I. Through the ages, it has always been the men who lead the worship of God<\/p>\n A. In the patriarchal age, it was the fathers (hence patriarch) who performed the\nsacrifices to God.\n
B. Under the Old Law, the priests were restricted to males from the tribe of Levi.<\/p>\n
C. The question is what role can women participate in the church today.<\/p>\n
II. Women as teachers<\/p>\n
A. A woman cannot teach men – I Tim 2:11-12<\/p>\n B. They can help in the instruction of a man (Acts 18:26), but this verse is clear that\nthey cannot be the teacher.\n 1. Best example was told to me by a preacher (Bob Buchanan?). When he\nfirst began preaching, he was nervous and jittery. A woman in the\ncongregation helped set up Bible studies and then went along “to take\nnotes.” She would sit next to the preacher, such that he could see her\nnotepad, but not those they were studying with. Whenever he got stuck or\ncould remember a verse, she would be writing down verses for him or\npoints he needed to remember.\n 2. Without usurping authority, without a word of instruction, she taught him\nhow to be an effective teacher of God’s word.\n
C. Women are to teach other women – Tit 2:3-5<\/p>\n
D. Did not the early church have prophetesses? Acts 2:17<\/p>\n 1. Philip’s daughters spoke God’s Word – Acts 21:9, but it doesn’t state who\nthey taught. \n 2. Those looking for an excuse for women teachers and preachers are\nassuming they taught men, but it is not mention and if they did it would\nviolate other clear passages.\n E. There is no record of any woman preacher or teacher of men in the New\nTestament.\n
III. Women as servants<\/p>\n
A. Dorcas aided the poor by making coats – Acts 9:36-39<\/p>\n
B. The woman preparing Jesus – Matt 26:7-13<\/p>\n
C. Phoebe – Rom 16:1-2<\/p>\n 1. She is called a servant of the church, but this does not imply by itself that\nshe had authority in the church.\n 2. The saints were told to assist her, but assistance does not mean being\nplaced under her authority. Similar Greek work is used in 2 Tim 4:17\nindicating Jesus assisting Paul, but it does not mean Paul had authority over\nChrist.\n
D. Euodia and Syntycha – Phil 4:2-3<\/p>\n 1. These women had struggled in the cause of the Gospel and are called\nPaul’s fellow workers.\n
2. Again, nothing in context indicates they taught men.<\/p>\n
3. Being a fellow worker does not imply having the same authority as Paul. <\/p>\n a. If so, we are fellow workers of God (1 Cor. 3:9) and we don’t\nhave God’s authority.\n 4. One preacher I heard talked of a wonderful woman, widowed, who wanted\nto help the cause of Christ in Eastern Europe. She traveled with two\npreachers and ran their home so they could concentrate on spreading the\nGospel. She cleaned, cooked, stood in long lines to purchase food — she\nserved the cause of Christ.\n
IV. Women as leaders<\/p>\n A. In the offices of the church, both elders and deacons are specifically described as\nmale duties – I Tim 3:2,8.\n B. We discussed at length earlier that a woman in the role of leadership over men\nwould violate the order God set for this world – I Cor. 11:3-4\n
C. Some point to Old Testament examples, such as Deborah – Judges 4:4-9<\/p>\n 1. Even if this was a proper example, an example cannot violate a direct\ncommandment from God given in the New Testament.\n 2. Unlike other Judges, Deborah did not rule over Israel, but the people came\nto her for judgment because she was a prophetess.\n 3. Unlike the other Judges, Deborah did not lead the army over their enemies,\nBarak did that.\n D. It is interesting to note that only six women are mentioned as prophetesses under\nthe Old Law. They seem to be exception instead of the rule.\nV. Women do have roles to play and functions to perform. However, there are limits on the\ntasks they may take up.\n A. Sometimes people go overboard. They read I Cor 14:34-35 and decide that a\nwoman cannot make any noise. \n 1. This ignores the command to the whole church to sing – Eph 5:19, Col\n3:16\n 2. There is precedent. Women sang in the choirs under the Old Law, even\nthough they could not lead worship – Ezra 2:65\n B. Our society has attempted to change the bounds God has placed. As Christians,\nwe must stand for the Truth, even if it is unpopular\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I. Through the ages, it has always been the men who lead the worship of God A. In the patriarchal age, it was the fathers (hence patriarch) who performed the sacrifices to God. B. Under the Old Law, the priests were restricted to males from the tribe of Levi. C. The question is what role can women participate in…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[32],"tags":[82],"class_list":["post-7895","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermon","tag-womens-roles"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":70557,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/equal-in-christ-distinct-in-roles-a-scriptural-case-for-male-leadership-in-the-church\/","url_meta":{"origin":7895,"position":0},"title":"Equal in Christ, Distinct in Roles: A Scriptural Case for Male Leadership in the Church","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 25, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by Gregory Alan Tidwell I've been a preacher in the church for over forty years, and over time, I've seen many debates rise up among us. One of the most enduring, particularly in recent decades, is the question of women's leadership in the church. Many voices today, both from within\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":89500,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/womans-work-in-the-church\/","url_meta":{"origin":7895,"position":1},"title":"Woman’s Work in the Church","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 17, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by James W. Boyd The belief and teaching that says men and women are to be equal in all matters is as foolish as contending that up is the same as down, and right is as proper as left. God describes their roles, not man. No religion or philosophy places\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":27828,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/if-women-cannot-preach-then-why-can-they-sing\/","url_meta":{"origin":7895,"position":2},"title":"If women cannot preach, then why can they sing?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 20, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have a question regarding the preaching of a woman in church. Last Sunday my friend told me that in church one woman is leading and also preaching the message. In that meeting, men were also there. I know that according to I Corinthians and I Timothy women should\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":69403,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/are-the-same-roles-needed-to-have-the-same-value\/","url_meta":{"origin":7895,"position":3},"title":"Are the Same Roles Needed to Have the Same Value?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 20, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by Kyle Ellison Fox News reported this week that women are now the largest demographic that is abandoning the church in The United States. Honestly, when it vaguely asked me to guess who was leaving at the highest rates, this wasn't the answer that came to my mind, but then\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":68117,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/are-women-not-leaders-in-the-church-because-they-are-weaker\/","url_meta":{"origin":7895,"position":4},"title":"Are women not leaders in the church because they are weaker?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 17, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello, brother in Christ! I am currently stuck with understanding the application of I Peter 3:7. When we were having a Bible Study on the roles of women in the church, some cited I Peter 3:7, specifically highlighting the part that says \"women are weaker vessels\" as one of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":24756,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/are-women-less-than-men\/","url_meta":{"origin":7895,"position":5},"title":"Are women less than men?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 17, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Are women less than men? Because the Bible says it's disgraceful for a woman to talk in the church. Seems like she's something dirty. Answer: I wonder about the question because I don't believe you think your mother or any other woman is inferior. It leaves me with the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7895","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7895"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7895\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7895"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7895"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7895"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}