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GOD'S PERFECT DESIGN (shortened and revised) Genesis 1 gives us an overview of all that God
has created. The chapter begins with the words; “In the beginning God
created the heavens and the earth” and it ends with the words: “God saw
all that He had made and it was very good.” Now please note that God did only call things “very
good” after He had created the man and the woman. Until then He had called
His Creation “good” but it changed into something “very good” as
soon as He had created the man and the woman. We read of their creation in Genesis 1:26-28 “Then God said, “Let Us make
man in Our image, in Our likeness, and let them rule
over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all
the earth and over all the creatures that move along the ground. So God created man in His own
image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. God blessed them and said to
them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule
over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living
creature that moves on the ground.” From this passage we can know that God created
both the man and the woman to rule over creation together. This was to be done
in perfect harmony, as a team on an equal basis. No one was to rule over the
other; they were to rule creation together. We can be certain that this did
take place exactly as God intended it. Genesis 2 gives us once again the Creation
Account but this time God has given us details of events which took place on
the sixth day. The main focus is the creation of the man and the woman. His
initial creation act was that of creating the man as we can read in Genesis 2:7
“The Lord God formed the man
from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life,
and the man became a living being.” When we continue reading Genesis 2 we discover
that, contrary to the Creation Account in Genesis 1, something was “not
good“. We can read this in Genesis 2:18 “It is not good for the man to
be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” Isn’t that an amazing statement for it shows
God’s great concern for the man. Almighty God, the Creator of the Universe, saw the man’s
need, the man’s loneliness, perhaps even without the man fully realising it
himself. And God decided to do something about it: He was going to provide him
with a helper. The word “helper” is the Hebrew word “ezer”. It appears about eighty times in the Biblical text
and it always refers to a significant Being or person as God, a king, a prince
or a warrior. The word “ezer” underscores how
necessary a “helper” is. It is someone who is of great importance, who normally
will relieve another from an immense problem and who is a loyal companion. It
is not the Hebrew word for a slave, a hireling or an assistant. God The
Helper Many Scriptures mention God as a Helper.
Examples are: Psalm 30:10 “Hear,
O Lord, and me merciful to me. O Lord be my help.” Psalm 118:7 “The Lord is with me; He is my
Helper.” Isaiah 41:10 “So do not fear for I am with
you; do not be dismayed for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with My righteous right Hand.” Other examples can be found in: Genesis 49:24-25; 1 Chronicles
12:18; Psalm 10:14; Psalm 37:39-40; Psalm 54:4; Psalm 94:17; Psalm 118:13;
Isaiah 41:14; Isaiah 44:2; Isaiah 49:8; Isaiah 50:7-9. From these passages we can learn that in
Scripture the word “helper” is used to indicate a stronger or superior party to
help a weaker or inferior party and may be contrary to our understanding of the
word “helper”. Now we may not have too many problems with such an understanding
of the word “helper” in the case of God for He is after all the stronger or
superior party compared to any one of us. But Scripture does not only mention
God as a helper. Other Helpers The Old Testament in various places speaks
about armies coming to the help of or being the helper of other armies as in: II Chronicles 28:16 “At that time king Ahaz sent to the king of Joshua 10:33 “Meanwhile, Horam king of The Woman As
The Man’s Helper Having looked at these examples of either God
as the Helper or armies as helpers, we will now return to Genesis 2:18 where God said: “It is not good for the man to be alone. I
will make a helper suitable for him.” The original text once again uses the word “ezer”, the same term which we have seen having been used
for God as well as for stronger or superior armies. Does that mean that the woman as the man’s
helper was created as the superior party? No for that would go against God’s
design for the man and the woman. Therefore, in this case the term “kenegdo” has been added to the word “ezer”. This word “kenegdo”
is very important because it describes exactly what kind of helper God had
given to the man. It was not God’s intention to give the man a helper who would
be superior to him. Neither was it God’s intention to give the man a helper who
would be inferior to him. No, this helper was formed to be exactly suitable for
him, matching him, fitting him, corresponding to him, a
counterpart to him, opposite to him. This has not always been understood by
Theologians as we can see from the words of the Protestant Reformer John
Calvin: “God did not create two chiefs
of equal power but added to the man an inferior aid.” Calvin’s view that the woman was added to the
man as an inferior aid, made to obey him, was a view that was shared by many
other Theologians of the past and is still taught today. A modern day example is Wayne A. Grudem, Research Professor in Bible and Theology at Phoenix
Seminary, “Whenever someone helps
someone else the person who is helping is occupying a subordinate or inferior
position with regard to the person being helped.”… However this is not a Scriptural view for it is
a misinterpretation of the term “helper“ since the
term means the one who strengthens. We can be certain that what God spoke in
Genesis 1:26-28 that both the man and the woman were to rule creation together
is confirmed in Genesis 2:18. The Woman As
The Man’s Rib Having understood from Scripture that the woman
as the man’s helper was to be formed as his equal in all respects which means
her equality in being as well as in function, we will now look at how God did
this, which will only confirm her equality to the man. We’ll read Genesis 2:21-22 “So the Lord God caused the
man to fall into a deep sleep, and while he was sleeping, He took one of the
man’s ribs and closed up the place with flesh. Then the Lord God made the
woman from the rib He had taken out of the man and brought her to the man.” Having created the man God went to work once
again. This time He created the woman. Interestingly, He did not involve the
man in this project. Perhaps He did not want the man to come up with some of
his own ideas as to what an ideal woman might look like. Instead, God in His
wisdom put the man to sleep. And then what did He do? Did He take another pile
of dust, like what He done in the case of the man? No, this time He took a part
of the man which has been translated as “rib”. The Hebrew word for “rib” is “tsela” and has been used in other parts of the Old
Testament when it has been translated as side or sides. Examples are: Exodus 25:12 “Cast four gold rings for it
and fasten them to its four feet, with two rings on one side and two rings on
the other.” Exodus 26:26-27 “Also make crossbars from
acacia wood; five for the frames of one side, five for those on the other
side.” In these passages the word “tsela”
each time refers to an entire side and not just to a small part of a structure.
