What Does God Think of Women Preachers?

By Don Rousu

I DARED TO ASK GOD WHAT HE THINKS ABOUT WOMEN IN MINISTRY. WHAT I DISCOVERED RADICALLY CHANGED MY LIFE.

Women, I have a prophetic word for you: The Spirit of the sovereign Lord is upon you because He has anointed you to preach good news to the oppressed and to proclaim release to the captives (see Is. 61:1).

Over the centuries, you have been held captive in the church. You have been restrained and disqualified from public ministry. I know, because at one time I cooperated in the restraining process. But by His Word and His Spirit, God has radically changed my thinking and set me free to embrace my wife, Ruth, as my closest ministry partner.

Why have women in the church been restrained? Because men dominated the church for hundreds of years. We brought a male bias to the translation and interpretation of Scripture.


TIPPING A SACRED COW As I embraced a radical shift in my theology regarding the role of women in public ministry, I realized that the church has built a whole doctrine and practice essentially on this one text: "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.

"For Adam was formed first, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression. Nevertheless she will be saved in childbearing if they continue in faith, love, and holiness, with self-control" (1 Tim. 2:11-15, NKJV).

Valuable evidence made available in the last few years indicates that this passage has been mistranslated. The mistranslation hinges on the Greek verb authentein.

The problem is that this verb is found nowhere else in the Bible. Although most translators of 1 Timothy have interpreted authentein to mean "to usurp authority" over a man or "to have authority" over a man, such a translation violates both the context of Paul's writing and the first-century usage of the word in other literature.

Research shows that the meaning of authentein changed dramatically over a period of 1,100 years. In the classical liter ature of the 6th century B.C., the word usually meant "to initiate or be responsible for a murder." By A.D. 200, the meaning had become "to claim ownership of property" either rightfully or wrongfully through fraud. During the same period it could also mean "to usurp power."

Around the time the New Testament was written, the most common meaning of authentein was "to be, or claim to be, the author or the originator of something." Translators have overlooked not only the prevailing meaning of the word at the time the New Testament was written, but also the cultural context in which Paul wrote his letter to Timothy.

Timothy was in Ephesus, which was then the world center of paganism. Many of the inhabitants worshiped the female deity Artemis, whom the Romans called Diana. The cult taught female superiority and advocated domination of the male. It espoused a doctrine of feminine procreation, which taught that this goddess was able to bring forth offspring without male involvement.

The cult was characterized by sexual perversion, fertility rites, endless myths and elaborate genealogies traced through female rather than male bloodlines. Magic and all manner of demonic activity flourished.

There was also present in Ephesus a contingent of Jewish gnostics who represented the first century's equivalent of the New Age movement. The Greek word for "gnostic" means "knowledge." Gnostics acknowledged spirit guides and combined the teachings about Artemis with the teachings of the Old Testament.

An example of their distortion of Scripture is their version of the Old Testament story of Adam and Eve. In the most prevalent gnostic version of the story, Eve was the "illuminator" of mankind because she was the first to receive "true knowledge" from the serpent, whom gnostics saw as the "savior" and revealer of truth.

Gnostics believed that Eve taught this new revelation to Adam, and being the mother of all, was the progenitor of the human race. Adam, they said, was Eve's son rather than her husband. This belief reflected the gnostic doctrine that a female deity could bring forth children without male involvement.

These gnostic teachings infiltrated the church, and for this reason Paul encouraged Timothy to confront the problem of false doctrines head-on. He told him to forbid certain people from peddling their false teachings in the church and to admonish others to turn away from myths and endless genealogies (see 1 Tim. 1:3-4).

He also told him to: oppose those who spoke falsely of the living God; warn people about the doctrines of demons; avoid stupid, senseless controversies; and have nothing to do with old wives' tales such as the corrupted story of Adam and Eve. He urged Timothy to use the Scriptures for sound teaching, reproof, correction and training in righteousness (see 2 Tim. 3:16).

WHAT PAUL REALLY SAID In light of the true meaning of the word authentein and of the social context within which Paul wrote his letters to Timothy, I believe a more appropriate rendering of the text under consideration is, "I am not allowing [present tense for that situation] a woman to teach or to proclaim herself the originator of man [authentein]." Do you see how this translation offsets false doctrine?

The word that is frequently translated "silence," "hesuchia," also means harmony, peace, conformity or agreement. I therefore suggest Paul goes on to say, a woman "must be in agreement," meaning agreement with the Scriptures and with sound teaching in the church.

