WOMEN IN MINISTRY-WOMEN STAND UP FOR CHRIST-AN INDEPTH LOOK

MISOGYNISTS vs. Women in the Ministry A Note From General James Green: SINCE 1983, SLANDERERS HAVE HURLED ACCUSATIONS, THREATS, CONDEMNATIONS, MISAPPLIED SCRIPTURES AND CHARACTER-ASSASSINATING PRESUMPTIONS AGAINST GENERAL DEBORAH AND I, AND THIS MINISTRY AS A WHOLE — ALL BECAUSE MY WIFE IS A WOMAN IN THE MINISTRY, AND WE TEACH THAT WOMEN HAVE AN EQUAL PART IN CHRISTIAN MINISTRY WITH THE MEN. INCREDIBLY, MANY OF THESE SLANDERS HAVE COME FROM PROFESSING BROTHERS AND SISTERS IN CHRIST. WE HAVE REPEATEDLY ASKED OUR SLANDERERS TO PRESENT THEIR CASES — AS WE’LL PRESENT OURS IN TURN — IN WRITTEN FORM TO BE POSTED AS A CIVIL DEBATE* OVER THE INTERNET. NOT ONE ACCUSER HAS COMPLIED OVER THE YEARS, INCLUDING THOSE WHO HAVE RECENTLY ATTACKED US. *DEBATE: “The formal presentation of a stated proposition and the opposition to it” (WordWeb Pro). BELOW WE HAVE PRESENTED (ONLY) THREE LETTERS AS A REPRESENTATION OF THE HYPOCRITICALLY JUDGMENTAL ATTITUDES AND HORRIBLE, DEROGATORY DISPOSITIONS OF THOSE WHO CLAIM CHRIST AND CONDEMN US UNJUSTLY. FOLLOWING THESE LETTERS, WE FREELY PROVIDE OUR READERS WITH A PLETHORA OF SCRIPTURAL TEACHINGS WHICH INCLUDE BIBLICAL REFERENCES, WORD STUDIES AND VALUABLE INSIGHTS THAT ADDRESS THIS UNFORTUNATELY DIVISIVE SUBJECT OF “WOMEN IN THE MINISTRY.” OUR GOAL IS TO DISMANTLE THE CONFUSION THAT HAS PLAGUED SO MANY HUNGRY, INQUIRING SOULS, AND CHALLENGE THOSE WHO CHOOSE ACCUSATION OVER PATIENT, SPIRIT-LED DISCUSSION. Your Wife Is Out of Order! [an e-mail sent to the Generals:] Jim, Your wife is totally out of order in preaching. I can’t believe that a man like you, who seems to have so much Bible knowledge, will allow your wife to violate God’s plain instructions: “Let your women keep silence in the Church!” I’ve listened to you on shortwave radio many times, I have no problem with your teachings. However, when Deborah comes in, I TURN HER OFF!! She is not obeying the Word. Now she comes along with these POD casts on the internet. What will she do next? Jim, maybe you should re-read what the Bible says about women preachers. I’ll trust that you will. [no name given] Our Reply: Dear ??, I’m not worried about my wife’s preachings, for the Bible has commissioned both male and female to preach the “Good News” to the lost and teach the Word of God to the saved. The verse you quoted has certainly caused much pain on both sides of God’s camp. If you really are concerned about General Deborah being “out of order”, I suggest you do a bit more studying on this subject as I have. I do have our first “Women In The Ministry” booklet to offer (more to follow sooner or later). The following are just a few points I cover in book one. Out of order? How? Let us take this step by step: 1) “Let your women keep silence”—a difficulty! This Scripture has caused a long-time war between certain groups of ministers. Let me first quote the whole context for our present study: “For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints. Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the law. And if they will learn anything, let them ask their husbands at home: for it is a shame for women to speak in the church” (1 Corinthians 14:33-35). 2) There are many different schools of thought on this issue of women in the ministry, but let us now go back to chapter 11:4-5 to show some directions on how women should pray and prophesy, which show that women can pray and prophesy in the Church—some relief is found here. “Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonoureth his head. But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered dishonoreth her head: for that is even all one as if she were shaven” (1 Corinthians 11:4-5). 3) Now here, in this next Scripture, prophesying is defined—the difficulty is gone. “But he that prophesieth SPEAKETH UNTO MEN to edification, and exhortation, and comfort” (1 Corinthians 14:3). 4) Now we can take into consideration Joel’s prediction for women to prophesy: “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my Spirit” (Joel 2:28-29). 5) Peter echoes Joel’s prophesy: “But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel: And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; and on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy” (Acts 2:16-18). 6) The evangelist Phillip had FOUR DAUGHTERS that prophesied! “And the next day we that were of Paul’s company departed, and came unto Caesarea: and we entered into the house of Philip the evangelist, which was one of the seven; and abode with him. And the same man had four daughters, virgins which did prophesy” (Acts 21:8-9). 7) Now we find some New Testament women who labored with Paul in the Gospel: “And I entreat thee also, true yokefellow, help those women which laboured with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and with other my fellow labourers, whose names are in the book of life” (Philippians 4:3). Today HAVE THINGS CHANGED today for the ministry of women? Not at all, but we still have the war going on to stop women from fulfilling their calling. True, I do not feel that all or just any women ought to preach/teach. I feel that same way about men too. But if God appoints and anoints a female vessel, we men had better keep our mouths shut and our hands off!! Church history is full of misogynistic leaders who have taught (and are teaching) that women must not teach, preach, exhort, prophesy, even pray in public. They argue that God’s Scriptures POSITIVELY FORBID such exercises in public. Well now, they were and are POSITIVELY WRONG! “Let your women keep SILENCE in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak...” Notice the verses before and after: “God is NOT the author of confusion, but of peace” and “if they [your women] will learn anything, let them ask their husbands at home: for it is a shame for women to speak in the church.” One might ask if this forbidden “speaking” which must be liable to cause “confusion”, which disturbs the “peace” and shows the spirit of insubordination, of disobedience, is in any way an example of the characteristics of true preaching, exhorting, prophesying, or praying? The “speaking” objected to, had all these bad features in it, so the women were told that if they would “learn any thing, let them ask their husbands at home: for it is a shame for women to speak [in such a way]...” Now, the thing apparently objected to—this “speaking”—is evidently either “rudely questioning the preacher in the midst of his sermon” (some interpret it this way), or “speech-making, disputing , debating , wrangling” (other’s believe this to be true). The points about the women which are guarded here are these: the women must not cause “confusion”; must be under “obedience”; and must “learn” of “their husbands at home”. But what about the women and young girls who were not married? Then there is the view that verses 34 and 35 are a quote that Paul is citing in order to refute it. This view alone explains the drastic “What?” in the very next verse, and also aligns perfectly with the rest of Scripture. In this case, we see that Paul was not commanding women to be silent at all. (Although Paul would agree that all troublemakers—men or women—should certainly be SILENT!) See our “Women In The Ministry” booklets for a detailed study on this view and a more extensive study of the above Scriptures. * * * WE NEED MORE godly, I said GODLY women to preach and teach God’s Word. The Lord Jesus gave His life for the salvation of humankind/mankind. This is what God the Father had at heart when He sent His Son to be that good, blessed and perfect sacrifice for our redemption. In this way of sacrifice, we need consecrated, dedicated, separated men and women, even boys and girls, to preach the Good News to all creatures or all the creation, all people. The Bible lists many gifted women, both in the Old and New Testament, that were used of God. Jesus never ran down women. In fact, Mary Magdalene was the first New Testament evangelist! Would Paul then try to stop women from preaching/teaching? We need more godly prophetesses, obviously, since the Holy Ghost through the Apostle Paul penned 1 Corinthians 11:4-5. Was it not Anna, an Old Testament prophetess, who welcomed the infant Jesus with thanksgiving at His appearance in the Holy Temple? It was. Women, New Testament women, may pray and they may prophesy—i.e., speak unto men, not to “confusion”, but to “edification”, “exhortation”, and “comfort”. Edify literally means “to build up”. The Gospel is preached to the lost to edify them so as to bring them to accept Jesus the Christ as their Savior. Doctrine is taught to those who have “come to Jesus” in order to edify them. To prophesy means “to exhort”. Women are clearly authorized, by the Holy Spirit, to prophesy, for it IS the Holy Spirit speaking thru the female (or male) vessel. If women can exhort—speak unto men to edification and comfort (and the Apostle plainly orders that it be so)—than it is clearly an irrefutable fact that whatever is meant in the supposed requirement that they “keep silence”, is not intended to interfere with their praying , preaching, etc., in real Spirit-led evangelistic Gospel work. Praise the Lord! No doubt the Old Testament prophet, Joel, speaking under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, looked into the future centuries and caught the glories of Pentecost, when both male and female were baptized with the Holy Ghost and spoke in a heavenly language—the same baptism both I and my wife experienced back in 1971. Deborah has been gifted with the prophetic gift, as your letter indicates. Of course we have church leaders who teach (falsely!) that the Holy Ghost baptism with tongues ceased after the first century Church. Sorry about that, but all of us here at ACMTC and most real Christians around the world HAVE the baptism! Superstitions from the first century Ekklesia to medieval times—many misogynistic errors—have beclouded the minds of Christendom to where the people with a bias, seizing on the opening passage in this writing (in the letter), have effectually shut the mouths of godly women, teaching them LIES! Devils and demons have reaped a rich harvest over this controversial subject. I love the Psalms where it says, “God giveth the Word, and the company who publish it are a great host.” That “company” was and is both male and female. Listen to this next point. One Hebrew scholar, Dr. Godbey, commenting on the above passage, says: “An everlasting stigma rests upon the escutcheon1 of King James translators for concealing the FEMININE GENDER, which is actually UNMISTAKABLE — ‘oth’ being the Hebrew termination, ‘basaroth’ in the Hebrew positively and unequivocally meaning ‘preaching women’. Glory to God for this prophetic vision of HOSTS AND ARMIES OF WOMEN GOING FORTH PREACHING THE GOSPEL TO ALL NATIONS! The fulfillment of this vision is to bring the millennium.” Dr. Clarke, LL.D., F.S.A., writes, “Of the female preachers there was a great host.” Clarke was one of the best Bible scholars of his day. He continues, ”Such is the literal translation of this passage; the reader may make of it what he pleases. Some think it refers to the women who, with music, songs and dances, celebrated the victories of the Israelites over their enemies. But the publication of ‘good news’, or of any ‘joyful event’, belonged to the women. It was they who announced it to the people at large; and to this universal custom, which prevails to the present day, the psalmist alludes.” The Amplified Bible reads, “The Lord gives the Word [of power]; the WOMEN who bear and publish [the news] are a GREAT HOST.” Like I said beforehand, it was the women, not men, at the empty tomb of Jesus that first told the “good news” of His resurrection! Sorry about that, men! So many men are afraid of women’s ministries today. Well, let me say this again: I DO NOT believe that certain women ought to be teaching/preaching—some are certainly out of order, sinful, etc. But the same goes for men too. Read my booklet, “Women In The Ministry” (Book 1). It explains a lot that I just can’t fit in here. I have several other issues that hopefully will be printed in the future. Some preachers of yesteryear called evangelists (traveling “preachers”) “tramps”, because they went about (“tramped or traveled about”) the land, preaching the Good News! Brother Philip had four daughters that were “preachers”. They had the gift of prophesy, which was for the saved more than for the unsaved, so these girls must have given out God’s Word to an audience of both men and women. I’m sure in their day there went up a great cry, “Let your women keep silent!”—but dear ones, these daughters were not married women as the ones Paul is assumed to be addressing in 1 Corinthians 14:34-35. What do you men say about that? Godly, I said G-O-D-L-Y women throughout and from all countries have and will do what they are called to do. Hopefully, these ungodly women we have today will SHUT their nasty mouths and STEP DOWN from their thrones. Some of these “dazzling darlings” are a disgrace to the human race. This also goes for many of these “strutting studs” that are equally repugnant and repulsive. So, dear friends, let God be God in His own callings. No one can deny the calling and anointing that is upon my wife, General Deborah Green. I’ve seen many in the past that tried to stop her, but they were stopped—some even DIED because of their attacks against her. We have nasty hosts of “religious” perverts trying to destroy her now—yet God will keep her going on into what He has called her unto. Praise Our God! ————————— ENDNOTE: 1 Escutcheon represents one’s character or reputation, seeing that an escutcheon was a shield or emblem bearing a coat of arms. “Wactman’s” SLANDERS & General Jim’s Responses ["Wactman" spelled his name incorrectly (intending "Watchman"), and we all thought, "If he cannot even spell the title to his own name, what DOES this slanderer know about anything?!] [slightly abridged] Fri, Jan 2, 2015, wactman [sic] wrote: James, your ministry does not lineup with the Word of God. Having visions, dreams and prophecies is not evidence that you are following Christ; [Deuteronomy 13:1-5] We are commanded in Scripture to; Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. 1John 4:1 Why? For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works. (2 Corinthians 11:13-15) You call yourselves "Generals". This is not an office given in the Bible. There are Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors, Teachers, Preachers and a few other but no "General". Paul referred to Timothy simply as a "Soldier". Timothy had qualifications to be a "General" but was simply called a soldier; 2Timothy 2:3 Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. 4 No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier. Jesus warns us about taking on "authority" not given by God [Matthew 20:25-28]. You wear military uniforms to obtain respect of persons; Proverbs 28:21 To have respect of persons is not good: for a piece of bread that man will transgress. James 2:1 My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons. 2 For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment; 3 And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool: James 2:9 But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors. One spirit working in your ministry is without a doubt, Jezebel. I want to share the Word of God to verify my concerns because it is not important what I think; Romans 3:4 God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged. One of the main errors in your ministry that is very obvious is the authority given to so called "General" Deborah. Women were never, ever numbered with the men of war in the Old Testament. This is also the same in New Testament. The women are to have a meek and quite spirit and to be in total subjection. 1Peter 3:1 Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives; While they behold your chaste conversation coupled with fear. Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a ***meek and quiet spirit,*** which is in the sight of God of great price. For after this manner in the old time the holy women also, who trusted in God, adorned themselves, being in subjection unto their own husbands: Even as Sara obeyed Abraham, calling him Lord . . . 1st Timothy 2:11 Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. For Adam was first formed, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression. 1 Corinthians 14:33 For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints. Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience as also saith the law. And if they will learn any thing, let them ask their husbands at home: for it is a shame for women to speak in the church. What? came the word of God out from you? or came it unto you only? If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord. Ephesians 5:22 Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the savior of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing. 1st Corinthians 11:3 But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God. 1st Corinthians 11:7 For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, forasmuch as HE IS THE IMAGE AND GLORY of GOD: but the WOMAN IS THE GLORY OF THE MAN. For the man is not of the woman: but the woman of the man. Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man. Isaiah 3:11 Woe unto the WICKED! it shall be ill with him: for the reward of his hands shall be given him. As for my people, children are their oppressors, and WOMEN RULE OVER THEM. O my people, they which lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths. Revelation 2:20 Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that WOMAN Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to TEACH and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols. Deuteronomy 22:5 The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman's garment: for all that do so are abomination unto the LORD thy God Nahum 3:13 Behold, thy people in the midst of thee are women: the gates of thy land shall be set wide open unto thine enemies: the fire shall devour thy bars. Genesis 3:16 Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. Acts 6:2 Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them, and said, It is not reason that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables. Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven MEN of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business. Titus 2:3 The aged women likewise, that they be in behavior as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things; That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed. WE ARE TO WITHDRAW FROM CHURCHES WHERE WOMEN PASTOR, PREACH AND TEACH 1st Timothy 3:15 But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth. 2nd Thessalonians 3:6 Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which he received of us. For yourselves know how ye ought to follow us: for we behaved not ourselves disorderly among you; 2nd Thessalonians 3:14 And if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man, and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed. 1st Timothy 6:3 If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness; He is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings, Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself. I have more for you but here is something to consider. My desire is that there would be strong men of God working in the harvest in this late hour and that you would Repent and Believe the Gospel and return unto your first Love. I have been warning others concerning your errors and to purge their lives of your false ministry. GENERAL JIM’S 1ST RESPONSE: Watchy, Pick out your favorite subject and we can have an internet debate, since you are a self-appointed authority on so many subjects, and have nothing better to do than criticize. Let’s just face it up and see what you have so much of, as you assume you know it all. Waiting for your reply. General James Watchy replied: James, you want to "Debate"? I rather not debate because the New Testament says this is one sign that flesh is working. I know you would love to debate after reading your "carnal" response. You act like a young child when confronting those that are against your ministry. Romans 1:28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; 29 Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, 30 Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, 31 Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: 32 Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them. 2Corinthians 12:19 Again, think ye that we excuse ourselves unto you? we speak before God in Christ: but we do all things, dearly beloved, for your edifying. For I fear, lest, when I come, I shall not find you such as I would, and that I shall be found unto you such as ye would not: lest there be debates, envyings, wraths, strifes, backbitings, whisperings, swellings, tumults: You can respond to giving your wife the Spiritual title of "General" and allowing her to preach and teach. I gave you more than enough Scriptures that says you are wrong for so doing. Did you even read the entire message? If so, reply to having a Jezebel spirit working in your ministry. GENERAL JIM’S 2nd RESPONSE: Wactman, Where do you come up with this name, title, etc. in the New Testament? There is no New Testament word for watchman, so apparently you are guilty of what you are accusing us of regarding the usage of the title ‘General.’ Are you from the Old Testament? Then are you of the Isaiah 56:10 company — "Israel's watchmen are blind, they are all without knowledge; they are all dumb dogs , they cannot bark, dreaming, lying down, loving to slumber"? For your superior information, we are not a church, as you apparently assume. We are a community, holding all things in common and living daily for the Lord. So, apparently your Scriptures that you are hurling at us in railing accusation do not apply even in the false interpretation that you are bringing forth. Even with all your hatred against women, with you being the obvious misogynist that you are, have you considered that Deborah found in the book of Judges in the Old Testament was the leader in a war campaign, and she was the prophetess in those days? Apparently your scriptural understanding is darkened according to your misogynistic outlook. Additionally, when you mention the five-fold ministry, the watchman is not included: so what does that make you? "Self" appointed??? When I asked you to debate these issues with me via the Internet, it was for the purpose of edifying the Body of Christ regarding women in the ministry, as this obviously is a point of great grief to your misognynistic views as verse nineteen in 2Cor. 12 mentions. If you review your own letters, where is the edifying??? All you have done is accuse and slander, according to your own interpretation ... that leaves verse twenty open to accuse you with your own words, as you are a shameful whisperer, backbiter, false accuser, and worker of iniquity; these scriptures refer to debate in terms of a contentious spirit, which you apparently have. Debate in that negative context is ‘eris’ which means quarreling, strife, and contentious[ness], and an expression of enmity. The positive of that word debate in the same Greek context [is seen] in Jude three for the sake of bringing forth the truth as we contend (debate) for the faith. Look up Acts 19:8-11 and Acts 17:17 whereby Paul was contending, debating, reasoning and arguing for the faith, that the listeners would hear and receive the truth. You are already in the negative debate spirit in that you are hurling at us through strife, jealousy, envy and falsehood, accusations based on only your opinion of the meaning of scriptures that you quote. Much of your interpretation is falsehood and based on an underlying determination to put women in a place that God did not put them. You are of a contentious spirit and too cowardly to examine your own false interpretations of scripture which you are trying to shove down my throat while you call yourself a watchman (which is not found in the New Testament at all). I will be taking your accusations public and posting [them] on the Internet — your false accusations and the refutation of the same — so that your ministry as a whisper, backbiter, accuser, and false interpreter can be identified with the "him" of your title [WHO you're watching for] who apparently is your father, the devil. Another reason that I will be doing this series is not just because of you, but for all who are of the misogynistic spirit that we have encountered over the years. All of your pet scriptures will be used in context (exegesis) not [misinterpreted thru] eisegesis (reading into a text what you want it to say). You obviously want these Corinthian and Timothy scriptures to be used according to your interpretation, rather than the true meaning. 1Cor. 14:34,35 "Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the law. And if they will learn any thing, let them ask their husbands at home: for it is a shame for women to speak in the church." Did you know that Paul was not the originator of those verses? I will be explaining in my internet publishing the meaning and the interpretation of these scriptures. Do not bother to write back as you had your challenge to debate for edification, and you refused, so I will proceed without you. How do you accuse my wife of being Jezebel when the spirit of Jezebel teaches God's people to engage in fornication and to eat food offered to idols? My wife is faithful to the Lord and steadfast in her holy lifestyle and in serving me, the Body of Christ, and the Lord's children universally. General James Green WOMEN In the Ministry ~INTRODUCTION~ THE “Women In The Ministry” teachings began years ago. Since this issue on the role of women in the ministry continues to be a heated controversy, I feel it would be beneficial to our readers, once again, to go over this controversial subject. Let me state here that I do NOT believe that any and all women are qualified to teach and preach God’s Word—any more than all men are qualified to do the same. Some of these contemporary women we have “on stage,” on TV, behind pulpits and desks, are a literal disgrace and a reproach to the very Name in which they claim to preach and teach. These pants-wearing women (whose pants are usually very tight-fitting) are decked out in paganism’s finest make-up, jewelry, and clothing (many, in lack of clothing!). I do not champion such women or their causes, for I do not champion unrepentant sinners or their sinful ways. It’s really bad these days. There are practicing lesbians, bi-sexuals, and jezebelian feminists who use their worldly acumen to undermine the Word of God; and being scantily dressed, they lure many AWAY from the truth, not draw people into it. Some of the Scriptures we will study in this series will be examined in several different ways at different times, in order to bring you, the reader, into the proper overarching focus and understanding of the Word. The Core — The Heart 1 Timothy 2:8-15 has unfortunately and unnecessarily incited much perplexity, confusion, hatred and bigotry. Many a qualified woman of God has been denied the right to teach and preach God’s Word because of the misunderstandings surrounding these and other verses. If we embrace the anti-women tradition and are thereby forced to deny that God continues to use women in the ministry to preach and teach, then we have denied God the sacred right to express Himself in any other way than through (the accepted image of) MALENESS. Has God really put Himself in that position, or have men shoved God into the mold of their biases? Sexes In The Church It is my goal to present sound exegesis, not eisegesis. On this particular issue, it seems like very few people really want to study thoroughly. Opinions abound, but not true Biblical opinions. What was Paul’s goal, or rather, what were the Spirit’s intentions for verse eight? “I will therefore that MEN pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.” Forgive me for being facetious, but these folks on an anti-women kick, ought to lift up a holy heart unto the Lord, without wrath also! Anyway, the verb rendered “I will” means “I intend.” It is “boulomai” (“βούλομαι”), and according to Arndt and Gingrich, it is used of “decisions of the will after previous deliberation” (cf. Vine’s Expository Dictionary, p. 218). That means Paul had thought this through, under the Spirit’s unction. So, here we have the Apostle Paul stating that “men” (“andras”—“ἄνδρας”—specifically “males”) should “pray every where.” Does that mean women shouldn’t? Also, was Paul referring to both the public and private sector, or just one of the two? One writer brags, “The word andras must be translated as ‘males.’ It is not the generic term which would include ‘women.’ ...The ‘men’ ONLY and NO women WHATEVER are to do the praying in the public worship of congregations...in every place—in every city or town where there is a congregation” (Lenski). Most anti-women folks echo this belief, and they often add that most commentators have (supposedly) agreed with this interpretation throughout Church history. We are speaking about praying, mind you, not yet about prophesying or preaching and teaching. But they are setting the stage for the belief in ALL MALE leadership, which, they say, is a belief strongly held and promoted by the Apostle Paul. Of course, they love to quote I Corinthians 14:37 to emphasize their “Pauline” doctrines: “If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord.” “See,” they say, “this is not just a matter of Paul’s opinion.” True, but do the Scriptures really agree with their opinions of Paul’s doctrines? Generic And Specific Terms PAUL, in I Corinthians 14, deals with prophesying and speaking in tongues. Notice that he makes no distinction between the sexes. He uses the generic Greek term which is translated “men” and “man” but which may include women as well as men. This is important to understand. At least part of the controversy on “sexist texts” comes from a misunderstanding of the fact that people don’t interpret the words “man” and “men” to include women too. But even the English language has historically used the word “man” to speak of both men and women. In any case, poor scholarship in Bible study will naturally guide us into a number of catastrophic directions. There are many generic Biblical terms that are like the word “chairman,” which could indicate either a male or a female and is not to be interpreted only as “chairmale.” Then there are other very specific terms as well, but we need to be careful that our interpretation of those specific terms does not go beyond what the text is saying. In Greek we have the words “anthrōpos” (“ἄνθρωπος” — “man,” generically) and “anēr” (“ἀνήρ” — “man,” or “male,” specifically). Often, when the Bible says, “If any man...” or something like that, it means “If anyone (ἄνθρωπος — male or female)...” In other places, “man” specifically means “males.” In all instances, particularly in verses that use specific terms, we must be careful not to read meanings into the text or apply more to them than was originally intended. In the Hebrew text, “adam” is the term used in the first three chapters of Genesis for “man,” meaning both male and female, and is also the personal name of the first man, Adam. The root word is believed to suggest ruddiness and is related to the word for “ground” (“’adamah”). Remember, God had formed man from the dust of the ground. We could also speak of “̕Îsh” and “̕Ishshah” (“man” and “woman”). Both “adam” and “̕îsh” emphasize the value of “humankind,” while “̕enôsh,” another word, is the term for “mankind” that often refers to morality and human frailty. “Geber” and “gibbôr” both come from the root “gâbor,” meaning “to prevail; be strong or great”; the first word occurs 66 times in the Bible and describes a man at the height of his masculine strength (akin to the Hispanic term “macho”); the second word, “gibbôr,” is usually a military term for warriors and heroes , like David’s mighty men mentioned in 2 Samuel 23:8. I Corinthians 14 LET us turn to verse 34: “Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak...” Before making any decisions about this verse, let’s think about a few things. Were tongues, the interpretation of tongues, and prophecy just for men? Just a few chapters previous, in 11:5, Paul said that women can pray and prophesy if their heads are covered. Even if you say they could only pray silently, what about prophesying, speaking in tongues and interpreting tongues? How can you prophesy and speak in tongues and interpret tongues for others in the churches and always remain silent in the churches? More on this later. The author of a little tract I have before me stated this: “The Gospel had brought tremendous freedom and a sense of worth and value to women, who in some cultures were viewed as inferior to men and often as pieces of property [e.g., nowadays, that’s how it is in Islamic countries!]