Participants: Pr. Isaac Olatunji
Series Code: WOHII
Program Code: WOHII000015A
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00:14 We want to welcome everybody to this powerful presentation
00:18 on Ellen White's view on women in ministry. 00:21 This is Dr. Isaac Olatunji a professor at Oakwood University 00:25 and also pastor of the Gulf States Conference of Seventh 00:28 Day Adventists. Shall we bow our heads for a word of prayer? 00:30 Eternal Father we come before you in prayer asking you for 00:34 the anointing of the Holy Spirit who is the great Teacher of 00:37 truth Lord. Illuminate Your Word Lord and this presentation 00:41 and as it goes worldwide, may souls be blessed, encouraged 00:45 and strengthened because we have a more sure word of prophecy. 00:49 We thank you for answering this prayer. In Jesus' name we pray. 00:53 The Bible says in the book of 2 Timothy, chapter 3 00:57 and verse 16, I hope you have your Bibles, as we turn to 01:00 2 Timothy chapter 3 and verse 16 as we deal with this issue of 01:04 Women's Ordination, it has become a subject of most, great 01:08 importance in God's Remnant Church and I want to assure you 01:12 brothers and sisters that the Bible has the answers to this 01:15 issue. Now the Bible says in the book of 2 Timothy chapter 3 01:19 chapter 3, verse 16, the Bible says 01:38 I don't mean to call it necessarily a doctrine per se 01:40 but dealing with the doctrine of ecclesiology as it relates 01:43 to women in ministry, let me make that correction 01:46 Now in this issue here of women in ministry, women's ordination 01:51 we wanna let you know that again that God has the answer. 01:54 Now this issue here stands or falls on the issue of how we 01:58 interpret not only the Bible but how we interpret the 02:01 writings of Ellen G. White, we call it in theology Hermeneutics 02:04 So let me give you a scripture on this from the book of 02:07 Psalms chapter 33 verse 11. Because some argue it from the 02:11 cultural context, it was for their culture at that time, or 02:16 all kinds of other, how should I say, philosophies based 02:20 on that. But as we said the Bible is profitable for all 02:23 things. The Bible says in the book of Psalms 33:11, I love 02:27 this Scripture. The Word of God is a wonderful, but it's the 02:30 most powerful book in the world The Bible says in Psalms 33:11 02:47 So brothers and sisters what God wrote in the 1st century on this 02:51 issue of women's ministry, women's ordination applies to every 02:55 other culture and all generations all the way down 02:58 to the end of time and with that let me hear you say Amen! 03:01 Oh, it's gonna be good today Let me show you some things here 03:05 that the Lord has put upon my heart. What we wanna do as we 03:11 deal with before we deal with what Ellen White has had to say 03:15 on this issue, we have to go to the greater light, the Bible. 03:19 Amen. We wanna affirm that this book commissions men and women 03:25 in ministry. Matthew 28:19, turn with me to Matthew 28:19 I know 03:29 that we know it by heart but we wanna go to the Bible. The Bible 03:32 talks about the commission God has given men and women. 03:36 Because the church is composed of men, women and children 03:40 and Jesus said in verse 19 04:00 This gospel commission is not only for men but for women 04:03 to teach and preach this ever lasting gospel so that Jesus 04:07 can come back. Jesus says the same thing in Mark 16:15 04:15 So this commission to get the gospel out is for all, men and 04:20 women to finish the work and both sexes are needed as we 04:24 meet the demands of time. John 14:12, the Bible says 04:28 one of my favorite scriptures as we talk about commissioning 04:32 His people to go and finish the work, the Bible says, John14:12 04:49 So Jesus commissions men and women by the power of the 04:52 Holy Spirit to finish His work and we're gonna talk about 04:55 this most powerful issue as we deal with what Ellen White has 04:59 has to say about women in ministry. Now, because the Bible 05:03 has the answer we have to go to the Bible. Am I right, somebody? 05:07 The Bible has the answer. 05:19 So on this issue, there's a right way to divide the issue 05:22 and there's a wrong way. Am I right, somebody? So it's very 05:26 important that we study this issue out and I like what our 05:29 President Ted Wilson said on this issue. 