-15; 2:1-4, Luke records that a number of women were in the Upper Room on the day of Pentecost. They were part of the 120 who were anointed by the tongues of fire of the Holy Spirit and then went out proclaiming the Gospel in public. Peter explained in Acts 2:17-18 that this had been foretold by the prophet Joel.‘And it shall come to pass in the last days,’ says God. ‘That I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your young men shall see visions, Your old men shall dream dreams. And on my menservants and on my maidservants I will pour out my Spirit in those days; And they shall prophesy.’Luke further records in Acts that a number of women were in the forefront of public ministry. In the Epistles, women were called to minister in every way. The Kroegers (24, 90-92) summed up the situation as follows in this extended quotation:The New Testament teaches that individual members, along with their gifts and talents, are God’s gift to the church (1 Cor 12:4-11; Eph 4:11-13). There are many gifts …, (Rom 12:4-8). Among these gifts are those of teaching and administration. No limitation with respect to gender is indicated (Acts 2:17-18; 1 Cor 12:28). Persons endowed with the gift of teaching are expected to develop this potential to the glory of God … (Rom 12:7-8).Continuing the quote from the Kroegers: "… Romans 16:1-2 speaks of Phoebe as a deacon (or minister) of the congregation at Cenchrea, and she is also called a prostates (overseer, guardian, protector). A verbal form drawn from the same stem … is used also in the New Testament at 1 Timothy 5:17 for elders who “preside” (or rule) well, and at Romans 12:8 (rule) and 1 Thessalonians 5:12 (hold authority over).” … Junia is called a noteworthy apostle (Rom 16:7). Paul mentions several women, including Priscilla, as “fellow laborers” and asks that Christians be subject to such as these (Phil 4:2-3; Rom 16:3-4, 6, 12; 1 Cor 16:16, 19). A number of Christian women appear to have presided over churches which met in their homes (Acts 12:12; Acts 16:13-15, and verse 40; Rom 16:3-5; 1 Cor 1:11; 16:19; Col 4:15; 2 John).GO DEEPER:I invite you to visit our website at Tru316.com for links to the podcast, plus our books, blog posts and our YouTube Channel with more than a dozen in-depth Workshops on the 7 key Bible passages on women and men from Eden on. There is also a Study Guide on this episode for use in personal study or in small groups and more. You can find it in the blog posts on Tru316.com or write me at Bruce@Tru316.com. And thanks for listening to The Eden Podcast!The Eden Podcast is a part of the Tru316 Project. YOU can make a difference by supporting us for $3.16/month. Go to patreon.com/tru316project.Have you listened to Seasons 1-4 of The Eden Podcast?Season 1 is on Genesis 2-3, 8 episodes. This has the important episodes 1 and 7 on 3:16.Season 2 is on Ephesians 5-6, 6 episodes. Season 3 is on 1 Timothy 2-3. Season 4 is on 1 Corinthians 11 and 14 and 1 Peter 3. You can start listening at TheEdenPodcast.com.  The Tru316 Foundation (www.Tru316.com) is the home of The Eden Podcast with Bruce C. E. Fleming where we “true” the verse of Genesis 3:16. The Tru316 Message is that “God didn’t curse Eve (or Adam) or limit woman in any way.” Once Genesis 3:16 is made clear the other passages on women and men become clear too. You are encouraged to access the episodes of Seasons 1-11 of The Eden Podcast for teaching on the seven key passages on women and men. Are you a reader? We invite you to get from Amazon the four books by Bruce C. E. Fleming in The Eden Book Series (Tru316.com/trubooks). Would you like to support the work of the Tru316 Foundation? You can become a Tru Partner here: www.Tru316.com/partner

Paul inserted a final quotation from the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 14:34-35. Then he refuted and rejected the proposal.In these two verses the subject, tone and vocabulary of the passage change noticeably. Then, in verses 36-38 comes a return to Paul’s normal vocabulary and style with a strong rebuke to those who proposed the ideas contained in the previous two verses. Finally, in verses 39 and 40, the storm passes and earlier themes are picked up again.According to verses 34-35, some want the Corinthian Christians to adopt legalistic limitations on who can, and who should not, use their gifts for the building up of the church. Specifically, the proposal excludes Christian women from speaking in church.Contentious claims. In verses 34 to 35 we encounter a string of bad ideas that do not belong to Paul. Why should women not speak, or preach, publicly? Because they are “not permitted.” Permitted? By whom, or by what?Women are to “be subject.” Why? Because that’s what their “law” says. If a Christian woman has a Christian husband who is informed enough to be able to instruct her, she can learn from him at home! Preposterous!What law? People have suggested that the quote/unquote “law” being referred to in verse 34 is … a reference to Genesis 3:16. However, Genesis 3:16 says nothing about “speaking” or about “being silent.” As we have seen earlier, that verse is not a curse, nor does God limit woman in any way. There is no such restriction in a true 