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Pentecost, Holy Spirit, Acts 2

“Pentecost” by Canadian artist Gisele Bauche.
Used with permission of the artist.
Gisele’s website is at spiritualityandart.ca

This article is also available in SpanishUrdu, and Sindhi.

Introduction

When I first began this website in 2009 I anticipated writing articles about Holy Spirit-led living as well as a few Bible studies. I soon discovered (thanks to site statistics) that most visitors were more interested in my articles on the equality, or mutuality, of men and women in marriage and in the church. Seeing this interest and need, I have focused much of my writing on topics related to equality.

Sometimes, though, I’ve questioned whether I should be focusing on the issue of equality so much, and whether I should be writing more about the ministry of the Holy Spirit. But then it dawned on me: “equality” is a significant feature and consequence of the ministry of the Holy Spirit. So my writing about Christian equality is writing about Holy Spirit-led living.

In the early decades of the Christian movement, the effects of the Holy Spirit’s ministry were immediate and profound. The Holy Spirit’s presence was both a great energiser and great equaliser in the Christian community, the church.

Minimising Gender Distinctions in Ministry

On the Day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit was poured out on all followers of Jesus—on both men and women—who had been waiting in Jerusalem in obedience to Jesus’ instructions (Acts 1:4–5). Immediately after the outpouring, Peter stood up in the temple courts, where the Christians often met, and he addressed a crowd of thousands who heard the Christians declaring the wonders of God in foreign languages (Acts 2:11).

Peter, quoting from the prophet Joel, told the crowd of Jewish pilgrims that the Holy Spirit was for all kinds of people, for young and old, for male and female. The Holy Spirit was no longer just for a few select people as in previous times.

“And in the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh (i.e. all people).
Your sons and your daughters will prophesy,
and your young adults will see visions, and your older adults will dream dreams.[1]
And indeed on my male servants (lit. male slaves) and on my female servants (lit. female slaves),
I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.” Acts 2:17–18

In the church age, the Holy Spirit equips both men and women for ministry. In every New Testament passage that speaks about spiritual gifts and ministry abilities, there is no gender distinction implied or stated, even for leadership and teaching gifts.[2] The Holy Spirit gives his gifts as it determines without any apparent regard for gender (1 Cor. 12:11; Heb. 2:4).

Reducing Distinctions Between Rich and Poor

Furthermore, in the weeks and months following Pentecost, the Christian community was characterised by generosity and sharing. Those who were richer sold some of their property, and the proceeds of these sales were distributed among the poorer people. No one was in need. Distinctions in wealth were reduced, and favouritism minimised, as people graciously and willingly responded to the apostles’ teachings that were inspired by the Holy Spirit.[3]

The author of Acts writes,

All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God … Acts 2:44–45

Minimising Ethnic Differences

But there was still more “equality” work to do. In chapter 10 of the book of Acts, we read that God was trying to teach Peter that the Gentiles were included in the New Covenant. Peter was led to Caesarea, to the house of Cornelius, and invited to speak (Acts 10:19, 33). And then this happened.

While Peter was speaking … the Holy Spirit came on all who heard his message. The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on Gentiles. For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God. Then Peter said, “Surely no one can stand in the way of their being baptized with water. They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have.” So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Acts 10:44–48

Peter was convinced that the Gentiles were included in the New Covenant because the Gentiles in Cornelius’ home were filled with the Holy Spirit. This infilling by the Holy Spirit was an unmistakable sign.

Conclusion

In the book of Acts, we see that the Holy Spirit brought equality and mutuality between young and old, between men and women, between rich and poor, and between Jewish people and Gentiles (cf. Gal. 3:28). And church history has shown that time and time again, when there is a fresh move of the Holy Spirit, old prejudices are forgotten, caste systems are ignored, and genuine unity and equality is fostered.

