In other words, Paul is saying, "I'd never let a woman teach man; don't forget it was a woman who was so foolish that a garden snake was able to trick her." Paul emphasizes in his Corinthians letter that women are not allowed to teach men--or to have any kind of authority of men, and states in his Timothy letter that the reason for this is that Adam was first one created, then came Eve, and since he was not the one deceived by the serpent, he is the one who should have authority. Clearly, Paul didn't want women to teach men anywhere, any time; that's just as perfectly plain as any Christian doctrine can be.
 False Teachings Alleged
Catherine Kroeger, author of I Suffer Not a Woman, argues that Paul's remarks don't have universal application; Paul, she claims, only forbids women teaching men false teaching. This notion is soundly rejected in a review of Kroeger's book (the author of the review is unknown):
Kroeger contends that when Paul tells women not to teach (didaskein), he is forbidding them to teach false teaching. But if this is what Paul had meant he had a much better verb to use to forbid false teaching, heterodidaskalein, which literally means "teaching something different." Two other times in this very letter when his intent to forbid false teaching, Paul uses this verb heterodidaskalein not didaskein [see below]. When Paul forbids false teaching in his pastorals letters, there is a clear indication in the verb which he chooses or in its object that false teaching is his concern:
As I urged you when I went into Macedonia, stay there in Ephesus so that you may command certain men not to teach false doctrines [heterodidaskalein] any longer" (1 Timothy 1:3).
If anyone teaches false doctrines [heterodidaskalein] and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching [didaskein]...(1 Timothy 6:3).
[These false teachers] must be silenced, because they are ruining whole households by teaching [didaskein] things they ought not to teach" (Titus 1:11).
(End of Review)
The only time Paul uses didaskein when referring to teachers who are teaching falsely is in Titus 1:11, where he twice makes it clear that he's speaking of teachers who are teaching false things and ruining households, that they should be silenced, and if that's not clear enough, he tells us that they're teaching things they should not teach. Thus, Paul knew how to describe false teaching in two ways: Using the word heterodidaskalein without further qualification, and by using didaskein unambiguously with triple qualification. Paul's use of didaskein without qualification in 1 Timothy 2:11-12 in referring to women makes it perfectly clear that he meant that women weren't to try to teach man anything, period.
Paul's Teachings Were Universal in Scope
Not wishing to give up so easily, liberal Christians insist that maybe Paul's remarks were directed only to certain women in that church, not to all women everywhere...that he was addressing a temporary problem of a local nature at the church at Corinth having to do with women chattering during services, or interrupting services with emotional outbursts, or speaking about certain specific things in church. However this is a transparent contrivance that's hardly worth rebutting, especially since there's no evidence from the first century that any such condition existed. If this situation had occurred, and this was what Paul was referring to, who could imagine that Paul would not choose words that would allow us to know what he really meant? After all, he allegedly was a writer inspired by an omnipotent and omniscient god--an all-powerful, all-knowing god, who would have known that you and I would take Paul's words in their natural state--at face value, without having to twist them. If Paul was only concerned with a local problem with muttering women, he would have made that very clear to us; neither he, nor the Bible's God, if it ever existed, would have wanted the Bible's readers to be in any doubt about that, especially since the consequences of our misunderstanding would be that women would be kept away from the pulpit for 2000 years. In any case, there can be no doubt that Paul's message was a universal one. Near the end of his first letter to Timothy, Paul explains (below) the purpose of his letter, and makes it clear that his comments applied not just to one church, but to "the household of God....the church of the living God," that is, all churches for all time:
I hope to come to you soon, but I am writing these instructions to you so that, if I am delayed, you may know how one ought [dei ] to behave [anastrephesthai ] in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and bulwark of the truth (1 Timothy 3:14-15).