3:16!Paul’s teaching elsewhere in the New Testament is nothing like the proposal in 1 Corinthians 14:34-35. Let me quote what David Odell-Scott says:Paul … states time and again that Christians are not under the law, but are free of it. … “But now we are discharged from the law” (Rom. 7:6). Earlier, in 1 Corinthians Paul instructs the Gentile men of Corinth that they are free of the law and are, therefore, not required to be circumcised (1 Cor. 7:18-19). Elsewhere, too, Paul has rejected the claim that Gentile Christians should keep the Jewish dietary laws. (Odell-Scott, BLT, p. 14)Those who are proposing limitations on women in 1 Corinthians 14:34-35 are advocating the ideas of the legalists, the sayings of Jewish teachers that were passed on orally and later written down in the Jewish oral law. In an early article of his, (“Libertarian Women” Trin J 1 NS, p. 187) Philip Payne pointed out how verse 34 indicates the source of these ideas:… when Paul refers to the Old Testament, he usually does not write ‘as the law says’ (which often suggests oral tradition) but ‘just as it is written’.Payne also pointed out the elements in these verses that come from the milieu of the Jewish oral law:(quote) … According to Jewish custom, the part of the synagogue given to the scribes’ teaching was open only to males, as its name suggests: andron. … Women were forbidden to teach…. Their position in society was reflected in the common formula, “women, slaves, and children.” In the home, too, the wife was not even to pronounce the benediction after a meal. (Close quote)The “law” appealed to in 1 Corinthians 14 is the oral law. The words used here, such as the Greek word for “shame” in verse 35, are typical of the rough language used in the oral law. They are not the kind of words Paul uses. This is an example of the segregationist practices of Jewish legalism seeping into the church.To clarify that verse 34 refers to the “oral law,” and not the Old Testament “Law” with a capital “L” Bible editors of the NIV removed the capitalization that was first used in the NIV of 1971. Instead of using a capital L “Law,” the verse now has a lower case l “law,” for “… as the law says.”Was Paul intimidated? In making a reference to the oral law, those who contended with Paul made a serious tactical error. Paul no longer looked with favor on the rules he had followed as a Pharisee before his conversion. Paul had rebuked Peter for giving in to such influences (Galatians 2:11-14). He would not be swayed by a similar appeal coming to him from Corinth!GO DEEPER: To read about the foundational research on Genesis 2-3 by Dr. Joy Fleming that makes these New Testament studies possible please see The Book of Eden, Genesis 2-3 by Bruce C. E. Fleming  The Tru316 Foundation (www.Tru316.com) is the home of The Eden Podcast with Bruce C. E. Fleming where we “true” the verse of Genesis 3:16. The Tru316 Message is that “God didn’t curse Eve (or Adam) or limit woman in any way.” Once Genesis 3:16 is made clear the other passages on women and men become clear too. You are encouraged to access the episodes of Seasons 1-11 of The Eden Podcast for teaching on the seven key passages on women and men. Are you a reader? We invite you to get from Amazon the four books by Bruce C. E. Fleming in The Eden Book Series (Tru316.com/trubooks). Would you like to support the work of the Tru316 Foundation? You can become a Tru Partner here: www.Tru316.com/partner

In the full passage of 1 Corinthians 11:2-16, Paul focuses parts of the passage on each of these three groups in the church:Verses 3-9: on the converted Jews.Verses 11-12: on everyone in church.Verses 13-15: on the converted non-Jews.Here is my paraphrase of verses 10-12:Verse 10 - Application of the principle for Christian womenTherefore, a woman ought to have authority over her own head, because of the angels.Verses 11-12 Theological basis of the principle of unityNevertheless, neither is man independent of woman, nor woman independent of man, in the Lord. For as woman came from man, even so man also comes through woman; but all come from God.Prior to verse 10, Paul defends the principle that a Christian woman is a member of the body of Christ in every way. Then, in verse 10, he applies this principle in a simple affirmation.He ends verse 10 by adding another principle that argues in favor of the full status of women in ministry (those who are “praying and prophesying,” or preaching and teaching). In verses 11-12, he puts the matter in theological perspective. (1) women and men share in reciprocal relationships and (2) God is over all.Studying the grammar of 1 Corinthians 11, we note the following developments in the passage:Verses 4-6 are a unit that should be set off with quotation marksVerse 7a is a thought by itselfVerse 7b is a different thought followed by two verses that are subordinate to it and elaborate on itVerse 8 is subordinate to 7 – it is introduced by: “for” Verse 9 is subordinate to 7 as well – “for indeed”This structure is rare in the New Testament but is used six times in 1 Corinthians (pointing this out would be worth a “home run”)Verse 10 is introduced in Greek by “therefore” and is the culmination of this series of thoughtsThe verb in verse 10, “ought” is the same one used in verse 7, where a man “ought not” cover his head (another home run observation)Based on this here are my summary thoughts:A Christian woman is as equally obligated and empowered as a Christian man to not cover her head when ministering in church.GO DEEPER:I invite you to read the foundational study in Genesis 2-3 that unlocks the meaning of 1 Corinthians 11. It is The Book of Eden, Genesis 2-3 (God didn't curse Eve (or Adam) or limit woman in any way).  