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| A Woman Reading Scripture at a Church Pulpit Click To Enlarge |
This article has been written due to the fact that, as a woman preaching to the Church on an international scale, many have called my ministry and my authority as a preacher and teacher of God's Word into question over the years. The reason my ministry has been called into question has to do with some troublesome passages in the New Testament that were used to keep women out of ministry, and to take away their ability to have any authority over a man.
Although there is ample evidence that these New Testament passages never relegated all women to a subservient role in Church affairs, these passages were used to suppress women's rights inside and outside of the Church for nearly 1900 years of Church History. So though this may seem like an outdated discussion based on past social mores that are no longer in place in the West due to the effects of women's liberation, this is not the case in other parts of the world, where women are still relegated to subservience in male dominated societies.
So we need to take a look at what the Bible says about women in their many roles as wives, mothers, preachers, teachers, prophetesses, leaders, warriors and apostles. To that end, let's start at the beginning. The Bible sets up ground rules for male and female roles in the second chapter of the first book of the Bible called Genesis that women's liberation really has no authority to change. In this chapter, God Himself set up the model for heterosexual marriage:
Genesis 2:20-24 ~ “So Adam gave names to all cattle, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper comparable to him. 21 And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. 22 Then the rib which the Lord God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man. 23 And Adam said:According to this text, the ideal marriage is a BLOOD Covenant relationship between God, and one man and one woman. The blood of this covenant between God and the future couple first came from Adam's side, when God extracted one of Adam's ribs to create Eve, his perfect soulmate. This Covenant was then sealed a second time between the husband and wife when Adam and Eve had sexual intercourse for the first time, and Adam broke the virgin Eve's hymen.
“This is now bone of my bonesAnd flesh of my flesh;She shall be called Woman,Because she was taken out of Man.”24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. 25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.”
There was no written contract involved, but only the word of that first man and the woman to love, honor and cherish each other, with God and His angels as their witnesses, and God as the officiator. Since Marriage is a BLOOD Covenant, if a man and a woman were to marry after the woman had lost her virginity through whatever means, then the blood of their covenant could be considered the shed blood from a slaughtered animal, whose cooked meat would be eaten by them and the rest of the wedding party at the Wedding feast.
The only way a marriage could legally be violated in ancient times was if a married woman were barren. In this case, she could take one of her female slaves and elect the slave's womb as her own, and allow her husband to sleep with this surrogate mother. In this case, the offspring that resulted would belong to the mistress of the slave, and not the slave, as in Sarah and Hagar's case, where Ishmael was recognized as Sarah's son until he was exiled. In modern times, this is done by artificial insemination into a surrogate mother's womb.
The Marriage Covenant had a certain set of ground rules concerning dominance and submission. In the original Marriage Covenant, both Adam and Eve were in submission to God the Father, but since Adam was created before Eve, Eve was also in submission to Adam, who was given both a physical and intellectual dominance over Eve by God. Nonetheless, even though a woman could be dominated by her husband, most men didn't have any authority over an unmarried woman unless he was given it by the Church or the woman's family.
These persons that might have authority over an unmarried woman included parents, pastors, bishops and elders in the Church, or a legal guardian other than one's parents. But even in this chain of authority over a woman, this dominance was only applicable if those in authority over the woman were in submission themselves to Christ, and treated all women with the love and kindness called for by both Christ and His Apostle Paul. There were also new ground rules that applied to married men and women, which were laid out in Paul's Epistles to the Ephesians, and in Colossians:
Ephesians 5:22-31 ~ “Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. 24 Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything. 25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, 26 that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, 27 that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. 28 So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church. 30 For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones.”
Colossians 3:18-21 ~ “Wives, submit to your own husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. 19 Husbands, love your wives and do not be bitter toward them. 20 Children, obey your parents in all things, for this is well pleasing to the Lord. 21 Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged.”
But even these ground rules were modified and challenged by the Apostle Paul, who made it clear that there are to be no sex or class divisions in the Church. Paul explicitly said that there is no longer any male or female, black or white, or master and slave if we are saved by the Blood of Jesus the Christ or Yahshua Ha Mashiach.
