What does the Bible mean about the role of women?

I have only recently converted, and I’m unsure on what my role as a woman is. I really want to be a good Christian, and as I am now 18, I think I want to take a more active part in my faith. As a woman, am I allowed to teach and spread the faith? It appears that in 1 Timothy 2:12 this is condemned - “I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man; she must be quiet”. If I am not permitted to teach, what should I do to ensure I am an obedient believer of God? Is marriage and having a family the best option? Any replies would be greatly appreciated- I’m new to this

Elizabeth... we don't answer to man. You ONLY answer to ..get this.. YOUR FATHER your God. Some read about Adam and Eve and "a helper" means she listens obeys him. Not even what it says.

You.. how about a women in the bible tells this like general to go to battle.. he says no. I won't go with out you. She was prophet. So she said.. Ok I will go with you. But you won't get any of the glory.. a woman will.

Now.. that was a woman prophet. So.. I am guessing.. anything. You ask HIM what HE wants.. and just go by faith. Just read that word and KNOW He can't lie.. what He said He will do. SO many verses will just pop out at you.. thats HIM talking to you. Its not what I say or anyone else. Its wise to aks. But it comes down to you and the lord. JESUS is SO REAL! Just believe.. no by what you see feel hear Bless you in JESUS name

Welcome to CC.

I suggest you dive into Scripture and seek your answers there regardless of what advice you receive from the Members here. Not that it won't be of value, but because the Holy Spirit IS the ONE sent by God the Father to teach us of the meaning of Scripture.

I suggest you start with Ephesians, Chapter 2:

8) For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9) Not of works, lest any man should boast.
10) For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

All who are saved and have become disciples of Christ have a PURPOSE. God has a purpose for all of us and we need to learn what that purpose is and seek to fulfill that purpose! Regardless of what man thinks, God calls who He will do do what He wills for them to do............ God is not restricted by the limitations man puts on believers, any believers.

God bless you and yours

"Salute Andronicus and Junia, my kinsmen, and my fellowprisoners, who are of note among the apostles, who also were in Christ before me." Romans 16:7

Junia is a woman's name, and yet she is apparently an apostle of note! The word apostle means 'sent'. Everyone who is saved, is in effect sent into the world by God to share the gospel in some way.

There is a verse in the Bible that mentions a woman is not to usurp the teaching of a man. In my opinion, this is speaking about Christ's spouse (all true believers - figuratively described as a woman) not usurping authority over Christ. Christ has the right teaching and he should be the one that the true believers listen to. We are not teaching Christ so much as Christ is teaching us.

Hope this helps.

You should find This short study helpful...

Hi,

I appreciate your desire to learn the Father's will in this areas of your life.

The Bible does not teach women to abstain from sharing their faith with other people. Jesus had a woman announce to the apostles that He had risen from the dead. You can share that good news with others. That is not a church leadership role, either. Aquilla and Priscilla helped Apollos understand the faith. He had only known up through the baptism of John.

I Corinthians 7 teaches that believers can either remain celibate and more completely devote themselves to serving the Lord or marry. If you choose to marry, you should marry a fellow believer, someone with genuine faith. Wives are commanded to submit to and respect/reverence their husbands.

You may also want to find an older godly woman to teach you about some of these things.

Or else it means they were non-apostles whom the apostles considered to be noteable. My understanding is that the Greek is as ambiguous as the English.

Please read and understand you are a child of God
and as such you are able to fulfil His love just like
anyone else without exemption:

Children of God
23 Before the coming of this faith,[j] we were held in custody under the law, locked up until the faith that was to come would be revealed. 24 So the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith. 25 Now that this faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian.