. While there is no difference in their spiritual relationship to God (Galatians 3:28), Paul INSISTS that in society and in the Church, sexual roles should be observed—the MAN IS TO BE THE LEADER!” That means, according to him, that women should shut up and let the men do the teaching, preaching, etc. Well, we can thank God for the author’s small compromise, in saying, “...of course, group singing and joining in the ‘AMEN’ are excluded.” How generous! Thanks, brother, for giving them awful women a break! He further states, “...she is to accept her subordinate role completely.” I agree with this for probably most of these jezebelian church ladies of today; but did Paul mean that ALL women must be silent in ALL ways at ALL times in public services? I assure you, that author I quoted above, my dear friends, is one that has done little Bible research, or much misguided Bible research, on this important subject. The “ALL MALE” stuff is really frightening. Seems to me a lot of men have a very limited understanding of the subject at hand . . . and they are to be our teachers? Women are to “keep silence”? Not bad, if we’re talking about such darlings as Jezebel in Revelation 2:20. On the other hand, ol’ Ahab isn’t much better behind the pulpit! And now we have male (if you can call them “male”) homosexuals and bi-sexuals teaching us God’s Word. Insane! Although some of the “straight” male teachers of today are equally sickening and are literally damning souls with their twisted ideas of Christianity. Oh, how these men love to blame Eve for all this trouble in the world! They go into all this “Eve made me eat” business. They love to quote Genesis 3:17—“Because thou (Adam) hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife...” The author mentioned above quotes from Alford: “As the woman was last in being, so she was first in sin—indeed the only victim of the Tempter’s deceit.” He then tells us that Paul emphasized that the woman was “completely deceived.” Well, if we want to briefly get on this issue, let’s think . . . who had the greater sin here? Adam, or Eve? Obviously, Adam, being the HEAD, the CHIEF, the “BOSS” (as these men would call him). For if Eve was “completely deceived” and Adam wasn’t, and if Eve was not the CHIEF vessel of the two, how could she have committed the BIGGER sin? What’s the author of that tract getting at? Here is his conclusion: “Sin disturbs God’s order and creates confusion. Tragedy resulted from Eve’s LEADERSHIP and Adam’s weakness.” Sin does disturb God’s order, but does that man’s conclusion about women really line up with the whole Bible? According to his conclusion, my dear women of God, you are cursed forever to “keep silence”! Never are you allowed to teach or preach or even lead prayer in a church. Just “zip the lip” forever in public gatherings. Friends, that kind of reasoning from these kind of men is just scary and absolutely un-Biblical. With this in mind, seeing the giant misunderstandings we must combat, we’ll commence our study on “Women in the Ministry.” ~ General James Green Women in the Ministry #1 by General James Green Deborah: A Wise and Courageous Mother ONE OF THE MOST TALENTED WOMEN of all time was Deborah. Wife, mother, prophetess, judge, poetess, singer and leader in war, she demonstrates the power of one life dedicated to the Lord. Jabin, king of the Canaanites, “had nine hundred chariots of iron; and twenty years he mightily oppressed the children of Israel” (Judges 4:3). During this period, God had chosen Deborah as judge over His people. She sat under her palm tree in the hill country of Ephraim, and all Israel came to her for counsel and judgment. The evident parallel between conditions of Deborah’s day and our own day should furnish a most forceful lesson for God’s people. THE SIN OF MEROZ “Curse ye Meroz, said the angel of the LORD, curse ye bitterly the inhabitants thereof; because they came not to the help of the LORD, to the help of the LORD against the mighty” (Judges 5:23). Simply doing nothing is the sin with which the people of Meroz were charged. Not vile crimes or base immorality. They just complacently went about their daily duties and failed to help in subduing the enemies of God. While the fierce battle raged, they were just too busy to be bothered. What a fearful Scripture this is. It is so easy to think that all is well with our souls just as long as we do not actively oppose God’s work or willingly aid the enemy. In so many places God warns that it is impossible to be neutral. The sin of the one-talent man was simply a failure to do anything (Matthew 25:14-30). “Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin” (James 4:17). THE FRIGHTFUL PARALLEL In every aspect of this story, a forceful parallel is seen in our time, whether taken from the viewpoint of the church or the nation. The enemy within. Of the twenty-one major civilizations which have crested and then fallen, nineteen of them have crumbled because of internal decay; and national destruction has always been preceded by moral decay. The same internal evils which deteriorated Israel have saturated our nation and have even infiltrated the church. Moral decay is rampant. Evil associations are the order of the day. In many circles, to do “evil in the sight of the Lord” is thought necessary for sophistication. The enemy without. We face today a heathen enemy more powerful, ruthless, cruel and godless than the idolatrous Canaanites. Atheistic materialism today enslaves much of the world’s population, and its advocates boast that it will soon envelop the earth. If this should happen, not only would our nation be destroyed, but Christianity would be oppressed and destroyed wherever possible. Study what has happened to religion in the nations which are controlled by the materialistic atheists, and you will understand the seriousness of this enemy which presses upon the world from every side. HOW CAN WE WIN? “Awake, awake, Deborah: awake, awake” (Judges 5:12). Victory began with an awakening, an awareness that something needed to be done to save Israel from complete destruction. Awake, Christian, awake, and realize that you are needed to uproot the seeds of destruction before they come to fruition. ~ Lottie Beth Hobbs WELCOME TO MESSAGE #1. We’re going to go into a series of teachings in which we are going to methodically go through some Scriptures and break through some demonic strongholds regarding the subject of women in the ministry. I’ve been wanting to teach on this for years but I’ve never really taught on it like I will now, in this series. I know it’s important that the truth comes out the way God intended it to be, not the way we understand it. There is a lot of abuse that has taken place in both Christian circles and amongst mankind in general, wherein these Scriptures that I am going to be bringing out have been used to rule over women. You’ll find this anywhere you go in the world. In fact, in most places you go in the world, you will find the type of spirit in operation that says women are servants and men are kings. Then, in some instances, you will find places where the women have rebelled and they have become queens and the men are castrated and have become servants. But the truth we want to get out is this: What does God have to say and how was it originally intended to be? My wife and I started out in this thing together in 1971 and we’re still together, working side by side, equally involved in the ministry. I don’t consider myself above her and she doesn’t consider herself above me. I believe God in His great mercy towards us has kept that balance with us. And we have been on both sides of the fence. We’ve been in groups where it was totally men in control and not the women, and we’ve been in another group where we had a strong woman leader. So we’ve seen both sides and we’ve seen damage done. I have been accused of letting my wife rule over me and lead me around like a bull with a ring in my nose just because she has an active part in the ministry. These are the accusations that I’ve received from the men. I’ve also been accused by the women of being too hard and stern. But you know, the women don’t have much to stand on because I’ve always fought for women’s rights. We have fought this subject out, standing up for the women in every country we’ve been in, because we’ve had to break through this male oppression caused by a misunderstanding of the Bible; and we’ve won great victories in Africa and in Asia and in other countries. The men have seen that the way they were oppressing the women is not the way that God intended it to be. Women are not just supposed to cook and stay home with a bunch of kids. There are some women that are called of God who have a place in the ministry equal to and sometimes above men. Some people do not even believe that you should have an organization or that you should have some type of hierarchy, but I disagree with that. The fact is that in order to get anything done, generally speaking, you’ve got to have some sort of a system, some sort of an organization to accomplish things. Take the army for instance. It has a structure with the generals at the top and the privates at the bottom. Now just because the private is at the bottom of the structure doesn’t make him lesser than the general, in the sense that they’re both human beings, but obviously there is a great difference in position. The same thing applies to the ministry. Obviously, if you’ve studied twenty years in the ministry, you’re going to know more than the person that’s just been in the ministry for 6 months. It’s because of experience and knowledge and time spent in the Lord. However, the person who has the twenty years doesn’t need to lord over the person who has only 6 months. If he’s been in the Lord for twenty years, he should know that he could rule and have a place of rulership and headship and still not oppress the other individual. Let’s go to 1 Corinthians chapter 14. I’m going to be taking you to three of the most used and abused Scriptures against women in the ministry and women in general. We are going to go through them and we will see what God has to say about this matter. We will see what God intended when He first created man and woman, and we will see the contrast between the way God intended His organization to work as opposed to the way things are working now. Let’s begin with verses 34 and 35. 34 Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the law. 35 And if they will learn any thing, let them ask their husbands at home: for it is a shame for women to speak in the church. Some people take this as an absolute command for all women—that all women are not to be heard at all, PERIOD! No ifs, ands, or buts about it...because the Bible said it, they claim. It is this viewpoint that I’m trying to break through. There are several thoughts on this. Some people say, “Absolutely no talking!” Others say that the women are not supposed to teach or preach in the main service but it’s okay for them to teach something like Sunday school. Some say it’s okay for the women to pray and prophesy, because the Bible obviously says it’s okay; and it’s okay for women to hold the position of a deaconess but women are not allowed “behind the pulpit” as preachers. And then there are some people who have the truth on this subject, who understand that Paul, in this portion of Scripture, was not laying down any literal absolutes for ALL women. More on this as we go along. Now I’d like to go to another Scripture found in 1 Timothy chapter 2. Let’s start reading in verse 11. It says, “Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. For Adam was first formed, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.” Everything this portion of Scripture is saying is true . . . but we’ve got to understand what it’s really saying! Let’s go back to the beginning, back to Genesis. We’re going to find out what God had in mind when He first created man and woman and what kind of organization He first instituted. Did God really want man to rule the woman? Did God really want the woman to be in subjection to the man? Was that in God’s heart? Was that in God’s mind as we understand it today? Before we get into all that, I want to go over some guidelines that I’ve used for years, along with some points to keep in mind. General Statements. First of all, there are general statements in the Bible. “Language permits the use of general statements...without branching out to all explanations or exceptions that might be possible.” So I want you to keep in mind there may be some exceptions and explanations that apply to certain texts. This is where we fall into error, for we take a general statement and put a period after it and say, “That’s it! Bless God, that’s what it says. That’s the truth and I’m settled with it.” Meanwhile, we fail to consider other pertinent texts and too often formulate a conclusion before seeking God and studying the issue. In relation to this study, many fail to realize that there are quite a few Scriptures we can find where God used women to speak and to work in the ministry. God used them as prophetesses and leaders. Now, are there exceptions to the general statement that women aren’t supposed to speak in church? Yes, of course there are. Grammar and Punctuation. If you don’t get your grammar and punctuation just right, it makes a big difference. One comma out of place can change a lot. Interpreting a noun as a proper name or an improper name can make a big difference too. Did you know that in the early scrolls of Scripture, there wasn’t any punctuation? It wasn’t until later on when they translated the Scriptures that they added punctuation, and then it was in light of the translators’ understanding. Now how would it be if English today didn’t have punctuation? PUNCTUATION NOTES One problem is that the original manuscripts were written when there were no punctuation marks. Consequently, commas and question marks must be inserted as the translators think best—based on their beliefs. Usually the correct punctuation is indicated by the wording, but there are a few passages in which a change of comma location can change the meaning; the classic example being the dispute over Luke 23:43. The actual word-for-word translation of this verse in English (without punctuation) is as follows: “Verily I say unto you today thou shalt be with me in paradise.” The accompanying illustration shows this verse in the Greek from which the New Testament was translated. ole.gif There are no commas or punctuation marks. Letters all run together. Where the comma is placed in translating into English could make it read: “Verily I say unto you today, thou shalt be with me in paradise”, or “Verily I say unto you, Today thou shalt be with me in paradise”. If a question mark was added, it could read: “Verily I say unto you today, Shalt thou be with me in paradise?” Does this verse mean the thief would be with Jesus that same day in paradise, or does it mean that on that very day Jesus was assuring him that he would be with him in paradise—regardless of where or when? Since the position of the comma would make this difference, and since there were no commas in the original, doctrines on the state of the dead cannot honestly be built on this one verse—one way or the other. COMMAND GOD? One more example involving punctuation will be given; this one concerning a question mark. In Isaiah 45:11 we read: “Concerning the work of my hands command ye me.” Does this mean we are to command God what to do? People have commanded God to heal them, have commanded God to meet their need, have commanded God to do this or that. We realize that in prayer we “ask” God; but somehow the idea that we are to “command” God seems out of place. We believe this statement was intended as a question. Notice Moffatt’s translation: “Would you dictate to me about my work?” Or Goodspeed: “Will you question me concerning my children or give me orders regarding the work of my hands?” We believe a question mark is correct (as in these translations) because this is the indication of the context. KING JAMES VERSION — 1611 Many suppose the text of the King James Version in use today is exactly like that which was issued in 1611. This is not so. There were several revisions which followed the original copies issued in 1611—a major revision appeared in 1629, and another edition in 1638. In 1762, an edition was prepared by Thomas Paris of Trinity College, Cambridge, which corrected printing and spelling errors of the former editions and was called the “Standard Edition” of the King James Version. Then in 1769, Benjamin Blayney, a professor of Hebrew at the University of Oxford, revised the spelling, bringing it more up-to-date. This edition was called the Oxford Standard edition. It is the text of this edition of the King James Version that is now in common use. Like it or not, even the King James Version is a revised version of earlier editions. Some of the words that appeared in the edition of 1611 which were changed to be understandable are these: fornace was changed to furnace, charet to chariot, murther to murder, damosel to damsel, fet to fetch, creeple to cripple, moneth to month, Moyses to Moses, etc. ~ Ralph Woodrow BF & AF — BC & AD With all that preliminary information said and done, let’s go back to Genesis. We’re going to be talking about BF and AF, like BC and AD. BF stands for “Before the Fall” and AF stands for “After the Fall.” What we want to determine is how God had it set up before Adam fell. Regarding the Scripture in I Corinthians about how women should remain silent in the churches, the ultimate background that anyone could ever find to support their views is located in Genesis 2 and 3. There is nowhere else in the Scriptures that provides better foundational support. That’s why I’m going to Genesis 2 and 3, for we want to know exactly what God said—from the very beginning. First of all, I want to ask a question. Why was there a need for man to rule over women in Eden before the Fall? Well, tradition will tell you that it was because woman was created second and therefore she is inferior. This view has been passed down for generations among certain groups ... but is it Biblical? #1—WOMAN CO-EQUAL & #2—WOMAN INFERIOR One school of thought teaches that the woman is equal to the man; that she is a co-laborer with him. A second school of thought teaches that the woman is inferior because God created man first and woman second; plus she is responsible for sin. So not all Hebrew scholars agree on the same thing. All right, turn to Genesis chapter 1 verse 26. It says, “And God said, Let us make man in our image...” Our being created in God’s “image” has a lot to do with “dominion,” as we have shown in other studies. Yes, God created man in His image and likeness, and you need to study that for yourself and see what God wanted man to be. If we were to be in His image, and be like Him, and God made it that way from the beginning, then it was important for us to be created that way. The Word is self-defining. Therefore, let us examine the Word and determine whether or not God was just talking about one man (Adam) when He said, “Let us make man in our image.” What do the Hebrew words mean? If you look up the word “man” in those verses, you will see very plainly that it is referring to all of humanity. It was not only talking about Adam. What people like to assume was that God was referring to Adam as a singular man, and that God gave him total dominion over all the creation which followed him, of which woman was a part. Therefore Adam was naturally to have dominion over Eve. But what is missing is that they fail to look up the word “man.” There are 14 Hebrew words and 7 Greek words all translated as “man,” and if you take time to look up these different words, you would find that each one has a specific meaning: “man” as a sex, “man” as humanity, “man” meaning both male and female. Genesis one used the Hebrew word HA’ADAM, which means humanity. Now will you believe that when God said He created “man” in his image, that He was talking equally about all humanity—males and females—not just one man named Adam? MAN — ADAM — MALE & FEMALE When God said, “Let us make man,” was He referring to just the man Adam or to all humanity? This is important since God said “man” would rule His creation. If the first physical man, Adam, is meant, it stands to reason that Eve, made later, would be part of the creation he would rule. God’s command was given to them, not him. God’s original statement must govern our thinking on this subject! Ha’adam, with the definite article ha, used in Genesis 1:26-27 for “man,” is not the proper name Adam with an article. Ha’adam is a generic term meaning “humanity” or “mankind.” That’s why the plural “them” is used. If God meant a single person, the pronoun “I,” “he,” or “him” would have been used, but not “them.” This text tells us God did not give His command to rule just to one person, but to all humanity, including the soon-to-be-made woman. This difficult passage troubled the ancient rabbis. Although they spoke Hebrew as a native tongue, in their pre-conceptions they believed woman was the source and cause of sin; therefore, her subjugation had to be God’s punishment. The “them” troubled them as did the “us” and “our” when God said, “Let us make man in our image.” How could God address “them” when there was only one, the man Adam? Some rabbis said Adam was bisexual. Others said he was both male and female within one body with all the functions and possibilities of both male and female. “He created them male and female, and blessed them and named them Man [ha’adam] in the day when they were created” (Genesis 5:2). Ha‘adam, with the definite article, isn’t used after Genesis 5:2. After this reference the article is dropped and the word adam becomes the proper name of the man, Adam. Understanding the simple usage of this word, without the mystical interpretations of the rabbis, the mystery of Genesis 5:2 vanishes. God specifically called both man and woman adam. ~ Charles Trombley Unger’s Bible Dictionary says that the word “man” used in Genesis chapter 1 is a generic word that refers to the whole human race. In light of this, when God says that He created “man” in His image (Genesis 1:26-27), we know that He is talking about mankind in general, both male and female, not just males or the man Adam. We need to understand these truths because there are so many ministers, and I’ve known some of them personally, who literally hate women that get involved in the ministry. They hate such women and run them down, using these Scriptures against them. And I’ve found that the primary reason that many men hate women in the ministry is because those men don’t understand the Bible. Another reason men hate women in the ministry is because many of the men are homosexuals, and so they naturally and vehemently hate women in general. Then there are some men who don’t literally hate women, but they’re very dogmatic in their doctrines against women in the ministry because those are the only doctrines they’ve ever been taught. They may want to be right and they’re sincere in what they’re saying, but they’re deadly wrong in their understanding. Now I want to go back again to verse 26 of Genesis chapter 1 and read the part that says, “...and let them have dominion...” Listen, if God meant for only Adam to be the ruler, the big macho man ruling over woman, even before the Fall, then why would God come along and say, “...and let THEM (male and female, Adam and Eve, man and wife) have dominion...” There is no indication at all that there is a separation of the sexes with one having dominion and the other having less dominion or no dominion. If God created man in the image and likeness of Himself, and He included both male and female, then we’ve got to look at God for our example. Is there a hierarchy in God? Is there a pattern that we can find where God the Son or the Holy Spirit is ranked supreme, one above the other? Can you find that in the Bible? No, you can’t. You’ll find out that there are three—the Father, the Son, the Holy Ghost—and that these three are unified in one. NOTES ON ONENESS In A Systematic Theology of the Christian Religion, Buswell wrote: “In the recorded words of Jesus, the divine Sonship designates a relationship of absolutely essential equality. . . .all reference to the subordination of the Son to the Father signify a functional subordination in the economy of the divine redemptive program. It is of the utmost importance that we distinguish between economic, or functional subordination, and essential equality. When Jesus said, ‘The Father is greater than I’ (John 14:28), and ‘I can of my own self do nothing’ (John 5:30), we must understand these statements as referring to His economic subordination in ‘the days of his flesh.’ “But when He said, ‘The Father does not judge anyone, but he has given all judgment to the Son, in order that all should honor the Son even as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him’ (John 5:22,23); ‘I and my Father are one’ (John 10:30); it should be clear that in these passages we have to do with the essential relationship of equality.” Paul exhorted the Philippian church to voluntarily submit to one another, esteeming others better than themselves. Then he used Christ as an example of humility. Christ, who was the Word and with God (John 1:1), humbled Himself and took the form of a servant and was obedient unto death. He laid aside His equality! “Who existing [and continuing to exist—Greek tense] in the form of God, thought it nothing to be attained to [or grasped or held on to] to be equal with God, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a slave and was made in the likeness of men.” What He relinquished was not His Godness. ~ Charles Trombley When God said, “Let us make man in our image,” they—Father, Son, Holy Spirit—were all in agreement. One was not ruling over the other. So if there is no hierarchy among the three Persons of God, then why would God institute a hierarchy with man ruling over woman if man—meaning male and female—was created in the image of God? The only instance that you will find any sort of hierarchy among the three Persons of the Godhead is when Jesus walked on the earth. Jesus said that He was not equal to His Father and He only did what the Father told Him to do; but as we saw above, this “hierarchy” was in place for functional purposes. Jesus walked the earth as a human being and He submitted Himself to the leading of the Father. Naturally, being fully man, Jesus had God the Father rule over Him, and this was, in turn, depicting the perfect example of God ruling over man. Is that complicated? Not at all. The Scriptures don’t say that God will rule over man and then man will rule over woman. No, they say that God will rule over man, meaning mankind, male and female, equally. But man has built a pyramid where they put God the Father first, then Christ, then man, then woman, and lastly children. In Churchianity, I used this structure and I was taught that this was the Gospel truth. That’s why I’ve taken the time to study this out, and in this series, I’m going to bring out the truth the way I believe God has revealed it to me. When you’re dealing with organizations and large numbers of people, there is nothing wrong with having a hierarchy and a structure to help get the job done. But when it comes to the question of whether females are inferior to males, we need to recognize that God did not institute a hierarchy with the male ruling over the female. God did not design woman to be ruled over like that. God rules over both male and female, and both male and female are responsible for their individual actions before God. WOMEN In The Ministry #2 THINK of the most lovely wedding you have ever seen. Then let your mind travel backward through the centuries and try to capture the beauty and the setting of the first marriage, where the God of heaven gave away the bride and performed the ceremony. It was a garden wedding amid all the beauties of nature. After the Lord had created the earth and all things therein, He made man in his own image and endowed him with majestic and eternal qualities far above all the other creatures. Then the Master Physician administered the first anesthetic and performed the first operation, and from Adam’s side he took a rib and formed woman. Though we know nothing of Eve’s physical appearance, she must have been supremely lovely; for she was created by the same God from whose hand came the wonders of nature so beautiful as to defy the artist’s touch and the orator’s tongue. Eve had also a countenance of innocence and purity which is the basis of true charm and loveliness. Thus was Eve the climax of all God’s creation, and He “brought her unto man” (Genesis 2:22-24). Yes, the Lord not only created the first couple but He gave away the first bride and placed His stamp of divine approval upon the foundation of the first home. Housed in Paradise, clothed in innocence and married by God, Adam and Eve present a picture of the high plane which God intended for mankind. Think how glorious it would have been if this state of purity and perfection could have remained so. “SO GOD CREATED MAN IN HIS OWN IMAGE” Abundant evidence testifies that man is the offspring of God. It would be unreasonable to contend that the unbelievably intricate mechanism of the human body and the still more complex workings of the human mind came into existence by mere chance. “I will praise thee: for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: Marvelous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well” (Psalm 139:14). It would also be unreasonable to contend that man is merely an advanced fish or ape which has evolved to his present state. Only man has a conscience, a sense of right and wrong, the ability to consider the meaning of life and death, to contemplate his origin and destiny. Only man can reason and make plans to improve his condition physically and spiritually. Only man can laugh and cry. The list of differences between man and any other creature could be multiplied. All these qualities of the spirit could come only from a Higher Spirit. It is unreasonable to assume that man’s spiritual capacity was imparted to him by the animal kingdom. No creature can give to another that which he does not first possess. Thus, it is not possible that man’s spiritual nature evolved from animals who have no spiritual nature. Man is an immortal being. There is a part of us which will live forever. Those who doubt God’s Word should be convinced of this fact by the testimony of science. Some of the most outstanding scientists of our time tell us that nothing in nature can disappear without a trace. Nothing in nature, not even the tiniest particle, becomes extinct. It is only transformed. If this is true of the most minute thing in nature, then surely it would also be true of the most valuable thing on earth, the spirit of man. It would be unreasonable and even unscientific to believe that the spirit of man becomes extinct when it leaves the body. Science knows nothing of extinction. It knows only transformation. Nothing disappears without a trace. Surely this should strengthen our belief in the immortality of the soul. The creation, fall, and redemption of man is the story of the Bible. It is a love story, the story of a loving Creator and His glorious plans for His wayward children. The tree of life, lost in Eden, may be regained only in heaven, “in the midst of the paradise of God” (Revelation 2:7). Who will eat of the tree of life? Only those “that do his commandments” (Revelation 22:14). This is John’s marvelous description of the new paradise to which we are journeying: “And God shall wipe all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away” (Revelation 21:3,4). — Lottie Beth Hobbs WELCOME TO MESSAGE #2 in this teaching series entitled Women In The Ministry. Let’s pick up our text in Genesis chapter 1 verse 26: “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion...” Our purpose in this series is to examine the different schools of thought regarding the subject of women and uncover the truth in the process—(1) to see that many Scriptures pertaining to women have been misused and misunderstood throughout history; (2) to show that false interpretations along with misunderstandings have done great harm to the relationship between men and women in the Lord. I’ve been in many churches where the males rule and the females are nothing but dogs that bear children and cook. Women are almost treated like animals in some places. You will find this especially in all the third-world countries. That is why we have always taken time to teach them right doctrine in those places, so that they treat their women the right way—not as inferiors, but as equals in the Lord. On another side, I’d like to say that in this day and age in which we live, especially here in America, there are feminists, demon-inspired feminists, that literally hate the ground that men walk on. They’ve taken the concept of liberation to the extreme. They’re tired of being dominated over, of always having men be the boss, and they’ve said that now they want to rule for a while. Well, there are small pieces of truth in certain claims they make, but nevertheless, they’ve carried their agenda to the extreme and have gotten off into the demonic realm, totally violating God’s order. God never intended for the woman to rule over the man any more than He intended the man to rule over the woman. In the true sense of God’s design, before the Fall, God created man and woman to have dominion together. Throughout this study, we will go to Scriptures pertaining to the time after the Fall, after sin entered in, and we will examine what God’s plan is for us. Some people think that God did create man and woman equal—before the Fall—but since Eve caused Adam to sin (she was responsible, they say), then women are therefore punished and must be walked on by man for the rest of their lives. Their theory is definitely not true. I’ve always fought for women’s rights in the sense that I don’t believe it’s fair or Scriptural for a woman to be treated lesser than a man. There are certainly positions for