Week 4 - Common Questions (Part 2)

3 Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, 4 and so train the young women to love their husbands and children,

Proverbs praises the ideal wife because “She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue”

Question

But if women in the early church were allowed to prophesy, doesn’t that show they can take a teaching position?

No, the role of pastor or elder is primarily about governance and teaching (1 Timothy 5:17).

When Paul lists the qualifications for elders, he emphasizes the ability to teach (1 Timothy 3:2), but he does not include prophecy as a requirement. In Ephesians 4:11,

Paul even distinguishes between prophets and pastor-teachers, indicating that these are different roles with distinct functions.

Paul endorses women prophesying in church (1 Corinthians 11:5) and says that men “learn” by such prophesying (1 Corinthians 14:31)

and that the members (presumably men and women) should “teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs” (Colossians 3:16).

Then, of course, there is Priscilla at Aquila’s side correcting Apollos (Acts 18:26).

It is wrong to think that Paul had every form of teaching in mind in 1 Timothy 2:12.

Teaching and learning are such broad terms that it is impossible that women not teach men and men not learn from women in some sense.

Paul’s instruction here is not prohibiting women from every possible form of teaching or learning.

Instead, the context—specifically the gathered church for prayer and teaching (1 Timothy 2:8-10; 3:15)—indicates that he is addressing a specific type of teaching.

The key clue is Paul’s pairing of ‘teaching’ with ‘having authority over men.’

This suggests that the teaching Paul restricts for women is the kind that involves exercising authority over men,

especially in settings where men are called to fulfill their God-given role of primary responsibility for teaching and leadership.

Piper & Grudem

“Prophecy in the worship of the early church was not the kind of authoritative, infallible revelation we associate with the written prophecies of the Old Testament.6It was a report in human words based on a spontaneous, personal revelation from the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 14:30) for the purpose of edification, encouragement, consolation, conviction, and guidance (1 Corinthians 14:3, 24–25; Acts 21:4; 16:6–10)”

“It was not necessarily free from a mixture of human error, and thus needed assessment (1 Thessalonians 5:19–20; 1 Corinthians 14:29) on the basis of the apostolic (biblical) teaching (1 Corinthians 14:36–38; 2 Thessalonians 2:1–3). Prophecy in the early church did not correspond to the sermon today or to a formal exposition of Scripture…

“Both women and men could stand and share what they believed God had brought to mind for the good of the church. The testing of this word and the regular teaching ministry was the responsibility of the elder-teachers. This latter role is the one Paul assigns uniquely to men.”

“While women are allowed to prophesy, and men may benefit from the prophecies women give, prophecy is not the same as authoritative teaching. Paul clearly separates the gift of prophecy from the gift of teaching in passages like Romans 12:6-7 and 1 Corinthians 12:28.”

“Women are not forbidden to prophesy in the church; rather, Paul provides guidance on how they should do so in a way that honors the spiritual leadership of men (1 Corinthians 11:5-10). This ensures that while women can exercise their spiritual gifts, they do so without undermining the God-ordained roles of male leadership within the church.”

According to complementarian understanding, this primary teaching and leadership responsibility is entrusted to pastors or elders.

Therefore, it is God’s design that only qualified men should occupy this authoritative office within the church

Question.

Can’t a pastor give authorization for a woman to teach Scripture to the congregation, and then continue to exercise oversight while she teaches?

It is true that all teaching ministries within the church are to be under the oversight of the church’s elders, who are entrusted with guarding sound doctrine.

However, it is incorrect to think that church leadership can use their authority to allow a woman to function as a teaching elder in practice, even if she does not officially hold that title.

This would be like a husband saying,

“I’m responsible for the home - and because I’m in responsible for the home, I using my responsibility to make you have my responsibility.”

The truth is, male elders are not called simply to be responsible for the teaching within the church,

But be the ones who teach with authority over men.

So, when it comes to a women teacher,

First, her teaching should have the endorsement of the elders.

Second, it should avoid situations where she assumes the role of a spiritual shepherd or spiritual teacher over men

AND she should avoid behavior that engages in the kind of authoritative teaching that involves strongly directing men’s consciences based on Scripture.

So that the God-given role of male leadership in the church is upheld.

1 Corinthians 14:34 ESV

34 the women should keep silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be in submission, as the Law also says.

