"If Any Man" — τις Is Gender-Neutral, and 1Ti 3 Does Not Exclude Women

At 14:32, he claims that one of the qualifications for a pastor is "most noticeably" that the elder be a man, which he states is THE consistent pattern of male leadership established in Ge and seen throughout the Bible. He then emphasizes "if any man" from 1Ti 3:1.

Sigh.

The Greek τις (tis) means "anyone"

The word τις is an indefinite pronoun meaning "anyone, someone, a certain one." It is not gender-specific. There is not a single male pronoun in the entire list of requirements in 1Ti 3:1-7. He forgets the Bible was not written in English. The KJV/NASB rendering "if any man" reflects English translation convention, not the Greek text. The ESV renders it "if anyone" (εἴ τις) — because that is what it says.

Gendered language and generic usage

In gendered languages like Greek, when either male or female is possible or intended, the masculine form is used generically. This is basic Greek grammar, not a theological argument. The phrase μιᾶς γυναικὸς ἄνδρα ("one-woman man" / "husband of one wife") follows this same pattern. Paul does not need to say both — i.e., "must be either a one-wife husband or a one-husband wife" — because the masculine form of an idiom is used generically to describe faithfulness in marriage.

Paul does NOT say "must not be a woman"

If excluding women from this role were as foundational as Ardavanis claims — THE consistent pattern from Ge onward — would Paul not state it explicitly? He gives extensive qualification lists but never once says "must be male." The absence is deafening given the weight complementarians place on it.

1Ti 3:11 — "Likewise, women..."

Paul says γυναῖκας ὡσαύτως ("women likewise"). The word ὡσαύτως ("likewise, in the same way") is the same word Paul uses in 1Ti 2:9 to connect women's conduct to what came before. Here it connects women to the same office requirements just listed. "Likewise" means "in the same manner" — the same qualifications apply to women as well, with some specific additions.

Some try to read γυναῖκας as "wives [of deacons/overseers]" rather than "women [in the same role]." But this reading has serious problems:

1. No possessive pronoun — it does not say "their wives" (τὰς γυναῖκας αὐτῶν). It just says "women, likewise..."
2. Not all elders have wives — Paul himself was unmarried (1Co 7:7-8). Timothy likely was too. If "husband of one wife" is literal rather than idiomatic, it would disqualify Paul and Timothy from the very office Paul is instructing Timothy to fill.
3. The parallel structure is role-based, not relational — 1Ti 3:1-7 covers overseers, 3:8-10 covers deacons with ὡσαύτως ("likewise"), 3:11 covers women with ὡσαύτως ("likewise"), 3:12-13 adds further deacon requirements. The repeated ὡσαύτως introduces parallel categories of servants, not subclauses about spouses.
4. Phoebe is called a διάκονος (deacon) in Ro 16:1 — the same word used for male deacons in 1Ti 3:8. Paul does not use a feminized form; he uses the standard title. This confirms women held this role.

The μιᾶς γυναικὸς ἄνδρα problem

If "husband of one wife" is a literal gender requirement rather than a character requirement (faithfulness/monogamy), then: - Unmarried men are disqualified (Paul, Timothy, Jesus) - Widowers who remarry are disqualified - Men who never married are disqualified - The requirement becomes about marital status, not character — which contradicts the entire thrust of the passage, where every other item is a character trait (temperate, self-controlled, hospitable, able to teach, not a drunkard, etc.)

The phrase is an idiom for marital faithfulness — a "one-woman kind of man" — and as an idiom expressed in masculine generic form, it applies to anyone in leadership: be faithful to your spouse.