New Testament Women Church Leaders
For most of the Church’s history, in most Christian denominations and movements, women have been denied the privilege of serving as leaders. This prohibition is due to the understanding of just one or two verses in the New Testament which do not seem to allow women to have a ministry which involves public speaking (1 Cor 14:34), or which involves teaching a man (1 Tim 2:12).[1] There are however, several women mentioned in the New Testament who did function as church leaders. Even though these women are mentioned briefly, they do serve as valid Biblical precedents which call into question the widespread and persistent belief that the Bible teaches that church leaders can only be males.
In this article I will be using the Ephesians 4:11 leadership ministries as a starting point, and I will show from Scripture that for each of these important ministries there was at least one woman mentioned in the New Testament who effectively filled that leadership role.
In Ephesians 4:11, Paul lists the main leadership ministries which Jesus Christ has given to the church.[2] Paul writes:
It was he [Jesus] who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers to prepare God’s people for works of service so that the body of Christ may be built up. Ephesians 4:11-12 (NIV)
In the Greek, there is no hint in this verse, (or in any other verse which speaks of Spiritual gifts, including those of leadership and teaching), that it applies more to men than to women. On the contrary, every New Testament verse which speaks of Spiritual gifts, manifestations or ministries is completely free of any gender bias in the Greek.[3]
Apostles
Paul begins his list in Ephesians 4:11 with apostles. Apostles were people sent initially by Jesus (Mk 6:7; Gal 1:1), and later by the church (Ac 13:1-3), to pioneer a new work to facilitate the spread of the Gospel.[4]
In the New Testament, several people, apart from The Twelve, are mentioned as being apostles.[5] One of these is a woman – Junia. Junia and Andronicus (possibly her husband), were members of a church in Rome, perhaps even the founders of that church, and Paul sends greetings to them in Romans 16:7. He speaks warmly of them, mentioning that he is related to them, and that they had become Christians before he did. Junia and Andronicus had also suffered persecution because of their faith and had at some point been fellow prisoners with Paul. Paul states in Romans 16:7 that “they are outstanding among the apostles” – a wonderful commendation coming from someone who was himself an outstanding apostle.[6]
Unfortunately, Junia’s impact as a precedent for female church leadership is weak because many people fail to realise that she was a woman. This problem is further exacerbated by the fact that, in the 13th century, a New Testament copyist masculinised her name to (the equivalent of) Junias.[7] This alteration to Scripture has been adopted by many English translations. However, in all the Greek manuscripts before the 13th century, Junia’s name is feminine and several early church theologians, such as Chrysostom, Origen and Jerome, referred to her as being female.[8] [I have more information about Junia here.]
Prophets
Second on Paul’s list of leadership ministries,[9] is the role of the Prophet. With the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, the function of prophecy became more widespread than previously.
On the day of Pentecost, Peter quoted from the prophet Joel and said:
“And it will be in the last days, says God, I will pour out My Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters will prophesy; your young men will see visions and your old men will dream dreams. Even on both my male servants (ministers) and female servants (ministers), in those days, I will pour out my Spirit and they will prophecy.” Acts 2:17-18 (my translation)
Prophets were people who spoke for God. Their speech was inspired by the Holy Spirit and it may or may not have included foretelling. In the early church, prophets provided guidance (Ac 13:3-4; 16:6), instruction (1 Cor 14:31), strengthening, encouragement and comfort (1 Cor 14:3). Paul considered prophecy to be the most desirable of the spiritual gifts (1 Cor 14:1).
In Acts 21:9 we are told that Philip had four unmarried daughters who prophesied. The fourth century church historian Eusebius described these women as “mighty luminaries” and ranked them “among the first stage in the apostolic succession.”[10] Eusebius also quoted Papias, an early church writer alive at the time of Philip’s daughters. Papias said that people travelled great distances to visit these prophetesses and listen to their accounts of the early church. (F.F. Bruce:1951:387)
Ben Witherington (1988:152), in writing about Philip’s daughters, quotes E. Earle Ellis as saying: ”Although prophecy is a possibility for any Christian, it is primarily identified with certain leaders who exercise it as a ministry.” By all accounts, Philip’s daughters were highly respected prophets and leaders in the early church.
Evangelists
Third on the Ephesians 4:11 list is the role of evangelist. Evangelists were men and women who preached the gospel of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.[12] Euodia and Syntyche were women who were warmly regarded and respected as fellow-workers by Paul. He said that they “contended at my side for the cause of the gospel.” (Php 4:2-3) [I have more information about Euodia and Syntyche here.]
Another female minister esteemed by Paul was Phoebe. Paul commends Phoebe to the church at Rome in Romans 16:1-2. [13] In these verses Paul described Phoebe as both a diakonos and a prostatis.[14]
Kevin Giles (1992:35) writes:
The meaning of the last term has been much debated. In either its masculine or feminine form it means literally ‘one who stands before.’ This meaning is never lost whether it be translated leader, president, protector or patron . . . Its verbal form is proistanai [15] (cf Ths 5:12; 1 Tim 5:17), a term used of male church leaders elsewhere in the New Testament.
