What About Women?

The role of women in the church has been a heated discussion for years.  The arguments cover a broad spectrum of teachings.  So, I thought I’d throw my two cents into the pot, just to muddy the waters a bit more.

Some churches won’t let women do almost anything but teach the children.  Others have no limitations at all.  The rub comes when women feel slighted. They’re told men can do things they can’t.  They’re told to be submissive, subject to the rule of men.

The ill feelings come from different sources.  Many men lord this submission over the women. Some pastors beat it to death. Even biblical commentators and some study Bibles come down heavily on this.

But, what does the Bible actually say about the role of women?  For one thing, it says men and women are seen as equals and fellow laborers:

Philippians 4:3 (ESV) Yes, I ask you also, true companion, help these women, who have labored side by side with me in the gospel together with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life.

Galatians 3:28 (ESV) ²⁸  There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

No inferiority here.  The dispute really comes with leadership positions.  Just where does a woman’s role fall in the leadership of the church?  Women can be ushers, greeters, women can serve communion, and baptize.  There is nothing in Scripture that teaches against this.

There is good biblical support that women can also be deacons.  In 1 Tim. 3, we are given the qualifications for deacons and elders.  Elders must be the husband of one wife.  That would exclude women as elders.  Pastors are teaching elders, so women would also be excluded from the pastorate. 

Under the qualifications for deacon, however, is the phrase ““Their wives likewise must be dignified, not slanderers, but sober-minded, faithful in all things.” (1 Tim. 3:11) 

You might think this would exclude women from being deacons as well, but the language here is interesting.  The New American Standard translates the passage this way: “Women must likewise be dignified, not malicious gossips, but temperate, faithful in all things.”  This is because the word often translated “wives” as in 1 Tim. 3:11, is more often translated “women” in the Bible than “wives” although it can be translated as either. 

In Romans 16:1, we read, “I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant of the church at Cenchreae,”

The word translated servant here in the ESV is, “diakonos,” the word from which we get our word, “deacon.”  The New Living Translation actually translates it as “deacon.”  So, many churches allow for women deacons including the conservative church I attend.  One more point on the role of women in the church is authority.  Paul says that women are not to teach or have authority over men: 

1 Timothy 2:12 (ESV) ¹²  I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet.

Deacons are seen in Scripture as servants rather than an authoritative role, by the way.

So, to summarize, women are equal to men in every way.  It is the leadership positions available to men and women which differ.  Many women cringe at the thought of being told to be submissive to men.  They believe that is God saying that women are inferior.  It isn’t. Submission is to be voluntary.

Luke tells us Jesus, the very Son of God, was submissive to Mary and Joseph:

Luke 2:51 (ESV) ⁵¹  And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them. And his mother treasured up all these things in her heart.

Paul tells us Jesus is submissive to God the Father

Philippians 2:8 (ESV) ⁸  And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

So, even though Jesus was greater than Mary and Joseph, and He is equal to the Father, He voluntarily became submissive to them all.  The points being that “submissive” doesn’t equal “inferior,” and submission is not to be forced.

God has seen fit to put men in the leadership roles of the church and the home.  Society isn’t the standard of truth.  We aren’t the standard for truth.  God is, and we must leave it at that.

The next question, of course, is what is your role in the church?  Find where God has planted you and let Him use you there.