 In conclusion, there is a very powerful biblical precedent of women functioning in all of the highest levels of church leadership. What? And as the lead pastor of V1 Church, I intend on continuing in the legacy of Jesus Christ Himself by breaking this glass ceiling over the marginalized and silenced women of this generation. There is just so much wrong with this message. So I saw a recommendation from YouTube and it just, I didn't really think too much about it, but then I looked at it closely and I said, well, let me see what this is about, about women in ministry. And I noticed some of the people on this particular person's thumb now, this is Mike Signorelli. And I don't have an issue with him. I do have an issue with a lot of his doctrine. But this is different than what I've normally had an issue with him about. This is about his understanding, his interpretation, his exegesis, his hermeneutic, as involved women in ministry. And so I want to just play a little bit of this, let you guys look at this and then we'll kind of break this down. I want to show you so many different errors that he makes in coming to this conclusion. And I really believe that the issue is not that he takes the scriptures and comes to a conclusion, it's that you'll see he comes to a conclusion and then takes the scriptures there to his conclusion. What does the Bible say about women in ministry? Did you know that the title pastor only appears once in the entire Bible? Ephesians chapter four, verse 11 says, and Christ himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and some teachers. Okay, so a couple of things we need to deal with. Now he says that this, in this passage, that the word pastor only appears once in scripture. Well, he makes an error and let's go and look at him. These are errors that ought not be made. So when we go to Ephesians chapter four, verse 11, we're going to notice a couple of things. He says he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and he says, the shepherds or pastors and the teachers. Now these, the last one, the shepherds and teachers, that belongs together. There is no distinction between the two. And so the shepherd or pastor teacher goes together. It's not one group, pastor, shepherd, another group, teachers. No, it's pastor, teacher, or shepherd teacher. But let's look at the word that he's speaking of, this word, poimenas. This particular word, as a matter of fact, let's just pull it up so you don't take my word for it. This is the word for shepherd. Now he makes it the point or the case that this word is only used once. By the way, the word is shepherd. It's really not pastor, but the understanding is that someone who's going to shepherd a group of people where we get our understanding of what a pastor is. So let's go back to this word and let's just look it up and let's just hit live click. Let's click on it and see that this particular word, let's see how often this word shows up in the New Testament. If you can just be sure eyes down here, let's pull it up. This word comes up a few other times. It comes up several times as a matter of fact. It comes up in Mark 634. It comes up in Matthew 2532. It comes up in Luke 28, 215, 218, 220. And so the point is, this word is not only found in the scriptures once. As a matter of fact, again, the word is shepherd, not pastor. And so if you're going to try to build a case off of that idea, which is where he starts, then you already made a mistake because you started off with an erroneous assertion, which is that this word appears only once. The title pastor here is not attributed to men or women. Therefore, we must use other passages to help us interpret passages that are seemingly ambiguous. Now this passage that he states is not ambiguous at all. But the point is that he's trying to make that this is not attributed to men or women. However, he's speaking of someone in particular. Let's go back to the passage and I want you to notice something again. He says, and he gave the apostles. Now, this is a definite article that's employed here, which is the word to two main apostles, which means he's speaking of particular apostles, not in general that he gave in general and perpetually pastors. And he also says that he gave the prophets speaking of the prophets at that time. Again, that word prophets also has a definite article to switch is the word the same thing for the evangelists and the shepherds and teachers. And so he's speaking of those at that moment. Now, does that mean that he has foreclosed some of those offices? Well, two of the offices, we know he's foreclosed, those aren't around anymore than being a apostle and prophet, but evangelists and preacher teacher or pastor teacher or shepherd teacher, those are still there because we see in later writings and other writings that those gifts of those offices are still employed. As a matter of fact, Paul gives instructions regarding those stupidity and give you more instructions or anything have to do with apostles or prophets. It's just simply understanding the point of those. Now, the reason why he is there, I believe, is because he believes in modern day apostles. He believes in modern day prophets. And so you have to make this fit with today. You've got to make what you believe fit with today and fit with then. And so there's got to be this blurring of lines. And in this case, just bad exegesis is going to be the remedy for making this fault, the assumption appear true because what does he have in this camp? He's got female apostles as well as male apostles. He's got female prophets as well as male prophets. And so naturally that has to coincide with the rest of the passage. So there must be female evangelists and female pastor teachers. Well, I