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Study the Prophecies of Revelation and Daniel

last update:

15 August 2005

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Women In The Church

Do women have a place in God's plans of spreading the gospel in these last days and in His church?

Through the years I have had many of the ladies ask why would Paul say that women could not teach and were to remain silent? One woman even made the statement in a Bible study that she had a few things to say to Paul when she got to heaven. Why would God give women gifts and then not expect them to use them. The answer is that God did not do this. I believe we have misunderstood the things Paul said and they have been used against women for centuries.

Let's start at the beginning!

Genesis 1:26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

The word man in this text is referring to all mankind.

1:27 So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created He them. Notice here it is gender specific, male and female.

1:28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

In this text God is giving them, both male and female joint dominion.

Genesis 2:18 And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.

Strong's Concordance 05828 `ezer {ay'-zer}

from 05826; TWOT - 1598a; n m

AV - help 19, help meet 2; 21

help, succour 1a) help, succour 1b) one who helps

2:21 And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;

2:22 And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.

2:23 And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.

Woman was made out of the side of man to stand along side him as his help meet. She did not come from his head nor his feet, but from his side. She was to stand along side of him , not above him nor below him.

Before God gave Adam a helpmeet He gave him specific instructions in the Garden of Eden.

Genesis 2:15 And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.

2:16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:

2:17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

We all know the story of how Adam and Eve ate of the tree anyway and that's how sin entered into the world. But let's look at how this happened.

Genesis 3:1-6 Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

Now we know that this was the old devil in that serpent. Notice that Eve was deceived, but Adam chose to eat of the fruit. No one forced him. But what does Adam say?

Genesis 3:8-13 And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden. And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.

This beautiful creature lied to Eve and she was deceived and sinned, but Adam on the other hand deliberately chose to sin and then blamed it on Eve! This story as written was never like I had heard it. Women have been taking the whole blame for centuries and have been made to be considered as second rate citizens. Actually Adam's sin was greater because God had told him directly not to eat of the tree.

To Eve God said:

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. Genesis 3:16

Strong's Concordance

08669 t@shuwqah {tesh-oo-kaw'}

from 07783 in the original sense of stretching out after; TWOT - 2352a; n f

AV - desire 3; 3

desire, longing, craving 1a) of man for woman 1b) of woman for man 1c) of beast to devour

Notice that woman's desire will turn to her husband rather than God and that he will rule over her. Is this a command? No, it is a prophecy. Women would look up to their husbands, rather than God.

Are women still under this curse?

Genesis 3:15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

The promise made to Eve was fulfilled in Jesus Christ our Redeemer.

Galatians 4:4 -5 But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.

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.

Did you see that, there is neither male nor female!

Let's look at some of the writings of Paul and his statements to women that are often used to discourage them from being active in ministry. Have we possibly misunderstood his statements?

I Corinthians 11:5, 13

Every woman who has her head uncovered while praying or prophesying, disgraces her head; for she is one and the same with her whose head is shaved. Judge for yourselves: is it proper for a woman to pray to God with head uncovered?

Looking at a little history of the Corinthian church we learn that at one time Corinth was filled with sin and sexual immorality. There were at least 12 heathen temples and the 2 deities held in special honor at Corinth were Poseidon of the Isthmian games and Aphrodite the goddess of love. In the temple of Aphrodite there were ceremonies carried out by a thousand temple prostitutes. The Corinthian's kept their bodies beautiful like the Greek gods they worshiped. . Sexual immorality was rampant and they needed to hear the gospel. After Paul established the Corinthian church he eventually went to Ephesus, where he stayed for 3 years. From there he wrote his 1^st Epistle to the Corinthian believers, who needed help and correction. This epistle was written between 52 and 56 AD. Paul tells us why he is writing to the Corinthians.

Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree, and there be no divisions among you, but you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment. For I have been informed concerning you, my brethren, by Chloe’s people, that there are quarrels among you. 1 Corinthians 1:10-11

The Greek custom was for women to wear veils when they were in public. So Paul's requiring the women to be veiled was because of this custom. If a Christian woman went around with their head unveiled she might be taken to be a loose woman. Paul didn't want there to be any misrepresentation of the Christian women. Paul had before given information in reference to local conditions. Her hair shaved was a sign of marital infidelity! The reason he gives are rabbinical, and therefore is invalid for today. Did you notice the women were praying and prophesying. There is no objection here to the women praying and prophesying, only to praying with her head uncovered. You have to speak to prophesy, it is hard to prophesy in silence.

