Is it proper for a woman to disciple a man? Acts 18:26 describes Priscilla and Aquila explaining the way of God to a greater extent than Apollos knew. People have used this scripture to say that it is proper for a woman to teach a man, just not in the church setting. I'm not sure what Priscilla's role was -- perhaps she just shared her heart -- but I don't believe this scripture has women "teaching men." In our discipling roles, are we not teachers?... When it comes to a woman using the scriptures to address a man's heart, is that proper? -- Gretchen Wemple (Honolulu)
"Discipling" as an official church system is, of course, not explicitly taught in the New Testament, and you may have read various articles and papers at my website on the subject. (But we will not go into that right now!) Insofar as the phrase "to disciple" is used in the sense of teaching (strictly speaking, it means to make someone into a convert of Christ), I believe Priscilla was in fact teaching Apollos. That, to me anyway, seems to be the clear teaching of the text. 1 Timothy 2:11-12 addresses the public situation--an assembly or house church--not a private conversation between believers. Acts 18 is quite another situation. Of course, this is not to say that anyone should teach another disrespectfully. There is a right way to teach and counsel, and there is a wrong way.
For further study, you may want to read Keener and Blomberg, Two Views on Women in Ministry. I finished this book a couple of weeks ago, and it contains much food for thought. Happy reading.
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