The term diakonos is always used by Paul to refer to a minister, however in this one instance, where it is referring to a woman, the King James Version has unjustly translated the word as “servant.”[16] Phoebe was a minister and a leader in the church at Cenchrea. This fact is rarely acknowledged in most English translations of the Romans 16:1-2.
Catherine Booth[17] has quoted the historian Theodoret of Cyrrhus (393-460 AD) as saying: “The fame of Phoebe was spoken of throughout the world. She was known not only to the Greeks and Romans, but also to the barbarians.” (Conner 1982:224)
Phoebe travelled widely and brought the gospel to foreign lands where she effectively and courageously ministered as an apostle-evangelist. Tradition holds that it was Phoebe who carried Paul’s letter that bears her name to Rome (Rom 16:1-2).
Pastor-teachers
Fourth on the list of the leadership ministries is the pastor-teacher. The terms “pastor” and “teacher”, joined together in this phrase in Ephesians 4:11, reflect two aspects of the one role. While the exact function of a pastor is not specified in the New Testament it certainly involved spiritual leadership. There are several women in the New Testament who functioned as pastor-teachers. Priscilla, another close friend and colleague of Paul was one of them. Together with her husband Aquila she taught the already learned and eloquent Apollos about Jesus more accurately (Ac 18:24-26).
In the more reliable, earlier Greek manuscripts, Priscilla’s name appears first in four of the six mentions of this couple.[18] This probably denotes that Priscilla’s ministry was more prominent than her husband’s.[19] Priscilla and Aquila were active in ministry and they hosted a church in their home at Ephesus (1 Cor 16:19) and later at Rome (Rom 16:5).[20] [I have information about Priscilla here.]
“It is well known that the early church attracted an unusual number of high status women . . . ” (Stark 1997:107), and sometimes these women, who would have lived in relatively spacious homes, hosted a congregation that met in their home. As a prominent member of the congregation, the host would have functioned as a leader employing a ministry gift – most probably the pastor-teacher gift. [21]
Kevin Giles (1992:34-35) writes:
Prisca [Priscilla] is not the only woman associated with house church leadership. A surprising number of women are mentioned in this role. . . In Acts we see Mark’s mother providing a home for the Christians to assemble (Acts 12:12) and at Philippi we hear of believers meeting in the home of Lydia (Acts 16:14-15,40).[22] Writing to the Colossians, Paul greets Nympha and the church in her house (Col 4:15).[23] Perhaps Chloe is also the host of a home-church (1 Cor 1:11), as may have been some of the other women Paul greets in the last chapter of Romans.
The “chosen lady”,[24] who John addresses in his 2nd letter, was a noble woman obviously functioning as a pastor. This becomes evident when you compare how John refers to his followers, and hers, similarly as “children” (2 Jn 1,4,13 cf 3 Jn 4). Clement of Alexandra identified the recipient of John’s second letter as a “Babylonian” woman[25] named Electa.[26] (Could this be the same “Babylonian” woman alluded to in 1 Peter 5:13?) [I have more information on the "chosen lady" here.]
Stanley J. Grentz (1995:78) notes that the New Testament Gospel: “. . . radically altered the position of women, elevating them to a partnership with men unparalleled in first-century society. Wherever the gospel went, women were among the first, foremost and most faithful converts.”
The following women are all church leaders mentioned in the New Testament: Philip’s daughters (Ac 21:9), Priscilla (Ac 18:26; Ro 16:3-5, etc), Phoebe (Ro 16:1-2), Junia (Ro 16:7), Chloe (1 Cor 1:11), Nympha (Col 4:15), Apphia (Phl 2), “the chosen lady” (2 Jn 1), “the chosen sister” (2 Jn 13), Euodia and Syntyche (Php 4:2-3), and perhaps Lydia (Ac 16:40), etc. Just as there have been good and bad male leaders, there were good and bad female leaders. Sadly, the church in Thyatira was being corrupted by the teachings and false prophecies of a wicked and immoral female leader (Rev 2:20-24), as was the church in Ephesus (1 Tim 1:3-4 cf 2:12.) [See my article on 1 Timothy 2:12 in Context.]
The church as a whole has been very slow to embrace the New Testament ideal of complete equality among people regardless of race and gender, etc. This can be seen in the fact that slavery[27] was only outlawed in the “Christian” nations of Great Britain and the United States of America in 1833 and 1865 respectively[29]; and that in these same nations, racial discrimination has only relatively recently been declared both illegal and immoral. I am convinced that discrimination against church leaders on the basis of gender will also become a thing of the past, and that future generations will look at our present difficulties and debate on this subject with incredulity.