Strong's

4395 propheteuo {prof-ate-yoo'-o}

from 4396; TDNT - 6:781,952; v

AV - prophesy 28; 28

to prophesy, to be a prophet, speak forth by divine inspirations, to predict 1a) to prophesy 1b) with the idea of foretelling future events pertaining esp. to the kingdom of God 1c) to utter forth, declare, a thing which can only be known by divine revelation 1d) to break forth under sudden impulse in lofty discourse or praise of the divine counsels 1d1) under like prompting, to teach, refute, reprove, admonish, comfort others 1e) to act as a prophet, discharge the prophetic office

I Corinthians 14:34-36

Let the women keep silent in the churches; for they are not permitted to speak, but let them subject themselves, just as the Law also says. And if they desire to learn anything, let them ask their own husbands at home; for it is improper for a woman to speak in church. Was it from you that the word of God first went forth? Or has it come to you only.

The Greek word sigao translates as silence means to hold one's peace. Why is Paul saying for the women to hold their peace and to ask their husbands at home? In the context of the times, the Corinthian church had problems. In the synagogues the men and women were seated separately. This rebuke for the women was for their disruptive talking in the church. They did not know how to listen and it only added to the confusion. Most of these women were uneducated, yet they wanted to learn about Jesus, but they knew nothing of self-control. Instead of disrupting the speaker Paul told them to ask their husbands at home. The whole church was in a state of confusion.

1Corinthians 14:40 Let all things be done decently and in order.

1Corinthians 11:17-22 Now in this that I declare unto you I praise you not, that ye come together not for the better, but for the worse. For first of all, when ye come together in the church, I hear that there be divisions among you; and I partly believe it. For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you. When ye come together therefore into one place, this is not to eat the Lord's supper. For in eating every one taketh before other his own supper: and one is hungry, and another is drunken. What? have ye not houses to eat and to drink in? or despise ye the church of God, and shame them that have not? What shall I say to you? shall I praise you in this? I praise you not.

The people were augmentative, they were eating like slobs, getting drunk and there was no care about one another. They were speaking and prophesying in a disorderly manner. Paul was emphasizing that the Corinthians needed to have orderly meetings. Apparently the women were involved too and the rebuke to them was for their part as well as the men in adding to the confusion.

This text is not teaching that women can never speak because of the contradiction of the texts in 1Corinthians 11:1-16 where the women are praying and prophesying. There was no rebuke for their praying and prophesying, only to their praying with their heads uncovered.

1 Timothy 2:11-12

Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection.

But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.

By now this looks pretty cut and dry at first glance, doesn’t it. Women are to remain quiet and they can’t aspire to any leadership, preach, teach, nor to take precedence over men. Is this what Paul is saying?

And as if that is not enough he goes on to say: 1Timothy2:13-15 For Adam was first formed, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression. Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety.

Titus 2:3-4 The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things; That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children.

Is Paul saying that all women are more easily deceived than men because Eve was deceived so they can only teach other women and children. Could you even trust them to teach other women and children then? Was Eve being deceived and therefore all women a product of a flawed character created by God. But God said His creation was good. So that theory easily falls apart. Men have not needed women for the heresy and deception in the church throughout history.

Paul again was speaking to a particular situation in a particular church, the Church of Ephesus. Some of the women were trying to usurp authority in the church. It is wrong whether male or female to domineer in any situation. Remember in the first century church many of these women had come out of the worship of Diana, which declared female superiority with various cultic heresies involving sex and spirituality. These women had no business teaching, they knew little about God. This is why Paul told the women to dress modestly.

1Ti 2:9-10In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with braided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array; But (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works.

God does not always find it inappropriate for women to be in authority over men. God placed Deborah as judge over all of Israel.

Judges 4:4 And Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, she judged Israel at that time. All the restrictions that were placed on the women were already intact at the time of Deborah's judgeship.

