Marg Mowczko
Marg Mowczko
Can only men be church leaders?
Some people think that the moral qualifications for church leaders recorded in 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:6-9 were written only about men and apply only to men. They believe that the implication in these passages is that only men can be church leaders.[1] All of the qualifications listed in 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:6-9, however, can be readily applied to both men and women.[2]
One phrase which does not seem to apply to women is where Paul says that a church leader should be, literally, a one-woman man (1 Tim 3:2; Titus 1:6). This is usually translated into English as “the husband of one wife”. The phrase, a one-woman man, is however an idiom[3] and there are dangers in applying it too literally. Because it is an idiomatic expression, many people have had difficulty explaining and adapting its meaning in the context of contemporary Western church culture; a culture that is vastly different to first century church culture.
If taken literally, the one-woman man requirement would rule out unmarried, widowed and divorced men and women from being church leaders; yet Paul says that being single and celibate enables people to serve God better (1 Cor 7:32-35).[4] The real intent of this expression is marital faithfulness in the church leader who is already married.[5] Philip B. Payne writes that, ”The closest English equivalent to one-woman man is ‘monogamous’, and it applies to both men and women.” Even some Complementarians (Christians who are against women in leadership roles), acknowledge that the phrase a one-woman man cannot legitimately be used to argue that women cannot be church leaders.[6] This is because the phrase is essentially describing the moral quality of marital fidelity, and not primarily referring to marital status or gender.
In 1 Timothy 3:4 Paul says that a church leader “must be one who manages his own household well, keeping his children under control with all dignity” (NASB) [NB There are no masculine pronouns in the Greek of 1 Timothy 3:1-7 or Titus 1:6-9. See endnote 7.] The ability to lead and manage one’s household well may also be equally applicable to both men and women.
According to Paul, it is not only men who can lead and manage their households. Paul advised the younger widows in the Ephesian church to remarry, have children and “keep house” (1 Timothy 5:14).[8] Interestingly, the word Paul uses for “keeping house” here is oikodespotein, which literally means “to be the master of a household”. Oikodespotein is from oikodespotes: oikos=house, despot=master; (Strong’s number 3616).
The King James literally translates 1 Timothy 5:14 as:
I [Paul] desire therefore that the younger widows marry, bear children, rule the household, and give no occasion to the adversary for insulting. (My emphasis)
Undoubtedly most church leaders in early church times were male, and yet it is never stated in the New Testament that a church leader must be a man. The New Living Translation (NLT), (which gives the impression of being gender inclusive because it frequently translates adelphoi into “brothers and sisters”,[9]) has taken the bold step of inserting the statement ”So an elder must be a man” in 1 Timothy 3:2. This statement simply does not appear anywhere in any Greek manuscript of the New Testament. The translators of the NLT have inserted this statement to put across their biased opinion that a church leader must be a man. They have tried to pass off their opinion as being “the Word of God”. Had Paul wanted to say, “an elder (or overseer) must be a man” he would have done so.
The opening sentence of 1 Timothy chapter 3 literally says, “. . . If someone aspires to overseeship, [he/she] desires a noble task.” There is absolutely no gender preference suggested here whatsoever.[10]
Endnotes
[1] Church leaders were commonly called by the adjectives: elders or overseers in the New Testament. (Overseer is translated as bishop in some Bible versions.) More on early church leadership and government here.
[2] There are a few grammatically masculine adjectives and participles in 1 Timothy 3:1ff and Titus 1:6ff ; but since the masculine gender is the default grammatical gender when speaking about groups consisting of men only and groups consisting of men and women, a case cannot be made that these passages exclude women. If we begin to argue that passages that use masculine participles, etc, exclude women, then women would be excluded from many of the verses which speak about salvation.
[3] The phrase, a one-woman man, is an idiom found on numerous sepulchral [gravesite] inscriptions celebrating the virtue of a surviving spouse that had not remarried. By noting that he or she was married only once, it suggests the virtue of extraordinary fidelity. (A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3rd Edition, Walter Bauer, revised & edited by F.W. Danker, University of Chicago Press, 2000, p292.)
Paul uses the phrase a one-man woman in this context when writing about widows in 1 Timothy 5:9. These women had been married only once, their husband had died, and they were now single and celibate. The New Revised Standard Version somewhat captures this meaning in their translation of this phrase as “married only once” in 1 Timothy 3:2, 5:9 and Titus 1:6. However the idiom, a-one women man, has a broader context than that. The real implication being marital fidelity and monogamy.