05:32 Recently, where President Ted Wilson said, 05:55 The Bible makes it very plain that the Spirit of God will 05:58 lead us into how much truth? All truth. So therefore, there's 06:01 a truth in here. So yes, this issue has been a controversial 06:06 issue. Some places it's divisive on all points but I want to read 06:11 to you a statement from the Spirit of Prophecy. This is from 06:13 the 1888 material, page 904. The Sermon of the Lord's Day 07:03 Can we say Amen to that? So what God says here, we shouldn't 07:07 be fearful of what anybody will think of us because we may take 07:09 a certain stand. We heard that right. Our Constitution and God 07:13 given right to do that. Now on this issue, Elder Dan Jackson 07:18 President of North American Division rightfully said 07:27 So as I present this message, I present it in Christian love 07:31 sincerity but with firmness and balance to see what God said 07:35 on this issue and let the people of God make the right decision 07:40 Now as we deal with this issue about Ellen White and women in 07:44 ministry we will be going to the writings of Ellen White which do 07:47 affirm women in ministry. But we wanna let you know that as 07:52 she said, her writings are a lesser light leading to the 07:55 greater light, the Bible. Lesser light does not mean less 07:58 inspired. It doesn't mean less authoritative, but the function 08:02 of her writings must be in harmony and is in harmony 08:06 with Biblical principles. So we gotta get out of this book first 08:09 and then as we read the Spirit of Prophecy we will see how she 08:13 correlates and how she harmonizes with what God has 08:16 already said. And I like what she says in Great Controversy 08:38 Why? Because the Bible is known as the Canon. And the word Canon 08:43 means the measuring stick. Which means that any other 08:46 revelation, teaching, outside of this Book or that claims to come 08:50 from the Bible must be in harmony with this Bible 08:54 or it cannot stand the test of Isaiah 8 where we know it says 08:58 to the Law and to the Testimony She says, 09:04 Now this issue of women in ministry falls under the 09:07 doctrine, in systematic theology of ecclesiology or the study 09:10 of the church. So what happens is this right here, the revealer 09:13 of doctrines and the test of experience is very important. 09:24 Very important principle. When ever we read anything from 09:27 Sister White we got to understand the Spirit that God 09:29 gave her. Even her own writings she said must be subject unto 09:33 the Bible. But we thank God that we have a more sure word 09:36 of prophecy and she herself says her writings never contradict 09:40 the Bible. She says, quote. 09:58 So if there's a teaching on this issue it must be in accordance 10:01 with this, am I right? If somebody has an experience 10:03 or somebody says they have a calling it must be in 10:06 correlation to what God has already revealed. And so 10:09 the Spirit of God does not and cannot contradict itself. 10:12 So what we wanna do, we wanna look at some Scriptures to show 10:16 how the Bible affirms women in ministry. Because brothers and 10:19 sisters we need both. Am I right somebody? 10:22 And before I read that I wanna just thank God for my precious 10:25 mother sleeping in Jesus awaiting the first resurrection 10:29 who the Lord used in ministry, the ministry of the home 10:33 to bring me to the cross. And I thank God and I affirm all 10:37 my sisters in ministry who were instrumental in my conversion 10:42 I thank God for my Bible workers I still call them Bible workers 10:45 in the Allegheny East Conference Sister Melanie, she knows who 10:48 she is, who did labor among me and my family to bring me 10:53 to the truth, Amen. And I still can never forget those Sabbath 10:58 School classes, those new believers classes 11:00 at First Church in Washington D.C. and I thank God for women 11:03 like that as well as for every other woman ministering. Now, 11:07 I notice this right here, the Bible affirms women in ministry 11:09 so throughout the Bible, looking at some notes here, women 11:12 are shown to be involved in ministry. Could we say Amen 11:15 to that? There are several examples, like Deborah who was 11:18 a judge in Israel. The Bible talks about it in the book of 11:21 Judges, chapter 4 and verse 4. In the book of Exodus chapter 15 11:26 we see Miriam who was a prophetess. And notice this 11:29 right here we have in 2 Chronicles chapter 34, let's 11:32 look at 2 Chronicles chapter 34 the Bible talks about another 11:35 woman and I like this right here because I specialize 11:38 in teaching on the writings of Ellen G. White and I know that 11:41 there's some outside of our fold who look with negativity 11:45 upon women prophesying but the Bible does support women 11:48 prophesying, what do you say out there? The Bible says, in the 11:52 book of 2 Chronicles, chapter 34. The Bible says in 11:55 2 Chronicles chapter 34 and verse 22, the Bible talks about 12:00 about a certain woman who was used in ministry at a very 12:04 serious time in the history of God's church. The Jews were 12:08 about to go into Babylonian captivity but yet God raised up 12:11 a woman, the Bible says in verse 22 12:42 So we see that not only can a man give a Thus saith the Lord 12:45 a woman, anointed by the Holy Spirit called by God can give a 12:49 Thus saith the Lord, as well too 13:07 And she gives more of her prophecy in the other verses 13:09 So