It would be wonderful if the Church as a whole would recognise that, according to the New Testament, women did function as leaders: as apostles, prophets, evangelists and pastor-teachers; and that they were respected and valued in these roles by such people as the Apostle Paul. In short, it is not unscriptural for a woman to be a church leader!
The church’s mission can only be enhanced and made more effective when gifted and called men and women minister together with their complementary skills and abilities, and are accepted as equal partners in the church’s mission. Men and women should be united in the cause of the Gospel and in building up the body of Christ, as well as in equipping the people of God to reach the lost (Eph 4:11-12).
Endnotes
[1] 1 Timothy 2:12 is examined in another article here .
[2] cf 1 Cor 12:28-31
[3] Verses which mention Spiritual giftings: Ac 2:17-18; Rom 12:6-8; 1 Cor 12:7-11&27-28; 1 Cor 14:26-33; Eph 4:11-12; Heb 2:4; 1 Pe 4:9-11.
[While Romans 12:6-8 does contain masculine participles, so do many verses (including John 3:16) which speak about salvation and are generally taken as applying to both men and women. The grammatical masculine gender does not imply that it refers to only males. The “default” grammatical gender of many passages which apply equally to men and women is masculine.]
[4] In his thesis on the subject of apostolic ministry, Steve Addison (1995:37) comments that:
“The Twelve were . . . pioneering leaders and models of apostolic ministry. . . they laid the foundations for the church in its (Jewish) infancy. . . Following the Twelve, came a wider group of itinerant missionaries and church planters, also known as ‘apostles.’ They shared the call to go into the world to make disciples.”
[5] These apostles include: Paul, Barnabas (Acts 14:14), Silas, Apollos (1 Corinthians 1:12), Timothy, Epaphroditus (Philippians 2:25), Andronicus and Junia (Romans 16:7). Jesus is also called an apostle in Hebrews 3:1.
[6] In his Homilies on the Book of Romans, fourth century church father, Chrysostom, preached favourably about Junia; and using Paul’s words, he acknowledged her as an outstanding female apostle.
[7] The fictitious, masculinised name “Junias” does not appear in any other Greek manuscript whatsoever – religious or otherwise. The feminine name “Junia” however is used about 250 times in various other Greek manuscripts.
James D.G. Dunn (1988:894) writes:
Lampe 139–40, 147 [in his Patristic Greek Lexicon] indicates over 250 examples of “Junia,” none of Junias, as was taken for granted by the patristic commentators, and indeed up to the Middle Ages. The assumption that it must be male is a striking indictment of male presumption regarding the character and structure of earliest Christianity. . . We may firmly conclude, however, that one of the foundation apostles of Christianity was a woman and wife.
A well-written, interesting and scholarly article which suggests that Junia may indeed be a masculine name is here.
[8] The earliest commentator on Romans 16:7 Origen of Alexandria (c.185-254/55) took the name Junia to be feminine, as did Jerome (340/50-419/20), Hatto of Vercelli (924-961), Theophylact (c.1050-c.1108), and Peter Abelard (1079-1142). In fact no commentator on the text until Aegidus of Rome (1245-1316) took the name to be masculine.Leonard Swidler (1979:299)
[9] The role of Prophets is second in both the Ephesians 4:11 and 1 Corinthians 12:28 list of ministries.
[10] Eusebius, History of the Church 3.37.1
[12] Based on how the word is used in the New Testament, C.H. Dodd (1964:261) defines preaching (kerugma) as “. . . the public proclamation of Christianity to the non-Christian world.”
[13] The CEV translates Romans 16:1-2: “I have good things to say about Phoebe, who is a leader in the church at Cenchreae . . . After all she has proved to be a respected leader for many others including me [Paul].”
[14] An excellent and scholarly article about Phoebe, and the English and Greek words used to describe her and and her ministry, is here.
[15] Robert Sungenis writes that cognates of this word are: “. . . used 8 times in the New Testament. Six references refer to “ruling,” (e.g., Rom 12:8; 1Tim 3:4, 5, 12; 5:17; 1Th 5:12), while two references express the idea of “perseverance” or “maintenance” (e.g., Tit 3:8, 14).”
[16] Rodney Stark (1997:109) writes:
All important modern translations of the Bible now restore the original language used by Paul…but somehow the illusions fostered by the King James falsifications remain common wisdom. Nevertheless, there is virtual consensus among historians of the early church as well as Biblical scholars that women held positions of honour and authority within early Christianity. . .
[17] Catherine co-founded The Salvation Army with her husband, William Booth. Christine Parkin (1990) writes that William Booth drafted the following Orders and Regulations to be observed by The Salvation Army:
Women shall have the right to an equal share with men in the work of publishing salvation.
A woman may hold any position of power and authority within the Army.
A woman is not to be kept back from any position of power or influence on account of her sex.
Women must be treated as equal with men in all intellectual and social relationships of life.
[18] Priscilla’s name appears first in Acts 18:18, 26; Romans 16:3 and 2 Timothy 4:19.
