Doctrines: Paul roots women’s role in two fundamental doctrines of Scripture: creation (v13) and the fall (v14). As the pillar and support of the truth (3:15), the church is the one place on earth where these truths of God are believed and upheld.[1] God created Adam first, both chronologically and hierarchically, then Eve[2] (Gen. 2:20-22). She was made for his sake (1 Cor. 11:8-9) to be his helper (Gen. 2:18). Although this original design was marred by sin (Gen. 3:16), it is restored in Christ. In Him we learn godly leadership, and the church exhibits godly submission, becoming a signpost of God’s will for male leadership. As for the fall, the serpent targeted Eve to deceive her (Gen. 3:13), not Adam. Make no mistake: Adam was not the hero; he failed to teach and guard his wife. Jesus shows us how to shepherd and guard His people. He exemplifies this and calls men to be like Him, a godly teacher and a leader.
Salvation: Verse 15 is about salvation.[3] The text literally says, a woman[4] “will be saved through the childbirth.”[5] The interpretation found early and repeatedly in church history is that “the childbirth” is the birth of Christ, the incarnation and all that it signifies: Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. This means Paul again appeals to Genesis 3, where the salvation is promised in the seed of the woman (Gen. 3:15). Salvation is in Christ alone (Acts 4:12), and all who believe pursue love and holiness (1 Tim. 1:5; Heb. 12:14) with a biblical mind.
[1] Paul is mindful of the early chapters of Genesis. He signals this by employing specific Greek verbs for create (plassō, πλάσσω, “form” [ESV]) and deceive (apataō, ἀπατάω) used in the LXX in Genesis 2:7 and 3:13.
[2] In Genesis 2 God first made man of the dust of the ground (Gen. 2:7) then Eve from his side (Gen. 2:22).
[3] NASB’s “preserved” is literally “saved,” the same verb (sozō or σῴζω) used of salvation in v4, Paul’s standard verb for salvation: Rom. 10:9; 1 Cor. 1:18; 15:2; 2 Cor. 2:15; Eph. 2:5, 8; 1 Tim. 1:15; 2 Tim. 1:9; Tit. 3:5.
[4] The only other alternative is Eve of vv13-14, but the future tense of “will be saved” makes that very unlikely.
[5] “Childbearing” or “childbirth” is literal (ESV, KJV, NIV) versus the pluralized and generalized “bearing of children” (NASB, Lexham). The Greek is also articular (“the”) (NASB, LSB, Lexham), pointing to the birth of Christ.