Why the Bible Does Not Forbid Women Preaching (in 1 Corinthians 14 & 1 Timothy 2)

The debate over women in church leadership continues to plague the church. In this video, Dr. Matt O'Reilly explains why arguments that the Bible forbids women from preaching cannot be sustained. We look at two crucial texts - 1 Corinthians 14 and 1 Timothy 2.

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Dr. Matt O'Reilly is Lead Pastor of Hope Hull United Methodist Church near Montgomery, Alabama, Director of Research at Wesley Biblical Seminary, and a fellow of the Center for Pastor Theologians.

VISIT

[rexmorgan]

God's word is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Culture might change but the 'Word' does not.

[spanky]

Y'all are confusing evangelizing with pastoring and holding authority. As Christians we are all tasked with the grand commission (evangelizing) that's not pastoring or having authority. A pastor is a leader of a church, he has authority over his flock. Spreading the gospel isn't an office. Women can't hold authority over men, but that's not even close to the definition of evangelizing.

[anamariasmarandescu]

You simply wipe away the distinctions between man and woman that the Bible gives. You take the instructions that God gives specifically to us women in the verses that are being quoted, and make them general, as if they were addressed to everyone. "A woman should not teach before she's ready for that", you say. Well, of course, nor should anyone. "A woman should not interrupt a sermon if she has a question" Again, this is common sense: nobody should. Nobody, be it man or woman, should teach if they're not well instructed, nor disturb the order in a church meeting. Just replace the word "woman" with "person" in all those verses and all you say is just as valid, according to your perspective. What's the difference between man and woman then, and why does God address us specifically? It seems to me that you're just twisting Scripture so that it fits the modern views because you don't want to offend the self-important emancipated world you're preaching to. And that's not something you should be proud of, really. Think of 2 Peter 3:16 and 2 Timothy 4:3.

[BOLO]

“Advancing the cause of women”!?! A true man or woman of God is here to advance the will of God!!!

[deus_vult]

First, it is hard to overemphasize how contrary to apostolic guidance female elders are. An elder is to be “the husband of one wife” (Titus 1:6; 1 Tim. 3:2) and “apt to teach” (1 Tim. 3:2) but a woman is not permitted to teach a man (1 Tim. 2:12) and is directed to be silent in church (1 Cor. 14:34; 1 Tim. 2:11). Elders “rule well” (1 Tim. 5:17) but women are not permitted to have authority over a man (1 Tim. 2:12). An elder must “manage his own family well and see that his children obey him, and he must do so in a manner worthy of full respect. If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s church?” Scripture is clear on men being the head of households (Eph. 5:22; Col. 3:18; Titus 2:5), so the manager of the family, and the candidate to become an elder in the church, is the husband and father. Older women are admonished to teach the younger women “to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.” (Titus 2:4-5)

[antwonparker]

Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
Proverbs 3:6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
Proverbs 3:7 Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.

[amosisreal]

The Bible does not forbid women to teach the Bible forbids women to teach a Congregation of men but she can teach other women and children because the man is her head and he is the head of the church as Christ is 1st Corinthians 11 verse 3 no buts or adding or taking away from the word

[colenewaltersmusicandother]

I am so happy to see followers of Jesus speak the truth in the comments.

Thank you Lord for giving me discernment to know not to continue watching this video.

[honeythonemandaro]

I was so glad when I saw the Title. I have been looking for some honest information about the subject matter. I am not a theologian but it was very clear that you are translating the word of God in your own way, giving it your opinion, trying hard to fit the word of God to your own theology rather than searching for the Truth. It became obvious to me that we have some portions of the Bible that we dont like (Theology Project) and we would like them to be corrected based on what seems to be more appropriate to us. Unfortunately because we can not completely get rid of them, the only way is to distort the truth of the context through our human opinions and devotions to get us to where we want to be. There is always what we want and the truth. I would side with the Truth.

[BOLO]

I’m glad to see that there are some who know better than to fall for the lies this false teacher is spewing out…

[justinhebert]

You have to be very educated to get this wrong. The Bible is very clear in 1 Timothy and Titus about the qualifications of the offices of church leadership.
God designed men and women for different jobs, egalitarianism is the spirit of the age, not Biblical doctrine.

[brentmcbain]

Sorry but you are not explaining those scriptures accurately. The part about the head coverings is totally off, but aside from that, scripture must interpret scripture.
God makes it clear that He made us to reflect our relationship to Him. Christ is the groom. The Church is the bride. Man represents Christ in marriage. Women the church. Therefore, the representative authority is man. He is to lead as Christ led. Not in a male dominant way, but as a servant leader with authority. You MUST incorporate this into the subject. Those who are making statements of agreement with this are only hearing what their itching ears want to hear, not what the Word tells us.

[maryellen]

Thank you. I grew up Mennonite. Women were for some reason allowed to sing in the congregation, to teach each other (when separated from men), and to teach children's classes.
I never questioned this until the husband I tried to submit to completely (as I was trained, ) became abusive and eventually abandoned me with 2 children. Meanwhile, under his leadership, I had left the Mennonites. Suddenly, without male headship, I was permitted to think for myself!

