Women can be leaders in The Church.

The question of whether or not Women are allowed to be "Priests" or “Bishops” or “Pastors” or whatever term you prefer to use has become a hot topic again due to recent events (mainly the Schism within Anglicanism). And I’ve been forced to realize my initial posts on that topic were among the earliest on this blog, before I understood Church Polity related disputes as well as I do now. 

My position is ultimately the same, I still reject the entire concept of Monoepiscopacy as it’s currently practiced even by other Congregationalists. But to whatever extent the New Testament does permit some Believers to be leaders among fellow Believers, the distinction between Male and Female is irrelevant as demonstrated by Galatians 3. 

The office of Prophet was even in The Hebrew Bible always open to women, from Mariam to Deborah to Anna, and Joel 2 foretells that “your sons and your daughters shall prophecy” in a Prophecy quoted in Acts 2 as being fulfilled in The Church. Prophecy in The Bible is more then just predictive Prophecy, it is proclaiming The Word of God. At least in Low Church Protestantism the Pastors have always identified with Prophet over Aaronic Priests.

The Aaronic Priesthood is now irrelevant, in The New Testament all believers are Kings and Priests and our only High Priest is Christ, ALL definitely includes the Women. 

The word “Priest” as a term for Christian leaders is not supposed to have anything to do with the Hebrew or Greek terms translated that way in modern Bibles, its etymology derives from the Greek word Presbyter usually translated Elder.

I believe talk of Elders in the Church in The New Testament is about showing respect to any fellow believer who is your Senior, not an office, 1 Timothy 5 explicitly includes women in that.  So a conservative Episcopal Polity supporter will just insist that passage is about all seniors but others still ordain an office, that is simply selective reasoning. 

Bishop is a translation of Episcopas, a word that means “overseer” or “presider” and also has a verb form used in 1 Peter 5:2 which along with Acts 20:17-28 shows us that for both Peter and Paul all Elders were Overseers. 

Phoebe is a female Deacon in Romans 16:1, a word that just means servant but in Episcopal Polity denominations becomes the rank below Priest and is by these Conservatives treated just as only for women.

Romans 16 also refers to Tryphena and Tryphosa, a pair of female missionaries.  

Priscila also clearly always seems to have seniority over her husband Aquilla. 

Colossians 4:15 refers to Nympha, a leader of a local Church which the KJV changes to Nymphas and tries to make seem like a male but all scholars agree the Greek Text is referring to a Woman, even modern KJV onlyists. 

Women were the first Eyewitnesses to The Resurrection and thus the first Apostles.

Against all that greater testimony of Scripture these Conservatives cling to the “women shouldn’t speak in Church” passage from 1 Corinthians 14:34-35 and the “a woman shouldn't teach a man” passage in 1 Timothy 2:12.

Read in context 1 Corinthians 14 is clearly Paul quoting someone else to then immediately rebuke them in verse 36 “What? came the word of God out from you? or came it unto you only?”.  Other passages in the same Epistle clearly refer to women speaking in Church. 

I honestly haven’t made up my mind how to explain 1 Timothy 2:12, I’ve seen different approaches. What I do know is that later in the same Epistle Women are permitted to be Elders. This one verse alone can not override everything else.  

And that’s without me even getting into how this is the most disputed of all Paul’s Epistles.  I believe Paul wrote it and that there is an explanation, I just haven’t made up my mind what that is. 

The Bible on Traditional Gender Roles

Men and Women are different, both physically and mentally.  And those differences existed from the creation of distinct genders for humanity in Genesis 2.  But the dividing of men and women into different roles in society, especially the notion that men are supposed to be in charge, is purely the product of The Fall in Genesis 3.

In Genesis 2 the Woman is created to be Adam's "Helper" or "Helpmeet".  Adam may have been created first but they were still meant to be equals.  It is not until Genesis 3:16 that God tells her "I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee."

On this side of the cross The Church should be working to restore things to how God intended, though we do so knowing that won't be fully successful until Jesus returns and sets up his Kingdom.