The Holy Spirit’s presence and ministry was, and continues to be, the great equaliser in the church. My hope is that I am working with the Holy Spirit by promoting and fostering mutuality, equality and a truly caste-less Christianity. I do not want to be working against the Holy Spirit by being silent while there remain stifling prejudices, unjust hierarchies, and damaging caste systems in the Body of Christ (the community of Jesus-followers) and in the world.

Footnotes

[1] The Greek word presbyteroi, often translated as “old men” or “older men” in English translations of Acts 2:17 does not necessarily exclude women. Presbyteroi can simply mean “older people.” The word can and sometimes does refer to a group that includes women. (More on this word in early Christian texts, here.)

However, putting Acts 2 aside, I’ve only ever seen neaniskoi refer to young men in ancient Greek texts, including the New Testament. (Neaniskos is a diminutive of neanias and both nouns typically mean “young man.”) Nevertheless, considering the context of Acts 2:17–18 and the fact that women are explicitly included in “sons and daughters” and “male slaves and female slaves,” I take both presbyteroi and neaniskoi as being gender-inclusive. Moreover, seeing visions and having dreams were never considered to be male-only activities (cf. Pilate’s wife). The Holy Spirit and its abilities are for male and female, young and old.

To spell it out, the meaning of Acts 2:17–18 is that the Spirit is poured out on all people regardless of sex or age, and that all people will be able to minister in the Spirit regardless of sex or age.

Also, the Greek words meaning “slaves” in Acts 2:18 were sometimes used in the Septuagint (the ancient Greek version of the Old Testament) and the Greek New Testament for servants (literally, slaves) of God or Christ. Doulos was used, in either its masculine or feminine forms, for people such as Moses (Josh. 1:1; Rev. 15:3), David (Ezek. 34:23; 37:24), Mary (Luke 1:38, 48), Simeon (Luke 2:29), Peter and John (Acts 4:29 cf. 2 Pet. 1:1; Rev. 1:1b), Paul (Rom. 1:1; with Timothy, Phil. 1:1; etc) Epaphras (Col. 4:12), James (Jas 1:1), Jude (Jude 1:1), and unnamed prophets (Jer. 7:25; 25:4; Rev. 10:7; etc).

[2] In the Greek, there is no hint in any of the verses which speak of spiritual gifts (including those of leadership and teaching), that they apply more to men than to women. On the contrary, every New Testament verse that speaks of spiritual gifts, manifestations or ministries is completely free of any gender bias in the Greek: Acts 2:17–18; Rom. 12:6–8; 1 Cor. 12:7–11 & 27–28; 1 Cor. 14:26; Eph. 4:11–12; Col. 3:16; Heb. 2:4; 1 Pet. 4:9–11.

The verses that seem to restrict the ministry of women are few indeed. It’s important to note, however, that Paul never says well-behaved, capable, and godly people need to stop what they’re doing and be quiet. The only times Paul says that someone, or a group of people, shouldn’t be doing or saying something is when he is responding to bad behaviour such as disorderly conduct and/ or poor teaching in Corinth and in Ephesus, etc. (My articles on 1 Timothy 2:12 are here, and on 1 Corinthians 14:34–35 are here.)

[3] Favouritism is forbidden in the New Testament (cf. James 2:1ff.)

© Margaret Mowczko 2012
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Postscript: December 30, 2023
A Comparison of Joel’s and Peter’s Words: “And they will prophesy”

Here is a comparison of Joel quoting God in the Septuagint (the ancient Greek Old Testament) with Peter quoting Joel in the Greek New Testament. I’ve highlighted the words that mention prophecy, and I have a few words about prophecy at the end.