[19] Luke, the author of Acts, was very careful in which order he placed names. This is seen in the combined ministry of Paul and Barnabas; whoever of the two was the most prominent in ministry, or the most recognised in any given situation, his name appears first.
[20] Kevin Giles (1992:31) writes:
It is now accepted that most, if not all, of the early congregations were house churches. . . The ‘head’ of such a household would naturally be recognised as having oversight of the new church. His [or her] social standing would give him [or her] pre-eminence in the group; his [or her] close association with the apostle who founded the church . . . would add to this. And as time passed, the fact that he [or she] was the first (or one of the first) converts would further enhance his [or her] position in the group.
[21] It is currently estimated that there are approximately 50,000 house churches in China. 80% of these are run by women. (Cunningham 2000:26)
[22] Ben Witherington (1988:149) writes that Lydia’s home:
. . . became the home of the embryonic church in Philippi. This is intimated by the fact that when Paul and Silas emerge from prison they go to Lydia’s house to encourage the brethren (Ac 16:40) rather than to the Philippian jailor’s house where they had also been entertained (16:34).
[23] Some modern scholars, who try to lessen the significance Colossians 4:15, say that Nympha was just the hostess and not the pastor. Kathryn Riss asks “If that were so, who did pastor her house church, and why would Paul so rudely fail to greet the pastor as well as the hostess?”
Some later Greek texts have maculinised Nympha’s name (as well as the original feminine pronoun in this verse) to obscure her gender.
[24] The word “lady” (kuria) used in 2 John 1 & 5, is the female equivalent of “lord” (kurios). This lady was a woman of noble birth and/or elevated social position. Some people argue that the “chosen lady” represents a church and not a single person, however in the Greek of 2 John, it is clear that at times John is addressing a single person (the lady) and that at other times he is referring to plural persons (her followers/congregation). [More on the "chosen lady" here.]
[25] Christians sometimes figuratively referred to Rome as “Babylon”.
[26] Electa means “chosen” or “elect”, so ”To the chosen lady” in 2 John 1 could be translated as ”To Lady Electa”. Others have speculated that this lady’s name was “Kuria”, so that 2 John 1 could be translated as “To the chosen Kuria”.
[27] Advocates of slavery often used Scripture to support their position.
[28] Slavery was abolished throughout most of the British Empire when the Slavery Abolition Act came into force in 1833. The United States abolished slavery in 1865 with the 13th Amendment to their Constitution.
This article is adapted from an assignment entitled: The Ephesians 4:11 Leadership Ministries and the New Testament Women who Functioned in Them, submitted on the 22nd of August, 2008, to the Australian College of Ministries for the BTh award.
© 22nd of August, 2008; Margaret Mowczko
Some of my other articles on gender and equality issues:
Equality in Marriage
Leading Together in the Home
Submission
A Suitable Helper
The Complementarian Concept of “the Created Order”
Advice to Newlyweds
Power Struggles in Christian Marriage?
Equality in Ministry
Junia and the ESV
Did Priscilla Teach Apollos?
Euodia and Syntyche: Women Church Leaders at Philippi
The “Chosen Lady” in 2 John
1 Timothy 2:12 in Context
Interpretations and Applications of 1 Corinthians 14:34-35
Women in Ministry and [the issues surrounding] Homosexuals in the Church
Masculine and Feminine Leadership
Paul’s Qualification for Church Leaders
Old Testament Priests and New Testament Ministers
Tags: Bible women, can a woman be a pastor, Catherine Booth, Chloe, Chosen Lady, Electa, Euodia and Syntyche, Junia, Kuria, Lydia, New Testament Women, Nympha, Paul and Women, Philip's daughters, Phoebe, Priscilla, prophecy, women in ministry debate, Women in the early church
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There's been 31 comments so far...
Thanks Marg, that was fantastic. I’m looking forward to the article on 1 Tim 2:12
I was just interested in what it is you feel that the Woman’s role is in a Family. Does the bible not speak of the husband as the leader? I believe that both man and woman have different roles (NOT capabilities) within the church and household. However different they’re roles are, God views them as EQUALLY important.
Hi Lucy,
I have another (older) article simply entitled “Submission” which concentrates more on the husband and wife relationship. This may answer some of your questions.
I firmly believe that God’s ideal is that men and women lead together whether that is in the home, in the work-place or in church ministry.
Before the fall, God said that men AND women were to rule over his creation together. See Genesis 1:27-28. The concept of a man “ruling” his wife came as a consequence of sin: Genesis 3:16d! But Jesus came to deal with sin and its consequences.
I don’t believe that leadership is only confined to males. Some men are lousy at leadership and some women are fantastic at it.
We all have different talents and capabilities, different strengths and weaknesses and each marriage is unique. How each marriage works is something that each couple should work out together. Ultimately, for a Christian couple, Jesus is the ruler and leader of the marriage.
There is sooooo much more that I could say about this, but this will have to do for now.