The Tru316 Foundation (www.Tru316.com) is the home of The Eden Podcast with Bruce C. E. Fleming where we “true” the verse of Genesis 3:16. The Tru316 Message is that “God didn’t curse Eve (or Adam) or limit woman in any way.” Once Genesis 3:16 is made clear the other passages on women and men become clear too. You are encouraged to access the episodes of Seasons 1-11 of The Eden Podcast for teaching on the seven key passages on women and men. Are you a reader? We invite you to get from Amazon the four books by Bruce C. E. Fleming in The Eden Book Series (Tru316.com/trubooks). Would you like to support the work of the Tru316 Foundation? You can become a Tru Partner here: www.Tru316.com/partner

In your mind, simply put quotation marks around the three verses of 1 Corinthians 11:4-6. Or better still pencil in quotation marks around them on the page of your print Bible.If quotation marks are missing around these verses in the Bible version you are using, is that wrong? Yes, and no. In koiné Greek in which the New Testament was written there were no quotation marks added. You had to add them yourself because this kind of punctuation wasn’t adopted yet. Translators have to decide whether or not to get the idea across in a modern language by doing nothing, by adding quotation marks or even by adding a few introductory words such as, “someone will say.”Dr. Bill Mounce brings up the example of 1 Corinthians 6:12. He writes, “Many translations put the phrase in quotation marks. “‘All things are lawful for me,’ but not all things are helpful.” These include the ESV, and also the HCSB, NRSV and NET. Mounce continues that Paul “is quoting what his Corinthians opponents are saying. He doesn’t agree with them, but he is citing them.”Placing punctuation. The New International Version placed quotation marks around Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 10:23-26. Not every word in these verses was put in quotes. The translators noted that Paul was dialoguing with his readers in a brisk give and take. They showed this by adding quotation marks, dashes, and a paragraph break to his comments. They added these even though no punctuation marks were used in Paul’s original letter.Here is how the NIV punctuates 1 Corinthians 10:23. The words placed in quotation marks by the NIV I will highlight for you:23“I have the right to do anything”, you say – but not everything is beneficial.    “I have the right to do anything” – but not everything is constructive. The proposals from Corinth in 1 Corinthians 10 are set apart by the quotation marks and the punctuation added by the NIV. This passage immediately precedes the verses on women and angels in 1 Corinthians 11.Modern readers are confused if translations do not add punctuation marks. Nevertheless most translators and editors have not placed quotation marks around verses 4-6.The reader who does not realize that the three verses of 1 Corinthians 11:4-6 are a quotation tries to make it part of Paul’s ideas. This makes the rest of the passage impossible to decipher. By omitting this punctuation translators make it look like Paul is advocating these legalistic ideas! Some scholars have even accused Paul of “reverting to his pre-Christian roots as a Pharisee in verses 4-6.”In order to continue the thought of verses 4-6, major modifications have been made in the translations, including in verse 10. Commentators go to great lengths to try to make sense of the passage as a whole. But none of this is necessary if one simply and reasonably places verses 4-6 in quotation marks.Why do people think the ideas in verses 4-6 could possibly be Paul's? I think it is because they have gotten Genesis 3:16 wrong. That's why we need a true 316.Go Deeper!Support the Tru316 Project for $3.16/month!  The Tru316 Foundation (www.Tru316.com) is the home of The Eden Podcast with Bruce C. E. Fleming where we “true” the verse of Genesis 3:16. The Tru316 Message is that “God didn’t curse Eve (or Adam) or limit woman in any way.” Once Genesis 3:16 is made clear the other passages on women and men become clear too. You are encouraged to access the episodes of Seasons 1-11 of The Eden Podcast for teaching on the seven key passages on women and men. Are you a reader? We invite you to get from Amazon the four books by Bruce C. E. Fleming in The Eden Book Series (Tru316.com/trubooks). Would you like to support the work of the Tru316 Foundation? You can become a Tru Partner here: www.Tru316.com/partner

