Implications of Presbyterian Government

for the Role of Women

by John M. Otis
Titere are several assumptions
that must govern our thinking as we ex-
amine the implications of Presbyterian
polity for the role of women. First, the
Bible is the inerrant and infallible rule
for faith and practice. Biblical teaching
is binding over all our practices. Sec-
ond, we must diligently strive to subju-
gate our emotions to clear Scriptural
teaching. In other words, the attitude of,
"I just can't accept what the Bible
teaches in a particular area because I
don't like what it says" is totally unac-
ceptable. Unfortunately, many profes-
sing Christians allow their "feelings" to
dictate their living.
There's a reason for stating
these two principles. This article could
stir up some deep emotions, especially
among women. The purpose of this
article is not necessarily to give the
final word on this issue. It is to begin
some serious dialogue in the Reformed
community concerning a woman's role
in the church. Thus, I welcome any
reply that deepens our understanding.
I do not intend to establish the
truthfulness of Presbyterian polity. I
assume the reader agrees that Presby-
terian government is the form of govern-
ment taught in scripture. Therefore, I
contend that there are three major areas
that affect the role of women in the
church. First, a consistent application
of Presbyterian polity would prohibit
women from praying aloud in public
worship. Second, it would prohibit
women from being on a pulpit commit-
tee (this is a screening committee in
the acquisition of a new pastor). And
third, Presbyterian polity would pro-
hibit women from voting in congrega-
tional meetings.
John M. Otis
Let's begin by e ~ m i n i n g
two important passages. The frrst is I
Corinthians 14:34,35 which says, "Let
the women keep silent in the churches,
for they are not permitted to speak, but
let them subject themselves, just as the
law says. And if they desire to learn
anything, let them ask their own hus-
bands at home; for it is improper for
a woman to speak in church" (NASB).
The second passage is I Tim-
othy 2:8-14 which says, "Therefore I
want the men in every place to pray,
lifting up holy hands, without wrath
and dissension. Likewise, I want wom-
en to adorn themselves with proper
clothing, modestly and discreetly, not
with braided hair and gold or pearls or
costly garments; but rather by means of
good works, as befits women making a
claim to godliness. Let a woman quiet-
ly receive instruction with entire sub-
missiveness. But I do not allow a wom-
an to teach or exercise authority over a
man, but to remain quiet. For it was
Adam who was first created, and then
Eve. And it was not Adam who was
deceived, but the woman being quite de-
ceived, fell into transgression" (NASB).
These passages together
with I Timothy 3:1-12 have long been
used to forbid the ordination of women
to church offices. But is this implica-
tion the only one to be derived? I con-
tend that we may not have gone far
enough in our prohibiting of women's
participation in the church.
Th_e passage in I Co.rintbians
14 actually begins with the latter part
of verse 33 in English translations with
the phrase, "As in all the churches of
the saints." Paul clearly i,Qdicates that
the following admonitions do not per-
tain to just the Corinthian church;
they apply to all churches.
Paul's admonitions for women
to keep silent, not to speak, and to be
subject to men is expressed in the frrm-
est terms. These admonitions are not
mere suggestions. They are commands!
The verbs "keep silent" and "be subject"
are present imperatives in Greek. An
imperative is a command, and the pre-
sent tense conveys a continued action.
The King James Version adds the
words, "they are commanded," to the
text in order to accurately convey the
meaning of the Greek imperative.
What is the command? First, it is for
women to keep silent in the church. It
is obvious from verse 34 that the mean-
ing of "keeping silent" is explained by
"not permitted to speak." God's Word
says that women are commanded not to
speak in the public assembly of the
church. Second, women are command-
The Counsel of Chalcedon Jan.-Feb., 1990 page 29
e4. to. subject thetruielve:; to . male head-
sl1ip by keeping. silent.