Joel 2:28 (LXX 3:1) and Acts 2:17

Joel: καὶ ἔσται μετὰ ταῦτα καὶ
And it will be after these things also …

Peter: Καὶ ἔσται ἐν ταῖς ἐσχάταις ἡμέραις, λέγει ὁ θεός,
And it will be in those days, God says,

Joel: ἐκχεῶ ἀπὸ τοῦ πνεύματός μου ἐπὶ πᾶσαν σάρκα
I will put out from my spirit upon all flesh

Peter: ἐκχεῶ ἀπὸ τοῦ πνεύματός μου ἐπὶ πᾶσαν σάρκα
I will put out from my spirit upon all flesh

Your Sons and Your Daughters

Joel: καὶ προφητεύσουσιν οἱ υἱοὶ ὑμῶν καὶ αἱ θυγατέρες ὑμῶν
And they will prophesy, your sons and your daughters,

Peter: καὶ προφητεύσουσιν οἱ υἱοὶ ὑμῶν καὶ αἱ θυγατέρες ὑμῶν
And they will prophesy, your sons and your daughters,

Your Young Adults and Your Seniors

Joel: καὶ οἱ πρεσβύτεροι ὑμῶν ἐνύπνια ἐνυπνιασθήσονται, καὶ οἱ νεανίσκοι ὑμῶν ὁράσεις ὄψονται,
And your seniors will dream dreams, and your young adults will see visions,

Peter: καὶ οἱ νεανίσκοι ὑμῶν ὁράσεις ὄψονται, καὶ οἱ πρεσβύτεροι ὑμῶν ἐνυπνίοις ἐνυπνιασθήσονται·
And your young adults will see visions, and your seniors will dream dreams;

Peter switches the order of old and young which, in effect, gives the young adults slightly more prominence. Older people typically had a higher status and more honour in ancient cultures. By switching the order, Peter may be subtly making the point that young and old have the same status within the Body of Christ.

Joel 2:29 (LXX 3:2) and Acts 2:18
My Male Slaves and My Female Slaves

Joel: καὶ ἐπὶ τοὺς δούλους μου καὶ ἐπὶ τὰς δούλας μου ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις ἐκείναις ἐκχεῶ ἀπὸ τοῦ πνεύματός μου.
And upon my male slaves and upon my female slaves, in those days, I will pour out from my Spirit.

Peter: καί γε ἐπὶ τοὺς δούλους μου καὶ ἐπὶ τὰς δούλας μου ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις ἐκείναις ἐκχεῶ ἀπὸ τοῦ πνεύματός μου, καὶ προφητεύσουσιν.
And indeed upon my male slaves and upon my female slaves, in those days, I will pour out from my Spirit, and they will prophesy.

Peter’s Emphasis

This last line is a little different from Joel’s original version. Peter adds γε (an emphasising particle) at the beginning of the line, and he adds καὶ προφητεύσουσιν (“and they will prophesy”) at the end. Peter is making an emphatic statement and he reinforces the idea that both men and women will prophesy by repeating the verb προφητεύσουσιν already used in the phrase about sons and daughters in the previous verse.

Let’s not silence the women, our daughters and God’s servants (slaves), whom the Holy Spirit has gifted with speech of whatever kind. This includes prophetic speech, teaching, and other kinds of speaking ministries.

Prophecy and Teaching

Paul considered prophecy to be the most desirable of the spiritual gifts (1 Cor. 14:1), and he listed prophets and prophesying before teachers and teaching in his lists of ministry gifts in Romans 12:6–8, 1 Corinthians 12:28, and Ephesians 4:11. See also 1 Corinthians 14:26 and Colossians 3:16. So, as Ben Witherington has pointed out, “one cannot argue that prophesying—whether by women or by men—is less important, less enduring or less official than teaching or preaching.” Witherington, The Paul Quest: The Renewed Search for the Jew of Tarsus (Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 1998), 225.

Kevin Giles writes,

To argue that women may prophesy but not teach is fatuous. Not only can prophecy take the form of teaching but why, we ask, would Paul allow women to lead in prophecy, a “word ministry,” and yet not teach? To give teaching precedence over prophecy is to reverse Paul’s own ordering. He ranks the ministry of the apostle ‘first,’ the prophet ‘second,’ and the teacher ‘third’ (1 Cor 12:28; cf. Eph 4:11–12).”
Giles, What The Bible Actually Teaches About Women (Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, 2018), 137.

