1 Timothy 2:13-15 (ESV)
For Adam was formed first, then Eve;
And Adam was not deceived
but the woman was deceived
and became a transgressor
Yet she will be saved through childbearing
if they continue in faith and love and holiness, with self-control
“Yet she will be saved through childbearing†makes the most sense in light of the woman becoming a transgressor and the consequent curse of becoming such: “To the woman he said, ‘I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children’†(Gen. 3:16). Here Paul starts a digression on the order of creation, leaving women by the end of v. 14 in the consequence of her sin. Paul can assure the women that the curse will not keep them from salvation “if they continue in faith and love and holiness, with self-control†because the Seed has come and bruised the serpent’s head (Gen. 3:15).
The sense of the verse then is that women will be saved despite childbearing (even through childbearing) which is her consequence of being “deceived†and “a transgressor.†This consequence—multiplied pain in childbearing—is not too much to bear and it will not keep them from salvation. Their salvation is rather dependent upon their faith and love and holiness which is evident by self-control. Faith, love and holiness and self-control are all results of regeneration. Salvation is tied to genuine regeneration by the Spirit and unhindered by childbearing.
Interpretations that give childbearing as the means through which women are saved must be rejected as well as interpretations that take “saved†to mean “preserved†and thenceforward posit that the woman’s heritage or legacy is preserved through childbearing. These are not most faithful to the Fall context in which women are said to be saved through childbearing. Similarly, the means of salvation is not in view. Instead, the phrase gives comfort to women who fear that the curse of multiplied pain in childbearing might overshadow salvation.
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