. As if the imper!ltives were not
enough .his point, PiiUl uses
the strongest of Greek negatives to em-
pb.asize his prohibition. . One Greek
word for "not" .is "ou"; We find these
comments. in A Ma!lual Grammar Of
The .Greek New Testament by D;ma and
Mantey corieerning this negative parti-
cle: "bu" isi the paiti.Cte used in sum-
mary negation. lt is the stronger of the
two negatives; and the proper negative
for the statement of a downright fact.
Ol.J denies the reality of an alleged fact.
It is the clear-cut point-blank negative,
objective, final" (p.264) . . Paul empha-
dominion by caring for . the garden of
Eden (Gen.2:15). His dOminion and au-
thority was demonstrated by his naming
of the creatures that God had created.
The power to naine acknowledges one's
authority over another. Genesis 2:18-
20 states that .God did not want man to
be alone. Out of all the creatures that
were made there was not one suitable
for him. God thert caused a deep sleep
tt) come upon Adam, and God took one
of Adam's own ribs and formed the .first
woman, Eve. God brought the woman
to Adam, and Adam demonstrated his
headship and authority over the woman
by calling this new creature "woman"
because she was taken out of him.
The implications of I Timothy 2:8-15 are
broader than merely prohibiting women
from praying in church. She is not to
talk, teach, nor exercise autP,ority over a
man in public worship.
tically stresses that won,ten are not per-
mitted to speak in churcf1.
As verse 34 iddicates, women
are to subject themselves to male head-
ship by keeping silent because the
LAW OF GOD indicates this. In I Tim-
othy 2:13,14 Paul indicates that this
subjection is found in the creation or-
dinance in Genesis.
There are two main reasons giv-
en for women's . to men .
First, as Paul states, "For it was Adam
who was frrst created and then Eve."
Second, "And it was. not Adam who
was deceived, but the woman being,
quite deceived, fell into transgression."
In mankind's creation, Adam and Eve
were not on equal terms. There
is . special significance for Adam being
created ftrst. The dominion mandate
was given to him. Adam was to
vice-regent (co-ruler) under God. Paul
indicates the significance of Adam
being created first in I Corinthians
11:8, "For man does not 9riginate from
woman, but woman from man; for
indeed man was not for the wom-
an's sake, but woman for the man's
sake. Therefore the woman ought to
have a symbol of authority on her head,
because of the angels" (NASB).
Adam was created to exercise
This truth in Genesis explains Paul's
comments in I Corinthians 11:8-10.
The woman does originate from man,
and the woman was created as a help
. meet. for man's sake and not vice versa.
In light of man's priority in creation,
there comes the principle of headship.
The fact that the woman was created
from man and to aid man in his task
demonstrates the principle of subjec-
tion. Man .has authority over woman
by Vtttue of his priority in creation.
The , second reason why the
woman is to be in subjection to the
man is because she was the one who
was deceived. Even though.Eve was a
perfect creature, there was
something within her created constitu-
tion (some aspect of her femininity)
that made her more susceptible to temp ..
tation than the man. . Paul !be .
fact that it was not Adam who was
deceived b.ut the woman was quite
ceived (I Tim. 2: 14). According to
Genesis 3:6, the forbidden fruit was
npleasant to her eyes," which apparently
was enticing to her. Is . it surprising
that . generally are more capti-
vated by creation's beauty than men?
Though her sensitivity to beauty is a
wonderful trait, it is likely to make her
more prone to be tempted in this area.
The Counsel of Chalcadon Jan.-Feb., 1.990'' page 30
Mo100ver, Eve usurped her position of
subordination when she gave the for-
bidde:rt fntit to Adam to eat At this
point she was acting as head over .
Adam. Though Adam was not de-
ceived; 'the culpability was squarely laid
to his charge. The Bible states that sin
came into this world through Adam,
not Eve.
William Hendriksen has some
very helpful insights . in his com-
mentary on I Timothy 2:13,14 when he
says, "She listened directly to Satan; he
did not. She sinned.before he did. She
was the leader. He was the follower.
