The role of women in the Church is still a hot-button issue for many. Prohibitionists use certain passages from Paul's letters as proof-texts, while egalitarians try to see the larger context of such verses. Paul clearly supported women in ministry; indeed, he could not possibly have meant for them to simply “be silent” (1 Tm 2:11, NIV) since it would contradict the Prophet Joel's description of the last days and Paul's own exhortation for women to prophesy with their heads covered (1 Cor 11:5, NIV) . Further, such a stance on women in ministry is not consistent with the workings of the early church. Additionally, Paul's writings do not support the notion that women were not permitted in leadership positions.
In the first century, Jewish women were thought to be completely inferior to their male counterpart. Observant men would generally not speak to women outside of family. It was believed that nothing good could come from conversing with women because women were uneducated and thought not to be very bright. In fact, it was felt that such a conversation might allow a woman to seduce the man; thus, only bad things could happen by talking to a woman
1. Following this line of thought, the women were not even taught the Torah and were segregated from the men in the synagogues. Women were not counted in the number required to have a prayer meeting. The synagogue prayer recited at each service included the words, "Blessed art thou, O Lord, who has not made me a woman."
To understand the role of women in the early Church, one needs to look no further than the New Testament texts that state their position and role. We would expect to find unity in the role women were playing and the teachings of the New Testament. Finally, an exegetical exploration of certain passages is in order. We must somehow insert ourselves into the early church at Corinth and hear Paul speaking to us again.
Too often Christians forget that Paul’s “books” are not books at all. It would be unfair to label them even as pamphlets. The letters have had been of immeasurable importance in shaping Christianity— especially those of the reformed traditions. God’s Word is alive and well within Paul’s writings.
However, that does not mean that we can “proof-text” important Biblical doctrines without examining its cultural, literary, and historical context
2. The Mickelsen’s explain: “The basic context of any passage is the entire book.” “We dare not so interpret the Bible that we have Christ or the Apostle Paul teaching something contrary to their own practice.”
3 Modern Christians are a world away from the original culture and traditions of the early Church. Correct hermeneutics is not always an easy task. Even simple passages often had different, if only slightly, meanings to the original hearers—the early Church. Applying Paul’s teachings to the church today requires some detective work.
We will begin our exegetical study in 1 Corinthians. Paul wrote to the mostly Gentile church at Corinth in order to answer some question and address some reports that he had received. Paul wrote the letter from Ephesus to the saints of Corinth to clear up some misunderstandings concerning fundamental Christian ethics and how the church should operate.
WE ARE TO WORSHIP IN AN ORDERLY FASHION
The major theme of 1 Corinthians 14 is orderly worship. Since we only have one side of the conversation-- Paul's instructions to the churches, we do not always see the whole picture. We are forced to imagine much of the things Paul was dealing with. However, his letter paints a fairly good picture of the services the church at Corinth and some problems they were having. Most of the services in the early church had a more casual order to them as opposed to contemporary churches that may have every minute of the service scheduled. Paul's main concern was to bring some fundamental order to their service while not hindering its charismatic and spontaneous nature. Some of the problems cited in 1 Cor 14 include:
1.Speaking in tongues with no interpretation
2.Church services with everyone speaking in tongues
3.General disorder and confusion due to a lack of decorum
Additional problems surfaced with some female members of the church. Paul does not address the problem, only the solution. Here is where one must do his or her exegetical duty. One verse that must be examined is 1 Corinthians 14:34:
(...) women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the Law says. If they want to inquire about something, they should ask their own husbands at home; for it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church.
If we fail to see the purpose of Paul's writing, to bring order to the church at Corinth, we may think Paul was trying to limit woman's role in the church. The Mickelsen's give an important clue for our exegetical task: “Discussions about biblical teachings on the role of women in the church and society is complicated by the fact that Greek uses the same word, gyne, for 'women' and for 'wife,' and the word aner means either 'man' or 'husband'.”
