This article is written not as a tool to divide the Body of Christ nor spread arguments but to share the truth of what God has taught me on the topic of women pastors. The Bible commands us to rightly divide/handle the Word of truth because often times, when the word of God is twisted, people fall into deception. Every time we lose the truth, we lose freedom. “And you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free." John 8:32.
Anyone born of God who studies His word diligently is able to gain understanding from God’s word no matter their race, gender or social status.
Today, some people believe a woman cannot be called by God to be a pastor. Let’s ponder about this: Can God call a woman to be a president of a nation or not? Can He call her to manage a department with men under her? Can God call a woman to lead a revolutionary? Looking at history, has God ever called a woman to lead or judge His people? Can God ever call women to be explorers, engineers, astronauts... Can God ever call women to occupy other higher positions? If we look at our history and the Bible, I believe we all know the answer but somehow, some people might say, ‘Yes He has but there is this one position He cannot call women into… “pastoring or preaching…” Can we believe that and at the same time believe Mark 1:37? “Nothing shall be impossible with God.”
ORIGIN OF ‘NO WOMAN PASTOR/PREACHER’ DOCTRINE
Often times, people base this doctrine through 1 Corinthians 14:34 “The women are to keep silent in the churches…” or 1 Timothy 2:12 “I do not permit a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man; she is to remain quiet.” Or 1 Timothy 3. We are living in days where deception is at an all time high! When deception is in, scriptures will be twisted. The Lord warned me, “deceit can worm its way up into the truth” that’s why we must rightly divide the Word of Truth. This is why we need discernment, wisdom and understanding. We are in the days when deception is rampant. Today in our land, people are twisting the constitution, they are twisting and bending the law to suit their greedy needs. Today we are seeing the truth being called a lie and a lie being called the truth. But we must proclaim the Real Truth. Likewise, within God’s house, scriptures can be twisted. Read Luke 4, Matthew 4 and see how satan twisted scriptures trying to deceive Jesus, but no one and nothing can outsmart our God. Jesus defeated the devil with the Truth. Truth win the war but we need to remember deception can momentarily win the battle. So, it is important to stand in the Truth and proclaim the Truth from the rooftop and this is how we defeat deception.
SOLUTION #1
As I write this, the Holy Spirit reminded me to share Isaiah 11:2 where it is written, The Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him— the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and strength, the Spirit of knowledge and fear of the LORD. These are the seven Spirits of God (Revelation 5:6), the seven different working of the Spirit of God. Our Lord Jesus walked in Truth 100%, there was no lie found in Him. This is because He possessed the fullness of the Spirit of the Lord.
It is one thing to read a book but it is another to gain understanding of what you read. The Lord pointed me to King Solomon. What did he ask when the Lord appeared to Him? He asked for wisdom. Even today the Holy Spirit says, “It is not enough to just read the Bible, you need to have wisdom and understanding so that you may have My knowledge and perspective – to see things the way God sees them.” Those who ask for wisdom and understanding, let them ask, humble themselves, empty themselves of their theologies and doctrines so that God may fill them. When they sincerely ask, they shall receive. Absolutely, those who seek will find. Proverbs 8, those who diligently seek wisdom will find wisdom. Those who diligently seek will gain understanding.
DANGER OF NOT READING THE GOSPEL AS A WHOLE The Gospel has to be read as whole. We cannot base our doctrines just on one scripture while ignoring the rest of the scriptures that talk about the same topic. This reminds me how when I was learning to read, I stumbled on a scripture in Matthew 7:10 which said, “Or also, if he will ask for a fish, will give him a serpent?” At the time, I did not know how to read well, exclamation and questions marks were foreign to me. In stead of Reading Matthew 7:9-10, I just read 10 and I did not consider the question mark! So, I run to my elder sibling and told them how I read about a parent who was mean, a parent who gave a snake when a child asked for a fish. I got a completely different meaning because I took away the question mark! I got a completely different meaning because I did not read it as a whole...So we cannot take a way from the Word nor add (do not take out of context) For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished (Matthew 5:18). My sibling was able to help me understand. Likewise, today I am afraid that if we are not taking it to God to ask for the true meaning we may end up acting like modern day pharisees who thought they knew everything. Jesus was right there in their midst, but their too much knowledge and pride stood in the way that He slipped through their hands, they could not gain understanding that He was the Messiah they were waiting for! This is a warning to all of us, that if we do not read the scriptures as a whole, that if we do not empty our theology and go to God to ask the true meaning, there is danger to reap like the Pharisees.