males and females that require different functional capacities, but in God’s original design, He did not intend disunion or disarray or anything of the like. When He created man and woman in His own likeness, He did not create one superior and one inferior. Once again we can look to the example of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. They are Three, yet they are One. They are in agreement, with power, authority, and righteousness. Only as Jesus walked as a man on the earth was a distinction made of Him being lesser; but He was not really lesser in divinity. Jesus was lesser because He was a man. He had taken a lesser position—the form of a man—but He was still God in flesh. I’m not a theologian and I don’t claim to be a Bible scholar, but I do know some principles, and I know that things concerning our understanding of women in the ministry are just not right. Many people get ugly attitudes towards the opposite sex because they misunderstand what God is saying. Many men get wrong attitudes where they think that women are to be treated like dogs, and many women don’t like the attitude of the men and they get ugly and declare that no man is going to rule over them. Many women decide that they are going to conquer and become Jezebels. Yes, there are such things as Ahab and Jezebel spirits, but on the other hand, we can’t lay all the blame on those spirits. I’ve seen all kinds of weird, twisted things in family lives and in the ministry, and they’re not all caused by those spirits, and they’re not there because God created things that way or because He causes confusion but because individuals have hangups! I must make one point clear. Though I am teaching the equality of males and females, I am not teaching the abolition of all order and authority. Some people hate authority and refuse to be ruled over in any way by anyone, male or female. I want to tell you this in truth: You cannot get by in life unless somebody rules over you. And you must realize that if you refuse good rule you will be under evil rule. You cannot escape being ruled. EVERYONE IS RULED OVER BY SOMETHING OR SOMEONE. In any organization, there are obviously positions that are superior and there are positions that are subordinate. I used the example of the military in the first message. It’s obvious that a General in an army has a superior rank and position over a Private; yet it’s also obvious that the General is not a superior human being in the eyes of God, because God created both the General and the Private. So there can be differences in position without compromising equality, and we all must come under some form of order and authority. “I am not teaching the abolition of all order and authority. ...I want to tell you this in truth: You cannot get by in life unless somebody rules over you.” When God says something, that is what He means; but for mankind to follow what God says is where the problems begin. Men want their own way. We may also say that the problem doesn’t lie in what the Bible says but in how men understand what it’s saying. For example, there are 14 Hebrew words and 7 Greek words that are translated into English as the word “man,” and not one of these words denote inferiority of females or superiority of males, despite the erroneous qualities that men attribute to these words. Yet men still speak of men as some naturally higher form of being. See, this is why it can be beneficial to study and understand Hebrew and Greek words. We recommend that you use a Strong’s Concordance for basic study. It will help you tremendously. For when the Bible was translated into English, a lot of the words used in the Hebrew and Greek could not transfer all of their different meanings accurately into English. Therefore, many words are not understood properly in meaning or in context. Let’s get back to our subject dealing with the fact that God gave both man and woman dominion over the earth. That was in the beginning, before the Fall. In Genesis chapter 5 verse 1 it says, “This is the book of the generations of Adam.” Now, notice the word “Adam” and realize that it is talking about both male and female, not just the man named Adam. Continuing on it says, “In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made He him; male and female created He them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created” (v. 1-2). Now notice that it says God created them both, male and female, and called their name “Adam.” Here’s what we have: we’ve got a man named Adam and we’ve got a man and a woman named Adam. We’ve got both sexes named Adam. God intended for it to be that way, and it certainly benefits us in our understanding of equality between the sexes. Many men say, “Females came out from man, and that makes females inferior to man.” Well, if that principle were true then that opens up other possibilities we need to look at. After Adam and Eve, where did all the human beings come from? Where did all the men come from? All men following Adam and Eve came out of woman. Does that mean all men should be in subjection to the women? Of course not. Nevertheless, that line of logic is the same argument that many men propose to prove their superiority over women. Keep that in mind. Their argument “holds no water,” as the old saying goes. “HELP MEET” Now I want to go back to Genesis chapter 2 verse 18. It says, “And the Lord God said, it is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a help meet for him.” I want to study “help meet.” Once again, we find the men, who misunderstand the Word of God, using the Scripture to prove that the woman is only to be a mere subordinate helper to the man. She’s only to be helping the man, which means she is not to be equal. She’s not to rule with him nor have dominion with him but just help him. Does this verse really imply that women must be slaves or remain subordinate under the all-supreme authority of the man? Well, we are going to look up “help meet” and see what it really stands for; but let’s take a few steps back first. Let’s start by looking up the word “alone” which is used in verse 18 just before “help meet.” In this context, the word “alone” means “in separation,” or “in his separation.” His separation from what? Obviously, if man didn’t have a mate, he was separated from having his counterpart. We must understand that God is both male and female. Some people have a hard time believing that God is both male and female. Look at it like this: If God created male and female in His image and likeness, then obviously God is both male and female. That further helps us understand the nature of equality between men and women. We can even learn something from the words that the translators used. Study the word “meet” and you will find that it means “to fit properly or suitably.” It carries the idea of “joining or combining in union.” Woman was meant to join in union with man as his equal counterpart, not in subordination to man. God created woman to be fit for the man as his proper or suitable mate. There is no indication that the woman is to be lesser. Look up “help meet” in the concordance and you will see that it goes back to one Hebrew word, EZERAENEZEO. The Unger’s Bible Dictionary says that “help meet” means “help as a counterpart.” The picture here is clear and the simplicity of it all may seem overwhelming. If God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost are in union, and if all Three counterparts work together as One, why do we have such a hard time believing that male and female were created equal, one counterpart matching up to the other, and both parts joined together to make one? Inevitably, when it comes to the average Christian’s understanding of the male and female relationship, they just somehow believe that the woman is inferior and the male is superior. Man has used his own understanding and interpretations and has not taken the time to really research this subject the way it needs to be studied. NOTES on EL SHADDAI — “The breasted God” “Almighty God” (Hebrew, El Shaddai) ❝The etymological signification of ‘Almighty God’ (El Shaddai) is both interesting and touching. ‘God’ (El) signifies the ‘Strong One’ (Genesis 1). The qualifying word Shaddai is formed from the Hebrew word ‘shad,’ the breast, invariably used in Scripture for a woman’s breast (e.g. Genesis 49:25; Job 3:12; Psalms 22:9; Song 1:13; 7:3, 7; 8:I, 8, 10; Isaiah 28:9; Ezekiel 16:7). Shaddai therefore means primarily ‘the breasted.’ God is ‘Shaddai,’ because He is the Nourisher, the Strength-giver, and so, in a secondary sense, the Satisfier, who pours Himself into believing lives. As a fretful, unsatisfied babe is not only strengthened and nourished from the mother’s breast, but also is quieted, rested, satisfied, so El Shaddai is that name of God which sets Him forth as the Strength-giver and Satisfier of His people. It is on every account to be regretted that ‘Shaddai’ was translated ‘Almighty.’ The primary name El or Elohim sufficiently signifies almightiness. ‘All-sufficient’ would far better express both the Hebrew meaning and the characteristic use of the name in Scripture. Almighty God (El Shaddai) not only enriches, but makes fruitful. This is nowhere better illustrated than in the first occurrence of the name (Genesis 17:l-8). To a man ninety-nine years of age, and ‘as good as dead’ (Hebrews 11:12), He said: ‘I am the Almighty God [El Shaddai] ... I will ... multiply thee exceedingly.’ To the same purport is the use of the name in Genesis 28:3-4. As Giver of fruitfulness, Almighty God (El Shaddai) chastens His people. For the moral connection of chastening with fruit-bearing, see John 15:2; Hebrews 12:10; Ruth 1:20.❞ God told Adam and Eve to be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth with children. So they did that, bringing forth children in their image and likeness. They obeyed God and joined together—the two counterparts made a union, and the union brought forth children. Did the children recognize the woman as inferior and the male as superior? That’s a good question that we should consider. Another meaning of “help meet” means “an aid suitable to him.” Now listen, an aid in this context is not someone who is lesser but rather signifies someone who gives assistance in something. It signifies a difference in position but it has nothing to do with whether or not someone is inferior or superior to someone else. The woman was an aid to the man, to help him guard and keep the Garden. She was to help him take dominion over the birds and the animals and subdue the earth. The Scriptures don’t say that women are to be under men or be considered lesser than men. We can understand the distinction that is made in regards to position when dealing with organizational structure, and we know we are positioned in Christ Jesus. The Bible talks a lot about positions. There are many Scriptures that refer to our position of authority over the Devil, for example. Relating to our subject at hand, we need to recognize that in the spiritual dimension, as far as positions of equality and dominion are concerned, there is no distinction between males and females. God said that He is not a respecter of persons. That means that God doesn’t respect the male over the female. Other than physical make-up, in light of these things we have mentioned, we can see that there is no difference in God’s eyes between men and women. “Woman was meant to join in union with man as his equal counterpart, not in subordination to man. ...If God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost are in union, and if all Three counterparts work together as One, why do we have such a hard time believing that male and female were created equal, one counterpart matching up to the other, and both parts joined together to make one?” All right, I want to go back to I Corinthians chapter 14 verse 34. It says, “Let your women keep silence in the churches.” This has got to be funny ! If you read all of chapter 14 from the beginning to the end, everything goes along smoothly until you get to verses 34 and 35, and then it seems like everything goes haywire. All-of-a-sudden Paul just throws in this whole thing about women keeping silent in the churches, and bases it upon “the law.” Before that, he was talking about spiritual gifts: speaking in tongues and prophecy, for edification and exhortation. So what is going on with verse 34? Let’s read in verse 24 where it says, “But if all prophesy.” The word “all” in this verse had to do with both males and females in the churches. Paul also mentions speaking in unknown tongues in verse 27, advising the believers to let it be two or three at a time. He didn’t distinguish between male and female, he only specified a certain number. In verse 31 Paul wrote, “For ye may all prophesy one by one.” Note once again the use of the word “all,” relating to the entire Body of believers with no distinction made between males and females. Then Paul says in verse 33, “For God is not the author of confusion,” and right after that he throws in the idea that women should keep silent in the churches. When I was a young Christian I used to get totally confused when I read this. I thought to myself, “Why in the world would God be exhorting us in all the spiritual gifts and then throw this commandment at us that women must keep silent.” It just didn’t seem to fit. After all, Paul had already told the women that they could pray and prophesy, and we read that all could speak in tongues and prophesy . . . so why did Paul suddenly decide, in conflict to his previous teachings, that the women need to keep silent in the churches? Why is it not permitted for them to speak? We need to think about what Paul was dealing with here. Was he really teaching something that conflicted his own teachings, or was he quoting what others were teaching? Aha! I want you to pay special attention to the very last part of verse 34, where it says, “...as also saith the law.” Now, my challenge to you, dear readers, is this: I challenge you to find anywhere in the Bible where one of God’s laws sets the standard that women are not allowed to speak in the midst of God’s assembled people. If you can find it anywhere, in the Old or New Testament, I want you to write it down and send it to me. I want to know where it says that a woman can’t speak! I’ll tell you, you will find that there are many examples where women did speak. You can’t help but notice that God used women tremendously, even to speak to God’s assembled people and even lead God’s people. One good example is Deborah. She was obviously a leader of Israel and a prophet on top of that. Moreover, you can’t help but read in the New Testament about how Paul had a lot of women working with him in spreading the Gospel, and the Gospel was spread by preaching the Word, not just by prophesying and praying. Paul emphasized that the spreading of the Gospel of salvation must be spread through preaching (Romans 10:14). Are men the only ones who should spread the Gospel? These are some good points to think about. In I Corinthians 14:35, Paul says, “And if they (women) will learn any thing, let them ask their husbands at home: for it is a shame for women to speak in the church.” Wait...what about single women? Why must the married women go home and learn? Why is it a shame for them to speak when Paul says in the earlier verses that they can partake in prophesy and speaking in tongues? Many men have taken verse 35 and twisted it so that they can claim that God said the women are to learn from the men, which obviously means that the men have more intelligence and are superior to the women. I’ve known men who actually believed in male superiority. They think that the men know everything and that the women are all dummies. If anything, I think it’s the other way around. So it says if women will learn anything, let them ask their husbands at home, for it is a shame for women to speak in the churches. Where in the New Testament can we find any other reference to support this claim that women can’t speak in the church? It is contradictory to the New Testament message. If you look up the word “speak,” it means “preach, teach, pray, prophesy and exhort.” As I said, Paul said that the entire congregation could pray, prophesy, and speak in tongues. It seems that this issue would have been so much easier to understand if Paul would have left this Scripture out, but he didn’t. Ñ THE KEY to the whole situation is in verse 36. Notice the word “what” with a question mark after it. It says, “What? came the word of God out from you? or came it unto you only?” Paul is talking, but who is he talking to? Is he talking to himself or posing a question about what he just stated? The answer is simple. Basically, Paul is saying, “Did that commandment concerning women come from God or did it come from you? Did you make it up because you have a hard time believing that women can be used by the Spirit of God?” That’s right—his previous statement about women was something he was quoting that was being taught as though it was a command from God, and Paul was making it clear that it certainly is not God’s commandment. Right after Paul presents the question in verse 36, he goes on to tell them that, “If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord.” Did Paul elsewhere write that women are to keep silent in the churches, or do his writings support the contrary? Paul supported women in the ministry. That’s his point. Basically, Paul was saying, “Look, I am God’s Apostle, and what I write to you is Scripture, so if you are going to listen to someone then you should listen to me and not to these people who are teaching you false doctrine about women being silent in the churches. If you are a man of God, if you are spiritual, then you will listen to what I have to say.” Men have wrongly understood what Paul was trying to explain and have made what Paul was quoting into Paul’s commandment from the Lord that all must obey. Paul was not issuing a command for women to keep silent whatsoever! If you take the time to compare several different translations, you will see very plainly that these verses in Corinthians mean something entirely different than what we have taken them to mean. Instead of slamming the idea of women in the ministry, Paul was dealing with some men in the Corinthian church who thought they were spiritual; some men who thought they were the great prophets and that they had all the Word of God and the women had nothing. In so many words, Paul was actually telling certain MEN to keep silent in the churches! In chapters 12-15, Paul is laying out the guidelines about how God wants His people to operate in the Spirit while they are assembled. If women were not to be included in the activities, Paul would have never told them that they could pray and prophesy. He would have laid it out in the beginning that the women were to have no part in the services at all instead of waiting to base such a crucial doctrine on some random, contradictory commandment thrown in at the end of his message which could only spread all kinds of confusion in relation to everything he had previously stated. No, someone else was teaching that the women must remain silent in the churches, and Paul was refuting such an idea. Unfortunately it seems that many men still want to keep their women silent, and they resort to this and other (misunderstood) Scriptures to support their doctrines. “In so many words, Paul was actually telling certain MEN to keep silent in the churches!” Praise God that He has given us the clear light on this subject so that we can break through the bondage and regain our balance in the Lord with everyone doing his or her part in the Spirit. Supplementary Information — Women in the Ministry — “WOMEN IN THE MINISTRY has been one of the most hotly-debated issues in the history of the Christian Church, and it remains among the most volatile and emotionally charged subjects in the Church today. From the one extreme of misogyny (hatred of women) and chauvinism to the other extreme of militant feminism and everywhere in-between, strident voices claim to speak for God, giving the answer to a ‘woman’s place’” (John D. Garr, Ph.D., Editor and Publisher of RESTORE magazine). Women are wonderful. I’m married to one (and it’s been 44 years now!). But women can be a pain to God’s heart as well as to society. With the militant feminist movement well underway, lesbians and bi-sexuals and all other types are DEMANDING a place of power and status in the Church. Those are NOT the kind of women I champion, and those are not the kind of women the Bible champions in ANY place! It is now interesting to see the Islamic religion, which is pretty much misogynistic (women-hating), having women leading prayers and preaching in mosques. Of course, this is a total outrage to many, but you see, the women are defying orders to stop. The same goes for the Roman Catholic Church (RCC). Women priests are being ordained and accepted in certain locales but to the disfavor of the top leadership. However, I’m not really concerned about what’s going on in Isalm or the RCC. I want to put forth what concerns the Body of Christ. There is no doubt as a whole, that for many centuries, male bureaucracies have denied women any positions, particularly leadership positions, in the ministry. The women’s role basically has been that of a nice housewife. Nothing wrong with that. My wife is that too. But my wife also has a calling from God for the ministry, and I allow her that calling despite what certain churches teach. Silence and Submission Silence and submission have their place in the Church. These modern-day Jezebels need to keep silent and submit. They do not need to be in the ministry at all unless they are truly saved and sanctified from their sinful habits and attitudes. You won’t get me to change my mind here! But these women make up a small minority when we think of the universal Body of Christ. Re-examination Time I mean to re-examine the Scriptures (in these studies) that are keeping a great “work force” imprisoned because of the lack of true Bible understanding. The anti-women movement (which is old) relies upon eisegesis (reading meanings that you want into the Scriptures to make it so that they say what you want and you get out of the Scriptures what you want them to say). It has little concern for proper exegesis (gleaning meanings and interpretations from out of what the Scriptures really say). This has been the BIG problem all along. Neo-Platonist It has been pointed out that since the second century AD, the Church (really, the Ekklesia—the Body of “called-out ones”) has molded its doctrine and practices after what scholars call “Neo-Platonist dualism.” (Some converts of early Christianity were formerly philosophers from the Platonistic mindset.) Philo, who had his roots in realist Judaism, pointed out the doctrine that Plato taught: “an ethical dualism between matter and spirit.” Plato separated the material world and the spiritual world, making one evil and the other good. Platonistic dualism declared the spiritual (ideas) as good while declaring the material world as evil. As Dr. Garr points out, “In this construct, it was only a small leap of ‘logic’ to label those who bring new life into the world, trapping sparks of the divine in inherently evil bodies, as epitomizing evil itself. Women were so characterized in ancient Greece and other nations that embraced its philosophy.” In other words, women were blamed for “trapping” the good spiritual substance of life in an evil material body since women are responsible for the birth of babies. Thus women were declared evil. (But aren’t men equally responsible for the conception of babies?) If one studies the Old Testament carefully, one clearly sees that women were not despised but honored, loved, even followed as leaders. Lenore Lindsay Mullican, a teacher of modern Hebrew at Oral Roberts University, says, “Paul’s use of ‘neither male and female,’ probably alludes, in a typical rabbinic method of interpretation, to Genesis 1:27: ‘So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.’” As Mullican points out, alluding or referring to Scriptures was a method of rabbinic midrash, which was characteristic of Paul as well as Jesus. So we go back to Genesis, and we read that man and woman are given equal authority over the rest of God’s earthly creation since they both were created in the image of God. It is equal authority that we see, not slanted or unequal authority. What Mrs. Mullican was saying is that MAN AND WOMAN EQUALLY SHARE THE GOD-ASSIGNED TASK OF RULING OVER THE CREATION, AND THERE IS NO INTIMATION OF ANY ROLE DISTINCTIONS. THAT MEANS MEN AND WOMEN RULE EQUALLY. G. Bilezikian, in his book, Beyond Sex Roles, repeats the same thing. I’ll cover this subject more in our studies. It has also been pointed out that the Bible teaches freedom of choice in reference to marriage: when it comes to being single or married, a man or a woman may choose whether or not he/she wants to submit to God’s will for his/her life (e.g., see Genesis 24:58). A lot of religions deny that right, at least to women. “So we go back to Genesis, and we read that man and woman are given equal authority over the rest of God’s earthly creation since they both were created in the image of God.” We also see women in the Bible having rights of inheritance (Numbers 27:7-8). And we find that “the model woman” in Proverbs 31 is, as some point out, an “independent businesswoman” who is also in the authoritative position of supervisor in her own household—she even owns land. Also, it is worth mentioning that according to Exodus 21:15, striking one’s mother was punishable by death just as striking one’s father was punishable by death. These examples do not exist in many religions, even in entire societies (including modern ones). (You may want to request General Deborah’s teaching tapes and videos on “The Tale of Two Women.” You’ll love them!!) The Talmud, a collection of teachings from Jewish leaders, has many ugly, blasphemous things to say about Jesus, Christians, and women. Of course, the Talmud does not speak for all Jews nor did it speak for the Biblical Hebrew religion (see our section on the Talmud). The Talmud teaches that Jesus Christ was illegitimate (had no legitimate father) and was conceived during menstruation. It calls Mary a “stada,” that is, “a prostitute.” This view of Mary is found in both the Jerusalem Talmud as well as in the Jewish book Toldath Jeschu (“The Generations of Jesus”). So Mary is thereby placed in an untruthfully sinful light. Mary was a sinner just like all of us, but she was not a whore who slept around and became pregnant with Jesus during menstruation. In our section on the Talmud, we give a series of references that very negatively speak of women. In contrast to all this, the Old Testament and New Testament speak very highly of women—the right kind of women. Therefore, one cannot use the Talmud as proof that Biblical Judaism or Christianity teach misogyny. Good and Evil Throughout the ages, men have commonly been portrayed as “good” whereas women, being the ones who produce offspring, have been commonly portrayed as “evil.” For example, take Aristotle, the “high priest” of Greek rationalism. He considered women to be evil. One writer notes that Aristotle taught that women were “little more than a deformed man.” Aristotle once said, “Amusement does not go with learning, for learning is a painful process.” It seems he took his study of rationalism very seriously. That means he took his declarations about women very seriously, and many people have been affected by his teachings. You can just imagine the role of women he portrayed in his teachings! Plato was Aristotle’s disciple. Certainly, Aristotle and Plato had profound negative effects upon the unsuspecting minds of their male students, and those effects have lasted the centuries. Males were looked upon as much superior. Not only were men considered physically superior but also intellectually superior, which made women seem basically worthless. (Remember, women were considered the pinnacle of evil.) This idea crept into Christianity and we can still see it at work today. Don’t many Christians think of women as basically worthless for the ministry despite the fact that the Bible teaches otherwise? Extrapolation In the days of the early Church there had already been an infiltration of crafty men who “crept in unawares” (Jude 4). Jude tells us about such men “who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ” (v. 4). Not only was unrestrained vice or sexual freedom being taught, accepted and practiced, but men were teaching others to hate and despise women, especially to hate and despise women assuming roles within the Church, particularly leadership roles. To extrapolate is to extend the application of some thing or idea or conclusion. The early Church, drawing from the Platonistic dualistic worldview of crafty men, extrapolated the idea that one could become “spiritual” (or “more spiritual”) by separating from the material, natural world. This extending of Platonistic views into the Church led to the promoting of such things as celibacy and the orders of monasticism. Celibacy and the orders of monasticism have been carried to the maximum by groups like the RCC. Because of the withdrawal from marriage and the withdrawal from the raising of families, all kinds of sick perversions have resulted. Need we talk about this in light of the current lawsuits against the Roman Catholic priests who are accused of child molestations and a number of other vices? Too Religious Getting too religious (men believing in their own self-righteousness) was the problem that opened up the door for self-righteous men to embrace the Greek idea that women are personifications of sexual lust and are ipso facto (by that very fact) the personifications of evil. The Apostle Paul deals with the “sex problem” in detail. In I Corinthians, chapter seven, Paul speaks about marriage and the duties of husbands and wives. Notice verse one: “Now concerning the things whereof ye wrote unto me: ‘It is good for a man not to touch a woman.’” Paul was not making a point here about women but was quoting what someone else had said. Paul quoted the statement and then he answered it: “Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband.” And he says in verse 9, “...if they cannot contain, let them marry: for it is better to marry than to burn (with lust!).” The phrase “not to touch a woman” means “not to marry.” Where did the RCC come up with such things as all priests must be celibate? Is not that church taking what Paul was merely quoting and then making it something that he was declaring? Has not their misinterpretation of the Word created a “vicious pendulum,” a swinging to extremes—from uncontrollable passion to self-hatred to self-mortification and back to uncontrollable passion again? False doctrines are dangerous. For the promotion of one false doctrine leads to the promotion of another. Think about this: If women are specially classified as the personifications of evil, then the next line of logic is that there certainly could be no higher order of spirituality than to completely withdraw from conjugal (marital) relations, for it is spiritual to withdraw from evil and, having defined women as evil, that means it is spiritual to withdraw from WOMEN! So, you see, one lie does beget another. God did NOT create women EVIL any more than He created man EVIL. God’s creation of man (male and female) was deemed “very good” (Genesis 1:31). Everything He created was pronounced as “good.” Sin ruined His creation. Sin changed the whole creation. That’s right, sin changed the whole creation—it ruined women and men equally, not just women and not women more than men. But Jesus Christ opened up the way for us to be healed and reconciled unto God, and this too affects women and men equally. “False doctrines are dangerous. For the promotion of one false doctrine leads to the promotion of another . . . [for] one lie does beget another. ” It has been rightly said that men and women under evil influences have found themselves entangled in a mess, in an addictive web of co-dependency with domination and submission. They have found themselves trapped in an ever-widening chasm, a deep canyon of sinful inequality between themselves and others. But thank God, HOPE ENTERED THE WORLD THRU THE ONLY BEGOTTEN SON OF GOD, JESUS CHRIST THE LORD (MASTER), WHO LITERALLY BROKE THE POWER OF SIN’S DOMINION (SOVEREIGNTY, CONTROL). Yes, we can be freed from sin thru Christ and gain dominion, and God can bring us—men and women—into His true intentions of equality. ADAM Brought Sin Unto the World Romans 5:12 tells us, “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men...” There are lots of Christians (so called!) who do not believe this Scriptural fact because they want to blame Eve for everything (and we have dealt with this subject in other studies already). The truth is, by the transgression and fall of Adam, sin as “an active principle or power” gained its entrance into the entire human race (vv. 17, 19; Genesis 3; I Corinthians 15:21-22). And it is rightly said that two main results followed Adam’s sin: 1) Sin and corruption entered into and filled Adam’s heart and life; 2) Adam transmitted sin into the “life stream” of the entire human race, corrupting ALL (with a capital “A”) people thereafter. This is FACT! You may want to look up the following Scriptures: Romans 5:19; 1:27; 7:24; Genesis 6:5, 12; 8:21; Psalm 14:1-3; Jeremiah 17:9; Mark 7:21-22; I Corinthians 2:14; Galatians 5:19-21; Ephesians 2:1-3; Colossians 1:21; I John 5:19. These ought to prove the FACTS to any and all who believe the Bible. “That’s right, sin changed the whole creation—it ruined women and men equally . . . But Jesus Christ opened up the way for us to be healed and reconciled unto God, and this too affects women and men equally.” Did you know that before Christ, there was only ONE man upon the earth? Since Christ arose from the dead—He conquered death!