WOMEN IN THE CHURCH
WOMEN IN THE CHURCH When I consider the godly women in this assembly who, like Tryphena and Tryphosa inRomans 16:12, work hard in the Lord, my soul is made to truly rejoice in the Father of all grace. I can even feel personally grateful for those women who, like Mary, {Romans 16:6} bestowed much labor on us, and those women who, like Euodius and Saytyche, {Php 4:3} labored with me in the gospel.
Women truly have a wonderful place in the church of Christ, and in this paper I will seek to explore exactly what that place is. Godly women, like godly men, rejoice to understand their proper sphere of labor in God’s kingdom. I trust this paper will help you do just that. God’s children are never happier than when they are doing God’s revealed will. May God bring much joy to the women of this assembly in living the revealed will of God.
There are four major scriptures which deal with the place of the woman in the church. They are1 Timothy 2:11-15;1 Corinthians 14:34-35;Titus 2:3-5|, and
1 Corinthians 11:3-34;1 Corinthians 12:1-31;1 Corinthians 13:1-13;1 Corinthians 14:1-401 Corinthians 15:1-58;1 Corinthians 16:1, we find that order of authority listed thus:
God
Christ
Man
Woman This speaks nothing concerning spiritual superiority or inferiority of persons. {seeGalatians 3:28} It only speaks of submission and authority. In the church of Christ it is given, by divine wisdom, to the men to be the leaders. Concerning matters of business or spiritual direction, the men must take the responsibility of directing the affairs of the church under Christ and His word. That is not to say that the women have no voice or vote, for they rightly do. However, that voice, rather than being heard publicly, should be expressed to husbands or leaders in the assembly privately. These men would act foolishly to esteem lightly the wisdom and desires of the sisters in the church. This principle is clearly seen in the Scriptures; for the women are prohibited from speaking words of exhortation in the assembly. {see1 Corinthians 14:3;1 Corinthians 14:34} So, in the area of ruling in the assembly, it falls totally to the men under their pastors to lead the assembly. With this in mind, let us consider the wisdom of scripture in the specific extent to which women may speak in the assembly.
First we shall consider1 Timothy 2:11-15. These verses plainly teach us that, concerning the public ministry of God’s word in the assembly, the women should remain silent in recognition of God’s wisdom in establishing His order of authority. They may not teach publicly or take in any way the leadership responsibilities that men are given. This would prohibit women from being pastors or teachers in the assembly of the saints. This is clearly seen in the next chapter where the qualifications of pastors are given which women could not possibly meet. In addition to the fact that all the pronouns are masculine (he, not she), a pastor, bishop, or elder (used interchangeably in the New Testament) must be the husband of one wife, {1 Timothy 2:2} and rule his house well. For a woman to meet either of these qualifications would be clear violation of Scripture. {Ephesians 5:22-23;Romans 1:26}
We now come to the question of whether or not it is permitted for women to speak at all in the assembly. We have seen the Bible clearly forbid women to speak in a way that would usurp men’s God given responsibility of leadership in business or spiritual affairs of the church. {1 Corinthians 11:1-34} We have also seen the woman forbidden to teach in the church, but may she speak at all? Does the Scripture forbid her to share an experience, give a testimony of God’s grace, ask for prayer, confess Christ verbally, ask for a song to be sung, or say amen or other exclamations of praise?
Let us begin to answer this question by turning to1 Corinthians 14:34-35. These verses are rather straight-forward in asserting that a women should, "Keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak...for it is a shame for a woman to speak in the church." If one divorces these verses from their context, the answer to the above question is a resounding "No." However, neither these verses not any other verses should be interpreted without due regard to the context. To do so would violate one of the most fundamental principles of Biblical interpretation. The broader subject under consideration in these verses is the proper use of prophecy and "unknown" tongues in the church. The verses under consideration are simply guidelines for the proper exercise of these gifts. They are teaching that women may not prophesy or speak in tongues or interpret these languages in the church. To broaden the meaning beyond this would be to blatantly disregard the context. So what are these verses saying to us. Since tongues have ceased, {1 Corinthians 13:8} we will limit ourselves to prophesy. While prophesies have failed (literally, become idle or inoperative), they continue in another form today. Men take the Scriptures and expound upon them. According to1 Corinthians 14:3, they minister to the congregation in order to "Speak to men for their upbuilding or strengthening, encouragement or exhortation, and comfort or consolation." Women in the assembly must refrain from speaking in such a way as to prophesy. The sisters in this church are exhorted, therefore, to carefully weigh their words so as to obey this explicit command in the Bible. For instance, if she tells of some way God has dealt with her in her life or has spoken to her out of some verse of Scripture, she must be careful to avoid using such phrases as, "So I think we should...," or "We ought to..." Be most careful not to exhort or prophesy. It can be somewhat of a fine line. We believe that these verses basically say the same thing as1 Timothy 2:11-15. By this we conclude that where the church is taught of God to speak to one another in the assembly, the sisters may partake except in these areas which are clearly and specifically prohibited. She may confess her sins and pray, {James 5:16} speak in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, {Ephesians 5:19} give an answer to everyone a reason for the hope that is in you {1 Peter 4:15} and any other verbal expression of praise not prohibited by the Word.