It is only in Genesis 2:22 that the word “tsela” has
been translated as “rib”. Now we know that the woman was indeed made out
of the man’s bones for the man exclaimed in Genesis 2:23a: “This is now bone of my
bones.” However we know too that there was more to her
for the man said as well: “And flesh of my flesh.” It is very likely that in the case of Genesis
2:22 the word “tsela” has been translated as “rib”
because translators were influenced by Jewish Rabbis as Rabbi Joshua who had
written: “God deliberated from what
member He would create woman, and He reasoned within
Himself thus: “I must not create her from
Adam’s head for she would be a proud person, and hold her head high. If I create her from the eye,
then she will wish to pry into all things. If from an ear, then she will
wish to hear all things. If from the mouth she will
talk much. If from the heart she will
envy people. If from the hand she will
desire to make all things. If from the feet she will
always be going around. Therefore I will create her from
a member which is hid; that is, the rib, which is not even seen when man is
naked.” However, this points to a very biased view and
is not in line with Scripture because in Scripture the term “tsela” clearly indicates that the woman was taken from the man’s
side and confirms her equality to the man in every respect. The man furthermore recognised that she was the
“female human” and that he was the “male human” as we can see from Genesis
2:23b where we read: “She shall be called woman for
she was taken out of man.” We see this confirmed in
Genesis 5:2 “He created them male and female and blessed
them. And when they were created He called them man or human.” And so God had met the man’s need, the man’s
loneliness and the man was very glad indeed. We can be certain that they ruled creation
together, in perfect harmony, as a team, on an equal basis as designed by God. The sad truth is that today many men and women
do not function according to this wonderful design. The reason for our
malfunctioning is an event called the Fall. We find the account of the Fall
in Genesis 3. It is a very sad story indeed. When God created the man, He placed him in a
Garden as we can read in Genesis 2:15-17. “The Lord God took the man and
put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. And the Lord God
commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any Tree in the Garden, but you
must not eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, for when you eat
of it you will surely die.” At that time God told the man that he could eat
from any Tree, including the Tree of Life, but he was not to eat from
the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Genesis 3 starts with the serpent approaching
the woman, saying to her in verse 1: “Did God really say, “You must not eat from
any Tree in the Garden?” Isn’t that interesting? Something evil had
appeared on the scene, no doubt allowed by God, to test the man and the woman.
We are not told how this evil being, using the serpent, came to be there. And this serpent spoke to the woman. By his
words: “Did God really say?” the serpent was trying to put doubt into the mind
of the woman. This was very devious indeed. The woman, in her innocence, would
not have recognised the evil hidden in these words. So far she had only
encountered good things both through God and through the man. Therefore she was
not at all prepared for this evil being to cross her path. Nothing
in her anticipated for this serpent to have evil designs towards her and the
man. Moreover the serpent would have still looked beautiful for no curse
had as yet been spoken over him. The woman’s answer can be found in Genesis
3:2-3. “The woman said to the
serpent, “We may eat fruit from the Trees in the Garden, but God did say, “You
must not eat fruit from the Tree that is in the middle of the Garden, and you
must not touch it or you will die.” Her statement shows us that she did indeed know
that they were not eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of
Good and Evil. At the same time, she added certain things to her statement,
which God had not said in His original command given to the man. The serpent’s response is in Genesis 3:4-5. “You will not surely die. For
God knows that when you eat of it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be
like God, knowing Good and Evil.” This statement is in blatant opposition to what
God had said but it did make the woman look at the Tree which must have indeed
look good for food and pleasing to they eyes. We can read this in Genesis 3:6 “When the woman saw that the
fruit of the Tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable
for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband
who was with her and he ate it.” Please remember that the woman, while only
looking, was still in a state of innocence, of sinlessness
for God had not forbidden them to look at the Tree or even to touch it. They
were not allowed to eat from it. It was after she had eaten from the Tree that
things changed. Not just for her but for the man also, who incidentally was
with her, very likely he had been with her throughout her conversation with the
serpent and who ate of the fruit as well. What happened next is recorded in
Genesis 3:7 “Then the eyes of both of them
were opened and they realised that they were naked….” Though physical death did not take place as
yet, it did eventually happen, but what happened immediately was spiritual
death, spiritual separation from God. The man and the woman who had never been afraid
of God, had become afraid of Him as we can see in Genesis “Then the man and his wife
heard the sound of the Lord God as He was walking in the Garden in the cool of
the day and they hid from the Lord God among the Trees of the Garden.” The Consequences For The Man And The Woman Did God know what had happened? Of course He
did and yet He came to see the man and the woman. One of the reasons was that
He needed to confront them with the consequences of their actions. When God confronted the man with his sinful
actions, the man’s initial response was to blame the woman whom God had given
him as we can read in Genesis 3:11 “The man said, “The woman You (God) put here with me –she gave me some fruit from the
Tree, and I ate it.” This line of thinking seems to have been taken
on by many of the Theologians of the past as we can see from the following
examples: St. Irenaeus of “It was the woman who cost the
man his salvation…” Tertullian
(c.a. 155 to 245 A.D.) “You (woman) are she who persuaded
him (Adam) whom the devil was not valiant enough to attack. You woman are the devil’s gateway…” St. John Chrysostom
(c.a. 344 A.D. to 407 A.D.) “He transgressed not captivated by appetite
but by the persuasion of his wife.” John Calvin (1509 A.D. -1564 A.D.) “…..Being drawn by her into
fatal ambition, he became partaker of the same defection with her…” “….The destruction of the
whole human race was attributed to them (women)…” However, God never blamed the woman for the
man’s sinful action but made the man responsible for his own sinful action as
we can read in Genesis 3:17-19 “To Adam He said, “Because you
listened to your wife and ate from the Tree about which I commanded you, “You
must not eat of it,” “Cursed is the ground because
of you; through painful toil you
will eat of it all the days if your life. It will produce thorns and
thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the
field. By the sweat of your brow you
will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were
taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.” The consequences for the woman’s sinful action
are recorded in Genesis 3:16 “I will greatly increase your
pains in childbearing, with pain you will give
birth to children. Your desire will be for your
husband. And he will rule over you.” This verse has caused much unnecessary
suffering for women throughout the Centuries for many Theologians have
interpreted this verse to mean that it was God’s will for women to suffer in
childbirth. Consequently women were not allowed any medical relief during
labour. The sentence “Your desire will be for your
husband” has often been interpreted to be of a sexual nature or a desire to
usurp authority. One example is the Roman Catholic Church Father
Augustine who lived from 354 A.D. to 430 A.D. He has written: “What is the difference
