Woman Pastors / Preachers? What Does The Bible Say About Women In Ministry?
Question : Women pastors / preachers? What does the Bible say about women in ministry?
Answer : Greetings in Jesus wonderful name! The only restriction that God has kept for woman is not to exercise authority over a man (1 Tim 2:12). The reason that Paul the apostle gave for this command to be kept is the order of Creation and the hierarchy that God had arranged through which authority can be safely exercised, and further points to the reason all humans fell from God's glory when that order and hierarchy to exercise God's order was not kept in the beginning in the Garden of Eden (1 Tim 2:13-15).
Man is made for the glory of God and woman is made for the glory of man, so God's authority flows freely to a woman when in submission to one's husband first, once this happens within a family, then there will come a spiritual and supernatural understanding that they both are made for each other (1 Cor 11:7, 9-11; Eph 5:22). Harmony within one's marriage or the family depends upon whether the wife submits to the husband as to the Lord Jesus (Eph 5:24).
Contemporary feminism is not God's will for all women as they claim equal rights with men not knowing that they have been created as weaker vessels by God to complement man where they remain the strongest in life (1 Peter 3:7), this is the spirit of Antichrist creating rebellion in the structure of the family and the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ. Many divorces and broken homes are a direct result of this spirit of the end influencing women. I am not a male chauvinist or male supremacist, but when we turn to the Scripture, the creation of God in the Eden clearly points to woman as a helper to man and at the same time one who is comparable to him in everything (Gen 2:20). Woman being a subordinate to man doesn't mean that she is a creature of a lower rank who is inferior in any way to man. For example, the Holy Spirit who is the third person of the Trinity of God is also called in the same way like Eve as a helper to all the children of God (John 14:26). That doesn't mean that the Holy Spirit of God has become lower in his rank or inferior in dignity in any way in His relationship relating Himself as a Helper to the children of God. Thus to be a helper is a place of service and responsibility that God has given to all woman to live satisfactorily in dignity and honor of their calling. Every woman is comparable to a man in every way, because both were created in the image of God and both are equally valued in the sight of God (Gen 1:26-27; Gal 3:28).
Though in the horizontal relationship women are placed under man in hierarchy of God's order, yet in the vertical relationship with God, both are in the same platform to be in relationship with Him. In other words, if the wife doesn't submit to her husband, her prayers to God will be hindered because of her blatant disobedience to the Word of God (Eph 5:22, 24), at the same time if the husband doesn't honor and love his wife as to the weaker vessel, his prayer will be hindered because of his blatant disobedience to the Word of God (1 Peter 3:7; Eph 5:23, 25). In short, our horizontal relationship with one another within the family will affect the vertical relationship with God directly and equally for both man and a woman, so every husband and wife together can equally enjoy God without any difference by abiding to God's order of authority structure and submission and love towards one another (1 John 4:12, 20-21).
“Who is this who looks down like the dawn, beautiful as the moon, bright as the sun, awesome as an army with banners? (Song of Solomon 6:10, ESV).
Who indeed? A woman, of course, because by nature they are designed by God to reflect the light of the sun in a man to all the world (Prov 4:18), though they themselves live as a true beauty like as a moon in the night. She is a a woman who presides over her domain with strong arms and resourcefulness (Proverbs 31); they are daughters that are corner pillars cut in palace styles within the family (Psa 144:12). A Woman either enhances her man to true greatness with her submission to him which is like a crown in his head or destroys the house through lack of submission to him (Prov 12:4; 14:1). The true beauty of womanhood is really revealed only in the wives submission to their own husbands, which is precious in the sight of God who considers such quiet and gentle spirit of a woman to be the incorruptible beauty that is eternally valuable (1 Peter 3:3, 4, 5).
So first priority of a woman is not to be a busy body but rather to be submissive to their own husband, have children and raise them in the fear of the Lord which will bring true freedom to their soul to live in the liberty that God has planned for them, and also teach the same godly concept to the young women within the Church for them to excel as a helper who is comparable to man in every way, yet submissive for God's sake towards their husbands like the godly women of old like Sarah did towards Abraham calling him Lord (1 Tim 2:15; 5:14; Tit 2:3-5; 1 Peter 3:5-6).