In 1 Corinthians 11:3 Paul reminds his Jewish readers, who are monotheists, of the importance of unity. Three times he points to independent elements that together make up one unit. The image he uses is that of the parts of the body that, united, make up one whole body:Believers-and-Christ are united in one spiritual bodyA wife-and-husband are united in one fleshSon-and-Father are united in the Godhead.He states his main idea in the first line of verse 3, and then adds two subordinate parallel images to illustrate it. In his reference to the parts that make up the body Paul challenges the reader to answer the question, Just who is “every man”?“Every man” is every believer – every man and every woman who is a Christian. This image is parallel to the one Paul uses in Ephesians 5:23: “Christ is the head of the church.”1 Corinthians 11:3:  Christ is the head of every manEphesians 5:23b:     Christ is the head of the churchAn extraordinary responsePaul begins his response to those who did not hold to the tradition he had taught the Corinthians with some word play. Usually a “play on words” has an extra  element in it that draws attention to the fact that something extraordinary is being said, even though ordinary words may be used.In 1 Corinthians 11:3, Paul uses “every man” in Greek to stand for “every person – male or female.” Writing “every man” he makes a gentle play on words to make a point: Do some of you want to focus only on what a man is free to do in Christ? Not I. I will focus on every man in Christ because I want you to focus on what every person – male or female – is free to do in Christ!GO DEEPER  The Tru316 Foundation (www.Tru316.com) is the home of The Eden Podcast with Bruce C. E. Fleming where we “true” the verse of Genesis 3:16. The Tru316 Message is that “God didn’t curse Eve (or Adam) or limit woman in any way.” Once Genesis 3:16 is made clear the other passages on women and men become clear too. You are encouraged to access the episodes of Seasons 1-11 of The Eden Podcast for teaching on the seven key passages on women and men. Are you a reader? We invite you to get from Amazon the four books by Bruce C. E. Fleming in The Eden Book Series (Tru316.com/trubooks). Would you like to support the work of the Tru316 Foundation? You can become a Tru Partner here: www.Tru316.com/partner

The focus of this episode is: 1 Corinthians 11:2-16 Getting this passage right.Here’s some good advice. “Don't take verses out of context.” How do you do that? One way is to cut off the beginning of a passage. If you miss the beginning thoughts of a passage you risk missing the meaning of the following message. Sadly, this happens every time people skip over 1 Corinthians 11:2 and start at verse 3. And most people start after verse 2. They leave out this critical verse!In verse 2, Paul begins a passage of praise. He praises the Christians at Corinth for resisting pressure to behave differently. He praises them for following exactly what he had advised them to do. Only after the end of the passage of verses 2-16 does he begin to criticize the Corinthians. So, What were they getting right? They were applying what he summarizes in verses 10-12. Have you noticed?Wrong assumptions. In 1962, Don and Carol Richardson risked their lives to share the Gospel with the Sawi people of New Guinea. Their book Peace Child tells their unforgettable story of living among a people group where treachery was valued as their highest virtue. They would fatten potential victims with friendship before betraying them for slaughter.The very first time these pioneer missionaries tried to tell the Sawi headhunting cannibals of New Guinea the Good News about the cross of Christ things went very wrong! This occurred as they were telling about Jesus the night Judas betrayed him with a kiss. Jesus, the good guy, was praying in the Garden of Gethemane on the hill across from Jerusalem where soon he would be nailed to a cross for our sins. In the night, Judas, the bad guy, came up to him in the darkness with a crowd with clubs and swords. He wanted to make it clear to them who to arrest. He didn’t want them to get the wrong person. He didn’t want Jesus to get away. He told the brutal crowd, watch for the one I greet with a kiss. He is the one to arrest.The listeners held their breath as the scene unfolded before them for the very first time. Up came Judas, the follower, to Jesus his teacher. “Teacher” the betrayer said to Jesus and then kissed him.The listeners went wild! What a master stroke! What a fantastic betrayal! The missionaries were horrified at the unexpected response their teaching produced. These headhunting cannibals saw Judas as the hero of that night scene. He had just betrayed his victim. To them, he had triumphed!In the Sawi culture they valued treachery. They would deceive their enemies pretending to be friends. Judas for them was a master of betrayal. Jesus was just a witless target. Undoing the results of that session took lots of work. In a less spectacular way, people have been getting wrong the message of 1 Corinthians 11. Coming to these verses with the wrong presuppositions, readers and translators alike have missed the message the passage. They have misread the key verses. Let’s start with the overall flow of thought which is Praise for Proper Practice 1 Corinthians 11:2-16.2Now I praise you, brothers and sisters, that you remember me in all things and keep the traditions