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Pulpit sermon 2019-11-09

"Does the Bible Permit A Woman to Preach?" - John MacArthur

John MacArthur addresses whether the Bible permits women to preach, presenting a restrictive complementarian position. Sermon from Grace Community Church.

1 Timothy 2:11-15 1 Corinthians 14:34-35 Genesis 2:18-25 complementarian women in ministry church leadership
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
Pulpit research note

Gender-Segregated Seating — No Historical Evidence

The sermon's claim that men and women sat on opposite sides in the Corinthian assembly, with wives shouting questions across the room to husbands, has no credible historical or archaeological support.

1 Corinthians 14:33-35
Pulpit research note

The Status-Seeking Reading of 1 Corinthians 14 — Well Supported

The sermon's central thesis — that Corinthians were using spiritual gifts for status seeking rather than building up the body — is one of the best-supported readings available, backed by 40 years of s

1 Corinthians 14:26-40
Pulpit research note

Peppiatt's Quotation-Refutation Theory on 1 Corinthians 14:34-35

[Lucy Peppiatt](logosres:LLS:9781498201476;ref=bible.1Co14.34-35) (now [Peppiatt Crawley](logosres:LLS:9781498201476;ref=bible.1Co14.34-35)) argues vv. 34-35 are not Paul's words but the Corinthians'

1 Corinthians 14:34-35
Pulpit research note

Status-Seeking as the Primary Issue in 1 Corinthians — Not Merely Order

Pastor Brett Landry's reading — that the Corinthians' primary problem was status-seeking and self-promotion, with disorder being the symptom rather than the disease — represents the dominant scholarly

1 Corinthians 12-14
Pulpit research note

Participatory Worship in 1 Corinthians 14:26 — The Structural Gap Brett Overlooked

Pastor Brett correctly identified the status-seeking motive behind the Corinthians' misuse of gifts but did not address the text's own positive vision: broad participatory worship where multiple membe

1 Corinthians 14:26
Pulpit research note

"The Others" (hoi alloi) Judging Prophecy — Discernment Belongs to the Whole Body

In **1 Cor 14:29,** Paul says "let two or three prophets speak, and let the others (*hoi alloi*) weigh what is said." A key interpretive question is whether "the others" refers to a small group of pro

1 Corinthians 14:29
Pulpit research note

Podcast Q1: The "Law" That Doesn't Exist (Impact 9/10, Reconsideration 7/10)

"Brett, verse 34 says women should be silent 'as the Law also says.' You mentioned this was about order, but which law is being referenced here? There's no Old Testament passage that commands women's

1 Corinthians 14:34
Pulpit research note

Podcast Q2: "Shameful" Is Stronger Than You Let On (Impact 8/10, Reconsideration 6/10)

"You moved past the word 'shameful' fairly quickly, but the Greek there — *aischron* — is the same word Paul uses in **Eph 5:12** for things 'too shameful even to mention,' and it carries the sense of

1 Corinthians 14:35
Pulpit research note

Podcast Q3: What Happens When You Read Verse 36? (Impact 9/10, Reconsideration 6/10)

"One thing I noticed you didn't address was verse 36, which starts with the Greek particle eta — 'Or did the word of God come from you? Or are you the only ones it has reached?' Greek lexicons like [F

1 Corinthians 14:36
Pulpit research note

Podcast Q4: The Segregated Seating Problem (Impact 7/10, Reconsideration 8/10)

"You described a scenario where men and women sat on opposite sides and wives were shouting questions across the room. I looked into this and couldn't find archaeological or historical evidence for ge

1 Corinthians 14:33-35
Pulpit research note

Podcast Q5: Paul's Own Conclusion Contradicts the Silencing (Impact 8/10, Reconsideration 7/10)

"You made a strong case that Paul's concern is building up the body and that everyone should be able to contribute. But if that's true, how do you read verse 39 — 'do not forbid to speak' — right afte

1 Corinthians 14:39
Pulpit research note

Commentary: Membership Interviews as Doctrinal Gate

Ardavanis says: > "It is a question that comes up frequently in our member interviews." He doesn't explicitly state agreement is required for membership, but the framing is revealing — he preaches a

1 Timothy 2:12
Pulpit research note

Commentary: Hermeneutic of Humility — Firm but Reformable

Ardavanis says: > "We celebrate the hermeneutic of humility... 'Who am I to think I've come to the right conclusion?' I would just say Paul tells Timothy in **2Ti 3:15** to rightly divide the word of

2 Timothy 2:15
Pulpit research note

Commentary: Created Order Does Not Establish Hierarchy

Ardavanis says: > "First is not always best, or else beavers would be better than humans." Then immediately: "God had positioned Adam in the garden to be the priest and protector of Eden." He underc

Genesis 2:7
Pulpit research note

Commentary: Genesis 1:28 Omission — Dominion Given to Both

Ardavanis says: > "To the man was given dominion over all creation." This is flatly contradicted by **Ge 1:28:** "God blessed THEM; and God said to THEM, 'Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the eart

Genesis 1:28
Pulpit research note

Commentary: Naming as Epistemology, Not Authority

Ardavanis says: > "Adam is given the responsibility of naming Eve, providing indication of God's design of the male operating in leadership with responsibility." The text gives its own stated purpos

Genesis 2:19-23
Pulpit research note

Commentary: Image and Glory — The 1 Corinthians 11:7 Avoidance

Ardavanis says: > "Both are made in the image of God and bring profound glory to God. Males do not reflect God's image more than females." Yet he never addresses **1Co 11:7:** "For a man ought not t

