So, can a woman proclaim the gospel to men? Yes, of course she can. And that is what we see in that resurrection account. However, that is not the same as a woman becoming a pastor. And that distinction matters more than you think. God has called men and women to share Christ with the world. We are his witnesses and that is not limited by gender. The question is not whether a woman can proclaim. The question is can a woman pastor? Now what does the New Testament say about these women that witnessed the resurrection and were the first proclaimers of that in the New Testament? How influential were they? The women at the tomb told the apostles what they saw. But then something interesting happens after that. Many of these women simply fade from the storyline. Mary and Martha of Bethany are simply not mentioned after the resurrection. Mary, the mother of Jesus, appears in Acts chapter 1, praying with the disciples before Pentecost, and the scripture goes silent about her, too. The New Testament highlights women as faithful witnesses, but never presents them as pastors or elders or apostles or any kind of authoritative church leaders. Now that silence does not mean that they stopped serving or they were unimportant. They were not. For as we see in the scripture, women prayed, they served, they opened up their homes, supported the gospel ministry, and labored in the Lord. You can see this in Lydia in Acts chapter 16 as she opened up her home. Priscilla, of course, with Aquilla helped Apollos in Acts chapter 18. And Paul commands commends faithful women in Romans 16. The Bible does not degrade women because it does not place them in authority over God’s people. What the Bible does though is make healthy distinctions. Being a witness is not the same thing as being appointed to the authoritative preaching and governing office of the church. A witness says this is what I have seen and we are all called to do that. A pastor stands before the gathered church with the authority to preach and shepherd and teach correct and to govern. The Bible honors women greatly, but it does not blur the fact that men and women are distinct in function. And this is why Paul is very clear in 1 Timothy chapter 2, I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man. Now, some may say, well, that was just Paul. Jesus though is different. But that argument does not work at all. In fact, it calls the very authority of scripture into question. Paul is an apostle of Jesus Christ. And Paul does not ground his command in culture. He grounds it in creation. He says, “For Adam was formed first and then Eve.” That means Paul is saying this is not just how things worked in Ephesus. He’s saying this goes all the way back to Genesis. This is not about value or intelligence or gifting or even spirituality. In fact, many women are superior to men and those qualities. Men and women are equal before God in dignity, in salvation, in their access to Christ, in being full of the Holy Spirit, and of course, in their need of grace. But equal does not mean identical. God made men and women with distinction. And that is something that feminism and egalitarianism tries to blur. The world says if women are going to be equal to men in function, then they’re if they’re not going to be equal to men in function, that they’re not valued. That is a lie. For God has made men and women distinct in function since creation. And in the church, the office of pastor and elder is only given to qualified men. Not just any man can be a pastor, but only qualified men according to scripture. The Bible honors women as faithful witnesses, servants, helpers, teachers, of course, in proper settings, mothers in the faith, laborers in the gospel, and sisters in Christ. But the Bible reserves the authoritative teaching and preaching ministry and the governing of the church for qualified men. This is not because women are somehow less than men. It’s because Christ is Lord and Christ gets to order his church. So don’t flatten the Bible and don’t erase God’s given order. Thank you for watching and this has been another Five Good Minutes.
Women Pastors? Is it Biblical?