Comparing Scripture against Scripture, and studying all sides of this subject has brought me to understand things very differently.
Abigail was commended even though she honestly assessed her husband as a fool, and verbalized it.
Sarah, who called her husband "lord" in one circumstance, is found in another situation demanding him to do something he absolutely didn't want to do... and God told him to do what his wife demanded!
Deborah was recognized by everyone around her as wise and worthy to be consulted as a judge over Israel. Modern complementarians add to the Word, saying God used Deborah as His second choice, because He couldn't find a man for the job. That's deceitfully handing the Word. It was God who provided Deborah to Israel, and blessed her leadership. In fact, Some Scripture was inspired through Deborah!

Which reminds me of 1 Corinthians 14:36 "What? came the word of God out from you? or came it unto you only?"
This verse is often ignored when interpreting verses 34 and 35. But I think it holds the key to properly understanding this section.

Someone was strutting around, acting like the word of God could only come to them, or through them. In light of the context, who would that have been? .... MEN!
The obvious answer to Paul's question was "NO."
Because the Word of God came to and through WOMEN, also!
Miriam... Deborah... Huldah... Elizabeth... Mary... Anna... the four daughters of Phillip the evangelist... and many more.

Women also may prophesy, alongside men. Because Paul said "ye may ALL prophesy one by one, that ALL may learn, and ALL may be comforted."
Are women included in the 2nd and 3rd "alls"? Of course.
To demand they be excluded from the FIRST "all" breaks just about every rule for interpreting Scripture!

[christvictoriouskingdomnow]

Hmmm, seems like its pretty clear, even starting with Adam and Eve, all of scripture, and Paul's statements about "husband of one wife" and such, all argue for men as Elders, but its very clear woman taught, woman helped, woman were highly involved, it just seems when it comes to leadership, God has a designed plan, doesn't mean woman can't lead or that they are less smart, not at all, many woman could lead better than men, but that simply was not God's designed plan, just like marriage, just like parents with children, husbands with wives, God has an order that He sees as best. God-bless

[laurykristensen]

I copied the following text which explains what Paul spoke of in his letters. It was written about a specific situation where women attending services were rudely interrupting with questions. People often use this to generally mean women should be silent in the church. It was directed at certain women who were 'attending' and in no way speaks of women leading the service:

As in all the churches of the saints, women should be silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be subordinate, as the law also says. If there is anything they desire to know, let them ask their husbands at home. For it is shameful for a woman to speak in church. (1 Cor. 14:34-35 NRSV)

Paul’s letter to the Corinthians is addressed to a church that was experiencing many difficulties. Paul’s instruction for women to “be silent in the churches” appears while he is giving exhortations concerning orderly worship, with particular concern that the outsider will be receptive to the Gospel (1 Cor. 14:23-25).

We must read Paul’s instruction for women to be silent in the churches in light of the rest of the letter. In 1 Corinthians 11:5, Paul writes that women were praying and prophesying in the church. He does not prohibit them from this practice, but asks that they cover their heads while they do so. Surely, praying and prophesying require that a woman speak. Therefore, in 1 Corinthians 14:34-35, Paul cannot be referring to speaking in general, but must be speaking to a specific situation.

Because the major concern of the context of the letter is orderly worship, it is likely that married women were speaking in a disorderly way, which is why Paul would recommend that they ask their husbands at home if they have questions (14:35). Paul’s priority was orderliness in worship, so that others would hear, without disruption, the Gospel. The type of speaking to which Paul was referring was asking questions which were disrupting worship. Thus, the main concern was not that women were speaking but that their speaking was disruptive or disorderly.

[MaggieSavedByYeshua]

This is the most sensible explanation of the scripture. A lot of folks are just seeing it from a who's better and who did God choose to preach His word. While I would completely obey God if all that He wants me to do is to shut up. But often we all misinterpret the scriptures and that itself is a way for Satan to mislead the church. I pray that we all get clarity and realise the truth of the Word and our helper is the 'Spirit of Truth' that Jesus sent for us so that we are not orphaned. I think we should rely on the guidance from the Holy Spirit rather than relying on our won intelligence. Sometimes our tiny brains can't really comprehend the mysteries and secrets hidden in plain sight or in plain language in Bible. After all, while translating much of it is either changed or evolved based on the cultural and traditional context. Thank you Matt for this amazing explanation.

[shayalmasy]

I pray the Holy Spirit guides the commenters and watchers on this subject.

[colinmasekwameng]

"As for My people, children are their oppressors, And women rule over them. O My people! Those who lead you cause you to err, And destroy the way of your paths" (Isaiah 3:12).

[jimmiemcgraw]

The honest, when you start putting words into The Bible you're just hitting a slippery slope. And honestly the next question has to be what are all the other stuff that God must have changed or didn't mean it the way you said it..

[shawnembrey]

Conveniently you've left out Titus which teaches what the Woman are to teach the Truth in the Scriptures is held only by men because of the authority that must be held and woman cannot usurp authority over the man and must learn FROM THEIR HUSBANDS