Another Look at What the Bible Says About Women

Why is this such a difficult topic?
As a woman in ministry, I have always felt like I was walking a tight-rope, trying to be exactly what God called me to be, do everything that God led me to do, but not over stepping whatever restrictions I had because I am a woman.
For the past year, I have read several books, studied Bible passages, and prayed for clarity and revelation about this, not just for me, but for other women. I want to think that my grand daughters would feel free to do anything that God put on their heart to do.
I am finally ready to put my thoughts out there, for whoever may read this blog. Like it, love it, hate it, believe it, or don't believe it. I just want to communicate what I have learned.

I am starting at the end of the study. I have learned a lot, and I have much to say about the positive examples of women in the Bible. But, whatever I have read or seen, there are always a few passages that seem to negate everything else. I want to start with those passages first, to get that out of the way. 

We have seen before that the ancient world had a very fallen view of women.

Jesus set the captives free, which included women.  The way he treated women was revolutionary.

The first person to know that the messiah was coming was a woman. The first person that he told he was the messiah was a woman. The first person to know that he was resurrected was a woman.

Jesus taught women. Women followed him, travelled with him, and supported him.

As the church was born, we read  Peter's words, quoting Joel. 

Acts 2:17  "'And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh,

and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,

Paul was very bold when he wrote the Galatians. 

Gal 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.

But there are some passages that seem to restrict women.

These are from the writings of the Apostle Paul. Paul wrote 13 letters which became books of the Bible, and in only 2 he speaks something regarding restricting women.

We need to look at these in context, with light from the culture of the day, and in light of God’s character, His nature, and in the overall consistent speaking of the Bible.

This is not the only time we do this. We do it other places almost without thinking of it.

Luke 14:26 "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.
We are quick to say that Jesus did not mean we literally to hate our family. We know that because overwhelmingly he spoke of loving other people, of honoring our parents, caring forour family.

Matt 5:29-30 If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell.  30  And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away.
If you came to me and said you had a problem with pornography, and I told you to poke your eyes out, you would think I was crazy. We know that Jesus did not mean that literally because that is not consistent with the rest of Scripture.

And, there are many more passages that we do that. So, we have precedents in looking at the passages about women in that light, and I think we should. 

1 Cor 14:34-35

34  the women should keep silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be in submission, as the Law also says. 35 If there is anything they desire to learn, let them ask their husbands at home. For it is shameful for a woman to speak in church.

There are a  few ways that this passage has been explained.  I want to share the explanation that I think is the most accurate.

Paul wrote this letter as a response to a letter that the Corinthian Christians wrote to Paul with some questions.  We can see this clearly in several verses from the letter.

1 Cor 7:1 Now concerning the matters about which you wrote: "It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman."
No one takes that question out of context and makes a rule out of it! We understand that                       Paul is not saying this, that he is quoting what the Corinthians asked.

1 Cor 7:25-26 Now concerning the betrothed,  I have no command from the Lord, but I give my judgment as one who by the Lord's mercy is trustworthy. 26 I think that in view of the present distress it is good for a person to remain as he is.

1 Cor 8:1

8 Now concerning  food offered to idols: we know that "all of us possess knowledge." This "knowledge" puffs up, but love builds up.

Obviously, he is answering questions.

1 Cor 9:1-4

 Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are not you my workmanship in the Lord? 2 If to others I am not an apostle, at least I am to you, for you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord. 3 This is my defense to those who would examine me.

Paul did not just jump in to defend himself out of the blue. He is answering accusations.

So, it is in this context that we come to 14:35. The Greek language did not use quotation marks, so we can’t look for them.

The clue is in verse 36. At the beginning of this sentence, the Greek has a little symbol,

“e” which is a disjunctive particle. One of its uses is to distinguish things which exclude each other.

It is like a negative exclamation mark, which is at the first of the verse.  This little symbol is usually translated "or", "neither",  “What” or “Nonsense”  like “No way”.
 

The Interlinear Transliterated Bible gives the literal translation of this verse.

1 Cor 14:36

36 What? out from you? the word of God came or unto you only? came it

Interlinear Transliterated Bible. Copyright © 1994, 2003, 2006 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved. [For more detail see the full copyright page.])

This little symbol is found in the following verses:

1 Cor 6:15-16 Know( ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid. 16 What? know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh.

Rom 1:21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.

1 Peter 3:17 For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing.

So, Paul is quoting what men of Corinth said about the women, and then he says, “No! do you think God  just speaks to you? "  Or, "What, nonsense. Do you think you have special speaking from God about this?" 

Seeing one little Greek word or symbol makes a huge difference in the way the passage is interpreted.

This is really confirmed when you notice the phrase "as the law also says". The law did not say anything like that. Paul was an expert in the law, and would have never misquoted it. The Corinthians did not know the law and could easily have thought it said something it did not.

Finally, the idea that the women should wait and ask questions of their husbands really does not make sense because they were all very new Christians.  A new believer husband would not likely have any answers for the new believer wife. 

This analysis of 1 Cor 14:34-35  makes sense because in chapters 11, 12, and 14, Paul talks a lot about everyone in the church expressing their gifts when the church gathers. He tells women to cover their heads when they speak. (because in that day only immoral women went in public without head coverings). For Paul to suddenly say that women are to be silent does not fit with those passages. 

Paul was not restricting women in this passage. It really seems that he was arguing against the restrictions that some were presenting.

Celebrate!

Psalm 95:1  Oh come, let us sing to the LORD; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation  Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!  For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods. In his hand are the depths of the earth; the heights of the mountains are his also. The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land. Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker!