[For the Greek texts, I used the Septuagint on the Blue Letter Bible website (compare with Rahlfs-Hanhart’s edition) and I used the SBL Greek New Testament on the BibleGateway website.]

Explore more

“Equality” in Paul’s Letters
Galatians 3:28: Our Identity in Christ and in the Church
The Means of Ministry: Gifts, Grace, Faith … Gender?
Many women leaders in the Bible have one thing in common
Philip’s Prophesying Daughters
Jezebel of Thyatira: A Female False Prophet
Gender Division divides the Church
Race and Gender Discrimination in the Church
Being Filled with the Spirit
Following Jesus, Led by the Holy Spirit
Speaking in Tongues and its Uses: Xenoglossia

artigos em portugues sobre igualdade entre homens e mulheres no lar e na igreja

29 thoughts on “The Holy Spirit and Equality in the Book of Acts

  1. A God-fearer is one who had initiated the process of conversion to become a Jew, but for whatever reason had not completed it, perhaps because they had not had enough time yet or because they did not want to be circumcised or because there was something else in full Torah-observance that they did not want to do.

    P.S. The final step of conversion for both men and women was immersion (baptism) in a mikveh and when they rose up, they were said to have been born again (as a Jew) and from henceforth be subject to all the commands of Torah that applied to them.

    A God-fearer was allowed in a synagogue to learn and was able to be in the court of the gentiles in the temple, but not further. They were considered a group between pagans and Jews and were considered to have a place in the world to come, unlike pagans.

    —–

    As you point out, it is important and significant to see that the gifts of the Spirit, including leadership ministry gifts, are not restricted by gender when defined. In the Mosaic covenant, either gender could be a prophet or a judge, the only restrictions were on a priest, who besides being a male, needed to be from Aaron of Levi’s tribe and other physical things and these restrictions were given when the priestly ministry was first defined, that is, the restrictions were given when expected to be given. So NOT giving such restrictions when the new covenant leadership ministries are discussed is very significant.

  2. Thanks Don. I agree.

    I’ve written about the restrictive qualifications of who could be an OT priest here:
    https://margmowczko.com/old-testament-priests-new-testament-ministers/

  3. In Christ there is no gender nor race: we are all one. Gender and race are physical or flesh, not Spiritual. Spirit we hear and feel. But we can’t touch Spirit. Be all Blessed family!!

  4. Thanks Peter. God bless you too!

  5. I love this. Absolutely beautiful and true. Am linking and quoting in tomorrow’s post. Would you be willing to give me permission to use the photo with my blog post for tomorrow?

    1. Thanks Keri!

      I love this picture, but the permission isn’t mine to give. Gisele, the artist, seems quite free about who uses her art, though. At the bottom of my endotes is some information about her.

  6. My wife and I were “surprised by the Spirit” in 1970 and had a house church of rag tag students from the U of Cincy with others as well. A key to the Jesus Movement was the universal engagement of every believer regardless of race or gender or educational status.

    It is a mark of all “Spirit filled groups” that everyone can and must have and apply the gifts daily. When the “Whole body works as a unit” many people come to faith and many works of charity are accomplished.

  7. I never realized that women may be present in Acts 2:1-4. I suppose the women of Acts 1:14 would be the many women that followed Jesus, and were probably present at Pentecost. If that’s the case, many women were filled with the Spirit and spoke in tongues. I can’t help but think that that has implications for 1 Corinthians 14:34-35. If the Holy Spirit enabled many women to speak in a group of 120 believers (Acts 1:15) and with even more unbelievers nearby, why would God stop women from speaking in much more private and smaller house churches? It’s also interesting that Peter explicitly defends the women’s prophesying with quoted Scripture. (Of course, I am assuming that women were prophesying and speaking in Acts 2:1-4 and that it wasn’t just the apostles mentioned in Acts 2:14; but since Acts 2:1 says they were all together and Acts 1:14-15 mentions women, I think it’s a reasonable conclusion.)

