Valuing women in the church
Equality before God
So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptised into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. Galatians 3:26-27
It is clear in the Scriptures that women have the same status as men before God, as members of God’s family by baptism (Galatians 3:25-29; 1 Peter 3:7). They are coheirs with Christ as God’s Son, sharing in a common inheritance as the Father’s dearly loved children.
In worship, women receive the same Spirit (Acts 1:14; 2:1-4). Unlike the men-only synagogue, Jesus makes it clear that women may be disciples/students of the Word (Luke 8:1-3; Acts 1:14; 1 Timothy 2:11. See also the story of Mary and Martha in Luke 10:38-42).
Men and women have the same vocation of intercession for others together with Jesus (1 Timothy 2:1-10). In Acts 1:14 after Jesus’ ascension, the apostles “joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.” Polycarp described widows as ‘God’s altar’ in his letter to the Philippians for offering themselves and others in prayer to God.
Women are given many gifts, spiritual and practical, in common with men, to be used to the glory of God. This may include prophesying (Acts 21:8-9, 1 Corinthians 11:5), the wise use of wealth (like Phoebe in Romans 16:1-2 and Nympha in Colossians 4:15, who were patrons of house churches), showing hospitality and witnessing to others about Jesus (John 4:9-42; 20:18).
God’s order for his church
Our God is a God of order. In His wisdom, he has instituted the order between male and female, where the genders have equal value but different and complementary roles in families and in the church.
Male headship in marriage and in the church is a direct reflection of God’s relationship with the church. In 1 Corinthians 11:2-16, Paul compares the ordering of male and female with the relationship between the head and the body, as a reflection of God and Christ, and of Christ and his Church. The interdependence of husband and wife, as well as of Christ and the church, is seen in the giving and receiving, teaching and being taught for the revelation of God’s glory.
Thus, the ministry of the Word – proclaiming and teaching God's Word in worship – is reserved for men (1 Timothy 2:11-14, 1 Corinthians 14:33b-38), reflecting the divinely instituted order for the work of Jesus in congregational worship. As Paul explains in 1 Corinthians 14:40: ‘Let everything be done appropriately and in order’:
speaking and hearing,
giving and receiving,
teaching and learning.
In Ephesians 5:25-27 and Revelation 21:9-11, Christ is seen as the bridegroom presenting the church to the Father and the world as his holy royal bride. The relationship is one of love and respect. In this way headship is about spiritual authority rather than spiritual power.
Just a Christ leads and protects the church, the husband is responsible for caring for and protecting his wife. Just as the wife grows their children in her body and nurtures them to maturity, the church is the place where new Christians are brought into being, cared for and grown to spiritual maturity.
Vocations of women
Women have specific vocations as daughters and sisters, wives and mothers in their families. All people are called to minister to their families, teaching them and building them up in faith and love toward one another, and women of all ages do this in their family roles.
Women are also called to be spiritual foster mothers and sisters in the church (Mark 10:29-30; 1 Timothy 5:1-2; James 2:15), coming alongside those who need diakonia (service and support), nurture, practical instruction and hospitality (Romans 16:13; Titus 2:2-5, 1 Timothy 5:3-10). Paul lists several women who he valued highly as workers alongside him or who helped plant churches in their homes or communities (Romans 16:1, Philemon 2).
No matter a woman’s age, she is valuable and called to serve in various ways. Older women and widows are to be mentors to younger women (Titus 2: 3-5, I Timothy 5:5). Widows have a special place of honour, and the early church had a congregational order of widows, with terms for enrolment and practical qualifications (1 Timothy 5, Philippians 4:3).
Beginning with the four women who accompanied Jesus and provided for him and the twelve apostles (Luke 8:1-3), the church has recognised deaconesses, women who serve alongside men in a variety of ways. This could include women who act as caregivers with acts of mercy for people in need, such as Dorcas in Acts 9:36 and the widows in 1 Timothy 5:9-10.
Through church history, including in the Lutheran church in the last century, the role of deaconess has come to refer to a theologically trained woman who has a clear vocation to serve alongside the pastor. Deaconesses may serve in a wide variety of roles, including teaching of children and women, providing pastoral care (meeting the spiritual and practical needs of others), music ministry, working with the elderly and the dying, and much more.
The Bible has many examples of women serving God in a variety of ways. Some of these vocations and giftings are the same as those of men, while others are different but complementary. This is part of God’s plan for humanity, and especially for his church.
Nevertheless, in the Lord woman is not independent of man, nor is man independent of woman. For as woman came from man, so also man is born of woman. But everything comes from God. 1 Corinthians 11:11-12
(based on teaching notes from Dr John Kleinig)