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Study to
show thy self approved - Bible Course
Role of Women
1. Introduction
According to the Holy Scriptures women are not allowed to preach sermons
or teach in the official gatherings of the church. I quote a few Bible texts
to support this increasingly unpopular but, nevertheless, inspired directive.
| 1 Corinthians 14: |
24: Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not
permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience,
as also saith the law.
35: And if they will learn any thing, let them ask their husbands at home:
for it is a shame for women to speak in the church.
36: What? came the word of God out from you? or came it unto you only?
37: If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him
acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of
the Lord. 38: But if any man be ignorant, let him be ignorant. |
Many believers will challenge this stand. It was challenged in Paul's day. The
Apostle anticipated a rejection of this teaching.
| verse 36 |
What? came the word of God out from you? or came it unto you only?
|
He then goes on to say that believers who profess to have the Spirit of God
should recognise and acknowledge that what he is writing is in fact the
commandment of the Lord!
| verse 37 |
If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him
acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of
the Lord. |
Conclusion
Paul's conclusion is that believers who ignore the fact that this is a
commandment of God, will remain in ignorance and be ignored themselves. One can
hardly imagine a more tragic outcome than to wilfully remain ignorant and be
disregarded by the Almighty God.
| verse 38 |
But if any man be ignorant, let him be ignorant. |
When writing to Timothy we find the Apostle saying virtually the same thing.
| 1 Timothy 2: |
11: Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection.
12: But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man,
but to be in silence.
13: For Adam was first formed, then Eve.
14: And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the
transgression. |
| 2 Timothy 2:2 |
And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the
same commit thou to faithful MEN, who shall be able to teach others
also. |
Old & New Testament Examples
No one will doubt but that only men officiated as priests in the Temple
services ordained of Almighty God. Had Yeshua the Messiah intended the New
Testament church to function differently he would have made that fact known by
appointing at least a few women apostles. But he didn't. He chose
twelve men who, later, when selecting seven deacons also chose men
instead of women for those duties. These facts have a message for the church
today. Heed it.
2. Are Women Inferior?
This does not mean that women are inferior to men; or that they have no place
in the work of Yahweh. The Holy Scriptures provide several examples of women
prophets:
- Miriam the sister of Moses. (Exodus 15:20)
- Deborah. (Judges 4-5)
- Huldah the wife of Shallum. (2 Kings 22:14)
- The four daughters of Philip the evangelist. (Acts 21:8-9)
These women obviously used the gift of prophecy to benefit the church; and
their prophetic messages were listened to by all who cared to hear the
Word of God spoken through them. But they did not preach nor teach
in the temple or in the official Sabbath assemblies. Their prophetic messages
were delivered outside the official church gatherings. That is the point Paul is
making in 1 Corinthians 14:34 where he plainly states that women are not
allowed to teach or preach in the churches.
"Let your women keep silence in the churches:
for it is not permitted unto them to speak;
but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the law."
Bear in mind that Corinth was a city in Greece where democracy was born. But
even there the Greeks had to be taught Yahweh's levels of authority, of
which our misguided generation is so ignorant. The fact is: by divine command
and innumerabe examples in the Scriptures, men are given more authority than
women inside the Temple services and church assemblies. Men will also be
held more responsible for the errors they make inside the churches. The 'church'
incidentally is not a man-made building. The 'church' is the congregation that
meets in a building, be it of bricks and mortar or wood.
This does not mean that men are more intelligent or able than women. They are
not. We all know some folks in authority, men or women, are not always more able
than those under them. Nor does it mean that women are more able than men. That
also is not the case.
What it does mean is that Yahweh has given the men in His church the
authority and task of preaching and teaching His Word. He has not given this
authority to women, however qualified they may consider themselves to be.
I repeat: it is a matter of divine authority; not personal preference,
sincerity, enthusiasm, democratic expediency, intelligence or ability. It is a
matter of divine authority!
Consequently the Holy Spirit will work more effectively through His
authorised channels (the men) than through even the most dedicated or educated
of women. Also bear in mind that we are here dealing with Yahweh's
commandments, not with the fickle fashions of a wayward and deceived
generation.
What then may dedicated and able women do in church matters? There are many
things dedicated women may do in the Almighty's work. I will now list areas how
the women in Stewarton Bible School's team are active in Yahweh's work.
3. Young Unmarried Women
- Help in Church offices (Filing / Word-processing / Database & e-mail
management)
- Help teach the very young children
- Providing musical accompaniment at Sabbath and social meetings. (Piano,
guitar, violin, banjo, mandolin, flute and trumpet etc.)
- Doing special items (choir items, testimonies, poems etc.)
- Help at Feasts: laying tables, flower arrangements etc.
- Help their mothers in their own homes.
4. Married Women
- Teaching the young children on the Sabbath
- Teaching younger women how to bring up their families
- Providing music in church services (choir, keyboard, piano, violin etc.)
- Senior secretarial work in the SBS office.
Reading incoming mail and despatching literature: setting aside letters for
personal answers. These letters are answered by the elders (men).
- Organising the catering arrangements at all the Feasts.
- Keeping Church Accounts. Stewarton Bible School's Treasurer is a woman!
- Voluntary Welfare Work / Dorcas / Community Care / Helping the aged, the
young, the lonely, widows, orphans, the sick. Our women are also on school
boards and administrate on various local, community committees. e.g. One held
the post of Chairperson of the Stewarton Community Council for a few years,
where the majority of the councillors are not from SBS and are men. Another
represents parents on the School Board of Stewarton Academy and sits on
various other local committees.
Women may rise to great heights in the social or political
field. Remember, one of Britain's greatest Prime Ministers (Margaret Thatcher)
was a woman! But I must repeat: Women are not allowed to preach or teach in
the gatherings of the church when adult males are present. That is Yahweh's
law. Church leaders ignore this divine directive at their peril.
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