Women Preachers Ok With God!!!!!

Please note I did not write this article most of the comments here I agree with but Head covering / uncovering for men is a universal command and ordinance given by to the Apostle Paul by the Lord to all Christian women and men to observe when praying or prophesying 1 Cor 11:1-16
It was a command 1Cor 1:2, 1 Cor 14:37,
Victor.s

THE WOMEN PREACHERS

There are women who are called by God to preach. There has been for millennia. This is not new. The subject of women has long been debated in Christian circles. The church has backslidden from the truth proclaimed by the Word of God. The Word of God proclaims that God does not see us as male or female. He sees us all as equals, regardless of the gender. So why would God favor one gender over another? He does not, and when Christians teach otherwise, they are misapplying, and misinterpreting Scriptures.

Please also see Link Head covering article, there are about five on this blog site, here is one of them. (use search above to find the others)


Galatians 3:28
"There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female; for ye are all one in Christ Jesus."
In the church that Jesus heads, there is no room for prejudices, bias, and discrimination. Jesus brought equality of the races, of the various social classes, of both genders into the church. If the church reverts back to the carnal bias of cultures, it hurts the church and its ministry. The prejudice also grieves the Holy Spirit, Who is the power Source of the church.
All races, classes, and sexes are equal in rights and privileges. In Christianity, there is an equality for women that is unlike any other culture of the past. In the Bible days, women were thought to be inferior to men. They walked humbly behind their mate. They served him in total subjection and fear. If he chose, he could divorce her for combing her hair in an unpleasing manner. He could send her from his home and from his life with a few words.

Then came Jesus. He taught a new equality for women. He taught that God saw all of mankind as equal. The women were delighted in that day.
Moses prayed long ago, ‘Would to God that all of the Lord’s people (men and women, bond and free, Jew and Gentile, all races) were prophets, and that God would put His Spirit upon them." Numbers 11:29
Joel prophesied that in the last days, men and women would prophesy.
Joel 2:28
"And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out My Spirit upon ALL flesh, your sons and DAUGHTERS shall PROPHESY..."
We see the beginning of this last day fulfillment started in the Book of Acts 2:16-21
"... and on My servants and HANDMAIDS, I will pour out My Spirit,
and they SHALL PROPHESY..."

Yet, despite this plain prophetic word, that there would be women prophets, for a long time, false teaching about women, has hindered their ministry.
Jesus said ‘Preach the gospel’ (Mark 16:15), and He did not limit it to men. The command must be obeyed by both men and women.
Paul said women ‘prophesy’. In I Corinthians 11:5, he said that ‘for every woman that prayeth or prophesieth..." So, women in Corinth were not told to stop prophesying. The Hebrew word ‘nebrah’ and the Greek word ‘proph’ are used for ‘prophetess’ and a female preacher. The word ‘prophesy’ indicates divine inspiration. A woman can be divinely inspired, and who can object? If God chose to inspire a woman to prophesy, preach, to ‘every creature’, we have no right in the church to limit, hinder, or deny that calling of women.
1 Corinthians 14:3 (KJV)
But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort.
Since prophesying is ‘edification, exhortation, and comfort, then it is also ‘preaching’. How could anyone edify, exhort, and comfort without preaching? The ministry of preaching includes those three things of necessity.
Not one Scripture in the Bible prohibits women from preaching the gospel. In fact, if there were even one passage, then it would have many passages that would disagree with it, and the Word of God is harmonnious, not disagreeing with itself.
Acts 10:34
"Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth, I perceive that God is no respecter of persons..."
All races, all ages, both genders are loved alike by God, are called to ministry alike by God.
God used a ‘rod’ (Exodus 4), He used a donkey (Numbers 22), He used ravens (I Kings 17), He used a rooster (Mark 14), and He uses men and women, educated and uneducated, rich and poor.
Today, in Christianity, we find the doctrines of putting women as inferior to men, having crept back into the dogmas of congregations. This is regrettable and sinful. It is contrary to the true teachings of the Bible. All Christians are as one in God's eyes. He does not care what your profession is, and He does not care what your skin color is. He does not care if you are Jewish or Gentile, and He does not care if you are male or female.
Romans 2:11
"For there is no respect of persons with God."
Ephesians 6:9
"...neither is there respect of persons with Him."
I Peter 1:17
"And if ye call on the Father, Who without respect of persons judgeth..."
How many times does God have to have that statement in the Bible? Still with the four times shown here, we find some who preach and teach that God sees women as inferior to man, and unable to preach. Can God be any clearer? Does He need to put handwriting on the walls of the buildings of the congregations of today? The truth of the New Testament's teaching is that God sees no difference in the rights and privileges of men or women. The congregations of Christianity have often perverted some of the Scriptures. Many have tried to teach that women are inferior to men. Let's look at the Scriptures and examine their teachings.
First, let us look at the question of women preachers.
Reasons for women preachers:
I. The Spirit was proclaimed to be poured out on women, and they are supposed to prophesy. Preach. If it only takes two or three to make a church, how are they to prophesy if not within a church?
The word ‘prophesy’ means to speak God’s rhema. There is no limitation as to it being to only one gender. I Corinthians 14:4 says that one ‘who prophesies, edifies the church.’ Prophesying is done in a church. A church is where two or three gather in Jesus’ name, and therefore, women must be in a church in order to prophesy.
II. In I Corinthians 12, Paul compares the church to a body, and all parts (men and women) are members of the body and are to function as the Lord directs.
III. Women were used of God in the Old Testament and in the New Testament as prophetesses, preachers. The last age has seen such false teaching about women, and their callings to speak in the church, that we have much forgotten that God is no respecter of persons.

