Does the Bible Permit a Woman to Preach?

today I want to address a very important issue that has been stirred up on the internet with me kind of in the middle of it I I do not like to give short answers I don't like to get put in a position to do that because I feel like that just escalates confusion so I want to take the opportunity to address the issue of women preachers this morning and to give you a more thorough answer from the Word of God on this very very important subject and I think by the time we are finished you will understand what the Word of God has to say and how consistently it says it so to begin with let's open the Word of God to first Corinthians chapter 14 first Corinthians chapter 14 and I want you to look down at verse 33 verse 33 for God is not a God of confusion but of peace and then this sentence really begins the text with regard to our subject as in all the churches of the saints the women are to keep silent in the churches for they're not permitted to speak but are to subject themselves just as the law also says if they desire to learn anything let them ask their own husbands at home for it is improper for a woman to speak in church was it from you that the Word of God first went forth or has it come to you only if anyone thinks he is a prophet or a preacher or spiritual let that person recognize that the things which I write to you are the Lord's commandment but if anyone doesn't recognize this he is not recognized just from that passage alone there's no lack of clarity with regard to what the Bible says about women who preach but in spite of the Clare of Scripture this has become a monstrous issue in our day one divine statement answers the question what does the Bible say about women preachers it's in verse 35 the last part of the verse it is improper for a woman to speak in church that's not ambiguous that's not at all unclear it is improper for a woman to speak in church that is an absolute prohibition and the word improper is chosen very very carefully by the Holy Spirit to leave no lack of clarity as to the force of the statement the word that is translated improper is ice cross in the Greek it really is a word that means disgraceful or shameful it's something more than just improper it's disgraceful in fact that is the way it is translated in 1st Corinthians 11 6 by the word disgraceful that is the way it is translated in Ephesians 5 verse 12 as disgraceful or shameful that same word is used in Titus 1:11 and there it is translated sorted sorted a word that basically means base or shameful it has the common sense of something that is known to be a disgrace in the fifth chapter of Ephesians and the fourth verse the word from the same root is used here I'll read the verse there must be no filthiness and silly talk or coarse jesting which are not fitting but again it's the same root disgraceful or shameful so filthiness silly or low talk coarse jesting which is usually sexual innuendo these are disgraceful sorted disgraceful shameful that's what this word means what we read then in verse 35 is it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in church it is shameful that is a recognized judgment on all such behavior the same as teaching for sordid gain and in Titus 1:11 disgraceful shameful gain it's sort of like false prophets doing what they do for money and this unmistakable divine law and command is so absolute that we go back to verse 34 and the section actually begins as you will note if you have an ESV as in all the churches of the saints the women are to keep silent in the churches for they are not permitted to speak then verse 35 it is improper for women to speak in church as in all the churches of the saints always and everywhere this whole section starts with that statement at the end of verse 33 as in all the churches of the saints Paul is giving us a universal principle here this is not some local thing this is everywhere and at all times when Paul says that he is talking about something that is universal and I'll show you that from some other portions of first Corinthians if you go back to chapter 4 in first Corinthians Paul is writing to the Corinthians and he says I'm going to send Timothy to you verse 17 I'm gonna send Timothy who is my beloved and faithful child in the Lord and he will remind you of my ways which are in Christ just as I teach everywhere in every church same expression what Timothy was going to bring to them concerning the believers relationship to Christ was what Paul taught everywhere in every Church this is divine doctrine that this is the Dodd the true doctrine of the gospel and he taught it in every church and it didn't vary from church to church this is Paul saying he's going to teach you about my ways in Christ which I teach in every church what it means to live in Christ that's for all believers in all churches over in Chapter 7 of 1st Corinthians there was some discussion among the Corinthians about when you become a believer what if you're married to a non-believer do you divorce or do you stay with an unbeliever or what if you are circumcised or uncircumcised you do something about that is it necessary to then be circumcised do you dump your unbelieving spouse what do you do about your social situation and he says in verse 17 only as the Lord has assigned to each one as God has called each in this manner let him walk if you're married stay married if you're single stay single don't worry about circumcision he says that in the next verse verse 18 these things do not matter down in verse 20 each man must remain in that condition in which he was called listen becoming a believer is no excuse for a divorce even if you have an unbelieving spouse and what's important about this is the end of verse 17 Paul says so I direct in all the churches again he's teaching the same doctrine in all the churches which Timothy will reiterate to them he's setting up the same exact standards when one becomes a believer you don't alter your life circumstance now that you're a believer doesn't mean you have to get married it doesn't mean you should get a divorce you stay in the circumstance you're in that's the same for all believers in all churches and then over in chapter 11 and verse 16 we'll get back to this chapter a little later but Paul is talking here about a woman submitting and he's talking about a woman submitting in a way that's manifest by how she dresses but by what she looks like by wearing thus the cultural symbols of womanhood to show her submission but he knows that there will be women who fight against that verse 16 he says verse 16 if one is inclined to be contentious we have no other practice nor have the Churches of