—there are now TWO men upon the earth. The first man is the first Adam (i.e., sinners under the curse) and the second man is the second Adam (i.e., Jesus’ Body, His many-membered Church). We are all either the first man or the second. History’s Record The history of the Gentile world plainly reveals the fact that women were often reduced to a sub-human status in order to be literally bought and sold, used and abused and kicked out like a bag of garbage. They were commonly used as sex-slaves and were degraded to very inferior roles and deemed as merely “the procreation species.” Even in our modern times, there are church organizations that put women on a lower plane of just child bearing, child rearing, and so on (not to say that those things are “lower” responsibilities or meaningless jobs), but they never allow women to have any say-so in church matters—women are to be silent, remember? Other societies and religions have gone to the other extreme—worshipping the female as a deity. But the former practice (lowering women) is by far the major and most popular one. More Susceptible To Sin? Are women really more susceptible to sin than men? Who decides the truth on this matter? Is not the Word of God the deciding factor? Yes! Well, what does the Bible say about men, women, and sin? Let’s take a look at the Biblical record of Romans chapter one. Verse 21 declares that “when they (male and female) knew God, they (male and female) glorified Him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their (male and female) imaginations, and their (male and female) foolish heart was darkened.” Read the rest of the story. Sinful men (males and females) “CHANGED the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man...” (v. 23). They (males and females) “CHANGED the truth of God into a lie...” (v. 25). They (males and females) “DID CHANGE the natural use into that which is against nature” (v. 26; compare with v. 27). Obviously, men and women have equally sinned and must be equally susceptible to sin, for both have gone to the same depths of sin. Yes, my friends, sinful men and women have CHANGED many of God’s truths into lies. That means both men and women have a susceptibility to lying. And we can clearly see that one of the lies that men (and women, believe it or not) have told is that women are more susceptible to sin than men and are inherently more evil. Back in Romans 1:18 it says that “the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against ALL ungodliness and unrighteousness of men (males/ females; humanity), who hold the truth in unrighteousness.” This verse clarifies how God feels about sin. God’s wrath is revealed against ALL sins committed by men and women. The sins of men are not singled out. Women’s sins are not singled out either. ALL sins incur God’s wrath, and all have sinned. Restoration and Revelation We need a restoration of the real Biblical truth about God’s design for both men and women, husbands and wives. The only solution to this unholy and un-Biblical pollution is DIVINE REVOLUTION! A new appraisal or evaluation of male and female relationships is at hand. Let’s face it: the Church has fallen short of teaching the truth about men and women. With God’s help I’ll try to do what I can in bringing forth correct teachings on this subject. I do not consider myself to be a Bible scholar (there are good ones out there). I do consider myself to be a serious seeker of truth. Trust me, having traveled the world for years now, I’ve seen just too much abuse against females to let the lies go unchallenged. Imbalances beget imbalances. For example, this whole movement of militant feminism is a result of an overemphasis on male dominance. Feminists are rebuked, but we must consider that promoting male dominance is as bad, in one sense, as outright misogyny (the hatred of women). The only real balance is found in the teachings of the Bible. I should say, in the PURE, CORRECT teachings of the Bible. A true sensitivity to women demands honor and protection. We must appreciate women and value them as co-equal with men, their God-ordained counterparts. Dr. John Garr points out in his essay on “Biblical Women” that a true Biblical “help mate” should be an equal partner. (Forgive me, I personally dislike using “partner” now since it is closely associated with the homosexual movement!) What about submission? In holy matrimony, a woman’s submission to her Christian husband is truly a demonstration of her submission to Christ. It is not about male dominance, but a demonstration; and it does not take away from her equality to her counterpart. I have known pagan men who quote the Scriptures (out of context, of course) that DEMAND women “to submit” to the man. These pagan men have heard such things from “Christian” men who rule with a rod of iron in the home and Church. How does this affect things? Well, the pagan world is not receiving an authentic witness of the truth, and that means the pagan world cannot come into the full freedom that the truth can bring. If things were different, perhaps more men could humble themselves and find their need of God, and perhaps more women would see that God does long for them to press into Him and receive the callings He desires them to walk in. Now, let’s face the ugly fact that Christian homes are no better than pagan homes these days. So what can we show the unsaved? Nothing—until we get back into the truth and fulfill our God-given roles as men and women, equal counterparts, in Christ Jesus the Lord. What about male headship and leadership? Male headship and leadership were designed by God for protection and guidance, NOT domination that leads to damnation; and God has appointed women to be leaders too. Many people hate these facts. Over the years, my wife has received her share of abuse from many people (particularly so-called Christians) because she is co-equal with me in the ministry. Of course, we get the same old Scriptures thrown at us, and we’ll be studying those Scriptures in these lessons. Operating In the Gifts It is time to acknowledge that God abundantly gives gifts and graces “to every man (both male and female) to profit withal” (I Corinthians 12:7). Are these gifts to be used at home only or in the Body of Christ—in the midst of the assemblies of believers? If they are to be exercised in the Church, then women must operate in the gifts just as men do—OPENLY IN PUBLIC ASSEMBLIES! Speaking in tongues was and is one spiritual gift that must be verbalized in Church for the edification of the believers along with the interpretation of tongues for the edification of the entire Church. But are women allowed to “speak” in Church? Well, were not the women in the book of Acts (2:4) filled with the Holy Spirit and did they not speak in new spiritual tongues as well as the men? Did not Peter explain in his sermon that “...your sons AND YOUR DAUGHTERS shall prophesy...” (v. 17)? Where will these DAUGHTERS prophesy? At home only? No, in the Church. How can their prophecies edify others if these daughters speak only to themselves or to their husbands in private? Think! If it is the Spirit that comes upon both men and women to prophesy, would not the same Spirit anoint both men and women to preach and teach God’s Word? The gifts of God are for both male and female, men and women, for the equipping of both sexes to work in the ministry. “If things were different, perhaps more men could humble themselves and find their need of God, and perhaps more women would see that God does long for them to press into Him and receive the callings He desires them to walk in.” Time For Liberation As the early Church was influenced more and more by Greek and Latin culture, its views and practices toward women drifted away from the pure way of the Holy Spirit. Let us quickly get back to God’s original intent. It is not time for male dominance. It is not time for feminist liberation. IT IS TIME FOR A SPIRITUAL REVOLUTION—FOR WOMEN, CALLED OF GOD, TO TAKE THEIR PLACES IN LEADERSHIP IN THE MINISTRY; and FOR ALL WOMEN TO BE ALLOWED THEIR PLACES IN CHRIST’S MANY-MEMBERED BODY. Different Schools Of Thought There are several schools of thought concerning I Corinthians 14:34-35. Of course the most dominate one holds to the top “literal” view that doesn’t take the context of chapter 14 into consideration. It simply states, “LET YOUR WOMEN KEEP SILENCE in the churches, for it is NOT PERMITTED UNTO THEM TO SPEAK...” Another “literal” perspective states that verse 34 may be interpreted by verse 35, which says, “And if they will learn any thing, let them ask their husbands at home: for it is a shame for women to speak in the church.” It is believed that Paul was rebuking certain married women who were interrupting church services by asking questions which could be asked at home. We could view things that way. Nothing wrong with that kind of reasoning . . . but we must realize something. It was ONLY married women who were to be silenced, not single women. If we are really going to take these verses “literally” without examining the context or interpreting these verses as generalized principles, then the second perspective mentioned above is the most accurate one (i.e., the command was only dealing with married women). Yet many anti-women men who brag about interpreting the text “literally” are the same ones who wrongly include ALL women, married and single, in the “command.” Is that fair, say, if these were really Paul’s instructions for certain married women who had been causing problems? Is that really an honest interpretation of the Word? I May Be Wrong... I may be wrong...but I’ve always held to the view that Paul himself never made those statements found in verses 34-35. “Did he not write I Corinthians, General Jim?” you ask. Sure he did. But let us go back to chapter seven for a minute. Read verse one: “Now concerning the things whereof ye wrote unto me...” The entire seventh chapter is Paul’s response to questions which were asked by certain members (obviously men!) of the Corinthian church. Also, if we examine chapter eight, we find the same question-and-answer pattern: “Now as touching things offered unto idols...” (v. 1). Here Paul responded to questions about food that was offered unto idols. As we continue through I Corinthians, we discover that this question-and-answer pattern repeats itself in other places, for example, in chapter 14. The point I am getting to is that the statements in 14:34-35 were made by others whom Paul answers in verses 36-40 (and continues to answer in chapter 15). This clearly and best explains the drastic “What?” response made by Paul in verse 36 (KJV) and also clarifies the points Paul made in the rest of the chapter as well as those in chapter 15. Remember, in the early writings of the Old Testament and New Testament, there were no numbers for verses or chapters and so on, and there was no punctuation. Thus you cannot judge these verses by whether or not your translation has quote marks surrounding them to show that someone else said the words. There were no quote marks in the original text! Paul could have easily quoted verses 34-35 from a question asked of him or a statement made to him. It is the context, the immediate and broader context, that must be examined when we interpret these verses. “Paul himself never made those statements found in [I Corinthians 14] verses 34-35...[but] the statements...were made by others whom Paul answers in verses 36-40 (and continues to answer in chapter 15).” I believe Paul was quoting what someone else said. I may be wrong... but in light of the immediate context, particularly Paul’s drastic response in verse 36, not to mention all his other writings about women and their roles, positions, and privileges, and not to mention the rest of the New Testament, I believe this interpretation is right. We are really left with no other option. We may say that a woman or certain women must be silent in the Church if we are speaking about a specific situation that involves rebuke and correction because of sin. However, it makes no sense to say that all women or certain groups of women must forever be silent in the Church. It just doesn’t fit into the context of I Corinthians 14, I Corinthians itself, or particularly the rest of the Bible. Women In The Ministry #3 WELCOME to message #3 in our series on women in the ministry. Like I’ve said from the very beginning of these messages, there are so many women oppressed around this world by false teachings concerning the role of women in the Body of Christ. Entire church organizations and many civil governments are in bondage to the teachings that women are second-class people. SO let’s go back to Genesis chapters 2 and 3. As I’ve stated previously, Genesis chapters 2 and 3 are where you can find the beginning of the entire school of thought that teaches that women are second-class people and are under a curse from God. We have already studied this very closely and we have found that before the Fall, God did not create man to be superior over the woman at all. We studied the meaning of “help meet”, and we are going to go back and look at that a little more, and we’re going to proceed to study a little more about headships. SO, let’s go to Genesis 2:18 and read that Scripture again where it says, “And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a help meet for him.” Upon looking at the words ‘help meet’, we see that the phrase goes back to two Hebrew words, EZER and KENEGDO. Now these two words together in the Hebrew mean “helper” and were translated into the King James English as “help meet”. But if you divide them up, you will see that they mean two different things. The first part, EZER, means “helper”. The second part, KENEGDO, means several things, including “front parts” in reference to a woman, and “opposite” in regards to what another is lacking. It also means “answering to each other”. Now, if you put all these meanings together and consider what God was saying when He declared He was going to make a “help meet” for Adam, it’s obvious that He was going to make an opposite or a counterpart to fulfill what Adam was lacking. Eve was in reality the counterpart of Adam. He was not designated the boss, ruler, chief or leader as we’ve taken it to mean. She was the counterpart that Adam needed to depict the fulness of God, because God in the Spirit is both male and female. AND when He made man, Adam and Eve, male and female, He made them in the image and likeness of Himself, depicting in the human creation both sides of His nature. As we gain a greater understanding of God’s original intention, it becomes obvious that God never intended that the man be considered superior because he was created first and the woman inferior because she was created second. Nevertheless, that’s the way the majority of mankind has taken it, and has gone off into error. And that’s why women have been in bondage to male oppression for generations. FOR years this bothered me. It used to worry me because my wife and I, we’ve always got along good ever since we’ve been saved. We’ve always wanted to help each other in the ministry. We’ve wanted to complement one another in our personal life as well as in our married life. I never really wanted to rule over her and she never really wanted to rule over me. We never really understood how a man is supposed to be a first-class citizen and the woman is supposed to be inferior, even though that is what we were taught. There was something in my spirit that didn’t agree with that. I’VE done some research on the words “help meet” in several different commentaries. One version said that “woman was to be similar in nature to the man, corresponding as a supplement to the incompleteness of man, and every way adapted to be his co-partner and companion.” What they are saying here makes it clear that they saw beyond the oppression and the superiority complex of the male. WOMAN was to be a “help meet” insomuch as to make man complete where he was lacking, and to form a complete union with man, representing the male and female sides of God. “[Eve] was the counterpart that Adam needed to depict the fulness of God, because God in the Spirit is both male and female. ...And when He made man, Adam and Eve, male and female, He made them in the image and likeness of Himself, depicting in the human creation both sides of His nature.” NOW let’s go to First Corinthians chapter 11 and see what it says regarding the subject we’ve been discussing. I want to start in verse 1 where it says, “Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ. Now I praise you, brethren, that ye remember me in all things, and keep the ordinances, as I delivered them to you. But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God” (vv. 1-3). Here is where we encounter the hierarchy or structure of superiority that we’ve always been taught in the Church. -------------------------------------- The NEW TESTAMENT — An Expanded Translation Kenneth S. Wuest, Teacher Emeritus of New Testament Greek, The Moody Bible Institute 1 Corinthians 11:11-13 “Nevertheless, neither is a woman [complete] apart from a man, nor a man [complete] apart from a woman in the Lord, for even as the woman came out of the man as a source, thus also does the man owe his existence to the intermediate agency of the woman. But all things are out of God as a source.” -------------------------------------- BUT the verse that I really want to get at is verse 9, where it says, “Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man.” Here we go again! So many men take this Scripture out of context and will tell you that because the woman was made for the man, that the man is supposed to rule over the woman. That is a very common teaching that you will find today in the Body of Christ. But in verse 11 it says, “Nevertheless neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord.” This goes back to the Hebrew idea that in order to have a complete union, you’ve got to have male and female. That’s the way God intended it to be—male and female compliment each other. And verse 12 sums it up, saying, “For as the woman is of the man, even so is the man also by the woman; but all things of God.” What does this mean? It is referring back to Genesis where the woman came out of the man’s rib section. But that was only a one-time deal, because when they started having sexual union, then the men started coming out of the women. ONCE again, let us go back to the claim made by many that since woman came out of man, that he is superior, and therefore should be the ruler. Well, if that’s true, then what about all the men that have come out of women ever since the Beginning? If we are going to stick to our principles, then the women should be ruling, because ALL men after Adam came out of women! Fortunately, Paul ended verse 12 above by saying, “...but all things of God”, meaning that God did not make one superior to the other just because one came out of the other. Men and women are supposed to be in union and work together for the glory of God. NOTES ON “HELP MEET” — Woman Made a Helpmeet DOESN’T helpmeet or helpmate mean she was created for man’s sake, to be his helper under his authority? Wasn’t she made specifically for man? “...man is the head of a woman...” (1 Corinthians 11:3). “For it was Adam who was first created, and then Eve” (l Timothy 2:13). It’s true God “fashioned” woman from man’s side, “And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man” (Genesis 2:22), but this doesn’t make her a lesser person to be subjugated. We must ask a simple but relevant question: Why did God make woman? God said, “lt is not good for the man to be alone: I will make a helper suitable for him” (Genesis 2:18). As soon as man saw her, he said, “This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman [Ishah], because she was taken out of Man [Ish]” (v. 23). To be fully happy and complete, mankind needs relationships and communication between equals. As humans we can enjoy animals; they can afford some companionship, but they are not communicators. God foreknew Adam’s need for oneness with an equal companion, but Adam needed to recognize that need himself. Genesis 2 reveals how God made that need known. —C. Trombley HELPMATE. The Bible does not use the expression “helpmate”. The reader will notice that a different expression is actually used in Genesis 2:18. “And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.” The word “help” means helper and “meet” means suitable. Adam was given a helper suitable for him. At some point in the evolution of language, these two words became merged into help-meet, then helpmeet, and finally helpmate, as though meet and mate were the same! Consequently, today we have two words, helpmeet and helpmate, both of which are used interchangeably for a person’s marriage partner. —R. Woodrow * * * IN the beginning, God didn’t just give the man dominion. It says He gave “them” dominion, both of them together. They were supposed to be co-workers, laborers, partners in the work of the Lord. And of course all that was determined before their Fall into sin. After the Fall, the curse came about and changed things SOMEWHAT. But I want to tell you something. If Christ did away with the curse, then we have no reason to still be living under it! Why are we still trying to operate in the realm of the curse, with man claiming to have superiority over the woman? Many ministries still operate under that curse, even though they believe that they have been delivered from the curse of sin. They can’t see that they are in bondage to false teachings which constitute a curse over their lives. THERE are many Scriptures you can look up in reference to the curse. Romans 6:14, Galatians 3:13, Colossians 2:15 and Romans 8:1 will explain that after we are born again, we are no longer under the curse of Satan. We’re not under the curse of satanic rulership. We’re not under the curse of worldly oppression. God freed us of those things. He cleared the slate and we’ve become new creatures. So then, the point is, that if we’ve become new creatures, then we’re going to go back and live the way God originally intended, as co-laborers, co-workers, male and female complimenting each other, right? SOME people actually believe that it is a man’s world, and that women don’t have any part in it. But everywhere we’ve been, in all the third-world countries we have visited, we have personally made it a point to break through this demonic oppression on the women. We’ve seen so many women that were treated just like dogs . All they did was have kids and were never even allowed to participate in anything. They couldn’t do anything in the assemblies, and they were treated just like they were second-class. Some of them were sitting in the churches and they were not even saved. And all the time the men act like big kings, sitting on their thrones with big crowns on. We have made it a point to break through these false teachings about women whenever we encounter them, and set the women free. NOW we’ve got a mess in America because we’ve gone to the extremes of liberation. The women were tired of being oppressed by the men and so they rebelled. The problem is that they’ve gotten off on a tangent and have become total Jezebels. They’ve gotten off into an ugly spirit where they won’t submit to anybody, and that’s wrong too. I want to say this, that I’ve always fought for women’s rights, and I don’t believe that men are greater than women. Just because many men hold more important positions than women does not mean that men are created superior. One human being is no better or worse than another human being. Some may be more talented, some are more educated and some may be better looking, but as far as one person being greater than another in God’s eyes, it’s just not true. NOW I do believe that some women go overboard and try to run things when they’re not supposed to. A lot of women run the churches, and the men are like little wimps running around saying, “Yes, ma’am . . . No, ma’am.” That spirit is wrong. Whenever you have one spirit trying to outdo and overrule the other, things get off and people get into the wrong spirit. What we need to understand is that if both sexes are in Christ, then they can respect each other’s position in the Lord and achieve a balance. AND some men are absolutely bullies, and they try to rule by force, which drives the women to rebellion. But not all men are bullies. Some men respect their wives, giving them positions and letting them have their way because the Bible says so. They understand how God meant it to be, male and female working together as a team. Yet overall, we’ve got a real mess today in the Body of Christ. IN discussing the subject of headship we are going to be asking, “Who is the head?” and “Who is the headship?” I was taught years ago, just like I read in I Corinthians chapter 11 verse 3, that the head of every woman is the man. So I naturally took it to mean that the man was the boss, he was the chief, he was the leader. But now, what I want to do is go into the Scriptures and find out if that was what Paul actually meant. “Whenever you have one spirit trying to outdo and overrule the other, things get off and people get into the wrong spirit. What we need to understand is that if both sexes are in Christ, then they can respect each other’s position in the Lord and achieve a balance.” DID you know that Paul knew Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic? He was a Pharisee, which meant that he was brought up under intense study of languages and the Scriptures. Also, he was born in Tarsus, which was a Greek-speaking city, and so he spoke Greek. When it came to Aramaic, Hebrew and Greek words and their different meanings, Paul was not mixed up about it like we are. Many times we read certain words in the King James version and we just take for granted that they mean what they appear to mean in English. But if you get a concordance and study those Biblical languages, you will find out that the meanings of many of the original words are different than what you may think. FOR example, when it says that the man is the head of the woman, we take it to mean that he is supposed to be the boss. Well it doesn’t mean that at all. And Paul knew that it didn’t mean that, yet we’ve taken it to mean just that. Some people will try to tell you that because Paul said it, that it has to be true. Yet what they are failing to realize is that the Greek words Paul used, carry different meanings which did not come out in their fullness in the English translations. They also fail to realize that Paul used particular words for specific reasons, and he knew exactly what they meant. THIS is where I want to pick up the text. I want to start in Galatians chapter 3, verse 28. We’re going to talk about the new order. The new order canceled the old. When Christ came He set in a new order. He says all things become knew, the old things have passed away. He broke down the middle wall of partition. There is neither Greek nor Jew, bond nor free in Christ. We are all new creatures, which means that we are going to go back to the original plan that God had arranged before the Fall. SO in light of what Christ has done, we can’t hang on to the old traditions of the Pharisees. And this is the area in which Paul was dealing. He was dealing with some of those Jewish traditions which said that the women had no part in anything that had to do with God. He was dealing with Jews that refused to do away with the old Law, even though it had been disannulled by God; he was dealing with those who wanted to bring the old Law into the New Kingdom of Christ. So, knowing this, it becomes more clear that what Paul was doing was refuting many of these old customs of the Traditional Jews, not enforcing them. ALRIGHT, let’s read in Galatians chapter 3, verse 28, where it says, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.” This goes back to Genesis and the concept which we were discussing earlier, where God created man and woman. Although they were biologically different, God did not set the male above the female as far as superiority goes. And Paul is referring to that when he says there is neither male nor female in God. Paul does not respect one sex above the other sex like we do because of the error in our teaching. And you can find the counterpart to this Scripture in 2 Corinthians chapter 5, verse 17, which tells us that in Christ, ALL THINGS become new. -------------------------------------- “Verse twenty-eight. The individual differences between Jew and Greek, between slave and free, between male and female, are merged in that higher unity into which all believers are raised by the fact that they all have a common life in Christ Jesus. One heart now beats in all. The pulsating life of the Lord Jesus is the motive power. One mind guides all, the mind of Christ. One life is lived by all, the life of the Lord Jesus produced by the Holy Spirit in the various circumstances and relations of each individual believer’s experience. Translation. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there isneither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female. For ye are all one in Christ Jesus.” -------------------------------------- SO what Christ did when He died and rose again was to set in a new order, and make salvation available to everyone, regardless of their sex, race, nationality or position. God is not a respecter of persons, and if you’re in Christ, YOU ARE A NEW CREATURE. But as far as things go, that deal with mankind and his problems, there are many distinctions made. Obviously, a General is not a Private in the army, and it needs to be that way. You can’t have all Generals, and you can’t have all Privates. There needs to be distinctions made according to experience and ability, in order to make things work smoothly and get things accomplished. BUT when it comes to our relationships in Christ and the question of whether or not God recognizes one sex as superior to the other, the answer is that WE ARE ALL ONE IN CHRIST. I am not dealing with the question of position. I’m dealing with the question of actual worthiness. Are men more worthy in God’s eyes than women? Does God view men as superior and women as inferior? No! God is not a respecter of persons. We need to realize that there is a difference between the position a person holds and the actual value of that person in God’s eyes. We are all created equal in God, and we all have equal access to salvation in Jesus Christ. NOW I want to go to another Scripture, found in Ephesians chapter 5, verse 22. It says, “Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands as unto the Lord.” Once again we are faced with the false concept that men are superior to women. All the men love this Scripture because they think, “My wife is supposed to submit to me and get under my feet, and I’m supposed to take dominion over her.” The Scripture goes on in verses 23 and 24, saying, “For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their husbands in every thing.” The problem is that most men stop here and don’t read verse 25 that says, “Husbands love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it.” LISTEN, if you love your wife like Christ loved the Church, you’re not going to treat her like a dog. If you love your wife, you’re not going to put her under your feet. If you love your wife, you’re not going to oppress her and abuse her! If you love her, you’re going to treat her like God would treat you—equally. And we need to keep that in mind. ALL these men that like to rule over their wives, they don’t read that Scripture (v. 25 above). They get a spirit of hatred and a big macho-man spirit. They think that they’re God’s gift to women. NOW I want to go to First Timothy, chapter 2, verse 11. This is one of the most abused Scriptures when it comes to understanding a woman’s role, and is one of the most used to oppress women. It says, “Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection.” Then verses 12-13 say, “But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. For Adam was first formed, then Eve.” Let’s look at these Scriptures, one part at a time. ONE point that is very popular, and which many men use to justify their superiority complex, is that Adam was created first and Eve second, thereby making Adam superior, because he was created first. And so, they deduce, that means all women are supposed to be in submission to the men because women were created second. READING in verse 14, it says, “And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.” Tonight while I was praying, I was thinking of this very Scripture. So many men use this Scripture to blame the women for the Fall of mankind into sin. They claim that Eve caused Adam to sin. Wait a minute! If you read the account closely, you will see that Adam was right there with Eve when the Devil offered her the forbidden fruit. They were together! Adam was not somewhere else; he was right there. Now I want to ask, who committed the greater sin?