But I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man, but to remain quiet. 1 Timothy 2:12, NASB
Whereas verse 11 was command based on culture, our verse this time does not appear to be so. Nothing has changed in God's Word about who should be the head of the house or be responsible for instruction therein and this verse only speaks to extending those teachings into the church—the context of the passage.
Men have a function in the world despite what some ultra-feminists might believe. Paul is affirming that no woman is to usurp authority (KJV) from a man.
This is just as much a command for the men of the church not to surrender their God-given responsibility to women. This failure of men is too often evident, even among evangelicals.
There are churches and whole denominations who wrongly interpret this, allowing women deacons, board members, elders, and/or pastors. My guess is they mistakenly consider this too as a cultural issue. It's not.
I have heard of cases in missionary fields where women led a church for a time, simply because there were no trained or qualified men. This is a different story; especially in one case where the female missionaries worked diligently to train leaders and then step out of leadership, fully submitting to the new national church leaders while remaining available for advice. This incident seems like an appropriate exception. But not normal.
Good morning, Ed. In light of this passage I was wondering what your thoughts are on unitiy within the church. Is it possible to be tolerant toward those who ignore this verse for the sake of unity? It is not only this doctrine, but many more that I look at in light of unity with in the community of believers, not necisarily within a given church body. This is a subject I have been thinking about quite a bit and might blog on in the near future. I hope to hear your insight. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteFor what my opinion may be worth, here is my answer.
ReplyDeleteUnity is an important issue so let me agree while disagreeing.
I may compromise for the sake of unity in some matters but on many, I will not compromise (such as the Trinity, divinity of Christ, need for personal salvation through Jesus’ blood, inerrancy of the Bible, and among others).
If someone in my congregation desired a female pastor, I would have to ask them to leave (even if I weren’t already the pastor :) ).
However, when I fellowship with a female pastor from another congregation as I would with any pastor with a different theological view, I carefully consider the purpose and nature of the effort. When, for instance, we sit (even side-by-side) at a meeting where the purpose is to glean information concerning community events, etc., I have no problem. When she is asked to pray, no problem. Or even when she’s asked to lead a discussion on some ministerial skill I have no problem since we both know she is not teaching to alter my theological perspective.