will agree with him on one thing, that there are female evangelists without a question. There are people that are sharing the gospel who are female even today. And that was also called of everyone, not just males. There are also females who at that time would give prophecy. Now, the point is though, why were they given and what was the purpose of it? And it's not in keeping with his beliefs. So here's what we definitively know. In the Old Testament, as well as the New Testament, women occupy every other role in the previous list from the scripture I just read in Ephesians. Now he says that women occupied every other role. Well, is that true? Let's look at the list, though, again, that there were the apostles, there were the prophets, there were the evangelists, and there were the shepherds and teachers. I'll give him that out of the group of four, that in that day, there were at least two of those that did have women using that. That means that there were women who were evangelists without question. Priscilla McQuilla. Priscilla was a woman and she was evangelizing with her husband. And then we also had prophets, women who would give what the word of the Lord is. However, they did not hold the office, they did not hold that office of being like an, especially like an apostle. We don't see one apostle, but he's going to make an assumption about someone. And I don't know how he makes this leap other than his conclusion taking him there. Junior is a female apostle according to Romans 16, 7. We know that there were women who prophesied in the Old Testament. Again, I'll leave that alone. But he says Junior was a female apostle according to Roman 16, 7. Let's just go to Roman 16, 7 and see if that's the case. In verse seven of Roman 16, Paul says, greet Andronikus and Junior, my kinsmen and fellow prisoners. They are well known to the apostles and they were in Christ before me. I just simply fail to see where he gets the idea that Junior was an apostle. Now, going back to the name Junior, the question is, was Junior an actual woman? We don't know. Because people make the assumption that Union is a woman because the name is feminine. That simply isn't enough to say that that is a woman. In Greek or in Hebrew, a word can be feminine or masculine without determining what the object or the noun is. For example, in Hebrew, the word Abba is actually feminine, but it refers to a man. So the same thing happened in Greek. We don't know if Junior is a woman or a man, but we do know for a fact that Junior is not an apostle. Let's look at the past again. Greet Andronikus and Junior, my kinsmen, meaning that they are Jewish, and my fellow prisoners. Which means that they are also Christians, believers. They are well known to the apostles and we know that because he says, because of the word that's used here, and twice apostoloist, which means to them by the apostles, they are known. Not saying that they are apostles. And so here, he makes an easy error that should not be made, especially by someone who is a pastor. This cannot be, these are things that no pastor, basic mistakes that should not be made, even amongst any Christian. And so it just calls, it begs the question, what hermeneutic is he employing? It just seems to be that there is one, obviously it's not a literal, historical, grammatical hermeneutic. That's clearly not the case here. And so I would love to know what the hermeneutic is that he is employing here as he's trying to interpret this passage. Mary Magdalene and the woman at the well in John 4 are functioning as evangelists. Mary Magdalene and the woman at the well were not functioning as evangelists. That was not what they, they just simply just told what had happened. The woman at the well in John 4 was not functioning as an evangelist, though she did let everyone know that this Jesus, that this Messiah, he might be here. And she goes and she tells the people of the town and they came and they said, we don't believe because of her, but because we have seen you ourselves and so forth. But to make the stress that she was an evangelist, we don't know that that's what she continued to do. She made the announcement one time and then that was that. Could it, is it possible? It's possible, but we don't know. But to make the assumption that she did, you can only do that if you're trying to build a case in here. There is no evidence whatsoever to state that she was an evangelist or Mary for that matter, because she went and told the, the disciples about Jesus. Jesus rise. We have no idea. Priscilla is a female teacher, according to Acts 1826. One thing that he does, and I've seen a lot of people make this assertion that Priscilla was this female teacher. Now, she's with her husband. What we do not know is to what extent she's actually teaching. Is she, is she just there? How much engagement is she involved in? I think it's probably safe to assume that she said some things that she was helping out, but to the degree that she was either leading or she was being a teacher, we simply don't know. The scripture doesn't give us enough. Let's look at the passage. He, he, he quotes. He says, in Acts 1826, he began to speak boldly. This person named Apollos began to speak boldly in the synagogue. But when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately. And when he wished to cross a cave, the brothers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him. So we see, speaking of the brothers encouragement, writing, writing to the, to the body, to encourage him and to accept him. I didn't say that Priscilla and Aquila, but, but the brothers did. Now, how much teaching did she give? We don't know. And so again, it would make, it would be a stretch to make this leap that she is a