When seeing and attending the confirmation services of Bishops by an organization, I am seeing women who are being ordained as Bishops.  I have read and studied the office of Bishop and have not understood nor found any of the ceremonial ordinations of women as Bishops, nor in God's Word have I found anything on women as Bishops.

 

1 Timothy 3 is the specific chapter speaking on the Office and Qualifications of the Bishop.  Is a Bishop also an Overseer or Superintendent or Elder or Chief Elder? 

 

Now, the Word of God, KJV, states "...If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work.  A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach; not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous; one that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity; (For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?) Not as a novice [one newly come to the faith], lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil..."  1 Timothy 3:1-7

 

As the head of his household, he is to plan, protect, and provide for his household which includes stewardship as he "ruleth well his own house..." (Titus 1:7).  We are to follow the Shepherd and Bishop of our souls, Jesus Christ (1 Peter 2:25).

 

This scripture, literally, is speaking of a man.  Any thoughts?

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I am not sure what you are talking about as to an attcak I did no such thing at you. Yet I need to make sure you understand what I am saying. Any one that calls themself a Christian reconstuctonist Christain is not a Christian at all.

Also White Christians in Ameria did not start slavery it was a bring over from Europe, the slave trade as we know it was in fact started by Mulism, this is a known fact of History. That is not to say that the Church in the US was slow to speak out against this it was. The Church has not always lived out/up to her calling, yet God is good that He raised men/women both White and Black in the Church in the US and Europe to give voice to the wrongs suffered by the slave and in His time slavery was ended.

As for the end of your post what does that have to do with slavery? I am not sure I follow you on that. I understand the text but not your point! 

Lovitha,

     In Ephesians Chapter 6 Paul is admonishing the believer to be in subjection to those in authority.  This would also support and conclude that God has an ordered and structured system which establishes authority within the church.

     Paul used the word "servant" (Greek - doulos) it is used to distinguish a bondservant an adjective, signifying "in bondage," is also used as a noun, and as the most common and general word for "servant," frequently indicating subjection without the idea of bondage.

     Matthew 8:9, "For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this [man], Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth [it]."  Here we find the centurion under authority and also having a servant under him.  What did Jesus say about "slavery" or this servant?  What did he do?

     Whether a person is a literal slave or not Paul was admonishing them that they are still representatives of the Lord.  Understand that throughout biblical history the people of God continuously entered into bondage/slavery as a direct result of disobedience to God's word. 

     His message remains the same today as we witness legalized slavery in the form of government and privately owned correctional institutions.  Many of the sentences are disproportional to the crime and appear to be racially biased.  If you have ever visited those in prison (ministry) they are to be encouraged that they are still a child of the King.  The word is the same yesterday...

A smart response my sister I like it! what is the rule? thats a good question.I think Jesus is the completion of the law and the truth itself. He is the final answer to everything in the law and prophets. Therefore he is the now word of God from God, because he is the Word (John 1;1).

If everything man debates finds its answer in Jesus, then that man has found truth, why? because Jesus is the Truth (John 10:10). Truth is truth only when issues finds its solution in Jesus!. So my question would be what conclusions do my brother or sister come to? If they dont end with Jesus, its not truth!

Paul.

 

Greetings my brother. May I add a thought in this interesting discusion and one may I say for the bold and the brave! however its good to see a variety of opinion.I think it helps us all to be enlarged" even if we dont agree with everything.

I totally admire my sister for bringing up this argument. For too long the church has hidden behind uncomfortable issues, however someone has to address them and this is a good place to do just that together., 

 

I think its unfair to call any one sexist just because they have a view either for or against women in ministry. Here's where I think we go wrong. The epistles as you know was not "given" by Paul or Peter, it was "written" by them. All scriptures are "given by God" and if its given by God then there are no sexist or racist viewpoints of God. It's God's world. which means Paul had no issues and was not bias,racist or sexist neither was he wrong.

Further to say Paul said this and Jesus said that is a misnomer. The Word (Jesus) gave us it all! its his book, he's the author and the Word. This means I can acept it all because I accept him. This also means I can accept the fact he's right and not prejudice, hes right and not sexist or racist, In fact there are no issues in the word, only in me!

Maybe we today forget that the Word (Jesus John 1:1) is its author. If we had folks believing this we would not have denominations and organisations believing parts rather we would everyone believing it all!

I totally agree with your final point, we are all one in Christ and it is the acceptance of this that makes both a man and a woman  trully at peace with our role in God and his kingdom. There is no struggle for those who are "in Christ. "  May be our argument should be like this who are those in Christ? how do we get "in" Christ and from my own observation and for what its worth, those in Christ are less likely to fight for position than those just in the church!

