This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord;
and being fervent in spirit,
he spoke and taught accurately the things of the Lord,
though he knew only the baptism of John.
So he began to speak boldly in the synagogue.
When Aquila and Priscilla heard him,
they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately.
(Acts 18:25-26)
LORD Jesus, we praise You, for You do have all the answers to our questions. Forgive us, O God, we pray, whenever we fail to see that Your Word provides us with all that we will ever need. Guide us in our study now to find out what Your Word says about this topic. In Jesus’ mighty name, we pray. Amen.
Most of us, no matter what denominational background, would agree that women are allowed to teach children and other (young) women. This blog post will talk about that. What about teaching Christian men, though? Let’s study what the Word of God says about that.
Women Who Are Teaching Their Children
Let’s take the example found in Deuteronomy, where it says,
You shall teach them diligently to your children,
and shall talk of them when you sit in your house,
when you walk by the way,
when you lie down,
and when you rise up.
(Deuteronomy 6:7; see also Deuteronomy 11:19, for example)
Women Teaching the Younger Women
In Titus 2, we find a good example of the older women teaching the younger women:
the older women likewise,
that they be reverent in behavior,
not slanderers,
not given to much wine,
teachers of good things—
that they admonish the young women
to love their husbands,
to love their children,
to be discreet,
chaste,
homemakers,
good,
obedient to their own husbands,
that the word of God may not be blasphemed.
(Titus 2:3-5)
Women Teaching Good Things—
Women are not less intelligent than men, neither are they of less value to the Creator. They are given different roles, which we are not going to discuss further today. Let’s leave that for another day’s blog post and move on.
There are numerous situations in life when women are well capable of teaching men about all kinds of things. The female teacher is educating her male students on various topics that she has studied, mastered, and is now a teacher of. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.
What about women teaching other men about God?
I’m not asking whether women should be involved in sharing the Gospel with unbelievers (including men). What I’m asking is: Should women ever teach other men who are believers in Christ about the faith?
Yes, and we find a good example in Acts 18. This talks about a man named Apollos. He was an eloquent man and mighty in the Scriptures (verse 24).
This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord;
and being fervent in spirit,
he spoke and taught accurately the things of the Lord,
though he knew only the baptism of John.
So he began to speak boldly in the synagogue.
When Aquila and Priscilla heard him,
they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately.
(Acts 18:25-26)
True, the Word doesn’t say what exactly Priscilla said and how much she was involved in the teaching of (explaining to) Apollos; we are told, however, that “they” (Aquila and Priscilla) explained the way of God more accurately to Apollos.
Matthew Henry comments on this verse:
Here is an instance of a good woman, though not permitted to speak in the church or in the synagogue, yet doing good with the knowledge God had given her in private converse.
By the right way (God’s Way), given the right timing and place, why shouldn’t women be allowed to teach (explain the way of God to) men who are believers?
Ask the LORD Jesus to show you His ways and to teach you His paths today.