Have a look at my article “Leading Together in the Home”.
Jesus did deal with sin but that does not mean that Christians are immune from God’s Judgement on earth Today (we still experience painful child birth!) I think what you are saying could perhaps relate more to our life in heaven. Some males may be lousy leaders but some of our bosses (Ephesians 6:5-9) and governing authorities (Romans 13:1-9) are also lousy but God still requests that we must obey and serve as if serving the Lord because this is the will of God.
Hi Lucy,
I’m not thinking of heaven; I’m thinking of now. While the fulfillment of God’s Kingdom is in the future, as Christians, the Kingdom is within us already (luke 17:21). We should be living as Kingdom people now. I actually do believe that Christians are immune from God’s punitive Judgement – completely immune. See 1 John 4:16-18
We do live in an imperfect, “fallen” world and some of its consequences are inescapable, but that doesn’t mean we do nothing about pain and injustice and oppression. As God’s representatives we should be challenging these things and modelling a better way – a way of mutual regard, respect, submission and servanthood.
I fully don’t understand why there needs to be a “boss” in a healthy, Christian marriage. In more complex organisations there needs to be a leader to stop things turning into chaos, but if its only two people, why does there need to be a boss? Did you get a chance to read my article on submission? I am all for submission!!!
I think this emphasis on male leadership is out of proportion with the teaching of the whole Bible. There were MANY amazing, wise and courageous women leaders in Biblical times. [I think I'll post their names soon.]
And Abigail actually went against her husband’s wishes and was commended for it. (Something that really confused me for ages when I was a girl!)
We give women pain-killers in labour if they want it, and some don’t. If you would like your husband to be the boss, that’s cool. In my marriage there is no boss and we are very happy. We work things out together.
BTW My labour was completely pain free with Michael.
Hey Marg,
Did you see ‘Compass’ last night? They were interviewing the Sydney Anglican dude… One of the matters they raised was his stand against women in leadership. They didn’t really go into depth, just to say he was against it… unlike the more traditional anglican churches who are actually embracing women leaders (as well as homosexual leaders…. although I know you don’t like those two being put in the same category)
Anyway…. thought of you when I watched it haha
ross
By the way…. interesting article
Thanks Ross.
So are you coming to our “Women in Leadership” seminar on the 21st of November? (Details soon.)
Yeah, because women and homosexuals are not the same thing!!!! It’s a red herring! It’s like saying if we allow women to be church leaders then next we have to allow tax cheats or adulterers, etc, to be leaders.
Being a women is not a sin and being a women in leadership is not unscriptural.
Does the bible not speak of the husband as the leader?
No, the bible never speaks of the husband as the leader of the household. It only speaks of the husband being the head of the wife, and head does not mean leader. Many believe that the husband is spiritually responsible for the wife, which is never correct theologically. The husband for example cannot possibly be the head of his children. Many are led to believe (I used to be one of them) that wives must submit to the husband 24/7, but what if the husband is an abuser? Would God really decree that all wives submit to their husbands 24/7? Functional inequality is inequality in essence. To believe that wives are functionally unequal to their husbands, or sisters are functionally unequal to their brothers is sexism, no matter how you define it. The word “role ” is gender neutral until it has been unfairly used by christians to describe unequal treatment of men and women in Christ, and all of a sudden, gender based “role” becomes acceptable. Roles are changeable, not locked by gender, e.g. children becomes parents, students become teachers, and no-one is locked into a forever subordinate “role” based on an inaccurate interpretation of certain texts.
Cont’d from last comment: Men and women have different biological roles, but not unequal ministry roles. Not all men are gifted as pastors, just as not all women are gifted as pastors. But let those called by God, men or women, be free to serve without being restricted by their gender.
Hi Marg,
Why do we always discuss women in the NT in isolation from men? This disturbs me. For example, only 19 passages refer to a total of 17 women in Paul’s epistles. This works out to be only 18% of the people involved in Paul’s mission. Two thirds of those women, are found in chapter 16 of Romans in the greetings with very little information gleaned. Let me mention a few comments.
Junia- ‘episemoi en tois apostolos’ could be inclusive. That is, Junia and Andronicus were among the circle of apostles. It could also though be exclusive, meaning that the two were simply ‘well known among the apostles’ and were not apostles themselves.
I lean on the former yet what do we mean by ‘apostle’. Does that one reference decisively imply that the early church applied no restrictions on women? There are 4 types of ‘apostle’ in the NT; 1) the twelve (Matt 10:12) 2) the term is used for someone like Paul who had seen the Lord and been commissioned (1 Cor 1:1), 3) it could mean a person sent out to perform a certain task or convey a particular message (1 Cor 8:23. Phi 2:25) or 4) it may refer to an itinerant missionary (Acts 14:4, referring to Barnabas)
So what category does Junia fall into?