Men are the only one who are told by apostle Paul to be qualified for the position of authority as elders within the Church (1 Tim 3:1; Titus 1:5-6). But women are safe to exercise the gift of God that God has endowed them within the Church.
Apostle Paul clearly did not restrict women to be as silent as zombies with in the Church, what he did mean was not to exercise authority over man (1 Tim 2:11-12; 1 Cor 14:34-36). Paul also expressed that the doctrinal matters should not be decided by women within the Church, as God expects them to learn from their husband the deep things of God (1 Cor 14:36). In fact, if Paul the apostle totally wanted the women to stay silent within the Church, he would not have told women to pray or prophesy with head covered within the Church which is an activity done equally to that of men (1 Cor 11:4-5). This shows that women can exercise gift of Jesus, gift of the Father and the gift of the Holy Spirit as God empowers them by sticking to the principles that God has given as a guidelines for them to check themselves to operate rightly to please God.
Can woman pastor a Church? It is a clear no according to the Scripture because authority over man is involved in being a elder or a shepherd (1 Peter 5:1-4).
Can a woman be a preacher of the Word of God? It is a yes (Mark 16:15-18). Mainly to teach other women and children the nuances of the Word of God pragmatically for them to apply it in their day to day lives (Titus 2:3-5).
Women can safely and strategically exercise their gift as evangelist because of their relational ability to talk and draw the people to the truth of Jesus, and we also see that the first evangelist to carry the good news of Jesus Christ was none other than a woman named Mary (Mark 16:9-10, 11; Eph 4:11). The Samaritan woman was the first evangelist to evangelize the nation of Samaria (John 4:39-42). According to 1 Cor 12:28 Apostles, Pastors and Teachers carry authority over men and so it does not fit women to exercise these gifts.
But woman can act as the prophet of God even though it carries a lot of authority behind it, but again there is a place of proper judgment given to the Church to either accept the word from God if it is genuine or reject it based on the counsel of elders who judge the prophetic word according to the written word and the Spirit (1 Cor 11:5; 12:7; 14:31-32, 29-30, 37, 39-40; 2 Thess 5:20-21; 1 Cor 12:3; 1 John 4:1-3).
Six women in scripture are expressly stated as possessing the title of prophetess: five under the old covenant [i.e. Miriam (Exo 15:20-21), Deborah (Jud 4:4), Huldah (2 Kings 22:14), Noadiah (Neh 6:14), Isaiah's wife (Isa 8:3)] and one, Anna (Luke 2:36), is mentioned in the gospels. In addition, Philip is mentioned in Acts as having four daughters who prophesied which brings the number of prophetesses to ten (Acts 21:8-9). Conversely, a woman in the book of Revelations calls herself a prophetess but she is considered false and such were also present during the Old Testament too (Rev 2:20; Ezek 13:17-23). On occasion, other women in scripture also prophesied, but were not expressly described as prophesying. These women include: Rachel (Gen. 30:24), Hannah (1 Sam. 2:1-10), Abigail (1 Samuel 25:29-31), Elisabeth (Luke 1:41-45), and Mary, the mother of Jesus (Luke 1:46-55).
Again woman can operate in all the gifts of the Spirit, according to what the Holy Spirit chooses and uses (1 Cor 12:8-11).
Finally practicing the gifts in Romans 12:6-8 — (a) prophesying or perceiving (1 Cor 11:5; 14:22-23, 24-25, 39-40), (b) serving (Rom 16:1, 6; 1 Tim 5:10), (c) teaching is acceptable if it is exclusive to women and children (Titus 2:3-4), (d) encouraging or exhorting (Heb 3:13; 1 Thess 5:11), (e) giving (Luke 8:2-3), (f) ruling or leadership (1 Cor 12:28; 1 Thess 5:12), and (g) mercy (Acts 9:36; Luke 10:37), all are welcome to be practiced by women except two which is teaching and ruling over men. In the above gift of the Father to the Church, I believe women can exercise all the gifts freely except teaching and leadership which again deals with having authority over men.
As eldership within the Church is gender specific and is only for men, women can participate in all the activities of the Church and the proclamation of the good news to all the world except what we have specified above from the Scripture which gives them the liberty to enjoy the empowerment of the Holy Spirit to carry on the call of God over their lives and be a blessing to many around them.
