home
about uspastor ray bentleyray's articleswomen teaching in the church
ON THE QUESTION OF WOMEN
TEACHING AND PREACHING
As many of you may know, Anne Graham Lotz spoke at Maranatha Chapel in February, 2006. I have had some people ask me about the issue of women teaching or preaching to the church, whether it is scriptural and where we as a church stand on this issue. Three particular passages in the Bible were cited in raising this question: 1 Corinthians 14:33-36, 1 Timothy 2:12, and Titus 2:3-5.
This is a sensitive subject to tackle, and devout Christians from different denominations will not always agree. For some of you reading this, you may even be wondering why it is an issue at all. With that said, I simply want to lay out the convictions under which our church operates.
In 1 Corinthians 14:33-36, the apostle Paul exhorted the church in Corinth, “Let your women keep silent in the churches, for they are not permitted to speak...and if they want to learn something, let them ask their own husbands at home; for it is shameful for women to speak in church.” I can certainly see that statement raising a few eyebrows today.
Was Paul really that hard on women and does what he said apply to our church?
First, I think it is good to go back to what Paul has said earlier in this letter, which puts these verses in their proper context. Read 1 Corinthians 11:5: “And every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head — it is just as though her head were shaved…” (underlines mine). Here Paul has already stated to the Corinthian church that women in the services may both pray and prophesy, so this instruction must apply to the immediate context, which is the evaluation of prophetic messages. Thus it appears that the major responsibility for doctrinal purity in the church is to rest upon the shoulders of the men elders.
What I believe Paul was addressing in the chapter 14 verses was the issue of things being “done decently and in order” (verse 39). The whole chapter is devoted to various issues concerning the church services being out of control. The issue of women was one part of that chapter, and addressed specifically what occurred when some of the Gentile women would come into a meeting where, following Jewish custom, men sat on one side of the place and women sat on the other. During the messages or teachings these women were calling out loud to their husbands asking questions across the aisle, which disturbed the worship service for everyone. Imagine if we allowed people to call out questions during the teaching of the Bible on Sunday mornings – it would be chaos, and would interrupt the ministry of the Spirit through the gift of the pastor/teacher. So, Paul encourages the women under such circumstances to have their questions answered at home. He does not go back on his earlier word in 1 Corinthians 11:5 which acknowledged women’s ability to pray and prophesy in the church service. The context of the whole chapter is what Paul summed up in the final verse of chapter 14: “Let all things be done decently and in order.”
Also, we read in Acts 21:8-9, “Leaving the next day, we reached Caesarea and stayed at the house of Philip the evangelist, one of the Seven. He had four unmarried daughters who prophesied” (NIV). These four daughters of Steven, the first martyr of the Church, also prophesied within the early apostolic church.
The next scripture is 1Timothy 2:12: “And I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence.” Here the issue at hand is one of respecting authority. Women are permitted to teach. In fact older women should teach the younger women (Titus 2:3-4). But in this teaching ministry, they should not “lord it over” men. There is nothing wrong with a woman instructing a man, such as the example in Acts 18:26: “He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they invited him to their home and explained to him the way of God more adequately ” (NIV, underlines mine). The word translated “silence” can also be translated “quietness.” But Paul does not contradict his word to the Corinthians that women may both “pray and prophesy” within the church (1 Corinthians 11:5).
For the most part, we do not believe, according to scripture, that women should be pastors, or for that matter, elders. Therefore we do not have women pastors or elders. We do believe that women can be deaconesses and that they can certainly teach, and are encouraged to teach, especially younger women, in Titus 2.
Different roles does not mean a difference in importance or value or equality. We firmly believe that in the eyes of the Lord, we are all equal. "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus" (Galatians 3:28).
Anne Graham Lotz spoke to our congregation under our pastoral authority, by our invitation. We knew her subject, a message from the book of Isaiah, which she share through her gift of prophecy, which is defined in 1 Corinthians 14:3 as being for edification, exhortation and comfort. She did not come as either a pastor, or an elder-- she delivered a message that God wants to speak to the entire body of Christ.
By the way, for more information about who we are as a church and to learn more about our doctrine and church government, I recommend the book “Calvary Distinctives” by Pastor Chuck Smith, Pastor of Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa. It is available in the bookstore or online here.
I would like to encourage you, as Paul encouraged the Bereans in Acts 17:11, “Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true” (NIV).
Take the time to examine all the scriptures in their proper context, and pray for God to speak to your hearts. I know He will.
In His Grace,
Ray Bentley
