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| What happens when the Holy Spirit is poured out on women? |
Go and Tell:
The Role of Women in Ministry
Today,
women continue to experience Joel’s prophesy of the outpouring of the Holy
Spirit on all flesh and are making significant evangelistic contributions - if
you are a woman, feel liberated to boldly proclaim the Good News of Christ
without fear of God’s (or man’s) disapproval - women of the church have been
charged by God in dramatic ways to bring new and fresh messages to His people -
God has anointed and commissioned you to “go and tell”
Kyle
Winkler
Serving as a
mouthpiece of the Lord, the prophet Joel exuberantly declared, “I will 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 2:28-29,
NIV).
Through Joel, the Lord was foretelling His call on men and
women who, by the filling of His Spirit, would speak forth (prophesy) His
message so that “everyone who calls on the
name of the Lord will be saved” (verse 32).
In its truest sense,
Joel’s prophecy was a gender-neutral call to evangelism.
Despite its
fulfillment at Pentecost more than 2,000 years ago, many Christians remain
cautious — if not downright belligerent — regarding the role of women in
ministry.
Should a woman preach,
pray in the company of men or occupy a leadership role in a church?
.
Those who answer no to such questions often cite two infamous statements from Paul:
.
Those who answer no to such questions often cite two infamous statements from Paul:
Certainly, when isolated, these verses appear
troubling to those who support women preachers — or to Joel’s prophecy, for
that matter.
Yet as any reader knows, statements only make
complete sense when read in context.
A primary rule of thumb is that Scripture
interprets Scripture.
And in studying the whole of Scripture, you’ll
find that Israel, the apostles, the Gospel writers and Jesus Himself all
support the belief that God uses women in mighty ways.
Supported by Israel
The book of Judges tells of a prophetess named
Deborah who was raised up by God to be a judge and to deliver His people from
the wicked King Jabin.
Not to go unnoticed, Jael, the wife of Heber,
also played a significant part in the story.
Jael killed the commander of Jabin’s army,
Sisera, which delivered Israel from his troops.
God mightily used both Deborah and Jael in the
deliverance of His people. (See Judges 4-5.)
Ancient Hebrew literature outside of the Old
Testament has its own tales of women greatly used by God.
The story of Judith, albeit fictitious, is an
ancient tale of a woman who becomes the instrument of God to the oppressed. She
outwits Israel’s enemies by using her femininity as a weapon.
These stories give evidence that before
Christianity, women, from time to time, were raised up by God to do amazing
works and that the Jewish culture did not suppress these events, but on some
occasions celebrated them.
Supported by the Apostles
Contrary to Paul’s statements in his letters to
the church in Corinth and to Timothy, he references numerous women co-laboring
in ministry with him.
Chapter 16 in his letter to the Romans opens
commending Phoebe, a deacon of the church at Cenchreae.
Additionally, he
greets Priscilla with her husband, Aquila, a couple who together serves “all
the churches of the Gentiles.”
Mary, he goes on
to include, “has worked very hard among you.”
Finally, Junia
(referred to as a woman by early church fathers) is considered by Paul to
be “prominent among the apostles.”
Surely, Paul would
not celebrate these women as co-laborers and (in the case of at least one)
apostles if he truly meant for them to remain silent in public ministry.
Also notable is
John’s second letter, which is addressed to “the chosen lady” and her children (2 John 1:1).
Some believe this
woman was one who allowed a church to meet in her house.
Supported by the
Gospel Writers
Scholars agree that
Paul’s letters pre-date the four Gospels.
And so, it is
probably safe to assume that if the early church sentiments were against women
in the ministry, this would be reflected in the later Gospels.
Yet the gospel
writers tell of numerous stories of women in evangelism.
In the account of the
Samaritan woman at the well, John says that after speaking with Jesus, the
woman went back to her city to tell the people about Him.
John attests, “Many Samaritans from that city
believed in him because of the woman’s testimony.” (See John 4:1-42.).
Obviously, this
Samaritan woman wasn’t quiet!
In Luke’s records of
the Acts of the Apostles, he recounts Priscilla and her husband, Aquila, taking
aside an intelligent Jewish man and explaining “the way of God to him more accurately” (Acts 18:26).
Supported by Jesus
Finally, in the book
of John, Jesus commissioned Mary Magdalene to be the mouthpiece to first alert
the world of His resurrection.
She received a special
command from Jesus: “Go
and tell my brothers, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God
and your God’” (John 20:17).
This go-and-tell
commission is significant because it was the first time in John’s Gospel that
Jesus refers to God as "your Father" or "your God."
Through Mary
Magdalene, Jesus personalized God, announcing His fatherhood shared by all who
believe. Truly, this was a new message, and Jesus entrusted it to a woman.
Finally, it is worth
mentioning that Mary Magdalene was a radical follower of Jesus and was known by
the early church as “the
apostle of the apostles.”
What About Paul?
What, then, should be
made of those two statements made by Paul in his letters to the church in
Corinth and to Timothy?
After surveying just
a few of the references to mighty women of God throughout the Bible, including
those mentioned by Paul himself, it is obvious that he didn’t intend for women
to be kept from leadership or silenced from preaching.
We must remember that
Paul’s letters were addressed to specific churches and people at specific times
for specific reasons.
In this case, Paul
was likely speaking to women who were out of order, loud and distracting in the
church.
It is said that
seating arrangements in the meetings of the early church were very different
from today.
Women were on one
side and men on the other.
Probably due to a
lack of education, it is thought that the women would shout over to the men and
ask questions about what was being taught.
Paul’s admonishments to the women to keep
silent were not because he didn’t believe they should spread the gospel,
but rather to keep those services in order.
Go and Tell
If you are a woman, feel liberated to boldly proclaim the Good News of Christ without fear of God’s (or man’s) disapproval.
Today, women continue to experience Joel’s prophesy of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on all flesh and are making significant evangelistic contributions.
Like Mary Magdalene, women of the church have been charged by God in dramatic ways to bring new and fresh messages to His people.
God has anointed and commissioned you to “go and tell”!
Kyle Winkler is founder of Kyle Winkler Ministries, a media and teaching ministry broadcasting on the Christian Television Network and various online outlets. Before launching his own ministry, Kyle served at Christ Fellowship, one of the nation’s 15 largest churches, and as vice president of an international apologetics ministry. He holds a master of divinity in biblical studies from Regent University. Arm yourself with daily encouragement from Kyle on Facebook and Twitter.
https://www.charismamag.com/spirit/church-ministry/20354-go-and-tell-the-role-of-women-in-ministry
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