Featured Should a Woman Preach?

Yes...good post.God has required that we obey what he has said in scripture.
22 And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.

23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from being king.

 

I don't think men or women should be street preachers.

 

If you will carefully consider the typology of the husband and wife in connection with Christ and the church (Eph. 5:23-31; 1 Cor. 11:3,7-8) it will be seen that the husband or male is a type of Christ whereas the wife or woman is a type of the church his bride.

Christ performs the role of (1) Prophet; (2) Priest; and (3) king. If you will notice the restrictions placed on women in the church and the positions of leadership given to men in the church they correspond to the types.

For example, consider 1 Tim. 2:8 where Paul uses the special Greek term that means "males" only in regard to prayer. In the church the males lead in prayer because in type they correspond to Christ as Priest and prayer is an intercessory act in the church. In 1 Cor. 11:3-11 women can pray and prophesy if covered and they pray and prophesy not individually and publicly but rather under the leadership of the male leading in prayer as the phrase "prayer and prophesying" was descriptive of the worship service and paticipating in it (See John Gill).

For example in 1 Tim. 2:11-12 Paul denies that women can teach or usurp authority over the males in the congregation - meaning taking positions of leadership and bases it upon God's design in creation. In regard to the type Christ is "king" and thus stands in the position of authority and if the man represents him in that capacity in the church then he should take the leadership positions. Likewise, if he is the "prophet" and men are types of him in that capacity in church then only men are qualfied to fill the roles of Pastor/teacher or those who instruct the church.

In contrast, if the woman represents the bride, how does it look for the woman to take authority over the type of Christ?? In contrast, you would expect the bride to be in submission and silent and not usurp the authority of Christ by taking a leadership position over Christ. Likewise in those who fill the type of the bride in relationship to those who fill the types of Christ.

 

Paul preached anywhere he was conscious and able to speak.

In streets.
In houses.
In churches.
In jails, etc, etc..

to kings, queens, magistates, soldiers, priests, jews gentiles...etc, etc

Also don't forget Deborah and Hulda, Prophetesses of the Lord.
While the men cowarded in their homes, The Lord used these women to prophecy to, revive and lead the armies of Israel into victory.

No, it's not the Lord's normal operating procedure but when the men trembled (at least in Israel), He can and has used Hebrew women.

HankD

 

I didn't know women had ever quit preaching.

 

LOL! That's your best post ever salzer!

HankD

 

On the day of Pentecost, the 120 or so that were gathered in the Upper Room were a combination of men and women. When the Spirit came upon and into them, ALL of them poured out into the streets preaching the Gospel in many different languages.

That should settle the issue immediately.

 

Can you show me where it says there were women in the upper room?

 

Seriously? Did you even look at the passage?

Acts 1:14 - "These all with one mind were continually devoting themselves to prayer, along with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers."

In Peter's sermon, he explains what is happening and quotes Joel: "And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy..." (Acts 2:17)

And, for what it's worth, Philip the evangelist has four unmarried daughters who were prophetesses (Acts 21:8-9).

 

Well familiar with the passage. However, Pentecost takes place in Acts 2, a separate day, and there is no guarantee the women were among them at that meeting.

A prophecy is not preaching. Sorry.

Again, not pastors, prophetesses.

Women are not forbidden to teach in the church, providing they have the authority of either their husband or their pastors to do so. The primary caveat in this teaching is that they not have "authority over men," as, throughout history in matters of the faith, this goes against God's plan. That may sting some who hold to a different opinion, but there is little room for their arguments in comparison to God's word.

The Word of God proclaims this tenet.

1 Timothy 2, NASB
11 A woman must quietly receive instruction with entire submissiveness.
12 But I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man, but to remain quiet. ​

In the church, God assigns different roles to men and women. This is a result of the way mankind was created and the way in which sin entered the world, as Paul details in vv. 13 & 14 of this passage. God, through the apostle Paul, restricts women from serving in roles of teaching and/or having spiritual authority over men. This precludes women from serving as pastors over men, which definitely includes preaching to or teaching without covering authority, or having spiritual authority.

Obviously, there are a great many people, men and women, who object to this interpretation. Some claim that Paul restricts women from teaching because in the first century, women were typically uneducated. However, 1 Timothy 2:11-14 nowhere mentions educational status.

There is also an argument that Paul only restricted the women of Ephesus from teaching, as the city was known for its temple to Artemis, a false Greek/Roman goddess. Women were the first and final authority in the worship of Artemis. However, Paul does not reference the worship of Artemis, nor the service of women of Ephesus in her temple, as a reason for these restrictions.

Some believe Paul is referencing only husbands and wives, not men and women in general. The Greek words in the passage could refer to husbands and wives. That would contradict the basic meaning of the words, however, as referring to men and women in general, without regard to marital status. Further, the same Greek words are used in verses 8-10. Are only husbands to lift up holy hands in prayer without anger and disputing (v. 8)? Are only wives to dress modestly, have good deeds, and worship God (vv. 9-10)? Of course not. Verses 8-10 clearly refer to all men and women, not only husbands and wives, and by necessity that same interpretive standard applies to vv. 11-14.

