Women in Ministry

This week I will address the role of women as a part of our Sunday teaching in a new series.

The role of women in ministry is a very controversial topic in many circles, regardless of which position you take. Many articles and books have been written to argue both sides, and you can actually support both positions from certain scriptures.

The fellowship that our church is affiliated with, the Assemblies of God, has always recognized the role of women in ministry, and so do we as elders. I have worked with women pastors, elders and Creekside has always had women deacons. This is a subject I have given a lot of time, study and thought too. Here is some of what I have learned.

The Bible teaches that both men and women were created by God and equally bear His image (Gen. 1:27). Each was to share oneness and community (Gen. 2:23-24) and was to share jointly the responsibilities of raising children and having dominion over the created order. The desire to “rule over” another is the result of human sin and Genesis 3:16 is a prediction of the effects of the fall, rather than a prescription for God’s ideal order.

When the New Testament church was formed, the Holy Spirit was poured out on women and men alike, as was predicted (Joel 2:28 and Acts 2:18). In the New Testament, women as well as men exercise prophetic and priestly functions (Acts 2:17-18). Furthermore, the Spirit gives gifts to all those born again without distinction of gender.

There are only two passages in the entire New Testament which might seem to contain a prohibition against the ministry of women (1 Corinthians 14:34 and 1 Timothy 2:12). Since these must be placed along side Paul's other statements and practices, they cannot be considered absolute. Instead, they seem to be teachings dealing with specific, local problems that needed correction in those churches.

In the case of I Timothy 2:12 the meaning of Paul's statement, "I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man . . ." have puzzled many interpreters. Is the prohibition of women teaching and exercising authority a universal truth, or was Paul reporting his application of truth for the Christian community where he and Timothy ministered?

From a survey of passages on women in ministry, it is clear that Paul recognized the ministry of women. Yet there were some obvious problems concerning women in Ephesus. Some were evidently given to immodest apparel (1 Timothy 2:9), the younger widows were "idle,... and not only idle, but tattlers also and busybodies, speaking things which they ought not" (1 Timothy 5:13). In his second letter to Timothy, Paul warned against depraved persons (possibly including women) who manipulated "weak-willed", or "gullible", women (2 Timothy 3:6, NIV).
1 Timothy 2:9-15 strongly suggests that Paul was giving Timothy advice about dealing with some heretical teachings and practices involving women in the church at Ephesus. The heresy may have been so serious that he had to say about the Ephesian women, "I am not allowing women to teach or have authority over a man." But we know from other passages that such exclusion was not normal in Paul's ministry.

For example, Romans 16:3 says, “Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus.” We know from culture that the leader was always mentioned first, so it is obvious that Priscilla was the ministry leader of this couple. Paul repeats this again in I Cor. 16:19 and II Tim. 4:19, where he openly declares them to be leaders of the church that meets at their home. They are basically pastoring a church together, with Priscilla leading.

It is also interesting to also note Titus 2:1-3. The word for “aged men” is the Greek word, “presbuterous” or elder. In verse three, the word for “aged women” is the exact same word; only the feminine version is used. It is also a common understanding that words for both elder and pastor are used interchangeably in the New Testament, so we cannot say it is OK for a women to be an elder, but not a pastor.

The primary scripture used to support men only as elders is Titus 1:6 which reads, “ An elder must be blameless, the husband of but one wife, a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient.” (NIV) The focus of this verse is to make sure that church leadership has solid Christian families and to combat the cultural impact of polygamy, not to exclude women in ministry.

In attempts to understand and put into practice appropriate relationships between genders in the Body of Christ, our sole authority has been God’s will as expressed in the scriptures. A few isolated scriptural texts appear to restrict full ministry freedom to women. The application and interpretation of those passages must take into account their relation to the whole teaching of scripture and their specific contexts. When the Bible is interpreted comprehensively, it teaches the full equality of men and women in status, giftedness and opportunity for ministry.

Now, having said this, you should understand that I am not a crusader for women’s rights. That is not the purpose of the church and becoming a crusader for anything other than the gospel is not a part of our mission. All of us gave up our rights and became servants when we came to Christ, but I do believe that God does see both men and women as having equal opportunities in the Kingdom, as reflected in this scripture, “ . . . There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. Gal 3:26-28 (NIV)