we see right here that God speaks to a woman, am I right 13:12 somebody? God used a woman in prophetic ministry. So we see 13:16 Huldah who was a prophetess. Let's look at the book of Luke 13:20 chapter 2, verse 36. The New Testament affirms women in 13:23 ministry as well too. And Luke chapter 2, verse 36 and I'm 13:27 gonna read to you some statements from the Spirit 13:30 of Prophecy. It's not every statement but enough to make 13:33 the point and to confirm what the Bible has already said 13:36 on the subject. The Bible says in the book of Luke, chapter 2 13:40 verse 36, do you have it? Amen. 14:06 The Bible does not talk about her prophesying but the Bible 14:08 recognizes her as a prophetess meaning that she gave prophetic 14:12 word, prophetic counsel to the church. She definitely was 14:15 involved in ministry and with that I will say Amen. 14:18 I wanna give you another Scripture in the book of Acts 14:20 chapter 18, verse 26. Acts chapter 18, verse 26. 14:24 Let's go to Acts the 18th chapter and we're gonna look 14:28 at verse 26 and we just wanna give God the praise for His Word 14:32 because brothers and sisters we have more sure word of prophecy 14:36 The Bible says in Acts chapter 18, verse 26. The Bible says 14:58 We see a woman here in ministry here with her husband. 15:01 And I'm pretty sure she was giving a word to the young man 15:04 who got converted, Amen. So we see here women in ministry 15:07 and one more Scripture we're gonna look at here is the book 15:10 of Romans 16, verse 1. And we maybe able to visit this back 15:15 again before we close. And the book of Romans 16, verse 1 15:19 The apostle Paul and one thing I wanna share with you on this 15:21 issue, on Women in Ordination I thank God that this same 15:26 author of this book was the same author in Timothy and Titus 15:29 and as well as 1 Corinthians. Where God called one man 15:33 to talk about this issue. So you can't put Peter against 15:39 for himself. The Bible says in the book of Romans 16:1 16:02 Paul himself affirms women in ministry. The word serving 16:06 comes from the word where we get the word deacon. She served 16:09 as what somebody calls deaconess or a congregational servant 16:13 ministry but yet what we're gonna do, we gonna show you 16:16 that what she did here as a minister doing ministry for 16:21 the church did not contradict what Paul said in other writings 16:24 And we'll look at another one right here. There were women 16:26 that played a prominent role in the ministry of Jesus and 16:29 for time's sake we're gonna give you Matthew 28: 1 to 10 16:32 for your research, Matthew 28 1 through 10 and there's other 16:36 Scripture examples, Luke chapter 8 verse 3. Luke chapter 23 16:44 verse 49 and then John chapter 1 through 46, 12:1 to 8 16:51 John chapter 11: 1 to 46, chapter 12: 1 to 8 16:56 and so we see this right here women along with Jesus working 17:00 in ministry. But what we wanna show you is this, further no 17:03 spiritual gift is limited. Is what somebody? to men 17:09 in the list of the New Testament spiritual gifts of 1 Corinthians 17:12 chapter 12, Romans 12 and 1 Peter chapter 4. 17:16 And women were commanded to edify the body of Christ 17:20 which included teaching according to the book of Titus 17:22 chapter 2 verse 4 and as well as prophecy. The Bible says 17:40 So we see that right here as well as everything else. 17:44 So the Bible affirms that women have an incredibly important 17:48 role in God's church throughout the ages. That hasn't changed. 17:53 However, even though men and women both serve the Lord 17:56 in significant ways we should not conclude that God has 17:59 intended men and women to function in the same capacity 18:03 and that's very, very important. You know football, just using 18:07 analogy in football for those that watch football, 18:11 all football players are equal. Am I right? But all don't have 18:15 the same role. One has to be a quarterback, one has to be a 18:19 wide receiver but the most important position is the center 18:22 Because unless the center hikes the ball the quarterback can't 18:25 do anything. Well we all know the quarterback usually gets all 18:28 the glory and those kind of things, but every position 18:31 in the church is important. Paul says in Corinthians that 18:35 those with higher gifts cannot look down at those with lesser 18:38 gifts and vice versa. All of the gifts of the Spirit are 18:40 important. What we wanna do right now for the next couple 18:43 of minutes, I'm gonna read what the Bible, read what the Spirit 18:47 of Prophecy says on affirmation on women in ministry. 18:50 Now, we're all in agreement that women as well as men 18:55 are qualified to do ministry. Am I right? Now what we wanna do 18:59 is read what the Spirit of Prophecy says in correlation 19:02 and harmony with Biblical Principles. Got some statements 19:04 here, reading from Review and Herald 19:41 Then she says in Letter 77, 1898 20:02 It's very clear. We need sisters in the ministry. 