Overview
Let’s look at some women of the Bible
Miriam was a prophetess. Debra was a judge and a prophetess. Abigail was used to admonish David, the future king, so that he would not sin. Huldah (Hooda) was a prophetess, and Esther saved Israel as a nation.
God uses people to carry out his purposes in every generation. He uses male and female.
We can see in acts the holy spirit fell upon men and women. Men and women were filled with the holy spirit and they all spoke in tongues men and women.
Acts 21:8-9
8 “And the next day we that were of Paul’s company departed, and came unto Caesarea: and we entered into the house of Philip the evangelist, which was one of the seven; and abode with him. (9) And the same man had four daughters, virgins, which did prophesy.”
In acts 21: 8-9, God used the four virgin daughters to prophecy. God is using women ALL throughout the Bible here.
This next verse is the main controversy that has tripped up a lot of people, but remember, when you look at scripture, you have to look not only at the scripture but the culture at that time and the city it takes place in, and you have to look elsewhere in the Bible to see if there is a pattern there.
In 1 Timothy, Paul was writing to Timothy who was at Ephesus. This church was a heathen church that was backslidden. These people used to worship the idol of Diana who was supposed to be the goddess of that city prior to their conversion in Christ.
In Acts 19:28, they were full of wrath. Anger is one of the first signs you’ll see when truth is induced.
Acts 19:28
“And when they heard these sayings, they were full of wrath, and cried out, saying, Great is Diana of the Ephesians.”
This idol, this fake goddess elevated the status of women in this city. She was a symbol of women’s liberation. This view was that women do not have to subject themselves to anyone and can be god themselves.
So in response to this women’s liberation, Paul wrote a letter to Timothy to correct this situation. In this society, women could shout in the church. They did not respect their husband at all because of the teaching of Diana.
1 Timothy 2:5-12
5 “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;”
Note: This is what got Luther in hot water, but it was truth! We dont need man, a priest, if you will, to be a mediator for us for there is only one mediator, and that is Christ Jesus! He didn’t believe the Catholic Church had the power to pardon people’s sins, but I digress. That’s another subject.
6 “Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time. (7) Whereunto I am ordained a preacher, and an apostle, (I speak the truth in Christ, and lie not;) a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and verity. (8) I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting. (9) In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array; (10) But (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works. (11) Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. (12) But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.”
This was written to obviously reign back this approach by the women in this city. This letter was written to correct this church in this city!
This is the go-to verse where everyone points to to say, “Hey, women should be quiet.” Nooo! This letter was a letter of correction to fix a problem in Ephesus due to the teaching of Diana that was leading the city women astray.
Women can serve God. Women can be leaders in the church. Remember this letter was written only to Timothy at Ephesus concerning the women’s liberation that had gotten out of hand and needed correction. The women at Ephesus were exercising power by yelling and looking down upon men, all of this in a wrong way.
Because of this infectious behavior induced by Diana, Paul had to pull this back into control and told the women there not to teach because the situation was out of control.
Okay, so maybe Paul just hated women for some reason and had a personal vendetta against them. I mean you never know, right?
Elsewhere in the Bible, you can see where Paul exhorted women, so Paul wasn’t some women hater. He gave credit to women where it was due.
Romans 16:1, 3, 4, 6, 12, and 15
1 “I commend unto you Phebe our sister, which is a servant of the church which is at Cenchrea:”
3 “Greet Priscilla and Aquila my helpers in Christ Jesus:”
Note: Priscila was a woman
4 “Who have for my life laid down their own necks: unto whom not only I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles.”
6 “Greet Mary, who bestowed much labour on us.”
12 “Salute Tryphena and Tryphosa, who labour in the Lord. Salute the beloved Persis, which laboured much in the Lord.”
15 “Salute Philologus, and Julia, Nereus, and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints which are with them.”
So you see Paul was not anti feminest at all, but he simply gave credit where credit was due and he gave correction where correction was due such as in the letter of Timothy.
The other hot topic or word that goes in conjunction with women in the church is the word submit.
Ephesians 5:22
“Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.”
Okay, all the guys love this verse, yeah?
The word submit is meant as a respect for both men and women. As we see in the verse prior Eph 5:21: “Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.”
Submitting is supposed to be a mutual aspect, and no one is to exert or push around or overpower the other, which was the case in Timothy.
You see, men and women are meant to submit to one another. We are meant to harmonize together just as our bodies harmonize. The arm works together with the hand. The foot works together and submits to the leg ,which allows us to walk and run. This type of submission is beneficial, and when men and women can get it right, we are a strong force indeed just like a real body that works in harmony with all body parts.
So you see, when you just look at one verse it can be misleading. The Bible will interpret the Bible. You see what we did here? We took a verse and then looked at any precedence of it happening before, and we didn’t see any. And we don’t see any evidence to discount Paul. We don’t see any bias on his part. Also, we just rightly divided the word.
2 Timothy 2:15
“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
By rightly dividing, or cutting of the word, we can come to a true understanding of the word of God. We have come to understand what Paul really meant, what he truly was trying to convey here in Timothy. He wasn’t trying to limit women all over but only here in this city of Ephesus where women were out of control. No other church got this reprimand, only Ephesus.
So with that I say RISE UP, YE WOMEN OF GOD! Come on, judges, pastors, prophetess, presidents, senators, deacons, and elders, women can be anything and should not be limited, especially inside the Church. AMEN!
I truly love you all,
Pastor/Coach Jeno
