The Qualifications of the Office of Elder (3): Adult Males: The Scriptural Defense
This article by Douglas Kuiper defends the Reformed position that only qualified men may serve as elders in the church, arguing this restriction is grounded in Scripture rather than arbitrary tradition. Through exegesis of 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1, Kuiper demonstrates how the gender-specific language of these passages ("husband of one wife," leadership terminology) establishes male-only eldership as a biblical requirement. The resource provides a systematic scriptural defense of this aspect of Reformed church government and complementarian ecclesiology.
Previous article in this series: September 15, 2013, p. 487. The position that we defend in this article is that men only, and not women, may be elders in Christ's church. To be more clear, we do not hold that any man may be an elder. The qualifications set forth in I Timothy 3 and Titus 1 restrict the office to certain gifted and spiritually qualified men. But they also prohibit women from holding the office. Having given three reasons in our last article why we must vigilantly defend this...
Full article available on sb.rfpa.org