The Question of Women in Leadership

 

The Question of Women in Leadership in the Church

 

 

For our guests we are in series in book of 1 Timothy - it's a letter written by the elder apostle Paul, actually probably just a couple of years before he was martyred for his faith, to a younger pastor named Timothy.

 

Paul is writing to instruct Timothy and the church in Ephesus how they should conduct themselves in the church, the house of the living God. We are working our way through the letter and this morning we come to a passage that is controversial and at the center of a significant debate in the church today. So if you are visiting us for first time - aren't you glad you picked today to come? It should be interesting.

 

1 Timothy 2:8-15 (start with verse 8, but 11-15 is where we will focus our attention on)

 

In a day when a woman is making a serious run for the presidency of the United States, these verses can seem old-fashioned, out-dated, maybe even offensive. Definitely not a politically correct statement! But as God's word, we believe it to contain timeless truth for us to learn, believe, and apply. To do that, we will need the help of the Holy Spirit to illuminate to heart and mind - let's stop and pray.

 

I.                   Egalitarians and 1 Timothy

 

The debate that is raging in the church today is between two different understandings of what it means to be male and female. The long "official" names are egalitarians and complementarians.

 

Egalitarian comes from French word that means "equal" or "level". The Christian egalitarian believes that equality between men and women means that equality or leveling in roles. The idea that men were given primary responsibility of leadership and women called as helpmates and to follow man's leadership is a result of the fall and the curse. Because the gospel has removed the curse of the fall therefore restored men and women to an equality with no distinctions, there is now no difference between men and women's roles within the church or the home. Therefore all ministry roles are open to women in church.

 

This is the more widely accepted position in the church today. Many churches identify both husband and wife as the pastors of a church. A married couple in ministry on Long Island who are old friends of mine refer to themselves together as the "senior pastors" of the church. That is egalitarianism.

 

The egalitarian's problem and explanation for 1 Timothy

 

Now for egalitarians, who believe there is no distinction in roles and that every role is available to women in the church, this passage becomes one of the most difficult passages for them to explain. In the books that tackle this subject from egalitarian perspective, the most common explanation they offer is that Paul is addressing a local problem: there was a group of women teachers who were spreading false doctrine in Ephesus and because of that, Paul does not permit them to teach.

 

In other words Paul is not giving a universal principle, but is addressing a local, cultural issue: false teachers who are women.

 

a.       Problems with their explanations

 

There are some very serious problems with their explanation.

 

¨       They are based on speculation. There is no clear evidence either within the Bible or in historical records of a movement of women in Ephesus teaching false doctrine at that time. There were false teachers that Paul is dealing with, but all the false teachers Paul mentions are men: Hymenaeus, Philetus, and Alexander.

¨       If Paul were going to forbid all women to teach because of some women teaching false doctrine, then why wouldn't he forbid all men to teach because we know some of them were teaching false doctrine!

¨       These explanations completely ignore Paul's own reason for writing what he does. He doesn't say, "because of so many women in Ephesus teaching false doctrine" or "because of lack of education" - he tells us why he forbids a woman to teach or have authority over a man:

 

For Adam was formed first, then Eve; and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor. (vs.13)

 

He goes back to Genesis. Doesn't base reason on cultural issues but on God's created order - before the Fall - and to the temptation of Eve in the garden. There are other serious concerns, but let's go on to consider the other side.

 

II.                An overview of complementarianism

 

The other long word that describes a different understanding of male and female is complentarianism. Complementarianism (which this church believes to be biblical) believes that God created men and women as equal in dignity, value, essence and importance, but also different with different and distinct roles that men and women are designed and called to fulfill.

 

I remember many years ago - maybe in the 80's - seeing a well-respected magazine have on its cover this announcement: "Science confirmed: there is a difference between men and women!"

 

It's ironic that after thousands of years of human history, we had only just discovered that there was a difference in the 1980's! The truth is science has discovered many amazing differences between men and women - in the way we think, relate, feel, and the way our brains function. Complementarianism believes that God created differences inherently within the man and the woman - differences that go deeper than simply biological - differences that are the core of a man's masculinity and a woman's femininity.

