Skip to content
Christ for Us
  • Home
  • About
  • Contributors
    • Rev. Rolf Preus
      • Sermons by Rolf Preus
      • Papers by Rev. Rolf Preus
    • Rev. James Preus
      • Sermons by James Preus
      • Bible Study Podcast
      • Papers by James Preus
  • Latest Sermons
  • Papers
  • Bible Study Podcast
  • Contact
  • Latest Bible Study Podcast
  • Search Icon
Women Pastors

Women Pastors

October 28, 2010 Rolf Preus

Prepared by Pastor Rolf Preus

First Evanger Lutheran Church

October 28, 2010

A generation ago there were very few women preachers.  Nowadays most Protestant denominations ordain women as pastors.  What does the Bible say about this?

Women in the Bible who Prophesy

Anna was a Prophetess Luke 2:36-39.  Women prophesy on Pentecost in fulfillment of prophecy Acts 2:16-18.  Philip the Evangelist had four virgin daughters who prophesied Acts 21:9.  Women should cover their heads when they prophesy 1 Corinthians 11:5.  Jezebel was a false prophetess Revelation 2:20.

The fact that women prophesied shows that the Holy Spirit belongs equally to both men and women.  May the Church call women to be pastors?  Women’s ordination is not a question of what God may or may not do.  It is a question of what his Church may nor may not do.

Jesus included women as his disciples. John 4, 27; Luke 7, 36-40.  Women were witnesses of the resurrection.  Yet Jesus sent only men to preach.

No Women Pastors in the Bible

  • Jesus Chose Only Men to Preach – He sent out the Apostles as the first preachers after he rose from the dead as recorded in Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 16:15-16, and John 20:21-23.  This was the foundation of the pastoral office. 
  • The pastors in the New Testament were men. 1 Timothy 3:2
  • St. Paul forbids women to teach or to have authority over a man. 1 Timothy 2:11-12
  • St. Paul teaches that it is shameful for women to speak in Church. 1 Corinthians 14:34-38
  • The Old Testament Church had female judges and prophetesses (Judges 4:4; 2 Kings 22:14) but no female priestesses.

Notes on “speak” in 1 Corinthians 14:34 and “teach” in 1 Timothy 2:12

1 Corinthians 14:34-37, To speak (lalein) = to preach/teach.  See Matthew 9:18; 12:46; Mark 2: 2; Luke 9:11; John 8:12; Acts 4:1; 8:25; 13:43; 1 Corinthians 2:7; 2 Corinthians 12:19, Ephesians 6:20.  Does not refer to any and all speaking; only the authoritative preaching/teaching.

1 Timothy 2:11-15, The word for teach is the word for the teaching that pastors/preachers do.  See 1 Timothy 2:12; 4:11; 6:2; 2 Timothy 2:2; Titus 1:l.  It is authoritative and public.  The whole Church is being taught.  This word is not used to describe the teaching of children.  Women may teach God’s word to children in Christian schools, in the home, to neighbors who are willing to listen, but not publicly in the church.

Summary and Conclusion

The Bible has women who prophesy.  It does not have women preachers.  There are no women pastors in the Bible or in the Church until the most recent times.  God reserves the right to call prophetesses to prophesy.  He has not given this to the church to do.


Papers, Papers by Rev. Rolf Preus
2010, papers, Papers by Rolf Preus, women pastors

Post navigation

PREVIOUS
Christ and Creation
NEXT
Power, Politics, and the Missouri Synod: A Conflict that Changed American Christianity
Comments are closed.

Recent Posts

  • Good Shepherd Sunday Sermon
  • Justification: Am I Good Enough for God (Audio Book) written and read by Rev. Rolf Preus
  • The Power of the Church and the Necessity of Faith
  • Celebrating the Festival of Christ’s Passover
  • Episode 36: The Pope Died: A Lutheran Response

Listen to Christ for Us on Sundays

8:45 AM
KXPO 1340 AM
Grafton, ND

9:05 AM
KKCQ 96.7 FM
Fosston, MN

10:30 AM
KRJB 106.5 FM
Ada, MN

11:00 AM
1310 AM KNOX
Grand Forks, ND

7:30 AM
730 CKDM
Dauphin, Manitoba (Sponsored by Abiding Word Lutheran Church in Bethany, Manitoba)

9:45 AM
GX94 940 AM
Yorkton, Saskatchewan (Sponsored by Abiding Word Lutheran Church in Bethany, Manitoba)

1:00 PM
KBIZ 1240 AM and 102.7 FM
Ottumwa, IA

Search Papers and Sermons by Author and Lectionary

Steadfast Lutherans

Find devotions, sermons, articles, and news concerning the Lutheran Church and its theology.

Visit Steadfast Lutherans

Lutheran Confessions

Learn more about the Lutheran Church by reading the Lutheran Confessions.

Read the Lutheran Confessions

Search Papers and Sermons by Author, Sunday, and Biblical Text

Advent 1 Advent 2 Advent 3 Ascension Easter 4 Easter 5 Easter 6 Epiphany 2 Good Shepherd Sunday James Preus John 3 John 16 John 20 Justification Lent 1 Lent 2 Lent 3 luke 2 Luke 11 Mark 16 Matthew 5 Matthew 6 Matthew 21 Matthew 22 Matthew 25 papers papers by Robert Preus Papers by Rolf Preus Pastor James Preus Pentecost Quasimodogeniti Reformation Day Rev. James Preus Robert D. Preus Rolf Preus Septuagesima Sexagesima Transfiguration Trinity 1 Trinity 2 Trinity 3 Trinity 5 Trinity 15 Trinity 18 Trinity Sunday

Sunday Service

Year Round
Saturday Evening Divine Service: 6:00 PM
Sunday Morning Divine Service: 9:00 AM
Bible Study: 10:30 AM
September through May
Sunday School: 10:30 AM
Wednesday School: 6:00 PM
Wednesday Vespers Service: 7:15 PM

Find a Church

Contact

Rev James Preus
Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church
295 Shaul Ave
Ottumwa, IA 52501

(641)684-7279
jamespreus@gmail.com

Pages

  • Papers
  • Papers by James Preus
  • Home
  • About
  • Contributors
  • Contact
  • Bible Study Podcast
© 2025   All Rights Reserved.