03/04/2026
๐IS IT RIGHT FOR A WOMAN TO PREACH IN A CONGREGATION?
Q&A WITH PASTOR CHRIS OYAKHILOME.
QUESTION โ Gustave (South Africa):
Good day Pastor Chris. Iโm Gustave, a prophet from the Messenger Church in Johannesburg. I want to know why it was forbidden in the Bible (Paul writing to the Corinthian Church and to Timothy) for women to preach in a congregation. Why donโt we see in the Bible a female Apostle, Pastor, Evangelist, Prophet, or Doctor? Thank you Pastor.
ANSWER : Alright! Now, in the Bible, there are two particular places that Paul actually talked about women speaking, you know, whether in church or wherever. There are two particular places where the Bible talks about it, and in none of those places did he say that a woman should not preach.
Now, this is an erroneous idea that a lot of people have cooked up, you know, to make it look like God never wanted a woman-preacher. Now, the first place is in 1st Corinthians Chapter 14, and I want to read to you what it says there so youโll understand exactly what the Bible is telling us. In 1st Corinthians Chapter 14, Iโll read to you from verse 34, and I want you to listen to what it says: โLet your women keep silence in the churches; for it is not permitted unto them to speakโฆโ Now, He didnโt talk about preaching โ
I want you to listen carefully [continues scripture quotation] โโฆfor it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also sayeth the law. And if they will learn anything, let them ask their husbands at home; for it is a shame for women to speak in the church.โ Then it says โWhat? Came the word of God out of you, or from you, or came it unto you only? If any man think himself to be a prophet or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that are right unto you are commandments from the Lord. [1 Corinthians 14:34-36]โ Now, you know what itโs talking about here? Heโs dealing with women making noise, talking to their husbands, asking questions in the church in disregard to their husbands or directly to their husbands. It says โโฆif they will learn anything, they should askโฆat homeโฆโ
See, the context tells us what Paul was talking about here โ the context. He says it was not permitted for women to speak in the church. If they will learn anything, they should ask their husbands at home. What about those without husbands? What should they do? Because it was specific. So that tells us that there was a relational problem in the church. There was a relational problem in the church, and this had to do with women and their husbands and the kind of communication they were having in the church. Thatโs what he was talking about.
Now, the next place where he talks about something similar is what will tell you what he was dealing with here. Then weโll talk about some other examples in the Bible that show us whether or not this was what God had in mind. Now, weโll go to the next place which is in 1st Timothy Chapter 2. Iโll read to you from verse 11: โLet the woman learn in silence, with all subjection [1 Timothy 2:11].โ
You see? So heโs talking about the same thing. He said women should keep silent in the church, ok? Now again, he [Paul] picks it up, and heโs talking to Timothy, who was the pastor of the church at Ephesus at this time. You see? So Timothy was a pastor, which means that the message heโs writing to Timothy is consistent to what he wrote to those in the Corinthian church. So Timothy as a pastor would know exactly what to do and how to handle the church. Now, I want you to listen again to the context. So it says [continues reading from 1st Timothy] โLet the woman learn in silence, with all subjection; but I suffer not [or permit not] a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. [1 Timothy 2:11-12]โ Now, thatโs just clear; heโs saying exactly the same things he said before, just in other words. Now, listen to it. It says โโฆbut I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.โ He didnโt say โI suffer not women to teach, nor to usurp authority over men.โ
Heโs not speaking about women and men in general; heโs talking about the man and his wife. He says [listen], โI suffer not a woman to teach, nor usurp authority over the man.โ What do you mean by โthe manโ? The man thatโs connected to the woman โ that will be her husband. You see that? Thatโs what itโs talking about. That will be her husband โ the man thatโs connected to that woman. So, definite article โ โthe manโ โ definite article. Then, the use of the term here โusurpโ โ that means that that man already had authority over this woman, and this woman is trying to ride out of that authority to be over him. So it says โI do not permit her to teach him, or usurp authority over him.โ Itโs talking about husbands and wives. So, thatโs the same context in which he said it in 1st Corinthians Chapter 14.
Now, by the way, remember, the first person that Jesus sent to herald his resurrection message was a woman โ Mary Magdalene; Jesus sent her to preach. She was the first person to preach the gospel of the resurrection. It was a woman. Now again, the Bible tells us about four women โ four daughters of Philip the evangelist โ and that they were all preachers. The Bible says they prophesied [Acts 21:8-9].
Now, where we get the word โpreachingโ from in the Bible is actually from the word โprophecyโ. โTo prophesyโ is what was translated into โto preachโ. So when you say you are a preacher, itโs coming from where it talks about prophesying, meaning speaking words โ the word of faith โ voicing Godโs word, releasing Godโs word, not just the prophetic utterance of revelation now. But these women prophesied and they spoke forth the word of God. Remember how they spoke concerning Paul the apostle. See? Four daughters of Philip the evangelist who prophesied, meaning the four of them preached. And where do you prophesy? The Bible says that the gift of prophecy is for the church. You see? Itโs for the church. So, he says we may all prophesy, and that by cause. Now if the Bible says in the congregation we may all prophesy one by one, and that by cause, all of us [1 Corinthians 14:31]. โAll of usโ โ again referring to the church โ that means men and women in the church can prophesy. So, remember that and that will help you understand.
Now, the second part of your question was, Gustave, โWhy didnโt we have in the Bible female apostles, and female evangelists, and female teachers and so on and so forth?โ
Well, Iโll tell you why. First of all, if you go back in the Old Testament, you will find that there were leaders who were women, and God raised them up. Deborah for one was a leader [Judges 4:4]. She was a judge. Now, I know you are talking about in the New Testament. Well, interesting. Youโve got to understand the day in which they lived. This was a time that the people would not receive a woman.
Yet, Christ sent a woman to herald the good news. She may have not been called an evangelist, but how else do you describe an evangelist? Itโs not all evangelists that were named in the Bible. Just because Jesus picked certain men didnโt mean he didnโt have women. The Bible tells us that there were multitudes of women who were with him when he went out to preach the word. They were there. But, you see, the writers of the Bible wouldnโt have given us the details of their operation in ministry, because Jesus had twelve men.
Now, just because he chose twelve men didnโt mean he didnโt have more men; he had more men. See? So, he didnโt choose twelve men to represent men; he chose twelve men to represent him. So thatโs very important.
We shouldnโt use those kinds of examples as a covering for everything that God was supposed to do, because if you read the Old Testament, youโll find that He chose men and women, and in the New Testament, He ministered through men and women, and thatโs very important for us. Alright! So the simple reason was [that] the background of the people of the day was clear; they would not accept a woman. And so Jesus picked men, but he gave women responsibilities until the Holy Spirit should come, so that in the church where Paul also [the same Paul you quoted] tells us that in the Church of Jesus Christ, there is neither male nor female as he says thereโs neither bond nor free, thereโs neither Jew nor Gentile [Galatians 3:27-29].
He says we are all one in Christ, which means the Holy Spirit ministers through both men and women now. Thatโs important.
#๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐
๐๐ ๐๐๐
๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐
https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaf70iII1rckqdRh1d2l