4
A better translation of the word “woman” (Greek: gunhv) in 1 Cor 14:34 is wife. We only have the context of the passage to go on since the Greek word is not definitive. Two clues from the passage should point us to “wife” instead of “woman.” First, Paul insists the females, “must be in submission, as the Law says.” The Law (Gen 3:16) refers only to wives: “Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.” Confirmation of this belief is found in the same verse when Paul explains that “they should ask their own husbands at home...”
1 Cor 14:34 is an obscure scripture since we do not know the precise problem of the church. After careful exegetical study of the language and literary context, we can only surmise that some of the wives at Corinth had a problem with subordination to their husbands. Let's consider the historical and cultural context of Paul's instruction concerning wives. Paul Marish explains
5:
The verb lalein (to speak) is too general to refer to any particular kind of speaking. It is used of tongues (27) and also prophecy (29) and refers equally to the questions with which the women might interrupt a discourse. So general is the word that the suggestion that Paul is merely referring here to irregular talking, be it chattering, calling to children, soothing or more often rebuking babies, or interjecting a remark or query, cannot be ruled out. At church services in Asia the rebuke is frequently heard, ‘Sisters, be silent; don’t talk in church’. And the verb used is the general equivalent of lalein. Few things are so conducive to confusion and disruptive of peace as the noise which emanates from the women's section of the congregation—the sexes are segregated—in an Asian worship service.
For Paul to call attention to these wives illustrates their collective insubordinate and disruptive talking. We must press on to find the accepted role of women in the early Church.
THE ROLE OF WOMEN IN THE EARLY CHURCH
Paul gives us a very good indication of the acceptance of women in ministry through his writings. He is clear that prophecy is for both men and women (1 Cor 11:4-5). Prophecy was fundamental in the early church. In Joel 2:28, God promised to “... pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days.” Joel's prophecy was very alive in Paul's churches. The gifts of the Spirit are available to all believers: men and women. If the women could not speak in the churches, they could not prophesy nor could the gift's of the Spirit operate in them to edify the church. Such a prohibition would be a hindrance to the Church of God and contrary to the Prophets.
We must consider the possibility that Paul's attitude toward women was more conservative than the other apostles. After Paul's conversion/call, he did not immediately join the church leaders at Jerusalem. He received a revelation from Christ; he didn't seek approval or support from the established church. Since he seldom rubbed elbows with the elders, it is very likely that some non-essential doctrinal differences existed. Fee and Stewart write, “...the New Testament does not appear uniform on such matter as woman's ministries in the church.”
6 Much of the apparent discrepancies can be reconciled by historical exegetics.
As an apostle, it was Paul's responsibility to play the role of peacemaker. The women at Corinth were causing trouble and it was Paul's responsibility to put a stop to it. Much of the false doctrines might have been attributed to the female members, especially since educational opportunities were mostly limited to men. The first century was a man's world. Women were generally expected to keep a low profile and be in full submission of their husband. If women were trying to “run the show” it would have been a religious and cultural scandal for many members of the church.
PAUL'S OTHER WRITINGS SUPPORT WOMEN IN MINISTRY
In the last chapter of Romans, Paul gives us a glimpse at the important role some women were playing within the church. Claire Powell give a summary:
We know from Acts and the Letters that women were prominent among the leaders in almost all the early house-church groups. Lydia was a leader in Philippi; Phoebe was a deacon in Cenchrea (Romans 16:1); Junia (the majority manuscript evidence points to Junia as a woman) was an apostle (Romans 16:7).7
While there is ongoing debate as to whether Junia was a female, or male (Junias), it should be noted that the early church fathers thought Junia was a woman
8, the earliest manuscripts indicate a woman
9, and the male name Junias can't be found in first-century Greek writings.
CONCLUSION
Women do not have a stained glass ceiling in the church of God. God calls men and women into His service. While some problems existed in the early Church with women becoming insubordinate to their husbands, Paul never intended to exclude women in leadership positions. His other writings instructed women how they should pray and prophesy. He mentioned women deacons and their contribution to the church. Since Paul clearly accepted women deacons, the door is wide open for female apostles too. Junia was the only female apostle mentioned in the New Testament; however, she was “outstanding among the apostles” (Rom 16:7). At least six of the early church fathers have either written about, or indicated that they believed that Junia was a woman. The best and oldest Biblical manuscripts that we have indicate Junia was a female; some later editions seem to add an “s” signifying a male name. In short, the early church more easily believed and understood that women were called to leadership positions than many Christians today.
