By
Adam Kelleyon
November 16, 2025
The issue of women in leadership or teaching roles in the Church is one that is debated frequently, with many strong Christians on both sides. This essay is meant to explore what the Bible teaches on this issue. My stance on women teaching/leading is based on the idea that it is God who grants gifts and it is God who grants any authority. If a woman is teaching the Word accurately (i.e. Christ-based, Biblically accurate, and with spiritual gifting), then I think we should affirm that. So, how do I address Bible passages that seem to teach otherwise? There are mainly two that seem to say they shouldn’t teach/lead.
12 But I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man, but to remain quiet.
1 Timothy 2:12
In this case, Paul is giving Timothy advice on how to fill the leadership roles (Elders in particular) in the church in Ephesus. Paul doesn't say "women should never teach" but "I don't allow them to teach." In his writing, Paul often uses the present tense to describe current, but not permanent circumstances (1 Corinthians 4:11-13, Romans 7:15-25, Philippians 3:13-14). It seems like this is a case of Paul telling Timothy he wouldn't appoint any women in leadership roles in that church at that time. In other words, in this context allowing women to teach is not appropriate either because they are not educated enough or, perhaps, because the culture couldn't handle that at the time, at least with the Jewish followers. I am inclined to think, in this case, it's both, women were less educated, and at least Jewish men were prickly about women in authority and that could have driven people from the church. While it is true that Paul didn’t mention the educational level of women in this letter, he often didn’t mention things that were well known. He also didn’t mention the female priestesses of Artemis (who claimed spiritual superiority over men), but why would he, since that was well known. And, as we’ll see, there are examples of female leadership elsewhere, including under Paul, to suggest that this was specific to this time and place.
Interestingly, the Greek word that is translated here as “authority over” is authenteō. This is the only place in the Bible where this word for authority is used. There are other words translated as “authority” used in the Bible such as exousia which is used by Paul and other authors throughout the New Testament. However, here Paul chose authenteō. It means “to exercise authority on one’s own account, to domineer over,” (1). This is behavior we wouldn’t want from anyone in the church. Why would Paul use this specific verb here with Timothy. The Temple of Artemis in Ephesus was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. This temple was run by priestesses who exerted much authority over the people who worshipped there. It seems likely that Paul used the word authenteō when writing to Timothy because of the Artemis temple priestesses set a poor example of how women (or anyone else) in spiritual authority should behave. Whether that is the reason or not, it is clear that this is the type of “authority” that Paul is speaking of here, and not Godly, shepherding authority.
Ironically, Paul spends much more time in his letters to Timothy warning him to avoid pointless arguments (1 Tim 6:20, 2 Tim 2:23). This topic has certainly lent itself to many arguments, though they are not necessarily pointless. We do need to be careful about elevating topics like this to the level of central doctrines, such as being saved by grace alone, the deity of Christ, etc.
The other passage is this one:
As in all the churches of the saints, 34 the women should be silent in the churches, for they are not permitted to speak, but are to submit themselves, as the law also says. 35 If they want to learn something, let them ask their own husbands at home, since it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church.
1 Corinthians 14:33-35
I think it's even more clear that this one is cultural because Paul is talking specifically about having orderly meetings and disruptive women asking a lot of questions (because they weren't allowed to be taught before) holds up the meeting. Indeed, in 1 Corinthians 11:13-15, it is assumed that women are praying publicly in church. I also think this is cultural based on the fact that in that same passage, he says it's disgraceful for women to pray with their heads uncovered, but there are few who argue that today.
Beyond the two primary texts, several other passages are sometimes cited. Let’s examine those briefly.
First, is this:
6 An elder must be blameless, the husband of one wife, with faithful children who are not accused of wildness or rebellion.
