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Order
in the House The obligation
to obey the Lord
In my paper “Service in the
Household of God”[1], I addressed
the obligation of servants in the Household of God to comply with His wishes
and His directives. Order in God’s Household – His
Church - is only achieved through obedience to the commands of the Master of
the Household, “For God is not a God of disorder but of peace” (1 Cor.14:33a) Even a 400 to one vote against the Divine Householder’s
wishes cannot change His will. (c.f. I
Kings 22:1-37) 9 For He
spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood
fast. 10 The
Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; He makes the plans of
the people of no effect. 11 The
counsel of the Lord stands forever,[2] What are the commands the modern
‘church’ is trying to weasel out from under.
(i) The requirement for women to be silent, i.e. in studious attention,
and (ii) for a Leader to be the husband of one wife. Now the command to the saints is to “Love and Obey”, and
among the obedience requirements are 1 Corinthians 14:33b-38 and the Selection
Criteria for the Office of the Word and the Sacraments in the Pastoral Letters;
1 Timothy and Titus. These are clearly
the Lord’s commands, through Paul, His chosen vessel. Let us backtrack a little: A. There were no female priests in the Old Testament, no not
one. Even Miriam – the sister of Moses
– was not a priest. WO supporters
should study WHY she became leprous.
Deborah and Hulda were NOT leaders in worship, i.e. priests. Deborah took a leading role in secular life
because Barak was not strong enough to do a man’s job as a man, Hulda could act
because the prophets Jeremiah and Zephaniah were not available; B. There were no female Bishops or Presbyters in the New
Testament. There is no record in the
New Testament that even one female was ordained or appointed by the laying on
of hands by a Bishop or Presbyter. Thus the argument that women were
serving in a Pastoral role in their own right is like a house built on
sand. Even Priscilla (Acts 18:24ff) did
not - in her own right - teach publicly, strictly speaking she did not even
teach (didaskein) Apollo at all, because Apollo already taught accurately about
Jesus. Priscilla and her husband had a
private conversation (an explanation at best) on how to best use Apollo’s
knowledge and skills in his current environment. Let us continue with claims about
church leaders: (i)
John 14:1-42, better know as the “Woman at the Well”. There is no evidence that this ‘wife of many
men’ was at any stage authorised to preach and/or teach. Note that preaching to men and teaching men
is what the WO faction in the LCA seeks.
The great rumour was “A Jewish Rabbi spoke to
me.” In the absence of social
intercourse between Jew and Samaritan that
was spreadable news. (ii)
John 20:1-18, again no evidence of preaching and/or
teaching. But a woman reporting the
missing of Jesus’ body from the grave.
Had she said; “The Lord has Risen, I told you he would!”, then one could
accept it in support of Women’s Ordination.
However, Mary Magdalene first runs to Peter and only after she had
reported the empty tomb did she see the risen Christ. (iii)
Romans 16:1-16, a. v
1 Phoebe, being a “helper” (diakonos is a generic term) in the church, agreed –
a helper, not a presbyter or bishop -, the gardener and the janitor are also
‘helpers’. b.
v 7 names two MEN; among prominent scholars, Dr Martin Luther translated
the Greek form of the second name in verse 7 as “den Junia”, a male, and the
Greek form of the second name in verse 15 as “die Julia”, a female. Furthermore Paul uses the same masculine
word for ‘kinsmen’ in verse 7 as he does in verse 21. b. v.
7, the ‘kinsmen’ Andronicus and Junia (Junianus) were well-known among the
Apostles. My favourite aunt was
well-known among the clergy of her local RC church for her devout life, but
that did not make her the Bishop.
Likewise neither Andronicus nor Junianus can be said to be Apostles on
the mere strength of being well known to the Apostles. Page 45 of LTJ 39/1 contains the
sentence: “… , the letters of Paul to Timothy indicate clearly that those who
listened most eagerly to the false teachers at Ephesus were women.” Here I wholeheartedly agree, we are in the
same situation again. This feminist
driven concept that women can be ordained with authority over all of a congregation
is and must remain to be seen as an error.
It cannot be authorised or supported by Scripture. Martin Luther says that women can and indeed
must lead where no suitable male is available, and he is right, but this is the
only situation where trained women may lead.
Deborah (Judges 4:4-10) is a clear example of where a woman has had to
take the lead when the weak-kneed, lily-livered General Barak would not go to
war without the presence of the stronger Deborah. Let’s see what St. Paul writes; (i)
1 Cor 14:33b - 37; “As in ALL churches of the saints, … let
him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the
commandments of the Lord.” (ii)
1 Tim. 3:14b – 15; “I am writing you these instructions
so that … you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God’s
household.” Apostolic directions direct from
the top, not only for the people in Corinth or Ephesus, but so that people know
how they ought to conduct themselves in ALL the churches of the saints, i.e.
the WHOLE household of God. Then and now, there and here! Thus it becomes an attitude
toward Instructions, ignoring authorised instructions is plain disobedience. Christ Jesus Himself states at
various times that obedience is an essential item in the life of a saint: A. Matthew 7:22-23; 22“Many
will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name,
cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23“And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart
from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ The Greek word for lawlessness used here
means “without authority” B. John
14:23-24a 23Jesus answered
and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My
word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home
with him. 24“He who does not love Me does not keep My words. C. John
15:5-15a 5“I am the vine, you are the
branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me
you can do nothing. 6“If
anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and
they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. 7“If you
abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it
shall be done for you. 8“By this My
Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My
disciples. 9“As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My
love. 10“If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just
as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. 11“These
things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that
your joy may be full. 12“This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have
loved you. 13“Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s
life for his friends. 14“You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. 15“No
longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is
doing. The Saints do not have to understand WHY this is so, we are
not like God to know it all, we are just to obey out of love and faith. Obedience without faith comes difficult in
today’s age where self determination is almost worshipped as a good attribute,
but obey we must. I can only end with the advice given in Proverbs 1:32-2:8 32 For
the turning away of the simple will slay them, And the complacency of fools will destroy them; 33 But
whoever listens to me will dwell safely, And will be secure, without fear of evil.” 1 My
son, if you receive my words, And treasure my commands within you, 2 So
that you incline your ear to wisdom, And apply your heart to understanding; 3 Yes,
if you cry out for discernment, And lift up your voice for understanding, 4 If
you seek her as silver, And search for her as for hidden
treasures; 5 Then
you will understand the fear of the Lord,
And find the knowledge of God. 6 For
the Lord gives wisdom; From His mouth come knowledge and
understanding; 7 He
stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk
uprightly; 8 He
guards the paths of justice, And preserves the way of His saints. C.P.J. ’Barney’ Bahnerth Lay Chaplain |