God it's the same for all women in all churches in all times you are to demonstrate manifestly your submission to your husband and thus to the Lord so when Paul says as in all the churches he means the universal doctrine that's taught in the church he means the universal behaviors that are taught to all believers which means they stay in the social situations there in Christianity is no excuse to disrupt life and a social level and it essentially means that women are to maintain submission to men in all churches in all times now there's no lack of clarity again I save go back to 1st Corinthians 14 that Paul's words could be mistaken is impossible as in all the churches of the saints the women are to keep silent in the churches they're not permitted to speak it's disgraceful for a woman to speak in the face of that it might be shocking to you to know this but in a survey conducted in 2017 about 80 percent of Americans are comfortable with a female pastor 62 percent of practicing Christians are open to women pastors 40 percent of evangelicals are fine with women master's in pastoral training there's a degree a graduate degree called a Master of Divinity it's generally speaking a three or four-year degree to prepare you for pastoral ministry 50% of women enrolled in seminaries 50% of I should say m.div students in seminaries are women preparing for pastoral ministry 25% of seminary faculties are women that means you have women faculty members teaching women students to be pastors 11% of seminary presidents are women 27% of pastors across this country are women this is an explosion in nineteen sixty-two percent of clergy were women the women's movement has basically just erupted in the church and the last frontier for the movement is the evangelical church the last frontier to fall victim to the rebellion of feminism along with cultural Marxism perhaps women pastors and women preachers are the most obvious evidence of churches rebelling against the Bible I can't think of anything that's as far-reaching and transcends all denominations as the woman's rebellion against the Word of God with regard to women preachers women who pastor women who preached in a church are a disgrace and they openly reflect opposition to the clear command of the Word of God this is flagrant disobedience it has been acceptable in our culture and now acceptable even in the evangelical world I read an article this week written by a woman the title is have m.div will preach and this woman writing this article said the article is designed to answer this question how does sexism play a role your congregation works to embrace the pastoral leadership of women so if you're not willing to embrace the pastoral leadership of women you're not biblical you're sexist why is this such a far-reaching vast rebellion against the Word of God why well the answer comes all the way back in Genesis chapter 3 so turn with me back to Genesis 3 and we'll see how it all begins we all know the story Adam and Eve created in the garden innocent Eve comes out from under the protection of Adam has an encounter with Satan she is seduced deceived she sins Adam follows up sins the whole human race catapulted into corruption so the Lord curses the participants in that servant the serpent is cursed in chapter 3 verse 13 and 14 and even 15 the man is cursed in verses 17 18 19 but the woman is cursed in verse 16 and that's very important to the woman he said this is the curse of the fall I will greatly multiply your pain in childbirth in pain you will bring forth children yet your desire will be for your husband and he will rule over you is pain in childbirth Universal yeah yeah every woman who ever has a child has pain that's Universal that's the curse that's the first half of it but the second half is equal to Universal your desire will be for your husband and he will rule over you what is that talking about that's talking about sexual desire physical desire No because physical desire was there before the fall because when God created Adam and Eve he said be fruitful and what and multiply fill the earth go have babies what leads to babies his desire there's nothing wrong with a woman desiring her husband in that way that is not the point the point is there's a curse on the woman and the curses that she has a desire toward her husband and he has to rule over her if you have a sexual desire for your husband that doesn't lead to him ruling over you that leads to a good joining together in an act of love that produces a child well what is this desire of a woman that forces the husband to have to dominate her this is a curse this sexual attraction and marital love is not a curse but whatever this is it's it's a bad thing and it leads to conflict well the answer comes in chapter 4 this particular phrase is only used twice in the Pentateuch in the Old Testament and here is the second one the Lord says to Cain in chapter 4 why are your angry can you remember offered an unacceptable sacrifice to God why are you so angry why is your face so fallen if you do well if you do the right thing would not your countenance be lifted up if you had obeyed and offered the right kind of sacrifice not the fruit of your Labor's but an animal sacrifice you wouldn't have this issue and if you do not do well here's why sin is crouching at the door and its desire is for you but you must master it it's exact same expression as in chapter 3 here it's sin desiring to have you and you must master it that is exactly what is meant in chapter 3 verse 16 sinful desire to dominate your husband and he is going to have to exercise rule over you as a result of the fall woman bears a curse in two areas one and it's ubiquitous and universal pain and childbearing secondly a desire because of her fallen heart to upset the divine order of authority and Submission and to want to dominate her husband this is the universal reality in marriage to one degree or another the woman will desire to control the man will have to rule over her that's as universal as pain in childbearing refers to a desire a sinful desire to control this is why there is constantly the effort of women to overthrow the authority of their husbands or the authority of men in the culture and obviously there is a multitude of women in the church trying to overthrow male leadership in the church that in mind go back to first Corinthians chapter 14 verse 34 the women are to keep silent in the churches for they're not permitted to speak but are to subject themselves just as the law also says you have to get a grip on yourself because you're fighting against your own fallenness and your own fallenness would would cause you to want to overthrow the order