Cheryl Schatz

Craig,
Your last question was missed. Sorry. It is a good one!

In 1 Tim 3:11, when Paul says “Likewise (or in the same way) women…. ” why do you think he put this where he does – in the middle of a passage about deacons. If he meant it to apply to both elders and deacons, why didn’t he put it in a more obvious spot?

I think that Paul put it in the area about deacons because he already listed in 1 Timothy 3:1 that anyone could desire to be an overseer. Since the very first verse is gender neutral, then it seems that there would be no need to mention women at that point. When it comes to the issue of the qualifications of deacons no sentence stands out that “anyone” may desire to be a deacon so it was a good place to make sure that it is understood that women too can be qualified deacons.

That is the way I understand it and it makes good sense to me.