A Woman’s Ministry of Teaching Others

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.

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A Time to Keep Silent

To everything there is a season,
A time for every purpose under heaven:

A time to tear,
And a time to sew;
A time to keep silence,
And a time to speak;

(Ecclesiastes 3:1,7)

LORD Jesus, we praise You, for Your name is great and above all other names. You gave us the Word. We can study the Scriptures to learn the Truth, and the Truth will set us free. Forgive us, O God, we pray, whenever we neglect to faithfully read Your Word. Guide us and help us to believe, to trust, and to do what Your Word says. In Jesus’ wonderful name, we pray. Amen. 

After reading 1 Timothy 2:11-12 and the last two blog posts, Learning in Silence and Keep Silent, let’s dig a little deeper to find examples of the seasons—when to keep silence and when to speak.

Churches asking women (have) to keep silence

A while back, my husband and I attended a local Brethren church where—during Sunday’s worship services—most of the women wear a head covering and keep silent. The women are allowed to sing along, but they are not permitted to share any thoughts about Bible verses or to pray out loud.

While we were attending this church, we respected their code of conduct, of course. My husband and I believe, though, that women should be allowed to pray in church—being in submission, but not just silently. (I’ll get more into that in another day’s post.)

Churches in which men—and women—speak up

Churches where women are taking over the leading and praying, along with teaching, is the other extreme. True, it is sad whenever men do not hear their women pray in church, but it is even sadder whenever men do not pray because of their women taking the lead. 

They don’t want to cause harm. Instead, these women long to break the ice. In your own life, just think, how many times do you want to “assist” and talk (speak up) for someone you care about? “If everybody else is keeping silent, I’ll be so kind to do the praying,” might be some of our—the women’s—thought and reason to pray out loud more often than the men. 

Whatever their reason/s and excuses may be, after a while many of the men in these churches will keep silent and will not pray (anymore). What a shame because these men could be so easily motivated to pray and to pray more often.  

What about women teaching others? That will the topic for the next blog post, so please stay tuned.

Remember that there is a time for every purpose under heaven today.  

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Keep Silent

And I do not permit a woman to teach
or to have authority over a man,
but to be in silence.

(1 Timothy 2:12)

LORD Jesus, we praise You, for You are Master and the greatest Teacher of all. Forgive us, O LORD, we ask, whenever we are quick to teach and judge. Help us to receive and understand the instructions that are coming from the Bible. Enable us to be good hearers as well as doers of Your Word. Keep us on the right path, no matter how narrow it becomes. Let us stand firm and believe the Truth, for the Truth makes us free indeed. Hallelujah! In Jesus’ mighty name we pray. Amen.

What happens as we read today’s verse? Do we tense up? I mean, how do these words of Paul sound to you? In the next few blog posts we will see that the argument is not based on the culture of Paul’s day back then. Let’s stick to today’s verse for now.

Reading this verse in its context reveals what Paul is talking about here: the role and the behavior of the women during the worship service.

Let’s READ the verse again:

And I do not permit a woman to teach
or to have authority over a man,
but to be in silence.

ENGAGE — What does the verse say?

What are the three things a woman needs to remember when the church gathers on Sunday? (Fill in the blank)

A woman is not permitted to _____

She is not to have _____ over a man.

She needs to be in _____ .

APPLY / DO

There is no need to get upset over what God commands us to do here. This has absolutely nothing to do with our spiritual standing before Him, for we are all one in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:28).

Instead, we should look at this as a matter of obedience and doing what God is asking us to do. We are not above the LORD Jesus who is our Master and Teacher (Matthew 10:24) who submitted to the Father’s will in so much more than we are asked to do.

And being found in appearance as a man,
He humbled Himself
and became obedient to the point of death,
even the death of the cross.

(Philippians 2:8)

Let’s keep silent to motivate our men to speak up in the church today.

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