1 Corinthians 11:7
Pulpit research note

Commentary: Complementary Means Shared Roles, Not Divided Authority

Ardavanis says: > "God made man and women different and complimentary." Agreement: Yes — and this is precisely why God didn't make another man. He made a woman to rule WITH him. Their differences co

Genesis 2:18
Pulpit research note

Commentary: One Flesh Cannot Be Hierarchy

Ardavanis says: > "This beautiful picture of men and women, a groom and a bride... this is the central metaphor in all of the Bible... complementary yet different sexes that come together in union pa

Ephesians 5:21-33
Pulpit research note

Commentary: Genesis 3:16 Is Descriptive, Not Prescriptive

Ardavanis says: > "God tells Eve that as a derivative of the curse, you will desire to master your husband... Women are going to fight against God's design for male leadership." **Ge 3:16** is descr

Genesis 3:16
Pulpit research note

Commentary: Adam's Failure Comes from Preparation, Not Rank

Ardavanis claims the Genesis narrative is "a warning for when God's design for leadership is distorted." But this presumes hierarchy onto the text. If God was preparing Adam through the naming/identi

Genesis 2:15-3:7
Pulpit research note

Commentary: Eve Quotes God in the Plural — God Spoke to Both

Ardavanis claims Eve "added" the phrase "or touch it" to God's command, implying she garbled what Adam relayed to her. But the Hebrew text reveals something he doesn't address. ### The Singular-to-pl

Genesis 3:2-3
Pulpit research note

Commentary: Adam's Responsibility — Knowledge and Omission, Not Leadership Rank

Ardavanis says: > "God holds Adam responsible... this is Adam's failure to lead. His sin was that he passively followed his wife's leadership." He also says: "We read in **Ro 5:12** that sin entered

1 Timothy 2:13-14
Pulpit research note

Commentary: The Format That Silences Correction — 1 Corinthians 14:30-31 and Church Authority

**1Co 14:30-31** says: "If a revelation is made to another who is seated, the first must be silent. For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all may be encouraged." Paul's model

1 Corinthians 14:30-31
Pulpit research note

Commentary: "The Voice of Your Wife" — Eve Never Spoke to Adam

God tells Adam: "Because you listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree..." (**Ge 3:17**). But in the **Ge 3** narrative, Eve never speaks to Adam. She speaks to the serpent (3:1

Genesis 3:17
Pulpit research note

Commentary: Deception Is Not Gender-Specific — Paul Fears It for the Whole Church

Paul writes: "But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ" (**2 Cor 11:3,** NASB). Paul is

2 Corinthians 11:3
Pulpit research note

Commentary: "Priest and Protector" — What Was Adam Protecting the Garden From?

Ardavanis claims Adam was called to be the "priest and protector" of the garden. Grant that for the sake of argument. The question he never asks: protect it from WHAT? **Ge 2:15** says God placed Ada

Genesis 2:15
Pulpit research note

Commentary: Following a Woman Is Not the Problem — The Bible Commends It Repeatedly

Ardavanis says Adam "passively followed his wife's leadership," framing the act of following a woman as itself the failure. She did go first, and yes, he followed without objecting. But Ardavanis miss

Genesis 3:6; Genesis 21:12
Pulpit research note

Commentary: The Serpent's Strategy Was Deception, Not Undermining Gender Roles

Ardavanis claims the "first strategy of the serpent" was to undermine God's word and God's design — implying the serpent's goal was to subvert a gender hierarchy by getting Eve to lead. This misreads

Genesis 3:1-6
Pulpit research note

Commentary: Same Word for Adam and Eve — Toil, Not Gendered Punishment

Ardavanis presents Adam's and Eve's curses as distinct experiences — Adam gets "toil" working the ground, Eve gets "pain" in childbirth — as if God is using different language to describe fundamentall

Genesis 3:16-19
Pulpit research note

Commentary: "Desire" in Genesis 3:16 — She Will Want Him Despite His Betrayal

Ardavanis says that Eve's "desire" for her husband (**Ge 3:16**) is not romantic desire, and he prefers the parallel in **Ge 4:7** where sin "desires" to master Cain. But there are two problems with t

Genesis 3:16
Pulpit research note

Commentary: "Counter-Cultural" Is Not a Truth Test — And His View Is Also Cultural

Ardavanis suggests that his complementarian view is counter-cultural, implying that its friction with modern culture validates it. But culture is not how we measure truth. A view being unpopular does

1 Corinthians 14:34-35
Pulpit research note

Commentary: God Never Said She Would Want to "Overpower" Her Husband

At 11:31, Ardavanis claims that God tells Eve she is going to want to "overpower her husband" and "subvert God's design," and calls this "one of the most timeless wars waged in culture." ### God Says

Genesis 3:16; 1 Corinthians 7:3-5
Pulpit research note

Faulty Summary of Human History — Kings, Priests, Prophets, Authors

At 11:56, he tries to summarize human history by saying that there were all male kings with one exception, all male priests, all male ongoing prophetic offices, all male authors of scripture and so fo
Pulpit research note

"Words Matter" — Elder, Pastor, Overseer Distinctions

At 12:19, he says "Sometimes people say it's just semantics, but words matter, they really matter" — and then proceeds to flatten the very distinctions God's inspired words preserve. He claims elder

Pulpit research note

Children's Minister vs. Pastor — The Self-Contradiction

At 13:52, he claims that a pastor is an elder and an elder is a pastor, and says this is why they do not call a children's minister a "children's pastor" — because a pastor is an elder. Words really

Pulpit research note

"If Any Man" — τις Is Gender-Neutral, and 1Ti 3 Does Not Exclude Women

At 14:32, he claims that one of the qualifications for a pastor is "most noticeably" that the elder be a man, which he states is THE consistent pattern of male leadership established in Ge and seen th