20:06 Testimonies to the Church, volume 9, page 128 20:20 Evangelism, Page 472. 20:32 We're going to come back to that as we deal with this issue. 20:35 Notice this right here, this is Letter 54, 1909 20:59 Going to read on, Evangelism page 472. 21:03 This is also in Letter 169, 1900. 21:24 Then she goes on to say who were the instruments of this. 21:43 Amen! Listen to this right here. 21:46 I'm gonna read some more. This is from Letter 84, 1900 21:52 Letter 84, 1910 excuse me. 22:34 That goes back to Sister Melanie who was my Bible worker 22:37 to where every Sabbath, Oh how I loved those new believers 22:39 classes. We'd go through Amazing Facts, we'd go through 22:41 Revelation Seminar and just to see her teach the gospel 22:44 prepared me for baptism and when I got baptism she did a 22:47 good job of making sure I under stood the Adventist message. 22:50 So I praise God for that. And she concludes by saying 22:53 there's a wide field of service for women as well as men 22:57 Can I just keep reading? Can I keep reading? This is good news 23:02 It says women are, from Review and Herald, December 19, 1878 23:18 Let me keep reading. Testimonies Volume 6, page 118 23:58 With that, let me hear you say Amen. I praise God for the 24:03 Spirit of Prophecy. Review and Herald, December 19, 1878 24:06 continuing, she says, quote 24:27 Oh, let me just keep reading, let me give you a couple more, 24:29 then let me get into the real issue. This is from 24:32 Review and Herald, August 26, 1902 25:21 Very important. I have women in my churches that I need them 25:28 to visit certain people that I should not be visiting. Amen. 25:32 Just that woman's touch to soften the hearts. 25:46 Oh this is powerful. Letter 31 1984. 26:15 Let me just read on. Evangelism page 465. I kind of chuckled 26:22 when I read this. You'll see why. 26:41 Some will talk a hole in your head. 27:01 Oh I tell you, so much stuff. Let me keep going on. 27:04 Time is of the essence. Maybe I'll come back to a couple later 27:09 What we want to do, we really want to get to the bottom line 27:13 This is from Evangelism, page 457 27:37 I thank God for them. Let me see if I can read one more. 27:40 This is from Letter 108, 1910 and then we'll get to the issue 28:05 I've come to the last couple before we close, but what 28:09 we want to do is get to the real issue. It's plain. 28:12 The Bible supports women in ministry. The Spirit of Prophecy 28:15 operating, highlighting Biblical principles affirms women in 28:19 ministry. So it's not, as we all know the purpose of this 28:23 Symposium to demean women in any way. Am I right? 28:27 But what we wanna do is be truthful and firm and consistent 28:31 about what the Bible says. The real issue is, does the Bible 28:34 and the writings of Ellen White support women serving 28:36 as ordained pastors in the eldership, bishopric function 28:42 that's the issue. Not whether women can speak or teach. 28:46 But should she be ordained as a pastor in the eldership, 28:49 bishopric function? And thank God the Bible has the answer. 28:52 Now in the Bible we see a couple of things. Just gonna 28:56 give you the reference in the book of Acts 14, verse 23. 28:59 You can write this down. In the book of Acts 14, verse 23. 29:02 We see that the Bible says that elders were ordained. 29:05 In Titus chapter 1 and verse 5 we see Paul commissioning Titus 29:11 to ordain elders in every city so we see that elders were to be 29:15 ordained. Now one thing I will say before I go on. As I have 29:19 watched arguments from both sides, watched a certain 29:23 constituency meeting last year, not too long ago where one 29:26 of the proponents for women's ordination plainly said that 29:28 if we could ordain women as elders then we should ordain 29:33 them as pastors. Now I had to agree with him from that 29:37 philosophy standpoint, not that I agreed with his conclusion. 29:40 Because in the history of the Seventh Day Adventist Church 29:43 there were no woman elders till 1973 29:49 where the first woman elder was appointed and ordained 29:53 in an ordination service. We quote where Paul says 29:57 in Timothy for ordination of elders and when ministers 30:02 are ordained Seventh Day Adventist ministers 30:04 and I'm sure ministers of other denominations, the same text 30:08 is used. Now look at this. If a woman, and being a woman 30:13 in the church is being ordained as elder with the same text 30:17 that Seventh Day Adventist ministers are being ordained 30:19 that man, the person who said that had a point. 30:24 So the real issue is can a woman be an elder. If she could be 30:29 an elder then she could be ordained. We can say case closed 30:33 But if she cannot or should not then brothers and sisters 30:38 the issue is clear. One thing I want to present to you 30:41 is God's Word. 1 Timothy, chapter 2, verse 11 through 13 30:49 talks about the role of men and women in the church 30:52 The Bible makes it very plain in verses 11 through 13 30:55 Reading the text we've already read before in other programs. 