whether it is a wife or a mother; it is still Eve, the temptress that we must be
aware of in any woman.” A more recent example is Wayne Grudem. He has written: “ The word “desire”
would indicate a desire on Eve’s part to rebel against Adam’s authority.” The sentence “and he will rule over you”
has often been interpreted as God’s command for the woman to be ruled by the
man as a further form of punishment. One example is the Protestant Reformer John
Calvin. He has written: “God assigned two reasons why
women are to be subject to men. For not only did God enact it at the beginning,
but God also inflicted it as a punishment on the woman….” Their views are very much in line with those of
Jewish Rabbis as found in the Babylonian Talmud, a commentary on the Torah
which was written between the sixth Century B.C. and the third Century B.C. The Talmud lists: “Ten Curses God uttered
against Eve.” “Greatly increase” deals with
the woman’s menstrual curse. “Your pains” is having
children and bringing them up. “Your conception” shall be by
the husband’s choice and at his discretion. “In pains you will give birth
to children” is more punishment for women.” “Your desire shall
be for your husband” deals with the Rabbis’ private interpretation of
sexuality. “He shall rule over
you”, the wife being in total subjection and subjugation, since the wife is the
personal property of the husband. She is wrapped up like a
mourner. She shall not appear in public
with her head uncovered. She is restricted to one
husband while the husband may have many wives. She is confined to the house.” These
views may well be because of a mistranslation of the original text. A more
correct translation of Genesis 3:16 is: “I will surely multiply your
toil, your hard work and I will multiply your conception. With effort you will bring
forth children. You will turn to your husband, And he will rule over you.” God thereby declared to the woman that from
then on it would be difficult to work the soil because of the curse placed on
it. She needed to know this because she was working alongside the man and the
curse placed on the soil would therefore affect her in the same way as it would
affect him. At the same time God affirmed to her that she
would conceive and give birth to children though from then on childbearing
would be challenging work. God next forewarned her of a tendency which had
developed out of her now sinful nature. This tendency would cause her to want
to turn towards the man rather than turn towards God to have her needs met. I believe women still display a tendency to
turn towards their husbands, pastors or elders to have
there needs met rather than turning towards God to have their needs met. Consequently women will be disappointed for God
has not designed men, be they husbands, pastors or elders to meet the needs of
women. He alone is to be their Source of Life as described in Deuteronomy 30:20 “And that you may love the
Lord your God, listen to His Voice, hold fast to Him. For the Lord is your
Life.” Furthermore God forewarned the woman that the man because of his now sinful nature would want to
rule over her as His words “and he will rule over you” indicate. An immediate example is the re-naming by the
man of the woman in Genesis 3:20 “Adam named his wife Eve
because she would be the mother of all the living.” The Hebrew text uses a naming formula which
includes both the Hebrew verb “qarah”, which means
“to call”, and the Hebrew noun “shem”, which means “name”. This indicated that the re-naming by the man of the
woman was an authoritative naming to establish his authority over her and was
an act of independence for it was not a task the Lord had given to the man. Examples of rightful authoritative naming can
be found in Genesis 2:19-20 and Genesis 5:2 Previously God has given the man the task of
naming the animals in Genesis 2:19-20 “Now the Lord God had formed
out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air. He
brought them to the man to see what he would name them. And whatever the man
called each living creature, that was its name. So the
man gave name to all the livestock, the birds of the air and the beasts of the field.” This had been an act to establish his rightful
authority over creation as initiated by God. But when God brought the woman to the man He
did not require of the man that the man name the woman as we can see in Genesis
2:22 “Then the Lord God made the
woman from the rib, He had taken out of the man and He brought her to the man.” Though man at that time recognised that she was
the woman and he was the man as in Genesis 2:23 where the man said: “She is now bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh, she shall be called woman for she was taken out of man” this was not an act of authoritative naming but
a recognition that she was a human being like himself.
The Hebrew text makes this clear for this time the naming formula has not been
used since the word “shem”, “name” has not been included in the text. Having first of all recognised her similarity,
he then went on to speak of the difference between him and the woman for she
was the female human and he was the male human. The reason that God did not ask the man to name
the woman is because God had not given the man the responsibility to rule over
the woman. Moreover God Himself had already named her as we know from Genesis
5:2 “He created them male and
female. And He blessed them. And when they were created He called them “man or
human”. The Hebrew text once
again uses the naming formula “quarah”, “to call” and
“shem”, “name” to indicate this naming was an
authoritative naming. So God named both the
man and he woman “man”, “human” or “Adam”. “We could say they
were Mr and Mrs Man, Mr and Mrs Human or Mr and Mrs Adam. Going back to the words God had spoken to the
woman about the promise of her offspring, she would have remembered that God
had already spoken of her offspring in His words to the serpent, which are
recorded in Genesis 3:15 “And I will put enmity between
you and the woman, and between our
offspring and hers; He will crush your head and
you will strike His heel.” These words contained the promise of the
woman’s seed, the woman’s offspring and would have given her something to live
for. Though the woman did not know it, this was in
fact the very first Messianic prophecy. Did God fulfil the
promise of the Seed? Yes, indeed He did. And when the Seed came, the Messiah,
the Lord Jesus Christ He restored what was lost and more…. THE PROMISED SEED OF THE WOMAN It might perhaps be helpful to see what exactly
Christ has done for us… One of the issues we may want to consider is
the ruling of men over women that God forewarned the woman about in Genesis
3:16. Sadly we have seen the ruling of men over women happened throughout
history and we still see it happen today. Yet in the midst of this sad picture there has
come a glimmer of hope in the form of a Cross with the broken body of a man
hanging on it. Who was this Man? It was the Man/God Jesus Christ, the Saviour
of the world. He died so that men and women might have life
as the Apostle John expressed it in John 10:10 “I have come that they may
have life and have it to the full.” Through Christ’s death on the Cross, the
effects of the Fall were reversed. What had been lost:
the relationship with God and the relationship with one another on equal terms
have been restored. Furthermore men and women who are in Christ
have been given authority. This is a delegated authority for it flows out the
authority Christ has been given by His Father in Matthew 28:18-20 “All authority in heaven and
on earth has been given to Me. Therefore go and make
disciples of all nations, baptising them in the Name of the Father and of the
Son and of the Holy Spirit. And teaching them to obey everything I have
commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” We need to understand this authority does not
give anyone the right to lord it over another, to rule another for Christ did
not come to be served but to serve as Jesus said in Matthew 20:25-28 “You know that the rulers of
the Gentiles lord it over them. Not so with you. Instead whoever wants to
become great among you must be your servant and whoever wants to be first must
be your slave -just as the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve,
and to give His life a ransom for many.”
