The Old Testament seems to be filled with predominantly male leaders. The apostle Paul even said in a few places that women should be submissive or silent in the church. So what about women in ministry? Should women preach or teach? This is probably one of the most controversial topics that theologians have debated for centuries.
Under the Old Covenant, we see that God used women. In fact, in the Old Testament, there were four women named prophetesses. This alone debunks the myth that women should be silent in church. God didn’t make a mistake when He used women in that capacity.
I know you are thinking about those verses in 1 Timothy 2:11-14 regarding women not speaking or holding authority over men. Paul sent Timothy to Ephesus to stop the spread of bad theology in that church. I believe Paul is saying that these Ephesian women shouldn’t preach because they had been deceived by false teachers, using the example of Eve when she was deceived by the serpent, leading Adam astray.
In addition to this, Paul was telling those women in Ephesus that their first task is to learn and to be properly equipped as disciples of Jesus, not jump into positions for which they are not prepared. Further, the gospel teaches us that women, men and children can be born again through grace, and they have equal value in the eyes of God. That should be our guiding principle, not the customs of the Roman Empire in the first century. Our example for this comes from the Trinity. These are some of the reasons we believe that the weight of responsibility in the church and family rests on the men, but women do have ministries and roles that honor God as well.
To learn more on the topic, check out the full podcast episode of Raised to Deliver with Pastor Vlad on the Charisma Podcast Network called Women in Ministry. {eoa}
Vladimir Savchuk is the lead pastor of Hungry Generation Church and author of Break Free, Single, Ready to Mingle and Fight Back. He is also a founder of a virtual online school. To download free e-books, sermon series and small group study guides go to vladimirsavchuk.com.
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