Much Blessings....
Answer : Greetings in Jesus wonderful name! The only restriction that God has kept for woman is not to exercise authority over a man (1 Tim 2:12). The reason that Paul the apostle gave for this command to be kept is the order of Creation and the hierarchy that God had arranged through which authority can be safely exercised, and further points to the reason all humans fell from God's glory when that order and hierarchy to exercise God's order was not kept in the beginning in the Garden of Eden (1 Tim 2:13-15).
Man is made for the glory of God and woman is made for the glory of man, so God's authority flows freely to a woman when in submission to one's husband first, once this happens within a family, then there will come a spiritual and supernatural understanding that they both are made for each other (1 Cor 11:7, 9-11; Eph 5:22). Harmony within one's marriage or the family depends upon whether the wife submits to the husband as to the Lord Jesus (Eph 5:24).
Contemporary feminism is not God's will for all women as they claim equal rights with men not knowing that they have been created as weaker vessels by God to complement man where they remain the strongest in life (1 Peter 3:7), this is the spirit of Antichrist creating rebellion in the structure of the family and the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ. Many divorces and broken homes are a direct result of this spirit of the end influencing women. I am not a male chauvinist or male supremacist, but when we turn to the Scripture, the creation of God in the Eden clearly points to woman as a helper to man and at the same time one who is comparable to him in everything (Gen 2:20). Woman being a subordinate to man doesn't mean that she is a creature of a lower rank who is inferior in any way to man. For example, the Holy Spirit who is the third person of the Trinity of God is also called in the same way like Eve as a helper to all the children of God (John 14:26). That doesn't mean that the Holy Spirit of God has become lower in his rank or inferior in dignity in any way in His relationship relating Himself as a Helper to the children of God. Thus to be a helper is a place of service and responsibility that God has given to all woman to live satisfactorily in dignity and honor of their calling. Every woman is comparable to a man in every way, because both were created in the image of God and both are equally valued in the sight of God (Gen 1:26-27; Gal 3:28).
Though in the horizontal relationship women are placed under man in hierarchy of God's order, yet in the vertical relationship with God, both are in the same platform to be in relationship with Him. In other words, if the wife doesn't submit to her husband, her prayers to God will be hindered because of her blatant disobedience to the Word of God (Eph 5:22, 24), at the same time if the husband doesn't honor and love his wife as to the weaker vessel, his prayer will be hindered because of his blatant disobedience to the Word of God (1 Peter 3:7; Eph 5:23, 25). In short, our horizontal relationship with one another within the family will affect the vertical relationship with God directly and equally for both man and a woman, so every husband and wife together can equally enjoy God without any difference by abiding to God's order of authority structure and submission and love towards one another (1 John 4:12, 20-21).
“Who is this who looks down like the dawn, beautiful as the moon, bright as the sun, awesome as an army with banners? (Song of Solomon 6:10, ESV).
Who indeed? A woman, of course, because by nature they are designed by God to reflect the light of the sun in a man to all the world (Prov 4:18), though they themselves live as a true beauty like as a moon in the night. She is a a woman who presides over her domain with strong arms and resourcefulness (Proverbs 31); they are daughters that are corner pillars cut in palace styles within the family (Psa 144:12). A Woman either enhances her man to true greatness with her submission to him which is like a crown in his head or destroys the house through lack of submission to him (Prov 12:4; 14:1). The true beauty of womanhood is really revealed only in the wives submission to their own husbands, which is precious in the sight of God who considers such quiet and gentle spirit of a woman to be the incorruptible beauty that is eternally valuable (1 Peter 3:3, 4, 5).
So first priority of a woman is not to be a busy body but rather to be submissive to their own husband, have children and raise them in the fear of the Lord which will bring true freedom to their soul to live in the liberty that God has planned for them, and also teach the same godly concept to the young women within the Church for them to excel as a helper who is comparable to man in every way, yet submissive for God's sake towards their husbands like the godly women of old like Sarah did towards Abraham calling him Lord (1 Tim 2:15; 5:14; Tit 2:3-5; 1 Peter 3:5-6).