Therefore Christ’s followers, be they men or
women, have only been given authority to serve others. This message of restoration because of Christ’s
death on the Cross is a major theme throughout the New Testament. Because of it men and women who are in Christ
have become new creations according to II Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore if anyone is in
Christ, he is a new creation ; the old has gone, the
new has come.” They are to forget the past according to
Philippians 3:13 “This I do, forgetting what is
behind and straining towards what is ahead.” Furthermore they have become the righteousness
of God according to II Corinthians 5:21 “God made Him who had no sin
to become sin for us so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.“ There is no condemnation for them according to
Romans 8:1-2 “Therefore there is no
condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus because through Christ Jesus the
Law of the Spirit of Life has set me free from the Law of Sin and Death.” They are heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ
according to Romans 8:17 “Now if we are children then
we are heirs -heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ.” They have been seated with Christ in the
heavenly realms according to Ephesians 2:6 “And God raised us up with Christ and has
seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus.” And they
are blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ according to Ephesians 1:3 “Praise be to the
God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us in the heavenly
realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.” That is very good news indeed!! Furthermore the Apostle Paul taught in I
Corinthians Chapters 12-14 and in Romans 12:4-8 that every believer, be they male
or female, was a part of the Body of Christ and was to function as part of the
Body with the gift or gifts given by the Holy Spirit for the benefit of others.
These gifts were given as the Holy Spirit determined without race, class or
gender distinction. One example of the gifts of the Spirit working
through both men and women can be seen in I Corinthians 11:4-5 “Every man who prays or
prophesies with his head covered, dishonours his head. And every woman, who prays or
prophecies with her head uncovered, dishonours her head.” These verses are a part of a larger segment of
Scripture which begins with I Corinthians 11:3 and ends with I Corinthians
11:16. This is quite a complicated passage of Scripture and because of it we
may not appreciate the fact that Paul allowed both men and women to pray and
prophesy in public. And he explained in I Corinthians 14:29-31 that
the function of prophecy included teaching “Two or three prophets should
speak, and others should weigh carefully what is said. And if a revelation
comes to someone who is sitting down, the first speaker should stop. For you
can all prophesy in turn so that everyone may be instructed and encouraged.” From these verses we can see that one of the
main functions of prophecy is instruction or teaching so Paul obviously
expected both men and women to teach others. That puts a responsibility on each believer, be
they male or female to use their God-given gifts and leaders are to make room
for believers to function in their gifts. God is not pleased with excuses such as “I
am too old” or “I am too young” or “I am of the wrong
background”. Other excuses we might want to use sound as if
they have come straight out of the Word of God. Perhaps you recognise some of them.
“Man is the Head Of The
Woman”. “A woman is to submit to a man
in the Church and at home a wife is to submit to her husband.” “A woman is to be silent” “A woman is not allowed to
teach or to have authority over a man.” These statements need careful consideration
though we must always remember that they need to be read in the light of the
wider context of Scripture. They cannot overrule what Scripture teaches in
general with regard to men and women. It would be wrong for any one of us to
build a case defending a particular viewpoint based only on one or two passages
of Scripture. We must remember as well that the inspired and
infallible Word of God contains material that, though we may learn from it, may
not be applicable to us in the same way that was meant to those to whom it was
written. An example in the Old Testament would be the
purification ritual a woman would have to undergo because of her ceremonial
uncleanness after her monthly period or after the birth of a child as described
in Leviticus 12 and Leviticus 15:19-30. An example from the New Testament would be the
issue of food that had been sacrificed to idols as discussed by the Apostle
Paul in I Corinthians 8. This must have been a real issue in Therefore it may at times be helpful to have
some background information to help us understand how to apply what is written
in certain passage in the Scriptures. This makes sense, of course, for
Scripture was written long ago over a long period of time and it deals with
different people of different cultures. We’ll first of all look at the statement: “Man Is The Head Of The Woman” We find this mentioned in I Corinthians 11:3 “The head of every man is
Christ. The head of the woman is the man, and the head of Christ is God.” In the English language the word “head” means
either “a part of our physical body” or someone in a position of “authority” or
“power” for instance “the head of a department” or
“the head of a company”. In the Greek language of Paul’s days the word
“head” could mean these things depending on the particular Greek term the
author had chosen. Paul in I Corinthians 11:3 had chosen the word “kephale” which can mean “physical head” or “source, source
of life”. However, it does not mean “authority” or “power”. We can see this from the order in which Paul
listed the three pairs: “every man/Christ”,
“woman/man” and “Christ/God.” If he had given us a hierarchical order to
establish authority, he would have written: “Christ/God”, “every man/Christ” and
“woman/man” but he has not done so. Paul, who was a very orderly writer, had
something completely different in mind namely a chronological
order to establish that “head” meant “source”. As such the chronological order
makes perfect sense for Christ was the source of life for the first man from
whom every man descended, the first man was the source of life for the first
woman and God was the source of life for Christ in His Incarnation. Some background information might be helpful
here. The people to whom Paul was writing had been influenced by the pagan
belief that the woman was made of a substance different from and inferior to
the man. By using the term “kephale” Paul was
correcting this error and confirming the Creation Account as given to us in
Genesis 2:21-22 that tells us that the woman was made from the man’s rib or in
fact side and thereby confirmed the equality of the woman to the man. Another example of the man as the head as the
woman can be found in Ephesians “For the husband is the head of the wife as
Christ is the head of the Church, of which He is the Saviour.” Once again Paul used the word “kephale” to describe the husband’s function
as “head of his wife“. Not only did Paul make it very clear from the word he
had chosen that this function as “head” did not mean “authority” or “power” but
he went on to specify which example husbands were to follow. They were to
follow the highest example, namely Christ’s example as Head of the Church in
His role as Saviour of the Church. Now we know that Christ functions not only as
Head but as Lord, as King, as Priest, as Intercessor among other things.