teacher. All we know is that her and her husband are together teaching and that they had met Paul. We don't know the flustent of their ministry. If it was just that, how much we don't know. And in case that's not enough, a woman named Phoebe is a teacher, according to Romans chapter 16, as she is tasked with delivering, reading and interpreting the letter to her audience, as was tradition. Again, a clear example of Isagesis, which means it's just, it would just be difficult to listen to teaching from him on other issues. Because if this is, if this is the hermeneutic that you employ, if you're going to constantly put in or use Isagesis to interpret the text, it's going to be hard to trust other things that you would say. Where is it told that she is reading and interpreting or having kind of teaching role with the people or over the people in this passage? Let's pull it up on the screen and let you all see. Romans 16 1, Paul is saying, I commend to you, our sister Phoebe, a servant. This is the issue right here, this particular word, servant, or we get the word deacon, or in this case, diaconum. As though that that was a particular role or an office. So let's go back to it and I'll make my point more on this deaconess in just a second. But he says, Phoebe, a servant of the church at Centria, that you may welcome her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints and help her in whatever she may need from you. For she has been a patron of many and of myself as well. Meaning that she was a benefactor, she's been helpful. Well, the word that's used here, this word for diaconum is the word for a minister, a servant, a helper. It does not ever mean that that is a particular office for her. There are many people that served as ministers, as servants. Angels are ministers. Are we to say that angels are also deacons? No, because a person uses the term generically as a servant or a minister does not mean that they are in that particular office. Now there is the office of a deacon. We'll look at that in just a little bit, but it even tells what a deacon must be if they are to be in that particular office. And it's clear, it's clear the two times it has brought up that person in that office must be a male, the same thing with a pastor. The context and the precedent of Ephesians 411 implies that the role of pastor can and will be filled by a woman. And if it means that then, then we've got some contradiction already because Paul has clearly stated, clearly stated that he does not permit a woman to have authority or to teach over a man. So, Pastor Mike, what about the other passages that many claim contradict this? Well, in 1 Timothy chapter two, verse 11 through 15, we must interpret that in a way that does not contradict other scripture, specifically Paul's and other's commendations of women leaders. So I don't know if you caught what he says. He says that we shouldn't interpret that passage as to contradict his interpretation of Ephesians 4. The problem is he is thoroughly misunderstood Ephesians 4. No scripture interprets scriptures and so this scripture and these scriptures should both be in harmony. And it's not just one passage, Mike, that we're looking at, to tell us that women cannot fulfill these roles as a pastor. There are multiple passages that we look at. You are taking this passage because you see women as apostles. You see women as prophets. You see women in your particular type of ministry that does not hold weight biblically, and we've been trying to address this. And because you believe this, well then you've got to make everything else fit and so there must be the possibility for women to be pastors. Because that's how you look at this text. Then other passages that don't say that have to be conformed and squeezed and turned and twisted to meet or to agree with that text. And actually his affirmation of women even speaking in church, which is found in 1 Corinthians 11.5. Most of Paul's strictest words about women occur in 1 Timothy and Ephesians. So let's go and look at this passage in 1 Timothy 2. Paul says, I desire then in every place that men, speaking in verse 8, that men should pray lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling. Now the word for men here is the word for androids. And so clearly he is speaking of males, not females. Now he's going to also bring in females. Look what he says about them. Verse 9, likewise, I mean, he's kind of, now he's comparing also that women, and here it is the word Ganiakas, women should adorn themselves respectful, pair with modesty, self-control, not with red hair or gold, pearls or costly attire. But with what is proper for women, who like sin, who profess godliness with good works. And he says, let the women gunay learn quietly with all submissiveness. What he says here, and here it is. I do not permit a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man. Rather, she should remain silent or quiet. Now, his issue is that because there were issues in that church, that it was only there for that church. But guess what? Paul wrote a lot of letters to churches that we don't have in the canon. And the reason why we have these particular letters, the reason why the Lord saw fit and inspired this writing, is because for us to glean and to learn from these writings. We don't have all the writings from Paul's writings to Corinth. We don't, we've got two letters, but he's had other letters. Matter of fact, in 1 Corinthians, he's referring to a previous letter or maybe previous letters that he's already given to them and responded back to them. And same thing here in 1 Timothy. So we should not take that what Paul is saying, by the way, even though Timothy was in Ephesus, Timothy didn't stay in Ephesus. So we