part0277

Key Verse : "I ask you to receive her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints and to give her any help she may need from you, for she has been a great help to many people, including me."

In Romans 16:1-2, the Apostle Paul commended a woman, named Phoebe, for her diligent work in the church at Cenchrea. He wrote that she had been a great help to him, and he urged the Christians in Rome to help her, too, as they were able. Then, in I Corinthians 14:34-35, in writing to the church at Corinth, he said that women should be silent in the church because it was disgraceful for them to speak. He further indicated that a woman’s husband should make any inquiries of the congregation on her behalf so that she could remain quiet. From those two passages, one might question whether or not Paul’s writings to the Corinthian church would have applied to Phoebe and to other women like her, and that is a difficult question to answer.

In Creation, Adam came before Eve. In Genesis 3:16, the Lord said that the husband would rule over his wife, and in Genesis 3:17, He even chastised Adam because he had listened to his wife. Throughout the Old Testament, the woman almost always had a subservient role to her husband, and conditions remained that way right until Jesus began His ministry. Then, in Ephesians 5:22-33, Paul wrote that the woman was to be in submission to her husband. Concerning Phoebe and other women like her, four truths should be brought out. First, speaking in the church is not such a great honor or even an indication of a person’s spirituality. Second, a woman would not need to do many chores in life, including those within the church, if the man would do his part. Third, if men treated their wives as Paul taught in his writings to the Ephesians, then the woman would not have the same desire to take charge and be in the leadership role. Fourth, the case of Phoebe is somewhat unique, but it shows that God will use anyone, male or female, that wants to be used, even though Phoebe probably did not speak out in church.