Women in the Ministry

All of my life, I have been taught that women should not be in the ministry; that a woman should not be a preacher. Even so, I see a lot of churches that have women as pastors, and hear many women on radio and television that are preaching the gospel and teaching God’s Word. I accepted this teaching about women not being in the ministry for all of these years without really studying the Bible to see what it actually says about it. But is not this what we all do? Just accept what some preacher teaches us and accept what he says as the truth because of his position in the church?

The Bible does say that God has put pastors, teachers, and evangelists in the church, for the work of the ministry, to bring us all into the unity of the faith, so why shouldn’t we be able to accept what they say as being the truth of God’s Word? Well, for one thing, we cannot be certain that every preacher behind a pulpit has been called and sent by God to teach us His Word. There is a way to tell though—but, that is another subject and I’m not going to take the space to expound on that here.

Those who teach that a woman should not be a preacher, use a verse in one of the Apostle Paul’s letters as a basis for that teaching. The verse is in First Timothy, the second chapter, and is quoted as follows:

1 Tim 2:12 (KJV) “But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.”

Paul said that he does not permit a woman to teach or to hold a position of authority over a man. Even though Paul does not say it, I’m sure that he is talking about teaching or holding an office in the church. But what I want to emphasize here, is that Paul said that he would not permit a woman to teach, he did not say a word about a woman preaching the gospel.

Now there are those who say that teaching and preaching is the same thing, and in a way they are right. But I believe that if Paul meant that a woman should not preach or teach, he would have said just that. If in God’s eyes preaching and teaching are the same thing, then why did He note a difference in the offices in the church? For Paul said in the fourth chapter of Ephesians, that God gave the church apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers for the work of the ministry.

Eph 4:11-13 (KJV) And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ:

There is a difference in the ministry of each of these offices. God has a purpose for each one and called them by different names so you would know what to expect each one of them to do in the church. The following is a brief explanation of each of these offices, followed by the definition of the Greek word that was translated, quoted from Strong’s Concordance.

An apostle is one that Christ commissioned and sent out to spread the message of the gospel in different parts of the country and even the world. His main work was to introduce the gospel to those who have never heard it and assist in setting up and organizing new local churches for believers to meet in. An apostle was ordained to both preach the gospel and teach for doctrine the whole Word of God.

G652. apostolos, ap‑os’‑tol‑os; from G649; a delegate; spec. an ambassador of the gospel; officially a commissioner of Christ [“apostle”] (with miraculous powers): --apostle, messenger, he that is sent.

A prophet is one that God uses to disclose future events to His people. Originally, the prophet was called a Seer, because he could see future events before they occurred. The duty of a prophet is to deliver God’s Word to His people and if anointed to do so, to expound on the meaning of that word.

G4396. prophetes, prof‑ay’‑tace; from a comp. of G4253 and G5346; a foreteller (“prophet”); by anal. an inspired speaker; by extens. a poet:‑‑prophet.

An Evangelist is one that has been commissioned to preach the gospel, for the sole purpose of drawing unbelievers into the church. He is ordained to preach the gospel, but not necessarily to teach for doctrine.

G2099. euaggelistes, yoo‑ang‑ghel‑is‑tace’; from G2097; a preacher of the gospel:--evangelist.

A pastor is one that has been commissioned to oversee the operation of a local church, and provide for all their needs. As it says in Jeremiah 3:15: “the pastor feeds the flock with knowledge and understanding.” The pastor is ordained to both preach the gospel and teach for doctrine.

G4166. poimen, poy‑mane’; of uncert. affin.; a shepherd (lit. or fig.):‑‑shepherd, pastor.

A teacher is one that has been ordained to teach for doctrine, the whole Word of God.

G1320. didaskalos, did‑as’‑kal‑os; from G1321; an instructor (gen. or spec.):‑‑doctor, master, teacher.

Now we have gone through all of this just to show that there is a difference between a preacher and a teacher. The work that God has given each one of them to do is just a little different. The preacher is ordained to preach the gospel, the news that God has sent His Son to provide a way for all to receive eternal life. The teacher is sent to expound on those portions of God’s Word that makes sound doctrine for the church.

Also it needs to be said that it is possible for one man to hold and function in more than one of these callings at the same time. The Apostle Paul stated that he was ordained to be a preacher, an apostle and a teacher (1 Tim 2:7) and (2 Tim 1:11).

But now to get back to the possible ministry for a woman and the effect that Paul’s statement has in this regard. Remember that Paul said he would not permit a woman to teach, in First Timothy 2:12. The Greek word translated to the English word “teach” in this verse, is the word “didasko”, and is defined in Strong’s Concordance as is quoted below:

G1321. didasko, did‑as’‑ko; a prol. (caus.) form of a prim. verb dao (to learn); to teach (in the same broad application):‑‑teach.

