Q. Is the limitation of women ordination biblical or simply cultural?
A. My belief is that this is a biblical principle, not just tied to the time this part of the Bible was written. Some are eager to attack me because this doesn't sound so politically incorrect. Yet this is an important lesson about understanding God's plan for each of us while here on earth.
But briefly, Jesus only picked male apostles, and it only speaks of men elders and pastors in the Bible. Now, if Jesus only picked male apostles because it was cultural, then everything else Jesus did was hypocritical. Christ died because He would not capitulate to the traditions and customs of the Jews. So for Him to say, "I don't want to ruffle the Pharisees' feathers, so I'm only going to pick men," would be a big stretch. Jesus was so blatantly clear about what the truth was. He would not compromise simply for tradition in any area because it would be dishonest.
Also, if you go from Genesis to Revelation, God has so many opportunities to explain what the relationship is between men and women. God clearly does minister through women, and I'm not just patronizing. I believe there are a number of women prophets in the Bible who are spirit filled, and in that respect they teach. But the word "elder" and "pastor" in the Bible specifically refers to ordination, and there's no example in the Bible anywhere of God ordaining a woman in the capacity of pastor or elder.
Here's a story I like to use to help explain: Two Jewish slaves, Amram and Jochebed, had three unique children. Their names were Miriam, the oldest; Aaron; then Moses. All three of the children were prophets, which is very unusual. Of course, Phillip had four daughters that were prophetesses. But only the boys, who were Moses and Aaron, could serve in the capacity of priest. Likewise, a man is supposed to be the priest of his family. This is something that God established in Eden, and it's still in effect today.
It may or may not be the ideal, but we are living in a sinful world. In dealing with the sin issue, God established men to be the servant leaders in their families. The church is an extension of that. And I believe the men should be the servant leaders in ministry in the church. That doesn't mean that women should not teach and minister--they can even preach and do evangelism. But when a woman serves in the capacity of a pastor, it's priestly in nature. For instance, a pastor is the one who carries out the functions of the Lord's Supper. There's no example in the Bible of a woman doing that, so I feel strongly it is a biblical issue.
I respect people who may disagree. But I cannot find solid support in any example in the Bible. For instance, they like to use the verse that says, "In Christ there is neither male or female." Yet in context, all this really means is that we all have, regardless of gender, equal access to God and equal access to heaven. But it never means that there's no distinction between men and women in ministry.
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