John 3:16 and the Feminization of the Church! – Part #4

“Adam Was Not Deceived – But the Woman Was!” (1 Timothy 2:14) 

 By Richard Allen – March 9, 2026

This will no doubt be a controversial Blog. I do think that the content will spur an emotional response – both in favor or disagreement with my conclusions. So at the start, let me state that both Men and Women are “fallen sinners,” in need of God’s grace and forgiveness.  My “subtitle” should engender a question regarding the verse I’m quoting from 1 Timothy 2:13-14 where Paul states:

“For Adam was formed first, then Eve; and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor” (1 Timothy 2:13-14).

“Why did Paul bring up mother Eve’s culpability in the first sin?  And, why was it important that we know about this?”     I hope to answer these questions in the context of 1 Timothy, and apply it to the present-day phenomenon in the Church – where most Christians much prefer the “Feminized Gospel of John 3:16” to God’s Holiness or Justice. As a result, the Gospel of “God is Love” – and not the “Gospel of a Holy and Righteous God,” is the only Gospel we present!

The real problem is not that the Scriptures don’t also proclaim a “God of Love” – and display His “Redeeming Mercy and Love” through many passages – especially in the New Testament Scriptures. The problem with modern day theological systems is, they are skewed so far to the Love end of the Biblical spectrum, that they are out of balance with the clear teaching of Scripture. But at the same time, Scripture reveals our God as “Holy,” and a “God of Justice and Vengeance!” These things are incompatible to the person who has bought the imbalanced view of our God as a “Love God.” A larger question might be 'how id we get here as a Christian society?’ This wasn’t always the case in Western Christian Societies, but clearly since the Enlightenment, ‘man and his understanding’ has become the measure of all that is true. Couple this with the “Feminization” of both our culture and the Church, and we have a recipe for serious doctrinal error. At the heart of this ongoing tension is the struggle between men and women. Just a quick review of major civilizations reveals that until the Christianizing of Pagan Roman Culture through the preaching of the Gospel, men were totally imbalanced toward the other direction. Most women were nothing more than chattel property – to be dispensed with at a Father’s or Husband’s whims.  But like most things in our fallen world, the Pendulum began to swing back toward a “kinder and gentler,” more Feminized mindset over the Church Age in the West.

Our current American Culture has been radicalized so much that modern Feminists and many Educators have declared the natural and healthy behavior of “boys” to be “toxic masculinity.” Some have gone so far as to declare that all sex – even within heterosexual marriage is “rape.” Only “same-sex relations” are viewed as positive and healthy. There are signs that this Pendulum of “anti-male” propaganda is beginning to slow, and may start to correct its radical trajectory and begin heading in a more traditional direction in the years to come. What doesn’t always seem clear is the underlying problem between men and women that was caused by Adam and Eve’s Fall. Since Adam – as “the head of his wife” – failed to protect Eve when the Serpent attacked her thinking, and Eve sought to control the situation through her own wisdom and discernment, things have gone from bad to worse.  In Genesis Chapter three, God calls every party to account, cursing the serpent to crawl on its belly, then cursing Adam to a life of ‘toil and sweat’ just to feed himself from the ground.  But to Mother Eve, God gave a special curse – not only for her personal punishment, but for the struggle with Adam for dominance and control. Here’s how the New Living Translation phrases Eve’s punishment:

“Then he said to the woman, ‘I will sharpen the pain of your pregnancy, and in pain you will give birth.  And you will desire to control your husband, but he will rule over you’ ” (Genesis 3:16).

This struggle between men and women goes far beyond ‘the battle of the sexes,’ it goes to the heart of our rebellion as fallen men and women toward a Holy God!  If we can just remember, the relationship between man and wife is a picture of Christ and the Church. When both earthly wives and the Church, that is, the Bride of Christ, submit to the headship of their husbands – we are all protected and cared for. When women seek to wrestle control away from the one whom God has ‘made their head,’ they are ultimately left defenseless and exposed to the “evil one’s” nefarious designs. Psychologists and writers today are now explaining the dire ‘unhappiness’ of many women in our present age – who gave up submission to a man in marriage, along with the joy, pain and responsibility of bearing children. They did this at the prompting by The Feminist Movement, Academia and the Culture at large. They did this so they could compete in the corporate world ‘as a man,’ climbing the ladder of success to gain status and money.  Truth is, they have been deceived. Most of these women find themselves: “past their child-bearing years, old, very alone and quite unfulfilled!” Oh sure, they may have a nice home, a new car and a great wardrobe, but they lack the one fulfilling relationship that God purposed for the vast majority of men and women:  A satisfying marriage with their own children!