Titus 1:6
Titus had a similar mission to Timothy in that he had to appoint leaders in a local church (this time in Crete). In this verse, Paul mentions that elders must be the husband of one wife. It is generally accepted that he means polygamy is out for elders (and, it should be noted, for everyone else too). Some have used this to argue that Elders must be male. I think, however, that if the elder is a married male, he should only have one wife, because women weren’t allowed to have more than one husband already, so a warning to married women would be unnecessary. I think, if you’re going to take this verse at face value to rule out women, it should also rule out any single men, or any men who have been divorced or widowed and then remarried. Since those arguments are not generally made, I think we can’t use this to rule out women as leaders either.
Another passage to note is 1 Timothy 3:1-2. The argument here is that male pronouns are used here to describe leaders. This is a pretty thin argument because grammatical gender in Greek often defaults to male when lists include both males and females, as opposed to the more cumbersome “he or she.” For example, when Paul refers to “brothers” he is referring to both male and female believers.
Genesis 3:16 and Ephesians 5:22-24 are also used to teach that women shouldn’t be in leadership roles because males are the heads of the household. However, this is only true in the household. When you have a marriage of two people, someone has to make the final decisions if there are disagreements, after all. Men are also called to love their wives “as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.” This is not rulership as the world sees it, but a sacrificial love that puts the needs of the wife above the needs of the husband. It should also be noted that in the very verse before this (Ephesians 5:21) Christians are called to submit to one another, setting the tone for our household interactions.
There is one other passage that I have seen used to argue against female leadership.
But I have this against you: You tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and teaches and deceives my servants to commit sexual immorality and to eat meat sacrificed to idols.
Revelation 2:20
This one, I think, is more of an argument for female leadership than against it. Jesus is giving a warning to the church in Thyatira. They apparently had a female leader named Jezabel. Jesus’s issue with her was not that she was a female leader, it was that she was teaching heresy and sexual immorality. The rebuke is against the false teaching, not the gender of the teacher. A male teacher teaching the same thing would also be condemned. So, Jesus didn’t say, “You should never have let a woman be a leader in the first place!” I think if it was that big of an issue, Jesus would have at least mentioned it.
So, are there Biblical passages that are for women in leadership roles? Indeed, there are. In listing these out, I include several from the Old Testament. There are those who make the argument that examples of female leadership in the Old Testament don’t apply to the church, as 1 Timothy 2:12 (above) is how God wants his church to be run, and the old methods are no longer in place. To this, I would say that there is no indication of this in the passage at all. Also, when God is removing or replacing requirements from the Old Testament, it is because Jesus already fulfilled that obligation (as with animal sacrifice or Jewish festivals/rituals), or that he has declared something new specifically (as with clean/unclean animals in Acts 10:9-16). I will also point out, that in doing away with the Levitical priesthood (as Jesus is now the high priest), Peter says that we are now the priesthood (1 Peter 2:5, 9). This is in a letter that was written to the whole church, including women! Of course, priesthood in the Old Testament was a role that was forbidden to women. Indeed, it was forbidden to most men as well, as men had to be from the tribe of Levi to be priests.
First, there is the example of Deborah in Judges 4-5. She was a prophetess. A prophet(ess) was someone who God would appoint to speak to a society that was drifting away from him. No one questioned her authority based on her gender. In fact, the men deferred to her readily. They recognized her as a prophetess and judge. Some have made the argument that God only selected her because there were no Godly men to do that work, but 1) there is nothing indicating that in the text, and 2) that wouldn’t negate that fact that she was a woman in authority who was appointed by God to teach others, including men.
Second, Miriam, Moses’s sister, led the congregation in worship after crossing the Red Sea (Exodus 15:20-21). There was no grumbling about a woman leading in that situation. Yes, later Miriam made the mistake of trying to take more authority than she should have, but so did Aaron at the same time, and they were both restored.
Third, Huldah (2 Kings 22:14–20) was consulted by men, including a priest, to interpret the Law. She was another Prophetess who was sought out specifically so she could tell the men what the Law said.
