Prior Book | Prior Chapter | Prior Verse | Next Verse | Next Chapter | Next Book | Viewing NASB and Amplified 2015 | |
NASB | Galatians 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Galatians 3:28 There is [now no distinction in regard to salvation] neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you [who believe] are all one in Christ Jesus [no one can claim a spiritual superiority]. [Rom 3:22; 1 Cor 12:13] |
Subject: God can use woman in the ministry? |
Bible Note: Your conclusions here are not supported by the clear revelation elsewhere in Scripture that male leadership of the flock is the standard set forth. "For this reason I left you in Crete, that you would set in order what remains and appoint elders in every city as I directed you, namely, if any man is above reproach, the husband of one wife, having children who believe, not accused of dissipation or rebellion." --Titus 1:5-6 "It is a trustworthy statement: if any man aspires to the office of overseer, it is a fine work he desires to do. An overseer, then, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, prudent, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not addicted to wine or pugnacious, but gentle, peaceable, free from the love of money. He must be one who manages his own household well, keeping his children under control with all dignity (but if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of the church of God?)" --1 Timothy 3:1-5 Paul makes it very clear that men are to hold the office of overseer. One might respond by arguing that that was to be done because of cultural reasons, but there are a couple of problems with that opinion: 1. In the pagan culture in which Christianity was taking root, priestesses were not uncommon at all. There would have been little or no cultural backlash to the Christian religion having females leading worship, so we must conclude that it is not merely a "judgment call" on Paul's part. 2. Paul does not present his statements as his personal preferences. He states the qualifications for elders as universal truths. Seeing as these universal truths are found in the Bible, we must assume that they are divinely inspired just as every other part of Scripture. 3. Perhaps most importantly, Paul goes into the reasons for why the elders must meet these qualifications in 1 Timothy 3. He tells Timothy (and us) "if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of the church of God?" He draws a direct parallel between running the household of one's family and running the household of God. And the Bible makes it very clear who the head of the household in a biblically-functioning family is to be: "Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body. But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything." --Ephesians 5:22-24 Wives are to be subject to their husbands as the church is subject to Christ. The husband is the head of the wife. Taking that back to 1 Timothy 3, we see that just as the man is the manager of the household, so God's household is to be managed by men. Marriage is a picture of Christ's relationship to His church, and the man and the woman are assigned different but equally important roles in the family. So, too, in the church, men and women alike have been given spiritual gifts with which to glorify God, but the position or office of the woman in the church is not to be one of leadership over the man. Taking the whole counsel of God into consideration, this is the only reasonable conslusion to draw. --Joe! |