WHY NO FEMALE PASTORS? PART II

Let a woman learn quietly with all submissiveness. I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet. For Adam was formed first, then Eve; and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor.

(1 Timothy 2:13-14 ESV)

Yesterday I left off with a series of possible objections to my view that biblically, only males can be Pastors. Today, I'll try and answer those objections as well as dig into the broader Theological reasons why the Bible teaches this doctrine:

1. Isn't this just a command for that time and place?-

At first, this seems like the most logical possible objection there is to the text in 1 Timothy. After all, in 1 Corinthians 11 we're told that men shouldn't wear their hair long, and women need to go before the Lord with a head covering. We don't require these things today, so why can't women's ordination fall under the same category? The issue is basically historical, and contextual. When we look back at first century Rome, in Corinth, we see that when a woman did not wear a head covering (cloth or long hair) she was either saying, "I'm available" to the world (when she was already married) or she was usurping her husband's role as the Leader, saying, "I have the authority over him." For a man to wear long hair (at that place and time) meant that he was seeking to be effeminate or give away his authority. But in our culture, long hair and short hair have no such meaning and never have. Therefore, we don't observe the letter of the principle laid down, but the spirit of the principle laid down. The context helps determine our understanding and interpretation.

With our passage in 1 Timothy (as well as others I'm not covering), the context does not revert to something cultural, but something universal. Read what Paul appeals to to make his case: "For Adam was formed first, then Eve; and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor." He does not refer to local issues, or local people, but to the very first people of the human race! He appeals to the created order of things and therefore is speaking to something that applies to all people in the Church for all time. As has been said before, context is always the key.

In response, some have said that in the Church Timothy was Pastoring, there must have been women usurping authority and trying to teach the Church false doctrine. The reality is though, we have no such evidence of any practice going on. Also, when false teachers are mentioned in the letter, they are only males. If females were indeed permitted to teach and were not teaching rightly, surely they would have been mentioned by name (as are Hymenaeus, Alexander and Philetus.)

2. Isn't this sexist? Are you saying that women aren't as smart as men?-

I suppose the easiest way to answer this objection is to say if the Bible were saying that women can't be Pastors because they're not as smart as men, then yes, it would be sexist. But the Bible is not saying any such thing. Rather, the Bible is merely appealing to specific ways God has called men, and for that matter, specific ways, God has called women in the Church. That leads to the next point...

3. Are you saying women can't be leaders in the rest of society?

No not at all. As a matter of fact in the Old Testament we see the example of Deborah leading the nation of Israel politically (Judges 4) and Esther also ruled as a Queen. God has gifted some women to lead in society, just as he has gifted some men to lead in society. The two areas where God has not permitted a woman to lead are in the family and in the Church, as Pastors.

4. I thought Galatians 3 said that in Christ "there is neither male nor female." What gives?

Good question! Again there is some interpretive principles that need to be put into effect here in order to understand what this text means, and what it does not mean. First off, context always shows us the way forward. Second, we always must remember that we have to interpret Scripture with Scripture. That is to say, no verse of Scripture stands alone, but is understood in light of what the rest of Scripture says about the issue at hand. For example, if one were to read the Sermon on the Mount in isolation from the rest of Scripture, it would be nearly impossible not to conclude that our salvation comes purely by our works. But when we read it in light of everything else, we see that the Sermon on the Mount is meant to show us the impossibility of being saved by our works, so that we would indeed flee to Christ!

So then the context of Galatians 3 (Click the link to verify what I'm saying :) Paul is hitting on one of his major themes in his writings, which is, the Unity we have in Christ. Over and over he emphasizes this between Jews and Gentiles, so as to bring the two groups together. He then moves on to say "there is neither slave nor free, male nor female..." Some have thought therefore, this meant in the body of Christ these distinctions ceased to exist. Yet, in many other letters that Paul wrote, he specifically wrote to slaves (Ephesians 6) and specifically to free men (Ephesians 6) addressing them individually. He specifically writes to females (Ephesians 5) and specifically writes to males (Ephesians 5) giving them their individual instructions.

Is Paul then contradicting himself or is it something else? Well the rest of Scripture gives us the answer: Throughout Paul's letters, he emphasizes the importance of being members of the Body. In those discussions he shares the importance of Diversity and Unity within that Body. We are all part of One Body, but in this One Body there are many members. So in the sense of Unity, there is neither male nor female. Christ doesn't judge us or give us any standing based on these things; on the other hand, as individual members of the Body we remain male and female, with distinct differences and callings as the rest of Scripture points out.

It looks like I've already written too much, so tomorrow, I'll get into the broader Theological reasons why women are not called to be Pastors...

Soli Deo Gloria,

Pastor Erick

RECEIVING FROM CHRIST....GROWING IN CHRIST....GOING WITH CHRIST....