Samuele Bacchiocchi, writing in Women in the Church, explains:
The precise wording used here by Paul indicates that he considered his instructions to be normative beyond the local situation of the Ephesus church. The impersonal verb dei ("one ought") generally emphasizes a strong necessity, usually deriving from a divinely established moral obligation. Similarly the present infinitive form anastrephesthai ("to behave"), which takes no person or number, suggests a general rather than a restricted application...Paul’s use of this generic language indicates a general application of the instructions...This conclusion is also supported by the fact that Paul’s explicit purpose is to give advice on how to order and direct not merely the church at Ephesus, but "the church of the living God, the pillar and bulwark of the truth"... The implication is clear. Whatever is said about church order in the epistle applies to the universal church.
Samuel Koranteng-Pipim concurs. Writing in Biblical Obstacles to Women's Ordination, he explains:
Paul pointed back to the pre-fall creation ordinance of headship, reiterated after the fall. By appealing to the divine arrangement from creation as the reason why the woman is not to have authority over the man, the apostle dispelled any suggestion that his instruction...was culturally conditioned or time-bound.
Reasonable persons will conclude that the liberal spin is simply not credible--it's completely incredible. The only thing left for objective persons to conclude is that Paul didn't want women to teach men, and neither did God--if the Bible is to be believed.
In their continuing struggle to extract egalitarianism from the Bible, some Christians claim that Paul's teachings have been misinterpreted; they point to the passage below in which we find women "prophesying":
But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God. Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered,dishonoureth his head. But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered dishonoureth her head: for that is even all one as if she were shaven. (1 Corinthians 14:3-5)
Proponents of women in the ministry say that this shows that women were allowed to serve in the role of teacher, evidently because they equate "prophesying" with being a "prophet." I will show, however, that prophesying by women in those days was commonplace.
Prophesying in the New Testament often means nothing more than showing signs of being possessed by the Holy Spirit, or speaking the words of the Lord. It doesn't mean "teaching," or foretelling the future; prophesying was relatively ordinary and commonplace. The few examples below show that "prophesying" was something that everyone would do in the last days, as well as servants and handmaidens.
"And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people…" (Luke 1:67-68)
"And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy" (Acts 2:17)
"And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy. (Acts 2:18)
"And the next day we that were of Paul's company departed, and came unto Caesarea: and we entered into the house of Philip the evangelist, which was one of the seven; and abode with him. And the same man had four daughters, virgins, which did prophesy. (Acts 21:8-9)
Liberals say that the "prophesying" passage (1 Corinthians 14:3-5) shows that women were allowed to express their opinion, and that this is evidence that women in New Testament times were considered to be the equal of men. However, this is nothing but hopefulness. Allowing women to speaking out in praise of the Lord--prophesying--is something that ALL people were allowed to do, were SUPPOSED to do. The women mentioned above--the daughters, handmaidens, virgins, are merely those who are possessed by the spirit of the Lord and singing the praises of God. Being possessed with the Holy Spirit can happen to anyone and doesn't connote status: it happens to sons, daughters, servants, and even handmaidens, and virgins, and the acceptance of this sort of prophesying by women in no way equates to their acceptance as ministers. If that were the rule, then anyone who had the Holy Spirit and spoke out about the Lord would be accepted as a minister.