31:06 In the book of 1 Timothy chapter 3 verses 1 through 7 31:10 he's already laid the ground work in chapter 2, verses 11-13 31:14 Therefore when it comes to 1 Timothy when he says husband 31:17 of one wife, able to manage his own home etc., he was very 31:22 gender specific. And of course in Titus, chapter 1 verse 5-6 31:26 he uses the term husband of one wife. Seventh Day Adventist 31:30 Bible commentary, page 296, now this is not Ellen White 31:34 this is the commentator. Now 7BC, volume 7 page 296 says 32:02 Where's this found at? It's the Seventh Day Adventist 32:06 Bible Commentary page 296. This is from the commentator. 32:10 Now the term husband of one wife the word husband, comes from the 32:14 Greek word Amer which typically means a male spouse and is very 32:19 interesting that in the book of Matthew chapter 1, verse 16 32:24 as it talks about the birth of Jesus the Bible uses almost 32:27 the same term but instead of saying husband of one wife 32:31 it puts the name of the husband and the wife and of course 32:34 you know the parents of Jesus were Joseph and Mary. The Bible 32:37 says in Matthew 1:16, Joseph, the husband of Mary which was 32:43 his one wife. So they make it very plain that when Paul was 32:47 writing about who could be a bishop or elder he was very 32:51 gender specific. That may not be popular, it may not be 32:54 politically correct, but this is the will of God based on the 32:58 Scriptures because God simply knows what's best. But even Paul 33:02 appealed to culture. Not the culture of any male dominated 33:06 society, but a sinless perfect culture where the Bible says 33:10 everything He made was good. He said Adam was first formed 33:16 then Eve. Spirit of Prophecy says in Bible Commentary 33:21 volume 1, that Christ, not Christ, that Adam was king 33:25 in Eden. So if he was king in Eden you know who the queen was. 33:31 So the thought that Paul is saying is that elders or bishops 33:36 were to be qualified males. And notice I say qualified because 33:40 all men do not qualify. Now notice what the Spirit of 33:44 Prophecy says. Manuscript Release volume 5, page 449 34:32 You see the word, his and he and man in there which means that 34:36 she's talking about a qualified male or who should be a 34:40 qualified male. Now some may say that was probably generic. 34:43 Notice this right here at the time of this writing there were 34:46 no women, at the time of this writing she says there were no 34:50 women elders in the Seventh Day Adventist church. 34:53 The first woman elder in the SDA church happened in the 1970s 34:57 Therefore, we can conclude rightfully that she was 35:00 referring to males in this statement. There were no women 35:04 elders in the early Adventist church. In the same thought 35:09 the editorial from the Signs of The Times, December 19, 1878 35:13 December 19, 1878, Signs of the Times which will be page 320 35:45 Now before I read on don't look at this the wrong way. 35:48 If there's anybody looking at this the wrong way, Ellen White 35:52 though she talks about men and women being physicians she makes 35:55 a very plain distinction saying that women physicians have to 35:59 work for women. And she makes it very plain that women should 36:04 be the only ones who should be midwives. Which today 36:08 gynecologists and obstetricians. And she explains why 36:12 and when you read it you can understand from a common sense 36:15 standpoint why she would say it. So what happens is if I was 36:17 a physician, if I'm going to follow the blueprint, God's 36:20 divine blueprint there are certain restrictions even 36:23 as a physician. Notice this right here. 36:48 And not one word of rebuke from the prophet came to this person. 36:52 But somebody says, Dr. Olatunji didn't Ellen G. White say 37:06 Brothers and sisters, she did say that. But brothers and 37:11 sisters that's what it says. But the question is what does it 37:15 mean? If I say I am gay, I better qualify that right now 37:21 am I right? Because there are two different issues. Am I right 37:25 But I'm happy, are you with me? I am cheerful, are you with me? 37:29 Am I right? Not the other. Amen. So what happens is this right 37:34 here. So what she says about women being pastors of the 37:36 flock of God, the Spirit of Prophecy makes it very plain 37:38 that men and women can become pastors of the flock of God 37:42 I have no problem with that. So what we gonna do is we'll define 37:46 in these last few moments what does it mean by a pastor? 37:49 And I got some good news for you. God has two definitions 37:53 of a pastor. And we're gonna read it from the Bible and 37:55 Spirit of Prophecy. In the strictest sense, in what sense? 