The phrase, a one-woman man, may be generically applied to a group of both men and women as can be seen from its use in 1 Timothy 3:12. 1 Timothy 3:8-10 is about men ministers; 3:11 is about women ministers; and 3:12-13 is about both men and women ministers. Chrysostom wrote that the phrase a one-woman man in 1 Timothy 3: 12 ”. . . must be understood therefore to relate to Deaconesses [women ministers]. For that order is necessary and useful and honourable in the Church”. (Chrysostom, Homilies on 1 Timothy, Homily XI)
[4] Marital fidelity is only required while both husband and wife are alive. When the husband or wife dies, the other person is free to remarry or remain celibate (Rom 7:2-4; 1 Cor 7:39). Celibacy and virginity were becoming highly esteemed virtues in the 2nd century; and by the 5th century, celibacy was compulsory for Roman Catholic church leaders. This unBiblical decree has caused no end of problems to the Roman Catholic church which still insists upon it. Interestingly, if the requirement a one-woman man was taken literally, it would prohibit Roman Catholic priests and other unmarried men from being church leaders.
[5] Andy Wood’s paper on The Meaning of “The Husband of One Wife” in 1 Timothy 3:2 provides an excellent, indepth look at the meaning and application of this phrase, here .
[6] Philip B. Payne writes: “Two of the most prominent complementarians acknowledge this phrase does not clearly exclude women. Douglas Moo acknowledges that this phrase need not exclude “unmarried men or females from the office . . . it would be going too far to argue that the phrase clearly excludes women. . . .” Douglas J. Moo, “The Interpretation of 1 Timothy 2:11–15: A Rejoinder,” TJ 2 NS (1981): 198–222, 211. Thomas Schreiner acknowledges, “The requirements for elders in 1 Tim 3:1–7 and Titus 1:6–9, including the statement that they are to be one-woman men, does not necessarily in and of itself preclude women from serving as elders. . . .” Thomas R. Schreiner’s “Philip Payne on Familiar Ground: A Review of Philip B. Payne, Man and Woman, One in Christ: An Exegetical and Theological Study of Paul’s Letters.” JBMW (Spring 2010): 33–46, 35.” Taken from Does “One-Woman Man” in 1 Timothy 3:2 Require that all Overseers be Male?
[7] While 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:6-9 are completely free from masculine pronouns in the better, older Greek manuscripts (the Textus Receptus contains one masculine pronoun in 1 Timothy 3:7), pronouns need to be added in English translations to make sense of the sentences. In English, masculine pronouns are typically used, even if the subject matter applies to women also.
[8] Paul gave this instruction to the young Ephesian widows because of certain problems within the Ephesian church. One of its more serious problems was the spread of false teaching within the church. It seems that the younger Ephesian widows were engaging in irresponsible conversation and conduct which may have involved listening to, and spreading, false teaching. This even led to some of the young widows wandering from the truth to follow Satan (1 Timothy 5:13-15).
[9] Several modern English translations of the New Testament (including the NLT) frequently translate the Greek word adelphoi as “brothers and sisters”. Adelphoi is grammatically masculine, and in older Bible versions the word was translated simply as “brothers”. However, it is obvious from its usage in the scriptures, and in other writings, that adelphoi can refer to both men and women believers. The NLT translators (and others) have translated most occurrences of the very common word adelphoi as “brothers and sisters” and painstakingly included an explanatory footnote each time. The NLT also translates the literal “sons” (huioi) into “children” when speaking about children of God, i.e. believers. This commendable inclusion of women reflects the true Biblical understanding of the words adelphoi and huioi. However the views of the NLT translators towards full gender equality and incusivity clearly stops short of allowing women to be church leaders (elders).
[10] “. . . If anyone (masc or fem) aspires (no gender specified) to overseership (feminine noun), he/she/it desires (no gender specified) a noble/fine task (neuter adjective and noun).” A literal translation of 1 Timothy 3:1b showing grammatical gender.
© 5th of August, 2010, revised 4th of November, 2010; Margaret Mowczko
An abridged version of this article was published on the 20th of August, 2010, by Christians for Biblical Equality International in their weekly Arise e-newsletter.