of your own marriage authority and Submission you are in the church as women it says to keep silent in the churches what do you mean keep silent not hard to understand is it you don't say anything he's used that already twice in this chapter once back in verse 28 in the case of someone speaking in a tongue or a language verse 28 if there's no interpreter he must keep silent in the church that means exactly what it says he is not to speak in verse 30 where you have several preachers and people rendering judgment on them if the revelation is made to another who is seated the first one must keep silent you can't have chaos with all kinds of people speaking at the same time somebody has to be silent while someone else speaks so this is talking about actual silence in the church so women are to keep silent in the church they are not permitted to speak and then verse 35 for the last half of the verse it's actually disgraceful for a woman to speak in church now this is from the Apostle Paul inspired by the Holy Spirit with a command from God forbidding women everywhere and always to speak or preach in any church so that's the answer to the question we could close the book and go home that's it it's an absolute prohibition they are not permitted to speak in the church now does that mean that women can never teach let's look at Titus chapter 2 Titus chapter 2 as the Apostle Paul gives instruction here to various groups in the church older men older women younger men younger women we focus in on the mature women verse 3 Titus 2:3 mature women are to be reverent in their behavior a reverent behavior would be obedience to the Word of God right would you be a reverent woman if you are of a woman preacher that doesn't reverence God there to be reverent in their behavior not malicious gossips nor enslave too much wine teaching what is good did you see that of course women can teach women are called to teach they're called to teach other women teaching what is good verse four so that they may encourage the young women older women teach the younger women and obviously they teach their children yes women teach yes they teach what is essentially good and what is that that they teach what is that good that they teach they teach young women here is the lesson love your husband love your children be sensible pure workers at home kind being subject to their own husbands so that the Word of God will not be Dishonored when women are not subject to their husbands individually in a marriage or women are not subject to their leaders in the church collectively the Word of God is Dishonored you can't say you're a woman preacher preaching the Bible and be by virtue of that very role dishonouring God and His Word yes women teach they teach out of a life that is reverent in its behavior and that means that reverence has got to the point that it obeys the Word of God they're not malicious gossips they're not enslaved too much wine they teach what is good and what is the good they teach they encourage young women to love their husbands love their children be sensible pure that means holy workers at home kind being subject to their own husbands so that the Word of God will not be Dishonored that's the great teaching responsibility of older women to teach younger women the necessity of the home being the priority loving husbands loving children being subjected to your husband so that the Word of God will not be Dishonored if women don't behave in that way then the Word of God is what dishonored so all these women running around as preachers supposedly teaching the Bible are defying what the Bible says and they're propagating some of Christianity that is whimsical about how it handles the Word of God Paul is saying look you've got to get a grip on yourself now go back to first Corinthians 14 he says verse 34 really important they are to subject themselves you've got to get ahold of yourself you need a little self-control and self restraint here you are to subject yourself that's an imperative middle voice from the verb Hoopa Tazo which means to line up put your life in order get your life in order get your life under control bring yourself into submission submission to the Lord by submission to your husband and submission to male leadership in the church now what about Paul was was Paul just out on a limb was he just an alpha male with an issue or it was Paul maybe somehow prejudice and this is just Paul as the most popular woman preacher today says well Paul's not Jesus and Jesus told me to preach is that what we're dealing with here Paul is some kind of an independent guy who is giving us his own advice which isn't consistent with what God wants no because it says look you're going to have to subject yourself why you're gonna have to subject yourself because the tendency in your fallen heart is to want to overpower men your husband and leaders in a church and if you if you make that noble if you redefine that like you're hearing today we need to give women the the due respect that they haven't had for the last decades and give them their place in the church you're aiding and abetting the sin and the violation of God's standard the standard for all the churches is that women need to get themselves under control and realize they are not to speak in a church to do so is shameful and disgraceful and this is not whimsically Paul because at the end of verse 34 he says just as the law also says the law with a capital L refers to Scripture we know that because back in verse 21 we read in the law it is written and then isaiah 28:11 is quoted law is simply a term to define the Old Testament this is nothing new the authority and submission order that God has wonderfully designed for the happiness and blessing of all of us is all the way back from creation what does the Old Testament say about this what does the law say about it well first of all it says God created man and the man was alone and so God reached in him took out a rib and created woman and created woman to be his helper to be his helper we know that from Genesis we also know that just in this in the normal Ark of going through the Old Testament some things are very obvious there was never a female priest never there was never a an authorized female king queen either in the northern kingdom or the southern kingdom they were always men the only time a woman ascended to that was at the lie of the usurper there was never a female prophet with an ongoing prophetic ministry like Elijah and Elijah no book in the Old Testament was written by a woman nor was any portion of an Old Testament book written by a woman now there were some women throughout the Old Testament that on occasion spoke