Men are the only one who are told by apostle Paul to be qualified for the position of authority as elders within the Church (1 Tim 3:1; Titus 1:5-6). But women are safe to exercise the gift of God that God has endowed them within the Church.
Apostle Paul clearly did not restrict women to be as silent as zombies with in the Church, what he did mean was not to exercise authority over man (1 Tim 2:11-12; 1 Cor 14:34-36). Paul also expressed that the doctrinal matters should not be decided by women within the Church, as God expects them to learn from their husband the deep things of God (1 Cor 14:36). In fact, if Paul the apostle totally wanted the women to stay silent within the Church, he would not have told women to pray or prophesy with head covered within the Church which is an activity done equally to that of men (1 Cor 11:4-5). This shows that women can exercise gift of Jesus, gift of the Father and the gift of the Holy Spirit as God empowers them by sticking to the principles that God has given as a guidelines for them to check themselves to operate rightly to please God.
Can woman pastor a Church? It is a clear no according to the Scripture because authority over man is involved in being a elder or a shepherd (1 Peter 5:1-4).
Can a woman be a preacher of the Word of God? It is a yes (Mark 16:15-18). Mainly to teach other women and children the nuances of the Word of God pragmatically for them to apply it in their day to day lives (Titus 2:3-5).
Women can safely and strategically exercise their gift as evangelist because of their relational ability to talk and draw the people to the truth of Jesus, and we also see that the first evangelist to carry the good news of Jesus Christ was none other than a woman named Mary (Mark 16:9-10, 11; Eph 4:11). The Samaritan woman was the first evangelist to evangelize the nation of Samaria (John 4:39-42). According to 1 Cor 12:28 Apostles, Pastors and Teachers carry authority over men and so it does not fit women to exercise these gifts.
But woman can act as the prophet of God even though it carries a lot of authority behind it, but again there is a place of proper judgment given to the Church to either accept the word from God if it is genuine or reject it based on the counsel of elders who judge the prophetic word according to the written word and the Spirit (1 Cor 11:5; 12:7; 14:31-32, 29-30, 37, 39-40; 2 Thess 5:20-21; 1 Cor 12:3; 1 John 4:1-3).
Six women in scripture are expressly stated as possessing the title of prophetess: five under the old covenant [i.e. Miriam (Exo 15:20-21), Deborah (Jud 4:4), Huldah (2 Kings 22:14), Noadiah (Neh 6:14), Isaiah's wife (Isa 8:3)] and one, Anna (Luke 2:36), is mentioned in the gospels. In addition, Philip is mentioned in Acts as having four daughters who prophesied which brings the number of prophetesses to ten (Acts 21:8-9). Conversely, a woman in the book of Revelations calls herself a prophetess but she is considered false and such were also present during the Old Testament too (Rev 2:20; Ezek 13:17-23). On occasion, other women in scripture also prophesied, but were not expressly described as prophesying. These women include: Rachel (Gen. 30:24), Hannah (1 Sam. 2:1-10), Abigail (1 Samuel 25:29-31), Elisabeth (Luke 1:41-45), and Mary, the mother of Jesus (Luke 1:46-55).
Again woman can operate in all the gifts of the Spirit, according to what the Holy Spirit chooses and uses (1 Cor 12:8-11).
Finally practicing the gifts in Romans 12:6-8 — (a) prophesying or perceiving (1 Cor 11:5; 14:22-23, 24-25, 39-40), (b) serving (Rom 16:1, 6; 1 Tim 5:10), (c) teaching is acceptable if it is exclusive to women and children (Titus 2:3-4), (d) encouraging or exhorting (Heb 3:13; 1 Thess 5:11), (e) giving (Luke 8:2-3), (f) ruling or leadership (1 Cor 12:28; 1 Thess 5:12), and (g) mercy (Acts 9:36; Luke 10:37), all are welcome to be practiced by women except two which is teaching and ruling over men. In the above gift of the Father to the Church, I believe women can exercise all the gifts freely except teaching and leadership which again deals with having authority over men.
As eldership within the Church is gender specific and is only for men, women can participate in all the activities of the Church and the proclamation of the good news to all the world except what we have specified above from the Scripture which gives them the liberty to enjoy the empowerment of the Holy Spirit to carry on the call of God over their lives and be a blessing to many around them.
Much Blessings....
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