Question.

Doesn’t a literally reading of this verse show women should be absolutely silent in church, without explanation?

No, the Bible does not teach that women must be completely silent in church,

The fact is, you can’t argue defeat Scripture with Scripture

It must all fit together.

And in 1 Corinthians 11:5, Paul acknowledges that women pray and prophesy in church,

which shows that Paul did not mean women should never speak at all.

Otherwise he’d have said: “STOP DOING THAT!”

The key to understanding Paul’s instruction in 1 Corinthians 14 is recognizing that his concern is not about the capability or intelligence of women,

but about preserving the roles of men as leaders in the church.

In both 1 Corinthians 11 and 1 Corinthians 14, the focus is on maintaining an order that respects the God-given leadership role of men.

Paul’s use of words like “submission” and “headship” indicates that women’s participation should honor the role of men who are called to lead.

In 1 Corinthians 11, Paul permits women to pray and prophesy as long as they do so in a way that reflects respect for male leadership.

In 1 Corinthians 14, the kind of speaking Paul restricts relates to expanding or teaching prophecies - which yes, included evaluation.

The point is, it’s about authoritative teaching—which a role reserved for men in the church.

The silence Paul calls for is not about forbidding all forms of speech by women,

but rather about ensuring that women do not take on roles that undermine the authority of the male leaders of the church.

In summary, the Bible allows women to pray and prophesy in church, but this should be done in a way that respects the leadership roles God has given to men.

Question

Doesn’t the fact there were women in the Old Testament who had prophetic leadership roles show women can be in spiritual leadership roles?

No.

The Bible does not teach that God is against revealing His will to women

or that He considers them unreliable messengers.

It is true that in the Old Testament there are examples of women who prophesied or led,

but these examples don’t overturn God’s design for men to take on leadership roles.

It shows situations when men failed to lead,

with women who still honored the usual pattern of male leadership.

• Miriam, the prophetess, seemed to focus on ministering to the women of Israel (Exodus 15:20).

• Deborah was both a prophetess and a judge, but her leadership was a challenge to the men of Israel, especially Barak, who hesitated to lead (Judges 4:9). Her role was a sign of Israel’s weak male leadership during that time.

• Huldah used her prophetic gift in private settings rather than as a public preacher (2 Kings 22:14-20).

• Anna the prophetess spent her time in the temple praying and fasting, not leading public worship (Luke 2:36-37).

Someone asked me the other day if it would be wrong for a women to be president?

My answer was, I think it would be,

but it would be for the men not standing up and leading as they should.

Isaiah 3:12 ESV

12 My people—infants are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, your guides mislead you and they have swallowed up the course of your paths.

It’s also important to note that just because God gives someone a spiritual gift or uses them in a special way,

it doesn’t mean they are the model for leadership roles in the church.

For instance, God used men in the Old Testament who had multiple wives (like Abraham and David),

but that doesn’t mean He approved of polygamy.

Likewise, God sometimes used people who weren’t fully obedient or ideal examples (see Matthew 7:22, 1 Corinthians 13:2, and 1 Samuel 19:23-24) King Saul.

In each of these cases with women, God gave them special roles for specific situations,

but He notice that he never once placed them in the official Old Testament priesthood, which was reserved strictly for men.

Question

Doesn’t the complimentarian position cherrypick verses being literal only with some while allegorical with others?

The key question here is whether Paul is saying that creation dictates a head covering for women,

or that creation dictates that we use culturally appropriate expressions of masculinity and femininity,

which just happened to be a head covering for women in that setting. We think the latter is the case.

The key verses are:

“Judge for yourselves: Is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered?

Does not nature itself teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a disgrace to him, but that if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? For long hair is given to her as a covering”

(1 Corinthians 11:13–15).

How did nature teach that long hair dishonored a man and gave women a covering? Nature has not endowed women with more hair than men.

In fact, if nature takes its course, men will have more hair than women because it will cover their face as well as their head.

Explanation:

1. Nature and Cultural Symbols:

Paul refers to “nature” teaching that men with long hair is disgraceful, while for women, long hair is their glory. However, “nature” here is not about biology (since, naturally, men can grow hair just as long as women).

Instead, it’s about what is culturally understood to be masculine or feminine.

