Partners in the Gospel
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About this ebook
I admit that this is a controversial topic. The roles of men and women have changes so much in our day. There is no question that we are equals, but is there a difference in roles between men and women in the ministry of the church?
In this study we begin with the purpose of God for men and women at creation and trace how that purpose worked itself out in both the Old and New Testament. We will also examine the practice of the early church and the teachings of the apostle Paul on this subject
It is my desire to do an honest evaluation of the teaching of Scripture and its application to the church today. I trust it will be a blessing. I know it will be a challenge.
F. Wayne Mac Leod
F. Wayne Mac Leod was born in Sydney Mines, Nova Scotia, Canada and received his education at Ontario Bible College, University of Waterloo and Ontario Theological Seminary. He was ordained at Hespeler Baptist Church, Cambridge, Ontario in 1991. He and his wife, Diane served as missionaries with the Africa Evangelical Fellowship (now merged with SIM) on the islands of Mauritius and Reunion in the Indian Ocean from 1985-1993 where he was involved in church development and leadership training. He is presently involved in a writing ministry and is a member of Action International Ministries.
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Partners in the Gospel - F. Wayne Mac Leod
Partners in the Gospel
An Examination of What the Bible Teaches about
the Roles of Men and Women in the Church
F. Wayne Mac Leod
Light To My Path Book Distribution
Sydney Mines, NS, CANADA B1V 1Y5
Partners in the Gospel
Copyright © 2018 by F. Wayne Mac Leod
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without written permission of the author.
Smashwords Edition, License Notes
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be resold or given away to other people. If you wish to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or if it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favourite ebook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The NIV
and New International Version
are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™
Scripture quotations marked (ESV) are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations from The Authorized (King James) Version. Rights in the Authorized Version in the United Kingdom are vested in the Crown. Reproduced by permission of the Crown’s patentee, Cambridge University Press
Table of Contents
Introduction
Creation and the Fall
Worship in the Old Testament
Jesus and Women
The Early Church
The Teaching of Paul in 1 Corinthians 11
The Teaching of Paul in 1 Corinthians 14
The Teaching of Paul in 1 Timothy 2
Principles for Application
Light To My Path Book Distribution
INTRODUCTION
The role of women in the ministry of the church has been a hotly debated topic for many years. Many books have been written on the subject. The arguments for the role of women in the ministry of the church have been both Biblical and social in nature.
There are those who read the Biblical texts about women in ministry and interpret them literally for all cultures and times. Other people see the passages to apply to the culture of the time where women were not as educated and free as they are in our day. Then there are those who go as far as to say that the teaching of the Bible on this subject is outdated and no longer relevant to our present-day church. Let me tell you at the very outset of this study where I stand on this matter.
First, I believe that the Bible speaks authoritatively to all cultures and times. The Bible will not become outdated with time. What Jesus taught is applicable to us in our day as much as it was for the apostles who wrote it. God reveals His purpose for the church in His Word. He has given us His Word to be a guide in doctrine and practice until He returns. The principles taught in Scripture, apply to all cultures. How those principles are lived out may differ from culture to culture but all cultures in all times are expected to walk in the truth taught in the Word of God. It is our authority in all matters of doctrine and Christian life. If we are to understand the role of women in the ministry of the church, we must look to the teaching of Scripture as our standard and authority in what God requires.
Secondly, God expects us to obey His Word whether we like what it teaches or not. We cannot pick and choose what we want to obey. Let me be honest here. If you were to ask me what I felt about the place of women in ministry I could give you two answers.
On the one hand I could tell you my opinion, based on my personal experience and understanding. I could tell you about women who preach and teach as well as any man I have met. I could speak of the incredible impact of godly women on my life and faith. I could point you to examples of businesses and countries that have been led by capable and gifted women. I could tell you that men and women stand before God as equals. I could remind you of the wonderful gifts God has given to women that need to be used in the body of Christ.
On the other hand, I could take you directly to the Scripture. We could sit down and discuss the teaching of Paul and the example of Jesus. As we do so, I might find myself in a dilemma. Does what Paul teaches fit my personal opinion? Do I agree with him about the role of women in ministry? To be honest, there are times when I find that my opinion clashes with what the Scriptures teach. What am I to do when I don’t like what I see in Scripture? After careful examination of the teaching of Scripture my obligation, as a follower of the Lord Jesus, is to surrender to it and accept God’s way above my own.
Thirdly, we must realise that if we are to properly understand and apply the Scriptures we must take into consideration the culture of the day in which they were written. There are commands and teachings in Scripture that only apply to us in principle. We read, for example, in Leviticus 19:27 that the law of God forbade the trimming of the beard and the sides of one’s hair. Is it wrong for a man to trim his beard? To go to this extreme is to misinterpret the Scriptures. These laws were written in the context of the pagan religious practices of Old Testament times. They were intended to keep God’s people from imitating the practices of these pagan cultures and falling away from God. The practice of trimming one’s beard would not be a stumbling block today as it was in the days of Moses. Nor would this practice be required of us as New Testament believers in our day.
In our examination of the teaching of Scripture on the issue of the role of women in the ministry of the church, we need to apply all three of the above- mentioned principles. We need to take God’s word at face value. It is not outdated. We need to commit ourselves to obeying what we discover in God’s word, whether we like it or not. Finally, we need to be careful not to misinterpret Scripture by ignoring the cultural context in which it was written. With these principles as our guideline let us examine the teaching of Scripture on this difficult subject.
F. Wayne Mac Leod
CHAPTER 1 - CREATION AND THE FALL
The world view of the apostles and New Testament believers was rooted in Judaism and it’s understanding of God and creation. This is the cultural perspective from which we must begin. Genesis 1-3 recounts the story of the creation of man and woman and gives us some key details about God’s purpose for them.
In Genesis 1 we read:
26 Then God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.
27 So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.
28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.
(Genesis 1)
This passage has several details we need to emphasize.
First, notice that God created man
in his own image. The word man
used in this verse is the Hebrew word adam
which refers not just to a male but to human beings regardless of sex. This becomes clear in verse 27 when we read:
27 So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them. (Genesis 1)
Simply put, God created both a male and a female human being.
What is important for us to note is that the male and female were created