READING TIME: 4-8 MINUTES
March 18, 2020
Could you please expand on the “role of women” in the church? Are women allowed to be pastors?
Part 1
Paul is very clear in 1 Tim 3:2 that one requirement of an elder is that he must be a man, and specifically a “one woman (kind of)” man. Please look at 1 Timothy 2:12-14. Differences of opinion exist about the meaning of “exercise/have/use authority” in verse 12 (in the Greek, the verb is αὐθεντέω). I agree with Al Wolters (chapter 2 in the book Women in the Church) that based on a lot of evidence (cognates, immediate context, ancient versions, patristic commentary, and the broad usage of the Greek verb elsewhere), Paul is referring to the “positive exercise of authority.” In the present context, the teaching in question immediately follows the admonishment to learn “in all submission.” Since Paul in this verse prohibits women to teach and exercise “authority” of some kind and tells them instead to be quiet and submissive, it’s a reasonable assumption that he is dealing with a situation at that time in Ephesus where women were doing or proposing to doing what he is prohibiting. There is no evidence that these women at that time were doing this in an aggressive or overbearing manner.
Verse 12 rules out women being elders. Some might discount this verse by saying this is “cultural,” so therefore Paul’s command doesn’t apply today. This is impossible because of verses 13-14. The word “for” in verse 13 introduces the biblical basis for Paul’s prohibition in verse 12. His prohibition is based on two grounds (the order of creation and the deception of Eve). Paul’s point is that gender roles weren’t a result of the fall, but are rooted in creation, so therefore his prohibition applies to all cultures at all times.
In 1 Tim 2 Paul seems to have been speaking here of the whole local congregation. I do not think he would have objected to women teaching or leading certain groups consisting of women and/or children within the church, that we commonly recognize as “sub-groups,” provided they do so with the approval of the male leadership of the church (cf. Acts 18:26; 2 Tim 3:14-15; Titus 2:3).
Dr. Constable’s comments are helpful: “Furthermore, we should bear in mind that Paul was describing a typical church situation, in which there were men who could provide teaching and leadership. If these were absent, exceptions might be necessary to achieve the higher goals of the church, namely, the building up of the saints to do the work of ministry. In some countries today, few males can or care to take leadership in churches. In these situations, I think female leadership is better than none, at least until males can and will lead.”
Paul approved of women teaching women and children (Titus 2:3-5; 2 Tim 1:5), and instructing men privately (Acts 18:26). Paul in 1 Tim 2:12 does not forbid a woman all teaching. Paul is only prohibiting the headship of women in the Christian community.
In 1 Tim 2:12, to exercise authority, in this unbiblical way, would be to submit to no higher (male) authority in the church, or to not be answerable or accountable to the church’s male leadership. If a woman exercised some authority in the church (e.g., as the leader of a ministry), and she did it in submission to the male leadership, she would not be sinning. A woman can have authority over others (women and children) in the church, provided she is under the authority of the male leadership of the church.
BTW in 1 Cor 14:34 probably Paul meant that women should not take part in the judging of the prophets (1 Cor 14:29), which was an exercise in ecclesiastical authority. Paul does not mean that women are to be silent during the service (compare 1 Cor. 11:5) Instead, he instructs them to exhibit quietness (in spirit) instead of taking the lead or to “be silent” in the sense of not teaching.
Going back to 1 Timothy 2:11-12, we can’t get around the fact that Paul first gives a command in these verses and then gives the basis of his command in 1 Tim 2:13-14. 1 Tim 2:13-14 Paul makes it clear that from the Creation onward, God intended that the male should lead the female. Paul reminded his readers that God made Adam “first,” and “then”—secondly—made a suitable companion for him in Eve (Gen 2:7-25). God made Eve for Adam; He did not make Adam for Eve. This, however, implies no essential superiority of the male over the female. God created Adam and Eve as equals in the sense that they needed and complemented one another. However, God entrusted Adam with leadership responsibility for his wife. Eve was not responsible to God for Adam in the same sense that Adam was responsible for Eve. In 1 Tim 2:14 as part of the judgment on Eve in the Fall, God confirmed (i.e., made permanent) the leadership of the male over the female (Gen 3:16). So, I think 1 Tim 2:11-14 is very clear about what women are allowed and not allowed to do. Also, it is clear from 1 Tim 3:2 that an elder must be a MAN. As mentioned above, an elder must be a “one woman” (kind of/type of) man. I think it’s important that we teach our kids that the Bible is authoritative.
Paul undergirds this ruling (in 1 Tim 2:11-12) with a solid doctrinal foundation: Adam was created first and had precedence over Eve (see 1 Cor 11:8–9). Headship is written into the very course of nature; when we violate this principle, we invite confusion. The Corinthian church was confused and carnal partly because the women were taking precedence over the men, and neither the men nor the women were submitting to the Word of God.
Paul gives a second reason for this principle: Eve was deceived by Satan and sinned. Had Adam been at her side protecting her, she might not have yielded to Satan’s lies. Adam sinned with his eyes wide open, choosing rather to be with his wife (now a sinner) than to walk with God.
It’s very common for people to say Paul’s prohibition of 1 Tim 2:11-12 doesn’t apply today for various reasons: (1) the reason for Paul’s command was that women were teaching false doctrine in Ephesus; or (2) Paul said this because women in that culture were not educated enough to teach; or (3) this was a temporary command for that culture only. I don’t think these three arguments are valid because of Paul’s appeal to the creation of Adam and Eve argues against those three explanations. Besides, the only false teachers named in connection with Ephesus were men (1 Tim 1:19-20; 2 Tim 2:17-18; Acts 20:30, and no historical evidence exists of women teaching false doctrine in first-century Ephesus.
In summary, Paul is not forbidding women in 1 Tim 2:11-12 from teaching men in private out of their general office as believers (e.g., Acts 18:24-28), from discipling their children (cf. 2 Tim 1:5; 3:15) and younger women in the church (Titus 2:3-4), or from participating in and giving leadership in hospitality (1 Tim 5:10 or in other kinds of ministries and service to the Lord (e.g., Acts 9:36; Rom 16:1-2). Paul is only forbidding women from functioning as an elder/overseer in a congregation. I can’t stress strongly enough that Paul roots his command in 1 Tim 2:9-12 on male-female relations in the church squarely on the creation order. This effectively shows that his instructions have a direct cross-cultural application. For a careful interpretation of 1 Tim 2-9-15 see especially Thomas R. Schreiner, “An Interpretation of 1 Timothy 2:9-15: A Dialogue with Scholarship,” Women in the Church, 105-54).
Tomorrow I’ll send Part 2.