In the past few decades the issue of women preaching in the churches have become more of a debated issue. View points range from; woman should sit quietly with her head covered to women should be allowed to speak, preach and hold the highest office (Pastor, Reverend ect...). To get to the root of this issue we must utilize both the old and new testaments of the bible.
When you look at texts used to support the view that women should not preach in church, you find that some of them are taken out of context or misinterpreted. Let's look at Colossians 3:18-20, Titus 2:4-5, Ephesians 5:22-25, 1Peter 3:1-2 ... These verses say that a man is to be the head of his OWN household and that wives should show respect for their husband. The texts say nothing about women being forbidden to preach the good news. So to use those texts to defend the point is clearly out of context. Probably the more compelling texts to support the forbidding of women to preach would be the following scriptures.
1Corinthians 14:34-35 (KJV) Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience as also saith the law. And if they will learn any thing, let them ask their husbands at home: for it is a shame for women to speak in the church.
One may say OK, case closed! But not so fast, let's look closely at this text in context. We must first understand that God does not contradict Himself. Men are moved by the culture around them but God cannot be moved. And when you take all that has been said and done in the past into account, we find that Apostle Paul was more likely than not expressing his own opinion based on the culture that he lived in. Notice that in 1Cor 14:34-35 Paul is addressing women who are "Learning" and being disruptive in the church. The apostle says nothing about women teaching at this point. In the text he backs up his point by making a reference to a section found in the "law". This is the same law that he once described in the past as being a curse...
Galatians 3:10-11 (KJV) For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith.
In that same chapter (Galatians 3) he stated that we have been redeemed from that curse "of the law" through the death of Christ.
Galatians 3:13 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written: Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree.
He goes on to say...
Galatians 3:24-26 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.
Then he says ...
Galatians 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.
(I would encourage you to read Galatians 3 in its entirety to get a clear representation of what Apostle Paul was saying at that time).
So using the law really didn't justify his point. If all are spiritually equal in the sight of the Lord, then all are equal. Let's take a look at another popular text written by Paul that is also used frequently to forbid women preaching in the church...
1 Tim 2:11-15 (KJV) Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. For Adam was first formed, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression. Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety.
Apostle Paul began that text as he did the last, addressing women "Learning" in silence. He then states his own personal opinion by saying "But I suffer not a woman to teach. It was not a God given instruction but his own recommendation for the time. Paul is witting this letter to Timothy and is giving him advice on what he would do concerning women in the church using his own personal judgment. It is not based on any revelation from God. We know this because our printed bible has given us access to information that was not freely accessible in those days. And as we look through our bible we see that Paul's opinion on this issue contradict what the Father and Jesus permitted in the past.
Let's look deeper...
Paul says that he would not suffer a woman to teach, but if we turn to 2 Kings 22:13-16 we find a priest, a scribe and 3 men of high standing seeking guidance from a prophetess (at a college I might add). This leads me to believe that she is a spiritual teacher who is in direct contact with God (being a prophetess and all). So we can conclude that God permitted women to teach or He would not have worked through her. Next Paul says that a woman should not have authority over a man, but if we turn in our bible to Judges Chapter 4 we find Deborah, another prophetess who judged over Israel. This gave her authority over many men, great and small. Also like Huldah in 2 Kings 22, she too was a prophetess, receiving guidance directly from God. So again, we can conclude that God permitted a woman to lead.
Finally Paul uses the fact that Adam came before Eve and that Eve was the one in the transgression to support his point. But when all is said and done, both Adam and Eve transgressed and both were punished by God. Moreover Eve's sin cannot be used to restrict women today because even her sins have been washed away at the cross. The wages of sin is still death but it is our own sins that convict us, for we are ALL guilty of sin .
Just as the Father demonstrated non-bias concerning women, so did Jesus. After His resurrection, Christ chose to reveal Himself to a woman first and then commissioned her to go tell the men the good news. Due to their mind set and view of women in that day, I'm sure the male followers did not like it one bit and wondered why Jesus did not reveal Himself to them first. Could it be that Jesus was introducing the concept that All are equal in His eyes, male and female even when it comes to preaching the gospel?
The Apostles were men of God but they were also men that lived in a time and in a culture that did not fully accept men and women as being equal in any way. Yes the bible says that man should be the head of his OWN household, providing and caring for his wife and children, that's a good thing! But Christ is the head of the church and in His church He does not see male or female. Time has proven that God will use whomever He wants to do His will, to speak and to lead...
Male or female.
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