She led when she should have followed;
that is, . she led in the way of sin, when
she should have followed in the path of
righteousness ... Hence, let none of her
daughters follow her in reversing the
divinely established order. Let none
sume the role that was not intended for
her; Let not the daughter of Eve teach,
rule, lead, when the congregation gath-
ers for worship. Let her learn, not
teach; obey, not rule; follow. not lead"
(William Hendriksen, New Testament
Commentary on I-ll Timothy and
Titus, p.llO).
It is evident that the LAW that
Paul was referring to was a reference to
the Genesis account of mankind's crea-
tion. The principle of man's headship
and woman's subjection to that head-
ship is fully established. It is upon the
creation ordinance usmpation of
that divine order :through mankind's
transgression that forms the basis of the
New Testament's prohibition of women
speaking and exercising authority over
men in the church.
The entire context of I Corin-
thians 14 concerns the exercise of pro-
phecy and tengues in the New Testa-
ment church. Without getting into a re-
futation of the use of these charismatic
gifts in today's church (I fmnly believe
that these gifts ceased with the passing
of the apostolic age), it is obvious that
women were forbidden to prophesy and
speak in torigues in the public assem-
bly. One then wonders why Pente-
costal and charismatic churches allow
women to practice these things.
Let's examine in more detail
Paul's inspired teaching in I Timothy
2:8
7
15, One of the implications of this
paSsage is immense. Only men are to
pray: in public worship, not women! I
Timothy 2:8 states, "Therefore I want
..:
I

the men in every place to pray, lifting
up holy hands, without wrath and dis-
sension." Paul is very specific when he
says the men are to pray. William Hen-
driksen's comments are noteworthy,
"Prayers must be offered in behalf of all
people ; hence, let these prayers be of-
fered; not, however, by the women but
by the men ... The presence of women
in the religious assembly is, of course,
assumed. Paul's point is that these
women should pray as Hannah did.
"She spoke in her heart; only her lips
moved, but her voice was not heard (I
Sam.1:13)" (Ibid. pp.102,103).
R.C.H. Lenski concurs with the same
interpretation that women are not to
pray in public worship when he says,
"In v.l the four nouns imply no con-
trast with four opposites; here "the
men" are in contrast with all who are
women (v.9). This difference is not felt
in English as witness the way in which
our two versions translate, but in the
Greek this is plain. The men only and
no women whatever are to do the pray-
ing in the public worship of the con-
gregations ... Under direction of the
called elders in every congregation only
men are to lead in public prayer and not
women, now one man, now another as
the service offered occasion. The word
that Paul uses is "the men" (males), not
as in v.l,4,5, "human beings " (Lenski,
p.555).
The implications of I Timothy
2:8-15 are broader than merely prohibit-
ing women from praying in church.
She is not to talk, teach, nor exercise
authority over a man in public worship.
Verse 11 indicates how women are to
express their submissive status to
men's headship. Women are to "quietly
receive instruction." As in I Corin-
thians, Paul uses the present imperative
to stress that his admonitions are a com-
mand that are to be continually fol-
lowed. This quiet receiving of instruc-
tion explicitly involves not teaching
nor exercising any kind of authority
over a man. The last phrase, "but to re-
main quiet," in verse 12 is important
because it further explains what is
meant by not teaching and exercising
authority. By being vocal in public
worship, a woman is engaged in teach-
ing and exercising authority. Again,
Paul uses the strongest of the two
Greek negatives to prohibit women
from teaching and exercising authority
Hope Presbyterian Church, Marietta, Georgia
over men.
It is important to stress that
the Bible's prohibition in verse 12 is
twofold. She is not to teach nor to exer-
cise authority over a man. Some under-
stand that the meaning of "exercising
authority over a man" is totally within
the sphere of teaching. In other words,
it is only through teaching a man that a
woman is usurping authority. Voting
in congregational meetings and serving
on pulpit committees would not be
teaching; therefore, she is free to fully
participate in these areas.
