Throwback Thursday ~ Unforbidden Fruits: 3 Ways Women MUST Lead and Teach the Church - by Michelle Lesley

Excerpted from here. Our comments in bold.
------------------------

Ms. Lesley appears in our blog from time to time, often enough to have earned herself her own label. Invariably she teaches errantly. 

And once again she misrepresents Scripture. Though the subject passage is not in our excerpt, she does eventually manage to quote it. But that's it, no other Scriptures, which is too often the rule rather than the exception regarding these supposed Bible teachers. 

So that means that she's just riffing. She's parroting other teachers' take on the passage. Every other assertion she makes is undocumented.

We dive deeply into the issue of women in leadership here.

We are going to examine two excerpts. The first is single sentence, rife with errors. The second is regarding only a single word, not found in the Greek.

One sentence and one word, but several errors. This must be some sort of record.

---------------------

(...)

God has instructed pastors – (Error number one. Only four words in and there's already a problem. Ms. Lesley's link is to 1 Timothy 2:11-15, even though she doesn't get around to quoting it until much later. She will make several false claims about what this passage teaches, which is probably why she doesn't immediately quote it. We shall provide the quote:

11 Let a woman learn quietly with all submissiveness. 12 I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet. 13 For Adam was formed first, then Eve; 14 and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor. 15 Yet she will be saved through childbearing—if they continue in faith and love and holiness, with self-control. (ESV)

God has instructed pastors... she tells us. But the reader will note that the word "pastor" does not appear in the passage. And there is no mention here of church leaders or church leadership at all. 

In fact, nowhere in the Bible will we find any instruction to pastors. That's because pastors are not the heads of local churches. There's no job description for pastors in the Bible.)

who are, in turn, to instruct us – (Error number two. Nowhere in the Bible does it tell us that pastors are to instruct us. Pastors are shepherds, who serve and are examples to the flock:

1Pe. 5:1-3 To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow-elder, a witness of Christ’s sufferings and one who also will share in the glory to be revealed: 2 Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, serving as overseers — not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; 3 not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. 

Pastors and teachers are separate offices:

Ep. 4:11 It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers...

Now, we concede that it is possible for certain men to be gifted in more than one of these areas, but this is rarer than one might think. God intends the church to be led by a plurality of elders, not a single man.)

that, in the gathered body of Believers, (We are still in the first sentence, and have now reached the third error. Read the passage again. It does not mention the "gathered body of Believers." Further, nowhere in the Bible does it tell us that pastors preside over the gathering.

Paul tells Timothy quite directly:

1Ti. 5:17 The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching.

Elders preside over the church.)

women are not to preach to men, instruct men in the Scriptures, or exercise authority over men. (Ms. Lesley links to one of her posts, which we examined here.

Error number four. Notice the dishonest framing. The verse actually says, I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man. Not women, a woman. Not men, a man.

Let's put it together. In the Bible, pastors don't lead churches. Pastors don't teach. In fact, Paul is not even discussing these things in this passage. He's not talking about church services at all. Nor is Paul telling us anything here about what women can or can't do in church services.)

(...)

 The Other Institution 

Did you ever notice that the “do” for women in the church comes before the “don’t”? We tend to totally skip over that enormous little word that kicks off 1 Timothy 2:11: “Let a woman learn…” (Waaait. The word "let" does not appear in the Greek. The literal rendering is

guné en manthanó en pas hupotagé  - - a woman, a wife; in learn, [be] in every kind [of] obedience, submission

From a single non-existent word ["let"], Ms. Lesley constructs an entire doctrine.)

We have no idea of, nor appreciation for, how huge and groundbreaking it was for the Holy Spirit, through Paul, to proactively instruct pastors: (*Sigh* This is not instruction to pastors. Timothy wasn't a pastor.)

“Hey, get these women in here, make sure they listen up, and train them properly in the Scriptures so they’ll be equipped to fortify their homes with biblical truth.”

(...)