NO MALE OR FEMALE IN CHRIST!
When we are saved by our faith in Christ, all of us become part of Christ's body, the Church, and are all viewed as equal in Christ. This means that the old curses and class divisions that were formed at the beginning of time have passed away in the spiritual realm, and have been superseded by a new set of ground rules that offer liberty and freedom to all slaves and captives, including wives that were being treated unfairly. As it says in Scripture:
NO MALE OR FEMALE IN CHRIST!
When we are saved by our faith in Christ, all of us become part of Christ's body, the Church, and are all viewed as equal in Christ. This means that the old curses and class divisions that were formed at the beginning of time have passed away in the spiritual realm, and have been superseded by a new set of ground rules that offer liberty and freedom to all slaves and captives, including wives that were being treated unfairly. As it says in Scripture:
Galatians 3:28 ~ “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”
Colossians 3:11 ~ “...there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all.”These passages make it clear that the only sex and class divisions that are not yet abolished among believers are the natural gender divisions that come with our genetic and God-given roles in society - and only if we are planning on entering into marriage, and raising a family.
As already shown, the New Testament says that the man and woman are both in submission to Christ, and the woman only has to be in subjection to a man IF he is her husband, and IF he is a believer that is under Christ and treating his wife with love and respect. Otherwise, women and men are to be viewed as totally EQUAL and ONE in Christ. This means that women can prophesy, instruct and lead both men and women under the New Covenant.
The old traditions of men no longer apply, and the curse of Eve no longer applies under Christ. This also means that male chauvinism and misogyny or hatred of women should not be tolerated in the Church under any circumstances. So if you have a problem with a woman being your teacher in Christ, please go elsewhere and find a teacher that does not follow the truth.
WOMEN PERMITTED TO TEACH MEN IN CHURCH
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| Kathleen Baskin-Ball preaching at the Suncreek Methodist-Church in 2007 |
However, the Greek words used for "man" and "woman" in this passage explicitly indicate that it is talking about relations between husbands and wives, not all men and all women in the Church. So, in essence, 1 Timothy 2:12 should say: "And I do not permit a WIFE to teach or to have authority over HER HUSBAND, but to be in silence."
This means that, in public meetings where her husband is present, a wife should remain quiet unless she is addressed by another member of the church, and is asked to speak. In 1 Corinthians 14:34-35, as shown below, the same mistranslation is shown, and it has been applied that way for millennia to keep women out of ministry, which was never God's intention:
1 Corinthians 14:34-35 NKJV MISTRANSLATION ~ “Let your women keep silent in the churches, for they are not permitted to speak; but they are to be submissive, as the law also says. 35 And if they want to learn something, let them ask their own husbands at home; for it is shameful for women to speak in church.”Let's set the record straight now with the second passage below, which shows how it should be translated as pertaining only to the conduct of wives around their husbands when in Church, and not to female Apostles, Evangelists and Prophetesses:
1 Corinthians 14:34-35 CORRECTED ~ “Let your wives keep silent in the churches, for they are not permitted to speak; but they are to be submissive, as the law also says. 35 And if they want to learn something, let them ask their own husbands at home; for it is shameful for wives to speak in church.”In both cases, the corrected translation shows that these passages are about a wife showing her husband the proper respect as the head of the household when in public, not about women being silent in Church and at home all the time. Nor is it advocating forcing women to not be allowed to speak to their husbands or male friends without permission. Another interesting thing about 1 Corinthians 14:34-35 - which was supposedly uttered by the Apostle Paul - is how it flies in the face of his very explicit teachings elsewhere that men and women are to be viewed as equals, and that the Law is no longer to be our Master, but the Holy Spirit.
Nonetheless, as these Scriptures forbidding women to speak stand now in most translations of the Bible, 1 Corinthians 14:34-35 and 1 Timothy 2:12 were deliberately misinterpreted to keep ALL women out of ministry in an age when women were little more than property in the eyes of most men. Sadly, blatant misogyny among men was the order of the day back then, and in many places outside of the West today, it still is the awful case.