But still we should be working towards that as much as possible.  That's why good Christians oppose Slavery in-spite of the Torah's tolerance of it.  And why I've argued elsewhere we should oppose Capital Punishment, even though it was an important part of The Law.

The Law of Moses does codify many traditional gender role related laws (but not in the same way most other nations did).  But New Testament believers are not under The Law.  And even in the Old Testament we had people like Deborah.

Ezekiel's description of the future Messianic Temple has no separate Court of Women just as it no longer has a separate court for Gentiles.  Likewise Galatians 3:28 says "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus."

I have another post arguing against those who say women cannot be Pastors/Preachers.

The verses some people dwell on about cross dressing are directed at specific pagan ritual practices involving cross dressing.  They were not meant to be taken as legalistically as they are today by many pastors who want to shame women for simply wearing pants rather then skirts/dresses.  I notice that particular phraseisim isn't as popular in colder states, like Wisconsin where I live.

The extent to which traditional gender roles are still endorsed in The New Testament (and I believe even NT instructions we shouldn't be legalistic about), are entirely limited to to the relationship between Husband and Wife.  Those verses exist purely for the typological application to the relationship between Christ and The Church.  Point is, as long as your unmarried those verses have no relevance to you and your interactions with people of the opposite gender, weather your male or female.  And if you are married they're relevant only to your relationship with your spouse.  Do not go around judging other couples or individuals.

The New Testament certainly doesn't forbid women to be unmarried.  Nor does it forbid women, married or not, from having careers or doing God's work outside the household.

Women can be Pastors/Preachers.

Those who insist that women should not be allowed to be Pastors really have only one Bible passage they base that view on - 1 Timothy 2:11-14. Most articles on the subject never cite any other verses.

It is inadvisable to build a doctrine on something mentioned only once; the Bible is a massive book the repeats itself frequently for a reason. Every detail of it is important and inspired, but not everything in it is doctrine.

The passage in 1 Timothy only says a woman shouldn't teach or hold authority over a man. Speaking for myself, I look upon the roles of Pastor/Preacher as neither a position of authority (the only Authority in the Church is the Holy Spirit), nor strictly speaking a teacher. The Pastor is simply someone who declares the Word of God.

1 Timothy 2:12 ought not be regarded as a blanket rule for all women in all churches. If it were, then women could not speak at all, for the same verse that tells them not to teach also tells them to be silent.

This is the chief passage that is used to oppose women preaching and yet strictly speaking it says nothing about preaching, nor does it say anything about a public worship or church service. On the contrary, this passage is giving instructions to wives as to how they were to conduct themselves in regard to their husband. Paul says in 1 Cor. 14:35, "And if they will LEARN anything, let them ask their husbands at home." Now he states in 1 Tim. 2:12 that women should learn in silence, and should not usurp authority over the man. Paul is dealing with more of a home problem than a church problem.  This is purely about the relationship between husband and wife.

Acts 18:25-26 and II Chronicles 34:22-24 clearly refute any notion that women can't teach men as an absolute rule.

To cite 1 Corinthians 14:34-5 as saying women shouldn't speak in church is to take the passage out of context. To do so ignores the point of Paul's entire message to the Corinthians. It's dealing with the problem of people blurting things out exuberantly disrupting the sermon. Elsewhere Paul speaks of women prophesying in church in 1 Corinthians 11:5 and onward deals with things going on in church.

The point of Titus 1:6-7 is a warning against Polygamy (the exact meaning in the Greek is that there be only one wife, not 'at least one', as some make it sound). Paul himself was single and clearly served as a preacher.  Some say Paul wasn't a pastor because neither the word Elder, or Bishop was ever used of him.  Lots of time a word doesn't get used of someone it qualified for.