37:58 in the strictest sense, elders and bishops who oversee churches 38:03 are to be pastors. Ellen White says in Manuscript 43, 1907 38:24 Now, number 2. In the broader sense, in the what sense? 38:27 Many women can be pastors who do pastoral duties among the 38:33 congregation or institution, this is very important, where 38:36 they're not functioning as an ordained elder, or do not have 38:40 the function as ordained elder or bishop over the congregation 38:43 Example. Chaplains. We have hospital chaplains, military 38:47 chaplains, we have chaplains on college campuses. Men and women 38:51 who do pastoral labor. And I thank God for that. I have 38:54 colleagues in ministry who happen to be women that are 38:57 chaplains and to that I say keep on pastoring in the 39:00 chaplaincy role. Do you understand what I'm talking 39:02 about? But they're not serving or functioning as ordained 39:06 bishops and elders. Notice this right here. Chaplains, deacons 39:08 deaconesses, Bible workers, etc. So in the broader sense 39:13 men and women pastoring in this function without holding the 39:16 office or title of an elder is Scriptural. Notice this here. 39:20 Let me give you another key thought. Ephesians 4:11 39:24 Go to Ephesians 4:11 for me, Ephesians chapter 4, verse 11 39:29 We want to look at something. Ephesians 4:11. The Bible makes 39:33 it very plain that when Jesus led captivity captive, 39:36 the Scripture says that he gave certain gifts unto men. 39:51 And we know in Corinthians that teaching and prophesy is a 39:54 spiritual gift. So we must conclude that evangelists 39:57 pastors and apostles are gifts of the Spirit as well too. So 40:02 I believe that these gifts here are gender inclusive. 40:06 Which means men and women can function as apostles, prophets, 40:10 evangelists, pastors in the broader sense and teachers. 40:14 So therefore, there is no contradiction. Let's break it 40:17 down. So a bishop or an elder can function as a pastor 40:21 teacher, evangelist, apostle and a prophet. And most of the time 40:26 they do. But those with these gifts, these same gifts 40:31 do not have to be a bishop or an elder in order to perform 40:36 all these gifted functions. Keep that in mind. So I'm an 40:40 ordained elder. I function in these five capacities. But what 40:44 happens is this right here. They're also people who are 40:47 not ordained elders or bishops who function in the same 40:51 capacity including pastor. I know pastors who are not 40:55 ordained bishops but they pastor doing self supporting work 40:59 or chaplaincy ministries and the like. So let's look at this 41:02 thought right here. All bishops were pastors but not all pastors 41:08 were bishops. Keep that in mind. Let me give you an example. 41:13 Sister White. Now she wasn't an elder or bishop? But she 41:18 functioned as a gifted prophet. Am I right? She didn't need 41:21 that there. Indeed women can function as pastors from the 41:24 spiritual gifts standpoint. And as I said before, there are men 41:27 as well as women who work in pastoral care not congregational 41:31 bishops and elders. So what do we want to do now? 41:33 Let's look at the duties of a pastor outlined by E.G. White 41:37 Due to time's sake this is not exhaustive but I believe this 41:40 is clear. The Spirit of Prophecy says in the book Gospel Workers 41:45 page 337. Gospel Workers page 337. 41:58 Now she's talking about this in the context of a minister. 42:04 to house. Am I right? Can she teach? House to house? Converse? 42:10 House to house? Pray with each each family house to house? Amen 42:16 And they shouldn't work alone either. Jesus said, two and two. 42:31 Let me give you another one. Testimonies, volume 5, page 23 42:55 And we need women to fulfill that role as well, Amen. 42:59 Let me read to you another one. This is from Elder William Fagel 43:04 who is the current Assistant Director of the Ellen G. White 43:08 Estate dealing with this issue. It says, 43:39 Whether it's a man or a woman. Notice this right here. 43:43 Key point. A woman with a spiritual gift in pastoring 43:47 who's been divinely given that spiritual gift should not be 43:51 denied from functioning in that pastoral capacity. Can function 43:55 in its capacity without violating. 1 Timothy 2:12 43:59 which forbids women usurping authority over men in the 44:02 congregation which means she does not have to be an elder 44:05 or bishop to be a pastor. So, the lesser light, the Spirit of 44:12 Prophecy is in connection with the greater light, the Bible. 44:18 So as a woman being a pastor of the flock of God it has to be 44:21 in this context. Notice this right here. When I read to you 44:24 this right here. As we come to the conclusion, 'men and women 44:31 are called by God to finish the Gospel commission, we can say 44:34 Amen to that. We need the labor of both sexes in order to meet 44:39 the unique demands of the present times. There are women 44:44 who are now serving, that I know, as Conference Departmental 44:47 workers, as Youth Directors, Personal Ministries, Women's 44:49 Ministries and other ministries and others are doing pastoral 44:52 care as chaplains etc. as well as other ministerial functions 44:57 that are not in violation of 1 Timothy chapter 2, verse 12. 