However, it is only in connection with Christ’s function as Head of the Church,
which is associated with His role as Saviour of the Church, that Paul mentioned
the husband’s function as head of his wife.
This means that Paul did not associate the
husband’s function as “head of his wife” with Christ’s function as Lord, as
King, as Priest, as Intercessor but only with Christ’s function as Saviour
which is a sacrificial function and not a ruling function. Paul emphasised this in Ephesians 5:25 Husbands, love your wives,
just as Christ loved the Church and gave Himself up for her.” Therefore, according to Paul, the function of
any husband as “head of his wife” was to be a loving, serving, ministering,
nourishing, self-giving, sacrificial function without even a hint of authority
or ruling attached to it. Another statement we’ll look at is: “A Woman Is To Submit To A Man
At Church And At Home A Wife Is To Submit To Her Husband.” The Greek word for submission is “hupotasso” and means “aligning oneself with another”,
“giving allegiance to another” “tending to the needs of another”, “be
supportive of another”, “be responsive to another”, “complying with the wishes
of another” or “responsible behaviour towards another”. An example is Ephesians 5:21-22 “Submit to one another out of
reverence for God. Wives submit to your husbands as to the Lord.” The original text reads as follows: “Submit to one another out of
reverence to God. Wives to husbands as to the Lord.” We have here a case where the author has left
an important word out of the text since its meaning can be understood by what
he previously had written. The translators have added the missing word to the
translated text, which they were able to do by studying the original text. It might be helpful for us to have some
understanding of the cultural background of the people Paul was dealing with. At that time, married Gentile women were still
under the authority of their parental household. Paul encouraged them to
separate themselves from their parental household and to voluntarily submit,
meaning to align themselves with their husbands and so to form a new household
under the Lordship of Christ. That would have been a major challenge since many
of them would have come from pagan households. Furthermore Paul in that same passage
instructed husbands to love their wives and to love them sacrificially. That
too would have been a completely new teaching for those men since according to
their background wives were only useful as carers of the home and providers of
offspring, preferably male. The next statement we’ll look at is: “A Woman Is To Be Silent” An example is I Corinthians 14:34-35 “Women should remain silent in
the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the
Law says. If they want to enquire about something they should ask their own
husbands at home; for it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church.” This is quite an interesting statement.
Particularly if it came from Paul for he had not too long ago, to be exact in I
Corinthians 11:4-5 confirmed that women could pray and prophesy. Now I don’t
know about you but to me people, be they men or women who pray or prophesy use
words to pray or prophesy and are therefore not exactly silent when praying or
prophesying. Theologians have come up with a number of views The Protestant Reformer Calvin’s comment on
this passage is as follows: “When he (Paul) reproves them
for prophesying with their heads uncovered, he at the same time does not give
them permission to prophesy in some other way but rather delays his
condemnation of his vice to another passage namely in I Corinthians 14.” This is rather a curious statement is it not?
The Reformer here calls the prophesying of women a “vice” which though seemingly
encouraged by the Apostle Paul in I Corinthians 11:4-5 is
then supposedly withdrawn by him in I Corinthians 14. The Reformer seems to
imply here that the Holy Spirit, who is the Source behind Paul’s words, changed
His mind about women praying and prophesying at some point between Chapters 11
and 14. However, this is of course not a correct view. A more recent comment on this passage is from
Wayne Grudem which is as follows: “In this section Paul cannot
be prohibiting all public speech by women in the Church for he clearly allows
them to pray and prophesy in Church in I Corinthians 11:5 Understanding of this passage depends on our
view of the gift of prophecy, namely that prophecy involves not authorative Bible teaching… For Paul is concerned to
preserve male leadership in the teaching and governing of the Church.” Though Wayne Grudem
does allow women to pray and prophesy his view of prophecy is not in line with
I Corinthians 14:29-31 where Paul wrote that prophecy was for instruction and
encouragement. This clearly includes an element of teaching which Wayne Grudem does not allow for. The reasons we have such difficulties with
understanding I Corinthians 14:34-35 is because we do not necessarily realise
that these verses were not in fact Paul’s own words but a quotation from a
letter he had received from the Church leaders in His answer, in the form of a rebuke, can be
found in I Corinthians 14:36 “Did the word of God originate
with you? Or are you the only people it has reached? If anybody thinks he is a
prophet or spiritually gifted, let him acknowledge that what I am writing to
you is the Lord’s command. If he ignores this, he himself will be ignored.” Paul actually began this passage with an
expression which has been left out by most translators and which best can be
translated as “Utter rubbish.” He
then went on to say: “Did the word of God originate with you…” He thereby declared that the view of these
people influenced by a collection of orally preserved Traditions called “The
Law” was invalid. A Jewish historian Josephus who lived form 37
A.D. to about 100 A.D. used this collection of orally
preserved Traditions, this Law in his writings: “The woman, says the Law, is
in all things inferior to the man. Let her accordingly be submissive.” The fact is all Jewish Regulations for women
were based on Commentaries on the Old Testament and not on the Old Testament
itself. The last statement we’ll look at is: “ A Woman Is Not To
Teach Or To Have Authority Over A Man” An Example is I Timothy 2:11-15 “A woman should learn in
quietness and full submission. I do not permit a woman to
teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent. For Adam was formed first,
then Eve. And Adam was not the one
deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner. But women will be saved
through childbearing -if they continue in faith, love and holiness with
propriety.” Traditionally this passage has been interpreted
to mean that women in general are not allowed to teach. Those who have taught
this have based this first of all on the so-called “Creation Order” related to
the sentence: “For Adam was formed first, then Eve” and secondly on the
sentence: “It was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner.” The Protestant Reformer John Calvin’s comment
on this passage is along these lines: 1.“Women are to be
silent quiet because they must keep within their own rank. She was created
afterwards, in order that she might be a kind of appendage to the man to render
obedience to him….” He continues: 2. “God having assigned the
woman to subjection at the beginning, furthermore
inflicted the rulership of the man as a punishment at
the time of the Fall. She is not to improve her condition…..” We have already seen that this view is
incorrect. 3. “The weakness of the sex
renders women suspicious and timid.” Though weak in herself, the woman who is in
Christ will have the power of God working in her and through her. 4. “The destruction of the
whole human race was attributed to them (meaning to women)….” Now we know that God did not blame the woman
specifically for the Fall of mankind but made both the
man and the woman responsible for their sin. 5. “Their subjection as a
testimony of the wrath of God is constantly placed before their eyes.” Thankfully Christ redeemed men and women from
the curse by becoming a curse for us as in Galatians 3:13 “Christ redeemed us from the
curse of the law by becoming a curse for us.” Because of it men and women can come boldly
before the Throne of Grace according to Hebrews 4:16 “Let
us then approach the Throne of Grace with confidence.” 6. “They suffer temporal
punishment.” This is Roman Catholic Dogma to which men and
women who are in Christ do not prescribe for we know that God’s punishment for
sin was paid in full at the Cross as in Isaiah 53:5 “The punishment that brought
us peace was upon Him.” 7. “When a woman considering
to what she has been called, submits to the condition which God has assigned to
her and does not refuse the pains of childbearing or anxiety about her
offspring….” God calls women to
many functions which may or may not include marriage and motherhood.