26 So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, 27 for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

Christ crucified set us free of all the laws. The new testament is not a book of laws. It never was
meant to be and is not meant to be now. Jesus himself as in scripture above set us free. If we
happen to sin, there is a remedy to that in repent and redemption so we can clear ourselves as
sin. Faith is our promise to God and Love is the only commandment of Jesus. The world is full
of women preachers and teachers. Acts has several for example. A woman like a man can
preach and if it makes you feel fulfilled listen to them equally. If not, go somewhere else.
If you are a woman and Christ is in your heart, then go preach to the world. By no means
does it have to be an established church. There are many other ways to teach the love of our
Lord Jesus Christ. If you feel you need inspiration, watch Daystar Tv, it is full of women
that are sharing the love of Christ. Be free please. Jesus set us free on the cross.

Technically it is the view of women being in a position of authority over man but to teach preach and speak the gospel is what everyone is called to do, however I also believe God will call who he desires to call. A good friend of mine on here Angela is a pastor and she is perhaps one of if not the most biblical knowledgeable people I know on here and has helped me to grow in faith and christ.

But before you go teach and speak and preach you first must grow as a believer and learn the scriptures, understanding the bible is not easy at first but you grow closer to God and as you and him build your relationship deeper and deeper the scriptures begin to naturally open up to you.

I am an old, old, very old woman. As I look back on my life as a Christian I find that my only regrets was when the Lord gave me a work to do and I did it poorly because I hadn't put enough scripture in my mind. As an example there was the Jewish lady who came to me asking what Christ was all about.

I and my husband had a commercial fishing boat, and I was surrounded by men dependent on drugs and were "spiritual" or deep in the occult. I was called on to show them the Lord instead. I needed to have a more intimate experience with the Lord that only comes from being with Him in His word and lots of listening prayer.

The role of the Christian woman is to be deep in the word, to listen, and be willing to be used.

Galatians 3:28, "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female—for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. "

You are allowed to do whatever you want as long as it is in agreement with what God wants for your life. I know sometimes that's hard to figure out, but pray a lot, read the Bible -- a translation that you can easily understand, such as the NIV (or the less literal NLT) -- and pay attention to the Holy Spirit whom Jesus gave to you to be your guide.

Do not pay attention to anyone telling you that you must or must not do something because you are a woman!

"The role of the Christian woman is to be deep in the word"

i'm going to steal this, it's perfect and sums it all up in a few words. sending to a friend of mine now

Dang I was gonna snatch it first XD

When God made man (plural) he said, "Let THEM have dominion .... ". That is, before the fall of man the woman was designed by God to take an equal place in His GOVERNMENT. After our Lord returns and judges the Church, those found worthy to be co-kings with Christ over cities (Lk.19:17-19) will be both men and women. In between these two grand events, we have the fall of man, and his subsequent corruption and degradation. God is a God of order. His whole creation is governed by Laws. Within the atom is an immovable order, and in the greatest galaxy there are laws that keep things running in order. So after the fall, God instituted GOVERNMENT in man's affairs. This government is not to show who is better than who. It is simply there to avoid more damage in an already damaged situation.

A prime example of this is Nebuchadnezzar - the most powerful and fearsome king ever to live. In Daniel Chapter 2 God gives Nebuchadnezzar's kingship and kingdom the symbol of gold - the same government style as God. But Nebuchadnezzar learned a brutal lesson in Chapter 4. Because of his pride God caused him to spend seven years with the beasts of the fields. When he was restored, he had this to say;

"This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones: to the intent that the living may know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men". (Daniel 4:17)

And in Romans 13:1-7 we are commanded to submit ourselves to these "basest of men" So, while God usually puts capable men in positions of authority, this selection does not show moral or ethical superiority in any way. So also in marriage. God, for keeping the order, makes the man the head. But this by no means makes him superior to the wife. And so also in the Church, God has TWO dealings with the believers; (1) Grace, and (2) GOVERNMENT.