just as I delivered them to you. …10Therefore, a woman should have authority over her own head …16But if anyone thinks of being contentious, we have no other custom, nor do the churches of God.17Now I do not praise you in giving these next instructions since you come together not for the better but for the worse. …After Paul moved on from Corinth in his missionary journeys, the church he had founded there continued the practices he had taught them to follow. They followed what he had taught them about women and men ministering to the congregation. God raised up both women and men to lead the congregation in worship and to teach God’s Word.Apparently there were grumblers who tried to restrict some people from leading the group. They wanted their old religious traditions to be followed and grew contentious about it. But the rest of the congregation maintained the course on which Paul had set them. They earned his praise for this. Paul wanted them to continue what they had started together in Corinth. In every church he started, this was the way he wanted the believers to worship and teach.Incomplete or incorrect? Paul learned from the visitors from Corinth (1:11) that the church had developed four distinct factions. Some people purported to be “of Paul,” others “of Peter,” and still others “of Apollos” or “of Jesus.”In spite of all this, Paul was still their unquestioned spiritual parent, the one who first planted their church. Divisions of opinion had arisen among them on practical issues dealing with marriage (7:1) and idolatry (8:1; 10:14). Some wanted the church to follow the rules and regulations found in the Jewish oral law, for example in 14:34-35.In 1 Corinthians 11:2-16, Paul addresses those in the church at Corinth who wanted to limit the ways women were participating in ministry. Had Paul really meant that women should pray and prophesy along with men? Shouldn’t the women have to submit to some extra regulations? Jewish tradition overflowed with restrictions on women. Shouldn’t women have to follow these extra restrictions too?In verses 2-16, Paul affirms that women are full members of the body of Christ and are fully gifted by the Holy Spirit to minister in the name of Jesus. Paul appeals to Genesis, and to reason, to restate his case. He is firm. There is no room for dissension on this point of doctrine and practice.Five keys to understanding. A number of people find 1 Corinthians 11:2-16 difficult to understand. Whenever a passage seems difficult, it is important to look at the surrounding context of the passage to see if some tips to its meaning may be found. In this case, the immediate context will give us two helpful keys to unlocking the meaning of the passage: praise (key #1), and Paul’s three-fold focus (key #2). To unlock the meaning of a passage it is also helpful to look for internal key words that give insight into the historical context. In this case there are key words in the last and first verses of the passage: “contentious” (key #3 in verse 16), and “traditions” (key #4 in verse 2).The most basic key to understanding the meaning of a Bible verse is a clear translation from the original language into modern language. It will be especially helpful to make a fresh translation from the Greek of the key action verse in this passage, verse 10. And that’s key #5.Key to understanding #1: Praise. Paul praised the Corinthians in verse 2: 2I praise you, brothers and sisters, that you remember me in all things and keep the traditions just as I delivered them to you. … Apparently there was difficulty for them in keeping his traditions because, in verse 16, he refers to some who were “contentious.” In spite of these contentious ones, the church at Corinth had remembered what Paul had taught them to do and they had done it.He did not always praise them. In the next section of his letter he gave them some energetic criticism:17I do not praise you in giving these instructions since you come together not for the better but for the worse. …What were the Corinthians doing that earned them the praise or the criticism of Paul? In verses 17 and following it is clear that they were criticized for not conducting themselves properly when they celebrated the Lord’s Supper. As for verses 2-16, what they were doing that was praiseworthy is often misunderstood. This is where a basic rule of interpretation is helpful: Whenever you see the word therefore in a passage, check to see what it is there for.In this case, a “therefore” occurs at the beginning of verse 10:10therefore, a woman ought to have authority …Apparently, the verses leading up to verse 10 argued in favor of what he affirmed in verse 10. Paul had taught, and most of the Corinthians had agreed with him, that a woman ought to have authority. Some people in Corinth had been contentious about this. Paul praised the rest (Key #1) and encouraged them to keep following what he had taught them.Key #2: Three-fold focus. Immediately before writing the words of chapter 11, Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 10:32, “Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God….”It is helpful to note that Paul was sensitive to the needs of these three overlapping