Some of Paul's instruction to the church related to the culture of the first century. For example, Paul instructed women to cover their heads: (1 Cor 11:5)
And every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head—it is just as though her head were shaved. 6 If a woman does not cover her head, she should have her hair cut off; and if it is a disgrace for a woman to have her hair cut or shaved off, she should cover her head.
This is clearly applicable only within their culture; a woman would cover her head to show submission to her husband, and, in a larger sense, the culture. Not to do so would be seen as rebellion.
There is much support to conclude that Paul's instruction to women was relative to their culture. Due to educational limitations, woman were more likely to teach unorthodox doctrines. Their culture demanded them to be “seen and not heard.” Paul's limitations were only intended to show the wives' submission to their husband-- with a veiled head and no conversations in church. It is apparent that this restriction did not limit women from prophesying or from leading a church service in the first century.
Paul's culture was a world away from our Western 21st century; it is difficult even to imagine their worldview. It would be interesting to speak to Paul about our modern way-of-life. Are we too liberal today, or have we really evolved into a more enlightened, tolerant society? I think Paul would be very happy to see the progress we have made as a society, and the important role women are playing in the church today.
The following verse illustrates that women may praise, teach, and whatever God leads of them. “Everyone” includes women.
What then shall we say, brothers? When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. (1Co 14:26)
1 Marcus J Borge, Jesus A New Vision (San Francisco: Harper & Row, Publishers, 1987), 134
2 A Berkley and Alvera M. Mickelsen Understanding Scripture- How to Study the Bible (Peabody, Ma: Hendrickson Publishing, Inc., 1992), 62
3 A Berkley and Alvera M. Mickelsen Understanding Scripture- How to Study the Bible (Peabody, Ma: Hendrickson Publishing, Inc., 1992), 62
4A Berkley and Alvera M. Mickelsen Understanding Scripture- How to Study the Bible (Peabody, Ma: Hendrickson Publishing, Inc., 1992), 38
5 Marsh, Paul W, “Women in church”, In New International Bible Commentary. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1979), n.p.
6 Gordon D. Fee and Douglas Stuart, How to Read the Bible for all it's Worth (Grand Rapids,MI: Zondervan, 2003), 82
7 Claire Powell, “The Bible Through Women's Eyes,” in Zondervan Handbook to the Bible, ed. by Pat and David Alexander (Oxford, England: Zondervan Publishing House, 1999), 90
8 John Chrysostem, “Homily 31 on Romans,” in New Advent, Online: http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/210231.htm , [October 10, 2007]
9 A Berkley and Alvera M. Mickelsen Understanding Scripture- How to Study the Bible (Peabody, Ma: Hendrickson Publishing, Inc., 1992), 62
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Borg, Marcus. Jesus A New Vision. San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1987
Chrysostem, John. “ Homily 31 on Romans.” in New Advent. Online: http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/210231.htm , [October 10, 2007].
Fee, Gordon and Stuart, Douglas. How to Read the Bible for all it's Worth. Grand Rapids,MI: Zondervan, 2003.
Kruse, C. G. “Ministry.” In Dictionary of Paul and his Letters. Edited by Geald F. Hawthorne and Ralph P. Martin. Downers Grove, Il., 1993.
Powell, Claire. “The Bible through woman’s eyes.” In Zondervan Handbook to the Bible. Edited by Pat and David Alexander. Oxford, England: Zondervan Publishing House, 1999.
Marsh, Paul W. “Women in church (14:33b-36)” In New International Bible Commentary. 1380. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1979.
Mickelsen, Berkeley and Alvera. Understanding Scripture- How to Read and Study the Bible. Peabody, Mass: Hendrickson Publishers, 1992.
The Holy Bible, New International Version®. Pradis CD-ROM:1Co 14:26. Grand Rapids: The Zondervan Corporation, © 1973, 1978, 1984.
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