“What About 1 Timothy 2?”
A Quiet Apologist’s Case for Women in Ministry
When I first walked into my church and saw women preaching, I didn’t know whether to cry or crumble. I grew up in a setting where women were gently, but firmly, placed in the background. Scripture, especially Paul’s letters, were used not to inspire us, but to lower us. The message was clear: second-tier. Support role only.
But something in me has always resisted that. So I did what I do best: I researched.
This post is both an encouragement and a theological deep dive - because let’s face it, nothing says joy like a nerdy unraveling of Scripture.
Women in Ministry: More Than an Exception
When I landed at my church 3 years ago, I noticed something immediately: women weren’t just leading women. They were preaching to the full congregation. They were pastors. They had authority. It undid me in the best way. But it also raised deep, painful questions.
What do I do with everything I was taught? What do I do with Paul?
And maybe most of all: Is it really okay for women to lead in the church?
1 Timothy 2:12 and the Weight of One Word
One of the biggest clobber verses used to silence women is 1 Timothy 2:12:
"I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man; she must be quiet."
Sounds harsh, right? But context matters. And so do words.
The Greek word used here for “authority” is authentein — and this is the only time it appears in the entire New Testament. It doesn’t refer to healthy leadership. In classical Greek, it implied domination, manipulation, even violence.
Contrast that with exousia, the usual Greek word Paul uses for legitimate spiritual authority. That’s not what he chose here. Why?
Because Paul isn’t condemning women teaching. He’s condemning a specific, domineering misuse of authority.
The church in Ephesus (Timothy’s context) was being influenced by false teachings and cultic ideas — especially from the Artemis cult, which was aggressively female-dominant and exclusionary toward men. Paul wasn’t writing a universal rule. He was writing a corrective to a specific situation.
Paul Wasn’t Against Women Leading
If Paul meant to silence women forever, then how do we explain...
Priscilla, who taught Apollos, a major early church leader (Acts 18:26)
Phoebe, a deacon who likely delivered and explained Romans (Romans 16:1–2)
Junia, called “outstanding among the apostles” (Romans 16:7)
Philip’s daughters, who prophesied publicly (Acts 21:9)
Paul was not confused. He had already affirmed women leading, teaching, and speaking. That has to shape how we interpret the harder passages.
What About 1 Corinthians 14:34–35?
Here it is again:
"Women should remain silent in the churches... it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church."
Yikes. But hang on.
Just a few chapters earlier, Paul says this:
"Every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head..." (1 Cor 11:5)
So... women were speaking in church. Praying. Prophesying. Paul is giving guidance on how they do it, not banning it.
Which means 14:34–35 must be read as part of a larger context: Paul is writing about disorder in worship. Tongue speakers, prophets, and women are all told to be silent at certain times. The Greek word used is sigao - it shows up three times in that chapter.
Tongue-speakers: be silent if no interpreter (v.28)
Prophets: be silent if someone else is speaking (v.30)
Women: be silent if disrupting or asking questions mid-service (v.34)
This isn’t about gender. It’s about order.
In fact, some scholars believe verses 34–35 were actually a quote from Corinthian men, and Paul refutes it in verse 36 with:
“Or did the word of God originate with you? Are you the only ones it has reached?”
That would make it a direct rebuke of their exclusionary thinking.
Genesis, Eve, and the Deception Debate
Another common stumbling block is 1 Timothy 2:13–14:
"For Adam was formed first, then Eve. And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman..."
Some take this to mean that women are more easily deceived. But this contradicts Paul himself in Romans 5:12:
"Sin entered the world through one man."
Adam sinned knowingly. Eve was deceived. If anything, Adam bears the heavier responsibility.
Paul isn’t building a theology of female inferiority here. He’s giving a contextual caution: don’t let spiritually under-formed people teach prematurely. Eve was deceived because she wasn’t prepared. Paul’s warning is pastoral, not ontological.
Galatians 3:28: The Heart of Paul’s Theology
"There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus."
This verse doesn’t erase difference. It equalizes access to calling.
So when I see women pastoring with strength, grace, and sound teaching, I don’t see contradiction. I see continuity with what God has always done:
He calls women. He equips women. He sends women.
Not as second-tier supporters. As leaders.
And it’s time the church fully embraced that truth.
Written with gratitude to the women of pastoral ministry and all those who walk in their calling, even when Scripture has been weaponized against them. You are seen. You are affirmed. And you are part of a long, Spirit-filled legacy.