Does Paul refer to wives of apostles or female coworkers of apostles in 1 Cor. 9:5? Was their role companionship or teaching Christian doctrine?
Women have always played important roles in the mission of the church and they are a part of our history. I highlight some of these women here.
In Theodoret of Cyrrhus’s Church History there is an interesting story of a brave woman who was a teacher and deacon in Antioch in the early 360s.
In this blog post, I look at a papyrus letter, written between Christians in the early 300s AD, which plainly mentions a woman teacher (kyrian tēn didaskalon).
This is the 3rd post taken from my chapter in “Co-workers and Co-leaders.” I look here at some of the men and women who were involved in difficult and dangerous ministries.
This is the 2nd post taken from my chapter in “Co-workers and Co-leaders.” Paul’s letters show that he ministered alongside women. Women were among his coworkers and were deacons (diakonoi).
Introduction I have several articles on my website about Priscilla, a woman mentioned by name six times in the Greek New Testament. I often make
This is the 1st of 3 blog posts taken from my chapter in the book “Co-workers and Co-leaders: Women and Men Partnering for God’s Work.” I look here at the women who followed Jesus and the women who hosted house churches.
What did Paul mean when he said “husband of one wife”? What was Priscilla’s role in Ephesus and Rome? What is Paul’s overall theology of ministry and women?
The Greek word adelphoi is used over 100 times in Paul’s letters. Is “brothers and sisters” or “siblings” an acceptable translation?
Theosebia was the biological and spiritual sister of Gregory of Nyssa. Surviving sources show that she was deeply loved and admired.
Is it significant that there is no “submit” word in Ephesians 5:22 in two of the oldest Greek manuscripts? Did Paul tell wives to submit?
Chrysostom (d. 407) praised Priscilla, Phoebe, Euodia, Syntyche, and Junia. He acknowledged that these women were leading ministers in their churches.
In this article, I explain why “the co-elect” woman in 1 Peter 5:13 (AKA “she who is in Babylon”) may be a woman and not a church.
When we understand “preaching” words in the way New Testament authors used these words, we see that some New Testament women preached.
Tabitha (AKA Dorcas) is identified as a disciple and described as a generous supporter of the poor. What was her association with the widows of Joppa?
Paul included women as ministry partners and used the same ministry terms for his male and female coworkers. He didn’t restrict the ministry of godly and gifted women.
This post is an excerpt from a talk I gave at a camp for high-school girls. It’s about understanding and accepting our mission as agents of Jesus.
A few verses in Paul’s letters are frequently cited by Christians who exclude women from some ministries. Did Paul really restrict women in either ministry or marriage? This is part 3 of a series on gender roles in the Bible.
Apphia, a woman, is greeted by Paul in his letter to Philemon. What was her role or position at Colossae? Was she Philemon’s wife or another Phoebe?
This is part 2 of a series which looks at the women in the church at Smyrna around AD. This article focuses on Gavia and the Virgin Widows.
Michael Jensen: “It is no surprise to learn that many of the early feminists were evangelical Christians. … Feminism is a response to a deeper problem in human relations – not the problem itself.”
What does the ministry of Priscilla and Aquila to Apollos reveal? (Acts 18:18-28). How did others feel about the couple and their ministry? (Romans 16:3-5)
This is a summary of the previous 6 parts. Paul was not reticent about using the same ministry terms (or titles), including deacon, for both men and women ministers.
In Part 6 we look at more evidence that deacons in the apostolic and post-apostolic period were travelling envoys and agents, and that some were teachers.
In Part 5, I look at 1 Timothy 3:8-13, concerning male and female deacons in the Ephesian church, and at Phoebe as a prostatis (patron). I briefly compare her ministry with that of Olympias and also Stephanas (1 Cor. 16:15-18).
In part 4 I look at the deacons in the Philippian church and at the development of church offices in the apostolic and post-apostolic churches.
In Part 2, I look at what Romans 16:1–2 in the ancient Latin texts say about Phoebe. These indicate she was recognised as an official deacon (or deaconess).
Here I look at Paul’s introduction of Phoebe to the church at Rome. I also look at the ministry of certain women in the Gospels, and Tabitha’s ministry in Acts, and compare them with Phoebe’s ministry.
Here is a brief overview of eighteen women mentioned by the apostle Paul in his New Testament letters, as well as Lydia who is mentioned in Acts.
Here is the bibliography for my research paper, “The Roles of Diakonoi, Male and Female, in the Apostolic and Post-Apostolic Church (c. 40-120) with Reference to Phoebe of Cenchrea”.
In 1 Corinthians 16:15-18 Paul mentions Stephanas and his colleagues. There are a few lessons about Christian service and submission that can be gleaned here.
Here are over 40 women in the Bible who exercised social or political authority. In the stories where they appear, no question is raised about the propriety of their authority.
Why are Adam and Eve mentioned immediately after Paul’s prohibition in 1 Timothy 2:12? What does Paul mean by salvation and childbirth in 1 Timothy 2:15?
This is my response to Sarah Bubar’s poorly reasoned arguments in her 2010 article entitled “Do I have the right to have rights?”
Many Christians are concerned with who has authority in the church and about whether a woman can have authority over a man. Who has authority in the church?
Rahab in the Old Testament, and Lydia in the New, are separated by 1000s of years and 1000s of miles, yet there are intriguing similarities between the two women.
This article looks at the women Paul greeted in his letters, including 10 women mentioned in Romans 16. His greetings show that Paul did not have a problem with women ministers.
Plenty of people are “distressed, dispirited, and without a shepherd” and the harvest has never been more plentiful (Matt. 9:36-37). Do we ask God to send only male workers into the harvest field?
There are differences between the Old and New Testaments in how women are described, especially in regard to beauty, marriage, motherhood, and ministry.
Paul wanted equality for all Christians and he wrote about this in his letters. In some verses, he even uses the word “equality.”
Who were Euodia and Syntyche (Philippians 4:2-3)? Were they leaders of the Philippian church? Early Church Father John Chrysostom seemed to think so.
Even though a Canaanite woman was crying out for help, Jesus didn’t say a word. Why was Jesus silent? And why does God sometimes seem silent and remote?
Apart from Jesus, more is written about the apostle Peter than any other figure in the Gospels. Peter was devoted to Jesus and transformed by God.
This article looks at Priscilla and Aquila and explores Luke’s use of the Greek verb ektithēmi (“explain”) in Acts. Did Priscilla teach a man?
Paul’s greeting to the Philippians is similar to those in many of his other letters, except that he greets the church’s leaders, the overseers and deacons.
What was Paul like as a person? How do love and knowledge go together? What did Paul mean by “defence and confirmation”?
Women and men ministered together in the Philippian church. Who were these ministers?
God doesn’t need us to achieve his plans and purposes yet he chooses to use us as co-partners in his ministry. How do we partner with Jesus and discern his leading, his plans and his purposes?
Marg Mowczko is a wife, mother, grandmother, a student of the New Testament and early church history, and, most importantly, a follower of Jesus.
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© 2022 Marg Mowczko