COMMENT
Women's Issues (3) - The Principle of Submission
(Reflection - March 2004)
To have a balanced viewpoint on this subject, we need to briefly survey the role of women in the Bible in relation to leadership and authority.
The Old Testament shows women in positions of leadership: God led the Israelites by Moses, Aaron, and Miriam; Deborah was a judge standing right alongside Barak and was the more courageous of the two in at least one instance; Jael killed the dreaded enemy, Sisera, who demanded her silence, subservience and protection for himself against her will; Abraham was told to listen to and obey his wife Sarah; Huldah prophesied for the edification of high priest and scribe and there were both male and female singers in the temple.
The New Testament documents many examples of women in places of responsibility. In I Corinthians 11, Paul mentions that women prayed and prophesied in the first century ecclesias:
Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head. And every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head (I Cor. 11:4-5).
These verses are laid out in a parallel fashion, repeated in the same manner for both men and women, indicating that both men and women prayed and prophesied in the first century ecclesias. In fact, one of the seven brethren appointed by Paul to conduct the business of the ecclesia in Jerusalem, an evangelist himself, had four daughters who prophesied:
…Philip the Evangelist, one of the Seven. He had four unmarried daughters who prophesied (Acts 21:8).
Did the men pray and prophesy out loud and the women pray and prophesy in silence? Did the women pray and prophesy only when there were no men present? The verses don’t indicate such distinctions in practice.
Equal members of the body
In I Corinthians 12, Paul
takes great pains to show that all members – both men and women – are
equally a part of the one body, each having his or her own special talents,
gifts, and responsibilities. In fact, in I Corinthians 14:30-31, the
instruction was to all believers to keep silent in the church when another
felt moved to prophesy.
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.
Were the brothers and sisters to keep silent only when another man was prophesying or would this have included sisters as well?
Priscilla traveled with her husband, Aquila, and with Paul, and preached and taught, as we see in Acts 18:2, 18, 26.
When Priscilla and Aquila heard him (Apollos), they invited him to their home and explained to him the way of God more adequately. (See also Rom. 16:3 and I Cor. 16:19).
As in this reference, it is interesting to note Priscilla’s name comes first in half the places the couple is mentioned.
Other examples
The aged Anna prayed and taught
in the temple.
Anna…never left the temple, but worshipped night and day, fasting and praying…she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child (Jesus) to all (Luke 2:36-38).
Was her teaching limited only to other women and children?
Paul mentions several women who were workers and leaders of the early churches: Phoebe, Mary, Junias, Amplias, Tryphena, Tryphosa, and Persis.
It is argued that Christ did not appoint a woman to the apostolic band of 12, but women always made up an integral component of Jesus’ circle of closest companions. It might be pointed out that Jesus did not appoint a Gentile either. Later we note that Junias is specifically called an apostle in Romans 16:7, along with Andronicus, who may have been her husband.
Greet Andronicus and Junias, my relatives who have been in prison with me. They are outstanding among the apostles, and they were in Christ before I was (Rom. 16:7).
In summary
In conclusion, then, the
Bible is consistent in occasionally mentioning women as teachers, leaders,
and missionaries. And these acts of teaching, leading, and preaching are
not necessarily mutually exclusive of the respect, submission and elevation
of others as better than ourselves, which God requires of all His servants:
“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility
consider others better than yourselves” (Phil. 2:3).
Women taught, led, and preached in the time of Jesus, and sisters can, at times, teach, lead, and preach today without exercising authority, power, or control over brethren.
It is sad to have to admit that many women neither teach, lead, nor preach, and yet exercise authority over their husbands and other brethren in the ecclesia. And it is equally sad to realize that there are men in our community who squelch women’s abilities and desires to teach, lead, and preach, out of their own fear of losing control.
Linda Wilkinson