45:01 Secondly, Ellen White's statement of Testimonies, 45:05 volume 6, page 322 does not contradict the writings of Paul 45:09 as it relates to eldership in the church. The Bible states 45:13 that qualified men are to be elders or bishops over their 45:18 churches who must function as a pastor. That's inherent in a 45:24 bishopric or an eldership. But what happens as Ellen White says 45:27 is not in contradiction. Notice this right here 45:31 Pastoral work in its broader sense can be done by women 45:35 who have the spiritual gift of pastoring. Which does not 45:39 necessitate them holding the office of an elder or bishop 45:44 Pastoring is a spiritual gift but eldership is an office. 45:47 Let's look at 1 Timothy chapter 3. Let's see what the Bible says 45:52 In my last point is that Ellen White's statement must be 45:55 interpreted within this light if she's to be in harmony 45:58 with Scripture. The Bible says in 1 Timothy Chapter 3, 46:03 as a matter of fact let's go to chapter 5 because, uh 46:07 I don't want to leave this out and I want to read a couple 46:10 more statements, we got sometime There is a new argument, maybe 46:16 a new argument, Pastor Bohr that has been brought up 46:20 to substantiate women as elders Now when I saw it I was shocked 46:25 because I'm like this person has a PhD, I'm like you should know 46:28 better from an exegetical stand point but we gonna read it 46:30 anyway. Let's look at 1 Timothy chapter 5 and verse 1 and 2 46:35 and then we gonna come with a suggested solution to this issue 46:40 The Bible says in 1 Timothy chapter 5, verses 1 and 2. 46:45 Let's look at verse 1. Do you have it? 47:03 The new argument that's been goin round, it says here 47:08 Elder woman, it says here, a woman can be an elder. 47:12 You're laughing because you know that that's not what the 47:15 text is saying. That's purely eisegesis, am I right somebody? 47:20 That's from a PhD but people see what they see. But it says that 47:25 the elder woman as mothers. Now when it says elder women 47:27 it's talking about age. Am I right somebody? Amen. It says 47:31 elder women as mothers and the younger as what? sisters. So we 47:35 see a correlation between older and younger, so the context 47:39 yes, it maybe the same Greek word but what happens is this 47:42 right here, it's talking about something completely different 47:45 Have you ever heard the term respect your elders? Amen. 47:49 I'm not talking about congregation elders, those that 47:51 are older in age. Let's look at Titus, chapter 2. The Bible 47:56 gives the answer to what he meant by elder women. 47:59 The Bible says, now you already know what the answer is 48:01 but let's look at Titus chapter 2 and verse 4. I'm gonna read 48:05 to you a statement from a recent Sabbath School author that 48:12 talked about the ordination of women. It was a very important 48:15 very interesting point. Titus chapter 2 and verse 4. Now 48:19 it talks about, let's look at verse 1. Titus 2:1 says 48:52 Like I said, it's a word for women and let me tell you 48:55 the closer we get back to the New Testament model, am I right 48:58 somebody, the more blessed it is. And it's very interesting 49:02 to note that the Christian church, the early church 49:04 grew by leaps and bounds without ordained women clergy. Yet women 49:08 were functioning in ministerial functions. Am I right? 49:11 The Bible talks about Philip's daughters in the book of Acts 49:13 21 verse 8 who prophesied and as we come to the last days 49:18 I believe in the latter rain when God pours out His spirit 49:20 when the message of the third angel will go throughout the 49:23 whole world and the closing work, men and women will 49:25 be endowed with the prophetic gift to give prophetic guidance 49:30 in the last days as we close the work. Now going back to 49:34 Acts chapter 14, verse 23 where the Bible talks about the elders 49:39 being ordained, one of my colleagues in ministry 49:41 and the recent Sabbath School author Dr. Keith Burton 49:46 in Ministry Magazine of 1996 says something that is very 49:49 interesting that caught my attention. This is from November 49:52 1996, quote. One notices in the New Testament that ordination 49:56 was reserved for those who had specific leadership gifts. 