for God Miriam is called a prophetess or one who speaks for God but hers was a kind of a musical event wasn't it back in Exodus chapter 15 Deborah was a judge and judges for and then the absence of a man the Lord used bruh to bring about his will on one occasion but when it came to going to war with the enemies she was not about to lead the troops and so she chose a man Barak to lead the troops another woman is mentioned as one who spoke for God in second Kings 22 of the name of Hulda and then in the New Testament you have Ana in the temple when Jesus was taken there to be dedicated in the temple and she spoke a word from the Lord but but she was not a lifelong prophet no woman ever had an ongoing prophetic role but occasionally God used women to speak for him in the New Testament as the daughters of Philip on one occasion were used by the Lord to speak not in a church service but to speak for God those are all exceptions that prove the rule you just cannot find any woman as a priest any woman as a spiritual leader any woman as a prophet anywhere in the Old Testament but the rebellion was on women were going to get their moment in the Sun and they did tragically turn to Isaiah chapter 3 Isaiah chapter 3 judgment is is coming a day of reckoning is coming that's Isaiah's message this is a very powerful portion of Scripture we'll start in verse 16 God denounces the women moreover the Lord said because the daughters of Zion are proud and walk with heads held high outstretched necks literally and seductive eyes so you have when who are stepping out of the god-ordained boundaries of their own husband's control and putting themselves on display for others with seduction in mind they go along with mincing steps a certain kind of walk that is intended to be seductive and tinkle the bangles on their feet therefore the Lord will afflict the scalp of the daughters of Zion with scabs and the Lord will make their foreheads bare I think the worst thing for a woman is to be bald it's why those dear women who suffer through cancer and chemo and radiation and all that wear wigs because everybody recognizes that that's the woman's glory God's gonna make them bald in judgment in that day the Lord will take away the beauty of their anklets headbands crescent ornaments dangling earrings bracelets veils headdresses ankle chains sashes perfume boxes amulets finger rings nose rings festival robes outer Klint tunics cloaks money purses hand mirrors this sounds like a list for the next shopping spree undergarments turbans veils what you have here is this these women have just gone crazy trying to call attention to themselves instead of humbling themselves in modesty and discretion under the headship of their husband and giving honor to him they brazenly flaunt themselves in a seductive way with all this ornamentation anklets headbands crescent ornaments dangling earrings so interesting how the Lord is so specific about it not that any one of these things is wrong in themselves but this is so outrageous bracelets veils headdresses ankle chain sashes perfume boxes amulets finger rings nose rings festival robes outer tunics cloaks money purses hand mirrors undergarments turbans veils unfortunately verse 24 it'll come about that instead of sweet perfume there will be putrefaction instead of a belt a rope instead of a well set hair a plucked out scalp instead of fine clothes a dawning of sackcloth and branding instead of beauty and then here's the fallout your men will fall by the sword guess what when women take over a culture men become weak when men become weak they can be conquered they can be conquered you're watching that happen in this country as with more and more and more and more women ascend to power more and more men become weaker and weaker and weaker and the level of vulnerability just keeps escalating your men will fall by the sword because they become weak you've you've literally lived out the curse of Genesis 3 you desire to dominate him and you've done it and your mighty ones are going to fall in battle and her gates will lament and mourn meaning the city and deserted she will sit on the ground guess what when all the men have been slaughtered you can sit there with all your jewelry and junk you've been conquered because you've overpowered your protectors don't misunderstand this this this is what we are living in today the the curse has been legitimized even in the evangelical church now the last frontier to fall empowering women makes weak men weak men make everybody everybody vulnerable to danger go back to chapter 3 verse 12 o my people their oppressors are children and women rule over them hmm now that's not intended to be anti woman any more than its anti children you just let me tell you something if children are in charge we're in trouble if women are in charge we're in trouble and if you look carefully at our nation you would have to agree that it's childish young inexperienced ignorant women who are ascending into power when you overthrow the divine order the results are always disastrous again it's not anti-women any more than its anti children but it's a divine judgment on an eighth ignition that its young and its women are empowered young people it seems to me and women are taking over churches so there's plenty of Old Testament revelation to uphold the New Testament standard for women to keep silent in the churches by the way in the New Testament there there was no woman apostle there was no woman prophet there was no woman pastor elder no New Testament book is written by a woman no sermon has ever recorded from a woman and every time God appoints people whether it's the apostles or acts 13 it's all men this is the divine order first Timothy 2 let's look at that and this will tie in well with what I just read you from Isaiah 3 first Timothy 2 now Paul is writing to Timothy to help him get the church in order if you look over at chapter 3 for just a moment verse 15 of 14 and 15 chapter 3 14 and 15 I'm writing these things to you hoping to come to you before long but in case I'm delayed I write so that you will know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God which is the Church of the Living God the pillar and support of the truth okay I'm writing this letter to you so that you know how to conduct things in the church to live consistent with the truth revealed truth divine truth the Word of God and all throughout this letter on both sides of that verse before and after it Paul gives instruction for life of the church in particular let's go back to chapter 2 and look at the instruction for women verse 9 likewise women are to adorn themselves with proper clothing modestly and discreetly not