—the man who knew better, or the woman who was deceived? It says plainly that the woman was deceived, but on the other hand the man rebelled, because he knew better. God told man personally not to eat of that fruit, so his sin was much greater because he openly rebelled against the Word of God. He totally refused to obey God when the serpent was tempting Eve. He was right there when Satan was tempting Eve and he totally disobeyed God’s Word. Now if the men really want to get picky, we can analyze this situation and see that it is actually the man’s fault that the woman fell into sin, because he should have interfered and said, “Wait a minute! God said don’t touch that fruit. If we touch it, we’re going to die.” You see, Eve had the idea that if she partook of that fruit, that she perchance might die, that maybe she would die. She didn’t understand what God had said, therefore she was easily deceived. But not Adam. He was not deceived. He was responsible because he knew better. But because the Scripture says that the woman being deceived was in transgression, we think that it was all her fault. That’s not what it’s saying at all. The man was at fault, not the woman. NOTES ON SIN IN THE GARDEN IT is commonly assumed that when Eve ate of the forbidden fruit (at the suggestion of the serpent), that Adam was somewhere else. Then later, when he returned, he also ate of this fruit. But the fact is, Adam was right there with her: “And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food. . . she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband WITH HER; and he did eat” (Genesis 3:6). Now I ask you: was her husband there “with her” or not? Yea, he was. So, men, we cannot blame all the trouble in the world on women! There is no indication that Adam tried to stop her and no indication that he was somewhere else at the time! The result of them both eating this fruit was this: “And the eyes of them BOTH were opened, and they knew they were naked” (Genesis 3:7). It does not say her eyes were opened first, and his at some later time. No, the transgression involved “both” of them. The idea that the forbidden fruit was an apple may have developed from the fact that in Latin the word which means “evil” is exactly the same word as “apple.” Jerome translated the Bible into Latin in 405 A.D. and the idea may have passed on down from that time. But the Bible does not mention the apple in this connection. —R. Woodrow * * * NOW let’s go to one more Scripture—Titus chapter 2, verses 3-5. It says, “The aged women likewise, that they be in behavior as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things; that they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.” Many men wrongly use these Scriptures to prove to the women that a woman’s place is in the home. And I’m not saying that women don’t have obligations and responsibilities in the home, because they do. But that is NOT the ONLY position they are limited to. They have a part to play in the ministry and they can be actively used by God. But still many men persist in believing that their women should remain little mealy-mouthed weaklings that stay at home and cook for their fat belly. And then he’ll kick her once in a while and tell her, “Do this!” or “Do that!” I’ve known many men that did this to their wives, and their relationships were always a big mess. This is an interesting study because it is going to set a lot of people free who are in bondage to these false teachings. And some of you men who think you have to rule over the women, these messages will set you free. And some of you women who think that the man has to be that way, these messages are going to set you free too. Amen. “The Other Extreme!” — STUDY MATERIAL ADAPTED FROM ITS ORIGINAL SOURCE — FALSE DOCTRINES CONCERNING MARY That Mary was the mother of God. Mary was a created being, wholly human. If she had been the mother of God, she would have had to exist before God. She was the mother of the fleshly part of Christ. Christ was divine and existed with God from the beginning (John 1:1)—“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Thus, Mary was not the mother of His divine being which existed before she was born. The Bible does not refer to Mary as the mother of God. In order to be a mediator between God and man, it was necessary for Jesus to be the Son of man as well as the Son of God. If Mary had been supernatural, then Christ would have been born of two divine beings and would not have been the Son of man at all. The teaching that Mary should be exalted and reverenced above other women. The question is often asked: “But doesn’t the Bible say that all generations would call Mary blessed?” It is true that Elizabeth said: “Blessed art thou among women” (Luke 1:48). Surely all generations understand that Mary was blessed with a special and unique privilege. However, this in no way hints of the supernatural. Other women in the Scripture are called blessed. For instance, Leah said: “Happy am I, for the daughters will call me blessed” (Genesis 30:13). “Blessed above women shall Jael the wife of Heber the Ken-ite be” (Judges 5:24). Jael was “blessed above women”, but no one has presumed to exalt her and reverence her unduly. The fact that Mary was called blessed in no way indicates that she was to be exalted or adored. There is a very noticeable absence of such emphasis in God’s Word. Mary is mentioned at the cross; then she is referred to briefly in (Acts 1:14)—“These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.” That is the last reference to her. Nothing is told of her death. Paul does not speak of her. Peter does not refer to her. Surely if God had intended for her to have the preeminence now ascribed to her by some, this emphasis would have been seen in God’s Word. The doctrine of the immaculate conception. This teaching originated in the fourth century, and there was much disagreement over it. Finally in 1854 it was decreed by Pope Pius IX to be a part of Roman Catholic dogma. What is this doctrine? It has nothing to do with the birth of Christ but rather concerns the birth of Mary. This is the Catholic explanation: “The Blessed Virgin Mary was preserved from original sin in view of the merits of her Divine Son, and this privilege is called her Immaculate Conception” (The New Baltimore Catechism, No. 2, p. 32). It is contended that in order for Christ to be born sinless it was necessary for his mother to be free of Adam’s sin. Actually every child is born pure and free of sin. The guilt of sin is not passed from one generation to another (Ezekiel 18:20)—“The soul that sinneth, it shall die, The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.” One may suffer the consequences of another’s sin, but guilt is not an inherent quality. For example, a drunken driver may hit a person and maim him for life. The victim suffers the consequence of the drunkard’s sin but in no way shares the guilt. We must someday die physically as a consequence of Adam’s sin, but we do not inherit his guilt. The inconsistency of the Catholic doctrine is seen in the following. If Mary had to be born free of sin for Jesus to be born sinless, then by the same logic it would necessitate that Mary’s mother be born sinless for Mary to have been born in this state. The same would be true of the mother of every generation all the way back to Eve. This violates their doctrine of hereditary depravity. So as they attempt to prove one of their doctrines, they disprove another one. Those who believe in the innocence of the newborn child have no such problem. The doctrine of the perpetual virginity of Mary. This has arisen from an effort to lift Mary out of the realm of the human. However, Mary had other children after Christ was born. “Is not this the carpenter’s son? is not his mother called Mary? And his sisters, are they not all with us?” (Matthew 13:55-58). “Joseph...took unto him his wife; and knew her not till she brought forth her firstborn son” (Matthew 1:24-25). If she was not to be Joseph’s wife, why did she marry? It was not to become the mother of Christ. Would it have been godly for Mary to assume the obligations of marriage and then fail to live up to them? Such would have violated a principle of marriage stated in I Corinthians 7:3-5—“Let the husband render unto the wife due benevolence: and likewise also the wife unto the husband. The wife hath not power of her own body, but the husband: and likewise also the husband hath not power of his own body, but the wife. Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinence.” The doctrine of Mary as a mediatrix is one of the dominant teachings of Roman Catholicism. In the “Hail Mary”, which is the principal prayer of the rosary, are these words: “Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.” The Bible teaches, however, that Christ is our mediator: “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus” (I Timothy 2:3). This limits the work of mediation to one person, Christ, excluding all others. This settles the matter conclusively. We have a loving and sympathetic mediator (Hebrews 4:14-16)—“Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” There is no need for another. The teaching of the assumption of Mary’s body. This is the contention that Mary’s body was never buried but that she was taken literally up into heaven. It was not until 1930, after centuries of discussion, that the Catholic Church declared this to be an official dogma. This teaching has no support whatever in the Scriptures and even violates the position of the Catholic Church in earlier centuries when bones alleged to be of Mary’s body were exhibited and even sold. CHRIST’S OWN APPRAISAL OF MARY In his youth, Christ respected and obeyed parental authority (Luke 2:51)—“And he [Jesus] went down with them [his parents], and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them.” This was necessary in order for Him to set a perfect example. He learned the lesson of obedience to parents and obedience to God. Thus, when He asks us to obey, He demands nothing which He Himself was not first willing to practice. There is no lesson more fundamental. “Let thy child’s first lesson be obedience, and the second will be what thou wilt” (Benjamin Franklin). This is the kind of training Mary and Joseph provided for their son. His filial concern for His mother’s welfare was expressed at the close of His life. From the cross He commissioned John to care for His mother (John 19:26-27)—“When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son!”—leaving again an example for all people in their responsibility to make provisions for their parents. Yet, did Christ exalt Mary above other women? Did He place great emphasis upon their earthly relationship? Did He ever refer to her as the “mother of God”? Not at all. It was quite to the contrary. Mary came to Him at the marriage feast in Cana and said: “They have no wine. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come” (John 2:3-4). He did not call her Mother but rather called her Woman. This was the beginning of His public ministry. Now He was Her Saviour, more so than her Son. Her work had ended and His had begun. Mary understood this and replied to the servants: “Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it.” On another occasion, “While he yet talked to the people, behold, his mother and his brethren stood without, desiring to speak with him. Then one said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with thee. But he answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother? and who are my brethren? And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren! For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother” (Matthew 12:46-50). Christ completely minimized the family relationship and emphasized the spiritual ties. He taught that those who do His will today are actually closer to Him than His mother and His brethren in the flesh. This is further seen on another occasion. “And it came to pass, as he spake these things, a certain woman of the company lifted up her voice, and said unto him, Blessed is the womb that bare thee, and the paps which thou hast sucked. But he said, Yea, rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it” (Luke 11:27-28). Christ mildly rebuked and contradicted the idea that His mother should be exalted in any special way. He stated again that those who do the will of God are more blessed than Mary. MARY’S APPRAISAL OF CHRIST Mary recognized Christ’s authority when she said at the beginning of His ministry: “Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it” (John 2:5). This is the most valuable lesson that we can learn from Mary. This one statement glorifies her more than the fact that she gave physical birth to Jesus. She faded into the background as the life and work of her Son blossomed and enlarged into God’s magnificent plan of redemption. Every godly mother would have had it so, and the way to honor Mary today is not by an attempt to pre-empt for her powers which God never ascribed to her but rather by obedience to her Son. If Mary and Christ were to speak to us literally today, no doubt both of them would express dismay and strong disapproval at the turn of events in the religious world concerning the position of Mary. Our access to God and our salvation from sin is through Christ only. Mary served as a link in God’s redemptive chain just as Abraham, David and others. She is not our Saviour; she is not our Advocate or Mediator; she will not be our Judge. These positions are held by the Son only. “Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it.” This is not just merely a good suggestion given by Mary. It is a principle which is taught throughout the Bible, and our obedience or disobedience to Christ’s commandments will determine our eternal destiny. He is “the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him” (Hebrews 5:9). Before Him we shall someday stand in judgment to give an account of the deeds done in the body. “When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: and before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats” (Matthew 25:31-32). Yes, the most important words ever given by Mary still ring down through the centuries to us today: “Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it.” Women In The Ministry #4 WELCOME TO MESSAGE #4. We’ve been studying the subject of women in the ministry. This is a very interesting series with an enlightening message. If we really take the time to study the Word of God, we will begin to see the error that has permeated the Church for centuries, the error being that man is considered superior and woman inferior. In other words, man is the boss and woman is just a dog that follows along. And that’s the prevailing mentality, generally speaking, in the whole world. Well I don’t know where we’ve ever come up with this idea. God never originated the concept that the man should be the boss. God created man and He created woman, He called them Adam (Adam named Eve) and He gave them both dominion in the beginning. God created woman to compliment the man, biologically speaking, in order to produce children, not so the man could rule over her. CAN A WOMAN MINISTER? THE TOPIC WE ARE dealing with is whether or not a woman can be in the ministry. Can a woman minister? Does a woman have the right to follow God? My wife and I have been through many battles and storms along the way because of other people trying to push their beliefs off on us. So many people have tried to tell us that a woman is supposed to stay home, shut their mouths and never have anything to do with the ministry. All they are supposed to do is raise children and feed the man’s stomach. I disagree, so does God and so does the Bible. Yet there are entire nations with hundreds of millions of people that are in bondage to this very teaching. There are millions of women that are oppressed, almost to the point of suicide, and many do commit suicide because of the oppression. You can go anywhere in the third world and you will find this very teaching in practice, that the woman is lesser and the man is greater. In order to understand the whole concept, we need to look at the difference between position and actual worthiness in God’s eyes. What I mean by that is that if a person has a higher position than another person, that doesn’t make them a better person in the eyes of God. It is the position they hold that is superior, not the person themselves. All organizations have to be structured in order to produce things. You can’t just let anything go. Whenever you have a structure, you will find leaders and followers, teachers and disciples, people who give orders and those who take orders. You can find examples of this anywhere in the Bible. But what we fail to understand is that just because someone is a teacher and not a follower, or someone is a General and holds rank far above a private, it doesn’t mean that they are better or superior in the eyes of God. We use these structures to accomplish things. Also, when it comes to male and female, there is no superiority. Yet when the first Adam disobeyed he brought a curse upon all mankind. The whole world was turned upside down because of the curse, and there has been untold suffering done to mankind, and the curse prevailed until the coming of Jesus, the second Man. When you are born again, all sins held against you are washed away. The middle wall of partition has been broken down. There is neither Jew nor Greek, bond nor free, male nor female. We are all one in Christ, which means that we go back to God’s original plan where the male and female complement one another, and they make a union like God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. They are three, but they are one in union. They all agree, they compliment one another. And that’s what God wants between a male and female, between a husband and a wife, between Christ and the Church. In this fourth message we are going to be dealing with the concept of headship. We’re going to look some scriptures up that use the Greek word for headship. There is actually 57 times that the word ‘head’ or ‘headship’ is mentioned in the New Testament. Fifty times it refers to the physical head of a man or an animal. The other seven times it is used figuratively. These are the Scriptures that we are going to study, where Paul is using the word ‘headship’ as a figure of speech. He never intended for it to be taken literally, yet we have twisted it to the point where man is the leader, man is the chief, man is the boss and the woman is lesser. We THINK that was what Paul was saying, but we need to go back to the Greek and study this in detail. GETTING BACK TO THE GREEK IF YOU GET A Greek Lexicon and a concordance and some commentaries and you study it out and search the Scriptures one by one, taking them apart, dissecting them and putting them back together again, you will see without a shadow of a doubt that the whole teaching that says male is superior and female is inferior is totally wrong. It’s totally wrong because we are under a new dispensation, we’re under a New Testament. We’re not under the curse anymore, and we should not go and try to put the curse back on. In Paul’s day, he dealt with many Jews that wanted to keep the law of Moses and have Christ also at the same time. They wanted to mix the two dispensations. We must realize that this is what Paul was dealing with in these Scriptures we are discussing. And a lot of Jews never accepted that the new order had come and the old order had passed away (NOT God's moral laws). In light of this we can see that Paul was actually refuting them and trying to make them understand that a woman COULD have a ministry, she COULD preach the Gospel, she COULD teach, where on the other hand the Jews held the position that women couldn’t teach, they couldn’t preach and they shouldn’t usurp authority over the man. They believed that the women were supposed to stay home and cook and raise children. Unfortunately, we’ve taken these Scriptures to mean that Paul was writing in favor of these Jewish traditions. These are the strongholds of ignorance that we are trying to break through. We’re breaking through these strongholds of error and oppression over the women. “There is neither Jew nor Greek, bond nor free, male nor female. We are all one in Christ, which means that we go back to God’s original plan where the male and female complement one another, and they make a union like God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.” Now let’s look at the Greek word that is translated as ‘head’ in the English. Greek KEPHALE (Colossians. 1:18), means “exalted; originator and completer”. Now what we must also understand is that there is more than one Greek word that is translated as ‘head’ into the English, and that they have different meanings. What do we usually think about as Americans when we hear the word ‘head’ used in the context of describing someone as the head of someone else? We think of a boss, or a president, or a general of an army. We think of someone that has a superior position or maybe even superior intelligence. We think of a leader or a chief, or the captain of a team. But what we fail to realize is that the word KEPHALE which Paul used when talking about the relationship between men and women does not mean all those things that we take the word ‘head’ to mean in the English. This is why we need to study these Scriptures and gain a better understanding of what Paul was actually saying. — NOTES on “HEAD” (Liddell/Scott) — COLOSSIANS 1:18 (context 1:14-20): KEPHALE means “exalted; originator and completer.” “He (Christ) is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent”. Paul seems to be using KEPHALE with common Greek meaning “source or beginning or completion”. Colossians 2:19 (context 2:16-19): KEPHALE means “source of life.” Christ is the source of life who nourishes the Church. Christians are told to hold fast to Christ, who is described as the “head,” from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God. I Corinthians 11:3 (context 11:2-16): KEPHALE seems to carry the Greek concept of head as “source, base, or derivation.” “Now I want you to recall that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God” (NIV). In this passage Paul is discussing how men and women should pray and prophesy in public church meetings. His instructions apparently relate to the customs, dress, and lifestyle in Corinth and the tendency of the Corinthian believers to be disorderly. Paul discusses women’s and men’s head coverings and hair styles. (Veils are not mentioned in the Greek text.) Paul says, “man was not made from woman, but woman from man” (v. 8); he also says, “woman was made from man” (v. 12). This suggests that Paul used “head” in verse 3 with the meaning of “source or origin.” Man was the “source or beginning” of woman in the sense that woman was made from the side of Adam. Christ was the one through whom all creation came (I Cor. 8:6). God is the base of Christ (John 8:42: “I proceeded and came forth from God”). “It’s God that appoints and anoints men and women for the ministry. God may call a woman to do a man’s job because He can’t find a man to do it.” Ephesians 4:15 (context 4:11-16) is very similar to Colossians 2:19. It reads, “We are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every joint with which it is supplied, when each part is working properly, makes bodily growth and up builds itself in love.” This passage stresses the unity of head and body, and presents Christ as the nourisher and source of growth. Another interesting point is when you look up the word ‘men’ in the Scripture where it says He gave gifts unto men, you will find out that it does not mean males only. It refers to mankind in general which is male and female. It goes back to Genesis where God created both male and female and called their name Adam. We think we are so enlightened in our generation. The truth is we’re pretty dumb. We’re pretty dumb in the Church in America. We think we’ve got so much light on this subject, yet we are in darkness, gross darkness! Also, these oppressive teachings concerning women have been a major source of fuel for the feminist revolution. Now I do believe that there are certain jobs and roles that are better filled by MEN! And there are certain areas that women are better equipped to handle than men. But when it comes to the divine calling of God, if He happens to choose a female, that’s His business. Now they have what they call set prophets and set teachers, as well as set pastors and evangelists. And what I mean when I say they are ‘set’ is that people vote them in, setting them in their positions and telling them what they can and cannot do. That’s wrong! It’s God that appoints and anoints men and women for the ministry. God may call a woman to do a man’s job because He can’t find a man to do it. “HEADSHIP” NOW LET’S GET BACK to the subject of headship. In the Old Testament, the word ‘head’ is mentioned 180 times. The word used is ROSH, which means “superior rank, leader or chief”. Now what we need to realize is that the word that the Hebrews used for ‘head’ carried a particular meaning, and that meaning was not necessarily carried over into the Greek by Paul. Let’s remember that the word KEPHALE means “exalted; originator and completer”, as well as the actual “physical head of the body”. And as we remember this, we can take the Scriptures that Paul wrote concerning women and put them in their right context. What I am trying to get across in this message is that when we read the Bible, and when we read where it says man is supposed to be ‘head’ over the woman, we immediately think that means “boss or ruler”, but that is not what Paul intended it to mean. So, for some background, let’s go to Colossians 1:18. This Scripture is a good example of how the word KEPHALE can be used figuratively. It says, “And He is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things He might have the preeminence.” This Scripture is talking about how Jesus is the head of His body, and in order to get the whole context you need to read from verse 16 through verse 19. Now in this instance, Paul was using the word KEPHALE in a figurative sense, meaning “exalted; originator and completer”. When Paul says Christ is the head of His body, he meant that He is the originator of His body, and that He is going to be the completer of His body. He was not trying to tell us that Christ was the actual physical head of His body. By looking at this example, we can gain some understanding in dealing with some of the more difficult passages where Paul talks about men and women. It is essential that we grasp the fact that the word KEPHALE is used in different ways to describe different types of relationships. Where we get mixed up is when we think that it means something that it doesn’t. Another example of how Paul used this word figuratively is in Colossians chapter 2 verses 16 -19. It says, “Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of a holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ. Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshiping of angels, intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind, and not holding the HEAD, from which all the body by joints and bands having nourishment ministered, and knit together, increaseth with the increase of God.” In this passage we find the word ‘head’ used again to describe the relationship of Christ to His body. In this instance, Paul is trying to relate the concept of a union between two parts, a functioning unit where one part nourishes another part. The body of Christ is not complete without its head. Paul wants us to be able to picture the relationship between Christ and His body in the sense that Christ is our supplier of nourishment, and we are all knit together in Him. He is not emphasizing the superiority of one part over another, instead he is explaining how one part functions in relation to the other. Even though Christ is superior to us in every way, the point is that the word KEPHALE is not being used to describe one person as better than another, it is being used to describe how one part supplies nourishment and helps to complete the other part. We need to keep this in mind when we look at the other Scriptures where Paul uses this word in talking about the relationship between men and women. Alright, let’s go to one more Scripture that deals with Christ and His body before we get into the ones that deal with men and women. Ephesians chapter 4 verse 15-16. It says, “But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the HEAD, even Christ: From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.” Now isn’t Paul some writer? I mean he had a divine revelation here. Once again we have the unity of the head and the body being described. We can’t get away from that. Christ is our head and we are to grow up into the head in all things. And Christ, being the head, supplies the body the things that it has need of. Let’s remember that Paul was again using the word KEPHALE in a figurative sense, describing the relationship between different parts of a working unit. He was not using it to denote superior quality or worthiness of one part over the other, but he was using it more in the sense of position and function. This is what we need to realize as we go into the next Scripture. Turn to 1 Corinthians chapter 11 verse 3. This is one of the key Scriptures that has been used to build the structure of male domination. It says, “But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.” One way you could look at this Scripture is to remember that one of the meanings of the word KEPHALE is “originator, or source of life”. The concept that Paul is trying to establish in this context is not that man is the big boss-man, dominating over the woman, but that man is a source of life for the woman, and the union between male and female brings forth life. The word KEPHALE also means “completer”, and as we look at this passage in that light we can see that man and woman are made to compliment each other, completing a union that represents the divine image of God. Yet, the way this Scripture was worded in the King James English has been used to support the false doctrine that men are supposed to rule over the women in all things, especially things pertaining to the Church. Paul was not attempting to prove that men are supposed to rule over the women, he was trying to explain how men and women compliment each other, just as man is not complete without obtaining salvation through Jesus Christ. WHAT ABOUT UNMARRIED WOMEN? ONE WAY TO TEST this Scripture is to ask a simple question. If Christ is the head of the man, and the man is the head of the woman, then what about the unmarried women who do not have a man to be their head? Are they denied access to Christ because they don’t have a man to mediate between them and God? Obviously we know the Bible teaches that every person, whether male or female, has access to salvation through Christ. But if this Scripture in Corinthians really meant what the dominating men want it to mean, then women could not be saved unless they were married and had a man to be their head. And if that was really the case, then why don’t we find that mentioned anywhere else in the Bible? You would think that something so important as the salvation of women being limited to their headship would have been mentioned by Jesus, but it’s not. The only requirement for salvation is true repentance; whether you are male or female makes no difference. What we have going on is a male superiority complex, where the men try to make the women subject to them in all things, and they use this Scripture to back up their claims. You can hear husbands all over the world telling their wives, “See, it says the man is the ‘head’ of the woman, and that means ‘boss’. So you had better submit to me, or else!” If they could, some men would even make their wives’ salvation dependent upon them, so they could exercise total control over them. Paul never intended this Scripture to be used in such a manner. When he said the man was the head, or KEPHALE, of the woman, he meant that man is a source of life and a completer for the woman. We will all get along better if we can grasp what Paul was really trying to say. Let’s go to one more Scripture in Ephesians chapter 5 verses 21 -23. This is another example of the Greek word KEPHALE, which means “exalted, originator, completer”. Now in the King James English it is translated as ‘head’, which has been taken to mean “chief, ruler, and boss-man”, and which has been used by men for centuries to dominate over women. “Paul was not attempting to prove that men are supposed to rule over the women, he was trying to explain how men and women compliment each other, just as man is not complete without obtaining salvation through Jesus Christ.” SUBMITTING ONE TO ANOTHER EPHESIANS 5:21-23 SAYS, “Submitting yourselves one to another, in the fear of God, Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.” I would like to say again that in each and every one of these Scriptures we are looking at, which use the word KEPHALE, do not use it in the sense of “superiority or domination”. Going back to this verse, it says, “...even as Christ is the head of the church...” Now remember, we have already studied out Christ’s relationship to His body in previous Scriptures. Paul wasn’t trying to tell us that Christ was the big macho-man, tough-guy ruler, although He does rule over His body. What he [Paul] was trying to teach us was that Christ is the supplier and the nourisher and the completer of His body. He was trying to explain that Christ is in an exalted position as our KEPHALE, where He gives nourishment and strength to us, His body. Now if we take this understanding and apply it to the man and woman, husband and wife relationship, we will begin to see that the position of KEPHALE, or ‘head’, is a position of giving, not a position of absolute rule, like some big boss-man. Now looking back at verse 21, it says, “Submitting yourselves one to another, in the fear of God.” In this verse Paul is talking about the whole body of Christ, that we are supposed to submit ourselves one to another. He was not specifically singling out the husband and wife relationship, nor was he speaking to the females only. Yet this is what it has been taken to mean. He was speaking about the whole assembly, the whole body of Christ, that we are supposed to submit ourselves one to another. That means female to male, and male to female, husband to wife and wife to husband. That’s what verse 21 is saying. In verse 22, I have done some research and have come up with some interesting information. In the King James version it reads, “Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.” I looked up this verse in the original (off the original) Greek from several different sources and in every case the word ‘submit’ is left out of the Greek manuscripts. I challenge you to look it up yourself and you will find the word ‘submit’ is left out of verse 22 in the original Greek. Why was it added? It was added by the transcribers who put together the King James Bible because they were still heavily influenced by the ancient tradition of male superiority. By adding that one word to verse 22, they placed all the weight of Paul’s teaching about submission onto the women. What that verse really says is, “Wives, to your own husbands as unto the Lord.” It is basically an extension of verse 21 where Paul is talking about everyone submitting themselves one to another in the fear of the Lord. Verse 21 is the context in which we need to look at the following verses. By inserting the word ‘submit’ in verse 22, the whole context is modified and it has now become a women’s issue. The way the enemy works to break down unity and cause problems is very subtle. Inevitably, when the subject of marriage and married life is taught in churches today, they will always turn to this Scripture in verse 22 and read it all by itself. “Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.” Then all the men get real smug and proud over the fact that the WOMEN have to submit because Paul said so. They fail to read verse 21 where Paul tells everyone to submit to each other! The men don’t want to hear that, and if the women try to mention it they are told that they are rebelling against Paul’s order in verse 22. REBELLIOUS HUSBANDS! THE TRUTH IS THAT husbands are supposed to submit themselves to their wives, just as wives are supposed to submit to their husbands. Both male and female are made of the same sinful flesh, and they both have the same opportunity to know God. One is not superior to the other. There is only one Heaven and Hell for both men and women. The whole concept that only the women have to submit is ridiculous when we can read plainly in verse 21 that we are all supposed to submit one to another in the fear of God. Women in the Ministry #5 THERE ARE SO MANY CAUSES that people are working for today—“Save the whales!”, “Get back to the earth!”, “Stop pollution!”