 

Psalm 98:4  Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth; break forth into joyous song and sing praises!  Sing praises to the LORD with the lyre, with the lyre and the sound of melody!  With trumpets and the sound of the horn make a joyful noise before the King, the LORD! Let the sea roar, and all that fills it; the world and those who dwell in it! Let the rivers clap their hands; let the hills sing for joy together before the LORD,

Psalm 100:1  Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth! Serve the LORD with gladness! Come into his presence with singing! Know that the LORD, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. 4  Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name!  For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.

Clearly, God expects that His people would celebrate Him and the things that He has done.  We have much to celebrate. Christians should be the happiest and most fun people in the world.
I love the picture of Jesus in Luke 10. Jesus had sent out 72 disciples to preach and teach and do miracles.

Luke 10:17-20  The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, "Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!" And he said to them, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven."

 I don’t believe that Jesus is rebuking the disciples for celebrating the victories that they experienced. I think that he is recalibrating their focus. Jesus gave them the authority. He did not want them to ignore the authority that He had given them. But he doesn’t want them to focus on that. He reminds them to rejoice that their names are written in heaven. Everything else can change. You may be living in victory today, enjoying fruitful ministry, seeing miracles every day, experiencing peace and joy in your relationships and in your heart. All of that can change. Or you may be in the pit, after a time of living in absolute defeat…children estranged, an angry husband, no real friends, going through a divorce, facing bankruptcy, depressed, distraught, no impact on your family or friends.  All of that can change.

Every Jesus follower can celebrate that our names are written in heaven. AND THAT WILL NEVER CHANGE. Once we belong to Jesus, we are always his, and that is cause to celebrate.

 Luke 10:21-22  In that same hour he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, "I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him."

There are different words used for joy and rejoicing.

10:17 “The seventy-two returned with joy”;  joy – kara “; cheerfulness, calm delight, normal word for joy

10:20  “rejoice that your names are written in heaven." rejoice-chairo; to be full of cheer, calmly happy

The disciples were cheerful, happy.

But look at Jesus.

10:21 “In that same hour he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit”-- rejoice-agaliao- to jump for joy, be exceedingly glad, jump up and twirl around— rejoiced greatly, exulted, with exceeding joy  

 Jesus is really happy, jumping up and down for joy kind of happy, dancing for joy happy, because His disciples, his friends were getting it. The Father had opened their eyes and revealed to them the authority that came from the Father to Jesus, and passed on to Jesus followers. This is not the 12, He is talking to 72 of His folks.

The 72 were rejoicing, they were happy and excited because they had seen miracles, but Jesus was REJOICING, beside himself with joy because of the experience of these.

Jesus is sitting on his throne in heaven, but he doesn’t just sit there all the time. When Stephen was being stoned to death, he saw Jesus standing, as if he was ready to greet Stephen as he joined Jesus in heaven.

Maybe tonight, Jesus sees some of his children “getting it”, understanding truth, living radical faith, loving Him more, and maybe he is jumping up and down, dancing, twirling around because he is so happy.

 We are to imitate Jesus, and we have Jesus living in us, so we should celebrate like Jesus.  Right???

Annual Single Mom's Spa Day

Yesterday, we held our 10th annual Spa Day for single moms. As the last weeks unfolded, women signed up in numbers we have never had before. By Saturday, we had 90 women, and about 90 children. We made pleas for more volunteers, bought more supplies and more food.
Sunday, after church service, all the workers came to the fellowship hall for a quick lunch we had set out. WOW. I was overwhelmed by the number of people who stayed to help.
In the end, only 53 women came, with about that many children. I never got a count of the volunteers, but I think at least 100. Men and women, boys and girls, all ages and abilities stayed to help. We had 7 women who are friends of a church member who came from out of town to help. The day was amazing. With so many workers, we were able to take care of the women very well. With the exception of the first 30 minutes, when the first women came before we were really set up, the day was smooth and without stress.
As a woman arrived, one of the men came and offered to take her car to be washed by a crew of men and boys. The woman would then be greeted, given name tags, and her children were taken to the appropriate area. She was then escorted into the registration area, then shown the areas of service where she could choose where she wanted to start; hair cut, pedicure, manicure, facial, make-up, clothing, or massage. Each area was set up with enough women working that there was almost no waiting. The refreshments were delicious and abundant. And, while the mom's enjoyed the pampering, volunteers filled back packs with school supplies for their children. Oh, and the children were treated to a carnival, complete with games, snow cones, crafts, snacks, and a movie.
The day was magnificent. I love this day of ministry. Some of the moms come every year, and we are happy to see each other. It is kind of like a family reunion, where we see each other only once a year, but it is always good. Most were new this year. Every single woman was loved on, , was cared for in a special way, and was thrilled to be there.
One woman left with huge garbage bags filled with clothes. Her sister said that each of her children had only 2 outfits to wear, so she was able to get all the clothes that they needed.
Another young woman told us that she was starting a new job on Monday, and found out Friday night that the babysitter she had lined up for her one year old is not going to work out. There was no way she could arrange for child care over the weekend, and she could not miss her first day at a new job. One of our volunteers offered to keep the baby until the mom could make other arrangements.
We had many great conversations, good connections, some prayer with the moms..
Mostly, we just reached out to love these women.
I wish that I could write a personal note to each person who helped, but I don't even have a list of everyone who was there. My heart is just overflowing with gratitude. What an amazing thing that I can ask for volunteers to spend an entire Sunday afternoon working to make the day special for a group of single moms who are strangers, and 100 people would come to do it.
At the end of the day, I heard several times, "Next year, we will..." How great is that. No one said, "This was too hard, I won't be back next year."
All the mom's left with big smiles, but you would expect that. All the workers left with big smiles, and THAT is GRACE!