In the heart of his letter to Titus, Paul dedicates three verses to Christian women:

Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be defiled. (Titus 2:3-5, ESV)

These short verses have become the focal text for many great ministries and discipleship programs among women in churches today. In fact, these verses have grown to such popularity among Christian women that the book of Titus is often known among women in reference to the “Titus 2 Woman.”

I have found myself treating Titus 2 as little more than a gender-identity workshop. Too often we tragically cut Titus 2 off from the larger context in an overly personalized way. For years I have been drawn to biblical verses and books dealing with womanhood, selectively zooming to passages that deal with the issue, and skimming through most of everything else.  

But I’ve come to the conclusion that chopping off sections of the Bible, in the way I was doing, produces nothing more than obstructed and skewed identities. In other words, we understand our gendered Identity less clearly. We can have a narrow-mindedness focus about Christian womanhood. Our identity as women created in God’s image is at its best when received in the context of the entirety of God’s story, firmly rooted in all of God’s word, and distinctively placed in our local church.

That’s why before Titus 2 is about me, Titus 2 is about God. Titus 2 is not just about women; it is about the whole church, about the reputation of God’s word, and about the Great Commission. With that in mind, here are 3 points for women to think about, drawn from the large context of the book of Titus, that have revolutionized my understanding of femininity in the light of God, his word, and his church.  

Women: In the Church

Paul begins his letter asserting that the message is for the benefit of the entire church (Titus 1:1). After spending the first half of the letter highlighting each of the people classes in the church, Paul switches the distinctive gears to the plural form of the collective “us”, “our”, “we”—referring to the church. The change happens in chapter 2 verse 11, featuring the church’s mission as a whole in adorning, in everything, the “doctrine of God our Savior.” It is clear to me, after studying the letter, that before God is crazy about me as a woman, God is crazy about us, as a church.

Then, in three short verses, Paul maps some key highlights for women. He oscillates between character and behavior, teaching and learning, in home and outside of home, husbands and kids. So, why such a concise list of feminine character traits and mission fields?

I believe that Paul’s intent in itemizing these spiritual bullet-points of character was never to encourage a segregated and inward-focused class of Christian women. Though a believing woman’s reverent, loving, pure, submissive, self-controlled, hard working, kind character is nothing short of wondrous gospel glory, a testimony to the Spirit’s work in our hearts. Viewed in the context of his entire letter, Paul’s objective has always been to anchor women deeper into the unity of the church so they can faithfully serve God in their roles as women. Like a photographer would focus on a pregnant woman’s belly, highlighting this beautiful and marvelous part of her body, so is Paul zooming into the gender class of women as connected to the whole of the church. As valued and intrinsic body parts, we live out our Christian femininity best when we are connected to the body as a whole!

In verse Titus 2:5, Paul pays a close attention to the women’s rapport with their own households through a series of words like “husbands,” “children,” “submissive,” “working at home.” When neighbors see us submit to our husbands and love our children, they will smell the beautiful aroma of Christ’s church. It is clear to me that Paul intends to call to the attention of each Christian woman that the way she builds (or tears down) her household reflects greatly on the reputation of the church in the world.

Women: Tied to God’s Word and Each Other

The list of godly characteristics Paul puts together for women in these 3 verses is not meant to cause women, especially the new Christians, to feel inadequate, or to showcase some others’ strengths and achievements. Nor are they means of gaining favor with God through great works. In fact, Paul clearly states later in chapter 3 that “our works done in righteousness” earn us nothing when it comes to God’s grace and sacrifice for us. Our salvation is based solely on God’s goodness, loving-kindness, and mercy offered to us freely as a gift through Jesus Christ the Savior (Titus 3:5-6).

Paul offers this list of characteristics as missional opportunities given uniquely to each woman for the purpose of adorning the gospel in the world. How else would the world understand the meaning of the church submitting to Christ,  if not by watching Christian women lovingly, selflessly, and kindly submitting to their husband’s leadership? How would they know of the mystery of union of Christ and his bride, the church, if not by witnessing the very godly, marital, covenant between a husband and a wife? Where else if not in a Christian family would they see lives valued and children welcomed because God alone is the giver of all life?

Truth is, what we believe as women is reflected in how we live. Sound doctrine is intimately tied to sound living. Here’s the bottom line: our living as godly women either validates the Bible to the world, or it condemns it, since most of the world doesn’t judge us by our theology but by our behavior.

The challenge at the end of the third verse has always fascinated me, though it is very easy to miss. “Older women likewise