I believe the above interpreta-
tion is inadequate. I do not think that
the context clearly indicates that exer-
cising authority is an elaboration on the
meaning of teaching. The Greek word
for "nor" according to Greek grammar
books is a "negative copulative conjunc-
tion." This word is connecting separate
ideas (see Gal. 1:12; Acts 24:12; I Cor.
3:7). I would agree that teaching is an
act of exercising authority; however,
the meaning of exercising authority is
not limited to the act of teaching.
Pertinent Implications
To Be Drawn
Based upon a close examina"
tion of the previous passages, There are
several implications for the role of
women in Presbyterian churches. It is
totally consistent with these pass<mes
to forbid women from praying aloud in
public worship, from participating on
pulpit committees, and from speaking
and voting in congregational meetings.
What do we mean by public
worship? It is the united gathering of
God's covenant people for the purpose
of worshipping the Triune God. The
essential elements of public worship are
the reading and preaching of Scripture,
the singing of Psalms and Hymns, the
offering of prayer, the presentation of
offerings, the coofession of faith, the
observing of the sacraments, and special
occasions of oath taking.
Let's ftrst deal with the practice
of women praying in public worship.
The passage in I Timothy 2 states that
men (males) are to pray in contrast to
women. The purpose of public prayer
is to lead God's people in beseeching
the throne of grace. It is inconsistent
with woman's created role of being in
subjection to man to serve in such a
capacity. Notice what the Directory For
Public Worship as found in the West-
minster Standards says about public
prayer before the sermon: "After read-
ing of the word, the minister who is to
preach, is to endeavour to get his own
and his hearers hearts to be rightly af-
fected with their sins, that they may all
mourn in sense thereof before the Lord,
and hunger and thirst after the grace of
God in Jesus Christ, by proceeding to a
more full confession of sin ... " From
observing these characteristics of public
prayer, it is apparent that such prayer
involves a leading of persons in spir-
itual worship. The biblical role for
women is to follow, not lead.
What about women serving On
pulpit committees? This practice vio-
lates the prohibition against exercising
authority over men. First, how are pul-
pit committees <;hosen? The following
excerpt is taken from the book of
church order of a prominent evangelical
Presbyterian denomination. It reads as
follows: "A church shall proceed to
elect a pastor in the following manner:
The Session shall call a congregational
meeting to elect a pulpit committee
The Counsel of Chalcedon Jan.-Feb., 1990 page 31
which may be comj)osed of members itS and who will be its ruling el-
from . the congregation . at large or . the. del's m deaconS. A congregational vote
Session, as designated 'b'y the congrega- .is ari act! It is straiillng at
tion." most pulpit a grtat to. say .that the elders govern
tees are comprised of persons authoritatively, but the act of putting
froin the congregation, and at least one : . these men in such .a pOsition is not it-
woman is usually .on that co:nuirlttee: 'self an auth<>titative action.
What are the basic puiposes of a plilpit . ;' The following quote is an ex-
committee? . One, it is to search out . cerpt. from a prominent Presbyterian
prospective candidates to be.the church'S B6Qk: Of Church Order: "The Ruling
new pastor. Two, it acts as an Elder or Deacon, though chargeable
tion committee in behalf of the congre- ... ; with neither heresy nor immorality,
gation . . Often, . candidates are brought . may become uilaqceptable in his official
before the pulpit committee and ex- capacity to a majority of the church
amined as to their theological. convic- which he serves. I.n . such a case the
tions, their philosophy of ministry, and church may take the initiative by a
their compatibility with this particular majority vote at a regularly called con-
church. Obviously; during this gregational meeting, and .request the
Biblical Piesbyterianistri, therefore, has ..
the church elders as the
body. Elders are the congregation's
representatives, chosen to rule the
flock ofGod.
cess, certain men are eliminated froin
further consideration. Three, the pulpit
committee usually decides upon one
man and recommends this man to the
congregation as its new pastor. The
congregation then votes on whether .to
aceept or reject the pulpit committees
nominee.