—but FEW are working for the cause of Christ. We need to get back to God. We need to get back to the way God intended for us to be. And one problem we are addressing in these messages is the struggle we have going on between the men and women in the Church. According to the men, the women can’t do anything in the ministry of Christ; and to support their view, the men use certain Scriptures, some of which we have already gone over. Many women are restricted from really fulfilling a part of God that they are supposed to. Yet we must realize that God puts callings on people, male and female, both, and just because a woman happens to be a woman does not mean that she can’t fulfill the calling that God has for her life. Women are a special species, not because they came out of man, but because they came out of the heart of God. Although they came from the side of man in the beginning, they really came out of the heart of God, because it was the desire of His heart to make a male and female side to represent His image and likeness. If we look at the male-female relationship in that light—that we’re looking at the image and likeness of God in the flesh, man and woman—then we don’t have to veer off and get into twisted points of view about our rights and roles in regards to each other. This is why we are taking so much time to cover this subject of women in the ministry. It is a tough subject and it needs a forceful approach in order to break through the centuries of ignorance and bondage which have built up. What we have today is a widespread reversal of roles. Women, for the most part, have become sick and tired of male oppression, and there has been plenty of male oppression in all societies, America too. In some third-world countries the male oppression is total, and the women will remain in that bondage until the people receive the clear light. There are roles for women in the home, such as raising children, but that’s not all that women should be limited to. They have just as much right to Christ and the ministry of Christ as a man does. Let’s not forget that. They have just as much right because God is not a respecter of persons. That means God does not care what sex, color, or nationality you are. And for men to think that they’re the only ones who can bring forth the Word, that they’re the only ones that can be behind the pulpit, that they’re the only ones that can be spiritual, they’re wrong. We have seen in many instances, because of the male oppression, women have rebelled and gone overboard, opposing it to such a degree that they went off and presented their bodies in unnatural ways to other women and started hating the male sex. And even the women that don’t turn lesbian have a tendency to develop a hatred towards men. We have churches full of women who are very oppressed and very abused and used and pushed down, and yet they struggle and hang on just so they can be used in the small capacity which they are allowed. How much better would it be if they could be used in bigger and better capacities of which they are capable! But first we need to educate the leaders so they will recognize and understand what Paul was really saying in certain Scriptures where he mentions the role of women in the Church. Now I want to turn to 1 Corinthians chapter 11 verse 3. It says, “But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.” We’ve studied out this subject of headship before and we’ve seen that the headship Paul is talking about here has nothing to do with superiority or superior rank at all. Then it says in verse 4, “Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonoreth his head.” I wanted to read this Scripture because I want to bring out a point dealing with Jewish traditions in the early Church. It is vital that we understand what part the traditions of the Jews played in the early Church. Now just to cut through a lot of confusion, the best way I can explain this verse is to say that the Christians at Corinth were carrying over Jewish traditions into the Church. The Corinthian church was a Gentile church and not so much a Jewish church. It had more Gentile members than Jewish members, but there were Jewish ideas creeping in. One way to look at these issues we are talking about is to ask yourself, “Why would Paul be pushing Jewish traditions regarding head coverings and male supremacy onto Gentile converts to Christianity?” He would not! Don’t forget that Paul was a converted Pharisee, and if anybody knew the traditions and customs of the Jews and how they were not part of the New and Living Way, Paul did. And it is because of this very reason that he took so much time in dealing with the new Christians, helping them to keep from being ensnared in the Jewish traditions of men. The situation Paul was facing involved Judaizers who were trying to push off Jewish traditions onto the Gentile Christian converts. These Judaizers were the Jewish converts who were still heavily influenced by their Jewish tradition. It wasn’t the unsaved Jews who were causing the internal problems. The orthodox Jews considered all Christians heretics and had nothing to do with them, except to persecute them. It was the Jewish converts who were still full of their past traditions who were trying to push them off onto the others. They thought that the old Jewish traditions and the new Spirit of Christ made a pretty good balance. Well, Paul knew better, and he took on the difficult task of educating the new Christians about the danger of Jewish traditions and the doctrines of men. So, if you don’t know this background information, then you’ll never understand the points I’m going to bring out when I get further into this study. You’ll be lost like a ball in high weeds, and many are. That’s the reason so many don’t understand the subject of women in the ministry. They fail to go back and study the historical facts, they neglect to study the customs and traditions that were influencing society at the time when this was written. Instead they just believe what someone has told them and take that for the truth, even though it has kept generations of women in bondage of fear and ignorance, preventing them from fulfilling the purposes that God has for them in the ministry. “If we look at the male-female relationship in that light—that we’re looking at the image and likeness of God in the flesh, man and woman—then we don’t have to veer off and get into twisted points of view about our rights and roles in regards to each other.” Another important point of historical background in the letters of Paul to the Corinthians, which we have already addressed to a degree, was that Paul was answering questions that were written to him via letters from the Corinthians. For instance, in verses 5-6 of chapter 11 Paul is answering their questions regarding the subject of head coverings. We need to understand that he was responding to letters, not laying out doctrine. And if you don’t believe what I’m saying, you can go back all the way to chapter 7 and all the way through chapter 14 and you can find times where Paul refers to something in the letter that someone had written him. He says, “Concerning such and such...”, then it goes on to talk about that subject. And people without this understanding just assume that Paul was laying down laws like the Ten Commandments, when in reality all he was doing was restating their questions and then answering them. But people want to twist these Scriptures around and make laws out of them because it pleases their religious flesh, or because they just don’t know any better. As we begin to add up all these points we can start to make sense out of what Paul was actually saying. You might wonder why I am taking so much time to deal with these topics. The reason is that there are still many church people that are deceived and believe that women have no place in the ministry. And another point of contention is the subject of head coverings: whether or not people should pray or prophesy with their head covered or uncovered. These type of things were a big deal back in Paul’s day, and he had to answer their questions concerning these matters. And all the controversy was stirred up when the Judaizers would bring in their traditions and try to get the rest of the Body to follow them. Inevitably someone would say to themselves, “This just doesn’t sound quite right to me. I’m going to write Paul and see what he has to say about the matter.” So it was Paul’s job to straighten out all these difficulties, and God chose the right man for the job. The fact that Paul was a converted Pharisee gave him an advantage against the Judaizers because he could recognize their traditions quickly, and he was well acquainted with the subtlety of religious demons. So Paul was dealing with Jewish traditions which had nothing to do with what God actually has to say about these subjects. Something else that we should look at is where Paul talks about women praying or prophesying in verse 5 of chapter 11, and then in verse 34 of chapter 14 he seemingly contradicts himself by saying that women should remain silent in the Church. The latter text reads, “Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the law.” Now I mentioned in the first broadcast and I want to say it again, I challenge anyone to show me one place in the law of the Old Testament where it says women are to be silent. Don’t bother to look because there isn’t one. Then what “law” was Paul referring to? He was referring to the Jewish rabbinical traditions that had come into being and were later collected in the Talmud. These manmade laws were considered “law” by many Jews, and obviously the Jewish converts were using them to back up their claim that women should remain silent. Back to the point I was making. Here we have a contrast. If Paul was saying over here in chapter 11 that it was alright for women to pray and prophesy, which obviously entailed speaking out in the congregation and letting the Lord move through them, and then he comes over here in chapter 14 and contradicts himself by saying that women must remain silent in the church, what is going on? Is Paul contradicting himself? NO! Paul is answering their questions, and the way it was translated makes it seem like he was instituting laws. Well, Paul was not making a law in chapter 14 that women couldn’t speak in the Church. In fact, he admonishes the Christians, male and female, all through the book of Corinthians to pray and prophesy and speak in tongues. All these things are done in the congregation, and he never once mentions any restrictions on the women. This issue of “silence” only arises in chapter 14 where it is obviously just a case of Paul stating their question which had been written to him, and then answering it. As we have shown before, the proof of this is in verse 36 where Paul says, “WHAT! came the Word of God out from you? or came it unto you only?” He is referring back to the statements which he quoted from them in verses 34 and 35 about women being silent. In other words, Paul is asking them, “Are you Corinthians now receiving commandments from God?”, implying that they had fallen into error and thought themselves more spiritual than they really were, particularly since these “commandments” they were receiving were in direct contradiction to what he, as a true Apostle of God, had always taught. Here are some of the questions we must ask: —Who said women must be silent? —Why can’t they speak and why is it shameful? —Must they be silent only in church and if so, why? —Should they be silent at all times or only on special occasions? —Does this restriction include praying, singing, praising and prophesying? —Is this restriction binding upon all women for all time or was it a local thing? —Where and what is the law that underscores this restriction? —What if the Christian woman’s husband was a practicing pagan? —What does subjection have to do with silence? —Did Paul assume all women to be married, and if not, what about the unmarried women? These are some very pointed, valid questions that need to be answered before we make a law out of two verses in chapter 14, condemning women to silence in the Church. Now I’ve heard people who believe these two Scriptures (I Cor. 14:34-35) to be a cardinal doctrine argue that, “God said it because it’s in the Word of God and I believe it, and that settles it.” All I have to say is go ahead and be stupid! And usually when you run across men that are so pig-headed and so belligerent and so anti-woman, you see they carry an aura of hatred for women, which tells me that they have a lot of problems in their lives that need to be resolved. They are hating a part of God. If you hate the opposite sex to such a degree that you won’t allow women to open their mouths in the assembly, then you’re hating a part of God. And I’ve actually seen whole congregations ruled by this spirit, and I’ve met men who preached this type of mixed-up doctrine about women keeping silent. “If you hate the opposite sex to such a degree that you won’t allow women to open their mouths in the assembly, then you’re hating a part of God.” These Scriptures in I Corinthians chapter 14 bother a lot of people. They bothered me for years, and I’ve studied these Scriptures extensively because my wife certainly has a calling. She has a calling, she prays and prophesies and teaches and preaches. And men get upset with her because she has a greater anointing than most men I’ve ever met. Too many men get jealous and they would like it if she never had anything to say. And I always ask them, “If you are so bothered by a woman ministering, why don’t you get involved in the ministry and preach?” I ask lots of men, “If you think that you’re so big and hot in God, and you have so much in the Lord, then why don’t you have something to say?” Why does God use women in the ministry? It’s because men don’t have too much to say. They do a lot of huffing and puffing, and a lot of boasting and bragging and beating on their chest, but they really don’t have too much to say. Now I’m not belittling men or saying that God doesn’t use men under the anointing, because He does. But I’m trying to break through some traditions that plague our churches in America, and plague the Body of Christ around the world. We’re dealing with women on a worldwide basis. Whether they’re saved or unsaved, we’re dealing with women who are oppressed by these Scriptures men have twisted or misunderstood. Even the unsaved pagans use the Bible when they want to oppress their women. How many men use these Scriptures when they want their women to “Shut up, stay home, have babies, cook my food, feed my belly and give me sex whenever I want it!”? That’s the prevailing mentality among men around the world and it’s regurgitating! It’s nauseating to think that men are such dogs and so carnal that they only look at women as a hunk of meat and a servant. And it makes God sick too, because He didn’t create women to be used and abused by men, He created them to be actively used in His work just like everyone else. The truth is that God created woman to fulfill the parts that man was lacking and to be a companion for him. When men and women get married they become one flesh. They come into oneness, they become as one, a union to represent God on this earth. Too many men don’t see that, or they refuse to recognize that because they want to remain in the position of authority. They don’t want to share any kind of authority with the woman, because of pride and arrogance and thinking that they are superior. And they use these Scriptures we’ve mentioned to keep the women in fear and bondage, preventing them from fulfilling the purposes that God has for them. One of the most common explanations used to account for these Scriptures in chapter 14 is that Paul gave these commands concerning women in order to keep order in the Church. According to tradition, the women and men were separated in the assembly, and when a woman had a question she would disrupt the service by asking her husband across the room. If this were true then obviously something would have to be done to maintain order, and many people believe that Paul was addressing this problem in the two Scriptures we have been studying in chapter 14. However, there isn’t any historical or Scriptural evidence to support this explanation. In fact there is much evidence that totally disqualifies this as a valid explanation. Nevertheless, many people still think that Paul mandated silence upon the women in the Body of Christ, and they use these Scriptures like a club to dominate over the women. Now I want to go back over a point I mentioned earlier and have mentioned before. It should be noted that I Corinthians 14:34-35 silences only those women with husbands. Did you notice that? Only the women with husbands were to be silent, thereby excusing the unmarried, the divorced, and the widows. It says, “Let them ask THEIR HUSBANDS at home.” If this injunction was meant for all women, then why did Paul single out the wives? Did he demand or expect all women to marry? If so, why did he strongly recommend in I Corinthians 7:7-8 that the unmarried and widows remain as he was—unmarried. Or were the wives the only ones talking during the service? If so, are unmarried women allowed to speak publicly? These are some difficult questions, yet they are legitimate and need to be considered. The problem lies in the fact that nearly everyone assumes this passage on being “silent” was Paul’s own statement. This is what I’m trying to get at. So many people assume that this is Paul’s own statement yet fail to see that if this were true he would be directly contradicting his earlier instructions in I Corinthians 11 where we read that women can pray and prophesy. Logically then, we need to ask the question, “Was this silencing directive Paul’s, or was he questioning someone else? Was this passage a direct command of God through Paul to the women of the Body of Christ, or was Paul questioning Jewish traditions which were troubling the Corinthians and of which they had written to Paul for advice?” Once again, let me repeat myself until we get this down: the answer lies in verse 36. I know we’ve already gone over this but I want to mention it again because our understanding of this whole message hinges on this point. Verse 36 of I Corinthians 15 says, “WHAT! came the Word of God out from you? or came it unto you only?” Now, if Paul had just made an absolute statement in verses 34 and 35, dictating silence to the women in the assembly, then who is he talking to when he asks the question, “What! came the Word of God out from you?”? Was he referring to himself or was he referring to the men who had written him a letter asking him about this question? The Amplified Bible says, “WHAT! did the Word of the Lord originate with you [Corinthians], or has it reached only you?” In other words, Paul was asking them, “Did you Corinthians make this up (about women being silent) and are you trying to pass it off as the Word of the Lord?” “Verse 36 of I Corinthians 15 says, “WHAT! came the Word of God out from you? or came it unto you only?” ...In other words, Paul was asking them, “Did you Corinthians make this up (about women being silent) and are you trying to pass it off as the Word of the Lord?” ...Paul was actually refuting the teaching that women should remain silent in the Church...” Too often we neglect to examine the entire context surrounding a passage and we get all mixed up with our doctrines. Paul was actually refuting the teaching that women should remain silent in the Church, which was one of the Jewish traditions that was trying to infiltrate the Body of Christ and destroy unity among the brethren. As Christians we need to study these passages methodically and with lots of prayer, asking God’s direction so that we don’t continue to abuse the women in the churches. Amen. Women in the Ministry #6 WELCOME TO MESSAGE #6 of our series entitled “Women In The Ministry”. What part do women play in the churches today or in the Body of Christ? What part do they play? This is the question we’ve been asking, and we have found out that a lot of people are all mixed up because of a misunderstanding of Scripture. On one hand you have the school of thought which teaches that women can’t say anything in Church; they must remain silent, and they have no ministry. Their job is to take care of their husband, raise the kids, feed the preacher when he comes over and so on and so forth. Then on the other hand you have people who have a little more light on the subject. They believe that women can’t really teach and preach above the men, but they can pray and prophesy, they can sing, and they can even teach Sunday school. But when it comes to the heavy duty Word of God, it’s the preacher man that does it all. “We have found out that a lot of people are all mixed up because of a misunderstanding of Scripture.” Then finally you have those people who have studied this subject in depth, like we have, and who have found out that women are a very special species, because she came out of the heart of God and out of the side of man, and she represents and depicts a part of God. And when you deny her a position in life and in the ministry, you’re denying God. For years we have fought for women’s rights, in the true sense of the word. We’ve stuck to our guns that women are not underdogs, they’re not inferior, they’re not lesser, they’re not weaker in terms of their relationship with God. Women have a place and they have a ministry in the work of God. Through the years there have been many great women of God. There are many great women in the Bible who were used greatly of God along with the men. So the question we have been asking is, “Is it true that women are to remain silent in the Church, and if so, who says so?” There are women who are in bondage to this “keep silent” doctrine all over the world. For generations and generations and generations, they’ve been in bondage to the idea that women have no place in the ministry, or even in the affairs of society in general. Even the practicing pagans have taken certain Scriptures out of the Bible and have used them to oppress their women for centuries, even though they don’t believe in Christianity. Some way, somehow, people all over the world have come to believe that women are dogs , and that they are inferior and should only be used as sex objects and servants. We’re looking for the perfect balance, and we’re going to discover it in these messages. It is really liberating when you study this subject out in the light of Scripture and you look up the Greek and Hebrew words. And we need to approach this subject with an open mind, ready to accept what the Spirit of God would reveal to us. In this message, to start off, I’m going to go back, once again, to the statement in I Corinthians 14:34-35 to give even more ample proof that Paul never made that statement which basically says that women are to keep silent in the Church. Paul never said it, and God didn’t say it either. Let’s go to I Corinthians chapter 14 and read our text, and then we’ll go back and get a little background on it. Verse 34 says, “Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the law.” Verse 35: “And if they will learn any thing, let them ask their husbands at home: for it is a shame for women to speak in the church.” You know it’s often puzzled me why, if someone was teaching a message, the women couldn’t listen and learn as well as anybody else. Why did they have to go home and ask their husbands everything that was said? Didn’t they have any brains to think on their own? These are some more questions we need to ask ourselves. For example, if you are a woman and you are reading this message right now, don’t you have enough brains to think about what I’m saying? Can’t you learn on your own, or do you have to go home and ask your husband what I was saying? Isn’t that kind of ridiculous? It also says, “for it is a shame for women to speak in the church.” The question I want to ask is, who says it’s a shame? Who says so? I’ll tell you who, it was the Jewish tradition that said it was a shame for women to speak in the Church! The truth is that Paul would have never said it was a shame, because in I Corinthians chapter 11 Paul said it was good for women to pray and prophesy in the Church, as we have said, which meant they opened their mouths. And you can find other Scriptures in the New Testament where Paul commanded them to sing in the Spirit. Remember, he said that when you come together, some of you will have a song, some of you will have a hymn or spiritual song. And these hymns and songs always contained a message, which meant that if the women were allowed to bring forth their hymns and spiritual songs that they were delivering a message, and that’s just like preaching the Gospel. So it is foolish to think that Paul would come along later in the same letter and dictate silence to the women in the Church. Then it goes on in verse 36 and says, “What? came the word of God out from you? or came it unto you only?” Who is Paul talking to? Is he talking to the women? Is he talking to the Church? Is he talking about himself and the statement that he just made? Is he rebuking himself? We can find the answer in verse 37. It says, “If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord.” Obviously some men from the Corinthian church had written Paul a letter asking him to clarify the issue of women in the Church, because some so-called prophet had told them that women must remain silent. So what Paul was actually doing at the end of chapter 14 was answering the Corinthian’s question concerning the Jewish traditions which were trying to pass themselves off as the Word of the Lord. Many people who don’t understand this believe that Paul is confirming verses 34 and 35 when he says “let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord” in verse 37. This is an easy assumption to make when you don’t read verse 36 because it may seem to follow logically, but it is false. The commandments concerning women in verses 34 and 35 WERE NOT something which Paul had ever written the Corinthians but they were something which the Corinthians had written to Paul, in asking him to clear up the controversy. And in answering their question, Paul restated the controversial (false) commandments as part of his reply. That’s all. Let’ s go back and start in I Corinthians chapter 1. We’ll go back to the very beginning and ask ourselves why Paul even wrote I Corinthians. What is the essence of the epistle? Why did Paul even write to the Corinthians? One point we need to consider is that the Corinthian church was mostly made up of Gentile converts, which meant that they were not familiar with all the Jewish traditions. Now even though the majority were Gentiles, obviously there were some Jewish converts who were trying to carry over their traditions from Judaism and force them on the ignorant Corinthian Gentiles. This point is most important, and it is vital that we grasp what was going on between the Jews and the Gentiles in the Corinthian church. If we can understand that Paul was not legislating doctrine but that he was settling a dispute which had risen over Jewish traditions, it will become clear what Paul was talking about in I Corinthians chapter 14. The Jewish converts were trying to bring their traditions into the Christian Church and Paul said, “NO! You’re not bringing Jewish traditions into the Church of Jesus Christ because the Jews have rejected our Messiah!” God canceled out the traditions of men and He brought in a whole new order with Jesus Christ. In I Corinthians chapter 1 verse 11 it says, “For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you.” Alright, point number 1—it was declared unto Paul that there were contentions in the Corinthian church. Then he goes on in verse 12: “Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ. Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?” Obviously there were contentions and divisions in the Corinthian church. Some men liked Paul as a teacher, some men liked Apollos as a teacher, and some men liked other men as their teachers. They were divided on who really had the true Word of God and they had contention going on and division. And how many know that when you’ve got contention and division you’ve got disagreements and problems? So we’re dealing with a troubled church. That’s a springboard. Paul is responding to them because they had problems. Paul is dealing with a mixture in people’s beliefs. He was dealing with people of different backgrounds. All these things have got to be considered when you study the Scriptures. Many times you can’t just read your Bible and say, “Oh, that’s what it meant.” You’ve got to go back and study the circumstances surrounding the events. Alright, chapter 7, verse 1, it says, “Now concerning the things whereof ye wrote unto me: It is good for a man not to touch a woman.” This is an important point we need to go over. If you go back and study the way they wrote letters in the very early days, what they did was when they were writing back to a person, they restated the subject matter in their reply. In this instance what they wrote to him was, “It is good for a man not to touch a woman.” Some people believe that it was Paul making that statement as a rule—“It is good for a man not to touch a woman.” If a man isn’t supposed to touch a woman, how were people going to have babies and fill the earth? How dumb can we get? Paul is the one that laid out the order in the Church about men and women, and he did not contradict himself or the rest of Scripture. If Paul had made that statement as a cardinal doctrine then he would be defeating the purposes of God because the Church is a picture of a bride and a husband producing children. Then in verse 2 Paul goes on to give them his answer to their question: “Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband.” Now I don’t see anything here where Paul is expressing that men are superior to women. What Paul was saying was that the woman is to give to the man and the man in turn is to give right back to the woman. This is a very good example of what I am trying to explain. The Corinthians wrote Paul with several questions and statements regarding Church operations, and in answering their questions and correcting their errors he starts out by restating what they had written to him. Going on down to verse 25 it says, “Now concerning virgins I have no commandment of the Lord: yet I give my judgement, as one that hath obtained mercy of the Lord to be faithful.” Earlier in chapter 7 he dealt with married couples and now he is coming over here and dealing with questions concerning virgins. Then he goes on to give them advice regarding that subject. Obviously he is dealing with the roles of men and women in regards to each other. I would like to note that Paul spends all of chapter 7 answering questions concerning the things which they had written him about men and women and marriage. He must have felt it important enough to warrant an entire chapter of explanation. Paul wanted to make sure that the Corinthians had a clear understanding in these areas, and he also knew how easily false doctrine could creep in and beguile ignorant Christians. But yet we do not find one place where Paul says that men are superior to women and that men are to be the absolute rulers over their wives. Moving on to chapter 8 he begins by saying, “Now as touching things offered unto idols...” So far he has touched on the questions of sex and virgins and now he is moving to another subject which the Corinthians obviously wanted to know about. KEY POINT: “The Corinthians wrote Paul with several questions and statements regarding Church operations, and in answering their questions and correcting their errors he starts out by restating what they had written to him.” In the following verses Paul goes on to explain and exhort about idols and idolatry, and the points that he made are good to this day. We should not eat food offered unto idols. When you go into certain restaurants you’ll find that they have offered their food unto idols, and when you eat it you’re partaking of that idolatry and you’ll bring a curse upon you. That’s why it’s good for Christians to pray over their food. We should make it a habit to pray over our food that God would bless and sanctify it. Going on to chapter 9 we read that Paul deals with the question of his Apostleship, because obviously there were Gnostics and Jews and lots of other men that did not believe he was an Apostle. He starts out by saying, “Am I not an apostle?” and he is defending himself against those who were questioning his authority. Then we go on to chapter 11 where he deals with the subject of head coverings. This is another subject which they had written to Paul about with questions, and he takes time in chapter 11 to break through their traditions, which is a whole teaching in itself. Then we go on to chapter 12 where we find Paul starting out again with the phrase “Now concerning...”, stating, “Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant.” Then he goes into a long exhortation on spiritual gifts. The reason I’m taking time to go over these different points is so that you can see that almost the entire letter of I Corinthians was spent in explaining things, answering questions and exposing Jewish traditions which had the Corinthians all confused. I want to turn right now to Acts chapter 15. It says in verse 1, “And certain men which came down from Judea taught the brethren and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved.” Now this point does tie in to the question of whether or not women should be silent in the Church. Once again, I’m trying to show you that there were troublemakers, there were unbelievers, there were people that challenged Paul’s Apostleship and authority. It says, “And certain men which came down from Judea taught the brethren and said, Except ye be circumcised...” These men where trying to force the new Christians to obey the Old Law, and Paul was not going to stand for it. He was not going to sit by and watch as the fruit for which he had labored was corrupted by Jewish traditions which Jesus nullified at His death. Now circumcision was a law that was given under Moses, carried down from Abraham, and God instituted laws that were right for that time and circumstance. Circumcision was a cutting away of excess flesh, which was a shadow and type of better things to come. What were the better things to come? Cutting away of the excess flesh from your heart, instead of off of your physical bodies. You see, in the physical, only men can be circumcised, so where does that leave the women? But circumcision of the heart deals with men and women. We’ve all got carnal, fleshly hearts that God wants to cut away, symbolically speaking. He’s not going to go in with an actual scalpel and cut away at your physical heart. No, what He is going to cut is in the spirit. The Jewish converts in the Corinthian church were trying to set back up the dead ordinances of the Law regarding circumcision, and they only partially understood that Christ had brought in a New Order, a spiritual order. They wanted to have the best of both Old and New, just to play it safe. They believed in Jesus but they also wanted to be circumcised, and that is where Paul stepped in to straighten things out. KEY POINT: “...almost the entire letter of I Corinthians was spent in explaining things, answering questions and exposing Jewish traditions which had the Corinthians all confused.” This situation reminds me of the denominational Apostolic Church’s doctrine we find today which teaches that you can’t be saved unless you’re baptized in water first. How ridiculous! If that were true then Christ would have drowned for our sins rather than hung on the cross and poured out His blood. The Apostolics, as they call themselves, have made a twisted cardinal doctrine out of baptism. Yes, they teach that you’ve got to be baptized in water before you can be saved, and they don’t even take time to study it out, and they condemn people to Hell over their doctrine, and they think they’re the only ones that are saved and the rest of us are not saved because we accepted the blood first and then we were baptized in water. They say it’s the water first and the blood second. NO! Christ died by the way of the cross, His blood ran out for us. Yes, I agree, baptism is right, yet it is only symbolic. The water doesn’t save you, it just gets you wet. But the blood of Jesus Christ will not only cleanse you, but it will make you a new creature. It will wash away your sins and rejuvenate you. And the Scripture in Hebrews doesn’t say that without baptism there is no remission of sins; it says that without the shedding of BLOOD there is no remission of sin. The reason I wanted to bring this up is because it is similar to what was happening in Paul’s day. The Jewish converts were insisting on circumcision as a prerequisite to salvation, when in reality, the physical circumcision was only a symbolic rite, and moreover it was fulfilled in Christ and thereby annulled. God wants a spiritual circumcision of our carnal nature. Going back to Acts chapter 15, reading in verse 2: “When therefore Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and disputation with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas and certain other of them should go up to Jerusalem unto the apostles and elders about this question.” Brother, they argued and they contended for the faith. They didn’t just take whatever came along as the truth, because they knew better. This was no small matter going on in the early days of the Church. So many Christians had and many have all kinds of problems because they don’t understand Christ. In Paul’s day there was a great stirring up, there were great contentions, divisions and arguments over doctrine. There were debates, and the debates have not stopped today. We still have men and women that absolutely can’t see. Their eyes are blinded to the truth and they are so dogmatic when it comes to the subject of women in the ministry. They use I Corinthians 14:34-35 to justify their false doctrines. They always yell, “Paul said...Paul said...”, but what they don’t understand is that Paul was relaying to us what somebody had written to him. And they can’t grasp this subject because they’re baptized in ignorance. They’re baptized in ignorance and they don’t want to change, because if they change they have to admit they’re wrong, and their pride won’t allow them to admit they’re wrong, because if they admit they’re wrong then they have to admit that they really weren’t in tune with God like they claim they are. So when it comes to this subject of women in the ministry, we are dealing with ignorance and pride. Now I want to go to one last Scripture in Galatians chapter 3, starting in verse 26: “For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.” Now listen to me, if you believe in Jesus Christ as your Messiah, and you repent of your sins and you become born-again by faith, you are the children of God by Christ Jesus. He birthed you. Then he goes on in verse 27, “For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” It didn’t say baptized into water, it said baptized into Christ. Christ was the Word. You need to be baptized into Christ. Christ was the Word, He was the water, the water of the Word. Then it says, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.” Now if we were to take this Scripture literally as some would like to do, we could say there is no male or female. Well, obviously, I can look at men and women and I can tell the difference between male and female. But if I wanted to take it literally without studying it out, I could say there is no difference between men and women, and I would be ignorant. But that is exactly what so many Christians do when they insist that Paul teaches that men are superior to women and that women should be silent in the Church! They fail to study the background and find out exactly what Paul is saying. Instead they continue on in their ignorance, denying women their place in the ministry and doing great damage to the Body of Christ. God uses women to do “MANLY exploits” “WE KNOW MANY among ourselves [i.e., Christians] who have given themselves up to bonds, in order that they might ransom others. Many, too, have surrendered themselves to slavery, that with the price[1] which they received for themselves, they might provide food for others. Many women also, being strengthened by the grace of God, have performed numerous MANLY exploits. The blessed Judith, when her city was besieged, asked of the elders permission to go forth into the camp of the strangers; and, exposing herself to danger, she went out for the love which she bare to her country and people then besieged; and the Lord delivered Holofernes into the hands of a woman.[2] Esther also, being perfect in faith, exposed herself to no less danger, in order to deliver the twelve tribes of Israel from impending destruction. For with fasting and humiliation she entreated the everlasting God, who seeth all things; and He, perceiving the humility of her spirit, delivered the people for whose sake she had encountered peril.”[3] —The First Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians (c. AD 68-97), Chapter 55 ENDNOTES: [1] Literally, “and having received their prices, fed others.” [Comp. Rom. 16:3-4 and Phil. 2:30.] [2] Judith 8:30. [3] Esther 7, 8. * * * WOMEN CAN DO MANLY exploits! They always have done such things, and they always will, as God empowers them. This is not a promotion of feminism, but a statement of reality that must be considered. For the early Christians knew that women were capable of doing things that many people would consider only feasible for a man, but as God empowered the women, they did many—that’s MANY MANLY exploits. Who is to say that women cannot do what men can? Who is to say that a man is greater than a woman? Who is to say that God cannot empower a woman to do even MANLY exploits—and not just once, but many times. It is the Lord who empowers a vessel, be it man or woman. God may even have a woman to do a manly exploit just to show that He can have a woman do it! And so we have the question of women in the ministry. Well, is ministry a manly exploit in your eyes? Then I say that God can have a woman do it! Just because something is a “manly exploit” doesn’t mean that a woman cannot do it, for God can enable a woman to do it. Judith and Esther and others—the text says “Many women...”—were used of God when and where no man was, and were used to free and bring victory to men. So, men, better reconsider your position on women! God has used women throughout history, and are you ready to say that God cannot do the same today? Are you more wise than God to think that you believe something better than what God believes? God believes He can use women, and so He has used them for whatsoever He will, and will continue to do so, even while you sit back and criticize. Amen. The Woman’s Place ~ General Deborah Green “HEAR THIS WORD, you cows (women) of Bashan, who are in the mountain of Samaria, who oppress the poor, who crush the needy, who say to their husbands, Bring, and let us drink! The LORD has sworn by His holiness, that behold, the days shall come upon you, when they shall take you away with hooks, and the last of you with fishhooks. And you shall go out through the breaches (made in the city’s wall), every woman straight before her, and you shall be cast forth into Harmon (an unknown place of exile), says the LORD” (Amos 4:1-3). As we can see here, the Lord has an indictment against these women who are oppressing the poor, crushing the needy and saying to their husbands, “Bring and let us drink!” Why is God against these women? Because they are not allowing the compassion of God to move through them. Instead, they are hardened through their idolatries and their lusts, and they cannot really be satisfied. In their quest for acquisition of materialism, they do not care about oppressing the poor and crushing the needy, but rather they make it their practice. Many women will have a rude awakening when they stand before God, for they have hidden behind their husbands and been guilty of much evil and wickedness in the sight of the Lord. Just because I call myself by the “Mrs.” title, does not mean that I have no accountability before God. As you will notice in this portion of Scripture, the Lord is holding these women accountable before Him, and He is having the prophet to cry out against them because they are the ones who are liable in His judgment. “Rise up, you women who are at ease! Hear my (Isaiah’s) voice, you confident and careless daughters, listen to what I am saying. In little more than a year you shall be shaken with anxiety, you careless and complacent women, for the vintage will fail and the ingathering shall not come. Tremble, you women who are at ease! Shudder with fear, you complacent ones! Strip yourselves bare and gird sackcloth upon your loins in grief! They shall beat upon their breasts for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vine, for the land of my people growing up with thorns and briars; yes for all the houses of joy in the joyous city” (Isaiah 32:9-11) God here is using the prophet Isaiah to warn the women, the women who are at ease. He is giving forth the warning against these women who are careless and confident, for the wrath of God is coming upon them to take away from them all of the pleasant living they have been used to. We are living in a time in history when women have more luxury, more leisure time, more money, more convenience, more education—and less hardship, less work, less oppression, fewer children and the responsibilities of managing their households than at any time in history. Women are at ease, they have time to be confident and careless, sure that their lot in life will go on forever. The shame is upon the Christian women who are accountable before God for what they do with their time, what they do with their money, how they raise their children, and what they do for Him. In this time of women at ease, fewer women are involved full-time or even part-time in the true Gospel work (not the Jezebel-run whorehouses called churches) than at any other time in history. Women have stopped laboring for God. Could it be that they have it so good, or so they think, that they no longer fear God nor desire to please Him? As women, our place has never changed with reference to the Lord and His Kingdom. We are meant to be His handmaidens as much now as at any other time in history. But instead of laboring for the Lord, most women are laboring for the materialism money-god, pouring themselves out in oblation to the gods of stuff and things, without any remembering that they are meant to be serving the Lord all of their days. Christian women who are at ease in your confidence, the Lord is holding you accountable for the times wasted, the vows never kept, the hardness of heart caused by your driving ambition and lust for the things of the world, degrees, and positions over men. He is holding you accountable for never witnessing to anyone, not even your own children. He is holding you accountable for the countless hours you spend in gossip, and in complaining, and in frivolity and vanity. Yes, in this generation, the women are going to receive, and already are receiving, the Lord’s judgment against them, because they have dwelt in careless ease, they have lived in luxury and laziness, they have sought for the things of the world and neglected God. They have hidden behind their husbands in order to avoid accountability before God, and God holds them accountable nonetheless. There is no reason, no escape, and no justification for failure to serve the Lord as His handmaids. Our grandmothers and great grandmothers were troopers in the field of battle for human souls; they still managed to wash by hand, to rear children with next to nothing, to educate them, to chop wood and haul water and still preach the truth of Jesus Christ to any and all souls who would listen. The call, the commission of God, remains . . . and He is still calling forth the soldiers, to battle for the human souls who are perishing in sin. Will you rescue the perishing, which is your duty? or will you convince yourself that you are okay while you live in ease, confidence, and crush the poor and needy because you are greedy? THE WOMAN’S PLACE REMAINS THE SAME IN THE KINGDOM OF GOD: LABORING WITHOUT CEASING FOR THE MASTER. Women In The Ministry #7 IT IS COMMONLY BELIEVED by many that the primary role of the Christian woman is to have children, cook, take care of all domestic chores and provide sex whenever the man desires it. That has got to change. We are determined to educate people and let them see what the Bible really says about the position that women are to hold in the ministry. It has been both challenging and rewarding as God has helped us break through the bondages of ignorance, pride and hatred that plague so many men of God. Now let's quickly review some of the points we have learned in this series so far. I can break it up into three categories. Number one: We looked at both male and female before sin. We looked at how God created them and what His original plans were. Number two: We looked at male and female after sin, and everything that happened to them as a result of their rebellion. Number three: We are looking at male and female in the light of being born-again or the salvation experience. We are looking at what role women have in the Body of Christ and how men should act towards them. One point we covered was how when God created Adam and Eve, He created both male and female and He called THEM “Adam”. There was no superiority in the original creation of male and female. There was no male hierarchy. There was no male dominance. We know that for sure. It was not in God's heart that man would rule over and oppress woman and that woman would become nothing more than a dog or a tag-a-long. It was God's desire that she would become a helpmeet, that she would become a partner, a co-laborer, an equal, so to speak, with the man. ALL MANKIND UNDER THE CURSE OF SIN SO, IT IS of utmost importance that we realize all mankind has been under the curse of sin. Not that it was God's intention, yet because of Adam we've all been born into sin, and that is the main reason why women have been oppressed—not because God intended it to be that way, but because Adam's rebellion made it that way. And of course, we know that satan played a part in the whole deal, yet we must remember that God has said if we disobey Him, we are going to pay the penalty, and we all know that the wages of sin is death. And ever since Adam's fall, men have died physically as well as spiritually, until they are born again of the incorruptible seed of Jesus Christ. That's why salvation is so important. That's why we must labor day and night to tell people that they need to be saved, that they need to be born again, and if they're not then they are going to be eternally damned. We need to tell them they will be eternally damned forever unless they are born again And it doesn't matter if people don't believe the truth. That doesn't make the Bible untrue, that doesn't make God untrue. It's a fact that if you are not born again you will spend eternity damned forever, separated from God, your Creator. “...because of Adam we've all been born into sin, and that is the main reason why women have been oppressed—not because God intended it to be that way, but because Adam's rebellion made it that way.” Jesus Christ is our only mediator. He's the one that will bring us back into communion with God the Father, our Creator. And I don't care what any philosophy of man has to say, the fact is that God created both male and female, and He wanted them to live forever in a blissful, sinless state with Him. And God put a will inside of man, giving him the ability to choose right from wrong. Unfortunately, Adam chose wrong and brought the whole human race down into death. It's true! It happened! It's undeniable that ever since that time, men have been dying. They've been dying and they go back into the dust just like the Bible says. Going back to our text in I Corinthians chapter 14:34-35, the questions we are asking are these: Does God accept or allow women in the ministry, and does God accept or allow women into His kingdom who can preach and teach and prophesy and pray? Are women respected as equal with men in the eyes of God, or are men still above and women below? Is man still the head and the woman the tail? Let's read starting in verse 34: "Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the law." Now this is one of the Scriptures we've been mostly dealing with, and we are going to look into it a little more on some different aspects. I want to deal with the phrase "as also saith the law." I've picked out a couple of things here that I want to show you. One German scholar years ago had this statement to say about the particular phrase in question: he said, "The expression, ‘as also saith the law’, refers to the Oral Law of the Jews called the Talmud." Now, before we go any further we need to digress and explain more clearly what the Talmud is. WHAT IS THE TALMUD? THE TALMUD IS the authoritative collection of Rabbinic Law containing the Jewish Oral Law, which is supposed by Traditional Jews to have been given by God Himself to Moses on Mount Sinai. According to their view, these laws were handed down orally from Moses, and passed from generation to generation all the way down to the times of Jesus, and beyond. Sometime after the establishment of Christianity, the Rabbis decided to write down these laws. The original collection is called the Mishnah. Rabbis made authoritative comments on the Mishnah, and these comments are called the Gemara. The Mishnah and Gemara together are called the Talmud. Traditional Judaism maintains that the Talmud is the authoritative and true exposition of Scripture, the Oral Laws having been dictated by God Himself. And Traditional Judaism asserts that the New Testament is false and misleading, while the Talmud is pure and holy. We have selected some passages (cited below and numbered) from the Talmud so that the readers may figure out for themselves whether the Talmud is "the Word of God" and whether it is "morally superior" or not. We do not believe the Talmud to be either. And the truth of what we believe will be apparent to all who read this. We have picked some of the useless, stupid, repugnant and blasphemous passages of the Talmud to demonstrate that the Talmud is not the Word of God nor is it even a superior code of morals. By reading the passages, one may come to appreciate the position of Jesus Christ toward the Rabbis—which was almost entirely negative, and rightly so. First, read this brief history on the Talmud, adapted for briefness from its original source. HISTORICAL INFORMATION Israel spent 70 years in captivity in Babylon and, amazingly, only one tenth of the Jews in Babylon returned to the promised land to rebuild the Temple. Later, when the Jews fled the area after the AD 70 destruction of the Temple, they joined the majority of Jews still in Babylon; this time, the Jews stayed there 1,000 years until they were expelled. The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia says: "...in the second century C.E. Babylonia had become a bulwark of Judaism...The former land of exile had become a land of refuge." [The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia, Ed. Isaac Landman (New York: Universal Jewish Encyclopedia, Inc. 1939) "Babylonia", pp. 13,14]. The encyclopedia goes on to say,"...Palestine had been merely a place of veneration, while Babylonia become the center of Jewish life and learning. Babylonian Jews no longer looked to Palestine for instruction; even the heads of the schools at Tiberius were Babylonian Jews." [Ibid., p.16]. And after AD 658, Babylonia was considered to be "the spiritual center of Judaism, and its influence brought many Babylonian customs into general use...." [Ibid., p. 17] Under the Babylonian (worldly) mindset, having rejected their Messiah, these Jews were left without a temple, without God, and with no other choice but to fall even more fully under the authority of the traditions of man. During this desperate time — a result of their own rebellion against God — the Jewish elders wrote the Babylonian Talmud and canonized it around AD 500. Its first part, the Mishna, is 6,000 pages of the oral traditions of the Pharisees which fully became scripture and usurped the Old Testament. This oral tradition had become a revelation in itself. It took the seat as the supreme binding law over the Jewish people — and remains so even today. For the Jew, the Talmud’s foundational doctrine is: "My son, give heed to the words of the scribes rather than to the words of the law (Torah/Old Testament)." - Erubin f21b. And: "He who transgresses the words of the scribes sins more gravely than the transgressors of the words of the Law (Torah-Old Testament)." - Sanhedrin 10, 3f88b. So traditions rule over the Word of God. The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia on "Pharisaism" says: "The Jewish religion as it is today traces its descent without a break through all the centuries from the Pharisees. Their leading ideas and methods found expression in a literature of enormous extent, of which a very great deal is still in existence. The Talmud is the largest and most important single piece of that literature...and the study of it is essential for any real understanding of Pharisaism." [Ibid., p. 474.] After AD 70 All of the major Jewish encyclopedias are trusted by Jews and are written by, for, and about Jews. The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia, speaking on "Authority," declares how central the Talmud is to Traditional Judaism: "Thus, the ultimate authority for Orthodoxy is the Babylonian Talmud. The Bible itself ranks second to it in reality, if not in theory." [Ibid., p. 637.] Celebrated Rabbi Isaac Wise, who collaborated with Levi Frumkin (nee Michael Rodkinson) in What Is The Talmud?, stated: "The Talmud then, is the written form of that which in the time of Jesus was called the Traditions of the Elders, and to which he [Jesus] makes frequent allusions." [Michael Rodkinson (Levi Frumkin), What Is The Talmud?, (Chicago: New Amsterdam Book Co, 1894) p. 70.] The Talmud in Jesus' day was still oral tradition and remained so until 500 years later when it was finally written down. Amazingly, this central revelation of Judaism, around in written form for 1500 years, was totally out of reach for non-Jews until about 100 years ago. In ignorance of true Traditional Judaism, many Gentiles have imagined the Jews to be a devout Scripture-based people, pouring over the Old Testament rather than some (blasphemous) collection of traditions compiled by men and adhered to as Scripture. The Talmud has been a shrouded volume and almost totally inaccessible. Finally, in 1935, a team of Rabbis headed by Rabbi Dr. Epstein translated the Soncino Edition of the Babylonian Talmud printed in London by the Soncino Press. And even this edition is beyond reach to the average person. The Talmud has quietly led the Jews for all these centuries; its pages venerated in dark places behind closed doors — remaining in Hebrew, untouchable to most Gentiles; thought of as some mysterious ethnic right. In seclusion, Traditional Jews have lived unto themselves, learning much more than simple tales of David and Goliath. Understandably, many modern Jews are embarrassed by the Talmud. (Note: A sobering look at what has become of the Jewish ‘ghetto’ of today [i.e., the secluded Jewish community] appears in a probing film by the Jewish Coen brothers entitled, A Serious Man). Jesus Disfigured by the Talmud WORLD RENOWNED PROFESSOR Bruce Manning Metzger of Princeton taught a course in 1984 on the life of Christ, commenting on ancient extra-Biblical sources which mentioned Jesus and corroborated that Jesus was a real-world historical figure. Naturally, there was Josephus, Tacitus, and Pliny. Metzger also included the Babylonian Talmud and noted that in the Book of Sanhedrin, Jesus is referred to as “Ben Pandira, ‘the bastard son of the Roman soldier.’” Metzger stated that according to the Talmud, Jesus was able to perform miracles through magic he learned in Egypt, and that he [Jesus] died a humiliating death, after which his body was left on a refuse heap. Dr. Metzger had been able to read the Talmud as adeptly as any rabbinic scholar, having 5 PhDs and being fully conversant in numerous ancient languages including Hebrew, Syriac, and Aramaic. In the Babylonian Talmud, Christ is often referred to with indirect code names such as "Balaam" which editorial notes in the Soncino edition as well as several Jewish encyclopedias clearly reveal as referring to Jesus. The Jewish Encyclopedia reveals that "...the pseudonym 'Balaam,' [was] given to Jesus in Sanhedrin 106b and Gittin 57a." - Jewish Encyclopedia, "Balaam", p. 469.] These passages echo the wrath of the Pharisees in Jesus day, and also give light as to why Jews are so hateful against Christ. They’ve been deceived and lied to by the Talmud and their bitter Traditional elders for centuries. THE AUTHORITY OF THE TALMUD 1. Studying the Bible after studying the Talmud produces trouble. Hagigah, 10a, p. 49-50. 2. The Rabbis (wise men) are greater than the prophets. Baba Bathra, 12a, p.59. 3. The commands of the Rabbis are more important than the commands of the Bible. Whoever disobeys the Rabbis deserves death, and will be punished in Hell with boiling excrement. Erubin, 21b, p. 149-150. 4. Disobeying the Rabbis is conduct to be punished with death. Berakoth, 4b, p.13. 5. If one is being overcome by his evil impulse, he should go to a town where he is not known and commit his sin there, so that God will not be profaned. Moed Katan, 17a, p. 107. 6. God's activities during the day include studying the Law and playing with Leviathin. Abodah Zarah, 3b, p. 9. TALMUDIC INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE 7. Adam had sexual intercourse with all the animals in the Garden of Eden. Yebamoth, 63a, p. 420. 8. Zimri engaged Cozbi in sexual relations 424 times in one day, till she became like a water-filled ditch. Also, her womb was 1.5 feet wide. Sanhedrin, 82b, p. 547-548. 9. A man is not guilty of murder if he causes a poisonous snake to kill a man, the snake should be executed for murder, while the man goes free. Sanhedrin, 76b, p. 519. 10. If someone ties up his neighbor and he dies of starvation, or if he ties up a man in front of a lion who kills him, the man is not guilty of murder. Sanhedrin, 77a, p. 520. 11. If an Israelite intends to kill a Gentile but kills an Israelite instead, he is not guilty, even if he intended killing a particular Israelite but killed another, he is innocent. Sanhedrin, 79a, p. 530. 12.Circumcision made Abraham perfect, is the greatest of all commandments, and without it, the world would cease to exist. Nedarim, 32a, p. 96-98. 13. Israel was literally a land of milk and honey, with lakes and rivers of milk and honey. Kethuboth, 111b, p. 724. SALVATION 14. He who recites Psalm 145 three times a day will have eternal life. Pesahim, 113a, p. 582. 15. Living in the land of Israel gives one eternal life. Pesahim, 113a, p. 582. 16. Israel's sins were atoned for by the clothes of the priests. Zebahim, 88b, p. 419. THE GREATNESS OF ISRAEL 17. All Israelites are righteous, and will inherit eternal life. Sanhedrin, 11.1, p. 601. 18. Israelites do not need to have sacrifices for their sins, they only need to read about the sacrifices to achieve forgiveness. Megilliah, 31b, p. 191. 19. No Rabbi can ever go to Hell. Hagigah, 27a, p. 171. 20.Isaiah the prophet died because he called Israel "a people of unclean lips". Yebamoth, 49b, p. 324. 21. Israelites possess 90% of all wisdom. The other 10% is spread out among the Gentiles. Kiddushin, 49b, p. 248. 22.A gentile who strikes a Jew deserves death. Striking a Jew is in God's eyes an assault on the Divine Presence. Sanhedrin, 58b, p. 398. 