groups:JewsNon-Jews (also called Greeks or Gentiles)All Christians without regard to their backgroundIn 1 Corinthians 11:2-16, Paul focused parts of the passage on each of these three groups in the church:Verses 3-9: to the converted Jews.Verses 11-12: to everyone in church.Verses 13-15: to the converted non-Jews.In these three sections, there are details appropriate to each group. Paul’s appeal to Nature, in verse 14, is a case in point. The non-Jews would have related to an appeal to Nature, but not the Jews. Paul had to appeal to the Jews on other grounds.In the verses not addressed to any specific group – verses 2, 10 and 16 – Paul deals with the real business of this passage. He praises the Corinthian Christians (verse 2). He gives instructions on how to behave (verse 10). He dismisses any who want to be contentious (verse 16).Key #3: Contention. A third key to understanding this passage has to do with Paul’s reference in verse 16 to those who had been “contentious.” The ones who were the most contentious about Paul, his teaching and his practice were those who promoted Jewish legalism.As the early church spread across the Roman Empire there was confusion as to whether Christianity was something new, or whether it was just a subgroup of Judaism. This confusion was understandable since the promises of a coming Messiah had been given to the Jews. Jesus was a Jew. And the first converts were Jews.When non-Jews began believing in Jesus as their savior it seemed logical to the Jews who had become Christians that the new Gentile believers should become practicing Jews as well. But there were two main reasons why this logic was incorrect.First, many of the practices required of Jews in the Old Testament served to represent spiritual truths that only pointed to the promised Messiah. The blood sacrifices of spotless animals in the Temple pointed to the ultimate blood sacrifice that would be made by the sinless Messiah. The regulations that guided the behavior of the priests on duty all worked to keep the symbolism of the future spotless Lamb of God perfectly clear.These practices and these rules were made obsolete with the sacrifice of Christ on the cross. The early church dealt with these regulations and discarded them early on. They were famously discussed in depth in the meeting of the church in Jerusalem described in Acts chapter 15.Second, there were other lesser regulations and rules that had been built up during the hundreds of years that passed between the ministry of the last Old Testament prophet, Malachi, and the coming of John the Baptist and Jesus.This system of case law and regulations obscured the message of the Old Testament. At times it contradicted it altogether. Jews at the time of Jesus, including Paul, practiced these legalistic regulations to a greater or lesser degree in their daily lives. These regulations were scrupulously followed by the Pharisees. The Scribes were teachers of this law.One of the things these regulations required was the covering of the head both by women and men. This covering symbolized that sin caused an ongoing separation of the worshipper from God. Covering the head, hiding the head of the sinner from the holy God, was the appropriate thing to do. Perhaps you have seen movies with an actor playing the role of Jesus covering his head just as he was about to pray to God.Jesus fought against baseless legalistic Judaism during his earthly ministry. He confounded self-righteous sinners who followed these rules.In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus identified and rejected their regulations. Six times he said: “You have heard it said, …, but I say to you ….” (Matthew 5:21, 27, 31, 33, 38, 43).As a Pharisee, Paul had been a scrupulous follower of these laws. But as a Christian, Paul left behind these empty practices. Jesus the Messiah had fulfilled the Old Testament Law and gave each and every believer full status as a child of God (see Galatians 2:14).During the years following his conversion, Paul became skilled at discerning and discarding the dry husks of legalism. He excelled in teaching truths straight from the Old Testament, especially how Jesus fulfilled the prophesies of the coming Messiah.After Paul’s first missionary journey, legalists came and tried to impose Jewish regulations on the converted Gentiles. Paul opposed their teachings.Acts 15 records that the church in Jerusalem supported Paul in his work and agreed that Christians did not have to convert to Judaism. Nevertheless, Paul continued to face direct opposition from Jews outside the church and frequent contradiction from legalistic Judaizers inside the church.A number of times, Jews outside the church opposed Paul and denounced him publicly. This resulted in beatings, stonings and imprisonments. At other times, Judaizers within the church visited places Paul had ministered. They contradicted his teachings to modify them to fit more or less with the oral law.Here is Paul’s own description of the havoc wreaked by unbelieving Jews who were hostile to the Christians in Thessalonica. This was the church Paul planted in northern Greece before he started the church at Corinth:14For you, brothers and sisters, became imitators of God’s churches in Judea, which are in Christ Jesus. You suffered from your own countrymen the same things those churches suffered from the Jews, 15who killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets and also drove us out. These displease God and are hostile to all people 16in their effort to keep us from speaking to the Gentiles so that they may be saved….                     