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Perhaps one of the most reptilian assertions that can be found slithering around the Lord’s Church concerns women in ministry. It hisses and spits venom when hearing any hint of women ministering in venues where men are present. Such cite a verse from Paul’s First Epistle to Timothy. “And I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence” (1Ti 2:11) .
The position is spiritual thievery, because it has historically robbed the Church of gifted ministries that otherwise might have been of great benefit to many. It is erroneous from several perspectives. It is unwise to build a doctrine on a single text that has been lifted from the context of the verses around it. It is important to note that Paul is not speaking of women and men in the plural sense as if speaking of women ministering to men in a congregational setting. The language is singular, a woman and a man, which is indicative of a husband and wife relationship..
The context of this passage strongly infers that Paul was referring to a wife’s proper relationship with her husband, rather than the role of women to the collective male membership of a church. The church is not mentioned in the passage. There is reference made to Adam and Eve, and they were husband and wife. Childbearing is also mentioned in these verses, which is a function of a married woman. It is helpful to note that the word used for woman can indicate a woman generically or a wife specifically, depending on the context in which it is used. Here it indicates a wife as the word for man can also be defined, as a husband.
In addition, the phrase “or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence” is worthy of examination. “To have authority over” literally means to act of one’s self; and figuratively, it means to dominate. The word translated as silence does not indicate muteness but rather quietness/tranquility. A reasonable interpretation of the gist of 1 Timothy 2:11-13 might read: “A wife is to follow her husband’s instructions in a quiet/tranquil, submissive manner. I do not allow a wife to constantly dominate her husband through overbearing directive instructions. A wife should quietly/tranquilly keep in mind that it was Eve rather than Adam who was first deceived.”
Women certainly had key roles in the public ministry of the First Century Church and in its apostolic teams. Paul called the following women his fellow workers: Priscilla, Euodia, Syntyche, and Phoebe (Rom 16:1-3; Phi 4:2-3). The same word that is translated as fellow workers is used of the men: Timothy, Aquila, Clement, Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke (Rom 16:3,21; Phi 4:3; Phi 1:24). It appears that men and women shared equal responsibilities in the ministry. In relation to Phoebe, Paul instructed the male elders of the Church at Rome to comply with her requests (Rom 16:1-2). He identified her as a servant of the Church at Cenchrea. According to Strong’s Concordance, servant denotes one with official status, especially that of a Christian teacher.
There are a number of passages that indicate that men learned spiritual truths from women. Learning is the product of teaching. The team of Priscilla and Aquila explained the Gospel to Apollos. If Aquila were the sole active contributor, Priscilla’s name would not have been mentioned (Acts 18:26). In contrasts, Peter’s wife traveled with him on his apostolic journeys, yet her name is not mentioned (1Co 9:5). Apparently, unlike the women whose names were cited, she was not an active participant in public ministry.
Women prayed and prophesied in mixed gatherings of the early Church (Act 21:9; 1Co 11:5). Paul said that all of those in the assembly could prophesy one by one, that all might learn (1Co 14:31). This would include the women who were present. By necessity there had to be an element of instructional teaching in the prophecies that came forth, if not neither women nor men could learn anything from such.
In addition, it might be good to consider God’s response to women ministering to mixed groups in contemporary times.
- Paul Yongi Cho of South Korea has the largest church in the world. Its cell-group leaders converted the majority of the church’s members from Buddhism to Christianity. They also disciple the members of the house groups in the basic truths of the faith. Well over 80% of the cell-group leaders are women.
- Christian media broadcasts feature a number of effective female ministers. Notable among such are Marlin Hickey, Cindy Jacobs and Joyce Myers. Their respective ministries bring in scores of millions of dollars annually for their various mission efforts. There is an old Christian adage that says, where God guides, He provides. If these women were indeed rebellious for ministering to men, it would seem that the Lord could easily thwart their efforts by withholding finances. The evidence indicates that sisters-in-the-Lord who teach have His total approval.
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