Cheryl Schatz

Mark,
You said:

You asked “Are women allowed to be “teachers” in the church?”

Now it is important to remember that we are discussing the bible not what ‘I’ allow or disallow. Perhaps you mean do i believe the bible teaches that women will be ‘teachers’ in the church, then i would say no. The reason being the resposibilty of the gift and its correlation to the gift of pastor which i believe the bible teaches are for the men of the church. Now i have no doubt that you will disagree with me on this but remember that the gift of ‘apostle’ was only ever given to men aswell.

Mark, the problem that you have is explaining how it is that God a woman to have a particular gift. It is a no-brainer. If God doesn’t want a woman to be a teacher in the church, all He has to do is not gift her with that gift. That would be the end of the discussion. But since women are obviously gifted as teachers, what do we do with that? Are you willing to argue that God does not gift women with the gift of teacher? That there are no gifted women teachers at all? I hardly think that this position would be one that you would be willing to argue for because even the most staunch complementarian I have met will readily agree that women are very gifted as teachers in fact some even more so than their male counterparts. So if we can grant the view that God indeed is Sovereign and that He does appear to gift women as teachers, what will be the extent of their responsibility as teacher?

Paul very carefully teaches about the extent of God’s gifts. In Ephesians 4:12 Paul says that all of God’s gifts are for the equipping of the saints and for the work of service and for building up the body of Christ.

Eph 4:12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ;

Paul doesn’t say that the gifts God gives are to be kept back for the benefit of a few but for the whole (not segmented) body of Christ.

Paul then goes on to state that the gifts are useful and needed until we all attain to the unity of the faith.

Eph 4:13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.

The gifts are for all for the common good. Paul goes on to say that each individual part is for the growth of the entire body as the gifts are for the building up of itself (singular) not for multiple segment parts.

Eph 4:16 from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.

Paul again clearly teaches the “common good” theme in 1 Cor. 12:

1 Cor 12:6 There are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons.
1 Cor 12:7 But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.

If Paul had meant the “one” gift of “teacher” was not meant for women to be for the common good, Paul would have needed to restrict by gender the gifts. But Paul specifically and without qualification shows that the gifts are for the common good and not to be kept hidden away from the entire body.

Paul then states that there is to be no division in the body. The body is not to be divided up into gender parts with gifts given for the partial good instead of the common good.

1 Cor 12:25 so that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another.

If God chooses to gift a woman as a “teacher” where does the Scripture say that He cannot do that? And if God gifts here as a gifted teacher who is allowed to say that they do not need her gift for their benefit?