Something else I would like to point out is that whenever one sees the term 'man' or 'men' in the New Testament, if the word in Greek is 'anthropos', then it actually means 'man' as in 'mankind', i.e. the Human race. 'Arseno' is the term for the male gender. I've discussed that elsewhere. By the same token, in the Old Testament, if the Hebrew is 'adam' or 'enosh', that denotes 'mankind' also; 'ish' and 'zakar' are gender-specific.

The Great Commission, Mark 16:15, "Preach the Gospel," is intended for ALL believers, and to all the Church. The command to "preach the Gospel" makes no distinction between male and female.

Women preachers are a fulfillment of prophecy (Joel 2:28; Acts 2:17-18). "and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy".

Both the Hebrew (N@biy'ah (neb-ee-yaw'); Noun Feminine, Strong #: 5031), and Greek (Prophetis (prof-ay'-tis); Word Origin: Greek, Noun Feminine, Strong #: 4398) are used for 'prophetess', meaning "female prophet".

The role of 'prophet' means "public expounder," and is not limited to just supernatural predictions of the future. The Pastor/Preacher is the post-Pentecost equivalent of the office of 'prophet' in ancient Israel.

As a verb, "prophesy" means "to speak forth, or flow forth." 1 Cor. 14:3 says, "But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men ('anthopos', meaning 'mankind') to edification, and exhortation and comfort."

The dictionary says that to prophesy is "to speak under divine inspiration...to preach."

Therefore we learn from the original translation, from the Bible interpretation, and from the dictionary, that to prophesy means more than to tell the future, but to speak publicly about the past, present, or future. It is to preach under the anointing of the Holy Spirit.

A number of prophetesses are mentioned in the Hebrew Bible.

Miriam the sister of Moses was a prophetess, while Aaron held the office of priest, and Moses was the civil head of State during the 40 years of wandering in the wilderness (Exodus 15:20; Numbers 12:1; Micah 6:4).

Deborah was a prophetess as well as a judge (judges were the civil heads of state for Israel during the period between Joshua and Saul; Judges 4:4-5). The Bible mentions no fewer than four female heads of state - Deborah; the Queen of Sheba; Athaliah, and Kandake queen of Ethiopia from Acts 8. Only Athaliah is portrayed negatively (Jezebel was not a Queen-Regent, she was influential but did not officially rule). The other three are all positive figures in the Biblical narrative, so female leaders may well have a better over all track record then males.

Isaiah 8:3 mentions a prophetess.

And then there is Huldah from 2 Kings 22:14 and 2 Chronicles 34:22, to whom King Josiah and the Priests had to go to for Divine counsel since the Ark was already gone.

There's also Noadiah from Nehemiah 6:14

I should note also that the Talmud counts the mother of Samuel as well as David's wife Abigail both as prophetesses, although they are not so named in scripture. They did not serve that office but they did prophesy.

In the New Testament yet another prophetess is mentioned in connection with the Nativity - Anna the daughter of Phanuel of the Tribe of Asher (Luke 2:36).

Entering the Dispensation of Grace, it's important to remember that the first news of the Resurrection of Christ was relayed by women to a group of men.

Phillip had four daughters who prophesied (Acts 21:9).

Priscilla is almost always listed before her husband Aquila whenever they are mentioned. Perhaps both were preaching, but she certainly was.  Paul lists her first in Romans 16 and refers to the church that is in their home, it makes nos sense for her to be listed first if she's not the leader.

In Romans 16:1-2, Phebe is called a "succourer" in the KJV translation; the Greek word is 'prostatis' (pros-tat'-is); Word Origin: Greek, Noun Feminine, Strong #: 4368 - meaning a woman set over others, a female guardian, protectress, patroness, caring for the affairs of others and aiding them with her resources.  The feminine for of the same word the KJV translated "rule" in I Timothy 5:17, it's used through out the pastoral epistles to refer to the Overseer's authority.

She is also called a deacone.

1 Timothy 5:2 refers to women Elders, Elder is a synonym for Bishop.  Titus 2:3 also in the Greek.

I could also appeal to Junia or numerous other women mentioned in Romans 16.  Or Nympha from Colossians, which the KJV erroneously changes into a male name and adds a male pronoun.  The church met in her house.

