Editor’s note: In February 2020, a task force of the ICOC Teachers Service Team completed a collaborative academic biblical study on the topic of the public role of women. Published here is the Table of Contents and the Introduction. It will shortly be available for purchase as a book from Illumination Publishers.

The Bible and Gender:

Roles, Leadership and Ministry

Introduction - ICOC Teachers Service Team Task Force Genesis 1-3 - Joey Harris and Dr. Rolan Monje 1 Corinthians 11:1-16 - Dr. Gregg Marutzky 1 Corinthians 14:33-40 - Dr. Gregg Marutzky Galatians 3:26-29 - Valdur Koha Colossians 3:18-19 and Ephesians 5:21-33 - Dr. Brian Perkins, Dr. G. Steve Kinnard 1 Timothy 2:11-15 -  Dr. G. Steve Kinnard, Dr. Glenn Giles, Valdur Koha, Suzette Lewis, Kay McKean, Dr. Gregg Marutzky, Jeanie Shaw Titus 2:3–5 - Suzette Lewis & Dr. Scott Warlow 1 Peter 3:1–7 - Kay S. McKean, Joey Harris, and Dr. G. Steve Kinnard

Introduction

ICOC Teachers Taskforce

God loves humanity. God loves humanity with an unquenchable and ceaseless love. The ultimate expression of his love for humanity was in sending his son Jesus into the world to demonstrate God’s love through Jesus’ ministry, death, and resurrection. God’s love was also expressed in the movement of the Holy Spirit on the hearts of humans to direct them to record Scripture for the edification and instruction of humanity.

God’s wisdom is without limit; and in his wisdom, he created humans both female and male. Gender is a God thing.

There are times when gender and Scripture bump up against each other in particular passages that speak specifically to the topic of gender and ministry. This occurs very early in Scripture when God creates humans in his image as both male and female (Genesis 2 and 3).

There are passages of Scripture that mention gender that are difficult to understand. What do we do with passages that state that women ought to remain silent in the church and another passage that speaks of women praying and prophesying in the assembly? What do we do with a passage where Paul says that he does not permit a woman to teach a man and another passage where Priscilla and her husband, Aquila, teach Apollos the way of Jesus more accurately?

Plus, there is a battle in the evangelical world between scholars who hold opposite views on women and their roles in ministry and leadership. Ben Witherington III writes, “In reading through the ever-growing literature dealing with women in the Bible, one is constantly confronted with able scholars who nonetheless come to the text with a specific agenda in mind, whether patriarchal or feminist. This is not surprising in view of the importance of the issue, but when the Bible is used to justify positions which are polar opposites one suspects that something has gone awry” (Ben Witherington III, Women in Earliest Christianity, p. 1). Something has gone awry. And since we live in the church as female and male, it serves us as Christians to see what God is saying to women and men in the Bible about gender, roles, leadership, and ministry.

The goal of this collection of papers is to exegete specific passages that speak to the vision God has for women and men in his church. At times, these passages are more specific to women, and at other times, the passages are more specific to men. Often, whether indirectly or directly, the roles of women and men are mentioned in the same passage. Also, we need to realize that all the passages that focus on women in the church were written by men. That’s the nature of the text of the Bible.

In the following papers, the authors explore the text by using a historical-critical exegetical method of interpretation. This is also known as inductive Bible study. Be aware that reading these papers is not “lite” reading. Many of the authors began by exploring the text in its original language, either Hebrew or Greek. They considered the cultural background and occasional setting that led to the text being written. Only after looking at the text critically to see what the author meant to say to his audience and what the original listeners (or readers) would have understood from the text, did the authors move on to discuss what the text may or may not mean to us today.

This discussion is text driven. We claim to be a people of the Book. If that is the case, then our discussion on gender in the church must be a Bible-based discussion. It ought not to be a 21st-century culture-driven discussion. We have to begin in the text and then apply the text to culture.

We are a global movement. Culture changes as we move from country to country. The goal of Bible study is to derive meaning from the text and apply it to the culture where we live. It is not to study our given culture and make the text fit into that culture. We need to be students of the text and of culture. But the text should inform our culture. So we start with text; we “trust the text.”

Our first paper will look at the creation account in an attempt to set the framework of how God looks at gender. Other papers look specifically at the writings of the Apostle Paul to see what he had to say about women and men in both marriage and in ministry. Also, a passage from the pen of the Apostle Peter will be considered on the topic of marriage.

The goal of all these papers is to help students/readers of God’s word interpret passages that speak to the role of women in the ministry of the church. Not every passage on women will be treated here. That wider study lies outside the scope of this collection of papers.

The purpose of these papers is not to define orthodoxy (doctrine) or orthopraxy (practice) for the church. The Bible, not a group of teachers, decides the doctrine and practice of the church. It is the role of the teachers to help explain the meaning of Scripture. We hope this collection of papers offers help in interpreting some difficult passages of Scripture on the role of gender, leadership, and ministry for the glory of God and for the good of the life and ministry of the church.

Conclusion

These papers are offered to you in an attempt to create dialogue and to advance the kingdom of God on the earth.