I want to address the issue of women prophesying and teaching in the church because there are still many restrictions put on women in many churches around the world. It is widely recognized that discrimination based on race, age, or social status is unacceptable (there is still room for improvement). Whereas we have mostly overcome our biases in these areas, women are still neglected in the church. Women are kept from certain positions in the church on the simple basis that they are women. This is done by parading the Bible as support.
However, the Biblical teachings surrounding the issue of women prophesying give a different perspective. My argument is fourfold. First, the pouring of the Spirit was on all people. Second, when we look at what prophesying is we see that it is the Holy Spirit at work. Third, prophesying in the church was done by women. Lastly, if women can prophesy in the church they can also teach. This issue is of the utmost importance to avoid quenching the Spirit.
Pouring of the Spirit on all people.
“In the last days, God says,
I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your young men will see visions,
your old men will dream dreams.
Even on my servants, both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days,
and they will prophesy.”
(Acts 2:17-18)
This prophecy of Joel was fulfilled at the Pentecost. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke in tongues. It was to be a witness before all those gathered in Jerusalem in those days that the Holy Spirit was poured out on them. They spoke in tongues so that all those gathered from abroad could hear the good news, repent, be forgiven, and receive the Holy Spirit themselves.
“Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”
(Acts 2:38)
God sends his Spirit to men and women alike: “your sons and daughters will prophesy”. He does not discriminate by age or social status: “your young men will see visions, your old men will see dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days.”
Just as Jesus was for everyone (Jn 3:16), so is God’s Holy Spirit. God sends his Spirit to all people who believe without discrimination. To men and women, young and old, rich and poor…
This also happened as they were all gathered together (Acts 2:1-2). This isn’t a private event; even though it occurred in a home, a huge crowd came to see what was happening. This is a gathering of believers. This is the beginning of the church.
There was no restriction of the Holy Spirit put on women at the Pentecost. Neither should there be any now. Limitations put on a person’s gifting of the Spirit because of their gender, age, or social class go against the spirit of this passage. Preventing women from prophesying or preaching goes against our belief that it is God who gives his Holy Spirit and fortifies us for good works.
What does it mean to prophesy?
Prophets are those who speak on behalf of God, to the people, by the Holy Spirit. In the old testament, a prophet was close to God and regularly spoke to the people on God’s behalf. But it has always been the Holy Spirit at work in them that made them prophesy.
“For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”
(1 Pet 1:21)
What happened at the Pentecost was not a complete reversal of things as they were before Jesus. People of all walks of life had been chosen by God to prophesy. Prophets have been young, like Samuel, or poor, like Elijah. There were also several women prophets in the old testament (Miriam, Deborah, Huldah). Anna, at the Temple around Jesus’s birth, was moved by the Holy Spirit to prophesy concerning Jesus. So were Mary and Elizabeth. What is new is that this Holy Spirit is now available to all believers.
Prophecy is a very important gift of the Spirit. Prophesying is done to strengthen, encourage and comfort. It is for the edification of the church. The men and women who were prophesying at Pentecost were doing it before other people, before believers and non-believers. It is done before others, before the church. It is not done in a closet.
“Follow the way of love and eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy. For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to people but to God. Indeed, no one understands them; they utter mysteries by the Spirit. But the one who prophesies speaks to people for their strengthening, encouraging and comfort. Anyone who speaks in a tongue edifies themselves, but the one who prophesies edifies the church. I would like every one of you to speak in tongues, but I would rather have you prophesy. The one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues, unless someone interprets, so that the church may be edified.”
(1 Co 14:1-5)
How is prophesying different from teaching?
Prophesying is distinguished from teaching, but they appear to be very similar. Is edification not similar to what our pastors, elders, and preachers do on Sunday mornings? Preaching and teaching, as done today, may be very similar to what prophesying looked like in the early church. It is not obvious to me how we are to distinguish a prophecy from a message of wisdom or knowledge. It may not have been obvious who was teaching or who was prophesying at that time. They resemble each other from the outside. They also both come from the Spirit. It can also be hard to tell from the outside what comes from God and what comes from human means. That is why we are all supposed to be discerning and test the prophecies. To test if they are in line with the Gospel that comes from God.
“Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should weigh carefully what is said.”
