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Continuing our discussion from part two, as we have clearly seen by a plethora of Scriptures, both the political and the religious leadership of ancient Israel consisted almost exclusively of all males. At the same time, Israelite women were supposed to remain respectful to, and submissive to, their husbands. Being as Christianity was an offshoot of the religion of the Jews, these same principles were later applied to the Christian Church as well. Thus, it seems evident to me that God purposely chose men for leaders in these different areas of Israelite society, as an earthly reflection of the way that things are likewise run in the Kingdom of Heaven.

Turning our attention to the New Testament, we see the very same pattern continuing. To begin with, it is obvious that John the Baptist was a male, and carried the same spiritual anointing as the male Prophet, Elijah. It is well-known that Jesus chose twelve men to be His Apostles, as we can easily see by the following group of verses:

"And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease. Now the names of the twelve apostles are these; The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; Philip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the publican; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus; Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him. These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."


"And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples: and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles; Simon, (whom he also named Peter,) and Andrew his brother, James and John, Philip and Bartholomew, Matthew and Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called Zelotes, And Judas the brother of James, and Judas Iscariot, which also was the traitor."


Furthermore, the Scriptures of the New Testament repeatedly reveal that the core leadership of the First Century Church in fact consisted of three men. That is to say, Peter, James and John. Again, please consider this group of verses which clearly verify this particular point:

"And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart,"


"And he [Jesus] suffered no man to follow him, save Peter, and James, and John the brother of James."


"And after six days Jesus taketh with him Peter, and James, and John, and leadeth them up into an high mountain apart by themselves: and he was transfigured before them."


"And as he sat upon the mount of Olives over against the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked him privately,"


"And they came to a place which was named Gethsemane: and he saith to his disciples, Sit ye here, while I shall pray. And he taketh with him Peter and James and John, and began to be sore amazed, and to be very heavy;"


"And when he [Jesus] came into the house, he suffered no man to go in, save Peter, and James, and John, and the father and the mother of the maiden."


"And it came to pass about an eight days after these sayings, he took Peter and John and James, and went up into a mountain to pray."


"And when James, Cephas [Peter], and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship; that we should go unto the heathen, and they unto the circumcision."


When the eleven remaining Apostles chose someone to replace Judas Iscariot in the Book of Acts, they selected two men -- Justus and Matthias -- and then they voted, or cast lots. As we know from the Scriptures, the vote fell to Matthias, as we see by the following group of verses:

"And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples, and said, (the number of names together were about an hundred and twenty,) Men and brethren, this scripture must needs have been fulfilled, which the Holy Ghost by the mouth of David spake before concerning Judas, which was guide to them that took Jesus. For he was numbered with us, and had obtained part of this ministry. Now this man purchased a field with the reward of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out. And it was known unto all the dwellers at Jerusalem; insomuch as that field is called in their proper tongue, Aceldama, that is to say, The field of blood. For it is written in the book of Psalms, Let his habitation be desolate, and let no man dwell therein: and his bishoprick let another take. Wherefore of these men which have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, Beginning from the baptism of John, unto that same day that he was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection. And they appointed two, Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias. And they prayed, and said, Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men, shew whether of these two thou hast chosen, That he may take part of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place. And they gave forth their lots; and the lot fell upon Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven apostles."


When certain squabbles arose amongst the Disciples in the Book of Acts, seven deacons were then selected so that the Apostles could continue in prayer and teaching the Word of God. Once again we see that they chose seven men: Stephen, Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenasand Nicolas, as we can clearly determine by this group of verses:

"And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration. Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them, and said, It is not reason that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables. Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business. But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word. And the saying pleased the whole multitude: and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolas a proselyte of Antioch: Whom they set before the apostles: and when they had prayed, they laid their hands on them."


Now, if we consider that this problem dealt with the serving of food and the setting of tables -- which is normally viewed as being a woman's job -- one would think that if the early Disciples were of the belief that it was alright for women to hold positions of responsibility, then surely some women would have been chosen to resolve this problem. Yet none are chosen. They are ALL MEN.

In my mind, this incident again clearly points to the fact that in the First Century Church, women were not to hold any kind of spiritual positions or leadership positions in which decision-making was involved. Tell me; what other reason can be offered to explain why women were not chosen to resolve what was obviously a woman-related job? In fact, additional Scriptures reveal that other future deacons were also men, as we can confirm by this set of verses:

"Likewise must the deacons be grave, not doubletongued, not given to much wine, not greedy of filthy lucre; Holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience. And let these also first be proved; then let them use the office of a deacon, being found blameless. Even so must their wives be grave, not slanderers, sober, faithful in all things. Let the deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well. 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."