Furthermore, childbearing may be challenging but woman are not called by God to
suffer unnecessarily as Calvin seemed to think. A woman’s field of labour may therefore include
her home but may not exclusively be her home. Part of Wayne Grudem’s
comment on I Timothy 2:11-14 is as follows: “Should women be Pastors or
Elders in the Churches? The single passage in Scripture that addresses this
question most directly is I Timothy 2:11-14. Here Paul is speaking about
the Church when it is assembled. In such a setting, Paul says, “I permit no
woman to teach or to have authority over men.” These are the functions that are
carried out by the Elders of the Church…. It is specifically these functions
unique to Elders that Paul prohibits for women in the Church. The reason Paul
gives for this prohibition is the situation of Adam and Eve before the Fall,
and before there was any sin in the world, and the way in which a reversal in
male and female roles occurred at the time of the Fall. …..So Paul uses the fact that
“Adam was formed first, then Eve” as a reason for restricting some distinct
governing and teaching roles in the Church to men.” It is interesting to me that Wayne Grudem’s comments are based only on I Timothy 2:11-14. He does not include verse
15, which is clearly a part of this section of Scripture. This may well be
because he uses the literal interpretation method to interpret verses 11-14 and
he knows that this interpretation method cannot be applied to verse 15. Sadly
this has not made Wayne Grudem consider the
possibility that likewise verses 11-14 may need to be interpreted differently. Having looked at
these interpretations of I Timothy 2:11-15 it becomes very clear that many
theologians have not considered the specific people about whom Paul was writing
to Timothy nor their particular problems. We will now look at I Timothy 2:11-15 taking
into account those it was about and their particular issues. This passage begins with the words: “A woman should learn in
quietness and full submission. …………………………….She must be
silent.” Paul began this passage by instructing that
certain women should be taught right doctrine. We need to remember that Paul’s
desire for women to be taught was in fact a very radical idea for women were
generally not taught apart from the art of homemaking. Furthermore Paul wrote that these women were to
learn in a quiet and submissive manner or in a restful quietness as the term
“silent” indicates. The next statement is : “I do not allow a woman to
teach” Paul did not yet allow these women to teach because they
had to learn right doctrine first. He then wrote: Paul
used here the Greek word “authentein” which has been
translated as “authority”. This word “authentein”
appears only once in Scripture and has always had a very negative meaning,
including domineering. Paul therefore did not say here that women were
not allowed to have authority over men. He simply stated that they were not to
behave towards men in an inappropriate manner, in a manner which was contrary
to his teachings. The attitude of these women may
have come because of false teaching these women had received which Paul
addressed in the following section: “For Adam was formed first,
then Eve. And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived
and became a sinner.” The false teachings these women had received
would have included errors regarding the Creation Account and the Fall. For instance that the woman was created before the man
and the eating of the fruit had been a good thing for through it they had
supposedly received special knowledge. Paul was correcting these errors. The final verse in this passage is: “But women will be saved
through childbearing –if they continue in faith, love and holiness with
propriety.” In this verse Paul corrected the false teaching
as spelled out in I Timothy 4:1-3 by writing that marriage and childbearing
were blessed by God and were not obstacles to a close and intimate walk with
God as these false teachers claimed. “The Spirit clearly says that
in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and
things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose
consciences have been seared as with a hot iron. They forbid people to marry
and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received
with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth.” I Timothy 2: 11-15 was clearly written
with the Church at Furthermore we need to remember that Paul’s
Letters were not only written to different Churches, they were written at
different times. For instance the Letter to the Galatians was written between 48 A.D. - 52 A.D., the First Letter to the
Corinthians was written around 56 A.D. and the First Letter to Timothy was
written around 63 A.D. Therefore this Letter could not have been used as a
teaching tool for the larger Body of Christ for a number of years since it was
not yet in existence. We tend to forget that when we read our New Testament
because we have easy access to any one of these Letters regardless to whom they
were written and in what year they were written originally. The Woman Not Among The Twelve It is true that Jesus did not include women in
His Team of the Twelve. This is most likely because Jesus knew that, though He
had comes as the Saviour of the world, His teaching and preaching ministry was
mainly limited to the Jewish nation, a nation steeped in Traditions beyond the
Scriptures, which had severely limited the role of women. His choice of twelve men was very much with
this nation in mind. I would like to add that they were twelve Jewish men
because neither men of Gentile descent nor women would have been accepted while
the number twelve reflects the number of tribes of However we see that Jesus had been teaching
women, healing women, allowing women to be His disciples and sending them on
preaching missions, thereby preparing the way for women to be fully engaged in
the work of God’s Kingdom expecting this to be continued and expanded beyond
what He Himself had already established. GOD'S WORD COMES TO US THROUGH A WOMAN We have in fact a number of places in Scripture
where God’s Word comes to us through a woman. These words will have been read
by and ministered to men and women throughout the Centuries, just as they still
minister to us today. Examples are: Miriam’s Song in Exodus 15:20-21 “Then Miriam the Prophetess,
Aaron’s sister, took a tambourine in her hand and all the women followed her
with the tambourines and dancing. Miriam sang to them; “Sing to
the Lord for He is highly exalted. The horse and its rider He has hurled into