His statement that "Adam was formed first, then Eve" negates the doctrine of Eve as progenitor. And his claim that "Adam was not deceived, but the woman was! And sinned!" directly contradicts the notion that Eve was the "illuminator" and carrier of new revelation.

The suggested rendering of 1 Tim. 2:11-15 is more legitimate than other translations because it fits the social context, is true to the Greek, speaks to the troubled situation and lines up perfectly with all of Paul's other teachings and practices concerning women.



WOMEN: PAUL'S CO-LABORERS There is no indication that Paul restricted women in their callings before God. Throughout his ministry, Paul speaks of women as his co-laborers in the gospel. He traveled with a wife-husband team planting and pastoring house churches and training the great orator, Apollos, to be more accurate in the Word of God. He usually mentions the wife, Priscilla, before her husband, Aquila (see Rom. 16:3; 2 Tim. 4:19; cf. 1 Cor. 16:19).

Paul encouraged Timothy to trust the faith he had received from two women, his mother and his grandmother (see 2 Tim. 1:5). He commends a female leader, Phoebe, to the church at Rome. He says he is sending her himself as a minister of the gospel (see Rom. 16:1).

The Greek word for "minister" here is diakonos, or deacon. It implies that Phoebe had the same status in the early church as Stephen the martyr and Philip the evangelist. In speaking of Phoebe, Paul also uses the word prostatis, which means leader, overseer, or someone with stature, responsibility and authority.

In Romans 16:7 Paul greets his relatives Andronicus, a man, and Junia, a woman. He says they both were in Christ before he was and are highly prominent among the apostles.

Paul even went so far as to break the rabbinic tradition in which he was raised by insisting that women should learn the Word of God just like men, in humility of heart and in full submission to the truth of Jesus Christ. Paul wanted to equip women to teach the truth of Scripture rather than myths and lies.

Paul told Timothy which women to add to the church payroll. He counseled him to employ those who could serve a ministerial function in the church--women with good character and a proven track record (see 1 Tim. 5:10).

Finally, Paul said, "As many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus" (Gal. 3:27-28).

GOD'S PURPOSE FOR WOMEN TODAY Throughout the centuries God has raised up remarkable women in the body of Christ to places of leadership. They have stood in the five-fold ministry of the church as apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. Several women come to mind who have profoundly shaped the characters and ministries of numerous men, including mine: Madame Guyon, Hannah Whitall Smith, Jessie Penn-Lewis, Mother Teresa, Jackie Pullinger-To.

Dr. Paul Yonggi Cho, pastor of the largest church in the world, said that his ministry would not be what it is today without his mother-in-law and other women who were willing to pastor the many cell groups of which his church consists. He claims that 6,000 women were leading cell groups before he found the first man willing to do the task. This is just one example of what God will do in the near future with women whose lives are yielded to Him.

Paul told Timothy to look for women who, like Jesus, have washed the feet of the saints. We are therefore called to search out those in whom He is incarnate, whether male or female, and release them into freedom to serve according to their callings. We will know them because in their submission to God's discipline they will reflect His holiness.

They will demonstrate His nature and His character, have a servant-heart, and walk in humility and obedience. Such people will exhibit the mind of Christ, manifesting His wisdom and His authority. His love, His Word, and His anointing will be in them, and through them, the world will see Jesus.

So, you see, this is not about the dominance of men or about the subservience of women. It's about seeing Jesus fully expressed in all the members of His body. And today there are many women in the church who reflect the character, ministry and anointing of Jesus.

The time has come to break the yoke of oppression, fear, bitterness, enmity, prejudice and distorted teaching. It is time to recognize the callings God has placed on His daughters and release them into their ministries. The hour is late.

Prophetic intercessors everywhere bear witness that God is preparing us for a harvest of unprecedented proportions in which we will need every laborer. We sense that God is about to do something so big that it will take a full expression of the body of Christ to fulfill His purposes. It's time to hear the Lord saying, "Release My captive daughters to do My will."

Just as it took both a man and a woman, Simeon and Anna, to pray and prophesy over the infant Jesus in the temple, so God is raising up both men and women to birth His purposes. We need to embrace His heart.

When the great harvest comes, it will look like Luke 5 all over again. Remember that great catch of fish? Nets breaking! Boats sinking! Overwhelmed disciples calling for help!

Now is the time to hear His voice. He is stirring the church to pray as never before. And as we pray, the Lord of the harvest is calling for every available laborer. Women of God, come forth!