with plaited hair and gold or pearls or costly garments this is the antithesis of isaiah 3 right women are to be identified because they dress in an appropriate way appropriate for worship with modesty and discretion what is this plaited hair with gold pearls and what is that about since women basically wore a robe from their neck to the floor the only way they could display their wealth would be in the quality of the garment they were wearing but even more so they would weave their pearls and their gold through their braided hair and so they would put on display their wealth calling attention to themselves I want women to adorn themselves with proper clothing modestly and discretely not with plaited hair or gold or pearls or costly garments garments but rather by means of good works as is proper for women making a claim to godliness you say you're a godly woman then you should be manifesting good works and what are those good works immediately verse 11 a woman was quietly received instruction with entire submissiveness but I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man but to remain quiet whoa that's how you conduct yourself in the church women are called to modesty they're called to discretion they're called to good works they're called to godliness and what does that mean that means they receive instruction quietly with entire submissiveness very strong very strong language entire submissive submissiveness you want to know how entire it is go to 1st Peter 3 as Peter gives instruction for godly living first Peter chapter three Peters gonna talk to the wives again and he says in the same way you wives chapter three verse one be submissive to your own husbands you get the picture here if they just keep repeating this be submissive be submissive be submissive why because of the reality of the fall that built into the curse is a woman's innate fallen desire to overpower her husband and take control and collectively that means do the same thing in society and even do the same thing in the church so there's these repeated statements about be submissive to your own husbands so that even if any of them are disobedient to the word that is maybe they're non-believers they may be one without a word by the behavior of their wives as they observe your chaste and respectful behavior again your adornment must not be merely external plating the hair wearing gold jewelry putting on fancy dresses but let it be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit which is precious in the sight of God Wow that gentle quiet spirit is precious in the sight of God and then he gives an Old Testament illustration so here's more from the Old Testament law for in this way in former times the holy women also who hoped in God used to adorn themselves being submissive to their own husbands just as Sarah obeyed Abraham calling him Lord I can hear some of you saying I'm not there I'm not there maybe dear maybe honey I don't know about Lord Sarah obeyed Abraham calling him Lord and you have become her children if you do what is right without being frightened by any fear you don't have to fear submitting to your husband that's God's divine order even if he's an unbeliever you may win him over by your behavior and again the in all of these passages is that this is something women have to work on because their fallen nature naturally seeks to control and by the way we know that women have the powers of control they can make life pretty miserable do I hear an amen out there rumbling there but you get the picture with all of this in the Word of God that there is a battle going on here there's a battle in every marriage as a battle in every society there's a battle in every church to keep the divine order so go back to first Timothy 2 so women are called to modesty discretion good works godliness and what does that look like it means that quietly receive instruction with entire submissiveness entire submissiveness but I do not allow a woman to teach her exercised authority over a man but to remain quiet that is so absolute its unbending no preaching no teaching no leading position in the church you say well that's again this is quirky Paul is this just Paul no look at verse 13 this was designed by God for it was Adam who was first created and then Eve this is the divine order it was Adam who was first created and then Eve God created Adam he was alone he took a rib out of Adam he made a woman and the woman was to be Adam's helper but not only was this God's creative design it was basically affirmed in the fall verse 14 it was not Adam who was deceived but the woman being deceived fell into transgression this is a very severe warning very severe warning a woman out from under the protection of her head is vulnerable because of typical woman's sensibilities passions and compassion because of their tendencies toward kindness mercy and care they become more vulnerable went unprotected now that is that is the reality today that is in no short supply being exhibited by the vast number of women running around single who have neither a father nor a husband to protect them from deception but the role of women in this Authority submission partnership was designed by God in creation and confirmed in the fall what happened was Eve got out from under the protection of Adam she was vulnerable she was deceived Adam was not deceived he basically ate willingly why she sinned because she was deceived by Satan he sin because he couldn't live without her you understand that she had become everything to him and when the roles are reversed the women are deceived bad things happen the men are made weak worse things happen the whole human race went down with Adam you tampered with this order chaos is unending so where does that leave women if men are in charge of everything where does that leave us verse 15 first Timothy 2:15 but women will be in the Greek ver ver Sozo which means saved it's the very word for saved like spiritually saved women will be saved through the bearing of children there's the balance right you get to have the babies you get to nurse the babies you get to hold them in your arms you get to spend every day with them you get to nurture them you get to develop them that's your marvelous privilege in reality there is a depth of influence at that level that no man will ever have with his children now what does it mean she'll be saved through varying of children I remember when I was in bucharest ii romania some years ago it was a pastors conference of about twelve or fifteen hundred pastors and their wives in this church and they wanted after i spoke a lot they wanted to have a Q&A so the one of the guys asked the question what