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1 Timothy talks about many issues, relevant but at times difficult. Here
I refer particularly to what Paul has to say about women in leadership in
Chapter 2. Some churches and organisations today would not allow women to
pastor or teach citing this scripture as authority:
“Let a woman learn in silence with all submission. And I do not
permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence.”
1 Timothy 2:11-12 NKJV
So what do we make of it?
Let us try to piece together what happened at the church in Ephesus
that warranted Paul’s strong statement before we come to any conclusion.
Timothy
had written to Paul to report on the situation at Ephesus. False teachers had
infiltrated the church and were teaching a kind of Jewish proto-gnosticism.
Among other things, they taught that:
-Eve is both a mediator and redeemer figure who pre-existed Adam.
-Man came into existence because of a woman, and he was given
enlightenment through the woman. Since Eve was the first to take a bite from
the Tree of Knowledge, she is the bearer of special spiritual knowledge (called
gnosis).
-Women are called to lead people to the illuminating gnosis which
was represented by the Tree of Knowledge. Redemption completely reversed the
effects of the Fall so that men are no longer subject to earthly authorities
and women are no longer subject to their husbands.
This teaching originated from male teachers but was quickly taken
over by women in the church. Hardly surprising; feminism had a new name. Those
who believed prefer female leaders to male. Some of the women were teaching the
heresy in the church meetings and were lording it over the men. As a result men
had become lesser beings in the church!
Under such circumstances, it is not hard to conceive why Paul instructed
Timothy to forbid women to teach and lead. This was the strategy for the hour.
If it was a solution to a particular problem at a specific time and location we
should have reservation as to whether this particular instruction from Paul is
to be taken as a command for churches everywhere every time. We might risk
generalising too much.
In general, men are to be leaders and teachers in church but women
are not to be shunned for holding positions in church leadership. Paul himself
commended at various occasions women coworkers of his whom he held at high
esteem, like Phoebe, Junia and Priscilla (see Rom 1:1, 7 and Acts 18:26).
Clearly Paul considered them worthy leaders and teachers.
So how could we say that Paul forbid women to lead or teach in
church at all times across the board? We can rest assured that this is not the
case.
References:
1. The Untold Story of the New Testament
Church, Frank Viola
2. TheBibleProject.com