the sea.” Deborah’s Song in Judges 5 (1-9) “On that day Deborah and Barak son of Abinoam sang this
song: “When the princes in I will sing to the Lord, I
will sing: I will make music to the Lord, the God of O, Lord when you went out from
Sei, when you marched from the land of Edom, the earth shook, the
heavens poured, the clouds poured down water. The mountains quaked before
the Lord, the One of Sinai, before the Lord, the God
of In the days of Shamgar, son of Anath, in the
days of Jael the roads were abandoned; travellers
took to winding paths. Village life ceased until I,
Deborah, arose, a mother in When they chose new gods, war
came to the city gates and not a shield or spear was seen among forty thousand
in My heart is with Praise the Lord…..” Hannah’s Prayer in I Samuel 2:1-10 “Then
Hannah prayed and said: “My
heart rejoices in the Lord; in the Lord is my horn lifted high. My
mouth boasts over my enemies for I delight in Your
deliverance. There
is no-one holy like the Lord, there is no-one besides You:
there is
no Rock like our God. Do
not keep talking so proudly or let your mouth speak arrogance for the
Lord is a God who knows and by Him deeds are weighed. The
bows of the warriors are broken but those who stumbled are armed with strength. Those
who were full hire themselves out for good but those were hungry hunger no
more. She
who was barren has borne seven children, but she
who has had many sons pines away. The
Lord brings death and makes alive; He
brings down to the grave and raises up. The
Lord send poverty and wealth; He
humbles and He exalts. He
raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap; He
seats them with princes and has them inherit a throne of honour. For
the foundations of the earth are the Lord’s; upon them He has set the world. He
will guard the feet of His saints, but the wicked will be silenced in darkness. It is
not by strength that one prevails; those who oppose the Lord will be shattered. He
will thunder against them from heaven; the Lord will judge the ends of the
earth.” Mary’s Song in Luke 1:46-55 “And
Mary said: My soul glorifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices
in God my Saviour, for He
has been mindful of the humble state of His servant. From
now on all generations will call me blessed, for the
Mighty One has done great things for me –holy is His Name. His
mercy extends to those who fear Him, from generation to generation. He
has performed mighty deeds with His arm; He
has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. He
has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. He
has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty. He
has helped His servant remembering to
be merciful to Abraham and his descendants for ever, even as
He said to our fathers.” The Holy Spirit inspired these women to write
down these words which were included in the infallible and authorative
Word of God and contain great insights into the character of God. That perhaps
more than anything else speaks of God’s approval of women in whatever function
He may have chosen for them. It might be good to give examples of women
mentioned in Scripture who functioned in a variety of ways as called by God. Some of the women mentioned in the Old
Testament are: Miriam Scripture describes her as a prophetess in
Exodus 15:20 “Then Miriam the Prophetess,
Aaron’s sister, took a tambourine in her hand and all the women followed her
with tambourines and dancing.” Furthermore she was considered a leader beside
her brothers Moses and Aaron in Micah 6:4. “I brought you up out of Another example is Deborah whose story
we can read in Judges 4-5. She was a Judge over the nation of A further example is Hulda.
We read her story in II Kings 22:11-20. She had an established Prophetic ministry which
was recognised by the king, the priest and other leading figures in the nation.
Her message re-established God’s Covenant with the nation. Just as God called women under the Old Covenant
to function in ways that He had chosen likewise in the New Testament we have
examples of women who were chosen and called by God to fulfil
His purpose here on earth. These women did not call themselves to the positions
they functioned in. No, they were chosen and called by God as He determined.
Furthermore they were equipped by Him to fulfil
their task and because their gifts were recognised by other New Testament
believers they were not prevented from fulfilling their calling but were
encouraged to be faithful in the things God called them to do. The New Testament Woman As
Co-Worker Women functioned as Paul’s Co-Workers. We have
a list of his Co-Workers in Romans 16: 3-15 some of whom were male Co-Workers
and others were female Co-Workers such as Priscilla (Romans 16:3), Mary (Romans
16:6), Tryphena, Tryphosa
and Persis (Romans 16:12). Paul furthermore mentioned two female
Co-Workers and one male Co-Worker in Philippians 4:2-3 “I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche
to agree with each other in the Lord. Yes, and I ask you, loyal yokefellows,
help these women who have contended at my side in the cause of the Gospel,
along with Clement and the rest of my fellow-workers, whose names are in the
Book of Life.” We may not have details of the activities of
these men and women but we can be certain that their work would have involved
the preaching of the Gospel, very likely at great cost to themselves. Paul in I Corinthians 16:15-16 told the Church
in “You know that the household
of Stephanas were the first converts in Achaia and
they have devoted themselves to the service of the saints. I urge you,
brothers, to submit to such as these and to everyone who joins in the work and
labours at it.” Here Paul was saying to the Church in The New Testament Woman As Teacher The New Testament mentions women Teachers one
of whom was Priscilla. Priscilla and her husband “Meanwhile a Jew named Apollos, a native of He began to speak boldly in
the synagogue . When Priscilla and From this passage we learn that both Priscilla
and Interestingly Priscilla is mentioned before her
husband possibly indicating that she was the more important Teacher of the two. The New Testament Woman As Prophet The New Testament mentions women who prophesied
as in Acts 21:8-9 “Leaving the next day we
reached Even though we do not have specific details of
the prophecies spoken by these women we can be certain that they would have
fulfilled the requirements outlined by Paul in I Corinthians 14:29-31. Therefore these
prophecies would have included instruction as well as encouragement. The New Testament Woman As Apostle It is true that Jesus did not include women in
his group of Twelve, the “Apostles of the Lamb”.
