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A
burning question for many today is whether or not women
may be ordained to the ministry of the church. It is
often stated that any denial of such a right is
demeaning to women and denies their equality with men in
Christ. Requiring an all-male ministry and eldership is
portrayed as sexism at its worst. More and more churches
are sweeping away all restrictions on a woman exercising
any part of the ministry of the church, whether in a
preaching or a pastoral (including governmental) role.
The Free Presbyterian Church takes the Biblical position
of historic Christianity on this issue and is therefore
at variance with the modern trend.
The
New Testament shows that women participated in the
public prayer meetings of the church (Acts 1:14). As
well as praying, they also prophesied. We are expressly
told that Philip’s four daughters did so (Acts 21:9).
Paul tells the Corinthians that any woman praying or
prophesying with her head uncovered dishonors her head
(I Cor. 11:5). Yet in the very same epistle Paul goes on
to make this emphatic statement: “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….It is a shame for
women to speak in the church” (I Cor. 14:34, 35.).
There
are those who do not scruple to say that Paul here
contradicts himself. Such people deny the basis for
Christianity. If we cannot trust an inspired apostle of
Christ at this point, how can we trust him in any other
statement of doctrine or practice? Paul made no mistake
on this issue. Clearly, from all he says, there are
times and places in which a woman may speak and others
in which she may not. In I Timothy 2:12 he makes it
clear what should govern the decision as to when and
where it is proper or improper for a woman to speak:
“I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority
over the man, but to be in silence.” Here is the key.
A woman is not permitted a pastoral or governmental
position over men in a New Testament church. No ministry
that places her in such a position is open to her. There
is no question but that a woman may be every bit as
spiritual and spiritually gifted as any man. That is not
the point. The place of public ministry and pastoral
government is not open to her, “not turned over to”
her by the Lord, as the literal force of I Corinthians
14:34 has it. The Lord will give her fitting
opportunities to exercise her gifts. She has a special
role in the teaching of other women and the young (Titus
2:4; II Tim. 1:5; 3:15). She may be a Priscilla and use
her home as a pulpit to teach needy people the gospel
(Acts 18:26). She may be so beneficial to the work of
the church as to earn the title Phoebe earned, “the
servant (or, deaconess) of the church” (Rom. 16:1).
Here there is no hint that the word deaconess has
reference to any elected office, but to Phoebe’s
selfless service to the church.
To
sum up: “If woman is not assigned a different
position, this is done, not by God, but by man, and by
man in contradiction to God….Whatever sphere we may
assign to woman in our church practice today dare not
contravene her divinely ordained subjection and
obedience, for this would conflict with God’s own
order” (R. C. H. Lenski). Thus the Free Presbyterian
Church, gladly affirming the rich ministry of godly
women in the church throughout history, nonetheless
maintains that no woman may Scripturally be elected or
ordained to any preaching, pastoral, or governmental
office in the church.
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