16: What Does The Bible Say About Women Pastors?

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17: May An Unmarried Man Be A Pastor?

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Welcome to the Ready for Eternity podcast. I'm Eddie Lawrence. What does the

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Bible say about women pastors? Does it authorize women to be pastors, or no?

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Let's see what the Bible says. Is the practice of appointing women pastors biblical?

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That's the question. Paul said, here is a trustworthy saying, whoever aspires to be an overseer desires a noble task.

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1st Timothy 3 .1. There are many who desire the job, but desiring the task is not the only requirement.

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Paul gives a list of traits in 1st Timothy 3 verses 1 through 7 and Titus 1 verses 5 through 9 that those who desire the job must possess.

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The Bible authorizes women to do much more in the church than church leaders have allowed them to do.

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Women have traditionally been prevented from teaching men because of a misunderstanding of 1st

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Corinthians chapter 14 verses 34 and 35, which we analyzed in podcast episode 15, and also 1st

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Timothy 2 verses 11 through 14, which we talked about in episodes 13 and 14.

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However, as we concluded in those three podcasts, these passages do not mean what some people think they mean.

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In fact, the Bible does not prohibit women from teaching men.

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Similarly, many Christians believe that women have no biblical authority to preach.

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We talked about this in episode 11, but people conclude this because they don't know the difference between preaching and pastoring.

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As a matter of fact, the Bible not only allows Christian women to preach, it obligates them to do so.

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If God permits women to teach and preach, then surely he allows them to be a pastor, right?

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No, this is not right. The Bible is very clear that women may not be pastors.

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What scripture excludes women pastors? Can women develop and possess the traits listed in 1st

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Timothy 3 and Titus chapter 1? Almost. Women are capable of achieving every quality listed in those passages except for one.

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Therefore, an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober -minded, self -controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach.

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1st Timothy 3 2. If anyone is above reproach, the husband of one wife and his children are believers and not open to the charge of debauchery or insubordination.

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Titus 1 6. In spite of what our modern, morally bankrupt society would have us believe, it is impossible for a woman to be the husband of one wife.

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This requirement, and this requirement alone, is the reason that women cannot legitimately serve as a pastor.

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The Greek phrase in our English Bibles translates as the husband of one wife literally reads a one -woman man.

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There are four interpretations of what it means to be a one -woman man.

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Number one, that means that a man must be married. Number two, it means that he may not be in a polygamous marriage where he has multiple wives.

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Number three, he must be faithful to his wife. Or interpretation number four, he cannot be remarried or divorced.

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Now certainly the first three are true to the meaning of a one -woman man.

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The fourth is debatable, and it's a topic for another podcast episode.

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But regarding number one, must be married, 1st

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Timothy 3 verses 4 and 5 clearly states that a potential overseer, which is another name for a pastor, must have demonstrated that he has the skills and wisdom necessary to manage the church.

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He demonstrates this ability through the proper management of his family. He cannot do this unless he has a family.

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Therefore, being married, monogamous, and faithful are all components of being a one -woman man.

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Being the husband of one wife is a simple and explicitly stated requirement for being an overseer.

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We cannot evade it or sidestep it while dealing honestly with the text. The wording is there.

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It means exactly what it says, and we can't ignore it. So why has

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God decreed that women pastors are not an option? Well, most people turn to 1st

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Corinthians 14, 34, and 35, and 1st Timothy 2 verses 11 through 14 for an answer to that question.

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However, when these two passages are properly interpreted, we find that they don't really shed any light on why

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God permits only men to be pastors. We could speculate endlessly about why

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God has authorized only married men to be pastors, but in the end, all of our guesses would only be speculation.

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God sometimes expects us to trust him without giving us an explanation.

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Trust is a major component of faith. Those who want to find a loophole to allow women to serve as pastors usually attempt to undermine 1st

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Timothy 2 and Titus 1 using three arguments, culture, giftedness, and gender equality under the

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New Covenant. Some people argue that the culture of Paul's day was male -dominated, and therefore his instructions should be read in that context.

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There are indeed many cultural accommodations in the Bible. For example, at one time it was a cultural expectation for married women to keep their heads covered.

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In 1st Corinthians 11, Paul commanded that women shouldn't violate the expectations of the culture by uncovering their hair.

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Clinton Arnold in the Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds commentary said this,

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Presumably, women who felt able to uncover their heads were considered immodest, unchaste, and therefore by definition un -Roman.

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Failing to cover a woman's head was dishonoring to her husband. The head covering was clearly a component of ancient

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Roman and Greek culture. The point was that wives must not bring reproach upon themselves and their husbands.

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This honor and respect is still required today, we just don't expect it to be shown by wearing a head covering.