Still others argue that women held positions of leadership in the Bible, specifically Miriam, Deborah, and Huldah in the Old Testament, and that a narrow interpretation of Paul's writing in 1 Timothy 2 goes against that precedent. This fails to note some rather significant factors, however. First, Deborah was the only female judge among 13 male judges. Huldah was the only female prophet among dozens of male prophets mentioned in the Bible. Miriam's only connection to leadership was being the sister of Moses and Aaron. The two most prominent women in the times of the Kings were Athaliah and Jezebel—hardly examples of godly female leadership. Most significantly, though, the authority of women in the Old Testament is not relevant to the issue. The book of 1 Timothy and the other Pastoral Epistles present a new paradigm for the church -- the body of Christ -- and that paradigm involves the authority structure for the church, not for the nation of Israel or any other Old Testament entity.

Similar arguments are made using Priscilla and Phoebe in the New Testament. In Acts 18, Priscilla and Aquila are presented as faithful ministers for Christ. Priscilla's name is mentioned first, perhaps indicating that she was more "prominent" in ministry than her husband. However, Priscilla is nowhere described as participating in a ministry activity that is in contradiction to 1 Timothy 2:11-14. Priscilla and Aquila brought Apollos into their home and they both discipled him, explaining the Word of God to him more accurately (Acts 18:26). That is indicative of Priscilla acting under the authority of Christ, through her husband.

In Romans 16:1, even if Phoebe is considered a “deaconess” instead of a "servant," that does not indicate that Phoebe was a teacher in the church. "Able to teach" is given as a qualification for elders, but not deacons (1 Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:6-9). Even given that exception, elders, bishops, and deacons are described as the "husband of one wife," "a man whose children believe," and "men worthy of respect." Clearly the indication is that these qualifications refer to men. In addition, in 1 Timothy 3:1-13 and Titus 1:6-9, masculine pronouns are used exclusively to refer to elders/bishops/deacons. Lest one would claim, "Ah, but those aren't pastors," I would say, but the office of "overseer" is equivalent to the pastor, and so too, is he to be "the husband of one wife" (1 Timothy 3:2).

The structure of 1 Timothy 2:11-14 makes the “reason” perfectly clear. Verse 13 begins with "for" and gives the "cause" of Paul’s statement in verses 11-12. Why should women not teach or have authority over men? Because "Adam was created first, then Eve. And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived." God created Adam first and then created Eve to be a "helper" for Adam. This order of creation has universal application in the family (Ephesians 5:22-33) and the church.

The fact that Eve was deceived is also given as a reason for women not serving as pastors or having spiritual authority over men. This leads some to believe that women should not teach because they are more easily deceived. That concept is debatable, but if women are more easily deceived, why should they be allowed to teach children (who are even more easily deceived) and other women (who are also supposedly more easily deceived)? That is not what the text says. Women are not to teach men or have spiritual authority over men because Eve was deceived. As a result, God has given men the primary teaching authority in the church.

Many women excel in gifts of hospitality, mercy, teaching, evangelism, and helps. Much of the ministry of the local church depends on women. Women in the church are not restricted from public praying or prophesying (1 Corinthians 11:5), only from having spiritual teaching authority over men, and may still teach under authority from men. I note that Beth Moore, a Southern Baptist female evangelist and teacher, always secures the permission of the local pastor to teach in his church, and even goes so far as to receive permission from each church that only receives a satellite feed of one of her seminars. She is responding biblically.

The Bible nowhere restricts women from exercising the gifts of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12). Women, just as much as men, are called to minister to others, to demonstrate the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23), and to proclaim the gospel to the lost (Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 1:8; 1 Peter 3:15).

God has ordained that only men are to serve in positions of spiritual teaching authority in the church. This is not because men are necessarily better teachers, or because women are inferior or less intelligent, which absolutely is not the case. It is simply the way God designed the church to function. Men are to set the example in spiritual leadership—in their lives and through their words. Women are to take a less authoritative role. Women are encouraged to teach other women (Titus 2:3-5). The Bible also does not restrict women from teaching children. The only activity women are restricted from is teaching or having spiritual authority over men. This logically would preclude women from serving as pastors to men. This does not make women less important, by any means, but rather gives them a ministry focus more in agreement with God’s plan and His gifting of them.

 

The context of chapters 1 and 2 indicate that this was a continual practice of these believers to gather together in the Upper Room every day to wait as Jesus had instructed them. If “the women” were there during other important business (the election of Matthias), it is likely that they were also there on the day of Pentecost. In fact, Acts 2:1 says (referencing what Luke has already told us about this practice of these individuals regularly meeting) that “they were all together in one place.” I noticed you made a reference to "Acts 2" as if the chapter divisions somehow break the context and flow of the passage. As you should know, the chapter divisions and verses were not in the originals and are certainly not part of the inspired writings.

Context and the plain reading of the scripture points to the women being present. You are arguing against the context – without any evidence – to suggest that they were not.

Prophecy is a type of preaching. The prophets preached in both the Old and New Testament.

Furthermore, you are ignoring that Peter is quoting Joel about men and women (“sons and daughters”) preaching/prophesying which is more evidence that the women were part of those who were preaching the gospel in other languages.

Why do you suddenly bring up pastors? I’m not talking about pastors at all.

May I remind you what we are supposed to be discussing?