Last Update: June 3, 2026
Reference A Biblical Regional Church Organizational Model
It is my view that women may preach and teach congregationally and elsewhere with restrictions as set forth herein. Does it all require strong leadership to manage the dynamics? Yes, it does. The church needs strong leadership.
The giving of the Great Commission is recorded in Matthew 28:18-20. The Greek word didasko (G1321) translated teaching in Matthew 28:20 is the same Greek word translated teach in 1 Timothy 2:12. Therefore, the question is what roles are women to have carrying out the Great Commission particularly teaching as in Matthew 28:20.
Let us look at some key scriptures in more detail. Where important I will give the Greek word and the Strong’s Concordance number for that Greek word.
In KJV 1 Timothy 5:1-2 translates as:
(1) Rebuke not an elder, but intreat him as a father; and the younger men as brethren;
(2) The elder women as mothers; the younger as sisters, with all purity.
In KJV 1 Timothy 5:17 translates as:
(17) Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honour, especially they who labour in the word and doctrine.
In KJV Titus 2:2-3translates as:
(2) That the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity, in patience.
(3) The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things;
In KJV Titus 1:5 says:
(5) For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed thee:
In KJV 1 Peter 5:1 translates as:
(1) The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed:
In KJV Acts 14:23 says:
(23) And when they had ordained them elders in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they believed.
In KJV Acts 20:17 says:
Act 20:17
(17) And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus, and called the elders of the church.
In KJV Acts 2:17 says:
(17) And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:
1 Timothy 2:11-15 establishes that women may not teach nor lead men regarding spiritual matters; this means women may not have spiritual authority over men anywhere whether in the home, church, or elsewhere.
1 Timothy 2:13-15 establishes this male headship principle goes all the way back to the beginning of creation. Therefore, it is not a cultural invention by humans.
1 Corinthians 11:1-16 supports that 1 Timothy 2:12-15 view. It establishes Christ as the head of the male and male as the head of the female.
1 Corinthians 11:4-5 is crucial to this discussion. It establishes that both men and women may pray and prophesy. I find it interesting that churches normally do not have any restrictions on women praying in the church assemblies. Notice men may do so only when their head is uncovered and women may do so only when their head is covered.
1 Corinthians 11:5 which permits a woman to prophesy as long as she has a head covering is highly instructive when combined with 1 Corinthians 14:3-4 example attributes. These example attributes of prophesying in my view include preaching/teaching from the already revealed truths in the Bible. Prophecy in the Old Testament was not always unplanned speech and/or not previous known; there is nothing in the New Testament that says under Christ it is always so. Certainly, it sometimes can be unscheduled and/or a real-time new revelation to the speaker (direct communication, vision). But sometimes it can be what God has already revealed to the messenger and now the messenger is revealing it to one or more others. Hence, we have the prophets like Ezekiel 2:1 and Jeremiah 2:1 that speaks of God coming unto them and giving them a word to later deliver to the people. Preaching/teaching from the Bible is providing already revealed truths, whether planned or unplanned.
The above discussion and interpretation of 1 Corinthians 11:5 as allowing a woman to preach/teach complies with 1 Timothy 2:11-15 in that women have spiritual teaching authority only over women and not men. The fact that a woman can prophesy with a head covering in the presence of a man does not violate 1 Timothy 2. In fact, I hold that the very reason the head covering provision exists in scripture is to outwardly demonstrate the spirit of 1 Timothy 2 that should be inwardly.
The key question regarding 1 Corinthians 11:4-5 is the meaning of the word prophesy. Well I look to the use of the word a few chapters later. 1 Corinthians 14:3-4 says: “But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort. …he that prophesieth edifieth the church.
Therefore, for me prophecy involves forthtelling and may involve foretelling. Foretelling is of course about the future and one would expect to be rare these days though God may use people to foretell as he desires. Forthtelling may involve both male and female preaching the Word of God as written in the Bible.
Given that women may preach with a head covering in the midst of the congregation based on 1 Corinthian 11:5 and 1 Corinthians 14:3-4, the question that remains is does the Bible limit women ministry in terms of such things as function, position, and title of address.
