What Does the Bible Say about Women Pastors? - by Guy Waters

Found here. Our comments in bold.

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The quick answer is, nothing. The Bible has nothing to say about women pastors. 

This Bible teacher attempts to explain 1 Timothy chapter two, particularly vss. 11 and 12. He sort of quotes it, but it's piecemeal and spread all over his presentation. So we shall do the author's job and quote the entire chapter:

1Ti. 2:1-15 I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone — 2 for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. 3 This is good, and pleases God our Savior, 4 who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.

5 For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all men — the testimony given in its proper time. 7 And for this purpose I was appointed a herald and an apostle — I am telling the truth, I am not lying — and a teacher of the true faith to the Gentiles.

8 I want men everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer, without anger or disputing. 9 I also want women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, 10 but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God. 11 A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. 12 I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent.

13 For Adam was formed first, then Eve. 14 And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner. 15 But women will be saved through childbearing — if they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety.

Now with the entire passage before us, we shall not allow the author to impose his will upon the narrative.

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The question whether women may serve as pastors or elders is one that hits home for many Christians. Believers have seen this issue embroil and even divide their churches. In taking up such a critical and sensitive matter, it is important to turn to the Bible. What light does the Word of God shed on this controversial topic?

In 1 Timothy 2:8–15, (This passage does not mention pastors or elders. In fact, the word "pastor" does not appear in either 1 Timothy or 2 Timothy, and a description of elder does not appear until 1 Timothy 5:17.)

the Apostle Paul provides the clear direction that the church needs (The word "church" does not appear until 1 Timothy 3:5. In fact, chapter three is where Paul begins discussing church structure. Nothing he has written up to this point in the letter has to do with church structure.)

to order its life in a way that is pleasing to God. In this letter, Paul writes to Timothy, his younger colleague in the ministry. (Timothy was sent to this church by Paul [1Ti. 1:3] to begin to set it in order until Paul could arrive [1Ti. 3:14, 1Ti. 4:13]. He was not pastor.)

Timothy was serving the church in Ephesus at a difficult time. He was facing problems of false teaching (1 Tim. 1:3–11; 6:2–10) and confusion in worship (1 Tim. 2:1–15). The church also needed clear guidance on the qualifications and task of its officers, the elders and the deacons (1 Tim. 3:1–5:25).

After giving Timothy instructions about the work of prayer in Christian worship (1 Tim. 2:1–7), (There is no biblical evidence that Paul was talking about Christian worship.)

Paul turns to give specific counsel to men and women as they participate in the public worship of God (1 Tim. 2:8–15). In these verses, he addresses sins that tend to particularly plague each gender. Men must pray “without anger or quarreling” (1 Tim. 2:8). Women must prioritize godliness over glamour (1 Tim. 2:9–10). (Waaait. Paul wants men to pray everywhere, not just in church [vs. 8]. Shouldn't women dress modestly all the time, and not just in church [vs. 9]? By extension, shouldn't a woman learn in quietness and full submission everywhere, not just church [vs.11]?) 

Paul takes up a further concern relating to women’s participation in public worship. (Notice how the author keeps inserting this false idea that Paul was dealing with public worship? Read the chapter again at the top of this page. If the reader would divorce his mind from the idea that Paul was writing about public worship, would such an idea occur to the reader?)

Paul first positively outlines God’s calling to women—“let a woman learn quietly with all submissiveness” (1 Tim. 2:11). The Apostle affirms the right of women (The author dishonestly changes the tense from singular ["a woman"] to plural. This will be important.)

to be present in the worship of the church (There is no mention of "worship of the church" in the text.)

and to learn, alongside the men, (There is no mention of "alongside men" in the text.)

the Word of God as it is read and proclaimed. (There is no mention of "the Word of God as it is read and proclaimed" in the text.

So the author needs to tell us how "women" are to be in " full submission" during a worship service. Are "women" to submit to all the men in attendance? Or, if this full submission is to be to the leadership, then why does Paul not mention men to submit also? And why are "women" told to learn quietly in a worship service but men are not?)

In this respect, female disciples of Jesus are in every way the equal of male disciples of Jesus.

Paul then forbids women “to teach or to exercise authority over a man” (1 Tim. 2:12). (The author again dishonestly changes the tense from singular ["a woman"] to plural.)

They are, rather, “to remain quiet.” Women are to occupy themselves with what God has called them to do—to be quiet learners. They are not to take up the forbidden pursuits outlined in verse 12. (Changed from singular to plural.)

What are these pursuits? Paul mentions two. The first is teaching. The context is important here. Paul does not forbid women (Changed from singular to plural.)

from any and all teaching activities, even within the church. Rather, Paul forbids women (Changed from singular to plural.)

from the public preaching and teaching of the Word of God when the church is assembled in public worship. (There is no mention of "the church is assembled in public worship" in the text.)

This work belongs to the elders of the church (see 1 Tim. 3:2; (This verse is about overseers, not elders.)

  4:11–16). (The duties listed here are instructions specific to Timothy.

There is no evidence that Timothy was a pastor or elder in this church.)

The second is the exercise of authority over men. In the following chapter, (We will help the reader keep track. He's now referring to chapter three of 1 Timothy.)