 

This is important: we are not to boast with words like better or superior or inferior - just different! Are men stronger than women? Are women smarter than men? Are women more easily frightened than men? The truth is, men are stronger in some ways, and women are stronger in some ways. Men are smarter in some, women in others, women are more easily frightened in some circumstances and men in others. John Piper says this of our "strengths and weaknesses":

 

God intends for all the "weaknesses" that characteristically belong to man to call forth and highlight woman's strengths. And God intends for all the "weaknesses" that characteristically belong to woman to call forth and highlight man's strengths. [1]

 

God created men and women to complement each other - not duplicate each other.

 

III.             A complementarian's view of 1 Timothy

 

So let's consider what Paul is instructing Timothy, and church for all ages in this passage from a complementarian's perspective.

 

1. Two things Paul is not saying:

 

1.  
   1. That women are forbidden from ministry in the local church

 

Men and women are equal in God's sight - neither gender being superior to the other. We are saved in the same way - through faith in Jesus Christ and His work on the cross. We are saved from our sin and saved for His purposes. Women are called to be His servants as men are. We see throughout the New Testament women who were deeply involved and respected in their service for the gospel:

 

¨       Several women who traveled with and supported Jesus in His ministry.

¨       Many women who Paul notes as fellow laborers in gospel.

¨       Priscilla and Aquila are a couple who served bravely alongside of Paul - interesting that often Priscilla's name is mentioned first.

¨       Prophetesses - Philip alone had four daughters who were all prophetess'.

¨       Deaconess' - an office of serving ministry within the church

 

1.  
   1. That women cannot teach in any context

 

¨       Older women are to teach younger women

¨       Mothers are to teach and train their children

¨       Priscilla - Aquila's wife - helped Aquila teach and instruct Apollos - a young and very charismatic Christian who had more charisma than Bible knowledge.

 

1. What Paul is saying: women are not to be elders in the church

 

The context Paul is talking about is their life as the assembled church. In the verses previous to this he is talking about how the church should pray when they gather. Then he goes on to say that "in every place" - in other words, wherever Christian men assemble, how they are to pray and how Christian women are to adorn themselves.

 

Immediately after these verses Paul will go on to outline the qualifications of elders and deacons and deaconesses in the church. He has the assembled church in mind, and he says two things does not permit a woman to do: to teach or exercise authority over a man. This is significant: these are two specific responsibilities of elders.

 

1 Tim. 5:17, "Let the elders who rule [or govern] well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching."

 

Paul tells the elders of Ephesus in Acts 20 that they are to oversee (govern) the church and feed the flock the word of God. Governing and teaching. These are the primary responsibilities of an elder.

 

So Paul is saying he does not permit a woman to fill office of an elder (which is same as office of a pastor) in church. And the reason he gives for that takes us back to the first book of Bible - the first chapters of Genesis.

 

a.       The first reason: creation order

God created man first - created him and gave him responsibility to lead. Part of a man's masculinity is to lead. God saw it was not good for man to be alone so God created woman as a helpmate for man -part of that is to follow his leadership. Integral part of a woman's femininity. Might not be politically correct or culturally popular, but true and our culture gives away that believes it's true all time.

 

Go to the movies and watch the leading men - know what they do? Lead!

 

¨       Brad Pitt leads. Tom Cruise leads. Mel. Will Smith leads. Denzel Washington leads. They have confidence, courage, with a masculine recklessness. They are masculine and that's what women want in the man they marry.

¨       Watched a movie other night where one of men was a cowardly, weak, whimp - guess what? He didn't get the girl.

¨       A woman might say she wants to lead - but she doesn't want a husband who doesn't lead. She wants a husband who protects - not cowers and says "protect me, honey".