( 1 Co 14:29)
We can know if a prophecy or teaching is true if they are in line with who God is and with biblical teachings. But how do we distinguish between a prophecy and a teaching today? Because of this difficulty, our modern idea of preaching on Sunday could resemble what was called a prophecy or teaching in our forefathers’ time. They are different, but how do we differentiate between the two today?
Women prophesying in the church
Since prophecy comes from the Spirit and can be given to any believer, it is natural to find that many women prophesied in those days. Moreover, this was done in the Church. For example, the pouring of the Spirit at the Pentecost happened when they had all come together in one place, in a house (Acts 2:1-2); a gathering of believers like this is now called the church.
Paul had a lot to say in 1 Corinthians about the exercising of spiritual gifts, like prophecy, in these gatherings of believers. The reality of women prophesying in the church was addressed by Paul in this letter. Some often think of Paul as restricting women in worship, but the reality is so different. Paul upheld the participation of women in church worship. He wrote:
“Every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head—it is the same as having her head shaved.”
(1 Co 11:5)
Paul said this amid a discussion on different behaviors occurring in the Corinthian church when they were together: the Lord’s supper, eating together, worship, exercising of gifts to edify one another, etc. (1 Co 10-14). This means that women were praying and prophesying publicly in church gatherings before all people; men and women. Women were active speakers in the church; they were not silent (1 Co 14:34)! Our interpretation of this passage, and others, must respect the fact that women did speak a great deal in the church.
Women can prophesy in the church, but can they teach?
When people try to make sense of different passages that seem to contradict, they make certain hermeneutical decisions. For example, some people interpret Paul, in 1 Co 14:34-35 and 1 Tim 2:12, as forbidding women from teaching and exerting authority over men. But they also see that women could prophesy publicly, even in the church. This is a difficulty because prophecy is very much like teaching (as argued above) in that they are both a passing down of information. That the Spirit can lead women to prophesy but not teach seems odd. People who hold to this interpretation need to make sense of these passages that seem to contradict some of Paul’s other teachings.
They must therefore hold that teaching is significantly different from prophesying in degrees of authority. They argue that prophesying has less authority than teaching. They hold that when one is teaching, it has greater authority because they are supposedly telling other people what they should believe. By contrast, when one is prophesying, it does not have the same authority, as they are not telling people what to believe. They may also argue that prophesying in the new testament is simply to moving of the Spirit to utter something and that this does not have the same weight as teaching. It becomes a vague feeling. Thus, they argue, it requires greater authority to teach than to prophesy. Women can therefore prophesy in the church, but they cannot teach or preach, since that would place them in authority over men[a].
There are serious problems with this approach. It significantly diminishes the value of prophesying. Is it not a great thing to speak with God’s Holy Spirit as a prophet, exuding God’s authority?
Prophets in the old testament were the most important people in God’s kingdom. They led the people; they wrote the Bible; they were close to God. God also used prophets to judge kings! For an example, see 2 Samuel 12. Nathan was sent by God before David to confront him concerning his rape of Bathsheba and the murder of her husband to cover the whole thing up. Nathan had the authority to confront David because it was from God. Otherwise, I tell you, David would have killed him on the spot.
If someone preaches without the Spirit, his message is weak. But if it is the Holy Spirit at work through the preacher, his message is powerful. We hope that the Holy Spirit is working through our pastors as they speak. We do not listen to our pastors because we believe in their authority. We listen to them because we see them explaining the scriptures well and because what they say is in line with the gospel that comes from God.
If a pastor’s teaching diverges from that gospel, their authority means nothing, we are not to listen to them. A preacher’s teachings are only authoritative when they are in line with Scripture and speak the truth that comes from God. Otherwise, they are only earthly teachings that hold no authority for anyone in the pews who must judge the prophecies by the Spirit. Do you hope that your pastors’ teachings come from God’s Spirit working through them, or from themselves? If from themselves; why do we listen? If from the Spirit; why do we discriminate?
Another issue is that both the gifts of prophecy and teaching come from the Holy Spirit. How can you hold that prophecy is less authoritative than teachings if they both come from the same authority, from God’s authority? Let us go again to Paul’s words:
“There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.
Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.”
(1 Co 12:4-11)
All these different gifts are the work of one, and the same Spirit! It is the Spirit that gifts us. The message of wisdom and knowledge (teachings) come from the same Spirit as the prophecy. The gifts of the Spirit come from one and only one authority, from God’s authority. If the gifts are from God and we know that God does not show favoritism why do we?