It is hard to imagine a pulpit
committee member not serving in an
authoritative capacity. A pulpit com-
mittee is an authorized body designated
by the congregation to initially act in
its behalf. . To examine a man's theo-
logy with a view of determining his
suitability for one's church and to
disqualify certain men from further cOn-
sideration is acting as an authority over
a man. Women sholild not and .do not
biblically have that right.
Lastly, it appears that the Bi-
ble forbids women from voting in con-
gregational meetings. The act of vo-
ting is an act of authority. Since wom-
en constitute a large segment, if not a
majority of communing members in
many churches, we are faced with. the
reality of women ultimately controlling
the church. In a Presbyterian church,
some of the most important issues that
a congregation. votes on are: who. com-
prises a pulpit committee, who will be
Session to dissolve the official relation-
ship between the church and the officer
without censure." This same Book Of
Chureh Order states thatthe church Ses-
sion must call a congregational meeting
if one-fourth of all cornm:uning mem-
bers request it in writing. Thus, itt
many Presbyterian churcheswomen can
not only diqtate who are the church's
officers, but they can vote a pastOr out
of his pastorate. Are there any whe
still insist that a woman's vote is not
an exercise of authority over a man? .
Imagine a wife voting in a con-
gregational meeting contrary to her hus-
band's vote. How is her action a sub-
jection to her husband? It isn't! More-
over, a congregational vote surely en-
tides one to Speak in . the meeting.
Speaking in congregational meetings
involves the giving of opinions; the
seeking to persuade others . to vote a
certain way, the questioning of elders
corteerning church matterS, and even the
objection of certain practices. Such
speaking by women is forbidden by
Scripture.
Another apparentineonsistency
in preSent day Presbyterian polity is the
fact that women are not entitled to vote
in Presbytery meetings. The reason for
this prohibition is because all conserva;..
The Counssl of Chalcedon Jan.Fab., 1990 page 32
tives ac.kitO.wledge that women are not
to be church elders, anc;l Presbyterial
voting is restricted to ruling and teach-
irig elders. According to Presbyterian
polity, no miniSter can teceive a call to
any congregation without prior ap-
proval by Presbytery's vote.' Isn't it odd
that women cannot vote and exercise
authority . in Presbytery, but they can
vote and exercise authority in a local
congregation?
Putting it bluntly, why does
any wornan insiSt on the right to vote
in 'congregational meetings? She prob-
ably would say that it is her right, as a
cortununing member, t o help determine
actions that affect her. What is the
basis for insisting ort this right? It
surely doesn't come from Scripture.
11tis author contends that the modem
secular ot humanist addiction to the
notion of democracy has infiltrated the
Christian 'church. The dynamic of true
Presbyrerianism is that God's people are
governed by representativeS. The Bible
in ntunerous places advocates a
lican form of government (rule by
sentatives) rather than a democratic
form (rule by majority vote of all the
people). Biblical Presbyterianism.
therefore, has the church elders as. the
governing church body. :Elders are the
congregation'S repreSentatives, chosen
to tule the flock of God. By the way;
this previous comment is not a sane.;.
tioning of one political party over
anOther.
The elders together she.merd
the flock of God. It is out of accord
witl1 biblical polity for church leaders
to bring most of their decisions before a
congreglll:ional vote. This is the prac-
tice of Baptist polity- a practice which
can lead to much dissension in a
church. '
If women should not vote in
the church, then who should? A con;.
sistent: approach to biblical teaching
seems to point to mille heads of house-
hOlds with the possible exception of
single adult men. Voting is an authOri-
tative aet, which should be reServed to
responsible and mature Christian men.
Children should not have a congrega-
tional vote, even young male commun-
ing members. Since the father iS the
spiritual head of the family, he alone
shoold have the church vote.
