Both Valued and Valuable: New Testament Examples
One of the most amazing things I’ve heard in my travels
with teaching and writing has been those surrounding the role of women in the
church. So many operate under the
misconception that women’s roles are relegated to lesser than their male
counterparts. And even more than that,
many hold to the view that the Bible supports such a notion.
Not true!
Whereas differing roles for men and women is a biblically
supported viewpoint, the importance of these roles, as well as the influence
these roles have, is clear. God
never delineated importance or influence to gender biases and since He is ever
consistent in His character, it’s safe to say that He never will. His Word supports that both men and women are
used by Him in the advancement of His kingdom and to the glory of His
name. In this article I would like to
look briefly at some examples from the New Testament.
There are many women mentioned in the New Testament, but
like the previous article’s glance at the Old Testament, I’ll limit this article
to one passage where 2 specific women demonstrate the important places women
held in the New Testament church. Romans
16:1-4 reads:
I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant of the church at
Cenchreae, that you may welcome her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints,
and help her in whatever she may need from you, for she has been a patron of
many and of myself as well. Greet Prisca
and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, who risked their necks for my
life, to whom not only I give thanks but all the churches of the Gentiles give
thanks as well.
Paul is giving his closing greetings in this chapter and
of the 26 names he mentions, 9 of them are women. That is astonishing in a male-dominated
culture and in the male-dominated background of Jewish Christianity. This truly shows us the expansive role of
women in ministering in early Christianity.
Phoebe, Romans 16:1-2
Phoebe is the one person in these first 16 verses who is
not already living there in Rome. She is
coming to Rome and Paul is asking the church to receive her in the way the
saints ought to by meeting all her needs.
Why is Paul commending her to the Roman Christians?
What seems to be implied is that since she must be coming
to them in Rome at the same time as the letter Paul is writing, she must be the
one carrying the letter. Again, this is somewhat astounding given the
male-dominated society in which Paul lives.
Paul describes her in three ways, all of which point to
her importance in his ministry and the advancement of the early church.
1.
She’s a “sister.”
First, in verse 1 Paul calls Phoebe “our sister.” He is telling them that she is part of their
family, the family of God.
Theologically, Paul is reminding the recipients of this letter that both
she and they share the same Father in heaven and are moving toward the same
inheritance of eternal life.
Consequently, he tells them to take care of her.
2.
She’s a “servant.”
Secondly, Paul commends Phoebe as a servant, which is the
same Greek word as used for “deacon.”
She may well have been an official deacon in that church. There is no reason why women cannot be
deacons. The elders are men and are
charged with the governance of the church, but deacons do not share that same
responsibility. All deacons are charged with
serving the church and its members by feeding the hungry, taking in the
refugees, clothing the needy, caring for the sick, or visiting the imprisoned. This fits with the way Paul describes Phoebe
in verse 2.
3.
She’s a “patron.”
That word “patron” means that she cared for others. Paul says she has cared for many others as
well as himself. In this, she was
partnering with him in a complementary fashion and one that he considers
extremely important—important enough to mention first and foremost in his
closing remarks.
Phoebe was also most likely single, as no husband is
mentioned as she travels back. Having no
spouse gave Phoebe enormous freedom to travel back and forth from Cenchreae to
Rome. So my single women friends, take
Phoebe as your challenge today!
Priscilla, Romans 16:3-4
Priscilla is mentioned 3 times in 3 different books of
the Bible. In Acts 18:26, Luke writes,
He (Apollos) began to speak boldly in the synagogue, but when Priscilla
and Aquila heard him, they took him and explained to him the way of God more
accurately.
Priscilla and Aquila were a married couple and it seems
from Luke’s description that Priscilla taught Apollos the correct Gospel along
with her husband. Then in 1 Corinthians
16:19, Paul writes of the church that met in their house,
The churches of Asia send you greetings. Aquila and Prisca, together
with the church in their house, send you hearty greetings in the Lord.
The fact that Luke mentions Priscilla first in his
writings may even indicate that she was the primary teacher in that
relationship. Paul gives both
she and her husband special attention in his closing remarks in Romans 16.
In Paul’s letter to the Romans, as with the account with
Luke, Priscilla’s name is mentioned first.
That normally would not have happened according to the conventions of
Greco-Roman writing. We really don’t
know why both Paul and Luke address the couple in this way. There are loads of speculations. Some think that Priscilla came from a higher
social class than Aquila, but most agree it was probably because Priscilla was
the primary teacher in the relationship.
Additionally, we can see the respect with which Paul speaks
of her. He calls her Prisca, not
Priscilla, as she is called by Luke and others.
Priscilla was the diminutive of Prisca.
Calling her Priscilla instead of Prisca is like calling me Debbie
instead of Deborah, or calling someone Liz instead of Elizabeth. The formal rendering of her name was Prisca,
which is exactly what Paul calls her.
Obviously by calling her this, maybe also as well as placing her name
first, Paul is showing his respect and love for Priscilla. She is important to his work and to the
church, and he conveys that in his address.
But even so, notice that Priscilla is only mentioned in
conjunction with her work with her
husband. Though her position may have
been more influential, she is certainly doing it in a complementarian fashion.
Phoebe and Priscilla are only two of the myriad of
examples in the New Testament of women who do important and noteworthy work in
the Kingdom of God. Even in regards to
the societal parameters that were prevalent in that day, Jesus’ disciples were
quick to both use and acknowledge the pivotal role women played in the
church. It’s appropriate to surmise that
God’s intention for men and women within His work is equal in importance and need
today.
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