We are about to embark on a journey. A controversial journey. A journey that has been a hotly contested subject in Adventism for many years.
My goal is to remain faithful to the Bible and to the Spirit of Prophecy. I trust that is your goal, too.
I will begin with a Top 5 list of women leaders in the Bible. This list was developed by searching on Google, comparing different lists, and choosing the most common top 5. These lists were used to prove that there were women leaders in the church, and so we, as a people, should also have women leaders and pastors. So, I went to lists that were used to promote women pastors, leaders, and ordination.
The following were the most common “church leaders”:
5. Phoebe
4. Priscilla
3. Miriam
2. Lydia
1. Deborah
5. Phoebe
Two verses in the Bible tell us about this sister in Christ. I have included the KJV and NIV for comparison
“I commend unto you Phebe our sister, which is a servant of the church which is at Cenchrea: 2 That ye receive her in the Lord, as becometh saints, and that ye assist her in whatsoever business she hath need of you: for she hath been a succourer of many, and of myself also” (Romans 16:1-2 (KJV).
“I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a deacon of the church in Cenchreae. 2 I ask you to receive her in the Lord in a way worthy of his people and to give her any help she may need from you, for she has been the benefactor of many people, including me.”
Notice the KJV uses the word “servant”, while the NIV uses the word deacon. In the KJV, the word "deacon" or deacons only appears five times, in Philippians 1:1, 1 Timothy 3:8, 10, 12 and 13.
Philippians 1:1,
“Paul and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons..”
Here, we simply have a greeting from Paul, the writer of Philippians. In this verse, there is no descriptor of what a deacon is, only that Paul wishes to greet the deacons among others.
How about the verses in 1 Timothy?
1 Timothy 3:8-13,
“Likewise must the deacons be grave, not doubletongued, not given to much wine, not greedy of filthy lucre; (9) Holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience. (10) And let these also first be proved; then let them use the office of a deacon, being found blameless. (11) Even so must their wives be grave, not slanderers, sober, faithful in all things. (12) Let the deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well. (13) For they that have used the office of a deacon well purchase to themselves a good degree, and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus.”
The verse says that the person who holds the office of deacon must be the “husband of one wife.” It does not say the “wife of one husband”, or “a person who is married only to one other person.” The fact is, according to this Bible text, a deacon is to be a man. So, the likelihood that Phoebe was a deacon, according to this verse, is quite unlikely.
Was Phoebe a servant and worker of the church? Absolutely.
4. Priscilla
Let’s zoom in on the book of Acts where we will meet Aquila and his wife Priscilla:
Acts 18:1-3,
“After these things Paul departed from Athens, and came to Corinth; (2) And found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, lately come from Italy, with his wife Priscilla; (because that Claudius had commanded all Jews to depart from Rome:) and came unto them. (3) And because he was of the same craft, he abode with them, and wrought: for by their occupation they were tentmakers.”
Paul met this couple in Corinth, who were believers and they were also tentmakers. Continuing on we read:
Acts 18:18-19,
“And Paul after this tarried there yet a good while, and then took his leave of the brethren, and sailed thence into Syria, and with him Priscilla and Aquila; having shorn his head in Cenchrea: for he had a vow. (19) And he came to Ephesus, and left them there: but he himself entered into the synagogue, and reasoned with the Jews.”
Paul brought Aquila and Priscilla with him to Syria. When Paul traveled onto Ephesus with Aquila and Priscilla, he left the couple and entered the synagogue by himself. I don’t know if Paul leaving them outside the synagogue has any significance, but it is an interesting fact. Let’s continue:
Acts 18:24-26,
“Now a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was an eloquent man, competent in the Scriptures. 25 He had been instructed in the way of the Lord. And being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, though he knew only the baptism of John. 26 He began to speak boldly in the synagogue, but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately.”
Notice that when Priscilla and her husband wanted to teach Apollos a more complete gospel, they took him aside to teach him. This was not a public address in the synagogue. In addition, Priscilla was working with her husband. In no way, do these texts conclude that Priscilla was a church leader, only that she was a gospel spreader along with her husband.
3. Miriam
Miriam was the sister of Moses and Aaron. What does the Bible tell us about her? Was she a leader of the Israelites?
Micah 6:4,
“For I brought thee up out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed thee out of the house of servants; and I sent before thee Moses, Aaron, and Miriam.”
From this verse, we can see that Miriam was listed among those leading out as the Israelites made their Exodus out of Egypt.
In Exodus Chapter 14 we read the story of the parting of the Red Sea. In the first part of chapter 15, we read “The Song of Moses.” It is a time of celebration as the Israelite people see their deliverance from the Egyptians by the Mighty Hand of God. Then we come to these verses:
Exodus 15:20-21,
“And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances. (21) And Miriam answered them, Sing ye to the LORD, for he hath triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea.”