This conversation about the role of women in the Church would not be complete without a mention of some of the notable women in the Bible that served God publicly, and instructed both men and women, In the Gospels, both Yahshua's mother Mary and John the Baptist's mother Elizabeth prophesied the inspired words of Scripture recorded in in Luke 1:39-56 at a time when Zechariah, Elizabeth's husband and a Jewish priest, was unable to speak due to his lack of faith. In the prophecy of Mary recorded in Luke 1:46-56, the Virgin Mary quoted several Psalms and applied them to her divine pregnancy.
During Yahshua's ministry on the Earth, there are also a group of 12 women outside of Yahshua's mother Mary who can be considered to be Apostles since they knew Christ personally, and were witnesses to His death and resurrection. The first and foremost among them was Mary Magdalene, also known as Mary of Bethany. I have read literature that shows that Mary Magdalene was not only an Apostle , but that she may have written part of the New Testament, although this fact was covered up, and her work was assigned to a man.
The other 11 female apostles were listed in ancient texts as Susanna, the daughter of the former chazan of the Nazareth synagogue; Joanna, the wife of Chuza, the steward of Herod Antipas; Elizabeth, the daughter of a wealthy Jew of Tiberias and Sepphoris; Martha, the elder sister of Andrew and Peter; Rachel, the sister-in-law of Jude, Yahshua’s brother in the flesh; Nasanta, the daughter of Elman, the Syrian physician; Milcha, a cousin of the Apostle Thomas; Ruth, the eldest daughter of Matthew Levi; Celta, the daughter of a Roman centurion; Agaman, a widow of Damascus; and Rebecca, the daughter of Joseph of Arimathea. It's interesting that I'd never heard of these 12 female apostles before doing some digging, and it just goes to show how well kept a secret this fact is in today's Churches.
In the book of Acts, and in some of Paul’s other letters, women are speaking at various religious gatherings. In Acts 16:14-15, a woman named Lydia is mentioned as being part of a women's prayer group that met by a river on the outskirts of the city on the Sabbath day. So these women were praying together, and likely were also discussing the Scriptures with each other. In another example found in Acts 18:24-26, Priscilla and her Jewish husband Aquila, two of Paul's fellow-laborers in the Gospel, instructed a man named Apollos in the ways of God.
In Romans 16:7, the Apostle Paul sends greetings to his fellow countrymen and prisoners in Christ called Andronicus and his wife Junia, who knew Christ before Paul did, and were considered to be Apostles. In 1 Corinthians 11:4-15, Paul mentions that both men and women prayed and prophesied in Church gatherings in relation to their head coverings, which is actually a reference to the length of their hair. Paul specifies there that men should pray or prophesy in public without a head covering, meaning they should have short hair, while women should do so wearing a head covering, which Paul makes clear is a reference to long, unbraided hair that can act as a veil.
In the Old Testament, the prophetess Huldah spoke a prophetic word to the king and the high priest regarding the interpretation of the Scriptures found in Deuteronomy 29:25-27, which had been troubling the king. (See 2 Kings 22:8-20; 2 Chron. 34:14-28). In addition, there was the remarkable women named Deborah, who served God and Israel as the fourth Judge of pre-monarchic Israel. During that time, Deborah also served as a counselor, warrior, prophetess, and the wife of Lapidoth (See Judges, Chapters 4 and 5).
There are also several passages in the New Testament indicating that every believer, whether male or female, is exhorted to teach others about the truths of God's Word. Thus, the Bible indicates that women could and did serve as apostles and teachers, and that they publicly prayed and prophesied as they taught both men and women in the Church. Since there was no condemnation of any of this, it is clear that these women served God and the Church as they were called to do so by Yahshua via the Spirit of God within them.
Your Sister In Yahshua,
Helena Lehman of the
Pillar of Enoch Ministry
http://pillar-of-enoch.com
FOR FURTHER STUDY:
The New Covenant of Liberty and Freedom
WHAT COMMANDMENTS MUST BELIEVERS
KEEP UNDER THE NEW COVENANT OF GRACE?
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