As you can readily see, this word means “to teach”, and nothing else. If Paul had meant that he would not have permitted a woman to preach or teach, he would not have used this particular word. Instead he would have used the Greek word “kataggello” which means both preach and teach, or he would have added any one of five other words used in the New Testament that are translated to the word “preach”, along with the word “didasko”.

G2605. kataggello, kat‑ang‑gel’‑lo; from G2596 and the base of G32; to proclaim, promulgate:‑‑declare, preach, show, speak of, teach.

Words do have a meaning and I believe that the words used in the Bible were not just arbitrarily used, but were selected to convey exactly what the speaker meant to say. In the New Testament, there are six Greek words used in various places that are translated to some form of the word “teach”, four Greek words that are translated to the word “preach”, and one Greek word that can be used for either “preach or teach.” The Apostle Paul knew exactly what he was saying and why he was using that particular word.

But now the argument might come saying that nowhere in the Bible does it say that a woman ever preached the gospel. But I tend to take issue with that. Let’s first look at Acts 18:24-26:

Acts 18:24-26 (KJV) and a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man, and mighty in the scriptures, came to Ephesus. This man was instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in the spirit, he spoke and taught diligently the things of the Lord, knowing only the baptism of John. And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue: who when Aquila and Pris­cilla had heard, they took him unto them, and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly.

In this chapter of Acts, it tells of a certain Jew named Apollos that was going around preaching about Jesus, but was in error because he only knew of the baptism of John the Baptist. So this apparent husband and wife team, being associated with Paul, took the man aside and preached the gospel to him. Yes, I know it uses the word “expounded” and not preached, but the word expounded means to “explain or clarify” and that is what preaching is. Now, if only the man, Aquila, explained or preached the gospel to the man Apollos, why did they also name his wife Priscilla? I believe they both took part in imparting the truth of the gospel to Apollos.

Not convincing enough? Then let’s look at one more scripture in the second chapter of Luke.

Luke 2:36-38 (KJV) “And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser: she was of a great age, and had lived with a husband seven years from her virginity; And she was a widow of about fourscore and four years, who departed not from the temple, but served God with fasting and prayers night and day. And she coming in that instant gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spoke of him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem.”

When Joseph and Mary brought the young child Jesus to the Temple to present him to God, they met a woman named Anna there. Anna, being a prophetess, recognized that Jesus was the Messiah and gave thanks to God. Then she preached the gospel to her people. Oh, you say it does not state that she preached the gospel, but it just says that she “spoke of Him.” Well the Greek word they translated to the word “spoke” was the word “laleo,” which also can be translated into the English words “preach and preached,” and is done so in several places in the New Testament.

G2980. Laleo, lal‑eh’‑o; a prol. form of an otherwise obsol. Verb; to talk, i.e. utter words:‑‑preach, say, speak (after), talk, tell, utter. Comp. G3004.

 We have gone through this whole explanation to show that there is a difference between a preacher and a teacher. The Greek words used in the original scriptures prove it. So if Paul forbade a woman to teach, it does not mean that a woman cannot preach the Gospel of the Lord. I see nothing in the scriptures that would prevent a woman from preaching the gospel, if she holds to preaching the Gospel of the Lord, and refrains from attempting to teach for doctrine.

But if all of this is still not convincing to those of you who will continue to hold the opinion that a woman should not preach, remember that whatever we think is right or wrong does not matter, for it is God who determines who will or will not be ordained to preach. If God sends someone to preach the gospel, He will also confirm his or her calling and ministry with signs and wonders, just as He confirmed those written about in the Bible.

 One thing should also be considered. Paul did not state that this stand he was taking against women teaching or being in authority over the man was from the Lord, nor did he say that it was just his own opinion. In other places in the scripture, Paul made a point of saying if something was of the Lord or not, but here he did not say.

The reason that Paul took this position about women not teaching or being in authority over the man was because of the woman Eve being so easily deceived in the Garden of Eden. And I can understand that, because the devil is still doing what he started in the garden, going around and deceiving people about the truth of God’s Word. And since it was the woman who was deceived and not the man, Paul did not want to take any chances with women teaching in the church.

But since Paul was the only one who addressed this subject and it did not meet the scriptural criteria of “by two or three witnesses, let every word be established,” and since he did not say this was from the Lord, one can see where this might be a matter of debate.

Since there are a lot of women preachers and teachers in the world today and many are well respected in the church, this has also become a factor that divides God’s people just like other doctrines are doing.

I do tend to agree with Paul and accept his teaching about who should and should not teach in the church. And according to the descriptions of the different offices in the church, I can see where God might send a woman to prophesy or be an evangelist, but not to be a pastor or a teacher. Even though, can we be certain that this position is pleasing with God? Or, should we not judge these women just as we do men who are preachers and teachers, by the Word, looking for the vindication of God’s anointing to be certain that He has sent them to do this work? Looking for the same vindication that was noted in the article on being “Called to Preach.”

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