In Acts chapter nine, when God raised up a very powerful and unique Apostle to reach all of the Gentile nations outside of Israel, once again, following the very same historical and Biblical pattern, He chose a man in the form of Saul of Tarsus, who later became known as the Apostle Paul. Consider these sample verses as evidence of this point:

"Then Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard by many of this man, how much evil he hath done to thy saints at Jerusalem: And here he hath authority from the chief priests to bind all that call on thy name. But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel: For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name's sake."


"And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time. For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me."


"Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power. Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;"


Moving on, as I point out in the series called "Where Are the First Century Churches?", when bishops were selected for various Churches which are mentioned in the New Testament, they were likewise men. More specifically, in the Epistles of Paul, we discover that Titus and Timothy are mentioned as being two of the first bishops. Consider these two verses as proof of this particular point:

"The Lord Jesus Christ be with thy spirit. Grace be with you. Amen. [The second [epistle unto Timotheus, ordained the first bishop of the Church of the Ephesians, was written from Rome, when Paul was brought before Nero the second time.]"


"All that are with me salute thee. Greet them that love us in the faith. Grace be with you all. Amen. (It was written to Titus, ordained the first bishop of the Church of the Cretians, from Nicopolis of Macedonia.)"


So from the time that Jesus chose the original Twelve, we discover over and over again, that only men were chosen to fill the various positions of spiritual and administrative responsibility. We read of Apollos, Barnabas, John Mark, Justus, Luke, Matthias, Nicanor, Nicolas, Parmenas, Philip, Prochorus, Silas, Stephen, Timon, Timothy, Titus and others as well. They were all male leaders in the First Century Church, who were chosen by, directed by, and filled with God's Holy Spirit.

There is simply no way to get around the fact that all First Century Church leadership positions -- Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors, Teachers, Deacons, Bishops -- weren't filled by any women, but always by men. That being the case, what justification can be made for delegating authority and any leadership roles to women in the Christian Church today? There seems to be no Biblical precedent whatsoever for doing this in the pages of the New Testament. Allow me to share a few more verses of Scripture with you in order to validate this particular point. I will offer some personal commentary afterwards:

"Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues: But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will."


"Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular. And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues. Are all apostles? are all prophets? are all teachers? are all workers of miracles? Have all the gifts of healing? do all speak with tongues? do all interpret?"


"And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:"


"Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them."


In the previous verses, it is plain to see that the various positions of spiritual and administrative authority were all filled by men. The Apostle Paul specifically states several times "every man", and not "every woman and every man". Now, some people may take a legalistic approach and suggest that the original Greek word that is used in those verses -- that is, "hekastos" -- also means "every one", and thus could be stretched so that it includes women. However, if we simply take the time to study the Scriptures thoroughly, and see how the Lord and His followers operated, it is rather easy to conclude that the phrase "every man" means precisely that. That is, every man.

As I noted in part one, it is after describing the various positions within the Church body, that in 1 Corinthians 14, the Apostle Paul plainly informs his readers that women are supposed to keep silent in the Church. There is absolutely no way then that they can fulfill any of these spiritual or leadership responsibilities if they are to keep silent.

As I also mentioned in part one, some modern Christians like to falsely accuse the Apostle Paul of being a misogynist and old-fashioned. "We are living in modern times!" they insist. "Things have changed. The Church has changed. The Church has been liberated." And on and on they go with their misguided assertions, invented interpretations and poor excuses. Yes, tragically, the Church has changed so much, that there are now gay and female priests! Some wayward churches are going so far as to bless gay and lesbian relationships, and they are in increasing numbers even marrying same-sex couples! Perhaps some of these modern priests and priestesses would like to explain the following verses to me. Obviously, such folks must understand them a lot differently than I do:

"Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever."


"For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed."


As far as I am concerned, the way God designed the Church to be run during the First Century, is the same way He expects it to be run today. The people who say otherwise -- such as these liberal thinkers who accuse the Apostle Paul of being a woman-hater -- are simply trying to void Paul's words, in order to validate their erroneous interpretations of the Scriptures. They are basically saying that Paul was overly legalistic and wrong. I disagree with them wholeheartedly.

As I mentioned in part one, Paul has the Biblical record fully on his side, while they most certainly do not. All Paul has done is continue a pattern that is thousands of years old in the Biblical record. Furthermore, as we have seen, even before Paul came along, the brethren knew that the Lord expected them to choose men to fill the various spiritual and leadership positions, because this is the example that the Lord set Himself when He chose the Twelve Apostles to carry on His work. Jesus respected the pattern.