Proponents of the notion that Paul's message was egalitarian cite a verses about Phoebe which they say--if properly translated--would show that Phoebe was a minister, not a "servant". They point to the word diakonos, which they note is translated 20 times as minister or deacon in reference to men, but the one time it's used for a woman, it's translated as "servant," or "helper". However, we will provide evidence below which shows that in every case where men were described as ministers or deacons with the word diakonos, the naming follows a word pattern which is absent in the case of Phoebe. Here is the verse about Phoebe: |
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I commend unto you Phoebe our sister, which is a servant (Greek: diakonos) of the church which is at Cenchrea: That ye receive her in the Lord, as becometh saints, and that ye assist her in whatsoever business she hath need of you: for she hath been a succourer of many, and of myself also. (Romans 16:1-2 KJV)
I want to tell you good things about our sister Phoebe. She helps in the church in Cenchrea. I want you to take her in because she is a Christian. That is what God's people should do. Help her in any way she needs help. She has helped many people and has helped me too. (Romans 16:1-2 Worldwide English Translation)
The word diakonos is used 27 times in the New Testament: 18 times it's translated as "minister", twice as "deacon," and seven times as "servant". Wherever it is translated as "minister" or "deacon," it applies to a particular man, and always with words that indicate greatness or divinity--or some sort of intimate connection to Jesus or God. The single time diakonos is used to describe a woman, it's used to describe a "servant of the church" [diakonos ekklesia]; in the 20 times it refers to a man, the man is never described as a diakonos ekklesia of the church; instead, the diakonos is qualified with words that connote divinity, or greatness. This diakonos-greatness naming pattern is absent when Phoebe is described. The evidence is given below:
Diakonos Used as Minister for Men
Reference to Men
as Ministers |
Divinity or Greatness
Described |
Reference to Men
as Ministers |
Divinity or Greatness
Described |
Mathew 20:26 |
Great among you |
2 Galatians 2:17 |
Christ |
Mark 10:43 |
Great among you |
Ephesians 3:7 |
Grace of God |
Romans 13:4 |
Minister of God |
Ephesians 6:21 |
Of the Lord |
Romans 15:8 |
Jesus |
Colossians 1:7 |
Of Christ |
1 Corinthians 3:5 |
By whom ye believed |
Colossians 1:23 |
Paul |
2 Corinthians 3:6 |
Of the new testament |
Colossians 1:25 |
Paul according to God |
2 Corinthians 6:4 |
Of God |
Colossians 4:7 |
In the Lord |
2 Corinthians 11:15 |
Of the righteousness |
1 Thessalonians 3:2 |
Of God |
2 Corinthians 11:23 |
Of Christ |
1 Timothy 4:6 |
Of Jesus Christ |
The word “diakonos” is translated as “deacon” in two places; once again, we see that the work "diakonos" is used in conjunction with descriptors which connote greatness or divinity--attributes which are lacking in the description of the "diakonos" Phoebe.
Diakonos as Deacon
Reference to Men
as Deacons |
Divinity or Greatness
Described |
Philippians 1:1 |
Saints in Christ |
1 Timothy 3:8-13 |
Great boldness in the faith
which is in Christ Jesus. |
In the single place where "diakonos" is used to describe a woman, Phoebe, there is no suggestion of divinity or greatness; all that is said of Phoebe is that she gave aid and comfort to people.
In summary, the phrase “servant of the church" occurs only in reference to Phoebe. If the Bible writer wanted us to believe that Phoebe was a minister or deaconess, he would have followed the minister-naming pattern used in 20 verses to describe the men as ministers or deacons; he didn’t do that, which strongly suggests that "diakonos" as applied to Phoebe didn't mean minister or deaconess; it meant "helper" or "servant".
If one wishes to advance the argument that Phoebe was a "minister," one must explain why the 20 examples of men described as "ministers" or "deacons" don't include the phrase "of the church"--a phrase which is used ONLY with Phoebe, and why the Phoebe verses don't allude to the type of greatness or divinity that is in virtually every single case attached to the verses about men.
Why Not Pais or Doulous?
Feminists Christian apologists sometimes argue that Paul would have used one of the other Greek words meaning servant, such as pais, doulous, and oiketes, in reference to Phoebe. But, if one checks the context in which these words are used, one finds that they are usually in the context of a servant-master relationship, as in the following verses:
"Lord," he said, "my servant [pais] lies at home paralyzed and in terrible suffering." (Matthew 8:6)
It is enough for the student to be like his teacher, and the servant [doulos] like his master. (Matthew 10:25)
Since Phoebe clearly wasn't a "servant" in the sense of having a master, or being a maid, these words would have been inappropriate for her. Evidently, diakonos means "one who serves or is supportive of a cause," and is the word which would have been much more appropriate for Phoebe than pais or doulos.
