Role of Women in the Church
By Jake Kohl
Throughout history in the Church, the role
of women in the Church has been a subject of much debate. Some argue that when
women want to serve in ministry, it is because of the sexual revolution as well
as the women’s rights movement in the 60’s and 70’s. While these have certainly
contributed to the debate, the fact is that this conversation has simply been
around for a very long time.[1]
In order to shed light on this debate; we
must look at the biblical requirements of the offices of elder and deacon
within the church. The basic definition of elder in the New Testament is
someone who is associated with apostles, prophets, and teachers and is
sometimes associated with the government of the local church after the manner
of the synagogue.[2] Deacon
is simply defined as a servant. Both
elder and deacon are used interchangeably in the New Testament and can have the
same meaning.[3]
The most interesting thing to take note of
when looking at these definitions and requirements is the consistency of the
authors to attribute these roles to men. In addition to these; the Bible
includes other passages that forbid women to teach or use authority over men,
including passages that admonish women to not speak and to be silent in the
church. (1Timothy 2:11-14; 1 Corinthians 14:34-35)
In Romans
16:1-6 Paul speaks of women as workers in Christ who risked their necks and
worked very hard. He mentions Phoebe as a deaconess, but again, when looking at
the entire context, deacon was a term used interchangeably, as it was here
referencing her as a servant of the Lord.
According to the Bible, women are not to
have authority over the man in the structure of the church. This is not saying women are less than man
and that leadership is not extended to the political or social world outside of
the church. Paul is speaking in 1 Tim. 2 about the relationship between men and
women in the church structure, not in a social or political context. Not having
a place of leadership in the church does not mean the woman is less important
to God, or less than man. All are equal before God regardless of who you
are; however in the church, God has set up an order the same way he set one up
in the family. God is a God of order and not one who is mixed with
confusion or unbalance.
Many will use Galatians 3:28 to hold the
view of women holding offices within the church, stating that Paul
is clearly insisting equality among those who are in Christ. There is a problem
with the interpretation of this verse and in defense of egalitarianism, as is
the norm with most misinterpretation of Scripture, is a lack of context within
scripture. In Galatians 3:26-29, Paul is not writing about the position in the
church, but he is writing about the fact that we, who are in Christ, are equal
“heirs according to the promise.” This is not indicating that women are called
to leadership in the same way as men.
Finally,
the contributions woman can make to theology, leadership,
and management in the local church has also been debated and requires much
thought, study, and reflection.[4] However, the role of women in
the church I believe would be the same as man in regards to learning and
training equally. With the moral decline in our society, women can have a major
impact on the future generations of a godly generation by training in the way
they should go. Women can contribute to management and leadership by this very
action and by supporting their husbands with love. Lastly, we must remember
that we cannot come to God with a social agenda, trying to make it fit our own
selfish desires; instead, we must change and adapt our agenda and desires to
conform to what God says in His word.
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