It is highgly unlikely that these two otherwise unknown people are said to stand out among the twelve (1) or Peter, James or Paul (2). The sense ‘messenger’ appears more likely (3), yet the phrase ‘outstanding among the apostles’ seems a little awkward applied to thsi cate. The meaning ‘travelling missionary’ is therefore the most likely especially in light of 1 Cor 9:5 (also Acts 14:4,1, 1 Cor 12:28, 1 Thess 2:7). In this case they were outstanding among the missionaries.
More to come.
REPLIES TO MARK’S COMMENTS ARE BELOW. PLEASE SCROLL DOWN. – MARG
“By all accounts, Philip’s daughters were highly respected prophets and leaders in the early church”
Here is the text
Act 21:8 “On the next day we departed and came to Caesarea, and we entered the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, and stayed with him.
Act 21:9 He had four unmarried daughters, who prophesied.”
Look at the information we have, and look at your claim…hardly compatible. This is what Kostenberger saids in regards to this sort of hermeneutic…”the frequent, yet fallicious hermeneutical procedure of drawing simplistic conclusions from a designation applied to a given person…”
Evangelists
“Euodia and Syntyche were women who were warmly regarded and respected as fellow-workers by Paul. He said that they “contended at my side for the cause of the gospel.”
First, they are not identified as ‘evangelists’.
Second, the same verb ‘synathleo’ (contended) is also used in Phil 1:27, the only other NT use of the verb. There in 1:27, it refers to the whole congregation which suggests that these two women had participated as part of the Church in supporting Paul. To have ‘contended’ with Paul is a broad designation and does not therefore mean they fulfilled the same role as Paul.
Third, internal evidence in Phil shows that the church supported Paul financially (1:5, 4:10; cf, 2 Cor 8-9, Rom 15:25-29) thus it is likely these two women participated in this.
Fourth, Paul singles out these two women to stop arguing which is highly embarrassing for a letter that is to be read out.
Therefore to claim that these two women were evangelists or even ‘leaders’ is overblown.
Pastor- teacher,
Here your analysis is typical. No where does the Bible instruct that Priscila was a pastor-teacher. Kostenberger saids…
“all that can be said is that Priscilla, together with and in the presence of her husband, and in the context of their home, helped to provide corrective instruction to a man, Apollos”
All your quotes of Giles etc are historical revisionism with no substatial facts from the Bible. This is not a hermeneutic that takes the doctrine of Bible innerancy seriously (especially Giles). It brings one’s own agenda into the text and postulates and guesses beyond what the scripture teaches.
For example, here is what you say…
“As a prominent member of the congregation, the host would have functioned as a leader employing a ministry gift – most probably the pastor-teacher gift.”
and i ask, where does the Bible confirm this? You provide proof in footnote 21…
“It is currently estimated that there are approximately 50,000 house churches in China. 80% of these are run by women.”
And i respond…there are plenty of western churches ordaining homosexuals…doesnt’t make it right. Nor does the fact that women now run house churches, prove your point. Honestly, it shows simple manipulation of Biblical evidence- this saddens me.
Final point,
The passages on men/women roles are rooted in creation (1 Tim 2:13-14, 1 Cor 11:2-10, Eph 5:22ff). All these passages refer to scripture pre-fall, thus before sin. Therefore biblical manhood and womanhood is rooted in God’s good creation. Egals are messing with God’s creation plans.
Slavery on the other hand was never instituted by God, nor supported in such a way. It is a red-herring to argue this way. One could equally argue the egal= homosexual argument.
Ironically, the whole feminist movement has pushed women away from the value and beauty of raising children, which in effect is damaging both children and women. I fear that future generations will suffer more because of the current situation. Why are devaluing the role of mother and wife, both of which are God’s ordained plans. I fear our generation will be judged severely for the manipulation of the text that keeps occuring. Egals need to re-think the damage they are doing to Biblical authority, the church, the home and society.
Hi Mark,
In reply to your first comment:
“Why do we always discuss women in the NT in isolation from men?” Your question is a little vague. In fact most people discuss men in isolation from women, while others do not distinguish between men and women at all when discussing Christianity, etc. I have written about Paul and John in my Bible study notes. I have also written about Timothy and Epaphroditus here.
I choose to discuss women because, for centuries, women have been ignored, and dogma has been formulated that did not take into account women ministers. I don’t dispute your maths; most NT ministers were undoubtedly men. I just want to highlight the women that many people know nothing about.
I have written more about Junia here.
I don’t for one moment believe that Junia and Andronicus were counted among the Twelve. Andronicus and Junia are not well known, but so are some of the Twelve. Next to nothing is know about Matthias, who replaced Judas Iscariot. This does not mean that Matthias and some of the other original Twelve had insignificant apostolic ministries.
Apostle (which is derived from a Greek word) is identical in meaning to missionary (which is derived from a Latin word.) All of the apostles mentioned in the New Testament were missionaries. Both men and women continue to be missionaries, pioneering new Christians ministries and taking the gospel message into new territory.