In matters of grace, all are equal. God has no favorites. Christ's death applies equally to man and woman, beggar and millionaire, prime minister or street sweeper. But to maintain the order, God sets up a chain of command. If we look at the spiritual gifts that God gives to men for the building of the Church (Romans 14, 1st Corinthians 12-14 and Ephesians 4), you will notice that ALL gifts are open to women believers EXCEPT three. They are, (1) Apostle, (2) Elder or Overseer and (3) Teacher of doctrine. That is, just like the marriage, in matters of authority, God selects the man. In ALL others, God gives the spiritual gifts according to individual ability. And the greatest gift - the one to be desired - is to be a prophet - not a teacher. Modern Christianity has blurred the definitions and the lines, because they have allowed the world to get a foothold. For instance, the Bible makes a difference between "Elder" (or Overseer) and "Pastor". An Elder carries authority to keep the meetings in order (not to choose your husband for you). A Pastor is one who brings the LORD'S sheep to safety and food. A Pastor may also be an Elder, but one is a GIFT for an OFFICE, and one is a GIFT for caring.

In a previous posting, it was pointed out that in Romans 16:7 that Junia was an Apostle. At first reading, this seems the case. But if we carefully examine both the grammar and the qualifications for an Apostle, another picture emerges. First, the word in the Greek for an "Apostle" is literally "a sent one". So if the Bible seems to call a person an "Apostle", the context must decide if that person was "sent", or if they carried the OFFICE of Apostle. So, context is everything. But if the context is unclear, we have a test. An Apostle must fulfill THREE qualifications. (1) He must be a foundation of the Church (Eph.2:20; Rev.21:14). That means that he lived and exercised his ministry at the beginning of the Church. A man living 100 years after the beginning of the Church could not be a foundation because we know that God Himself does not lay foundations twice or more (Heb.6:1). (2) The Apostle must have seen and witnessed the risen Lord, and been trained by Him (Act.1:21-22). (3) An Apostle must have done many miracles (2nd Cor.12:12). Paul would qualifiy for this, but Junia not. Again, the grammar is against Junia being an Apostles. Junia was a servant who was NOTED by the Apostles. Nearly every literal translation says that Junia was was recognized or "noted" by the Apostles. The Amplified Bible gives the sense of the grammar the best: "Remember me to Andronicus and Junias, my tribal kinsmen and once my fellow prisoners. They are men held in high esteem among the apostles, who also were in Christ before I was." Finally, you will note that the grammar also says "kinsMEN" and "MEN held in high esteem ... " Apparently the name Junia can be both male and female.

The posting is already long, and much more can be said, but in the end it is down to God's Word, and how we take it. In this case, God gives the reason why women cannot hold a position of Teacher. 1st Timothy 2:14 says; "And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression." This verse tells much. It first tells that Adam carries the responsibility. Second, it condemns Adam for going into the transgression with open eyes. Adam was a rebel. Then it addresses the woman and unveils two things. (1) The woman was deceived. She did not willingly and openly go against God. But (2), it also reveals the difference between man and woman in their make-up. They were made to compliment each other and so the man has certain strengths and the woman has other strengths. In her intrinsic make up, the woman is susceptible to deception. And in his intrinsic make up the man is susceptible to choosing a woman before the Lord. Adam, clear-headed, and in full knowledge, went with his wife instead of God. So did Samson, David and Solomon go with women and failed before God.

God is ever wise. He has included the woman in all things in matters of grace. He even likens Himself to a woman (Isa.66:13). But until the matter of sin is fully dealt with by the resurrection, God commands that the man take the lead - not because women are not capable - but to keep an order where each functions in their strong points.

I don't really want to get into details in this thread (this subject have been addressed at great length in other threads), but I think it appropriate to respond to a couple of details you addressed...

That's flawed on grammatical grounds, in English and in Greek. In English, because "kinsmen" is a gender-neutral term meaning "relatives" - remember, until the late 1900's, male terms were used inclusively except where the context made it crystal-clear that only males were in view (i.e.: "mankind"). In Greek, because the name "Junia" is grammatically female; the male equivalent "Junias" is not found in Greek literature of the period.

That's sexist. There is no other word for it. It's not a reasonable conclusion drawn from the text. Eve was deceived; that has absolutely no bearing on the intrinsic nature of any other woman.

Your conclusion is weak at best. I can accept that you take the complementarian position, but you have done a poor job of articulating your reasons for doing so.

Welcome to CC Elizabeth!

