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In the previous blog post we talked about why it’s important to understand what the Bible has to say about women and discussed what that means related to women’s discipleship as followers of Jesus. Let’s continue our chat with some thoughts on misunderstanding around women in ministry.

Christian Women and Ministry

There are a couple of Bible passages that sincere Christians wrestle over when it comes to the role of women in ministry, and rightly so. They’re challenging to understand. The most familiar of these passages are 1 Timothy 2:11-15 and 1 Timothy 3:1-7, which seem to prohibit women from teaching in Church (when men are present), holding spiritual authority over men, or from being pastors/elders. The other is 1 Corinthians 14:34-35, which seems to call women to silence in church services.

These passages are often understood in one of two ways.

1) There are certain roles within the Church that God only calls men to hold, typically referring to pastors/elders, senior leadership, and preaching to a mixed group of men and women. (a view commonly referred to as complementarianism)

2) These passages are culturally conditioned pastoral solutions to specific situations faced by the groups of believers to which they were written, not universal commands on women’s roles for all times. Therefore, God’s desire is that all roles of service in ministry–including being a pastor/elder and preaching–are equally open to men and women as God calls them to do so (a view commonly referred to as egalitarianism, which I happen to hold).

While this is an important issue with real implications, it’s okay for Christians to have differences in belief and practice on this. It is not a primary doctrinal issue, meaning none of the core tenets of Christian faith fall apart depending on whether you label yourself as a complementarian, egalitarian or somewhere in-between, and a Christian’s view on this topic doesn’t impact their salvation.

Before we dive into some Bible passages, let me be clear, Christian egalitarianism/mutualism rightly upholds the historic Christian sexual ethic as taught clearly and consistently in the Bible, and rightly recognizes there are physiological gender/sex distinctions between male and female, and that men and women complement each other, as part of God’s design. Egalitarians simply believe those distinctions don’t require a difference in role when it comes to ministry leadership and service in the Church or in the household.

Tips for Reading Tough Bible Passages on Women in Ministry

However, there are a few things we can consider in terms of Scripture that can help us process this topic.

• The Bible teaches that God gives spiritual gifts and ministry callings based on His will and His grace (His undeserved kindness and supernatural empowerment), not based on gender. (Romans 12:6-8 // 1 Corinthians 12 // 1 Peter 4:10-11).

Christians can disagree on which means are best to express those spiritual gifts based on their best understanding of the Bible on gender roles in ministry, but we can’t disagree about God’s distribution of spiritual gifts. Gifts of teaching, shepherding/pastoring, leadership, and prophecy are not given only to men, just like gifts of encouragement, helps, hospitality and administration are not only given to women.

• We have to consider the “limiting passages” in light of the teaching and example throughout the entirety of Scripture on the subject women participating in ministry.

Throughout Scripture we see women serving as church leaders and co-workers in the ministry of the gospel along with Paul (Romans 16), prophesying (Judges 4:4-5, Luke 2:36-38, Acts 21:8-9), discipling and teaching the Word to others–men included (Acts 18:24-28), spreading the gospel as missionaries (Philippians 4:3), leading worship (Exodus 15:20-21), financially supporting the work of God’s Kingdom (Luke 8:1-3), holding spiritual authority and influence over the entire nation of God’s people and giving spiritual counsel to God’s people (Judges 4-5; 2 Kings 22), and even being a military commander, in the case of Deborah.

It seems hard to believe God is totally against women in leadership or women teaching Scripture to men when throughout Scripture there are so many examples of God using women in ministry and spiritual leadership roles. We must let Scripture interpret Scripture.

• We consider cultural context, just like we do when we study every other topic of Scripture.

While some people abuse the idea of cultural context to try to make the Bible fit their preferences, understanding cultural and historical context is a vital step of Bible study when used properly. For a deeper explanation, check out Marg Mowczko’s article on 1 Timothy 2:12 and her article on 1 Corinthians 14:34-35, and this sermon by Pastor Paul Bergin, and this sermon by Pastor Daniel Grothe.

But for here I’ll say this. There were issues of pagan worship and false pagan doctrine involving women within the culture in which the apostle Paul wrote to Timothy. There are references throughout 1 and 2 Timothy about a problem with false teaching in Ephesus (1 Timothy 1:3-4) and false teachers specifically preying on women, who were more vulnerable (2 Timothy 3:1-8), possibly because of having less access to education or being new believers just starting to learn the truths of Christian faith. It was likely not the best time for them to start teaching just yet without some boundaries.

Secondly, the word Paul used for “have authority” in 1 Timothy 2:12 is a word used only once in the New Testament (as opposed to the word Paul typically used for authority) and it carries the meaning of dominating or usurping authority, not merely holding authority in a godly way. It seems Paul was forbidding women in the Ephesian church from an ungodly usurping kind of authority, not forbidding all women at all times from preaching/teaching and holding spiritual authority over both men and women in the Church. We can consider those factors, as well as how this verse fits into the testimony of the rest of Scripture, as we seek to understand the true meaning of 1 Timothy 2:12.

In 1 Corinthians 14, we see that Paul is giving instruction to help believers use spiritual gifts and participate in the church service in a way that is mutually edifying for all instead of disruptive. That’s the purpose of the chapter, not making a statement about women’s roles in ministry. Paul also told tongues-speakers and prophets who were disorderly and disruptive to keep silent, not just women who were asking questions out of turn. This observation from the biblical text affects how we should interpret what is said there.

Paul was forbidding women from asking questions in the church service in a way that was disruptive and not orderly, not forbidding women from speaking or teaching in church at all. Paul was clearly okay with women speaking in church because in 1 Corinthians 11 He instructs them how to pray and prophesy publicly.

Wherever you land on this topic, the bottom line is this: In order for the body of Christ to be healthy and growing, we each need to learn from the voices and contributions of God’s sons and His daughters.

And if you are a Christian who believes the Bible truly does reserve some roles of service in the Church for men, then you have a responsibility to value, champion and make room for women to serve in the Kingdom of God in every other possible way you believe is biblically acceptable. When we don’t make this our goal, God’s Church suffers and so does the world around us that we are called by Him to reach.

***Head here to read Part 3 on women in marriage and family.

Resources:

• Start here: Half the Church by Carolyn Custis James and Two Views On Women In Ministry present both sides without taking a stance.

• For an egalitarian-leaning view:
  – this blog by Debra Fileta and Marg Mowczko’s blog
  – These sermons by Pastor Jon Tyson, Pastor Paul Bergin, Pastor Daniel Grothe
  – These books: Rediscovering The Scripture’s Vision for Women by Lucy Peppiatt and Equal by Katia Adams.
  
• For a soft complementarian-leaning view: Worthy by Elyse Fitzpatrick & Eric Schumaker and Is The Bible Good For Women? by Wendy Alsup

Let’s Talk: Which parts of this discussion were most helpful to you or provoked you to study them out more in the Bible? Discuss this post in the comments below.