The women were forbidden to teach because of the false teachings and divisions in the church of Ephesus and they were involved in the some of the trouble being caused. Paul cited that husbands were to be the head of the home but if conditions were not threatening the stability of the church due to usurpation the ban he placed on teaching would not apply. Anytime when men are not accepting the responsibility of leadership God may turn to women even in this role.

Women God used

Acts 18:26 And he began to speak out boldly in the synagogue. But when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately. Notice that Pricilla's name is used first, an unheard of thing during those times. Could it be that her leadership skills are greater than her husbands?

He mentions two women, Euodia and Syntche, as having preached the gospel "with Barnabas and me" in Philippians 4:2-3. He addresses a possible woman named Junia by the title of "apostle." He also speaks of the prominent woman Phoebe by the title of both "deacon" and "prostasis"

Dr. Swidler states:

"To the best of my knowledge, no commentator on the text until Aegidus of Rome (1245-1316) took the name (Junia) to be masculine.

The overwhelming historical, contextual and grammatical evidence available is that Junia was a woman. She is called an outstanding apostle. She had been in prison with Paul, doing the same work -- and enduring the same hardship.

John Chrysostom (337-407), bishop of Constantinople, wasn't partial to women. He said some negative things about women but spoke positively about Junia. "O, how great is the devotion of this woman that she should be counted worthy of the appellation of apostle!" (The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom, Nicene and Post Nicene Fathers, Seris I (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1956).

Junia is mentioned in Romans 16:6-8 and called a fellow worker and outstanding {New Testament Church} apostle. She is referred to as an outstanding apostle and fellow prisoner.

Junia worked with Paul; however, beginning in 1245 AD an argument arose that Junia was a man. However, the early documentation closest to the lives of Paul and Junia indicates otherwise.

Miriam was a prophetess, and along with her brothers Moses and Aaron shared the leadership of Israel (Mic. 6:4).

Deborah was a prophetess and judge of Israel who resolved disputes with the wisdom of God (Judg. 4:4). During her service, another woman named Jael was used by God to kill an enemy king (4:21).

Abigail, who eventually became a wife of David, distinguished herself when she acted against the wishes of her evil husband, Nabal, and thereby saved herself and her household (1 Sam. 25).

Esther was a queen who, by her courage and cleverness, was used by God to save her people.

Huldah was a prophetess of Israel who spoke words of judgment to a delegation of men that included Hilkiah the priest (2 Ki. 22:14).

New Testament prophetesses include Anna (Luke 2:36) and the daughters of Philip (Acts 21:8-9).

Mary Magdalene and a number of other women were counted among Jesus' close friends and were the first to be met by Jesus after His resurrection (Matt. 28:1-10; Mark 16:9).

Mary and Martha were also among Jesus' close friends. Mary, at a time when women did not receive instruction from rabbis, was commended by Jesus for attentively listening to and being taught by Him while her sister Martha busied herself with more domestic details (Luke 10:38-42).

Priscilla and her husband Aquila achieved honorable mention when together they taught Apollos the doctrine of Christ (Acts 18).

Phoebe was recognized by Paul as a servant and helper not only to the church at Cenchrea but to him as well (Rom. 16:1).

Jesus loves women and they were among His closet friends. He has used women to spread the gospel throughout history.

God uses women today. Corrie Ten Boom went throughout Europe preaching in churches to both men and women the message of forgiveness. Joni Eareckson Tada has written books and paints with a paintbrush in her mouth. She is one of our most inspirational ministers today speaking at numerous engagements including men only symposiums such as Promise Keepers. There are women serving God in many ways throughout the world and in their homes. Let us not forget ladies our ministry begins in our own homes with our children and families. Whether God calls you to serve with the sick, the elderly or calls you to a foreign mission, go, be and do all He asks.

I can only wonder how many women have not used the gifts that God has given them because of what I believe to be a misunderstanding of Paul’s writings in Corinthians and Timothy. I believe that religions have suppressed women. Jesus places value on both males and females for we are both restored by His redemption to our original place with God. Let no one limit or suppress your Christian ministry to others that God has called you to do whether you be man or woman.

Joel 2:28 And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:

May God bless each of you for we have all been called to His ministry to serve.

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