Uninarried adult wt>men ob-
. (Continued on page 40)
cussing nostalgically the campaigns
they shared in the past 'Do you remem-
ber what life was like in the party? You
got up in the morning and as you
shaved you were thinking of the jobs
you would do for Communism that
day. You went down to breakfast and
read the Daily Worker to get the Party
line---to get the shot and shell for a
fight in which you were already in-
volved. You read every item in the
paper wondering how you might be
able to use it for the cause."'
"On the bus or train, on my way to
work, I read the Daily Worker as os-
tentatiously as I could, holding it up so
that others might read the headlines and
be influenced by them. I took two
copies of the paper with me; the second
one I left on the seat in the hope that
someone would pick it up and read it
"When I got to work, i kept the
Daily Worker circulating. One worker
after another would take it outside, read
it for a few minutes and bring it back to
me again. At lunchtime, in the canteen
or the restaurant, I would try to start
conversations with those with whom I
was eating. I made a practice of sitting
with different groups in order to spread
my influence as widely as I could.
"Before I left my place of work at
night, there was a quick meeting of the
factory group. There we discussed in a
few minutes the successes and failures
of the day. And we discussed, too, what
we hoped to be able to do on the follow-
ing day." n
Please remember
,r'-'\1 '1 (/'"\:'1 :f
. ! ( ( . (f'JI'\Y T (' (1"\1 <... I l'"'l !!') (I '(-'5'\10! tT\Y'''"'I
/) \VJL \\."'llll(<;ttJ.I.\\.,
in your prayers as we begin
our twelfth year with the
next issue.
Continuing the series of taped messages on
I Corinthians
by Joe Morecraft, Ill
The Holy Spirit & the Body of Christ
I Cor. 12:1-27
The Holy the Body of Christ & the Spiritual Gift
I Cor. 12
The Miraculous Gifts, I
(1 Cor. 12 & 14)
The Miraculous Gifts, ll
The Miraculous Gifts, ill
$4.00 per tape (cassette)
$17.00 for set of five. Order from:
Specialty Media Services
P.O. Box 28357
Atlanta, GA 30358
The Counsel of Chalcedon Jan.-Feb., 1990 page 40
The Role of Women
Continued from page 32
viously would not vote because of
Scripture's prohibition against women
exercising authority over men. One
would ask, "How are unmarried women
represented?" Assuming the woman's
father is not in the church, they are
represented the same way as the whole
congregation -through the elected elders.
It is advisable that unmarried women be
put under the close oversight of some
church elder; whq can provide some
degree of headship for that woman.
Presently, in most Presbyter-
ian churches, all communing members
regardle&s of sex aJ:ld age are entitled to
a congregational vote. Thus, we not on-
ly can have women exercising authori-
ty, but we can have young girls having
authority! How is this consistent with
biblical teaching? It isn't.
It is time that Presbyterians
scrutinize their practice of church gov-
ernment in light of the Bible's admoni-
tions about women. The role of wom-
en in the Bible is not a degrading one.
The position of being in subjection is
not a less dignified position. Women
are equally as precious to God. Women
are co-heirs of all of God's blessings.
God has created mankind as
and female. Each sex has its own
specially _created nature; which is what
makes the marriage state such a mar-
velous and beautiful institution. Each
sex has its own God-ordained role for
functioning in society. The man is the
head and the woman is subject to that
}leadship. The role of women in the
church is one of subjection to male
headship. Why make a woman func-
tion in a capacity that she was never
suited for? -
As noted earlier, I do not in-
tend. for my conqnents to be the final
word on this issue. Howevet", if there
are some who disagree with my analy-
sis, I would like to know where
I have misinterpreted and onsapplied
Scripture. I would like to see a compel-
_ ling biblical case allowing women to
pray in public worship, to serve on pul-
pit committees, and to vote in congrega-
tional meetings. 0