Search — Theology Explorer

Acts 17:5-9 hosting vs. leading Jason Acts 17:5-9

Jason in Acts 17:5-9 does not prove host-as-leader; shows external cultural accountability only

Mike addresses the one passage egalitarians use to support host-as-leader.

Philippians 4:2-3 Linda Belleville Euodia Syntyche

Euodia and Syntyche: Belleville claims they were among overseers and deacons at Philippi

Mike moves to examining the case of Euodia and Syntyche in Philippians 4:2-3.

women in ministry Priscilla Aquila

Priscilla and Aquila: six NT passages, Priscilla's name first in four of six

Mike transitions to examining Priscilla and Aquila, acknowledging complementarians sometimes don't look closely enough.

Acts 18:26 Priscilla Aquila Craig Keener

Craig Keener claims Priscilla and Aquila instructed ministers (plural) and led a house church

Mike examines Keener's specific claims about Priscilla and Aquila.

Elder, overseer, bishop, and presbyter are all the same biblical role

Mike clarifies terminology before discussing eldership requirements.

overseer episkopos elder

pastor vs. elder vs. deacon church terminology

The term 'pastor' is used in confusing ways; may describe deacon-level work

Mike distinguishes between the biblical office and modern church usage.

1 Timothy 5:9-10 Linda Belleville 1 Timothy 5:9-10 enrolled widows

Belleville's third argument: enrolled widows were paid for ministry like elders -- refuted

Mike addresses the compensation argument.

1 Timothy 3 1 Timothy 5:1-2 presbuteros equivocation fallacy 1 Timothy 3

1 Timothy 5:1-2: 'older women' does not mean women elders; equivocation fallacy

Mike addresses another passage sometimes cited for women elders.

1 Timothy 3:1-7 overseer elder qualifications able to teach

1 Timothy 3:1-7: elder requirements are distinctly masculine

Mike reads the definitive passage on elder qualifications.

Ephesians 6:21-22 Colossians 4:7-8 letter carrier as teacher Ephesians 6:21-22 Colossians 4:7-8

Ephesians 6:21-22 and Colossians 4:7-8: Tychicus gave personal updates, not letter interpretation

Mike examines the remaining biblical references cited by Keener.

women in ministry mutual edification informal teaching

Balance: all believers should be open to learning from one another, including across genders

Mike offers a balanced complementarian application.

women in ministry complementarian overcorrection spiritual gifts

Women gifted for ministry hold back in complementarian churches due to fear

Mike describes a pastoral observation.

Acts 6 apostles Acts 6 deacon definition

Acts 6: the seven men as proto-deacons; deacons do everything that isn't eldership

Mike discusses the origin of the deacon role.

pastor vs. elder vs. deacon church terminology deacon authority

Deacons do whatever is needed as official church representatives; the 'pastor' label confusion

Mike completes his deacon definition.

2 Corinthians 8:18-24 Linda Belleville scholarly methodology 2 Corinthians 8:18-24

Belleville's second footnote: 2 Corinthians 8:18-24 -- all males, no deacons, no women

Mike checks the second footnoted passage.

Philippians 2:19-30 Linda Belleville Discovering Biblical Equality scholarly methodology

Belleville's third footnote: Philippians 2:19-30 -- all males, no women deacons

Mike checks the third footnoted passage.

Romans 16:2 Philip Payne Phoebe prostatis

Survey of 12 translations on prostatis: all say patron/helper/benefactor; only Passion Translation says 'leader'

Mike checks major English translations to see if any support Payne's reading.

1 Timothy 3:11 1 Timothy 3:8-13 women deacons 1 Timothy 3:11 1 Timothy 3:8-13

1 Timothy 3:8-13: deacon requirements with the key question of verse 11 -- wives or women deacons?

Mike turns to the definitive passage on deacon qualifications.

1 Timothy 3:11 women deacons 1 Timothy 3:11 faithful in all things

'Faithful in all things' as a catch-all summarizing remaining deacon requirements for women

Mike explains why the women's requirements are slightly shorter.

Two Views on Women in Ministry Craig Blomberg deaconess history

Craig Blomberg on early church deaconesses: common for centuries with pastoral care and baptism roles

Mike cites historical support for women deacons.

1 Timothy 3:1-7 1 Timothy 3:11 women deacons internal contradiction eldership

Egalitarian contradiction: if 1 Timothy 3:11 has women deacons, it proves women are excluded from elders in 3:1-7

Mike identifies an internal contradiction in egalitarian argumentation.

Romans 16:7 Romans 16:7 translation methodology

When translations disagree, it signals genuine difficulty

Mike offers a hermeneutical principle for Bible readers.

Romans 16:7 Junia Romans 16:7 apostolic office

Majority of scholars who affirm Junia as apostle think she was not highest-rank apostle

Mike makes a crucial distinction within the scholarly consensus.

Burer-Wallace paper (2001) lexical evidence syntactical evidence

Burer-Wallace: 'snowballing dogma with little substance at its core'

Mike quotes from the paper's critique of the consensus.

Matthew 27:55-56 women following Jesus Matthew 27:55-56 women supporting Jesus financially

Women traveled with Jesus and supported him financially

Mike cites biblical evidence that women were already traveling with Jesus.

Luke 8:1-3 Mary Magdalene Joanna Susanna

Luke 8:1-3: Women traveled with Jesus like the apostles but were not apostles

Mike cites a key passage showing women's proximity to Jesus.

