Women in ministry vs. Men in religion

I can’t believe we still have to have this conversation in the 21st century…

Dr. John MacArthur made a statement regarding Beth Moore recently claiming that she should discontinue the ministry position she holds as a leader and “go home!” He reiterated the common dispensationalist viewpoint that women should not be in leadership positions while quoting several passages in Scripture. These passages have oppressed women for centuries because they aren’t read in their proper historical and cultural context. And this is exactly what happens when you read your Bible as god instead of reading your Bible to reveal God. Read that again. When you read the Bible through the lens of Jesus as God, it should raise some major red flags when you come to places where it seems like people, regardless of age, race, or gender, are oppressed!

I am very passionate about this subject because I have an incredible wife with an amazing teaching gift and anointing on her life. I’m also raising a daughter to recognize the power of Christ within her so one day she can lead well. My hope is she’ll never have to question or oppress her gifting because our culture misapplied Scripture and created a modern day pharisaical system.

So, let’s take a look at what the Bible really says about women in ministry…

Sometimes God changed peoples names. When He did, it carried significant meaning for names in ancient culture prophetically spoke over your life. This happens to Abram (later changed to Abraham) but also to Abram’s wife Sarai. Sarai means princely or coming from an honored family. When her name gets changed to Sarah, something shifted forever. Everything God promised to Abraham is now also credited to Sarah. Sarah means princess of many or the source of nations and kings. This is crazy because what just happened is Sarah was included in the covenant with Abraham (Galatians 4:26-28). See, God made a covenant with Abraham but it doesn’t get fulfilled without Sarah.

In the same way, God created man and woman in His image (Genesis 1:27). Woman is also created IN HIS IMAGE. Meaning, we miss part of the revelation of God without females. Staying in Genesis, we have the infamous “God created woman to be man’s helpmate.” (Genesis 2:18,20). Good lord has that word been abused. Helpmate or helper is used in Scripture twice for woman, 13 times for God, and once for man. Yet, we teach young women to submit to their husbands and totally ignore the Scriptures that talk about both, husband and wife, submitting to each other. To submit in the original Greek means to get underneath someone and push them up. Can you imagine what our marriages would look like if each person took on that kind of responsibility? Helpmate or helper does not mean slave or less than. God created woman to be someone like God for when God wasn’t around (for in the garden, God dwelt with man only in the ‘cool of the day’). Women are not helpmates to serve under men. Women are helpers to serve along with men!

Why is this important? Because if you don’t understand audience, culture, and historical relevance you misapply a lot of Scriptures…

Which brings me to the hot topic of women in ministry. Let’s look into the couple passages that have oppressed women for centuries “in the name of God.”

1 Timothy 2:11-15
Check out Pastor Timothy Woodcock’s recent post on this passage by clicking here…

A couple things I’ll add from the study above is we know Paul is addressing false doctrines because he says it in 1 Timothy 1:3. The false doctrines are the myths and endless genealogies being taught according to 1 Timothy 1:4 and 1 Timothy 4:7. We also know from other Scriptures (Acts 19) that the false doctrines or myths and endless genealogies are tied to the worship of the Greek goddess Artemis. What kind of worship did that include? The worship of the Roman religion Diana. What did these types of religions teach? Female domination! Which by the way influenced the Amazon Women in later generations that slaughtered people in the name of ‘god’.

Side note for all you comic lovers...Artemis influenced the creation of the character Wonder Woman.

Now that we have context, we can look directly at the passage. First, Paul is addressing a singular woman. Not women. A woman teaching not only false doctrines but a woman causing division. Not to mention the fact that chapter 2 is all about living in peace with each other. Speaking of peace…In verse 11 when it says, “A woman should learn in quietness,” it’s the same Greek word used in verse 2 when it says, “for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful.” Quiet and peaceful often get interchanged throughout Greek as the end of verse 12 reads, “she must be quiet,” when it could also read, “she must be peaceful.” Speaking of verse 12, the first part reads, “I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man.” Again, proper study will reveal this sentence is present tense meaning at that time. This was not a universal command. In other words, it could be translated, “I am not permitting currently this woman to teach or to assume authority over a man.” The problem revealed in this passage was not an issue of gender but an issue of attitude and actions.

Lastly, many people are confused by verse 15, “But women will be saved through childbearing…” Artemis was the Greek goddess over birth/fertility. It was taught that if you worshipped her, women would be protected during childbirth. If you actually study this verse in the Greek there is one very important word not translated into our English translations. That word is “The” and it’s right between the words ‘through’ and ‘childbearing’. Or in other words, “women will be saved through The Child.” Women will be saved because of Jesus (The Child), not Artemis, not Diana, or any other religious system. That’s good news!