23.Just as the world cannot exist without wind, so it cannot exist without Israel. Sanhedrin, 58b, p. 389. 24. All the blessings which Gentiles enjoy come to them only because of God's regard for Israel. Yebamoth, 63 a, p. 420. THE TALMUD'S VIEW OF GENTILES 25. All Gentile children are legally bastards, since Gentiles are only animals. Yebamoth, 98a, p. 670-671. 26.Gentile girls are in a state of uncleanness (niddah) from birth, and marriage with them is prohibited. Abodah Zarah, 36b, p. 176. 27.Wine touched by a Gentile renders it unfit for use by the Jews. Abodah Zarah, 72b, p. 348. 28. It is forbidden to teach Gentiles the Law. Hagigah, 13a, p. 75. 29. A Gentile who studies the Law deserves death. Sanhedrin, 59a, p. 400. 30. God is displeased when Jews show hospitality to Gentiles. Sanhedrin, 104a, p. 707. 31. It is forbidden to give a gift to a Gentile, but you can sell it to him. Abodah Zarah, 20a, p. 104. 32. A Gentile who observes a day of rest deserves death. Sanhedrin, 58b, p. 399. 33. If a Gentile robs a Jew, he must pay him back. But if a Jew robs a Gentile, the Jew may keep the loot. Likewise, if a Gentile kills a Jew, the Gentile is to be killed. But if a Jew kills a Gentile, the Jew is to go free. Sanhedrin, 57a, p. 388. 34. It is permissible to cheat a Gentile in court. Baba Kamma, 113a, p. 664. 35. A Gentile must pay wages to a Jew, but a Jew does not have to pay wages to a Gentile. Sanhedrin, 57a, p. 389. 36.Gentiles are outside the legal protection of the Law of Israel. God exposed their money to Israel. Baba Kamma, 38a, p. 213. 37. Adultery is not forbidden when it is committed by a minor, or with a minor's wife, or with the wife of a Gentile, because Moses only forbids adultery with a "neighbor's wife", and Gentiles are not neighbors. [Jesus attacks this rabbinic interpretation of "neighbor" in Luke 10:29-37.] Sanhedrin, 52b, p. 356. THE TALMUD AND WOMEN 38. The birth of a girl is a sad occurrence. Baba Bathra 16b, p. 83. 39. Women are a "vain treasure" to their fathers. Sanhedrin 110b, p. 681. 40.A Jewish male should thank God for not making him a woman or a Gentile. Menahoth, 43b, p. 264. 41. It is not good to talk to women, not even your own wife. Aboth, 1.5, p.4. 42.Scholars should not talk to women in the streets. [This is apparently the reason the disciples were surprised in John 4:27.] Berakoth, 43b, p. 266-267. 43. Women are lightheaded. Kiddushin, 80b, p. 413. 44. Walking behind a woman on the road is sinful. Erubin, 18b, p. 125. 45. Teaching a woman the Law is evil. Sotah, 20a. p. 101-102. 46.It is permissible to divorce your wife if she burns your dinner, or if you see a prettier girl. [Jesus opposes this in Matthew 19:3.] Gittin, 91a, p. 436-437. 47.A woman may be divorced if she uncovers her head in public, if she exposes her arms in public, or if she speaks aloud on sexual matters. Kethuboth, 72a, p. 448-449. SEXUAL MATTERS 48. It is permitted to have sexual intercourse with a girl three years and one day old. Sanhedrin, 55b, p. 376. [It is important to note that this evil doctrine, clearly disproved by Ezekiel 16:7-8, is quite popular with the Talmud. So that the reader may readily investigate further, we now list the passages in which sexual relations with 3 year olds is clearly permitted: Yebamoth, 12a, p. 62; Yebamoth, 57b, p.386; Yebamoth, 60b, p. 402-403; Abodah Zarah, 37a, p. 178-179; and Kethuboth, 39a, p.216.] 49.Intercourse with a married woman is not adultery as long as the male membrum is relaxed, intercourse with a dead woman is apparently permissible. Yebamoth, 55b, p. 371. 50. If a priest's wife is raped, the priest is no longer allowed to have sexual relations with her, on penalty of being whipped. Yebamoth, 56b, p. 379. 51.Though a priest may not marry a harlot (Lev. 21:7), he may marry a woman guilty of bestiality. Though the hire of a harlot may not be given to God, yet if the harlot is paid for bestiality, her money may be accepted. Yebamoth, 59b, p. 397. 52. A gentile may have unnatural sexual relations with the wife of another, without sin. Sanhedrin, 58b, p. 398. 53. If a man commits sodomy with a boy less than nine years old, they are not guilty of sodomy. Sanhedrin, 54b, 55a, p. 371. 54. Sexual intercourse with a boy less than eight years old is not fornication. Sanhedrin, 69b, p. 470. 55. Sexual intercourse with a girl less than three is "nothing". Kethuboth, 11b, p. 58. 56. Any unnatural sex act is allowable to a Jew with his wife. Nedarim, 20b, p. 58. 57. The frequency of the sex act depends upon one's occupation. Kethuboth, 61b, p. 369 THE TALMUD ON JESUS 58. Jesus was a bastard born of adultery. Yebamoth, 49b, p. 324. 59. Mary was a whore, Jesus (Balaam) was an evil man. Sanhedrin, 106a & b, p. 725. 60. Jesus was excommunicated by a Rabbi, Jesus worshiped a brick, Jesus was a magician and led Israel astray. Sotah, 47a, p 246-248. 61. Jesus was a magician and a fool. Mary was an adulteress. Shabbath, 104b, p. 504. 62. Jesus was guilty of sorcery and apostasy, he deserved execution. The disciples of Jesus deserved to be killed. Sanhedrin, 43a, p. 281-282. 63. Jesus was sent to Hell, where he is punished by boiling excrement for mocking the Rabbis. [The Rabbis must not have liked Matthew 23!] Gittin, 56b & 57a, p. 260-261. THE TALMUD AND CHRISTIANS 64. Jews should stay away from Christians. Abodah Zarah, 16b, p.85. 65. Christians are allied with Hell, and Christianity is worse than incest. Abodah Zarah, 17a, p. 86. 66. Going to prostitutes is the same as becoming a Christian. Abodah Zarah, 17a, p. 87. 67. Gentiles should not be cast into a pit, but Christians may be thrown into a pit and left there. Abodah Zarah, 26a, p. 131. 68. It is forbidden to be healed by a Christian. Abodah Zarah, 27b, p. 137. 69. Christians and those who scoff at the Rabbis will be sent to Hell forever. Rosh Hashanah, 17a, p. 64. 70. Those who read the Gospels are doomed to Hell. Sanhedrin, 90a, p. 601-602. 71. When Messiah comes, he will destroy the Christians. Sanhedrin, 99a, p. 668. 72. The Gospels are to be burned, the New Testament is like blank paper. One may under no circumstances go into the house of a Christian. Hatred of Christians is commanded by Psa 139:21. Shabbath, 116a, p. 569-570. 73. The Gospels are the falsehood of blank paper and the sin of blank paper. ----------------------------------------- THE ULTIMATE ENEMIES OF JESUS IF YOU READ the New Testament Words of Jesus, you will notice that the ultimate enemies of Jesus during His sojourn on earth were the Rabbis of Judaism, whose teachings He opposed constantly. These Rabbis (whom Christ called vipers, hypocrites, blind guides and whitewashed tombs) had obscured the true doctrines of the Old Testament, canceling many of the laws which God set up for Israel. For example, Moses said that anyone who committed adultery with his neighbor's wife should be executed, but the Rabbis, by defining "your neighbor" as "only your Jewish neighbor", ruled that adultery with a Gentile's wife wasn't adultery at all. They also ruled that sexual relations with three-year-old children was permissible, that Gentiles (that's everyone besides the Jews) aren't human, that followers of Christ could be killed, and that cursing parents is no sin unless the curse included the name of God. They also obscured the precious doctrine of salvation by faith, which is taught by the Old Testament and the New, and replaced it with salvation by works. What is the most important command of God according to the Talmud? Answer: getting circumcised. What would send you to Hell according to the Talmud? Answer: mocking the Rabbis. Defenders of Traditional Judaism get very defensive when Gentiles or Christians critically examine the Talmud. The slightest negative comment immediately draws vehement accusations of being "anti-Semitic". This catchword (“anti-Semitic”) has been so overworked lately that we view it as nearly meaningless. Nevertheless, so that no one may misunderstand, we will state our views. For the Christian, one's so-called "race" has no bearing on his standing with God. So our attack on the Talmud is NOT based on race. We Christians are followers of Jesus Christ our Lord, who was a Jew according to the flesh. We reject the claims of "racial Jews" to be "the chosen people of God", but this by no means makes us view their race as evil. It is not evil, it is irrelevant. Our criticisms of the Talmud are based upon the Holy Scriptures and reason—these two allies of Christianity are more than sufficient to overthrow the extravagant claims of Rabbinic Judaism. We would also like to state that we are in favor of NO persecution of any people who call themselves "Jewish", or any other people for that matter. We know many "Jews" who have no idea of what the Talmud really teaches, and who would surely be horrified at the racism and cruelty of the Rabbis. Some surveys among the Jews indicated that only about 15% of all Jews have even read anything from the Talmud. The fact is that only a small minority of them today profess allegiance to the commands of the Rabbis. We view this as a very good thing. Just because we repudiate the Talmud does not mean we hate the Jews. On the contrary, we hope most sincerely for the conversion of Jews, and think that showing kindness to them is an effective way to demonstrate our love towards them, and our obedience to Jesus. MORE ABOUT THE TALMUD AS I EXPLAINED, the Talmud is basically a collection of Oral Laws and commentary made up of traditions and teachings of the Jews which have been handed down from generation to generation. I want to emphasize the point that the Talmud is made up of TRADITIONS of men, not the truth of the Spirit of God. From the time of the Jews' captivity in Babylon unto the common law era of Jesus's day, the traditions of the Jews had gained so much momentum and so much popularity that they became THE LAW according to the Jews. Once again I would say that the Talmud is NOT God's Law, it is the law of the Rabbis and the ultra-conservative Traditional Jews. And still to this day many Jews use the Talmud. They teach it in their schools. And if you were to read the Talmud you would see how much the Jews hate Christianity. People often ask me if I am a hater of the Jews. Let me turn that around and ask the question: Are the Jews haters of Christianity? That's the real issue. It's not important whether or not I hate the Jews, but do the Jews hate Christians, and do they hate Christ? The answer is YES on both counts, and proof can be found in the teachings of the Talmud. You can't help but see how much they hate Christ and Christianity as well as hate women. Read the Talmud and you will see that’s true. The reason we are spending so much time explaining the Talmud is because it is essential to understand how important these teachings were to the Jews at the time of Christ, and how they were always trying to creep in and infiltrate the young Church with their perverted doctrines of demons. Paul knew the Jewish traditions, he knew Jewish law and he was very diligent about trying to root out and expose the false doctrines that were being pushed on the new Christians by the Judaizers. As we study we will find that the whole concept of women having to remain silent in the Church and having no part of the ministry is rooted in the traditions now contained in the Talmud, not the teachings of Jesus. This is the essence, this is the heart of the message. I would like to read a quote from an ancient Jewish scholar. He stated that "Women were excluded from the synagogues, not only from teaching but also from learning.” So, we see that according to the customs of the Rabbis handed down in their traditions, the women were not allowed in the synagogues or in the temples at all. This was not determined by God's law but by Jewish traditions that had been made into laws. Now there is also Dr. Leonard Swidler, and he's written a book called Women in Judaism. Dr Swidler explores the status of women in Israel from the formative stages of Judaism through the common era of today. He has dissected this subject and reveals the true status of women in Judaism. And the status of the woman is just as I said—she's regarded as a second-class citizen. She's not permitted to speak in public and she's not permitted to have anything to say about the laws. She's not permitted to study or to be taught. Therefore she has no education, which effectively bars her from participating in the important activities of society. Of course today we see many liberal Jewish women who have rebelled against this type of oppression and are quite active in politics, business and other areas, yet during the New Testament times, which is the period we are studying, the strict Talmudic code (then unwritten) was still the governing law of the Jews. “The whole concept of women having to remain silent in the Church and having no part of the ministry is rooted in the traditions now contained in the Talmud, not the teachings of Jesus.” What is sad is that so many cultures have been affected by these twisted Jewish traditions, which are actually rooted back into what happened when Adam sinned in the Garden. In fact, there are entire Christian denominations and churches that oppress their women terribly because they have a wrong understanding of what Paul was saying (or rather quoting from the Jewish traditions). They have incorporated Jewish traditions into their beliefs without even realizing it, and this is exactly what we are trying to break through in these messages. [Note that we do advocate a woman’s “right” to fulfill her callings in God, and if so called, to be part of the ministry; but we do NOT advocate feminism, the spirit of rebellion, nor that all women or unrepentant women should be directly part of the ministry, which is a HOLY calling for those called and must NOT be mingled with sin and sinful ways.] Have you ever wondered where the heathen tribes even came up with the idea that women are lesser when they don't even know about Judaism? They don't know about the Talmud. They don't even know about God or Jesus Christ. Why do they oppress their women? Even in this modern world in which we live, you can go to many different nations that don't even profess Christ and you'll find that the women are basically the underdogs and second-class citizens, and they are taught to toil in the fields and do all the work while the men sit around and do nothing in most cases. It’s because of SIN. And the point I'm making is that if it happens in this day and age in which we live, how much more terrible was it during the dark ages of centuries past, before we were enlightened at all about the role of women in the ministry? And the whole ugly mess is because of SIN. It's all because of ADAM and his rebellion against God. JESUS ATTACKS THE TRADITIONS OF MEN WE ARE GOING to be dealing in this message with traditions. I want you to open your Bible to Matthew 15:3. Now, as I’ve said and I will repeat it, the reason why we've got to go back and study traditions is because we've got to understand where this teaching that women must remain silent in the Church came from. It didn't come from God, it came straight from Jewish traditions. Matthew 15 verse 1 says, “Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees which were of Jerusalem saying [notice scribes and Pharisees—Traditional Jews], Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders?" The elders they are talking about are the Jewish elders. "For they wash not their hands when they eat bread. But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition?" We're dealing with TRADITIONS. The scribes and Pharisees wanted to know why the disciples transgressed the tradition of the elders, and Jesus turned around and asked them why they were transgressing the commandments of God by their traditions. Obviously there was a contradiction here. There was friction between Jesus and the religious establishment from the very beginning. There were two sides to the story, and Jesus didn't just take what they had to say: He backed them down with their own argument. You can find the same confrontation over in Mark chapter 7 verse 3. And if you'll go through your New Testament, you'll find that Jesus was always rebuking them for their traditions. What traditions was He talking about? It obviously was not the Law of Moses. Jesus had no problem with the Law of Moses as recorded in the Old Testament. By definition, the Mosaic Law was not tradition, it was given by God. The problem was that the Jewish scribes and Pharisees made the claim that Moses, under the guidance and inspiration of God, gave out the collection of laws called the Oral Law along with the true Mosaic Law as recorded in the Old Testament. NO! The Oral Law, now contained in the Talmud, was nothing but a demonic counterfeit created by religious demons and which was passed down through generations in order to confuse and destroy God's people. The Jews misrepresented the Scriptures in their day, adding their own traditions, much like the Catholic Church has done and like many denominations do today. That's why I'm on this study, to clarify the issue and get rid of the traditions of men. “There was friction between Jesus and the religious establishment from the very beginning. ...And if you'll go through your New Testament, you'll find that Jesus was always rebuking them for their traditions.” We are still dealing with these traditions today. Many of them have been passed on down to us in the Body of Christ, and they are nothing but deceitful traditions of men. God never said a woman couldn't speak in Church. God never said a woman couldn't pray or prophesy or have a position or teach or preach. God never said those things, man did. Jewish tradition has said these things, and unfortunately they have been misinterpreted as coming from God and passed down as truth. Many people, both Christians and non-Christians, are aware that the Jews have been pushing their beliefs off on the whole world for decades. Because of what happened to the Jews in World War II, they have played up their tragedy to the point that if anyone says anything criticizing about the Jews, such a one is immediately labeled as an “anti-Semitic Nazi hate-messenger” who should be executed as a criminal. Nevertheless, it is important that we have a clear idea of what the Jew's sacred writings have to say. Therefore I'm going to cite for you some more things out of their Talmud. WHO SINNED, ADAM OR EVE? AS WE HAVE already said, the Talmud contains a collection of discussions, decisions, sayings and interpretations by many early scribes and Rabbis of the original Oral Law, the Mishnah. To the Jews, these laws and teachings had already become Law by the time the early Church was forming under the leadership of the Apostles. One tradition we have studied is how the Talmud teaches that Eve caused Adam to sin, therefore man deserves to rule over woman and keep her in submission so she doesn't cause any more trouble. The idea is that all women deserve to be punished because of what happened in the Garden, and that the men are supposed to make sure the women stay in their places. Is that what the Bible really teaches? NO! The Bible doesn't even hint at that. In fact, it says in Romans chapter 5 that Adam was the one that sinned, not Eve. Eve was ignorant. She was deceived, but Adam knew what he was doing and he totally disobeyed God's law and commandment. He is the one who brought the entire human race down into sin and death, not Eve. But the Jews twist it around so it looks like the woman did it. They have created the premise that woman deceived man, therefore man is going to rule over her and get revenge. They teach that women are worth nothing more than to be a mat under man's feet, and so far that's just about the way it's been. In Judaism especially, as well as many other religions, we find a lot of customs which are based on the premise that women are responsible for sin and should be punished forever because of it. Thank God for Jesus who has given us the TRUTH, enabling us to be free of these demonic bondages! Generally speaking, we find that women are regarded as lesser on a worldwide basis, and this belief is a direct result of sin. Another misconception which we have been taught is that God cursed Adam and Eve. God did not curse Adam and Eve. He cursed the ground and He cursed the serpent, but He did not curse Adam and Eve. He told them outright that if they disobeyed they would die. God didn't curse them, yet because of their disobedience they automatically took on the curse of death. It's like if I told my son, "Don't stick your finger in that electrical socket because if you do, you will be electrocuted." Now, if he was to go and stick his finger in the socket and electrocute himself, it would not be my fault. No, he disobeyed what I told him and he got electrocuted as a result. His death would have been a result of his disobedience to what I had told him. CONFUSION OVER THE CURSE MANY CHRISTIANS HAVE been under the assumption that God cursed Eve and since God cursed Eve, that all these evils have befallen her. And one of the curses was that man was going to rule over her, and her desire was going to be towards the man. This whole concept is loaded with sexual overtones, implying that whatever the man wants, that is what he is going to get, and the woman has to submit. How many have heard that? Well, I'm here to tell you there is no truth to that whatsoever. I'm not saying that this kind of situation has not happened, it has because of sin, but God never cursed Adam and Eve in that manner. They were cursed automatically when they disobeyed God. On the other hand, God does have distinctions between the male and female sexes and their roles in life. But God hasn't held a grudge against women for all these centuries because she supposedly deceived Adam. The doctrine that God blames the woman for all the problems of mankind comes from the Jewish Oral Law and traditions, and the stupid Christians have taken it and used it against their women to keep them beat down and in submission. Think about how God cursed the ground for Adam's sake, not for Eve's sake, but for Adam's sake. Isn't it strange that when you go into a lot of third-world countries that you see the women toiling and working hard in the fields, while the men sit back and talk, letting the women do most of the work! By rights, it should be the men out working and sweating while the women stay home and raise the children. But it's not so! Many times you'll find the women out in the fields doing all the hard work, and having to raise the children at the same time, and cooking, cleaning and doing everything else, while the men sit back and talk. I want to go now to John chapter 8, and I'm going to show you another point here about Jewish traditions. I want to show you how the scribes and Pharisees were so indoctrinated with the Oral Law and traditions that they took them as absolutely factual and regarded them on the same level as the Law of Moses, not even realizing the difference. Reading in verse 1 of John Chapter 8, it begins, “Jesus went unto the mount of Olives. And early in the morning he came again into the temple, and all the people came unto him; and he sat down and taught them. And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst, they said unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned; but what sayest thou?” (vv. 1-5). At this point they were going back to Moses as their support for this whole accusation. It goes on saying, "This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not." (v. 6). We've got a funny thing going on here. A woman was brought to Jesus by the scribes and Pharisees in order to trap Him in His words so that they could accuse Him. They thought He was going to change everything around. The Jews were referring back to the Old Law which said that if a man and a woman were caught in adultery, both of them should be stoned. That was the Law of Moses which you can read about in Leviticus 20:10. Isn't it funny that the scribes and Pharisees only brought the woman and not the man?! Have you ever thought about that? Why didn't they bring the man? It says they were caught in adultery, in the very act, and the Law of Moses said that both of them must be stoned to death. Nevertheless, they only brought the woman so that she could be stoned. Notice the hatred towards the woman. If they were caught in the very act then they knew who the man was also, yet because of their hatred for women they discriminated by allowing the man to get off. If the truth was known she was probably caught in adultery with a Rabbi. I've got a feeling that when Jesus stooped down, what He wrote in the sand was the text in Leviticus 20:10. That was the text which the Pharisees were referring to. By only bringing the woman to Jesus they were actually saying that only the woman was guilty and deserved to die, not the man. I wanted to mention this point to show you how the Jews had twisted things around and made the Law of God conform to their traditions. TALMUDIC OPPRESSION OF WOMEN IF YOU GO back and study the religious traditions of the Jews that are based on what we now see in the Talmud, you'll find, as we have shown, many attitudes and beliefs that are terribly oppressive to women. One notable example is that men were able to divorce their wives but the wives could never divorce their husbands. You will also find that the men could speak in public but the women could never speak in public. Women were never allowed to testify and they could never do business—it was always and only the men. If you want to read a nasty book, read the Talmud, and you'll find the most vile things said about Jesus Christ. It says that He was an adulterer, that he was a masturbator and that He was a filthy man. You can find a lot of shocking things said about the Messiah, Jesus Christ our Lord. I hope that these references in the Talmud have helped you to understand where the oppressive attitude towards women came from in I Corinthians chapter 14. It surely didn't come from God. Remember, we are dealing with the teachings and traditions of the Rabbis which were considered the Law of the land in Israel. The great deception that has invaded the minds of so many Christians is that they believe Paul was supporting and endorsing this oppression of women when in reality he was doing just the opposite! Paul was refuting the influence of the Judaizers who were trying to gain entrance into the young Church and bring the Church back into bondage to Jewish Law, particularly the traditions of men. In Paul, God had selected the perfect man for the job, he being a former Pharisee, Paul knew all about their tricks and was able to back them down time and time again. “The doctrine that God blames the woman for all the problems of mankind comes from the Jewish Oral Law and traditions, and the stupid Christians have taken it and used it against their women to keep them beat down and in submission.” Let's get it straight: Paul was not saying that women are bound to remain silent in the congregation in I Corinthians 14. In fact, HE WAS ACTUALLY REFUTING THIS RIDICULOUS TRADITION, which is made obvious by his statement, "as also saith the law." This point deserves an entire study in itself, and we have examined it somewhat in depth already. Please read the former messages (1-6) if you are interested in getting a more detailed study about the structure of 1 Corinthians 14 and what Paul was actually saying. FOUR QUALITIES OF A WOMAN NOW, GOING BACK to the Rabbis, the leaders, and the Talmud, there are four things here that they list as qualities of a woman: 1) They are all greedy at their food. 2) They are eager to gossip. 3) They are lazy. 4) They are jealous. And the Palestinian Talmud continually says that Eve is to blame for bringing death upon Adam. In other words, throughout the entire Talmud, one of the major foundational teachings is that woman is evil and caused man to sin, and therefore she must be ruled over by man. Now, once again, this should help you to understand what Jesus and Paul were up against in dealing with the scribes and Pharisees about their traditions! Again, I want to repeat that in I Corinthians 14:34 when Paul referred to "as also saith the law", he was referring to the Jewish Oral Law, and I CHALLENGE YOU TO FIND ONE LAW OR ORDINANCE GIVEN UNDER MOSES, OR ANYWHERE ELSE IN THE BIBLE, THAT SAYS MAN IS TO RULE OVER WOMAN AND THAT WOMEN ARE TO KEEP THEIR MOUTHS SHUT IN THE ASSEMBLY. Don't waste your time, you won't find one! You'll have to go to the traditions of men like the Talmud, to find such nonsense. Let us not forget that in these messages we are dealing with the Body of Jesus Christ, or the Ekklesia. We're not dealing with the Jewish Temple and synagogues of the Old Order. We're dealing with the New Order, because Paul was dealing with the believers at Corinth. As we begin to get a clearer understanding of what was actually happening, we find that a whole New Order had been set in. When Jesus died, the Temple veil was rent from the top to the bottom and the Old Order of the Temple and animal sacrifices was gone forever. Jesus had become the perfect sacrifice for the sins of the entire human race. As the number of new Christians continued to increase, Ekklesias began to spring up and spread all around the Mediterranean, all the way to Rome. Eventually, what began to happen was that certain men, commonly known as Judaizers, would try to influence and deceive the new converts, such as the ones in Corinth, into re-instituting manmade additional parts of the Old Order based on the Jewish Oral Law, into the New Order that Jesus had established. These Judaizers or "Jewish Christians" (i.e., those who were not letting go of the Old Order) were constantly causing trouble and it was Paul's job to see that they didn't succeed in leading new converts away from the simplicity that is in Jesus and take them back into the bondage of the Jewish Law and traditions. THE TRUTH WILL SET YOU FREE! JESUS NEVER INSTITUTED the rule that women were to remain silent in the congregation, and neither did God the Father. As I keep saying, the Jewish Rabbis were the ones responsible for this cruel and hateful attitude towards women, and they were trying to get the new Christians to swallow it as well. They were trying to convince the Christians to accept the Jewish traditions of men and mix them with the true Gospel. Unfortunately, the way the King James version was translated from the Greek has made it appear to the casual reader that Paul was endorsing the silencing of women, which upon closer examination of the passages in question is shown to be not the case at all. Nevertheless, because of the confusion, you have multitudes of Christians who have never bothered to study this subject in detail and therefore have been deceived into believing that women are to remain silent in the congregation and can have no part in the ministry. If you are one of these Christians, you need to seriously pray and seek God about this subject. It is not right to treat women as inferior, second-class citizens. Paul tells us that there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, MALE NOR FEMALE in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:28). THE MISHNAH, TALMUD, MIDRASH & TARGUMS — The following information has been adapted from its original source. — Mishnah MISHNAH: Literally “repeated study.” The Mishnah is the oldest post biblical collection and codification of the Jewish Oral Laws, systematically complied by numerous authors over a period of two centuries. The Mishnah was completed around AD 200 by Rabbi Judah and represents various oral traditions that had been preserved since the time of Ezra, 450 B.C. It is made up of six Orders, called Sedarim, and 63 tractates. Talmud THE word Talmud means “study or learning” and is a commentary on the Mishnah. The Talmud contains quotes from the Mishnah with commentary called Gemara. When the Mishnah was combined with these commentaries, they were given the name Talmud. The Talmud Bavi (Babylonian Talmud) was written from the years AD 200-400 and was taken from oral and written materials from the time of Ezra. It comments on the whole Mishnah while the Talmud Yerushalemi (Palestinian or Jerusalem Talmud), on which work ended in AD 500, comments mainly on the first four orders of the Mishnah. Authorities agree that it was never completed. In 1631 the Talmud was edited to remove many of the references to Jesus of Nazareth because there were many derogatory references to Jesus, and the Church used these to justify persecution of the Jews. Midrash THESE are running commentaries on the Tanakh (the Jewish Old Testament) which date from as early as AD 100-200 and as late as AD 1600. The Midrash is divided as follows: Halakah Midrashim comments mainly on the books Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. Mekhilta Mekhlita de Rabbi Shim’on ben Yohai Sifra, Sifre, Sifre zuta. Haggadah Midrashim expounds on the non-legal parts of Scripture. Midrash rabba 5th century Tanhuma 4th century Pesiqta de Rabbi Kahana Pesiqta rabbati Avat de Rabbi Natan Tanna deve Eliyyahu Pirqe de Rabbi Eliezer Yakult Shimoni 13th century Yakult ha-makhiri 14th century Yakult ‘En Ya’aqov 16th century Targums These are perhaps the oldest known commentaries on the Tanakh. The Targums are Aramaic translations of the original Hebrew Tanakh with the addition of rabbinical commentary on the text just translated. They were written between about 200 B.C. - AD 200. The oldest extant manuscript of Targum material is the Targum Onkelos from the third century AD. ------------------------------------