It is commonly believed among certain Christian denominations that women are not supposed to preach or lead the church. Consequently, the idea of a woman pastor, teacher, apostle, prophet, or evangelist seems inconceivable to them. But does the Bible really teach or support this position?
I believe this conclusion can only be reached when we neglect the full breadth of what the Bible teaches on the subject, including its historical and broader context, and instead select only a few verses upon which to build an entire doctrine. Consider, for example, Revelation 3:10: “Because you have kept the word of My perseverance, I also will keep you from the hour of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.” Some read this and conclude that Jesus has promised every member of His church a pre-tribulation rapture. However, Revelation 3:10 was a specific message Jesus gave directly to the church in Philadelphia in the first century. If it were a promise of a pre-tribulation rapture, then those believers who lived over two thousand years ago should all have been raptured by now, leaving no resurrection of the dead in Christ and no rapture still to come. Otherwise, all those believers would still be alive today, waiting to be raptured so that Jesus’ words would not prove false. Since neither of these conclusions holds historically or biblically, applying Revelation 3:10 as a universal pre-tribulation promise to the last-days church is biblically inaccurate. This illustrates the importance of rightly dividing the word of truth, particularly how messages given specifically to local churches, such as the epistles, ought to be handled. We must distinguish between what was meant to be applied locally, though carrying lessons and principles we can still learn from today, and what was meant to be universally applied as written. I believe we are able to make this distinction when we resist the temptation to select a handful of verses in isolation, without recourse to the entire biblical context, and instead consider what the entirety of Scripture has to say on a subject. As we read, “the entirety of Your word is truth” (Psalm 119:160). It takes all, not just a portion, of what Scripture says on a subject to arrive at the full knowledge of the truth. With this in mind, let us examine what the Bible actually says about women in ministry.
Those who believe a woman cannot lead or teach must equally hold that a woman cannot speak in church at all, since the same texts from Paul not only restrict women from exercising authority over men but forbid them from speaking in the assembly altogether (1 Timothy 2:12; 1 Corinthians 14:34-35). But Consider this: when the church began, God Himself gave the gift of prophecy to the four daughters of Philip (Acts 21:9). It is worth noting that the church, per Scripture, is not a temple or the building erected to facilitate our gatherings, for God does not dwell in temples made with human hands (Acts 7:48). The church is the body, assembly, and gathering of believers. It is not defined by a meeting place; we ourselves have become the temple of God (1 Corinthians 3:16). Scripture also makes clear that the gift of prophecy is given specifically for the benefit of the church (1 Corinthians 14:3-4, 22). Would God then contradict Himself by giving the gift of prophecy, intended for the church, to women, and then forbidding them from speaking to the very people for whose benefit He gave the gift? And having established this from the very beginning of the church, can Paul later nullify what God Himself put in place? That does not appear consistent with the whole testimony of Scripture. Paul himself affirmed that he came to preach Christ (1 Corinthians 1:23, 2 Corinthians 4:5), not to contradict Him. This should cause us to examine Paul’s instructions within their immediate context, set against the whole of biblical revelation.
To be continued.
Kwadwo Omari, PhD
May 23, 2026
A Very Important Message:
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life (John 3:16). For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:23). Therefore, If you do not know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour, I invite you to put your faith in Him. Pray the prayer below to accept Jesus Christ as your Saviour: “I come to you God in Jesus’ name and surrender my life unto you. I repent of my sins and I ask You to forgive me all my sins. I confess with my mouth that Jesus is Lord, and I believe with my heart that God has raised Jesus from the dead. I thank you God for saving me, in Jesus name, Amen”. If you sincerely prayed this prayer, believe and be assured that you are saved, because the Bible says, “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:13, Romans 10:9-10, Acts 16:31). Find a Bible believing church to attend so that you can be taught and trained to grow in the ways of God. God bless you.