There are many women preachers in Scripture:

1. Miriam (Exodus 15:20)
"And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances."
She was a prophetess, preacher, and worship leader.
2. Deborah (Judges 4:4)
Would God have inspired Deborah to do something sinful? She ruled men and women for 40 years. She gave orders from God to the army and its leaders. She was an evangelist, a prophetess, a judge, and a preacher. God gave her authority over the mighty. (Judges 5:13)
3. Huldah (II Kings 22:14, II Chronicles 34:22)
She preached to a congregation of men about the law. Her message brought a revival.
2 Chronicles 34:20-22 (KJV)
And the king commanded Hilkiah, and Ahikam ...saying,
Go, enquire of the LORD for me, and for them that are left in Israel and in Judah,...
And Hilkiah, and they that the king had appointed, went to Huldah the prophetess,..."
The men were sent to a prophetess, to inquire of God, and she spoke to the men concerning the message that God gave her for them.
4. Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz (Isaiah’s wife) (Isaiah 8:3)
She was a prophetess, and preached alongside Isaiah.
5. Elisabeth (Lk 1:41-45)
She preached a sermon to Mary, and her husband, and the babe in her womb jumped and somersaulted at the words of it.
6. Mary, mother of Jesus (Lk 1:46-55)
She preached to Joseph, she was first pastor and preacher to Jesus, she preached to her other sons, who finally came to the Lord after Jesus’ resurrection.
7. In the gospels, several women preachers proclaimed the good news. (Matt. 28:1-10, Lk. 24:9-11, Jn. 4:28:-30, Jn. 20:16-18)
One of these was Mary Magdalene. She was given the first resurrection sermon by Jesus, told to take it to a group of men, and there proclaim, preach that word. That was quite a church service. I imagine no one thought to complain it was delivered by a woman. The bias was not there. Jesus had chosen the vessel to be the preacher of that first resurrection service.
8. Philip’s four daughters (Acts 21:9)
Acts 21:8-9 (KJV)
And the next day we that were of Paul's company departed, and came unto Caesarea: and we entered into the house of Philip the evangelist, which was one of the seven; and abode with him.
And the same man had four daughters, virgins, which did prophesy.
Paul was a man, Philip was a man, there were others in Paul’s ‘company’ that were men. These four daughters of Philip prophesied while all those men were in the church service.
9. Anna (Luke 2:36-38)
She stayed in the Temple. Her sermons had to be preached there. She spoke prophetically about the soon birth of the Messiah. She proved it was God inspiring her sermons by the sign following that she would see the Messiah before she died.
　
10. Phebe, Priscilla, Mary, Tryphena, Tryphosa, Persis, and Julia (Romans 16)
Romans 16:1-2 (KJV)
I commend unto you Phebe our sister, which is a servant (diakonos) of the church which is at Cenchrea:
That ye receive her in the Lord, as becometh saints, and that ye assist her in whatsoever business she hath need of you: for she hath been a succourer of many, and of myself also.
The word ‘servant’ there is the same as the word used for Philip, who preached in Samaria, and to the Ethiopian eunuch. It is used of Stephen, who preached till his stoning. Are we to believe Phebe, with that same ministry did it without preaching?
11. Euodias and Syntyche are mentioned as leaders of the church in Philippi.
Philippians 4:2-3 (KJV)
I beseech Euodias, and beseech Syntyche, that they be of the same mind in the Lord.
And I intreat thee also, true yokefellow, help those women which laboured with me in the gospel...
Those two women had ‘labored’ with Paul. They were co-workers in the church. They had authority to speak, to have opinions, to work with Paul in ministry. They had come to some disagreement, and Paul was encouraging some ‘help’ for them. They were not to be the ‘helpers’ for the ‘others’ i.e. the men and women of the church to be the helpers of these women in their leadership of the church.
12. Corinthian women
They prophesied and prayed in church. (I Cor. 11:4-5) ( I Cor. 14:34-35 refers to women who talked out loud to husbands across the room during the service, thus interrupting the preacher. )
A prophetess is a woman who prophesies. Prophesying and preaching both involve speaking words inspired and authorized by God. So, the women who prophesied had to have also preached. There have been many, there will be many, many more women preachers.