Paul will entrust spiritual authority to the church’s elders, (No, overseers.)

qualified men who have demonstrated themselves to be competent managers of their own families (see 1 Tim. 3:5). (Oh. So the author does understand that the discussion of church order does not begin until 1 Timothy chapter three.)

We may summarize Paul’s prohibition in verse 12 (Now he's back to 1 Timothy chapter 2...)

 in this way: women (Changed from singular to plural.)

are not permitted to hold the office or to exercise the functions of an elder in the church. (1 Timothy 2:12 is discussing elders vs. women? Now we are hopelessly confused. Let's requote the verse: 

1Ti. 2:12 I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent.

Now we see why the author insists that this is solely about what happens in church. He has so massaged and manipulated the text so that is now beyond all recognition, allowing him to insinuate the idea that women were being prohibited from doing "elder" things.

But we now know two things the author has gotten wrong:

• This is not a discussion of what should happen in a church service
• This is not about what women cannot do, it's about what a "woman" cannot do.

Let's continue with the author's presentation.)

It is in verses 13–14 that Paul provides reasons for his instruction in verses 11–12. Paul reminds Timothy of the order in which God made Adam and Eve: “For Adam was formed first, then Eve” (1 Tim. 2:13). Paul then reminds Timothy of the way that our first parents fell into sin: “Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor” (1 Tim. 2:14). (Hmm. Notice that Paul continues with the singular "woman." Why do we keep emphasizing this? Be patient, dear reader.)

Paul is not excusing Adam from responsibility for the fall. On the contrary, Adam’s sin was against the clear light of the Word of God (see Gen. 2:15). Neither is Paul saying here that Eve was a gullible person. He is simply noting the Bible’s teaching that Eve ate the forbidden fruit after she had been deceived by the serpent.

How do Paul’s words in 1 Timothy 2:13–14 support his commands in verses 11–12? They do so in at least two ways. First, the prohibition of women from the teaching and exercise of authority described in verse 12 is rooted in the way that God made human beings (1 Tim. 2:13). (Now the hammer drops. This is not about the way God made human beings, it's the way God constructed marriage. The prototypical marriage of Adam and Eve is the reason Paul gave that "a woman" must not teach or have authority over "a man." 

One woman and one man. Which man? Her husband! 

The Greek word aner [singular] is used in this chapter [2:12], with plural form andra as well [2:8]. Similarly, the singular "woman" [gynaiki] and the plural "women" [gynaikas, 2:9 & 10]. These words were specifically chosen by Paul.

Aner and gynaiki both can be translated as "husband" and "wife," usually determined by context. But even then the choice of words shows how interchangeable the translation can be: 

1Co. 7:12-13 To the rest I say this (I, not the Lord): If any brother has a wife who is not a believer and she is willing to live with him, he must not divorce her. 13 And if a woman has a husband who is not a believer and he is willing to live with her, she must not divorce him.

"A wife" in vs. 12 is the same Greek word as "a woman" in vs. 13. This is the crux of our position, that Paul was not discussing church order in 1 Timothy 2:12. However, because translators chose to translate the word in this verse as "woman" rather than "wife," it makes the reader completely miss what Paul was trying to say. 

He was discussing the husband-wife relationship.

We will demonstrate how simple this is by rendering the verses according to our assertions:

9 I also want women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, 10 but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God. 

11 A wife should learn in quietness and full submission. 12 I do not permit a wife to teach or to have authority over [her] husband; she must be silent.

13 For Adam was formed first, then Eve. 14 And Adam was not the one deceived; it was his wife who was deceived and became a sinner. 

 

Notice how this makes more sense. It completely solves the age-old controversy. 

Now, this is not to say that other Scriptures do not come to bear on the issue of women in leadership. It just so happens, 1 Timothy 2:12 is not one of them.)

It is, in other words, rooted in the creation. Paul’s prohibition is not unique to the situation in Ephesus; nor is it restricted to the first century. We certainly may not attribute it to the limited outlook of a first-century Jewish man. This prohibition reflects the order God established in creation for men and women.

Second, Paul’s prohibition in verse 12 finds a cautionary tale in verse 14. When Eve tried to “be like God” and disobeyed God’s Word, disaster ensued (Gen. 3:5). No good ever comes from departing from the wholesome order that God puts in place for our well-being. For that reason, Paul continues, women should not try to pursue what God has forbidden them. They should commit themselves to what God has called them to do. God calls most women (but not all women) to marriage and childbearing (1 Tim. 2:15). (Ah, so the author notices that Paul was talking about married women. But sadly, he will never draw the connection.)

When a believing woman embraces this vocation with “faith and love and holiness, with self-control,” then she may find assurance of the salvation that God has freely given her in Christ.

We need Paul’s words in the church today. They show us the order or pattern that God has set down for men and women in His church. They impress on us the danger of deviating from that order. But they do not merely lay down negatives for the church. They present a winning vision of what God has called women to be and to do. In an age that often demeaned women as the intellectual and moral inferiors of men, Paul told Timothy that women, no less than men, have a right to be learners in the school of Christ (1 Tim. 2:11). They are to adorn themselves in godliness—not only when they gather weekly with the church for worship (1 Tim. 2:9) but also in the day-to-day grind of caring for their children (1 Tim. 2:15). It is in the quiet and ordinary scenes of life that God is pleased to work out His extraordinary purposes of grace. And that is good news for all God’s people in every age.