When we study the scriptures, we have to look at it in the context of the entire Bible. The Bible tells us that Jesus is the precious cornerstone, a sure foundation (Isaiah 28:16). Furthermore, the Bible warns us that “For no one can lay any foundation other than the one we already have—Jesus Christ” 1 Cor 3:11.
When people make doctrines based on what Paul said in the Bible, they always need to bring it under subjection on what Jesus taught on the subject matter. Jesus is the precious corner stone. Jesus is the foundation and He alone died for the church! Through Jesus Christ alone the church was born, in other words Jesus is the founder of the church not Paul! Please listen to this for more info
• If people base their “No woman pastor/preacher” doctrine on 1 Timothy 3, then no woman should indeed be pastor, deacon or have a leadership position in the church. • If people base it out of 1 Corinthians 14:34 “The women are to keep silent in the churches…” or 1 Timothy 2:12, then the woman should never sing in the church, nor say a word nor prophesy – that means no woman can even ever take any speaking engagement. • If people base their doctrine out of Paul’s teachings which they take out of context, then let no man wear a hat inside the church and let all women cover their head while praying or prophesying (1 Cor 11:5), but here again how can a woman be silent according to Paul's 1 Cor 14:34 yet be allowed to prophesy in 1 Cor 11? • UNDERSTANDING: Please notice that Paul wrote about woman being silent ONLY to Corinth and Ephesus congregations, while to the Galatian congregations Paul wrote, “for there … is not one male or female. For you are all one in Messiah Y’shhua.” Gal 3:28. Why? Because Corinth and Ephesus (1 Tim 2:11) were homes of the fertility goddesses Diana and Artemis, where women dominated and temple prostitution was approved. See Acts 19. [From One New Man Bible by William J Morford)
SOLUTION #2
We should not look at one scriptures to defend our doctrines but look at other scriptures as a whole, and balance it out and rightly divide the Word of Truth with wisdom, understanding, considering the the Red Letter of the Bible (Jesus Sayings) as the foundation Please watch the video
When we choose to look at the scripture as a whole we will find out that long time ago it is written: • Joel 2:28 “"It will come about after this That I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind; And your sons and daughters will prophesy, Your old men will dream dreams, Your young men will see visions.” • Amos 3:8 “The Lord GOD has spoken! Who can but prophesy?” • Luke 1, “and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 And she cried out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43“And how has it happened to me, that the mother of my Lord would come to me?” • When Jesus ascended on high, He gave them this order, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the son and the Holy Spirit.” Matthew 28:19 He did not say only men can go… the book of acts cites the 11 disciples alongside with women (Acts 1). • Acts 2, they were 120 altogether, men and women, they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues – men and women, God gave them all the spirit without segregation because God is no respecter of persons Job 34:19; Acts 10:34; “for there is no respect of persons with God” (Romans 2:11)
IS GOD THE SAME YESTERDAY, TODAY AND FOREVER?