　

Christian women in the early church period after the close

of our canon of Scripture

　
Blandina died in 177 AD, she was a famous martyr in France, died for her preaching of Jesus.
Perpetua and Felicitas died early in the second century as martyrs for their preaching.
There were many more, far too many to name.
　

In later ages, God found women to answer His calling to preach.

　
Anne Hutchinson was a preacher in the seventeenth century in Massachusetts.
Margaret Fell co-founded the Quakers with George Fox. One of the books she authored was called ‘Women Speaking Justified, Proved and Knowed of the Scriptures’.
Many of the Methodists preachers in the 18^th century were women.
Catherine Booth was a preacher. She married William Booth and at first he disagreed with her being a preacher, until he heard her preach, and then changed his mind. They founded the Salvation Army.
Agnes Ozman was one of the first preachers in the revival of pentecost early in the 1900's.
Aimee Semple McPherson was probably one of the most popular women preachers in the 20^th century.
Now in the 21^st century, we have many women preachers. And more are n the way, for the call of God is upon men and women for this final age.
Anne Graham Lotz, daughter of Billy Graham, has related that her father and mother disapproved of her, a woman, being a preacher. When they heard her preach, they changed their mind, and ‘could see that God had called’ her.
The reason some think God excluded women from preaching:
Some, to excuse the teaching of not allowing women to preach, use I Timothy 2, and its mention of Eve’s sin. They totally misconstrue the message of that passage in trying to affirm a reason for their bias against women.
1 Timothy 2:10-15 (KJV)
10 But (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works.
11 Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection.
12 But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.
13 For Adam was first formed, then Eve.
14 And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.
15 Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety.
The false idea that women are forbidden to preach is Scripture-less, there is no Scripture to validate a ‘why’ on that. Some use I Timothy 2:10-15, saying that there it shows Eve had the greater wrong in the garden, and women ever since are being punished by not being allowed to preach. They justify their exclusion of women as being based on that passage. They misconstrue some words, they miss the whole point of that passage. There are many wrong suppositions, some statements totally in conflict with Bible passages in that explanation. Let me explain.
Genesis 2:16-18 (KJV)
16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:
17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
18 And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.
Notice the command not to eat of the tree was given to Adam. He alone heard the command direct from God. Eve had not yet been made from Adam’s rib. So, Eve heard the command only from Adam.
This was their only test to pass. If they could have not eaten of that tree... all other righteousness would have been natural. Yet, as easy as it was, mankind failed.
The devil came to Eve, who would be more easily tempted, due to her having heard the command second hand, not from God Himself, but only as passed on to her from Adam.
Genesis 3:6
"And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and the tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat."
Adam and Eve were created without sin, but had the power of choice. If God had not given the power to mankind to choose sin or righteousness, mankind would have simply been robots. God's purpose was to see if mankind could remain innocent, and be true to God's trust, and thereby remain perfect under all conditions. Mere untried virtue does not deserve the name. Goodness is not a passive quality, but a deliberate choice between right and wrong.
It took the devil, and his insinuations against what Adam had told her, and his tempting her to find something more that would be good for her and her husband, to bring Eve to her failure.
For Adam, he had knowledge of what God had said, and the temptation of ‘’did God really say?’, and ‘did God really mean?’ should not have tempted him. His failure was a knowledge failure. He knew he was doing evil. He knew of a certainty that God had truly revealed the evil nature of disobedience, and its consequences. Eve was sinning in some ignorance, some lack of full knowledge. Adam was sinning willfully, in order to please his wife.
In Paul’s day, the women were not educated in the same way men were, and they were ignorant of many Bible passages. They needed to learn, now that Jesus had come and was calling many women to ministry, as well as the men.
Jesus had complimented Mary, and mildly scolded Martha. For Mary sat at Jesus’ feet to learn, to gain knowledge. We find in the New Testament some women had been learning, though the society and culture of that day did not encourage such.
Priscilla took Apollos and taught him what he had failed to learn. The wise and scholarly Apollos learned from one of the first women preachers.
Concerning the problem of women in church services who would freely, and with the authority they now had, question their husbands, interrupting the service to do so, Paul had to explain to Timothy what to do. The women were told to be ‘silent’ during the service, and at home ask their husbands the questions that arose during the sermon. That way they could ‘learn’, and thereby be able to teach and preach themselves after their learning process.
1 Timothy 2:11-15 (KJV)
11 Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection.
12 But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.
13 For Adam was first formed, then Eve.
14 And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.
15 Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety.
This says that Adam ‘was not deceived’. In other words he sinned knowingly. Eve was ‘deceived’ and sinned in ignorance of the full import of what she was doing. The word ‘deceived’ used of Adam and Eve is the same, it is the Greek word, apatao meaning to beguile, to deceive, to delude. Adam was not ‘deluded’, Eve was ‘deluded’.

