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Does a Woman have the Right to Preach in the Church
of God? |
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 ay the peace of our Lord be with you! Once again, we are inviting you to a thorough study of the word of God in the Bible. As you all know, our objective in undergoing this study is to search for the truth because nowadays, we encounter so many false teachers and false preachers.
All of us are witnesses to the rampant deceits in religion today. That is why, in our humble little way, we are using ourselves as instruments of God in exposing these different kinds of deceits. It is our hope that, in doing so, we could open your minds on matters concerning spirituality and on matters concerning the salvation of our soul should we become worthy in the sight of God. Whether we like it, or not, time will come that we will face God to be judged. That is why while there is still time, it is important that we find out what awaits us in the future. God gave us the liberty to design our lives, and we are the ones who work for our salvation. As St. Paul said in Philippians 2:12, “Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.”
I want you to pay attention to the admonition: “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” Therefore, we are the ones who work for our salvation. This cannot be done by God alone, contrary to the claim of many Charismatic groups today. These people preach that salvation is God’s work alone, and that man does not have to do anything anymore. That is not true! We do not disagree that salvation is a work of God, but man also has to do his share. He should also work for his salvation. God’s work plus man’s work result to salvation. Philippians 2:13-14 says, “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. Do all things without murmurings and disputings:”
The verses mention of two works – the work of God and the work of man. And one of the things that we need to do is to search and understand what the will of God is. God could not save us if we do not want to understand the will of God. It is in understanding the will of God and in understanding the truth that we will attain salvation. As written in I Timothy 2:4, “Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.”
The Bible said God wants all men to be saved, but with one provision: Man should come to the knowledge of the truth. A person who did not bother to know the truth would not be saved. This is the reason why we are trying to lead the people in their quest for the truth. This is our responsibility as human beings. And in our search for the truth, we must display zealousness in the same way that we are zealous in searching for our basic needs like food, clothing, etc. Everyday man keeps on searching for those things. Man also searches for his would-be companion in life. Apparently, in this world, man has been too preoccupied in searching daily for his needs. As a result, he has neglected to search for something more important. Acts 17:26-28 says, “And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; That they should seek the LORD, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us: For in him we live, and move, and have our beings as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.”
This tells us God’s intent in creating man. That is why, if there is one thing that man must seek for, it is nobody else but GOD, from whom he owes everything that he has in life. If we are spending so much time searching for a husband, or a wife . . . if we are spending as much time looking for a more lucrative job . . . if we are saving money to build a house for our self . . . the more we should spend much time in seeking for God’s righteousness, especially today when we are living in the midst of so many lies and frauds in religion.
It is due to the growing number of pastors who are capitalizing on religion in misleading other people for their personal gains that we are tackling, today, the qualities of a true preacher. We will talk about the preacher. We will try to determine who is true and who is a false preacher. And by referring to the Bible, we will try to find out who is real, and who is a deceiver. We will look for a preacher whose motive in preaching is not money; we will look for a preacher who is truly desirous to preach the word of God and lead the people to salvation.
First of all, we will talk about the issue on whether, or not, a woman could become preachers. We are aware of the fact that there are organizations of faith that do not allow a woman to stand in the pulpit and preach the word of God before their congregation. An example of this is the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church does not ordain any female priest. There are no female priests and no female cardinals, although, once upon a time, there had been a female Pope in Rome. And perhaps, this is one ugly truth that is being concealed to the majority of the Catholics. Very few are aware of the fact that, once upon the history of the Catholic Church, a woman had become a Pope, and she died while giving birth in front of many people. This thing had been kept a secret for so long a time. Until now, they have been very firm with their stand that no woman should become a preacher. Actually, the Iglesia ni Cristo of Manalo shares the same belief. They, also, do not have any female minister.
However, nowadays, there are religious organizations that are being headed by women. An example of this is the Seventh Day Adventists, which was founded and headed by Mrs. Ellen G. White. According to a book of this group, Ellen G. White was not just the founder of their organization, but they also acknowledge her as a prophetess.
But let us find out if God permits a woman to be a leader of a religious organization like the Seventh Day Adventists. Let us begin to ask: Does the Bible tell any specific pronouncement that a woman could neither become a leader nor a preacher in a religious organization? What is the difference between being a leader and being a preacher? For us not to be misled, let us find out what the prohibitions are to a woman. Are there prohibitions to a woman? This is what St. Paul said in I Timothy 2:11-14, “Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over a man, but to be in silence. For Adam was first formed, then Eve. For Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.”
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Bible
Apostleship
and the Rightful