49:59 Not every gift, notice, not every gift demanded official 50:02 recognition or installation into church leadership position 50:05 From the wording of Acts 14:23 and Titus 1:5, it appears that 50:10 those who were ordained fell under the general category 50:14 of presbyter or elder. The ordination was not to a specific 50:19 leadership position such as teacher, apostle, pastor Hmm 50:28 evangelist. And something stuck out here to me. This observation 50:34 is further evident in the fact that the apostles Peter and 50:36 John identified themselves as elders. Thus we see that while 50:39 church leaders may have performed distinct functions 50:42 they all had the generic distinction of presbyters or 50:45 elder. What I got out of this was, is that going back to 50:48 the argument of how a person can function as a pastor, 50:52 as a teacher, as an apostle, as a prophet without being ordained 50:57 to the office of an elder or a bishop. So with that, I believe 51:02 there's a balance. Now, of course there'll be those 51:05 that will not accept any counsel such as this right here as we 51:11 discuss here at the Symposium but for the honest in heart 51:15 Ellen White says, lift up the principles of truth and let 51:17 God lead the honest in heart. Manuscript 47, 1898 52:13 And you know in a lot of churches today, especially 52:16 in the Black church there's more women than there's men. 52:19 And we need the sisters, Amen. And it's been said often, 52:24 if it wasn't for the women we wouldn't have a church! 52:26 No wonder the Bible calls, a woman in Bible Prophecy 52:30 a Church! Let all share in making the sacrifice. God 52:37 declares, I hate robbery for burnt offering and then in 52:40 Manuscript 149, 1899 she concludes 52:57 And I do believe in equal pay for equal labor. 53:01 One of my favorite women in ministry happens to be a 53:06 professor, one of my former teachers. I'm not gonna say 53:08 where she's teaching at but I loved her zeal, her passion 53:14 for the Scripture and the writings of Ellen White. 53:16 And I sat at her feet in my classes and I said, Hallelujah 53:20 Are you with me? So, in conclusion, the Bible and the 53:25 Spirit of Prophecy affirms women in ministry. Amen. 53:29 And the Spirit of Prophecy talks about women as well as 53:32 men being pastors but it must be understood in the light 53:37 of pastor being a spiritual gift to where women in the broader 53:41 sense of the term can do pastoral labor without being 53:44 ordained elders and bishops. And with that there's no 53:49 contradiction, there's perfect harmony. And, as Ted Wilson says 53:54 we must study this issue and seek what God's will is 53:59 And I don't speak for anybody but myself based on doing my 54:03 own personal study. Why? Because the Bible says I must 54:06 give an account for myself before God. Amen. 54:10 Let's go to 1 Timothy, chapter 3 as we bring this to a close. 54:15 And with that let's see what God's will is in His word. 54:21 The Bible says in 1 Timothy 3:1. Oh before I read it, 54:28 thank you Lord, I want to say that equal pay for equal labor. 54:35 I have no issue with women studying theology on a 54:40 bachelor's level, master level or a PhD level. And one of my 54:46 I have a female friend, this lady I tell you is so profound 54:52 in teaching that Word. But yet she does not have a theology 54:56 degree but she's powerful in the Scriptures. And we affirm 55:01 her and you know what? In her church at Jefferson, Texas 55:03 the Pastor asked her one time to be an elder, she said NO 55:10 because of what the Word says. What does the Word say? 55:57 And God has appointed us as men with all the testosterone that 56:03 God has given us, Amen, to be the leaders in our homes. 56:07 And as the Seventh-day Adventist commentary states, even as 56:10 the book Child Guidance, I have a minute and a half left 56:13 even Child Guidance says that the home is the extended church 56:19 We've already read that in the Spirit of Prophecy. Every home 56:21 is a church. And where there is a male, he is to be the priest 56:27 of his home. In the beginning of time when sin came into the 56:30 world, even though the woman sinned first God came to the 56:35 head because he was responsible So therefore Paul was right 56:39 when he said by one man sin entered into the world 56:42 because God made him the head and God held him responsible. 56:47 And in the end there will be many fathers called into account 56:51 whether they were with their children or not. Whether they 56:54 abandoned their families or not and ask the men, where is 56:57 that flock that I have given you? And there are women 57:01 such as my mother who raised myself and my brother and sister 57:06 without my daddy there. Did a powerful work. She had to be 57:12 mama and daddy. But never any time did I call her daddy. 57:18 I called her mother. So brothers and sisters I thank God for the 57:23 truth. Am I right or wrong? I thank God for the truth. 57:27 And brothers and sisters with that, let's bow our heads 57:31 for a short word of prayers. Father in heaven we just pray 57:34 that the anointing of the Holy Spirit will be with us 57:37 bless this Word and may it bear fruit. In Jesus' name, Amen. |
Revised 2015-12-03