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A look at Women's Ordination: Part II
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A second common objection to the opposition of women's ordination is the following line of reasoning:
- Paul’s prohibition against women’s ordination was culturally conditioned, applicable to the time and place in which Paul wrote (similar to his instructions about women’s head coverings), but it was never intended to be a timeless, universal principle. (This is perhaps the most common line of reasoning among members of the PCUSA).
A proof text that makes this objection untenable is 1 Timothy 2:12-13:
“But I do not permit a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man, but to remain quiet. For it was Adam who was first created, and then Eve.”
The culture of the first century Middle East was patriarchal, but this is not what Paul appeals to, in explaining his prescription of gender roles within the Church. What does he appeal to? The Creation order itself, something that obviously transcends culture or time. Adam was created before Eve, and this is a historical reality that is no less true today than it was thousands of years ago. This is what Paul appeals to, showing that his instructions are not, in the apostle’s mind, culturally conditioned at all.
It may be difficult to see why Adam being formed first should mean that men are to occupy the leadership positions of the local church. But this is nevertheless clearly what Paul asserts.
It would seem that Paul is saying that the order in which God created the first humans was indicative of the roles he desired to assign to men and women. It’s impossible to separate the doctrine of masculine headship of the home from the doctrine of masculine headship of the church. If a man is called to be the spiritual leader of his home, and yet his wife is an elder or pastor at his church, who then is the spiritual leader of the home? Does not this present a hypothetical conflict of interests?
- Some churches (i.e. the PCA) that do not ordain women do, however, send women to the mission field to spread the gospel. In other words, they let women teach overseas, but not locally. This is a double standard and is hypocritical.
This objection slurs over the fact that the debate centers on, not whether women can be involved in ministry and be involved in spreading the gospel, but strictly whether or not women can be pastors. No one disputes that women have a role in the Church, and are called by God to use their gifts to edify the Body of Christ as a whole. A female missionary may be spreading the gospel to an unreached people group, but this does not mean that she is functioning as a pastor.
Likewise, a female missionary may come to a U.S. church and share from the pulpit a testimony or update about her progress in the field, but this doesn’t breach Paul’s prohibition against women teaching—if teaching is defined as taking a passage of Scripture and expositing the meaning of it.
Some denominations (Southern Baptist, for example) that do not allow women to be ministers, do, however allow them to function in practically every other role in the church—music minister, youth director, college campus ministry, etc… But it’s important (and it’s not a hair-splitting distinction) to point out that a female youth leader or a female Baptist Student Union director is not functioning as a pastor—pastor, defined here to mean the ordained shepherd of a local church. But this begs the question—what is a “church”? How is a para-church organization such as a Baptist Student Union assembly different from a “church”? Did not Christ say that where two or three are gathered together in his name, he would be there in the midst of them?
In a sense, the “Church” (Body of Christ) is truly present whenever Christians are gathered together in Christ’s name. In the more formal sense of the word though, “Church” is defined as an assembly consisting of ordained leaders (deacons and elders), where the gospel is preached and the sacraments are administered. A Baptist Student Union is not a “church” because deacons and elders are absent and because Baptism and Holy Communion are not administered there.
The call to spread the gospel to unreached people groups applies to all believers, both men and women. One could say that, whereas God would prefer men to hold the teaching roles of missionary endeavors, at the end of the day whoever is willing to go must be sent. Similarly, it is God’s ideal for men to be the spiritual leaders of their homes, but if a woman is widowed or divorced, she has to pick up the slack and do what her husband is not there to do. It is not being inconsistent or hypocritical to hold such a position.
To say that women can’t be pastors isn’t to say that they are not irreplaceably valuable parts of the Body of Christ. In Romans 16, Paul, in his salutation, lists a number of women that he considers co-workers in the faith:
“I commend to you our sister Phoebe, who is a servant (deaconess) of the church which is at Cenchrea; that you receive here in the Lord in a manner worthy of the saints and that you help in whatever matter she may have need of you; for she herself has also been a helper of many, and of myself as well,” (verses 1-2).
“Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus,” (v. 2—notice that both husband and wife are mentioned as Paul’s fellow workers).
“Greet Mary, who has worked hard for you,” (v.6).
“Greet Rufus, a choice man in the Lord, also his mother and mine,” (v.13—Paul is saying Rufus’ mother has been like a mother to him as well).
“Greet Philologus and Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas and all the saints who are with them,” (v. 15).
Then there is the story of Lydia in Acts 16:14-15, the first convert in Europe:
“A woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple fabrics, a worshipper of God, was listening; and the Lord opened her heart to respond to the things spoken by Paul. And when she and her household had been baptized, she urged us, saying, ‘If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house and stay.’ And she prevailed upon us.”
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