1 Thessalonians 2:14-16Key #4: Traditions. If some of the Corinthians were “contentious,” as Paul said in verse 16, what were they contending for and what were they challenging? Verse 2 tells us. They challenged “the traditions” Paul had taught the Corinthian believers. What might they have wanted to change? Since, in verse 10, Paul focuses on women, it can be assumed that they were challenging Paul on what he had taught about the status and ministry of Christian women.There were numerous regulations in the Jewish oral law that applied to women in the synagogue. These regulations implied, or said outright, that the nature and status of the women was not on a par with the men.Much like some modern non-Christian religious regulations that require women to cover their heads differently from men, so the ancient Jewish regulations required women to cover their heads in a way different from men. While the Jewish oral law said that men and women both had to cover their heads, there were many more reasons given for why women had to cover their heads.Paul never passed on such legalism to his spiritual children in Christ. If the Jews had their reasons for restricting women, Paul had his for ensuring their full participation in ministry. No wonder people flocked to hear Paul’s teaching! He presented a vibrant counterpoint to the dead legalism of his day.As we will show, Paul’s words in verse 10 confronted those who wanted to impose regulations on women believers. Both men and women believers had the right to discard any covering hinting at sin. No one had the right to tell them to do otherwise and it was obviously wrong to do so.Key #5: Translations. In 1 Corinthians 11:10, Paul restated his position. A look at the Greek words in which the New Testament was written makes this quite clear. But modern translations of this passage make it look as if Paul is saying something here opposite to what he originally wrote!Before taking a look at what Paul said these in 13 Greek words, here is a sampling of what translations present verse 10 as saying:Good News Translation (GNT) On account of the angels, then, a woman should have a covering over her head to show that she is under her husband's authority. (24 words)Contemporary English Version CEV. And so, because of this, and also because of the angels, a woman ought to wear something on her head, as a sign of her authority. (26 words)Living Bible TLB: So a woman should wear a covering on her head as a sign that she is under man’s authority, a fact for all the angels to notice and rejoice in. (30 words)New International Version NIV: It is for this reason that a woman ought to have authority over her own head, because of the angels. (20 words)English Standard Version ESV That is why a wife ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels. (19 words) Clearly, something is going on here with all these differences from translation to translation. However, in Greek, verse 10 is made up of just thirteen easy words. The following is a word-for-word transliteration of the Greek of 1 Corinthians 11:10:1. “therefore” or “for”            7.“to-have” 2. “this” (“reason”)                8.  “over”3. “ought”                               9.  “the” (“her”)          4. “the”                                    10. “head”5. “woman”                            11. “because-of”        6. “authority”                         12. “the”13. “angels.”The verse can be translated simply as follows in 14 English words:Therefore, the woman ought to have authority over her head, because of the angels.Although it rearranged the words, one version translated clearly the original Greek text. It was the TNIV or Today’s New InternationalVersion:"For this reason, and because of the angels, the woman ought to have authority over her own head."Thus, Paul affirms that a woman is in charge of her own head. How this meaning fits with the verses around it is what we will address next.Bruce C. E. FlemingFounder of the Tru316 Project, Tru316.comAuthor of The Book of Eden, Genesis 2-3  The Tru316 Foundation (www.Tru316.com) is the home of The Eden Podcast with Bruce C. E. Fleming where we “true” the verse of Genesis 3:16. The Tru316 Message is that “God didn’t curse Eve (or Adam) or limit woman in any way.” Once Genesis 3:16 is made clear the other passages on women and men become clear too. You are encouraged to access the episodes of Seasons 1-11 of The Eden Podcast for teaching on the seven key passages on women and men. Are you a reader? We invite you to get from Amazon the four books by Bruce C. E. Fleming in The Eden Book Series (Tru316.com/trubooks). Would you like to support the work of the Tru316 Foundation? You can become a Tru Partner here: www.Tru316.com/partner