    1. Yes, women were very much part of the first community of believers. And Peter’s quotation of Joel, including the words “your sons,” “your daughters,” “my male servants/slaves,” and “my female servants/slaves,” makes it’s hard to imagine that women weren’t among the original group that received the infilling of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost.

      Women in the Corinthian Church prophecied and they ministered vocally in other ways too (1 Cor. 11:5; cf. 1 Cor 14:26 CSB, 1 Cor. 14:39 CSB). It was only disorderly speech that Paul silenced in 1 Cor. 14: 28, 30, 34-35.

  8. The only people who received the Holy Spirit at Pentecost were the Twelve Apostles. They were men of Galilee. (Acts 2:7,14) Start in 1:1 and follow the pronouns. The spirit was imparted to others by the laying on of the apostles’ hands later on in Acts.

    1. Dave, I’ll respond to three ideas in your comment.

      1. Masculine language and the pronoun οὗτοί

      I don’t understand why you would want to make such a flimsy and flawed point about pronouns. In Greek, the masculine grammatical gender is the gender used for groups that include only men and for groups that include men and women. John 3:16, for example, has a masculine adjective, article, and participle for “everyone who is believing” (πᾶς ὁ πιστεύων). Despite the masculine language, female believers are not excluded from the promise in John 3:16.

      Acts 2:17 has a masculine adjective, demonstrative pronoun, article, participle, and noun in a question which includes this phrase: “these ones speaking were Galileans” (πάντες οὗτοί εἰσιν οἱ λαλοῦντες Γαλιλαῖοι) (cf. Acts 1:14). But this does not necessarily mean that only men were speaking.

      The masculine demonstrative pronoun οὗτοί does not exclude women in Luke 8:21 (Jesus showing who are his family/ followers); Luke 13:2 (“these Galileans” killed by Pilate); Luke 19:40 (a crowd of disciples joyfully and loudly praising God as Jesus enters Jerusalem); Luke 21:4 (people giving money into the temple treasury); etc. I could list many more examples where οὗτοί includes women.

      2. “All flesh” includes Galilean women

      Many Galilean women were faithful followers of Jesus. (I write about this here.) After Jesus’s ascension, women were with the Eleven and with Jesus’s brothers praying in the upper room (Acts 1:13-14). Mary the mother of Jesus was there and other women who probably included Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Susanna, Salome, and several other Marys.

      In Acts 1:16 we are told of a gathering where about 120 believers met together. If information from early church documents, as well as church statistics from more recent centuries, are any indication, there would have been more women than men following Jesus. However, accounting for the difficulties of travelling for women in first-century Israel, and their role of caring for the young and infirmed, there may have been fewer women than men at Pentecost. Still, there may have been as many as 40-50 women present. Many women followed Jesus!

      Acts 2:14 specifically mentions Peter and the Eleven, Acts 2:7 does not.

      In Peter’s speech, which he gives with the Eleven by his side, after the Spirit had been initially poured out, he quotes from Joel who said that God will pour out the Holy Spirit on all flesh. Peter quotes Joel as biblical confirmation of what has just taken place. All flesh is all kinds of people: men and women, young and old, and later, Gentiles as well as Jewish people.

      I have no doubt women were among the first to receive this powerful blessing on the Day of Pentecost. Peter’s quotation makes mention of sons and daughters, and male servants and female servants. Again, Peter chose this passage from Joel to prove that what had just happened, the Holy Spirit being poured out on all flesh, was biblical. Joel had foreseen this day.