Thank you my brother for allowing me to respond. The Lord bless you mightily

Paul

Greetings Rev Anthony,

Thank you my brother for your kind response and sincerity. I must admit you gave a lot of content here and I must educate myself on it. To just respond on your notes without digesting it would be wrong.

I tend not to use labels as folks can then isolate me or put me in a religious department and then brand me something I am not, So you asked if I was a fundamentilst, I quite frankly wouldnt know what that entailed! I can only say I believe the bible, adhere to the apostles doctrine and know Jesus as my Lord and God.

Apart from that your response is well worth reading again, you have a lot of thought provoking content. In relation to Sister Lovitha, she has an excellent point also, "Its not there" in the book (women bishops) so why bring something into the church thats not in the book? what purpose would it serve? So I dont quite understand why a woman would chase after a title! or a man for that matter? Maybe its a carnal fleshly man made thing to satisfy the ego and give one status and control! I dont know? All I do know is. Each woman must judge her own heart on this.

My brother you are a blessing.

Regards and have a fab weekend.

Paul


     Genesis 3:16, "Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire [shall be] to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee."  The devil wants you to believe that the scriputures are not to be used today because they were written so very long ago. The devil wants you to pick and choose your scripture, then misinterpret the text so that it can be developed to meet your current day social agenda and lifestyle changes.  Women are still in pain (sorrow) during conception and the man (man of God) is still intended to be the head of the house.

    1 Corinthians 4:17, "For this cause have I sent unto you Timotheus, who is my beloved son, and faithful in the Lord, who shall bring you into remembrance of my ways which be in Christ, as I teach every where in every church."  Paul's foundational teaching was the same in every church so that the churches would not be confused.  God is not the author of confusion in the church today.

     Biblical history depicts disasterous consequences as a result of women who desire to function outside of their intended role which has been divinely ordered by God through his word.  Jezebel 's domination of her husband ended in the result of the nation of Israel falling into idolatry and witchcraft.  We also see "controlling and seducing spirits at work whenever women (people) operate outside of the natural order of God's divine plan according to his word (Adam & Eve). 

     A very dangerous and damaging philosophical premise is the "Cultural Relevance Philosophy" (CRP).  It's primary premise is that certain scriptures applied to certain churches at certain times in history because of certain cultural differences and that the bible is not to be taken literally if if does not meet modern day philosophical norms.  God's word is the same today....  God is not made to bend from his word.

     Promoters of CRP love to refute their position by quoting Galatians 3:28, "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus."  This scriputre has absolutely nothing to do with who qualifies as the spiritual leader or head of the church.  The scripture is talking about who qualifies for salvation in Jesus Christ.

     God has established and instituted "order" in his Kingdom.  When man/woman moves outside of what God has order we can only expect disorder within the family, church and country.  Remember that all scripture is good for doctrine.  We need to stop trying to change the scripture to meet standards, but start changing to meet and line up with the standard set forth in scriptures.

PITBULL you are completely right on all points and NOTHING else can add to this.

 

It is nothing but the truth.

     There are some who believe that woman are not allowed to preach and teach in the church today.  2 Kings 4:1 is indicating that the women is a prophetess not only by association (title), but because she was concerned with continuing the work and ministry of her husband the prophet.

     Preaching 2 Kings 4: 1-7, The text is saying that to many prophets (tess) are not speaking the truth to you, not proclaiming the unadulterated true word of God.  The prophetess says, "Thy servant my husband is dead; and thou knowest that thy servant did fear the LORD..."  If the prophet (ess') is not speaking the truth then they are not a servant of the Lord.  Whenever people are not speaking the truth then they have a self-serving purpose and an ulterior motive.  If you tell your spouse that you are working late but you are not really at work you are serving your own purpose.

     Truth and Knowledge (two sons) have been taken captive by the creditor.  The bible says that, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge..."  and what you don't know is going to cost you in the end.  

     2 Kings 4:2, "And Elisha said unto her, What shall I do for thee? tell me, what hast thou in the house? And she said, Thine handmaid hath not any thing in the house, save a pot of oil.  The prophetess declares that all she has is a pot of oil (Christ, Greek - anointed one) meaning to smear with oil.  Note:  That the prophetess was not concerned with the financial aspect and wealth associated with the oil.  The definition of the word pot means "a whole lot" like in a pot of gold.   

     The prophetess also was in subjection to Elisha in the text and not without a covering.  Revelation 2:20, "Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols."  Watch those prophetess who are not under subjection (covering) and spiritual authority established and ordained by God.