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Likewise, the New Testament tells us to greet one another with a holy kiss in several

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New Testament passages. Again, Clinton Arnold in the Zondervan commentary said the kiss was a common form of greeting in the ancient world generally, and in Judaism in particular.

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We greet one another with handshakes today. The point is that Christians are to greet one another warmly.

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Culture dictates how we perform that greeting. So the argument goes that since the world's culture in Paul's day was patriarchal, and modern

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Western culture is not, we must now allow women to serve as pastors.

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To make this claim is to assume that God based his instruction in 1st Timothy 2 and Titus 1 upon ancient culture.

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It's easy to see how the head covering, kisses as a form of greeting, and other similar customs were based on culture.

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Was there a similar cultural accommodation resulting in the exclusion of women pastors?

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Based on the latitude God granted to Christian women in the early church, it seems that the prohibition was not culturally motivated.

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The fact that God permitted women to participate in church affairs in the first century AD was countercultural, even revolutionary.

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For his day, Paul was very permissive by including women in church affairs.

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Todd Still and Bruce Longenecker in their book, Thinking Through Paul, said

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Paul has no qualms about women praying and prophesying in gatherings of male and female followers of Jesus Christ.

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In fact, we know of at least one woman who was a deacon in the church.

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I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a deacon of the church in Sanctiae, Romans 16 1,

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New International Version. In the churches which Paul worked with, he encouraged female workers.

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We should note Paul's references to a number of women who held leadership roles in his churches. In Romans 16, he commends nine women.

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He encourages two female co -workers, Euodia and Syntyche, Philippians 4 -2, to agree with each other.

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Lydia established a house church in her home, Acts 16 verses 15 and 40. Paul's good friend

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Priscilla taught Apollos, Acts 18 26. Paul's churches then had men and women leading, teaching, and making decisions in the church.

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Burge and Kohik, The New Testament in Antiquity. Paul wasn't afraid to buck tradition.

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If he, and by extension the Holy Spirit, had intended for the church to have women pastors, he would not have been timid about saying so.

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Paul was plain and direct about exclusively male pastors. He was not simply accommodating the culture by excluding women from serving as pastors.

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What about giftedness? In the letter of 1st Corinthians, Paul discusses spiritual gifts which the

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Holy Spirit had bestowed upon each person in the church. Teaching is one of the gifts mentioned.

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And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues.

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1st Corinthians 12 28. What about women who God gifted to teach?

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Those who argue in favor of women pastors cry out that we dare not suppress women's

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God -given gifts. Therefore, we must allow women to shepherd God's people.

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It is true that the church must allow women to exercise their God -given gifts and talents.

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It is also true that being gifted to teach is a quality that overseers must possess.

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However, a woman does not have to be a pastor in order to teach. Those who understand 1st

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Corinthians 14 verses 34 and 35 and 1st Timothy 2 verses 11 through 14 to say that women cannot teach men have erred in their interpretation of these two passages.

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Due to tradition and questionable translations, Paul's teaching in these two passages is more nuanced than it first appears.

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These passages simply aren't teaching what is traditionally ascribed to them. I encourage you to go back and listen to the prior three podcast episodes to catch up on that.

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Simply put, while God has excluded women from serving as pastors, he has not forbidden them to teach.

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Biblically speaking, women are completely free to exercise their God -given gift of teaching.

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It is not necessary for them to be a pastor to teach. What about gender equality under the

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New Covenant? There is neither Jew nor Greek. There is neither slave nor free.

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There is no male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus. Galatians 3 28.

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This verse is often lifted out of context in order to proof text authority for women pastors.

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The argument is that since God has done away with gender inequality, women can serve in any capacity that a man can, including being a pastor.

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Let's reveal a bit more of this verse's context. This passage is about the equal standing of all

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Christians before God. Listen to Sylva's comments about this passage from the

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New Bible Commentary 21st Century Edition. In verse 28, however, the

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Apostle gives expression to that truth in powerful fashion, stressing that other divisions as well—slave, free, male, female—have no bearing on our standing before God.

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Some may say that it is unfair that a woman may not serve as a pastor.

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Some indeed may feel this way, but we should remember that not all men may serve as pastors either.

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Many men simply don't possess all the necessary traits. Is it unfair that unqualified men may not serve?

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The Scriptures don't appear to tell us why God wants only men to be pastors.

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Whatever His reasons, He no doubt has our best interest at heart. Let's be content to trust in God's wisdom for the church.

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Thanks for listening to the podcast. We hope this episode has deepened your understanding of Scripture.

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If you found this content valuable, please share it with your friends. For more biblical studies, visit our website at ReadyForEternity .com.

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That's the word ready, the number four, and the word eternity. ReadyForEternity .com.

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Be sure and leave a comment on the Ready for Eternity Facebook page or reach out on Twitter. That's all for now.

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Keep studying your Bible, growing closer to God, and getting ready for eternity.