1 Peter 3:5-7

For centuries, men have forced women into an unbiblical submission as they quote this passage claiming women as the “weaker vessel.” Understanding cultural relevance reveals what “weaker vessel” even means. There were several kinds of vessels used within the society of Ancient Near East cultures. “Thicker vessels” were cheap and sturdy vessels most often used to store water. Think Jesus’ first miracle turning water into wine by putting the wine into these “thicker vessels.” “Weaker vessels” were thin, fine, and delicate vessels designed to be sold as ornaments, decor, or things of beauty. They were expensive and called ‘weaker’ because they were made out of light material, could break easily, and held great value. Peter compares women to these “weaker vessels” and it’s an incredible picture of our responsibility as men to treat women as we would a priceless, precious vessel of honor. We are to support and lift our women high and not break their spirit by our harsh words or actions.

1 Corinthians 14:34-35

The book of Corinthians is not written to us in America today. Shocker, I know. It was written to the first century church in Corinth and reading the letter as a whole is so very important to understanding the context. The first 6 chapters, Paul is encouraging them to stay unified in Christ, walking out the power they now possess in the Spirit, and words of wisdom, caution, and how to deal with disciplinary issues. Then in chapter 7, Paul changes direction and starts to address specific questions the Corinth church had for him. 1 Corinthians 7:1 says, “Now for the matters you wrote about…” The rest of this book addresses those specific questions. Why is that important? Because you can’t cherry pick one passage in 1 Corinthians 14 without reading what Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 11. For example, in 1 Corinthians 11, Paul tells the church that women can prophesy and pray as long as their heads stay covered (which the covering was culturally relevant then, not relevant today). Why would Paul tell women to be quiet in church in chapter 14 if he was encouraging prayer and prophecy in chapter 11? If something sounds contradicting, it means it’s time to study…

Verses 34-35 are the questions the church is asking Paul. Paul’s reiterating their question and answers it in verses 36-40. How do we know verses 34-35 are the original questions? Because Paul is quoting the law in verse 34, he’s not giving a command. Again, why would Paul teach it was a disgrace for women to speak in church in Chapter 14 if he was reminding the women to keep their heads covered while they spoke in church in Chapter 11? Think about it, it just doesn’t make sense nor is it proper handling of the Scriptures. What’s even crazier is Paul’s response in verses 36-40. He responds to their question with a question in verse 36. He says, “Or did the word of God originate with you? Or are you the only people it has reached?” Paul is attacking this idea of oppressing women in the church, as if men are the only voices God gave the church. How do I know? Verse 39 says, “Therefore, my brothers and SISTERS, be eager to prophesy…” Paul either contradicts himself within 5 verses or we’ve misunderstood the power of God in ALL people…

Finally, let’s not dismiss the reality of all the following women in leadership roles recorded in Scripture…
Judges 4:4-5 - Deborah the Prophet
Jeremiah 1:2/Zephaniah 1:1 - Huldah the Prophet
Exodus 15:20-21 - Miriam the Prophet
Ezekiel 13:17-23 - Multiple Un-named Female Prophets
Matthew 27 and Luke 24 – Mary - the person Jesus first talked to after the resurrection and told her to go tell the others…in other words - go tell the men!
Luke 2:36-38 - Anna the Prophet
Luke 8:3 - Joanna and Susanna - the women who paid for a lot of Jesus’ ministry
Acts 18 & Romans 16:3-5 – Priscilla was a missionary and church leader. It’s also important to notice that Paul introduces her before her husband in Acts as was not the norm in this culture.
Romans 16:1 – Phoebe – a deacon
Romans 16:3 - Paul’s unnamed spiritual mother
Romans 16:7 – Junia - an apostle
Romans 16:12 – Persis – a church leader in Rome who Paul loved! As well as church leaders Tryphena and Tryphosa
Acts 9:36 – Tabitha – a disciple
Acts 16:15 – Lydia – a wealthy business woman who helped start the church in Philippi
Acts 21:9 - Phillip’s 4 daughters were prophets
Philippians 4:2 - Euodia & Syntyche – Recognized as two leaders in the Philippian church
Philippians 4:3 - Clement - one of Paul’s female leaders
Colossians 4:15 - Nympha - recognized as the leader of a house church

Isn’t it interesting that these women lead in the midst of a culture that didn’t respect or value women?

And finally - Galatians 3:28, "There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

Men, we need to do better! We all need to stop using Scripture to suppress, oppress, or devalue any human being for we are all made in the image of God and are all empowered by His Spirit.