Furthermore, Ephesians 4:8, 11–13 says: “When He ascended on high, he led captive a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men… And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ”. These gifts given to the church, commonly referred to as the fivefold ministry, are not merely roles but also refer to specific individual members of the body of Christ. Here is where the argument becomes decisive. The text does not say God gave these roles to men only or to women only. He gave them to some, and the text does not make this gender-specific. We are given no biblical basis to exclude women from the fivefold ministry on the grounds of this text or our shared spiritual life in Christ. The fivefold ministry also constitutes leadership in the church (1 Corinthians 12:27–28). If women are not excluded from these ministry roles, I believe there is equally no basis, when considering the full biblical context, to exclude them from church leadership.
One objection sometimes raised is that these gifts and offices are no longer in operation. But this is precisely where that argument collapses. The Bible states that God gave these gifts, the fivefold ministries, to the church until the church grows to full maturity and is made perfect as Christ is. Can any leader who claims these gifts have ceased honestly assert that the church on earth today, including himself and his congregation, has attained the full measure of the stature of Christ? The obvious answer is no, and that answer alone should cause us to give up that claim. There is also no scriptural basis whatsoever for claiming that these ministries still exist while the spiritual gifts that accompany and enable them have ceased. Those who claim these gifts and accompanying ministries have ceased largely still maintain that there are pastors, teachers, and evangelists, and refer to themselves or other leaders as such. But why the double standard? How can we selectively retain pastors, teachers, and evangelists from the five, while randomly claiming that prophets and apostles have ceased or no longer function in their biblical capacity? We do not interpret Scripture by our theological preferences; we interpret it by what Scripture itself says. And there is nothing in Scripture that declares these ministry gifts have passed away. If women can be apostles and prophets, since God gave these gifts to some without restricting them to men, then I believe Scripture makes clear that women also qualify to lead and speak in the church – just as God Himself gave prophetic gifts to women in Acts (Acts 21:9), meant for speaking to and edifying the church (1 Corinthians 14:3-4, 22).
Similarly, in 1 Corinthians 12, Scripture teaches that the Holy Spirit Himself distributes gifts to members of the church, commonly called the gifts of the Spirit. Included among them is the gift of prophecy, which God specifically identifies as given for the benefit of the church. The Bible states that these gifts are given by the Holy Spirit individually to each one as He wills (1 Corinthians 12:11). Nothing in the passage restricts these gifts to men, or reserves the gift of prophecy for men alone. To exclude women from receiving and exercising these gifts in the assembly, I believe, is to impose our own human restrictions on the work of the Holy Spirit and on the women He chooses to gift. We are, in fact, warned not to forbid speaking in tongues, which is itself one of the gifts of the Spirit, and are urged to be eager to prophesy (1 Corinthians 14:39). Every member of the church, not just men, is encouraged to employ his or her gift to serve (1 Peter 4:10; Romans 12:6–8).
Another argument that may be used to exclude women from speaking or leading in church may be drawn from two texts: “But I want you to know that the head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God” (1 Corinthians 11:3), and “For the husband is the head of the wife, as also Christ is the head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body” (Ephesians 5:23). Ephesians 5:23 specifically addresses the marriage relationship and provides no direction regarding whether a woman can lead or speak in the church. It therefore provides no argument for or against women in church leadership or ministry. In 1 Corinthians 11:3, the Greek words translated “man” and “woman” can also be translated “husband” and “wife,” and I believe this fits the context far better since no random man can claim authority over another man’s wife and demand her submission just because he his a man. Furthermore, the same passage states in 1 Corinthians 11:11, “Nevertheless, neither is man independent of woman, nor woman independent of man, in the Lord”. Here again, we encounter the anchor phrase “in the Lord,” the same phrase that grounds Galatians 3:28. I believe this underscores the same truth Paul expressed in Galatians: that the distinctions which separate us on the basis of our natural life cease to divide us in our spiritual life in Christ.
To be continued.
Kwadwo Omari, PhD
May 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.