Junia Wasn't an Apostle
Those who want to believe that Christian fathers allowed women to occupy positions of power think that Paul said that a "woman" name Junia occupied the exalted position of apostle. We first present the verse in which this alleged statement was made, then we will point to the absence of evidence that Junia is a woman.
I commend unto you Phoebe our sister, which is a servant of the church which is at Cenchrea: That ye receive her in the Lord, as becometh saints, and that ye assist her in whatsoever business she hath need of you: for she hath been a succourer of many, and of myself also. Greet Priscilla and Aquila my helpers in Christ Jesus: Who have for my life laid down their own necks: unto whom not only I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles. Likewise greet the church that is in their house. Salute my well-beloved Epaenetus, who is the firstfruits of Achaia unto Christ. Greet Mary, who bestowed much labour on us. Salute Andronicus and Junia, my kinsmen, and my fellow-prisoners, who are of note among the apostles, who also were in Christ before me. [Paul then introduces about twenty other Christians and the rest of the saints.] (Romans 16:1-15 KJV)
Notice that "Junia" is mentioned along with Andronicus as one of Paul's "kinsmen." He could have called her "sister," as he did above (Romans 16:1-2 KJV) with Phoebe, but he didn't. There is no indication in this passage, or any other passage in the Bible, that Junia is a woman, and even if she was a woman, there is no evidence from this passage that Junia was an apostle.
Hopeful proponents of women in the ministry assert that the phrase "of note among the apostles" means that Junia was a "notable apostle." The simplest interpretation of these words is that Junia was taken note of by the apostles, not that she was an apostle who was "notable." At least two translations make it perfectly clear that Junia was not an apostle; Junia was just "well known to the apostles." At least one translation makes Junia a man:
Greet Andronicus and Junia, my compatriots and my fellow prisoners. They are well known to the apostles and they were in Christ before me. (New English Translation)
Give my greetings to Andronicus and Junia. They belong to my family. We were in prison together. The apostles think they are good men. (Romans 16:7 Worldwide English Translation)
Practice of Jesus Confirms that There No Women Apostles
When reminded that even Jesus appointed no women apostles, feminists assert that Jesus was concerned that if he had done so, people would discount his message, that accepting women as apostles would be a cultural change too radical --too revolutionary--for people to accept, and that they would have turned away from Jesus and his message. That's preposterous, given the fact that Jesus' activities and teaching were already so revolutionary; who would worry about the women helping Jesus? Furthermore, Jesus as the son of an omnipotent God had the power to do whatever he wanted, and that included making anyone accept as truth anything he wanted them to believe; if Jesus had appointed women as apostles, he would have found a way--because he is all-wise, all-knowing, to make a woman apostle acceptable to the people to whom he preached, that's a certainty. Bruce Waltke makes a similar point in his article, The Role of Women in Worship in the Old Testament:
Jesus...was a revolutionary in his age own with regard to the role of women in worship...[but he] confirmed the Old Testament patriarchy by not appointing a woman as an apostle, though women followed him, ministered to him, and were his close friends. It is nonsense to argue that the counter-cultural Jesus appointed only male apostles because he was culturally conditioned. Is it not plausible to think that had he intended to empower women to have equality with men in leadership he would have called a woman to be an apostle, either before or after the resurrection?
The Husband of One Wife
A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach (1 Timothy 3:2)
If women were allowed to be bishops in the first century church, as many claim, then where is to be found a statement parallel to the one above about women, stating that the women bishops must likewise be blameless and the wife of one husband? There isn't such a statement. If the Bible writers wanted us to know that women could be bishops in the church, they would have know that readers would wonder why they didn't say that the wife as bishop must only have one husband, and likewise be vigilant, sober and of good behavior?