• If so, did He not call Deborah to judge Israel? Did He not call Anna and anointed her to serve full time in the temple (Luke 2:36-38). • How about Philip’s daughters who were prophetesses? Acts 21:9 Time fails me to name them all: The woman at the well who evangelized to her entire village, what about Aquila, Priscilla, Huldah, Esther and many more... • Even the angel of the Lord commanded the women who had come to the tomb to carry the Good News to His brethren, “Go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead; and behold, He is going ahead of you into Galilee, there you will see Him; behold, I have told you” Matthew 28:7
Now I have shared many scriptures that shows woman can lead both in the old and new testament. Are you ready for me to share what the Lord Jesus spoke to me about women pastors in face to face encounters? God still speaks, God still reveals… all we need is to walk with Him in holiness.
This is shared so that those who believe will take heart and sprint and spread the good news to all creation regardless of their gender.
JESUS VIEWS ON WOMEN PREACHERS FROM MY FACE TO FACE ENCOUNTERS
Many people have misconception of what Jesus is like. When the Lord visited our church, I was one to be first shocked to see how real and how powerful is our Lord Jesus, and how we Christians we have put Him in a box! Let's be careful that we are not the modern day Pharisees. To know Jesus, to walk with Him, you must be humble and have a child-like faith!
When your life is over and you get to the gates of heaven, before they let you in (oh yeah, heaven is LAW and ORDER... There are walls!), they will not ask you whether you were a woman pastor or not... but this is what they will ask you: Did you obey the greatest command which is LOVE? Did you learn to LOVE?
The first time I met Jesus was a time of high warfare for the nation and the church. Jesus said to me, “The gates of hell will not prevail”. He repeated this 5 times. This verse had become our church slogan and we said it many times as we prayed, battling against the powers of darkness. From the first encounter on a Tuesday night of the summer 2013, Jesus began to visit us every night at 7pm which is the time set for our nightly prayers. I asked Him Lord, many people say that I should not be pastoring since I am a woman, what is your view on this?
The Lord told me not to be concerned about it and said, “My precious child, I look at you and My heart just warms. I called, you answered! You are doing My will. You are walking in My & Father’s footsteps! I have opened the gates of heaven, and am pouring out onto you and your congregation my righteous strength and powerful fire. You and your flock will be set ablaze, and when the world looks at you in awe and shock; you will point them to Me. The gates of hell WILL NOT PREVAIL! The gates of hell WILL NOT PREVAIL! The gates of hell WILL NOT PREVAIL! The gates of hell WILL NOT PREVAIL! The gate of hell WILL NOT PREVAIL! My strength and mighty hand will guide you forever, and I am never going to leave you. You have led your flock in truth and in My way, you are showing them holiness, loyalty, and what it truly means to follow Me…”
The Lord said, “on earth, people may hold male superior to women; but I want my children to let go of the standards they hold on earth. They are not the standards I have set for them. There is neither male or female! You are all one in Me. Tell my children to not put Me in a box. I can do all things! Tell My children to not put condition on Me, tell them I cannot be contained in boundaries they have put around Me; tell them I am beyond IQ, they need to walk humbly before Me to understand Me.” Also the Lord told me how much He loves each one of us. “Tell My children that My love is deeper than any ocean; wider than any sky, and bigger than the universe. You cannot even handle a single fraction of My love. You cannot rub your mind around it.” The words of the Lord were very humbling and moving! There is not a single person that He does not care for. There is not a single person that is forgotten or neglected by His sight. Jesus loves no matter your race, gender or past sin! Jesus does not segregate women, look how much He has used them powerfully in the 4 Gospels. Jesus does not disqualify based on gender. He is able to use people in any capacity, position regardless of their gender, social status etc... It is God who chooses His vessel not man.
The Lord made us laugh when at another time in a group conversation a member asked Him, “But Lord, the scriptures says women are to be quiet.” He made us laugh when He responded to the member, “Well, some men need also to be quiet!” The Lord explained how often scriptures are twisted and taken out of context.
The Lord gives the word; the women who announce the news are a great host (Psalm 68:11).
Time is short. Let us sprint and preach the Gospel to all the nations regardless of gender.
May God bless all who read. May the Holy Spirit give each one of you understanding! All who read are in my prayers. Smile! Be Happy!