What Does It Mean for a Woman to be ‘Saved in Childbearing’?

Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety. ~1 Timothy 2:15 KJV

Paul said this above scripture right after he taught that women were not allowed to speak, teach, nor usurp authority over the man in the church.

It begs the question, “What do you mean by saved in childbearing?”

In the beginning, God gave a command to the man and the woman, which was to ‘be fruitful and multiply and replenish.’ The purpose for that command was for them to have children and to replenish the earth.  God’s way of replenishing is to live a God-fearing life through your multiplying, which is further explained and demonstrated in the New Testament doctrine.

[27] So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them. [28] And God blessed them, and God said unto them, “Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.” ~ Genesis 1: 27-28 KJV

First, some take the words “be fruitful and multiply” –leaving out replenish— to mean that we should have children and never stop until God closes the womb, but we know that those who continuously birth children end up having their children raising their children, which is not what God is intending.  Raise the amount of children that you can handle to know the Lord because the point is to replenish the earth, not simply fill it.  If that is two or twenty —fine.  God just wants women who get married to be faithful to walk in the Spirit of God and adhere to the purpose of birthing and teaching the fear of the Lord to their children who are born or adopted.  Ultimately, the fruit of the womb is God’s reward so what will you and your husband do with it?

[3] Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord : and the fruit of the womb is His reward. ~Psalm 127:3 KJV

What About That Quiver Full?

[4] As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth. [5] Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate. ~Psalm 127:4-5 KJV

First, let’s consider that this scripture is comparing a man to a “mighty man,” or warrior, who has a quiver full of arrows.  It is the mighty man of God who happily launches his godly children like arrows from his quiver.  When we think about children becoming responsible adults, it is a process of making sure they get into college or teaching them about getting a job, etc., but think in terms of godliness.  The father, as the spiritual head of the family, teaches his children how to obey the Lord as they venture out into this world.  In fact, the Lord also gave the command to “be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish” to the man Noah and his sons.

A full quiver, depending on the size, may hold from two to thirty arrows, but the average for a professional archer is eight. Therefore, a “quiver full” does not mean that every woman is meant to physically bear children incessantly.  This is especially true because the scripture about the “quiver full” is more about the God-fearing man’s happiness with his godly children rather than the woman bearing continuously.  However, being obedient to God’s original command still applies, as we should know and can also see through Paul’s statement. So, it is important for Christian women to find a way to multiply even if certain women only increase by one through adoption. She has still increased from two people to three in her household, yet if she is able to obtain more, she should. It is good to take care of orphans and it is good to raise children to know the Lord.

If a Christian woman helps to raise her children to be righteous, she is rewarding God by using His guidance, which helps her husband to put the Lord’s ways out into the world and she is also helping to develop godly children who will make her husband happy.  Ungodly children bring shame to their parents.

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The Barren and the Fruitful

The fruit of the womb is God’s reward, but just because it wasn’t your womb, doesn’t mean you cannot nourish God’s reward. Think about how special adopting an orphan or freely taking care of a ward of the state would be to Him and consider if Jesus died for the whole world, the womb is quite precious.

A married, barren wife, with her husband, ought to adopt the parentless child because raising children is for God’s purpose.  Nevertheless, without losing faith because her womb may open or be healed.  If you can have children, bear them and raise them in God’s command.

Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety. ~1 Timothy 2:15 KJV

Husbands are required to plant the seed, but their wives are accountable to bear the children because one cannot have a child if a woman does not bear a child.  They both are accountable to train them.  Therefore, a woman is saved by following God’s original command.  This is what Paul reinforced, which also means that a woman who bears children, but does not continue in faith, charity, and holiness with sobriety—is in trouble because she and her husband are not developing godly children. 

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Cite this article: Please update the Accessed or Retrieved date (September 13, 2015).