     Take a closer look at woman who do not operate according to the authority of God established within the Kingdom.  Rogue ministers who teach, seduce and have instituted counterfeit spirits which have been accepted within many churches today by both men and women operating under the Jezebel spirit.  Remember that every Kingdom has an ordered system of authority.      

      Maria Woodworth-Etter (1844-1924) the trance evangelist.  Her ministry manifestations began in 1885 years before the Azusa Revival." She received a spiritual renewal at a "Friends" meeting in 1879. So basically what we have is a woman, who received some type of spiritual power from a Quaker meeting.  Keep in mind that the Society of Friends, the Quakers, were originally a non-orthodox sect.  She would go into trances, people came to her while she was in a trance state and allegedly got "saved." She had the ability to lay hands on others and place them in a similar trance-state.

     The practice was not as widespread in Pentecostal circles after her death until the advent of another woman minister named Aimee Semple McPherson (1890-1944).  She was a traveling evangelist and she too had people fall out under the power in her ministry.  She was very controversial and she founded the Foursquare Gospel denomination, she died of a barbiturate overdose in 1944.  To this day charismatic believers ignore the fact that she was a divorcee, most likely faked her own kidnapping in order to spend time in an adulterous liaison (1926), and then died of a drug overdose. 

     The next major figure whose ministry was earmarked by multitudes being slain in the spirit was Kathryn Khulman (1907-1976). Kathryn committed adultery with a married man, who left his wife and children to marry Kathryn.  A few years later Kathryn divorced him and never remarried.

     We see the same Jezebel spirit at work in these women.  Benny Hinn modeled his ministry after Khulman's ministry.  Hinn has said that he is not himself when he is under the anointing and that his own children are afraid of him when he is under the anointing as he calls it.  Hinn looks insane as he carries on like Magneto (X-Men) putting his hands in the air and everyone falling down to the ground.

     Many people like this physical display of counterfeit power.  People always want a sign.  John 1:47, " Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!"  Jesus is saying is there anyone who is not going to be deceived by all of this trickery.  Most people want more than just trusting God by faith alone.

       Revelation 2:20, "Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols."  Watch those prophetess who are not under subjection (covering) and spiritual authority established and ordained by God.  Watch those fake Apostles who are using the "gold dust and oil" manifestation (trickery) to seduce the people of God. 

There is no biblical basis for female bishops.

 

I am so tired of people twisting scripture to make this right when NOWHERE in the Bible has this been stated.

 

It's amazing how these SAME people who take Galatians 3:28 and use it to defend women pastors and bishops will rebuke, condemn and judge homosexuals, lesbians and the transgendered.

 

It is hypocrisy!!!

 

As I heard one man preach, "When we do not follow the Bible as we are supposed to we start a slippery slope to hell."

 

And look what we have in the church today?!

 

You can't have it both ways.

 

 

GUIDE TO COUNTERFEIT (PLAY) CHURCHPosted by Pitbull on September 26, 2011 at 12:34pm in Preaching and Teaching
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1. Head Pushing & Falling Down: The devil wants you to fall back instead of falling on your face prostrate before the Lord. Falling forward is a sign of reverence before the King. John 18:6, "As soon then as he had said unto them, I am [he], they went backward, and fell to the ground." Here we have people coming to apprehend Jesus. They fell backward symbolizing that they were not able to take Jesus' life instead he gave his life as a willing sacrifice. The term "fall back" shows that an opposing (military) force was unable to win in battle. Whenever Jesus healed someone he told them to get up.

2. Women Operating as the Spiritual (Head) Leader: Imagine the "Lioness of the Tribe of Judah" A male lion has a mane because he is the head. A silverback is an an older adult male gorilla with grayish white hair on its back which designates him as the leader. God has an established order which designates authority in his church. Genesis 3:16, " Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire [shall be] to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee."

3. Children Preaching & Teaching to the Adults: Luke 2:46, " And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions." Jesus was not preaching or teaching as a child. He did not began his ministry until he was an adult. The bible admonishes the parents to train up a child. Most parents are letting their children run their house. The children are the one's doing the training today. The devil always perverts the system that God has ordained.
Lucifer wanted to be the head of God. The serpent influenced Adam & Eve that they could be on the same level as God.
Genesis 3:16 is a very very bad example because it is the curse for the woman for eating the fruit. Christ's death burial and resurrection has redeemed us from the curse of Sin and Death, and the curse of the Law. Why then are you still trying to bind them with a curse that they are clearly redeemed from?

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