Title of address is not used in the Bible. That is of human invention and is to be governed by human organizational choice. In the Bible first names are used when referring to individual. One does not find the phrase Apostle Peter or Apostle Paul, One sometimes find the phrases like Peter “who am also an Elder” or Paul, “an apostle of Jesus Christ”. But those are function designations not titles of address.
In Titus 2:2-3 different Greek words are used by Paul for the phrases translated “aged men” and “aged women”. The Greek word translated aged men in Titus 2:2 is presbutes, G4246. The Greek word translated aged women in Titus 2:3 is presbutis, G4247. Both are different from the Greek word translated elder in 1 Timothy 5:1-2, 17 as shall be seen below.
The Greek root word translated elder in 1 Timothy 5:1 and elder women in 1 Timothy 5:2 and elders in 1 Timothy 5:17 is presbuteros, G4245. Hence, in 1 Timothy 5:17 Paul uses the same Greek root word that he used for both male and female in 1 Timothy 5:1-2. This use of the same Greek word root G4245 seems significant and tends to support the view that Paul is referring to spiritual eldership in 1 Timothy 5:1-2, 17 allowing women to spiritual elders over other women though not men.
That is in contrast to Titus 2:2-3 which uses different Greek words (G4246 for aged men, G4247 for aged women) and which clearly refer to natural age-based eldership instead of spiritual eldership. (Masculine and feminine forms of G4245 taken from Blue Letter Bible tools section is for male: presbytero, singular masculine; and for female: presbyteras, plural feminine.)
1 Timothy 5:1-2 definitely includes the concept of age eldership that is expected to bring spiritual maturity. However, it is possible that Paul being well trained in language intentionally uses the same Greek word, didasko (G1321) in 1 Timothy 5:1-2, 17 to provide a dual teaching. He could have used the same words that he uses in Titus 2:2-3 but he does not.
Nevertheless, some view 1 Timothy 5:2 as also referring to natural age-based eldership instead of spiritual eldership. Being that none of us was there it is uncertain as to whether 1 Timothy 5:2 refers to both spiritual and age-based eldership or just age-based eldership. Even if 1 Timothy 5:2 includes spiritual eldership it is not to be viewed as women having spiritual authority over a young Timothy but rather Timothy being exhorted to show ample respect for those older than him without giving up his authority to correct them to the degree called for (1 Timothy 5:19-20).
Therefore, the application of elder usage in 1 Timothy 5:1-2 should be constrained by 1 Timothy 2:11-15. Therefore, the reference to both males and female elders even if spiritual elders are to be viewed as Paul telling the young Timothy to be respectful towards the elderly males and females seeking to leverage their wisdom gained through age rather than arrogantly lord his authority over them. This is no different than we teach young people today regarding respecting their elders. Paul caution to Timothy applies also to other men and women as far as not lording his authority over them.
Even if one holds that 1 Timothy 5:2 does not intentionally refer to spiritual eldership in the same sense as 1 Timothy 5:17, there is nothing in the Bible that doctrinally prevents a regional/local church including a convention from creating a hierarchy of elders that includes subordinate women elders.
1 Peter 5:1, Acts 2:17, Acts 14:23, and Titus 1:5 provide additional example usage of the Greek word presbuteros, G4245 being the same as that in 1 Timothy 5:1-2, 17. The Greek word translated “also an elder” is sumpresbuteros, G4850 which means co-elder.
In Acts 2:17 KJV translates “… your old men shall dream dreams.” The Greek word translated old men there is presbuteros, G4245 which is the same as in 1 Timothy 5:1-2, 17, and others. It is noteworthy that Acts 2:17 is about both spiritual matters regarding some age-based people groups in that verse.
Therefore, the Holy Spirit had Paul to use the same word for spiritual elders in a variety of scriptures such as 1 Timothy 5 and 1 Peter 5 rather than natural elders as is the case in Titus 2. That seemingly means the Holy Spirit and Paul acknowledges that women can be spiritual elders in the church over other women but not over men.
Indeed, it is clear that the spiritual elder need not be an aged person. Indeed, Timothy himself was a spiritual elder who was age-wise young; therefore, spiritual eldership is not limited to those who are naturally aged
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