God didn't curse Eve or limit woman in any way in Genesis 3:16. This is what Dr. Joy Fleming discovered in the 11 Hebrew words of this key verse. But your Bible doesn't read that way because of a translation error!!This and much more has been put into The Book of Eden, Genesis 2-3 by Bruce C. E. Fleming available on Audible HERE.  The Tru316 Foundation (www.Tru316.com) is the home of The Eden Podcast with Bruce C. E. Fleming where we “true” the verse of Genesis 3:16. The Tru316 Message is that “God didn’t curse Eve (or Adam) or limit woman in any way.” Once Genesis 3:16 is made clear the other passages on women and men become clear too. You are encouraged to access the episodes of Seasons 1-11 of The Eden Podcast for teaching on the seven key passages on women and men. Are you a reader? We invite you to get from Amazon the four books by Bruce C. E. Fleming in The Eden Book Series (Tru316.com/trubooks). Would you like to support the work of the Tru316 Foundation? You can become a Tru Partner here: www.Tru316.com/partner

 Welcome to this bonus episode of The Eden Podcast where we think again about the Bible on women and men and we start with a correct understanding of what happened in the Garden of Eden back in the beginning.I’m Bruce C. E. Fleming, founder of the Tru316 Project and a former Academic Dean and Professor of Practical Theology.This bonus episode celebrates our arrival at the end of Season Three on The Eden Podcast. I’ve started getting messages from some letting me know you have listened to all of the episodes up to this point. Congratulations! You have just completed a major achievement! We don’t hand out certificates just yet. But I would like to encourage you for your achievement.Let’s look at what has been accomplished!Season One of The Eden Podcast is the foundation of it all. What happened in Genesis 2-3 is so important to what we know of God, of one another, of the liar who attacked murderously at the Tree, of the difference between the responses of the man and the woman and of God’s responses to all three. We focused especially in Episodes 6 and 7 on God’s words to the woman in Genesis 3:16. Basing our insights on the research of Dr. Joy Fleming we observed that God didn’t curse Eve (or Adam) or limit woman in any way! And we learned much more. That’s why we put all of Season One in a book and added Study Guides at the end of each chapter. The Book of Eden, Genesis 2-3 is 124 pages long in paperback. It is also available from Amazon as a Kindle E-book, and shortly should be available on Audible. I encourage you to get at least one copy for yourself today! Just go to Amazon HERE.Season Two is about Ephesians 5:15-6:9. Because people haven’t begun at the beginning of this passage at 5:15 and ended at the end of the passage at 6:9, and because people haven’t recognized the way Paul developed his ideas inside the passage building up to his key idea in 5:32 there has been much that has gone wrong in their interpretation of this passage. Thanks to the insights we gained from a true view of Genesis 3:16 we were able to understand it all much better. This was especially true of Paul’s advice on teaching and admonishing one another and in submitting ourselves to that input from one another.Season Three is about 1 Timothy 2:8-3:13 in context. We covered so much good material here and marveled at Paul’s loving and merciful attitude with the overseers who had gone astray in the church at Ephesus.So, here’s how I would like us to encourage one another!First of all. Spread the word! Of course, above all take what you have learned and apply it in your life as God moves you to. Then tell others. You can refer them to the entire The Eden Podcast series at TheEdenPodcast.com. You can refer them to several specific episodes. My favorites in Season 1 on Genesis are Episodes 1, 6 and 7. (But really I like them all.) My favorites in Season 2 on Ephesians are Episodes 3, 4 and 6. My favorites in Season 3 on 1 Timothy are 2, 5 and 6.Second. I’d love to have you study with us as a member of our Tru School of the Bible. We are now taking early enrollment for our first 8-week course which will be called Unlocking Eden, Genesis 2-3. It will be held during our Summer Session in July and August. The cost will be $316 (of course 316) and the number of places is very limited. So you can sign up today. The cost will be refundable. Here’s the link on our website: Tru316.com/UnlockingEden.There’s more to come! In your life and in mine. God is so good and God’s word the Bible is wholly worthy of our trust, respect and enjoyment!   The Tru316 Foundation (www.Tru316.com) is the home of The Eden Podcast with Bruce C. E. Fleming where we “true” the verse of Genesis 3:16. The Tru316 Message is that “God didn’t curse Eve (or Adam) or limit woman in any way.” Once Genesis 3:16 is made clear the other passages on women and men become clear too. You are encouraged to access the episodes of Seasons 1-11 of The Eden Podcast for teaching on the seven key passages on women and men. Are you a reader? We invite you to get from Amazon the four books by Bruce C. E. Fleming in The Eden Book Series (Tru316.com/trubooks). Would you like to support the work of the Tru316 Foundation? You can become a Tru Partner here: www.Tru316.com/partner