2 Corinthians 11:3 (KJV)
3 But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled (exapatao, wholly deluded) Eve through his subtility (panorgia, trickery, craftiness), so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.
The Bible is very clear that Eve sinned in deception, but Adam was not deceived, not deluded. He sinned knowingly. That is why the Bible speaks firmly about the guilt of the sin being more on Adam than on Eve.
I Cor. 15:22
"For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive."
It does not say, ‘as in Eve, all die’. Yet, some male declaration of women not preaching wants to put the blame mostly on Eve. God saw it as man’s willful sin that brought death into the world. Eve does not escape punishment for her sin, but it was lesser a sin, and spoken of in lesser condemnation than was Adam’s sin.
"Adam was not deceived." Rather, he was willing to go against God’s way to have his own way, no matter what God had prohibited. This was a calculated aforethought of defiance and rebellion against God.
By Adam's sin came physical death upon a mankind. Also spiritual death ensued. This death passed upon all of mankind since. Yet, God says in the Word, that ‘Adam’ is the main culprit in these sins of the two, not Eve. So, if her sin is why she cannot preach, what punishment is for the greater sinner here?
Romans 5:12-21
"Wherefore by one man, sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned... For if through the offense of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many... judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offenses unto justification .... Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of One, the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. For as by one man's disobedience, man were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous..."
The freedom and equality in Christianity overjoyed the women of that day. They began to go unveiled as a token of their equality with men. This brought great outrage from the society. Paul had to speak several times to the subject. Here, to Timothy, and to us, Paul shows that God intends woman to learn, and since ignorance of the Word of God in the garden led to her failure, women should learn diligently.
The learning should not interrupt the services though, and Paul was instructing the men, to ignore society and its culture, and to teach the wife at home.
People are quick to seize on particular Scriptures which seem to fit their wishes and ignore other Scriptures which seem to disagree with their desires. It is intellectually dishonest to divide and interpret the Word to suit our convenience. Some who have wanted to have men as the despotic bosses of women, and put women into a role of subservience have grasped from the chapter an excuse, and twisted the meaning of Paul into a view that has resulted in unhappy marriages, and doctrinal divisions.
When it says that Eve ‘sinned’, it is the Greek word parabasis. It does not excuse her sin, but conveys a certain kind of sin. Parabasis means "overpassing of a line, stepping over a boundary." Just as there is a normal tendency to touch the wall where one sees a "WET PAINT" sign, so people are often tempted to step past the boundaries that God has set up for us. When one sees a sign that says "NO FISHING", one naturally begins to wonder how good the fishing would be there. It is a fact that God has set up boundaries for us. He wants to protect us from areas that would do us harm. He has drawn lines of separation, and does not want us to trespass on territory that is dangerous.
Eve was told of the ‘boundary’ and was tempted to sin. She yielded. This was beyond excuse.
Romans 4:15
"for where no law is, there is no transgression. (stepping over the boundary)"
Romans 2:23
"... through breaking the law (stepping over the boundary) dishonourest thou God..."
Many people are like the three prospective stagecoach drivers who applied for the position. The three were asked how close they could come to the edge of the cliff with the stagecoach without falling over the cliff. The first thought he had to impress in order to get the job, so he bragged - "I could come within three feet, easily." The second thought he had to do better if he wanted the job. He answered, "I could come within one foot!" The third said, "I'd stay as far from the edge as I could!" The third one was hired. God wants us to see how far we can stay from sin and from parabasis. He does not want us walking so close to the boundary that we occasionally step over. Parabasis is sin.
Eve was deluded, beguiled, tricked, and sinned the ‘parabasis’ sin. Adam was not deluded and beguiled. He knew what he was doing. His sin was different.
Romans 5:12 ‘whereby by one man sin entered....
This word for Adam’s sin is hamartia and means ‘missing the target’. Adam had been told what to do, and the consequences of not doing it. He failed in that, and it was hamartia sin.
It is also referred to as an ‘offense’, which is another Greek word for sin.
Romans 5:15 (KJV)