 

In creation, God made man to lead. He was to lead woman with love and protection and a servant heart. She was to follow intelligently and with a humbly submitted heart. Those were the roles God ordained in creation. After the fall, a part of the curse expressed how those roles would be distorted:

 

[God said] Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.

 

In Hebrew, word "desire" means desire to conquer. Woman would have a desire to usurp the husband's authority. He shall rule over you - the word rule is a word that carried a harshness and dictatorial nature to it. In other words, the wife would chafe under her husband's leadership and husband would lead harshly and authoritatively. The roles would be abused. They would create conflict.

 

In the gospel, that curse is reversed - that is exactly what we see in Ephesians 5. Not that the roles are done away with, but we return them to the order God designed: wives are to submit joyfully to their husbands as church to Christ. Husbands are to lead with love and gentleness, honor and cherishing as Christ loves and leads the church. The roles are not the product of the curse - they are a product of creation.

 

As the family of God, the church is to be male governed. It is to reflect the order of the home and creation. Therefore elders in the assembled church are to be men.

 

b.      The second reason: Eve was deceived

 

Paul is highlighting the difference in the fall between Adam and Eve - both were tempted and both fell. But there was a different dynamic at work in each. Eve was deceived and Adam wasn't. She bought the serpent's lie and sinned. Adam knew what doing and chose to sin.

 

It is important to note that the serpent went to Eve rather than Adam. God always spoke and dealt with Adam. The serpent (more crafty than any other beast) went to woman. She was out of circle of protection by listening and following the voice of tempter without leadership of her husband.

 

Many scholars believe that this indicates that women are more easily deceived than men. I agree with John Piper who says that women are more easily deceived than men in some situations and men are more easily deceived than women in some situations:

"The main point is not that the man is undeceivable or that the woman is more deceivable; the point is that when God's order of leadership is repudiated, it brings damage and ruin. Men and women are both more vulnerable to error and sin when they forsake the order that God has intended." [2]

 

I have seen this kind of vulnerability play out in marriages. Years ago on Long Island, I knew a family in which the wife got very caught up with a very charismatic teacher based in Texas to the point that she almost persuaded the family to move to Texas to join a commune assembling there. His teaching was extremely legalistic and the commune was cultic in it's following of his extreme teaching. They were spared moving out at the last minute - but the harmful effects lingered in their spiritual lives.

 

Both roles were out of order: the wife was leading, and husband was not. Both were guilty - the same was true of Adam and Eve.

 

So Paul is saying that eldership in the church is to be male because of God's created order and because when we step out of this divine pattern we are more vulnerable to deception and spiritual ruin.

 

A difficult passage considered

 

Finally, Paul brings a very difficult passage to a close. Paul is not saying that a woman is saved through having children - that would contradict the gospel and leave many women out. There are several possible interpretations, but I think the most likely connects it to Genesis passage Paul just referred to: a part of the curse for women was pain in childbearing. He is using the word saved in the overall sense of a redeemed life that honors God and bears fruit of salvation - that life is to conform to the creation design that God created a woman to fulfill.

 

Whether she has children or not, whether she marries or not, a Christian woman is to glorify God by exemplifying the beauty of His design in her being a woman. She has been given femininity.

 

This is lived out in faith and love and holiness and self-control.

 

IV.              Conclusion

 

I think the best way to close a message like this is simply to affirm the beauty, wisdom, and joy in how God has created us as men and women. In a day that is confused about what it means to be a man or a woman, let us be unashamed about standing for men being men and women being women. Let's raise young boys to be strong godly men who lead and young girls to be strong, godly women who will intelligently follow the lead of the godly man God will bring into their life.

 

Let's affirm that God's created order is to be reflected in the church through male elders. As church and as family of churches, we will resist the strong currents of egalitarianism and seek to obey God's command for how the church is to be governed. Next week we will continue this study by considering the call and the qualifications of elders in the local church.

 

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[1] John Piper, Affirming the Goodness of Manhood and Womanhood in All of Life

[2] John Piper, Affirming the Goodness of Manhood and Womanhood in All of Life