When we look at the context in which Paul the Apostle gave direction to his protégé, Timothy, this will make more sense. 1 Timothy was an Epistle written to charge Timothy to ‘correct several problems that were confronting believers in the Church of Ephesus.’ There were ‘false teachers’ who were teaching false doctrine. In 1 Timothy 1:3-4, Paul specifically mentions ‘those who are teaching things contrary to the truth, and wasting time with endless discussions of myths and spiritual pedigrees – that lead to meaningless speculation.’  Paul even warns of some who have turned away from the truth – trying to be “teachers of the Law, but missing the whole purpose of the law” (1 Timothy 1:5-7).  By the time Paul got to Chapter two, Paul tells Timothy to urge believers at Ephesus to “pray for all kinds of people, for kings and all in authority so that God’s people can live godly and quiet lives” (1 Timothy 2:1-4).

The Apostle Paul makes it clear to Timothy that ‘believers in Jesus Christ should live commendable lives before the unbelievers around them. Men should “pray with hands lifted up and be free from anger and controversy” (1 Timothy 2:8). But he doesn’t stop there, he also wants “Women to be modest in their dress and behavior, as those who claim to be devoted to God” (1 Timothy 2:9-10). At this point, he expands on his admonitions to women in the congregation:

^“Women should learn quietly and submissively. I do not let women teach men or have authority over them. Let them listen quietly. For God made Adam first, and afterward he made Eve. And it was not Adam who was deceived by Satan. The woman was deceived, and sin was the result. But women will be saved through childbearing, assuming they continue to live in faith, love, holiness, and modesty” (1 Timothy 2:11-15).

Paul’s point here is, that women were the original target of the ‘tempter’ (Satan), and were susceptible to his deception. Adam, instead of protecting her, allowed her to be exposed to this temptation. But Adam wasn’t deceived – he flat out rebelled and disobeyed God’s clear commandment “not to eat of that one tree.”  Mother Eve should have stayed under Adam’s protection and submitted to him as her ‘head.’ The result was, she was ‘deceived’ and gave the forbidden fruit to her husband – plunging all of mankind into ‘sin and degradation.’ Just as God had foretold, “Eve had succeeded in controlling her husband” (Genesis 3:16), but certainly not for good. Even now – centuries after Adam and Eve’s Fall in the Garden, women need the protection and covering of their fathers and husbands in God’s hierarchy. It’s strange, but later in this same book – Paul told Timothy to admonish ‘young widows,’ that is ‘young single females’ who had lost their husbands – to be Godly women of faith and marry again – ‘Not to put them on the list for widows’ support.’

“The younger widows should not be on the list, because their physical desires will overpower their devotion to Christ and they will want to remarry. Then they would be guilty of breaking their previous pledge. And if they are on the list, they will learn to be lazy and will spend their time gossiping from house to house, meddling in other people’s business and talking about things they shouldn’t.  So, I advise these younger widows to marry again, have children, and take care of their own homes. Then the enemy will not be able to say anything against them. For I am afraid that some of them have already gone astray and now follow Satan” (1 Timothy 5:11-15).

It’s clear from this passage that Paul didn’t believe in modern Feminism.  He believed and taught ‘traditional male-female relationships and marriage.’ It’s ironic, but Paul’s admonition regarding ‘younger widows’ could easily be written to most single females in Western Christendom today. Instead of defending the traditional roles of male and female, the Church has largely been absent in the conversation, often allowing the Secular School System to indoctrinate its children. Not only does the Modern Gospel ‘apologize for God our Father,’ but they preach an almost exclusive Female version of God. No wonder most confessing Evangelicals don’t believe in ‘eternal punishment or a literal lake of fire.’ Those subjects are not nurturing, and certainly would drive people away from Christ. The Apostles of Jesus had no problem teaching the Mercy and Righteousness of God to a fallen world. In fact, the word “Love” – in any underlying Greek form – Does Not Occur In the Book of Acts!  You may ask, why is that significant? Answer: Acts is the New Testament Book that records how the Gospel was disseminated to the “whole world!” Without telling anyone that “God Loves You,” the Apostles managed to ‘turn the world upside down for Christ' without mentioning or quoting John 3:16! Apparently – the Apostles didn’t get the memo about the “toxic masculinity of God the Father,” the Holy Judge of all. No wonder our Evangelism looks more like a “Rock Concert” than the Church of Jesus Christ!

Soli Deo Gloria!