In ancient Corinth, long hair and head coverings were signs of femininity and submission,

while short hair for men was considered masculine.

2. Cultural Appropriateness vs. Universal Principles:

Paul’s main concern was not with the specific practice (head coverings)

but with upholding the principle of expressing gender distinctions appropriately according to cultural norms.

The principle rooted in creation is the distinction between men and women,

but the way that distinction is expressed varies by culture.

In Corinth, it was through head coverings, while in other cultures, different symbols might convey the same message.

3. Application Today:

The core teaching of 1 Corinthians 11 is that men and women should honor God’s design for their distinct roles and expressions of masculinity and femininity.

The specific practice of head coverings was tied to the cultural setting of Corinth.

Today, that same principle of honoring gender distinctions can be expressed in ways that fit modern cultural symbols

rather than insisting on head coverings,

which no longer carry the same meaning in most cultures.

So basically, the head covering was a cultural expression of a timeless principle.

The principle of submission and headship remains binding,

while the cultural expression of that principle, like head coverings, may change depending on what appropriately signifies masculinity and femininity in each cultural context.

Question

Doesn’t Galatians 3:28 make it clear that there are no longer distinctions for gender roles within the church?

Galatians 3:28 ESV

28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

No, this verse doesn’t mean that all differences between men’s and women’s roles in the church are erased.

For example, most Christians agree that Galatians 3:28 doesn’t justify homosexuality,

because Paul makes it clear in Romans 1:24-32 that God created men and women with different roles.

The context of Galatians 3:28 shows that Paul is talking about how men and women are equal when it comes to their salvation and relationship with God.

Both Men and women are:

equally justified by faith,

equally freed from the burden of trying to earn salvation through laws,

equally children of God,

equally covered by Christ,

and equally heirs of God’s promises.

But even though men and women are spiritually equal, the Bible still teaches that they have different roles.

For example, in 1 Peter 3:1-7, Peter talks about men and women being co-heirs of God’s grace,

but he also upholds the principle that wives should submit to their husbands

and that husbands should be loving & gentle with their wives.

So, Galatians 3:28 doesn’t get rid of God’s design for men and women to have different roles in the church and in marriage.

It simply means that, in Christ, men and women share the same spiritual blessings and standing before God.

Just as Jew & Greek, slave and free do.

Question

What about women missionaries? Is this unbiblical?

We already sort of covered this with the conversation last week about the “THE GREAT COMMISSION.”

And the answer is,

There is a difference between teaching and governing the church and sharing the gospel.

Still, it is true that there are ambiguities in applying Paul’s instructions about an established church to an emerging church.

There are ambiguities in separating the Priscilla-type counsel from the official teaching role of 1 Timothy 2:12.

However, it is clear that women are fellow workers in the gospel and should strive side by side with men (Philippians 4:3; Romans 16:3, 12).

For the sake of finishing the Great Commission in our day, we are willing to risk some less-than-ideal role assignments.

We do not think it is forbidden for women to tell the gospel story and win men and women to Christ.

We do not think God forbids women to work among the millions of lost women in the world, which according to Ruth Tucker “was the major justification of the Women’s Missionary Movement.”

Our passion is not to become the watchdogs of where women serve. Our passion is to join hands with all God’s people, in God’s way, to “declare his glory among the nations” (Psalm 96:3).

Question

Do you deny women the right to use the gifts God has given them? If God has genuinely called a woman to be a pastor, how can you say she should not be one?

Having a spiritual gift doesn’t give anyone the right to use it however they please.

As John White notes,

“Some people believe it to be impossible that the power of the Holy Spirit could have unholy consequences in an individual’s life. But it can.”

Spiritual gifts are given by the Holy Spirit

but are also regulated by Scripture.

For example, in 1 Corinthians, those with the gift of tongues were instructed not to speak in public when there was no interpreter,

and prophets were told to remain silent when another received a revelation (14:28-30).

Regardless, personal experience isn’t the determiner of truth.

Personal experiences of divine calling must always align with God’s Word.

While some women may feel a call to ministry,

this does not mean a call to the pastorate.

God may be calling them to other avenues of service within the church,

in line with the guidelines provided in Scripture,

which distinguish roles for men and women in leadership.

So yes, use your gifts, but only in the way God has instructed them to be used.

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