We see the Miriam was called a “prophetess.” And we see many other women in the Bible given the same role of prophetess. This is Biblical. We can see from this passage that Miriam did indeed lead out. But who, according to this verse, did she lead? The verse says that “all the women went out after her.” The text is very specific in indicating that Miriam led the women. Nowhere in Scripture can you find Miriam leading out in any other way. Moses was their leader, Aaron was the High Priest, and I believe it can be concluded that Miriam was a leader for the women.
2. Lydia
Let’s look at all the verses that relate to Lydia. Her story can be found in the book of Acts Chapter 16. Paul and company have been traveling on missionary journeys, and this is where the story picks up:
Acts 16:13-15,
“And on the sabbath we went out of the city by a river side, where prayer was wont to be made; and we sat down, and spake unto the women which resorted thither. (14) And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul. (15) And when she was baptized, and her household, she besought us, saying, If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and abide there. And she constrained us.”
The only other mention of Lydia comes in the following verse, after Paul and Silas had been thrown in prison and released:
Acts 16:40,
“And they went out of the prison, and entered into the house of Lydia: and when they had seen the brethren, they comforted them, and departed.”
What do we see about Lydia from these verses?
She was an entrepreneur (a seller of purple, a rare and expensive commodity), she worshipped the God Jehovah, she heard the gospel spoken of by Paul and responded to that call. She was so moved by the message that she and her whole family or household made the decision to be baptized. After this she invited Paul and the others to stay at her house.
What a blessing, she spread the news of salvation to her family. She had the gift of hospitality. She responded to the invitation to follow the Savior. However, to use these few verses to construct that she was a leader in the church is a stretch. In no way does it say she was an elder, bishop, teacher, or deacon. In fact, it says her interactions were inside her home. She was simply a God-fearing woman who used her resources to lead others to the Savior. Now, number 1 on our list.
Deborah
This the one Bible character that the argument could be made that she was an appointed leader. So, let’s dig into the story of our first woman on the list.
First, there were 12 judges in all: Of the twelve, Deborah was the only woman. So, from this fact, it could be stated that the Biblical normative was for a man to be a judge. In other words, Deborah was the exception, rather than the rule. Let’s read her story in the book of Judges:
Judges 4:4,
“And Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, she judged Israel at that time.”
From this first verse I would like to point out that Deborah was a prophetess. We have already read of women prophetesses, which can be normative.
Now let’s look at Judges 4:5,
“And she dwelt under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in mount Ephraim: and the children of Israel came up to her for judgment.”
We see here that Deborah was not in any of the major metropolitan areas and was in fact judging “under the Palm Tree of Deborah”! She was definitely not set up in Jerusalem or Jericho, and was definitely not leading out in a synagogue. She was judging for the people.
But if the norm was to have a man be a judge, why would Deborah be fulfilling that position? I don’t think it is coincidence that the story that parallels Deborah is that of Barak. Let’s continue reading to see what the story has to tell us about the state of affairs in Israel.
Judges 4:6-9,
“And she sent and called Barak the son of Abinoam out of Kedeshnaphtali, and said unto him, Hath not the LORD God of Israel commanded, saying, Go and draw toward mount Tabor, and take with thee ten thousand men of the children of Naphtali and of the children of Zebulun? (7) And I will draw unto thee to the river Kishon Sisera, the captain of Jabin's army, with his chariots and his multitude; and I will deliver him into thine hand. (8) And Barak said unto her, If thou wilt go with me, then I will go: but if thou wilt not go with me, then I will not go. (9) And she said, I will surely go with thee: notwithstanding the journey that thou takest shall not be for thine honour; for the LORD shall sell Sisera into the hand of a woman. And Deborah arose, and went with Barak to Kedesh.”
The story goes onto tell how Barak pursued the commander Sisera of the enemy’s army, but that a woman by the name of Jael killed Sisera in a way we won’t expound upon in this article!
In a section in Isaiah chapter three, it is subtitled: Judgment on Judah and Jerusalem. And this is what the verse says:
Isaiah 3:12,
“As for my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, they which lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths.”
This is a curse for God’s people, that women and children would rule over them. So, this is what we see in the story of Barak. Here was a man who would not lead. Deborah told him to go to war, and he said he wouldn’t go unless Deborah went with him. Barak did not trust God and would not lead as he should have. And it is no coincidence that the story of Barak is combined with the story of Deborah. Deborah was forced to enter into the position of judge because the men of Israel were not taking their God-given roles as leaders.
So far, no conclusive evidence in support of women leaders in the church.
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Eric has been married to his beautiful wife Brenda for 36 years. They have 6 children whom they home-schooled and 2 grandchildren. He has been a mechanic for 30 + years and owns an auto repair shop in Prosser, WA. Eric has been an ordained elder in the Adventist church for the past 26 years. Eric grew up an atheist in a non-Christian home. He praises God daily that he found Jesus and that Jesus offered him salvation.