15 But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many.
The word ‘OFFENSE’ is the Greek word paraptoma. Paraptoma means "failing where one should have stood upright."
Ephesians 2:1
"And you hath He quickened who were dead in trespasses (falling when you should have stood) and sins (hamartia)."
Romans 14:23
"Whatsoever is not of faith is sin (falling where one should have stood upright)."
Galatians 6:1
"Now if a man be overtaken in a fault (falling where he should have stood upright), ye that are spiritual restore such a one in the spirit of meekness, considering thyself, less thou also be tempted."
Matthew 6:14
"For if ye forgive men their trespasses (falling where they should have stood upright), your heavenly Father will also forgive you."
How often we misunderstand, and judge harshly when we see someone fall, sin, paraptoma, where they should not have. When others fall like this, we should be forgiving. When we paraptoma (fall when we should have known better), God is willing to forgive us.
God not only was willing to forgive Adam but had a plan to send Jesus, Who would undo the willful, choosing to fall, missing the mark sin, by His atonement for them on the cross. To degrade Adam’s sin, to being minor, and to punish Eve’s to not let women preach due to hers, is to totally misread that passage, and to pervert the meaning of a number of other verses.
Must women be silent in a church?
Now, about the rest of that passage and others whereby some try to say women are told to be silent, to not teach, to not preach, not even to speak.
Let’s examine these passages that they use.
I Corinthians 14:34-35
"Let your women keep silence in the churches; for it is not permitted unto them to speak... And if they learn anything, let them ask their husbands at home; for it is a shame for women to speak in the church."
This refers to the confusion caused when the women talked out loud to husbands in the midst of sermons. The women of the day were not educated as the men, and often did not understand what the preacher was saying. In Christianity, the women were being given equality, and were being taught as the men in this new Christian faith. Paul was only saying that the women should question the husband at home, and not disrupt the service.
I Timothy 2:11-12
"Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence."
This passage in Timothy also refers to the same situation as I Corinthians 14:34-35. The women were not to interrupt the sermon with talking out loud to their husbands.
The word "subjection" is from the Greek word "hupotage" which means "a voluntary yielding in love."
There is a time for women to question their husband about the sermon. In love and respect for the service and for the husband, the wife should voluntarily wait. They were also not to not argue with the man's interpretation of the sermon during the service. This in no way lessens her equality, it only emphasizes a restraint of embarrassing a mate in public by flaunting her equality. It also was to encourage her to respect the sanctity of the service.
This new found freedom in Christianity had now allowed a woman to disagree with her husband. Sometimes, in a service there was probably a desire of the wife to say - "I told you so!" She may want to teach her husband something she had learned before he had.
Paul simply instructs the woman not to "usurp authority" over the man, but to silently listen. The Greek word for "usurp authority" is the word - authenteo" which means "to exercise one's power over..."
In Christianity, the wife does have "power", and she can exercise it to question the husband, and to even teach the husband. The translators were all men, and questionably translated this Greek word improperly.
A whole different meaning is found in the original word. It shows that women have an "authority" to speak their mind, and have an opinion different from the husband's. Paul is not removing the authority from the woman, that Christianity had given her. No! Rather he is only saying that she should not exercise that power in the middle of his sermon.

The bias against women should end,

so the revival can have its full effect.

The revival was hindered in many ages, where the prejudice of some has caused the misconstruing of the Word of God.
Charles Spurgeon was a great minister, and preached many messages regarding God’s call from sin, back to righteousness. His wife, Susannah Thompson Spurgeon (1832 - 1903) had also a calling to preach. Yet, because of the evil prejudice of the false teaching about women, she was hindered from sharing her message in the churches and in the school of her husband’s ministry. She wrote three books, to put her message in writing, so her message could get out.
The hindrance of women being able to preach should be ending, and God will force out of the church, the false teaching that hindered it for so long. We are in this age, seeing the emergence of women, who always have been called to preach, but have for ages been hindered in delivering that message