does this mean women to be saved through childbearing and i said well you just blurt it out well of course it doesn't mean spiritual salvation doesn't mean you're going to go to heaven if you have babies you know you don't get eternal life by having babies so it can't possibly mean that kind of salvation there's nothing to do with your soul salvation and all of a sudden the room got just dead flat it was like somebody sucked out all the oxygen and they could see confusion on the faces of men and women and the moderator sitting next to me said you just dropped a bomb because you know in our theology you can lose your salvation and one way a woman loses her salvation they had been taught was by doing anything to prevent a pregnancy so that's how they misinterpreted that that's why they all had 15 kids and these poor beleaguered women and they're looking at their husbands saying you had to be wrong about that verse of all the options possible couldn't you've been wrong about like sprinkling or something so i spent the next twenty minutes sorting that out and then those dear people of course they wouldn't want to reverse anything because they love their children and even with a faulty theology they had done what godly women do they had brought children into the world when eve stepped out from under the authority and protection of adam she was vulnerable and she fell an atom bound by his heart to her abandons his own authority and becomes weaker and plunges the whole human race into corruption Adam was not deceived Eve was deceived if we stay in the order that God has designed us everybody flourishes men and women by the way as a result of the fall are equally sinful Adam needed Eve so much he sinned wilfully we get that we need you the leadership of men though it was established in the creation and reaffirmed in the fall no daughter of Eve should follow her path into forbidden territory of going out from under her Authority her god-given Authority and trying to live independently you're too much danger abounds actually all human relationships are built on authority and Submission you would know that right you have a job you get it right authority and Submission somebody's in charge women are saved to go back again by bearing of children littering the Greek begetting children this is the woman's high calling if this is important if those women continue in faith and love and sanctity or sanctification with self-restraint here we go again women are constantly being told get a grip on yourself be submissive subject yourself have some self-restraint because the impulse of your fallenness is to overpower your husband and there's reason for that because your husband's not perfect and you can find a lot of reasons that you'd like to get power right a woman's high calling is to save herself from the stigma of the fall she led the race into sin by being deceived how does she reverse that how does her life count for something good when it was a woman who led the whole race into into sin a woman reverses that by raising godly children this is the highest and most influential life possible now I understand that God doesn't want every woman to be married there's a gift of singleness Paul talks about in 1st Corinthians 7 and sometimes there are married couples that the Lord doesn't give children but as a general principle this is the high calling of women have children pour your soul and your life into those children and that is the greatest of all influences meanwhile back at the church chapter 3 verse 1 it's a trustworthy statement and everybody knows this if a man aspires to the office of overseer or pastor elder it's a fine work he desires to do meanwhile men are in charge of the church and an overseer pastor elder must be above reproach must be a one-woman man temperate prudent respectable hospitable able to teach not addicted to wine or pugnacious but gentle peaceable free from the love of money and here it comes verse 4 you must be one who manages his own household well just as he manages the household that's the proving ground for him to be able to be given responsibility in the church because the next verse says verse 5 if a man doesn't know how to manage his own household how will he take care of the Church of God since men are called by God to manage the house they are in being qualified to do that qualified to rent - to be managing the church no woman is the head of a house no woman can be the head of a church now somebody's going to say well what about 1st Corinthians 11 so let's look at that now so far it's it's abundantly clear what scripture says about life in the church as regards women preachers but here in 1st Corinthians chapter 11 in the very same book without any confusion Paul says in verse 3 first Corinthians 11:3 but I want you to understand that Christ is the head of every man the man is the head of a woman God is the head of Christ God's the head of Christ Christ the head of the man man the head of the woman that's the order that's the divine order that's how it has to be and then he says this every man who has something on his head while praying or prophesying disgraces his head every woman who has her head uncovered while praying or prophesying disgraces her head for she is one in the same as the woman whose head is shaved well that's a strange kind of thing what's going on here in the course of life and as believers there will be times when women pray obviously they're not in doing it in the church in the order of the church and the service of the church with that's crystal clear and showed you everywhere it says that but in the fellowship of the Saints and in the opportunity to preach the gospel proclaim the gospel give testimony there gonna be times in homes in social gatherings or whatever that women are going to be praying and there are times when women are going to be speaking praying means you're speaking to God about people prophesying means you're speaking to people about God you're going to be speaking the truth of the gospel to someone you're going to be praying to God on behalf of someone so you're praying to God talking to God about people we're talking to people about God that's going to happen and a great host the Old Testament says a great host or the women who published the good news so all of us men and women are called to pray we're to be praying for people were to be praying together with people we're to be communicating the truth of the gospel we're to be nurturing one another speaking to one another in edifying waste Paul says when you're doing that in just the normal life of the church men don't want to have something on their head women do he's talking about a head