I want to note here a specific prohibition. Women are not permitted to ask questions publicly concerning the prophesying (preaching or teaching). She is specifically taught to ask any questions she might have about the public teaching of her husband. Several benefits may clearly be seen in this. First, it reduced possible confusion in the church meetings. Secondly, it would promote spiritual conversations between husbands and wives. It could even prompt the men to seek deeper spiritual understanding from either the Scriptures or their pastors. If a sister has no husband, or is married to an unbeliever, she of course would have to speak privately to the pastor concerning any questions.
I want to say a particular word next about public prayer. When the church meets for worship, in accordance with the Scripture, the men should lead in every aspect, whether it be teaching, singing, praying, or business. However, when the church meets for the specific purpose of prayer, the women may join in public prayer as well as the men. There are several instances of the church coming together specifically for prayer, especially in the book of Acts, {seeActs 1:14;Acts 12:5;Acts 12:12-15} where women were certainly present and the inclusive pronoun "they" is used, and women are undeniably part of the antecedent. In1 Corinthians 11:5} clarified and prohibited. Women are nowhere forbidden to pray. I will however give a word of caution. They should be careful not to "preach" in their prayers. The sisters should be careful to pray in such a way that would not violate the Biblical prohibition to prophesy, teach, or usurp authority. While women may pray in the specified prayer meetings, still the weight of responsibility to pray falls to the men. Women may pray and men are commanded to pray. {see1 Timothy 2:8} Men, not women, should take the aggressive leadership.
Let us consider now the teaching which the Bible commits to the sisters. Though a woman may not teach publicly in the assembly, she certainly has teaching responsibilities in the kingdom of God. InTitus 2:4-5the older women are commanded to teach the younger women the principles of self-control, to love their husbands and their children, to be pure, to stay at home, and be submissive to their husbands. How the church of God needs this important ministry! Here, women who have something to say may say it. Obviously this is done in a private setting and not in the assembly. I encourage all the godly women in this church to seize every opportunity to encourage one another in these virtuous ways. InActs 18:26, we find a preacher whose understanding of the gospel was incomplete. We find a godly couple who took him aside privately, and they expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly. I have personally been so blessed by the wise words of godly sisters in the church who have privately helped me understand some Biblical truth more perfectly. Any preacher who feels himself above learning from a woman in undoubtedly puffed up and knows nothing as he ought. Philip had four virgin daughters who prophesied. {Acts 21:9} While they did not do so in the assembly (because the Scripture clearly forbids it), they edified, exhorted, and comforted the saints {1 Corinthians 14:3} with their words in other settings.
Paul speaks on several occasions about women who were his helpers, {Romans 16:3} and labored with him in the gospel. {Php 4:3} He thanked God for the godly labors of the sisters in furthering the cause of Christ. {Romans 16:3;Romans 16:6;Romans 16:9;Romans 16:12} The Scripture exalts those women who were full of good works. {Acts 9:36} The sisters who have labored hard in the kingdom of God are even entitled to church support in their old age under certain conditions. {1 Timothy 5:3-16} InProverbs 1:8the godly instruction of a mother is like a beautiful piece of jewelry to the son who obeys. InProverbs 31:1-4, the king remembers and recites the holy prophesies of his dear mother, whose virtuous life inspired this Proverb.
Yes, the sisters in God’s church have a vast area of teaching ministry under God’s authority. The women of this assembly are strongly encouraged to fulfill all this ministry as God enables and according to the gifts He has given to you, remembering to do so in the manner which is clearly specified in His Word. May you be like Mary and Joanna, whose love and labor aided the ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ. {Luke 8:1-3} Amen.