But, Does God Permit It?, Part 3

"I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a deacon(deaconess, servant) of the church in Cenchreae. 2 I ask you to receive her in the Lord in a way worthy of his people and to give her any help she may need from you, for she has been the benefactor of many people, including me." - Romans 16:1, 2 "...and I ask you, my true companion, help these women since they have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my co-workers..." - Phil. 4:3

 Last week we discussed Paul's words regarding the extremely valuable asset women are to God and the ministry of His church through child-bearing. But, is child-bearing all a woman gets to do for God? Well, Paul does tell Timothy that he would not allow a woman to teach or hold an office "over" a man. Then in I Corinthians he says that women should remain silent in worship. Each of these statements might indicate that Paul doesn't have a very high regard for a woman's ability or right to serve the church. And many of our churches follow this thinking by placing women only in ministries specific to children (nursery, wee worship, SS classes, etc.), "housekeeping" duties (preparing communion, cleaning the kitchen, fixing and serving funeral meals, etc.), or women only studies and fellowships. By doing this they are "staying true to the word". Are they biblically wrong for limiting women to these areas of service? Absolutely not? But, some folks might suggest that they are allowing misinterpretation and tradition to guide their actions. Would they truly be biblically wrong for allowing women to serve in other areas? Well, look at the scriptural evidence. Does the scripture say that women cannot serve as an Elder? Blatantly, no. But, when you study all the scriptures dealing with Elders and Eldership, they are specific to men. I Tim. 3:1-6 tell us, "If anyone desires to be an Elder, he desires a noble task (vs1)...must be the husband of one wife...(vs 2)...he must(vs4)...his own family(vs5)...he must(vs6). Paul goes on to be male specific about Deacons as well. And, regarding Preachers, well, let's be honest, the Bible doesn't say anything at all about local preachers - they didn't exist at that time - but Paul does set men such as Timothy and Titus to the work of "evangelist" in the churches he helped establish. Okay, so men only as Elders, Deacons, and evangelists, right? But, wait a second. In the above passage, Paul calls Phoebe a deaconess, so he must indicating that women can serve in this capacity, right? Well, not exactly. The offices of Elder and Deacon were held by men who were chosen by the unanimous affirmation of the church populace, and then set apart by the Holy Spirit through the laying on of hands by the apostles or church leaders. It is doubtful that Phoebe, or many other women, and men, to which Paul refers in his writings, were "officially" set apart. But, Phoebe, Euodia, Syntyche, et. al. were all very important to Paul in his work, and to the work of Christ's church. In fact the indication of the above Romans passage, is that Phoebe was Paul's emissary to carry His letter to the church at Rome, which would also indicate that she might have shared with them some of his teachings. Hmm... A woman teaching? How'd that happen?