I will specifically address the passages from 1st Corinthians 14 and 2nd Timothy 2 in the next couple of blog posts on this subject. However, before we can look at those passages of scripture, and can women preach, we must address the topic of redemption.
The many questions that are raised concerning women pastoring or teaching can only be resolved within the understanding and context of redemption. The ideas put forward must be compared with what Christ accomplished on the cross.
Can Women Preach?
Part 2 - Women and Redemption
The message of the Gospel, Christ’s message of good news, is for all humanity regardless of age, sex, race, or status. The message of the Gospel promises salvation, redemption, and liberty for everyone that comes to the cross and believes in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.
When Christ went to the cross, He provided absolute and total freedom for any person (male or female) who believes in Him. John 8:36 says, “Therefore if the Son sets you free, you shall be free indeed" and Paul says in Galatians 5:1, “For freedom Christ freed us. Stand fast therefore and do not be entangled again with the yoke of bondage.”
Jesus has provided the only way a man or woman can be truly be set free and fulfilled. Faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ defeats and overcomes the power of evil over any believing person.
The Bible says in Romans 6:23, “The wages of sin is death.” It also says in Romans 5:12, “Therefore as sin came into the world through one man and death through sin, so death has spread to all men, because all have sinned.”
I think it necessary to note that the Bible indicates that sin entered into the world through Adam, the man, and is passed to all men. It seems at times that women carry much of the blame for this.
Yet, let us be very thankful that Jesus provided perfect redemption for all people and that He endured the judgment for all of our sins. Whether male or female, this is true. By faith in the work of Jesus on the cross, men and women are fully restored to God; to partake of His life, to do His work, and be His instruments; without social, racial, or sexual peculiarity.
On the Cross, Jesus abolished any male or female subservience forever. However, it seems in the church that women still bear the humiliation of subordination because many, including preachers and theologians, have not grasped and highlighted the Gospel truth that Christ's redemption restores women to their original place with God, the same as men.
Paul emphasizes the equality of redemption through faith in Christ in Galatians 3:28 when he writes, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, and there is neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”
Yet it seems that two statements of Paul from 1 Corinthians 14 and 1 Timothy 2 have been used to override the very work of the cross and abort the plan of God. These passages have been taken out of context and misapplied, even used to keep women silent and subservient in the churches.
After all, God first chose a woman in John 20:17 to proclaim one of the most incredible messages of Christianity, that He has risen. It is also interesting that Jesus told Mary to proclaim this message to men. The Samaritan woman at the well went and testified of Jesus in her town, causing many to believe. Can we expect Christian women to rest quietly in God's work today when women in the Bible were used as His messengers?
The cross puts all of humanity on equal footing before God regardless of age, sex, position, race, or any other sort of distinction. It makes all things possible for all, opens the doors for everyone, and removes any limitations. When Christ cried out, “It is finished,” and redemption was fully completed, women were justified and restored to God as though no sin was ever committed, exactly the same as men.
To continue with a doctrine of female subservience and disqualification for specific ministries in which only men are worthy to serve is to qualify the redemptive work of Christ on a sexual basis.
Since redemption is a fact, we should never confine men or women from that which God has put on their hearts. That includes teaching, preaching, or pastoring a church.
Since men and women are fully forgiven and restored to God, we should never blame the male or female groups for the world's problems. Neither group should have to keep paying for the sins committed in the Garden of Eden. Redemption is complete for both men and women, which means each can enjoy salvation, forgiveness, justification, righteousness, and full capability and qualification to serve as God calls and directs them.
Too often, in the church, we often want to emphasize the problem and not the solution. We want to remind each other who sinned, and we forget the price for that sin has been paid. If we are saved, that sin is forgiven and dealt with.
Both men and women need to accept and receive the total salvation of God by trusting in Christ's sacrifice and acting on His commands without limitation.
The Bible says in Mark 16:15, “He said to them, “Go into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” This command is not addressed to only men but is for both sexes, all people, all races, languages, and classes.
In Acts 1:8, Jesus promised all His followers, not just men, “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you shall be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Both men and women were present when this verse was fulfilled in the upper room. Both men and women were filled and declared the wonders of God to those around them.
We see women in the upper room, restored and redeemed to God, and filled with the Spirit, now qualified to be His witness. Men and women Christians are commissioned and empowered for the same command and purpose. God puts the same value on a woman that He puts on a man.
Check out my audio podcast.
Comments