1 Corinthians 9:5 Cephas/Peter all-male apostolate 1 Corinthians 9:5

1 Corinthians 9:5 implies all apostles were male with wives who were not apostles

Mike cites a passage he thinks is overlooked in this debate.

1 Timothy 3:11 Romans 16:1 1 Timothy 3:12-13 Phoebe husband of one wife 1 Timothy 3:11

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

Mike clarifies the structure of the 1 Timothy 3 passage on deacons.

Luke 10:39-42 Mary and Martha women in theological education Luke 10:39-42

Correction for complementarians: no theology is off limits to women

Mike uses the Mary passage to correct complementarians who would limit what theology women can learn.

Discovering Biblical Equality Stanley Grenz priestly character of eldership

Some complementarians argue eldership is priestly in character, therefore reserved for men — Mike rejects this

Mike introduces and then rejects a complementarian argument that the pastoral office is priestly and therefore male-only.

Discovering Biblical Equality universal priesthood of believers Stanley Grenz

Grenz: the NT parallel to Levitical priesthood is the church as a whole, not ordained leaders

Grenz argues that the priesthood of all believers means the parallel to OT priests is all Christians, not just clergy.

universal priesthood of believers ETS (Evangelical Theological Society)

Anecdote: Mike challenged a female complementarian scholar at ETS about the universal priesthood problem in her argument

A female egalitarian (corrected: complementarian) scholar argued that priesthood is masculine in character and therefore women cannot hold pastoral positions. Mike asked her about the universal priesthood of believers.

eldership Levitical priesthood

Arguments that current leadership is priestly in character are bad, but we can learn something from an all-male OT priesthood

Mike rejects the priestly-character-of-eldership argument but says there may still be relevant principles from the all-male Levitical priesthood.

Discovering Biblical Equality universal priesthood of believers Stanley Grenz

Grenz's positive case: whoever is a priest should be able to be an elder

After Grenz dismantles the complementarian argument, he builds his own: women are priests, therefore they can be elders.

1 Corinthians 12:7 Discovering Biblical Equality Stanley Grenz 1 Corinthians 12:7

Grenz argues the Spirit's sovereign call and gifting, not gender, determines who can be an elder

Grenz's more detailed argument: since the Spirit calls believer-priests to ministry, gender cannot be an overriding disqualifying factor.

Hebrews 6:19 Roman Catholicism mediation Hebrews 6:19

No special group of Christians should serve as a bridge to God's grace for other Christians

Mike argues against any form of priestly mediation within Christianity.

headship universal priesthood of believers complementarian correction

Correction for complementarians: the husband is NOT the priest of his home

Mike disagrees with many complementarians, including pastors he has respected, on this point.

1 Timothy 3 Titus 1 1 Timothy 3 Levitical priesthood eldership qualifications

Anticipated objection: if women could not be OT priests but are NT priests, why can't they hold the highest roles?

Mike addresses the challenge to his view: if women's exclusion from OT priesthood was about gender, and now they are priests, doesn't that prove they can have any role?

1 Timothy 2 1 Corinthians 14:34 John MacArthur 1 Timothy 2 1 Corinthians 14:34 John MacArthur

Two key passages used by strong complementarians to deny women speaking publicly: 1 Corinthians 14:34 and 1 Timothy 2

Mike identifies the passages that fuel the opposing view.

1 Corinthians 11 head coverings 1 Corinthians 11 women prophesying

1 Corinthians 11 clearly refers to prophecy in public mixed-gender gatherings; the whole section (chs. 11-14) deals with gathered worship

Mike argues the broader context of 1 Corinthians leaves no room for limiting this to private settings.

1 Corinthians 11 John MacArthur 1 Corinthians 11 John MacArthur Grace to You (gty.org)

John MacArthur's response: maybe Paul means public places but not congregational worship gatherings

Mike quotes MacArthur's article (from gty.org) about head coverings to show his interpretation.

2 Samuel 7 David Craig Keener Nathan

Prophecy is passive in nature — the prophet is not supposed to speak beyond what God gave them

Mike cites Craig Keener in support of this point about the passive nature of prophecy.

Prophecy and eldership are very different: prophecy is passive, requires no qualifications or appointment, and the prophet has no ongoing authority

Mike summarizes the key differences that undermine the prophecy-equals-eldership argument.

prophecy vs. eldership

Ephesians 4:11-12 offices vs. gifts Ephesians 4:11-12 pastor-teacher

Ephesians 4:11-12 is about offices (apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds/teachers) not about gifts applicable to the question

Mike examines Ephesians 4 but determines it is about offices, not gifts.

women teaching practical ministry application

Women gifted in teaching should use that gift — find ways that honor biblical limitations

Mike counsels pastors on how to handle gifted women in their churches.

Calvary Chapel youth ministry gifts expressed outside eldership

Mike's personal example: he served as youth pastor for 13 years and never functioned as senior pastor, yet his gifts were not limited

Mike uses his own ministry experience to show that gifts can be fully expressed outside the senior elder role.

Colossians 3:16 Colossians 3:16 teaching gift necessary but not sufficient

Not everyone who teaches is an elder — an elder must be able to teach, but ability to teach does not require eldership

Mike makes the logical distinction between necessary and sufficient conditions.

necessary but not sufficient women teaching realms of ministry

It would contradict clear passages to say women can never lead or teach, but the question is: in what realms?

Mike affirms women have gifts of teaching and leadership based on Scripture and personal observation.

ministry philosophy shaping roles around gifts

Ministry positions should be shaped around people's gifts, not forcing people into existing roles

Mike offers a practical ministry philosophy digression.