However the New Testament mentions another group of Apostles who had never seen
Christ but were involved with the Apostles in pioneering missionary efforts. Examples are: Barnabas as in Acts “But
when the Apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of this, they tore their clothes and
rushed out into the crowds, shouting.” Epaphroditus as in Philippians 2:25 “But
I think it is necessary to send back to you Epaphroditus,
my brother, Fellow-Worker and Fellow-Soldier, who is also your messenger, whom
you sent to take care of my needs.” And a couple named Andronicus and Junia(s). Their names are mentioned in Romans 16:7 “Greet
Andronicus and Junia(s), my relatives who have been
in prison with me. They are outstanding among the apostles, and they were in
Christ before me.” These two people functioned as Apostles. Some
translators have translated the name “Junia” into “Junias“. However this is not a correct translation for the
name should be translated as “Junia” which is a
female name. This means that we know at least one woman who
functioned as an Apostle in the The New Testament Woman As Deacon The New Testament mentions women as deacons as
for instance in Romans 16:1-2 “I commend to you our sister
Phoebe, a servant in the Church in Cenchrea. I ask
you to receiver her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints and to give her
any help she may need from you, for she has been a great help to many people,
including me.” The Greek word used to describe here Phoebe’s
function is the word “diakonos” and may be translated
as servant, attendant, minister or deacon. This word has been used many times in the New
Testament to describe the ministry of, for instance, Apollos
as in I Corinthians 3:5 “What is after all Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants
through whom you came to believe -as the Lord has assigned to each his task.” Paul as in Ephesians 3:7 “I became a servant of this Gospel by the
gift of God’s grace given me through the working of His power.” Timothy
as in I Thessalonians 3:2 “we
sent Timothy who is our brother and Fellow-Worker in spreading the Gospel of
Christ to strengthen and encourage you in your
faith.“ Tychicus as in Ephesians
6:21 “Tychicus,
the dear brother and faithful servant in the Lord, will tell you everything so
that you also may know how I am and what I am doing.” Epaphras as in Colossians
1:7 “You
learned it from Epaphras, our dear fellow-servant who
is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf.” Likewise Phoebe functioned as a female Deacon
in her local Church. Paul furthermore praised her for the help she had been to
many people, including himself. The word “help” here
is the Greek word “prostatis” which means a Patroness,
a woman who protects, a woman set over others. Paul used this term in I Timothy 5:17 when
referring to the leading, guiding role of Elders “The Elders who direct the
affairs of the Church are well worthy of double honour, especially those whose
work is preaching and teaching.“ Since he used the same term for Phoebe it would
indicate that she too had a leading, a guiding, a
protective function in her Church. The New Testament Woman As Elder The New Testament may well mention women
elders. The Greek word for male Elders is “presbutero”.
This word has at times been translated as “older men”. The female version of this word is “presbuteras” which has usually been translated as “older
women” but can be translated as “female Elders”. One example is: Titus 2:1-3 “You must teach what is in
accord with sound doctrine. Teach the older men to be
temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled and sound in faith, in love and
endurance. Likewise, teach the older
women to be reverent in the way they live. Not to be slanderers or
addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good.” Here the text could very easily read: “You must teach what is in
accord with sound doctrine. Teach the male Elders to be
temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled and sound in faith, in love and
endurance. Likewise teach the female Elders
to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or to be addicted to
much wine, but to teach what is good.” These women were very likely female Elders who
functioned as Teachers. The New Testament Woman As
Overseer Or Pastor The New Testament uses the term “Elder”,
Overseer” or “Pastor”, “Shepherd” to describe the same function as in I Peter
5:1-2: Be Shepherds of God’s flock
that is under your care as Overseers- not because you must but because you are
willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money but eager to serve.” The term Pastor is not commonly found in the
New Testament though we have one example in Ephesians 4:11 “It was He (Christ) who gave
some to be Apostles, some to be Prophets, some to be Evangelists and some to be
Pastors and Teachers.” I Timothy 3:1-12 Paul wrote down instructions
for Overseers and Deacons. In I Timothy 3:1 he
stated: “Here is a trustworthy saying,
“If anyone sets his heart on being an overseer he desires a noble task.” The Greek word for “anyone” is “tis” and can be applied to either a male or a female
person. Paul thereby implied that men and women could be overseers. In I Timothy 3:2-7
Paul has given the qualifications for overseers. These qualifications are most
likely specifically for male overseers. In I Timothy 3:8-10 and verse 12 Paul has given
the qualifications for deacons. These qualifications were most likely specifically for deacons. In I Timothy “In the same way, women are to
be worthy of respect, not malicious talkers but temperate and trustworthy in
everything.” Paul did not specifically mention that these
women were to be the wife on one husband. This was because in Paul’s days men
were allowed more than one wife at the same time while women were only allowed
one husband. Paul did not mention here either that these
women were to manage their household well but he mentioned that in I Timothy
5:14 “So I counsel younger widows to marry, to have children, to manage their homes and to give the
enemy no opportunity for slander.” One example of a woman Overseer can be found in
2 John. There John wrote: “To the chosen lady and her
children…” The Letter ends with the words: “The children of your chosen
sister send their greetings.” It is clear from the contents of this letter
that the Apostle John wrote this Letter to a female Overseer who had spiritual
children advising her on things she needed to be aware of. He mentioned the
children of a chosen sister at the close of the Letter undoubtedly referring to
spiritual children of another female Overseer. Paul mentioned a number of women in whose homes
the church met. This expression very likely indicates that these women were
Overseers or Pastors of House Churches. Examples are: Nympha as described in
Colossians 4:15 “Give my greetings to the
brothers in In some Bible translations the name “Nympha” has been translated into “Nymphas”
and the words “in her house” have been translated “in his house”. This is not a
correct translation for the name should be translated as “Nympha”
which is a female name and consequently the Church met “in her house”. Chloe as described in I Corinthians 1:11 “My
brothers some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels
among you.” Priscilla who together with her husband pastored a church at their home as described in Romans
16:3-5 “Greet Priscilla and We have abundant evidence that God never called
women to be silent. On the contrary, He called them to function as Prophets, as
Apostles, as Evangelists, as Pastors, as Teachers, as Deacons or as Elders. We have seen that men have not always been in
agreement with God on this issue. Nevertheless, men and women are called to
walk in obedience to His design and to work together according to their
God-given gifts. This is to be done in perfect harmony as equals in being and
in function for the sake of God’s Kingdom and for His
glory. |