But I shall finish with Euodia and Syntyche form Philippians 4.

When he describes the ministry of Euodia and Syntyche, Paul uses a couple of the same terms he had previously applied to Timothy and Epaphroditus.  Paul writes that Euodia and Syntyche had contended together with him “in the Gospel”.  Earlier in the same letter, Paul had also described Timothy as someone who had served with him “in the Gospel” (Phil. 2:22).  Paul goes on to refer to Euodia and Syntyche as his “fellow-workers“.  Earlier, Paul had also referred to Epaphroditus as his “fellow-worker” (Phil. 2:25).  So, according to Paul, the ministries of the women Euodia and Syntyche were comparable to the ministries of the men Timothy and Epaphroditus.

 Early church bishop and theologian, John Chrysostom (c349-407), believed that Euodia and Syntyche were leaders in the Philippian church.  Moreover, he compared them to Phoebe, a woman minister (diakonos) in Cenchrea (Rom. 16:1-2).  In his 13th Homily on Philippians he wrote:

 These women [Euodia and Syntyche] seem to me to be the chief of the Church which was there, and [Paul] commends them to some notable man whom he calls his yokefellow; [Paul] commends them to him, as to a fellow-worker, and fellow-soldier, and brother, and companion, as he does in the Epistle to the Romans, when he says, I commend to you Phoebe our sister, who is a minister of the church at Cenchrea (Romans 16:1). (Homilies on Philippians, 13)

 It was not unusual for women to have, leadership roles in Philippi.  Philippi was the chief city of Macedonia (Acts 16:12) and it has been well documented that Macedonian women enjoyed greater freedoms, rights and powers than many other women of that time.

“If Macedonia produced perhaps the most competent group of men the world had yet seen, the women were in all respects the men’s counterparts; they played a large part in affairs, received envoys and obtained concessions for them from their husbands, built temples, founded cities, engaged mercenaries, commanded armies, held fortresses, and acted on occasion as regents or even co rulers.”  W. Tarn and G.T. Griffith in Hellenistic Civilisation, 3rd Edition, 1952, pp89,99; quoted by Ralph Martin (1983:16)

“We can see this [freedom of women] even in the narrative in Acts of Paul’s work in Macedonia.  In Philippi, Paul’s first contact was with the meeting for prayer by a riverside, and he spoke to the women gathered there (Acts 16:13).  Lydia was obviously a leading figure in Philippi (Acts 16:14).[6]  In Thessalonica, many of the chief women were won for Christianity, and the same thing happened at Berea (Acts 17:4 & 12). …it is well worth remembering, when we are thinking of the place of women in the early church and of Paul’s attitude to them, that in the Macedonian churches they clearly had a leading place.” (William Barclay 2003:86)

 Were Euodia and Syntyche church leaders?  Paul’s letter to the Philippians differs to his other letters because Paul specifically includes the overseers (episkopoi) and ministers (diakonoi) in his opening greeting.  Instead of the traditional English translation of “overseers and deacons”,  FF Bruce (1981) translates this phrase in Philippians 1:1 as “chief pastors and other ministers” which may more faithfully convey the meaning of these roles in New Testament times.  It does seem possible that Euodia, Syntyche, and possibly Clement who is mentioned with them, were the overseers or chief pastors of house churches at Philippi.  In the 1st century, independently wealthy women, as well as men, who hosted a church in their own homes may have functioned as overseers (episkopoi).  At the very least, Euodia and Syntyche, like many other 1st century Christian women, were ministers (diakonoi).

So there is certainly no Biblical reason women can't preach.

New insight, what we call the Pasotrial Epistles, should be called the Paulian Pastoral Epistles.  There are two other Pastoral Epistles in The Bible, 2 John and 3rd John.

For some additional context, here  is my post on traditional traditional gender roles in The Bible in general.