There are several examples in the New Testament as well. In Luke 2:36-28 we read of Anna, a prophetess who served in the Temple, continually praying and serving. In Acts 18:26, Priscilla, with her husband taught Apollo “the way of God more accurately.” She was actively teaching during Paul’s ministry, suggesting Paul’s restriction on female teachers was not universal. Romans 16:1-2 describes Phoebe as a deaconess. While teaching was not a specific requirement for deacons as it is for elders, a prominently mentioned deacon almost certainly exercised some authority. Romans 16:7 includes Junia as was outstanding among the apostles (leaders). Acts 2:17-18 and Joel 2:28 both say, “your sons and daughters will prophesy.” Prophesying is an authoritative, public teaching and men and women are specifically included in this role.
Given all these examples, I think there is more than enough Biblical evidence that women not only were allowed in teaching/leadership roles in Biblical times, but they should also be today as well.
So, are there examples of women historically being effective in leadership roles in the church? Yes, there are many. This is not meant to be an exhaustive list, but a highlight reel of good examples.
Macrina the Younger (327-379) was a woman whose writings were very insightful in her time in guiding the church. Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179) was a gifted writer and composer, and public teacher. Catherine of Siena (1347-1380) advised the Pope and was a known peacemaker. Argula von Grumbach (1492-1568) was a reformer who publicly debated theology. Phoebe Palmer (1807-1874) was a Methodist leader. Jarena Lee (1783-1864) was the first female preacher of the African Methodist Episcopal Church and traveled all over Africa teaching. Elizabeth Elliot (1926-2015) has a tragic and amazing story. She and her husband went to Ecuador as missionaries, and he was killed by the natives. Instead of fleeing home, she stayed and ended up moving in with the tribe who killed her husband and, through her grace, bravery, and leadership, helped transform that tribe into a believing community. This, obviously, involved her teaching men. There are many others, but for the limitations of time, I will stop here.
So, why are there so many more men in leadership/teaching roles than women both in the Bible and throughout history? I think there may be a few reasons for this. First, as I pointed out earlier, it is God who grants the gifting for leadership (teaching being one of those gifts). It may be that he generally grants those gifts more often to men than women, or to a different degree. I have known many more women than men, for example, who have the spiritual gift of mercy. That’s not to say there are no men with it, just that I have personally known more women with it. Second, I believe there has historically been some cultural bias against women in leadership roles, for whatever reason. Not all of society’s woes can be pinned on “the patriarchy,” but cultural bias against women, particularly in leadership, is a real issue. Third, men do tend to gravitate more towards roles of leadership in general. There are physical and psychological differences between men and women, and that is one of them. However, that is not to say that women are unsuited for the role, just that not as many women seem to be interested in it. In general, men are physically stronger than women, but that is not to say that there aren’t some women who are stronger than some men. Similarly, there may be more men gifted for leadership than women, but there are plenty of women who are more suited to it than some men.
Given the Biblical passages shared above, and the many examples of God blessing female leaders/teachers, I believe there is sufficient evidence to allow women who are gifted in teaching and leadership to occupy those roles. It is not a matter of being disobedient to God’s word or trying to fit into the culture. It is a matter of trusting God’s judgment and allowing him to choose who he wants for leadership. However, there are many Christians who disagree with this stance, and I can understand why. I do not condemn them in the least and I would assume, unless proven otherwise, that they are trying to honor God, just as I am. As Paul said, who am I to judge the servant of another (Romans 14:4)? I love that passage (really Romans 14:1-11), because it reminds us that if fellow Christians are in faith and have different opinions that are still solid and Biblically sound, then we should not judge them. The issue of female leadership/teaching isn’t a central doctrine taught in the Bible. If it were, it would have been clearer and addressed more often (like the Gospel, or the deity of Christ, or the reality of God’s judgment). There would also not be so many examples of effective female leadership in the Bible. (2)
Notes:
1. authenteo (αὐθεντέω, G0831) – Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary
2. For further reading on this topic, consider the teachings and writings of N. T. Wright, or Tim Mackie among others.
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