don't know if, if the context of this is only dealing with the Ephesians church, but clearly the fact that it made the canon is that it's supposed to be used and even applied for the rest of us. And so he says, let a woman, he says, I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man. Many, I do not permit a woman to teach over a man or to exercise authority over a man. Both of those are in view of what she can't do over a man. And he gives the reason it has nothing really to do with so much of the commotion that's being raised or brought up by a lot of these women. Look what he says, look what his answer is. He says, after that four, verse 13, Adam was formed first then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became the transgressor, now recall back in Genesis what God stated. That she would be basically placed in a position behind the man, and that she would always strive after him, that the level or the authority or the order of the rank was placed by God from the beginning. God has not changed his mind on that and granted it's not an issue of ability. It's just an issue of subjection. It's just an issue of order. And so, yeah, there are some women who are talented. There are some women who can read and write and so forth, who can speak well. But that's not the issue. Giftedness is not the point. It's just being obedient to God. And that's why Paul brings up for Adam was formed first then Eve. There's a rank, there's a chronology to it, there's a hierarchy to it. That God placed and Paul is also bringing this in view as it relates to women in ministry. And you may not know that both of those letters were specifically addressed to the believers at Ephesus, which leads to the only real question. What was happening in Ephesus? The issue with that is though, then what do we do with the other times that Paul brings up women that's not dealing with Ephesus? Now, before we do that, let's go ahead and look at the qualifications of a pastor as well as a deacon in First Timothy. But then we're gonna look at it in Titus because Titus, was not written to him while he was in Ephesus. But then also we've got to look at First Corinthians, which is to the Corinthian church. So in First Timothy 3, he says about anyone designed to be an overseer or pastor, obviously, he says that he must be the husband of one wife. That clearly negates the possibility of a woman being a pastor. Because what is Timothy going to do? Timothy is not Romanian. It says Paul is teaching Timothy how to be a pastor, but also how to plant churches as well. And so his location won't just simply be in Ephesus. It'll be in other places as well, and he's giving an instruction. Paul could have said only in Ephesus. But no, he makes it clear that this is kind of all-encompassing. And then if we drop down, let's look at what Paul says about deacons. He says in First Timothy 3, verse 8, he says deacons likewise must be dignified, not double-tongued, not addicted to much wine, not greedy or dishonest. They must hold the mystery of the faith with the clear conscience. And then look what it says down here in verse 11, likewise their wives, their wives, the word is Gnychus. And so again, deacons have to also be meant to hold this position. Now, Paul doesn't just address Timothy with this. He also addresses this with Titus. In chapter one, verse five, he says, if anyone is above or close to the husband of one wife, of course, the word is used there again, mias Gnychus aner, which is one wife, male, or husband. So even to Titus has to be a male. And then if we look at what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 14, he says in verse 34, let's pull this up. He says, in all the churches of the saints, notice what he says, in all the churches of the saints. This word here is posseis, which means all of the church, not just Ephesus, Mike or anyone else who would disagree, not just Ephesus. Look what he says, in all the churches of the saints, the women should keep silent in church for they are not permitted to speak but should be in submission as the law also says. Now it's not bringing in view of the law, but it just says even the law says this as well. He says in verse 35, if there is anything they desire to learn, let them ask their husbands at home for their shame, for a woman to speak in church. And the point is that they can't say a word because they can obviously say amen. Hallelujah, they can pray, they can sing and so forth. That's not the issue. The issue is them leaning or teaching, speaking in that regard. And so what Mike is coming, the conclusion he's coming to and that him wanting to break this glass ceiling. Well, the glass ceiling that's there was placed there by God. And whatever you're trying to strive against, you're in this case you are literally going against God's teaching. And so it should be clear guys, while women do have a part to play, they have a ministry role. It is not in a role to where they can usurp authority, teach over man, have authority over man, they don't have that. Not because we don't want them, we don't like them, we don't love them, no, because God stated so in his scriptures. And therein lies the issue. When someone has an issue with the scriptures and you would lean on in this case your own feeling because it suits you or you have in this case again, if you reach a conclusion and your conclusion is going to guide and direct you. That is not proper for a pastor, nor for any leg member. We don't come up with a set of convictions and then read those convictions into the passage. Again, that's classic acts of Jesus. And that is a good way to make sure you thoroughly misunderstand the scriptures. And in doing so, especially as a pastor, you mislead the body. Amen.