16: What Does The Bible Say About Women Pastors?

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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.

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

But regarding number one, must be married, 1st

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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.

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

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

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

New Covenant? 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. Galatians 3 28.

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

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.

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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