Prophets wrote the Bible. How can you then say that women, who can be prophets, are restricted from interpreting it? We even have prophecies uttered by women written down in our Bible (Ex 15; Jg 4-5; 2 Kg 22; Lk 1).
Another problem with differentiating between prophesying and teaching in terms of authority is that if one of those two held greater authority, it would arguably be the prophecy. Paul even seems to argue that being a prophet is greater than being a teacher.
“And God has placed in the church first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, of helping, of guidance, and of different kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? Now eagerly desire the greater gifts.”
(1 Co 12:28-31)
Paul urges us to desire the greater gifts. If women could be apostles (Rom 16:7) and prophets (Acts 2:18), why not teachers? Especially since being a prophet seems to be greater than being a teacher according to Paul. In all the gifts mentioned in 1 Corinthians, are we to believe that women can do all of them except teach? How does that make any sense?
We also have at least one example of a woman teaching a man in the Bible; Pricilla and Aquila taught Apollos (Acts 18:24-26). And Pricilla was named first! She was most likely the more prominent one in their ministry together. This also happened at the synagogue, in Ephesus nonetheless! Where Paul would later send his letter to Timothy in which he supposedly forbids women from teaching men.
If our interpretation 1 Tim 2:12 contradicts the rest of the Bible, then perhaps your interpretation is erroneous. The interpretation of 1 Tim 2 holding that women cannot teach men in church does not sit well with the rest of the Scriptures. It is not an easy passage to interpret for sure. I do not pretend to hold some special knowledge of what it all means. I do know, however, that it is not as simple as many make it out to be. We shouldn’t base a major doctrine restricting half the church from speaking on a passage that is as difficult to interpret as this one. Especially when its seemingly clear interpretation contradicts other major teachings of the Bible.
It is also convenient that some see prophecy as something that happened only in the first years of the Church. Thereby justifying keeping women from speaking by differentiating between teaching and prophesying. It is no coincidence that churches more focused on the gifting of the Spirit, the more charismatic churches, give greater liberty to women. They realize that God does not show favoritism in the gifting of his Spirit.
I therefore argue that if women can prophesy, they can certainly teach.
Let us not quench the spirit
If we limit the working of the Spirit in women we run the real risk of quenching the Spirit.
“Do not quench the Spirit. Do not treat prophecies with contempt but test them all; hold on to what is good, reject every kind of evil.”
(1 Th 5:19-22)
Who are we to tell God what he can or cannot do. Is God not capable of empowering a woman with his Spirit to preach his good word? Are you ready to say or believe that God would never choose a woman to lead his people? That he would never gift a woman in teaching, or preaching, or leadership? Why would God limit himself in this way? What fault is there in women that cannot be redeemed by the power of Jesus and the Holy Spirit? Far be it from me to believe in a God unable to completely redeem this world. God has restored a new creation, he makes all things new.
By telling a woman gifted by God in speaking, teaching, and preaching that she cannot do so we are saying we do not need her or God’s work through her. We are saying that we do not need the gifts that God has given her, that we can do without her.
“The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.”
(1 Co 12:21-27)
I would argue that as things presently are in many churches, women are treated as the weaker part. It feels like our church leaders can do without women. They do not go to the women to train them as they do with the men. They do not value a woman’s voice as much as a man’s. Some churches do not allow women to chair on committees, councils, or the like. But God gives honor to those who lack it, he gives honor to women. Are we showing equal concern for each other when we value men’s spiritual formation over women’s? Women with great gifting are overlooked and they suffer from it. I have seen it. The whole church suffers because of it. I know it. Let us honor them so that we may rejoice with them!
“For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.”
(Rom 12:4-8)
If a woman’s gift is prophesying, let her prophecy. If a woman’s gift is serving, let her serve. If a woman’s gift is teaching, let her teach… Otherwise we are quenching the Spirit.
[a] “In fact, apart from these few passages where the apostles are called “prophets” or said to “prophesy” we find that much more commonly the words “prophet,” “prophecy” and “prophesy” were used of ordinary Christians scattered throughout the early churches who spoke not with absolute divine authority but simply to report something that God had laid on their hearts or brought to their minds. Thus there are many indications in the NT that this ordinary gift of prophecy had authority less than that of the Bible and even less than that of recognized Bible teaching in the early Church.” The Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood. Prophecy—Yes, But Teaching—No. July 23, 2007.
Prophecy—Yes, But Teaching—No