Now concerning women such as the Marys, Martha, Joanna and Susanna, as I discuss in the article "Women in the Lives of Jesus and the Apostles", they served in supportive roles. This is by no means meant to belittle them or to minimize their importance. It is common knowledge that following His Resurrection, some of these women were the very first ones to see Jesus. So it is quite obvious that Jesus loved them dearly. Yet they knew their place in God's order of things, and they accepted it gladly. In the four Gospels, women are always presented in a supportive role, such as we see in the following group of verses:

"And it came to pass afterward, that he went throughout every city and village, preaching and shewing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God: and the twelve were with him, And certain women, which had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities, Mary called Magdalene, out of whom went seven devils, And Joanna the wife of Chuza Herod's steward, and Susanna, and many others, WHICH MINISTERED UNTO HIM OF THEIR SUBSTANCE."


In these verses, we see a clear division between The Twelve, and the other women, who it seems helped to provide some of their needs. We see this same kind of division in the very first chapter of the Book of Acts when they were gathered in the Upper Room, prior to the day of Pentecost. Notice that protocol seems to be kept here. First the three core members are mentioned -- meaning Peter, James and John -- who are then followed by the other Apostles. The remaining Apostles are then followed by the other women. After those women we see Mary -- the mother of Jesus -- mentioned. Finally come Jesus' other brethren.

Incidentally, it is my personal belief that the phrase "with his brethren" is a reference to Jesus' biological brothers; some of whom apparently believed in Him after their initial doubts had passed. I discuss Jesus' siblings in the article entitled "The Family Life of Jesus Christ: Did Jesus Have Siblings?" Consider the following group of verses:

"And when they were come in, they went up into an upper room, where abode both Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James. These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren."


"But other of the apostles saw I none, save James the Lord's brother."


Another argument which some offended women pastors, liberals and legalists sometimes try to use is this: "Well, doesn't Paul state that there is neither male nor female in Christ Jesus? Doesn't that mean that God no longer differentiates between men and women when it comes to the administration of the Church?" To be honest, I believe that I already provided sufficient Scriptural evidence to show that the people who teach this doctrine are utterly wrong.

As I have explained in other articles such as "Understanding the Bible in Context", it is very unwise and foolish to take a single verse of Scripture, and convert it into a brand new doctrine; particularly if that new doctrine is not supported by other verses as well. We need to compare Scripture with Scripture in order to arrive at the truth. We need to look at the who, what, where and when of each verse. It is because so many Christians fail miserably at doing this, that the Church has been flooded with so many misguided, false doctrines; not only in the physical churches, but in online communities as well. But let us look at Galatians 3:28 as follows:

"There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus."


Now, if for the sake of argument we choose to accept their misguided interpretation of this verse, then we are forced to admit that not only is the Apostle Paul contradicting himself -- and contradicting what God has ordained since the Book of Genesis -- but it also forces us to conclude that the First Century Church must have been wrong. In other words, it was really out of the Spirit when they chose all men to head the various Churches, bishoprics and all of the ministries within the Church. Do you honestly believe that? I don't.

Now please think carefully about this. Obviously, Paul, a man who had at least several direct, close, personal encounters with the Resurrected Christ, and who was taught the Word by Jesus Christ Himself, is not going to author one Epistle to one congregation in which he says that women are to be quiet in the Church and are to submit to their husbands, and then turn right around and inform the Galatian church that there is now no difference between men and women in God's eyes. Therefore, we must conclude that there must be something seriously wrong with the aforementioned doctrine.

As I have explained a number of times before, when we come across what appears to be a contradiction in the Bible, it usually lies in our own understanding of what we are reading. The very same holds true in this case. The themes addressed in the Epistles to the Corinthians and to the Galatians are very different. Instead of taking the previous single verse, and applying a very twisted interpretation to it, in order to support the women pastors doctrine, we need to read the surrounding verses and chapters, in order to place Galatians 3:28 in its proper context.

If we do that, we quickly discover that in his Epistle to the Galatians, Paul is specifically dealing with the issues of bondage to the Law, and the availability of Salvation to all men. That is the background for Galatians 3:28, and that is what Paul means when he states that there is neither male nor female in Christ. In other words, as I clearly point out in articles such as "Is the Message of Salvation Meant for All Men?", when Jesus died on that Roman Cross, He opened the way to Salvation for all men everywhere, regardless of gender, or national origin. That is why the Lord said the following in the Gospel of John:

"And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me."


On the other hand, if we go to Paul's first Epistle to the Corinthians, and read the three chapters which come before the verse where he tells women to keep silent in the Church, we discover that they have absolutely nothing to do with the topic of Salvation. What they actually do deal with, is the administration of the Early Church, and the distribution of Spiritual Gifts and ministries within the Church Body. That is when Paul writes the following verses, which we examined earlier in this series:

"Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the law. And if they will learn any thing, let them ask their husbands at home: for it is a shame for women to speak in the church."


Please go to part four for the continuation of this series.

⇒ Go To The Next Part . . .

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