In reply to your second comment: When I say “By all accounts . . . ” I include the accounts of Eusebius, who also quoted Papias, and I include the observations of E. Earle Ellis.
As mentioned in the article Eusebius described these women as “mighty luminaries” and ranked them “among the first stage in the apostolic succession.” Philip’s daughters were highly respected and they prophesied regularly. I stand by my statement that, “By all accounts, Philip’s daughters were highly respected prophets and leaders in the early church.”
In reply to your third comment: Paul writes that Euodia and Syntyche contended together with him for the cause of the gospel, i.e. the euangelion. They were involved in gospel work – evangelistic work.
Unfortunately it is not at all unusual for two people in a congregation to have different views. The reason that Paul addresses Euodia and Syntyche personally actually reinforces the idea that these women had considerable influence in the Philippian church. Paul does not actually say or even imply that these women were arguing. Nor does Paul reveal any sense of embarrassment in Php 4:2-3. You are reading these things into the text. Paul actually speaks very well of these women.
Furthermore, if you look at the preceding verses in Philippians, Paul was encouraging mature people to have the same view as himself – of reaching out for the goal spiritual perfection (Philippians 3:14-15). It could well be that Paul is carrying on this thought, and using very similar language, is simply saying, “I encourage Euodia and I encourage Syntyche to have the same thinking in the Lord . . . ” (Php 4:2).
It is true that Paul regarded financial support of his ministry as true partnership koinonia with him in ministry, and that the Philippians (and Macedonians in general) were generous givers. However it is difficult to reconcile the word sunathleo with giving. Synathleo is not used in Php 1:27 in the context of giving, but rather in the context of standing firm and striving together in unity. Euodia and Syntyche may not have fulfilled the same role as Paul (who was an apostle), but they certainly worked together with Paul in evangelistic work, and he clearly valued their ministry.
It could be that Euodia, Syntyche and Clement were leaders in the Philippian church; they were certainly ministers of some sort.
Apart from Philip (Acts 21:8), no one is mentioned as being an evangelist, even though many people, including Timothy (2 Tim 4:5), were involved in evangelistic work. [The word "evangelist" is only used 3 times in the New Testament. Ephesians 2:11 contains the word also.]
BTW One of my main ministries is sharing the gospel every week with mostly non-churched school children. Does that make me an evangelist? Is it so hard to imagine that women were instrumental in spreading the gospel, and even devoted to evangelism?
In reply to your fourth comment:
Nowhere does the Bible name anyone as a pastor-teacher!
The Greek does not specify that Priscilla and Aquila taught Apollos in their home. Although they might have, since they hosted and undoubtedly led a house church from their home in Ephesus (Acts 18:19) and later in Rome (1 Cor 16:19). Furthermore Priscilla and Aquila did not just help to provide corrective instruction to Apollos. (This sounds rather lame). Priscilla and Aquila took Apollos aside and explained to him the Way of God more accurately, including the doctrine of Christian baptism. This is especially significant as Apollos was himself an eloquent and educated man. I have written more about Priscilla here.
I hardly think that footnote 21 can be thought of as proof! It is just a bit of extra, and I think interesting, information. The Catholic church actually have even more impressive numbers than what I have quoted.
I cannot see how I have manipulated Biblical evidence. I have provided extra evidence. But I have not misquoted or misinterpreted what the Bible says.
So, just what is your problem with women being church leaders?
In reply to your fifth comment: I VERY much value my roles of being a wife and a mother. I agree that there are dangers in devaluing these roles! I advocate that mothers (or in some cases, fathers) stay at home with their children when the children are young. Parenthood is a huge responsibility and a joy!
Having said that, the role of motherhood is not mentioned until after the fall. Not that I think that motherhood is negative, far from it; I just don’t think that you can state that motherhood, or in fact any role such as bread winner, leader, homemaker, etc, is stated or implied in the creation accounts. The only role that is clear is that both men and women were commissioned by God to rule over his creation (Genesis 1:26-28).
I only bring up slavery because it is so clearly not part of God’s ideal plan for humanity, and yet it took the Christian church ages to realise this. Similarly I do not believe that emphasising unilateral submission or restricting roles of women to be part of God’s ideal plan for humanity.
Thanks for your comments, Mark.
Thank you so much for such concise and strong information you send, in relation to women’s role in leadership. I have benefited much from it and hope you will send related materials that you think are helpful to enhance my knowledge on this area.
blessings,
yours in Christ,
Abera
Hi Abera,
I’m glad that you found this article useful. If you search this site and look at the “related articles” (at the bottom of most posts) you will find many articles with related material.
If you have any questions, I would be happy to try and answer them.
Marg
[...] New Testament Women Church Leaders [...]
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[...] Junia (Ro 16:7), Euodia and Syntyche (Php 4:2-3) and probably Lydia (Ac 16:40), plus others, were New Testament women with significant Christian ministries and which probably included house church leadership. Just as [...]