Jesus' words also make it clear women were not even allowed to be his disciples:
"If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters--yes, even his own life--he cannot be my disciple" (Luke 14:26).
If Jesus wanted his listeners to know that women, as well as men, could be his disciples, why didn't he say, "...and does not hate her husband...."?
Proponents of women in the ministry point to four women who lived in houses used as churches as examples of women who occupied high positions in the church and who they claim were accepted by Paul as ministers. We will discuss these women now, and show that there's zero evidence that any of these women were thought of as ministers.
Lydia's "Church"
The first woman we will discuss who lived in houses used as churches is Lydia, about whom nothing of significance is said other than that Christians met at her house. This doesn't even come close to showing that Lydia occupied a high position; Christians may have met there only because her house was spacious, or because she served good wine; we will never know. Here is the Lydia story:
One woman named Lydia... worshipped God. He worked in her heart and she believed what Paul said. She and all the people in her house were baptised. Then she begged us and said, `If you really feel that I believe in the Lord, come and stay at my house.' (Acts 16:13-15 Worldwide English Translation)
When Paul and Silas came out of prison, they went back to Lydia's house. They saw their Christian brothers and talked to them. This helped the Christians to believe more strongly. (Acts 16:40 Worldwide English Translation) |
Paul Meets with Lydia
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Priscilla's "Church"
In Paul's addresses to the Romans and the Corinthians, he tells us that Christians met in the house of Aquila and his wife Priscilla, and Luke tells of one time Priscilla and her husband spoke to a visitor about the ways of God. Evangelical feminists want us to believe that speaking in their home with her husband to a guest about God makes Priscilla a minister:
A Jew came to Ephesus. His name was Apollos... He began to speak without fear in the meeting place. When Aquila and Priscilla heard him, they took him to their house. They explained the way of God so that he knew more about it. (Acts 18:1-28 Worldwide English Translation)
The fact that "they" (Priscilla and husband together) told someone what they knew about God doesn't mean that Priscilla either formally or even informally held office as a minister; if we were to reach this conclusion on "evidence" of this nature, we'd be forced to believe that any woman who together with her husband ever spoke to anyone about God was automatically a minister. We cannot know, but perhaps Aquila the husband did most of the talking, and his wife Priscilla did most of the nodding, interjecting a word here and there. It could have been the other way around, of course, but the point is, we have no evidence one way or the other.
Nympha's "Church"
The same comments above about the house of Lydia being used by Christians applies to Nympha's church: The fact that church people--Christians--meet there doesn't mean that Nympha occupies either a formal or informal position of minister.
Give my greetings to the brothers at Laodicea, and also to Nympha and the church people who meet in her house. (Colossians 4:15 Worldwide English Translation)
It's often the case even today that a Christian minister will move from one town to the next, ministering to his flock temporarily in the houses of Christians who are proud to serve Jesus in this way. None of the owners of these houses would be considered ministers, so why should anyone believe that Lydia was a minister, when there is zero evidence that she did anything other than live in the house used by Christians?
Apphia's "Church"
The comments made above in reference to Lydia, Priscilla, and Nympha apply equally well to Apphia. Paul tells us that Christians met in Apphia's house, but this doesn't mean that Apphia was minister just because she lived in the house used by Christians.
I am Paul. I am in prison because I belong to Christ Jesus. Our brother Timothy and I send greetings to you, Philemon. We love you very much. And you work with us. We also send greetings to our sister Apphia; to Archippus who is worker in God's army as we are; and to the people who meet as a church in your house. (Philemon 1:1-2 Worldwide English Translation)
There's absolutely no evidence from these descriptions of Lydia, Priscilla, Nympha, and Apphia, that any one of them did anything more than allow their houses to be used as meeting places by Christians, except in the single case of Priscilla who, with her husband, once told a visitor about God's ways, though there's no clear indication Priscilla's contribution wasn't minimal.
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