As others have said, dive deep into the Scriptures and continue to study them and grow spiritually.

I would suggest that you look at YouTube for videos of Allie Beth Stuckey, Doreen Virtue, Melissa Dougherty and Alisa Childers. All four women have a pretty good handle on what a woman's Biblical role(s) should be.

Hi @ElizabethAdams !! I feel so refreshed that you are now on CC. I am 21 years old, you are 18. We are both young women who are living in a crazy, trialing world pursuing Jesus with all we have. I feel like I can relate to you and that's a great feeling. Truly, my first suggestion to you would be to uncover more of the Scriptures and pray about this. I promise you that as you pray about it, the Holy Spirit will naturally guide you in the direction unto which He feels is best for you. Trust in His direction!!

IF, though, you want other opinions, mine is that yes, you can teach and spread the faith. There is no question about it. We are ALL members of His body that have been ordained to do the work of spreading the Word:
"There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." (Galatians 3:28) ~ I actually started a thread not too long ago about this same topic, featuring the same passage you included. So, I understand why you feel confused. We, as young women, more fresh in the faith, read that and question what truly is our purpose then? Since I have my own questions about it as well, I don't think it is fair for me to act as if I have all the answers, BUT I can give you something that I know has helped me ~ Proverbs 31. Read and reflect Proverbs 31 continually. I have, and each time I read it, God assures me of my beauty as a woman and just HOW MUCH potential and ability I have in His name as a female.

Try to really focus on what God is telling you.. these forums are great, but I learned from asking my question about it that sometimes just sitting in silence, and letting God do the talking is the best way to go.
God bless!!

The only man you are to submit to is your husband. And he is to submit to you also

This does not preclude you from accepting counsel from men, such as your pastor

First, I would like to say that your points are taken. I can also imagine that this theme has had multiple discussions in the past to which I was not privy to, and to which you feel less inclined to repeat. So I will let my main argument stand, as you allow too, and address the points you made. As a student of English and Greek, you, like the rest of us, are aware of the plain language used by the Holy Spirit that (1) the head of woman is the man, (2) the woman is to be in subjection, (3) the woman is to ask her husband for any explanation of any matter that arises during the meeting after the meeting, and (4) any attempt to take a position of authority is to "usurp" it. Further, although it is outside the scope of my posting, the woman is commanded, not by me, or any man, but by the Holy Spirit, to cover her head when praying or prophesying "for the sake of the angels", while the man would dishonor his Head, Christ, if he did the same. So, I think the matter of God's government in the Church is settled - with or without any eloquence on my part.

On your point that Junia is female I will concede. I believe so myself.

On your point on "kinsmen" I will also concede. But your argument is equally questionable as the Holy Spirit DOES make a gender difference OFTEN. See Matthew 12:50, Mark 3:35, Romans 16:1, 15, 1st Corinthians 7:15, 9:5 and James 2:15.

On the point of grammar in the above scripture on Junia, you let my argument stand that rather than be one of the Apostles, she was noted by them.

The use of the word "sexist" is a weak argument. It is based on emotion and hopes to establish a point without addressing the issue. It also puts you in a seat judging the Holy Spirit Who also said, quote;

• "But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God" (1st Corinthians 11:3)
• "For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, forasmuch as he is the image and glory of God: but the woman is the glory of the man" (1st Corinthians 11:7)
• "Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man." (1st Corinthians 11:9)
• "For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts" (2nd Timothy 3:6)

Added to this, you did not address the fact that the Holy Spirit did not name Eve. He said "the woman". That Eve is meant is not denied, but by using the word "woman" the women of the Church are addressed. That is the context. The woMAN of Eden was deceived so the woMEN of Corinth may not teach. The word "woman" also invokes Genesis 1:11-12. God has set forth an immutable principle. Everything will reproduce exactly like itself. Eve, by this principle, would produce the "kind" of herself.

In closing, may I ask a question? I placed the blame, responsibility and open rebellion of "the transgression" on Adam. Was I not being sexist in this, or was I simply recording the facts as recorded in Romans 5:12; "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned." ?