covering this is apparently a local custom I don't know how far it extended but uh but I'll show you how important it is if a man has something on his head when that is traditionally what women do then a man is acting in an effeminate way and he is doing some kind of spiritual praying or proclaiming the truth but he's got a covering on his head he's dishonouring his his Lord and himself because in that culture women wear head coverings and men did not so if a woman uncovers her head while praying they're prophesying she disgraces her head for she is warning the same as the women whose head is shaved what women shaved their head lesbians prostitutes sometimes they shave the head of adulteresses in other words what Paul is saying when you act as a believer in any setting publicly maintain the visible symbols of your manhood and womanhood we know and we live in a culture where they're trying to rub that out right we're androgynous hairdos and androgynous clothes and who knows what that person is transgender rejecting the reality of gender all of this is a complete assault on God's divine order so the local custom was that women in public were a covering a symbol of their femininity it's the same today and then I can look out and I can tell exactly who the women are and who the men are because of your hair that's that's that's a cultural cue men are looking like men and women are looking like women but apparently in the Corinthian society because there was so much confusion about that as you would expect in pagan idolatrous culture some women had come to Christ but hadn't she some of those rebellious characteristics and perhaps some of the men as well though there may have been some effeminate men sure because what does Paul say to the Corinthians the 1st Corinthians 6 effeminate homosexual such were some of you you you may have you may have dressed like a woman you may have manifest effeminate symbols or you may have been part of a woman's liberation movement there were many of them in Rome we read about women running around with Spears sticking pigs women wearing armor carrying swords women shaving their head all these kind of rebellions were part of the ancient world Paul is just saying look as a believer you need to make sure people know you're a man or you're a woman if you didn't know that was under attack in the past you would know it today would you not a man with a head covering was effeminate a woman without a head covering was masculine symbols are important our culture has popularized fashions that blur those lines when you go shopping guys go to the men's department and if you can't tell whether you're in the men's department or not go somewhere else ladies go to the ladies Department no place for transvestitism cross-dressing gender confusion when a woman dressed in socially female style she was declaring her understanding of God's order she was declaring her understanding of the divine uniqueness of being a woman and she was testifying to her submission to that divine design and her submission and devotion to her husband and for a Christian further she was declaring her devotion to Jesus Christ but but as it's clear in this letter the Corinthians had a hard time separating from their former lifestyle and they needed to be instructed to do this head coverings aren't the issue wearing those symbols that clearly designate you as a woman that's an issue wearing those kinds of symbols that clearly declare you as a man that's an issue and this is God's design verse 7 anything other than that is disgraceful verse 6 says verse 7 says a man ought not to have his head covered since he is the image and glory of God and the woman is the glory of man God is the creator of man out of nothing God is the creator of woman out of man the man's glory is in the image of God the woman is that she has created by God from man a man doesn't originate from woman but woman from man for indeed man was created for the woman's not created for the woman's sake but woman for the man's sake those would keep these distinctions clear Authority submission and culture so clearly recognizes this that all cultures have those kinds of distinctive marks and then this verse 10 therefore the woman ought to have a symbol of authority on her head because of the angels what what does that mean the most submissive the most holy submissive creatures in the universe are the Angels right what are the Angels they're ministering spirits right who serve the Lord constantly so they are the they are the purest and highest of all submissive creatures and when women demonstrate their submission they put their obedience on display to that most submissive of all creatures the Holy Angels and you know in Ephesians 3 it says that they just read you this verse what the Lord is doing in the church chapter 3 verse 11 what he's doing in the church is bringing to light the administration of the mystery the gospel which for ages has been hidden in God who created all things so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenlies who who are they angels the Lord is working his work in the church to put the church on display for the angels and the angels expect to see the church and see in the church the Lord glorified how disappointing it must be for angels to look down and see a rebellious women trying to usurp leadership preaching roles overpowered their husbands wherever you have that kind of woman you have weak husbands wherever you have a collection of those kinds of people in leadership you have weak men wherever have weak men you have the inevitable destruction of whatever that entity is back to first Corinthians 11 let's talk spiritually though verse 11 however in the Lord now we're not talking anymore about just sexual distinctions here but in the Lord neither is woman into and a man nor is man independent of woman for as the woman originates from the man so also the man has his birth through the woman and all things originate from God so what he's saying there is spiritually we're mutually dependent I mean at the base of life were mutually dependent so this isn't making one less than the other these are just god ordained roles and in the Lord that's why Galatians 3:28 says and there is neither male nor female in Christ you're all one in him spiritually speaking we're all one there's no hierarchy so verse 13 he asked the question judge for yourselves is it proper for a woman to pray to God with their head uncovered no does not even nature itself teach you that if a man has long hair it's a dishonor to him but if a woman has long hair it's a glory to her for her hair is given to her for a covering I read some time ago that women's hair