      Acts 1:14, 2:1-4: They (οὗτοι) all were continually united in prayer, with the women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers. […]
      When the day of Pentecost had arrived, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like that of a violent rushing wind came from heaven, and it filled the whole house where they were staying. They saw tongues like flames of fire that separated and rested on each one of them. Then they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them.

      3. The Holy Spirit doesn’t need middle-men

      The Holy Spirit is freely given to all followers of Jesus and he doesn’t need a middle-man. Sometimes an intermediary is used, such as Ananias in Acts 9:17-18 (who was is not called an apostle), but often this is not needed.

      The New Testament shows that the Holy Spirit is not dependent on the laying on hands of the apostles. For example, Peter observed that the Gentiles in Cornelius’s home “have received the Holy Spirit just as we have.” No one laid hands on these people. (See Acts 10:44-48.) And the Holy Spirit gives his gifts as he determines (1 Cor. 12:11). The Holy Spirit is not owned and operated by apostles only.

      As I said, I have no doubt that women were in the first group that received the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Peter’s words about “all flesh” were not just heard by the crowd, they were demonstrated. And the Holy Spirit continues to poured out on all flesh.

  9. Hi Marg,
    I realized when teaching this passage in Acts to teens that children and teens were almost certainly included in the group at Pentecost too! Luke’s emphasis that ALL the 120 believers were “together together” for 10 days means family units were almost certainly present. Doesn’t Luke say that the Spirit came upon ALL present? That would include children. Joel’s prophecy mentions young and old.

    1. That’s a wonderful insight, Julie. I’m sure you’re right.

  10. Marg, my guess is that Dave comes from a Church of Christ background, as I heard this argument many times growing up. It’s an anti-Pentecostal/charisimatic argument, not an anti-female argument, though it is convenient that it excludes women. The idea is that the apostles received the holy spirit on the day of Pentecost, and they were able to pass it to others through the laying on of hands. Important here is that only the apostles could do this. So when the apostles died, no one else was able to pass on the miraculous gift of the holy spirit. The pronoun argument says that all pronouns refer back to the Twelve, not anyone else present. However, that argument ignores everything you laid out in your points 2 and 3. Saying all that now, it sounds most absurd to me.

    1. Thanks Jenny-Isabella. Thankfully, I’ve heard this argument only a few times. It really is baseless and it ignores the fact that many women were front and centre with the men in the apostolic church.

      In Australia, some Churches of Christ are charismatic. I was a member of a wonderful Church of Christ for several years where I was music director. It was a loving community.

      I actually thought Dave was Roman Catholic. I think the Roman Catholic Church believe the Holy Spirit is only imparted by the Twelve and by men who the Roman Catholic Church regards as successors of the Twelve.

      1. “I think the Roman Catholic Church believe the Holy Spirit is only imparted by the Twelve and by men who the Roman Catholic Church regards as successors of the Twelve.”

        That would be quite unbiblical, I think, and I don’t believe it does reflect Catholic teaching. The Holy Spirit has zero need for the Church’s permission to act, a quite intolerable idea really.

        1. I’m very happy to be wrong about this, Mark.

          I based my comment on conversations I’ve had with Roman Catholics who stated that only men could lay hands on people and impart the Holy Spirit. Perhaps their views didn’t represent the views of the Roman Catholic Church as a whole.

          They also said the impartation of the Spirit is typically done at the time a person is water baptised.

          I searched online for information, but the only thing that was slightly relevant was this:
          https://www.catholic.com/qa/is-the-holy-spirit-for-everyone-or-just-the-apostles

          But I agree this idea is unbiblical. The Holy Spirit is not owned and operated in anyway by male clergy.

          1. They may have been quite accurate in what they were saying, but only talking about the sacraments specifically. The Church does regulate them and teach that God acts through them. But in that dynamic the Church is only making use of what God has entrusted to it. God remains absolutely sovereign and acts completely freely. God binds the Church, while the reverse is certainly not true.

            Baptism in any case is a sacrament which the Church explicitly teaches can be administered by anyone (CCC 1256), but in the normal course of things it does reserve it to the priesthood.

