Search — Theology Explorer

A question that is both sensitive and significant within the life of the church — examining God's design, the effects of the fall, qualifications for church leadership, and relevant passages.

1 Timothy 2:12-14 Genesis 1 Genesis 1:26 Women in Ministry Complementarianism 1 Timothy 2:12

Pulpit sermon 2019-09-01

Women in Ministry - Prof Craig Keener

Paul's letters stand at the centre of the dispute over women's role in church ministry, with each side of the dispute championing texts from the Apostle. How do we understand the text in 1 Corinthians 14 where Paul instructs women to be silent, or the 1 Timothy 2 passage where women are forbidden to teach or exercise authority over men? Are these texts addressing a specific cultural situation or should they be treated as universal prohibitions? Craig Keener delved deeply into the world of Paul and wrestled with these thorny texts in his book [*Paul, Women and Wives: Marriage and Women's Ministry in the Letters of Paul*](/library/25) (Hendrikson, 1992). In a public lecture at Laidlaw's Henderson campus in September 2019, Professor Keener looked at the arguments for both sides of the question: 'are women allowed to be in ministry?', and the approaches various theologians and church traditions have taken throughout the centuries. He gave insights into the culture at the time Paul wrote his letters, and of the way false teachers were targeting women. He notes the importance of considering the original situation of Paul's letters, and that Paul does affirm women's ministry which helps us to see that Paul himself did not prohibit women from teaching the Bible always.

Exodus 15 Numbers 2 Kings 22-23 Women in Ministry Complementarianism egalitarianism

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Option 2: Junia as missionary/church planter (lower sense of apostle)

Mike's conclusion assuming Junia was an apostle: she was a missionary, not highest-rank

Burer and Wallace 2001 paper defending exclusive reading of Romans 16:7

Lexical evidence: episemos can mean either 'well-known among' or 'well-known to'

Key distinction: inclusive vs. exclusive reading of episemoi en tois apostolois

Burer-Wallace syntactical argument: dative = 'well known to,' genitive = 'well known among'

Burer-Wallace conclusion: 'almost certainly' means well known to the apostles

Michael Burer's 2015 response paper with new evidence

Burer's 2015 paper brings 71 new supporting texts

Mike's conclusion: Junia was probably not an apostle; if she was, she was a missionary

N.T. Wright's claim: Mary Magdalene as 'apostle to the apostles'

Verses 12-13 are about men, verse 11 is about women — not gender neutral

Andronicus and Junia — debate about whether there were female apostles

Women can be deacons — Phoebe in Romans 16:1 as evidence

Simon of Cyrene named with his sons Alexander and Rufus as eyewitness sourcing (Mark 15:21)

Why Jesus allowed Simon of Cyrene to carry his cross: possibly to display the depth of his physical suffering, and Simon and his sons apparently came to faith — suggesting the encounter introduced him more fully to Jesus.

Fate of the devil: destruction, lake of fire, and whether Satan is annihilated

"Does the Bible Permit A Woman to Preach?" - Jonny Ardavanis

Women in Ministry - Prof Craig Keener

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