actually grows faster than men's because God has built in that hair as a covering if a man has long hair trying to look like a woman it's a dishonor to him he's a weak man but if a woman has long hair - glory to her for her hair is the testimony to the covering that symbolizes her submission you don't like this verse 16 if one is inclined to be contentious that you we have no other practice sorry nor have the Churches of God there's that phrase again this is it for every church in every place all the time we have no other practice this takes us back to 1st Corinthians 14:33 the universal standard for all the churches of all the Saints now let me let me give you a perspective ok humanity is made up of families by God's design and we're god-ordained families are strong you have a strong culture you have a strong church the relations in those families follow into society and you have an ordered society those relations follow into the church and you have an ordered church men lead feed protect provide women's support and nurture children obey so the church should be the highest manifestation of that divine order and that's what Paul says in Ephesians 5 as husbands love their wives and wives submit to their husbands the church is seen in that marriage because that's the relationship that it has to its Lord that's that's God's design however the world particularly the world we live in is very different it is not made up of families anymore it's made up of individuals individuals marriage means very little to anybody whether you get married or not and if you do get married you get divorced as fast as you can get married family doesn't mean anything male Authority doesn't mean anything female submission doesn't mean anything so you have all these individuals running around defying God's design and the world rebels strongly against these God created roles so that it reaches the point where it actually denies they exist it started some years ago maybe with women making sure they maintained their maiden name in a marriage so that was sort of the symbol of power and now it's reached the point where we deny gender exists individualism has so perverted the culture and the culture has so perverted the church that the churches are increasingly rejecting the will and command of the Lord this is not unclear they have no interest in the honor of the Lord rebellious women pastors and preachers flood the church in the roles that were for men same thing they're doing in the secular world is being done in the church how can you do that when the Word of God so crystal clear Oh Paul anticipates how they could do that go back to first Corinthians 14 verse 35 if they desire to learn anything let them ask their own husbands at home for it is improper for a woman to speak in church that puts a burden on the foot on the husband to be the teacher but then verse 36 why would you defy this was it from you that the Word of God first went forth well that is just sarcasm did you write the Bible was it from you that the Word of God when are you the source of divine truth because if you defy this you're acting as if you are God and you have overruled the revelation of God because you're a higher authority or maybe more sarcasm or has it come to you only you had a private revelation I see Jesus came to you and Jesus told you to do this look Paul anticipates the only possible defense of women preachers one you have ideas that literally trump god you're getting private revelation as that most famous woman preacher says I didn't surrender to a calling of man when I was 18 years old I surrendered to a calling of God it never occurs to me for a second not to fulfill it I will follow Jesus Jesus tells me what to do really the only defense is either you're the author of Scripture or you're the author of a higher scripture than God or you get personal revelation one of the conversations that that woman had with Jesus went like this how you doing this morning jesus said I said I'll get to you in a minute he said oh don't mind me I'm doing fine how are you this is the daily routine of somebody who's trying to justify their disobedience by special intimate personal revelation where Jesus talks only to them so here's the last word verse 37 and 38 if anyone thinks he's a preacher or spiritual led by the Spirit pneumatic us if anybody thinks he's a preacher or spiritual let him recognize the things which I write to you are the Lord's commandment if you don't recognize what I've just written as the Lord's commandment you are neither a preacher nor spiritual verse 38 if anyone does not recognize what I've written as the Lord's command he is not recognized if you don't recognize the command of God we don't recognize you as a preacher or a spiritual person what Paul wrote is the Lord's command violate that command and you're not a preacher and you're not spiritual you're a fraud [Music] the word of the God is clear now let me say this I love a lot of things about Grace Church but one of the things I love the most at top of my list is the women of Grace Church we have a lot of strong men because you honor their strength you honor their responsibility but what defines this church is the women your sweetness your grace your kindness your tenderheartedness your goodness your mercy your love it literally permeates this entire church we enjoy it we bask in it we live in it and strangers who come here from time to time all talk about it there's so much love in this church look men we have our worlds to conquer but the heart and soul of this church is the precious women who walk in the spirit and who live their lives in faith and love and sanctity and self-restraint and raise godly children and you are the benediction to all the rest of us you are the heart of this church we are the strength you are the heart so thank you for your faithfulness let's pray father we thank you again for your word it's so clear unmistakeably so may we rejoice in what you've called us to help us all to fulfill these roles so that we can raise up a generation of godly young people to your glory so that your word would never be dishonored your name never dishonored so that the Angels when they look at us will rejoice in our obedience thank you for the joy that comes in that obedience we pray in Christ's name Amen

Channel: Grace to You

Views: 1,002,575

Rating: 4.4949594 out of 5

Keywords: John MacArthur, Bible, Preaching, Christianity, Expository, Exposition, Sermon, Jesus, Christ, women pastors, can women be pastors, women preachers, go home, beth moore, paula white, church leadership, should women preach

Id: n8ncOf82ZJ0

Length: 74min 46sec (4486 seconds)

Published: Fri Nov 08 2019