Episode 98: Women In Ministry - That One Big Verse

For nearly all who believe that Scripture forbids women in the Kingdom from preaching, teaching men and holding positions of authority and leadership, the go-to verse is 1 Timothy 2:12. On a surface reading, it is understandable how they might reach this conclusion. But what was the apostle Paul actually communicating in this chapter? What was he writing before he wrote verses 11 & 12? Was he really mandating a universal prohibition against all women in every generation of the Church age from preaching and leading? After having established a clear foundation for the roles of Christian women in ministry in the previous two podcast episodes, Jeff now tackles 1 Timothy 2:12, and unpacks the molecular understanding of this highly debated set of verses. Before anyone reaches a firm position against women teaching and leading in the Church, they owe themselves an opportunity to evaluate in detail this cornerstone verse of the complementarian position which denies God’s daughters the opportunity to exercise preaching and leading gifts in the Church. Too much hinges on this topic for any of us to lazily glance at this verse. We must go deep to properly understand that what appears to say one thing on the surface is not actually what was originally communicated to Paul from Holy Spirit.