Marg Mowczko

@ Mark “As I understand 1 Tim 2:8-15, the teaching restricted is that linked with authority in the public congregational setting. That is, the preaching from the pulpit so to speak. This is the responsibility of the elders.”

Firstly, there is nothing in 1 Timothy that hints that 1 Tim 2:8-15 is speaking about public teaching. And pulpits have nothing whatsoever to do with New Testament Christianity or early church-life!!!

1 Timothy 3:14-15 about “how people ought to conduct themselves in God’s household” (which is sometimes used to argue your case) comes immediately after Paul’s instructions about how church leaders/elders and ministers/deacons should behave in God’s household – the Church. Paul could hardly have been saying that the moral behaviour he requires of church leaders and ministers is only applicable during church services or meetings. Church leaders, and (of course) all true believers and followers of Christ, are part of God’s household, the church, 24/7, even when it is not assembled for a meeting. I very much doubt that Paul’s prohibition to a woman not to teach a man in the Ephesian congregation was limited to a church meeting setting; especially as the false teaching was being spread “door to door”. (See 1 Tim 5:13 and15).

Secondly, I agree that the NT states that a qualification of elders is that they must have teaching ability. This however does not mean that diakonoi did not teach or preach. The Didache 15:1 (as I mentioned previously) says that both episkopoi and didaskoi in the early church prophesied and taught. (Most modern church elders that I know seem to function as board members rather than true gospel ministers.)

Stephen (who is never actually called a deacon-diakonos in NT scripture) has had his very public speech immortalised as scripture – scripture having, arguably, one of the highest levels of spiritual authority. There is no reason at all to assume that some diakonoi did not teach or preach.

Lastly the Greek indefinite pronoun -tis – which can be translated as “somebody” or “anyone” or “a certain one”, is one of those rare Greek words that is identical in form in both masculine and feminine contexts. It is the exact same word used in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “If anyone is in Christ . . .”

“. . . If anyone (masc or fem) aspires (no gender specified) to overseership (feminine noun), he/she/it desires (no gender specified) a noble/fine task (neuter adjective and noun).” A very literal translation of 1 Timothy 3:1b showing grammatical gender.

Mark, with genuine respect, I sincerely do not believe that you have a case. The qualifications for elders and overseers do not exclude women. We know that women were church leaders: Nympha, Chloe, Priscilla, etc; women loved and valued by Paul. And Phoebe, as well as being a minister, was more than likely a church leader also. I cannot see how anyone can think otherwise from reading Romans 16:1-2 in the Greek, unless they allow other views to cloud their comprehension of these 2 verses.