          2. Thanks, Mark.

      2. Also because I’m familiar with Mary’s presence at Pentecost (as you mention in your reply) precisely because it comes up a bit in Catholicism.

    2. Thanks for your comment. I grew up in the Independent Christian church with similar teachings to those you addressed. I’m not longer a part of that church, but have family members who are. I find that many are moving away from that presented by Dave. I don’t know much about any changes in the Church of Christ. I’m in another expression of the Christian church now where I was able to fulfilled my call to ministry.

  11. Some people are ardent promoters of the law of first mention & I believe it has distinct hermeneutical value. Acts 2 is the birth of the church (or 1st mention if you like) and here there is definitely no distinction in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit including men & women. They are equally empowered, anointed & equipped.
    Certainly the role of women in church is dealt with in other NT passages & it’s vital that we hear what they have to say however the fact there is no distinction in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit says a lot about the equality of women in ministy

    1. Thanks, Chris. It does say a lot. 🙂

  12. I love these thoughts from Justin Martyr, writing in the 100s, comparing life before and after Jesus and the transforming power of the Holy Spirit.

    Justin Martyr, First Apology 14.2-3

    2. Of old we rejoiced in promiscuity, but now we embrace only self-control; then we practised magical arts, but now we have dedicated ourselves to the good and unbegotten God; then we loved above everything the means of acquiring money and property, now we put to common use even what we have, and share with everyone in need;
    3. then we hated one another and murdered one another, and, because of custom, would not even live under the same roof as those who were not of the same race, now, after the appearing of Christ, we eat at the same table, and we pray for our enemies, and try to persuade those who unjustly hate, so that those who have lived according to the good counsels of Christ might have a good hope with us of obtaining the same things from the God who is Ruler of all.

    2. οἱ πάλαι μὲν πορνείαις χαίροντες, νῦν δὲ σωφροσύνην μόνην ἀσπαζόμενοι· οἱ δὲ καὶ μαγικαῖς τέχναις χρώμενοι, ἀγαθῷ καὶ ἀγεννήτῳ θεῷ ἑαυτοὺς ἀνατεθεικότες· χρημάτων δὲ καὶ κτημάτων οἱ πόρους παντὸς μᾶλλον στέργοντες, νῦν καὶ ἃ ἔχομεν εἰς κοινὸν φέροντες καὶ παντὶ δεομένῳ κοινωνοῦντες·
    3. οἱ μισάλληλοι δὲ καὶ ἀλληλοφόνοι καὶ πρὸς τοὺς οὐχ ὁμοφύλους διὰ τὰ ἔθη καὶ ἑστίας κοινὰς μὴ ποιούμενοι, νῦν μετὰ τὴν ἐπιφάνειαν τοῦ Χριστοῦ ὁμοδίαιτοι γινόμενοι, καὶ ὑπὲρ τῶν ἐχθρῶν εὐχόμενοι, καὶ τοὺς ἀδίκως μισοῦντας πείθειν πειρώμενοι, ὅπως οἱ κατὰ τὰς τοῦ Χριστοῦ καλὰς ὑποθημοσύνας βιώσαντες εὐέλπιδες ὦσι σὺν ἡμῖν τῶν αὐτῶν παρὰ τοῦ πάντων δεσπόζοντος θεοῦ τυχεῖν. (Source)

  13. […] The first-century church strived to be inclusive of Jew and Gentile, free and slave, male and female (Gal. 3:28), and there were some efforts to be egalitarian. A degree of equality was achieved wherever and whenever the Holy Spirit was moving powerfully and freely (e.g., Acts 2:44). However, it was not always easy to maintain. So Paul taught that distinctions that might lead to tensions and divisions should be avoided. […]

  14. […] The Holy Spirit and Equality in Acts […]

  15. […] The Holy Spirit and Equality in the Book of Acts […]

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