THE ANSWER AND THE KEY TO THE DEBATE IS HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!Your article is mostly correct! There are two categories of “leadership”. 1=the 4 fold ministry gifts that JESUS GIVES. 2= The two fold “offices” of the church overseer/elder/shepherd and deacon/servant that MANKIND SEEKS AND APPOINTS. Jesus appoints men and women with giftings to be used throughout the universal church=4 fold ministers that can go from church to church based off of respect and good fruit used to edify and bring maturity. NEXT>>>1 timothy= Men seek to be overseers/bishop and are appointed by church to have authority and ministry ONLY AT ONE LOCAL CHURCH only a man, has to meet qualifications. Men or women seek to be deacon/servants and are chosen by church to serve ONLY AT ONE LOCAL CHURCH. Check book of acts and epistles all through this is the pattern. Overseers/bishops are only men just like scripture says. women can be deaconess just like scripture says.It all reads easy and makes perfect sense once you understand what I just wrote. The local church is the household of God it is self governing and autonomous that is why only Men are the “leaders” because the family structure is the kingdom structure[leading is not ruling but giving of yourself like Jesus] Elder is same as overseer, even Paul was not an elder/overseer because he wasn’t married and therefore didn’t qualify to be leader of a local church.Peter did qualify and is called elder, John is also called elder. People can be 4 fold ministers AND elders but being an Apostle Prophet Evan. or Pastor/Teacher DOES NOT make you an appointed overseer or deacon of a local church. Also one man NEVER RULES a local church. A group of elders with EQUAL AUTHORITY leads a church [check it in bible, we really err by appointing one man over a church or a board of directors] Please deeply search everything I wrote in THE BIBLE, Don’t listen to mans leadership philosophies, Jesus and Paul gave us the Info let’s get it right!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks for your comment Zeb. I agree with much of what you’ve written, but not all of it. I think it’s interesting that you think that Paul, as an unmarried man, would not have qualified as an overseer/elder. Using your interpretation of Paul’s qualifications for overseers in 1 Timothy 3:1-6, that means Jesus would not have qualified either.
To Marg…really God gave us a government model for the church that is beautiful and natural. Overseers=very hard,lots of responsibility, true leaders, not fame seeking ego men. Deacons/servants= hard working well,…servants to the body. The church should be family structured not hierarchical. Just like the tribes of the world, elders lead with wisdom seeking wellness and servants serve. Imagine if we would have taken the true structure to the world not an empire model. Jesus does not qualify to be an overseer of a local church because he is the head of the body. Just like Jesus does not qualify to be the dad in my earthly family . We do not preach ourselves as Lord [the leader the boss] but Jesus as Lord and ourselves as slaves for you sake. God definitely chooses women to be Ephesian 4:11 gifts to the church. Just realize God chooses those positions [ and they are recognized and accepted by various churches by their fruit] but we seek to be leaders of local churches [1 tim] We need to get rid of little boys trying to be the boss/lord, sole leader, building empires and get back to the strong family models where wise elders lead and we serve one another in love.
Zeb, I really do agree with much of this comment also.
Going back to your first comment: From early church writings we see that apostles and prophets (and probably evangelists) had travelling ministries, and that elders/overseers cared for local congregations. We see that elders/overseers were somewhat like modern-day senior pastors who, among other things, taught. (Being able to teach is the only qualification in 1 Timothy 3:1-7 that is not a moral qualification.) And we see that deacons were involved in various other ministries in the church community. Some of these ministries included pastoring. That is to say, some elders and deacons functioned as pastors.
I believe that Chloe, Nympha, Euodia and Syntyche, the Chosen Lady and other women were house church leaders. That is, these women were elders and pastors of small local congregations. (Almost all early churches met as house churches in the first 200 years.)
Zeb, I have been studying Greek for several years now, and my everyday New Testament is the Greek New Testament (USB). The one-woman-man qualification in 1 Tim 3:2 is a moral qualification. It is a Greek idiom that was used in ancient times to mean “married only once”. I have written about this here: http://newlife.id.au/equality-and-gender-issues/pauls-qualifications-for-church-leaders/
You may be interested in this also: http://newlife.id.au/equality-and-gender-issues/women-pastors-in-the-new-testament/
I think it is unwise to prohibit godly men who are obvious leaders, men who have similarities to Paul and Jesus, just because they are single. (I did not mean to use Paul and Jesus as actual, literal examples in my previous comment.) I also think it is unwise to prohibit godly and capable women from being elders/overseers because of a faulty understanding of the one-woman-man idiom.
Furthermore, I cannot find in the Bible that it says that fathers, and not father and mothers, should be the leaders of the house. The Bible never says that men only should be the leaders of the home. I have written about this also. http://newlife.id.au/equality-and-gender-issues/kephale-and-male-headship-in-pauls-letters/ and:
http://newlife.id.au/equality-and-gender-issues/leading-together-in-the-home/
But I think we agree on most things.
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