Women in the Life of Jesus: Women and Ephesians 4

I hope if you have made it this far with me, that you have enjoyed my series, Women in the Life of Jesus.  It was a lot of fun to write, and I learned so much along the way. Women are valuable to God, and He takes great delight in us.  We are not inferior to men, but equal in humanity and in the call He has on our lives.  That is so important to know in the age of the Church.

The Lord spoke to me earlier this year and told me that the reason there are people in opposition to women in leadership in the Church, is that they don’t understand Kingdom dynamics.  We are not called to Lord it over individuals but to serve.

But Jesus called them to Himself and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them.  Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant.  And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all.  For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”-Mark 10:42-45

All women have been given gifts in the Body of Christ.  Some of them are called to the list in Ephesians 4. If you will see my post about Mary the Evangelist, I explain more about this passage there.

And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers,  for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, -Ephesians 4:11-12

Examples of women from the Bible who possibly walked in the ministry gifts in Ephesians 4 include:

Apostle-Junia (Romans 16)

Prophet-Deborah (Judges 4), Anna (Luke 2), Phillip's daughters (Acts 21)

Pastor (Shepherd)-Lydia (Acts 16), Priscilla (Romans 16)

Teacher-Priscilla (Acts 18)

Evangelist-The Samaritan Woman (John 4), Mary Magdalene (Mark 16)

This is a short list. There are many other women listed in the Scriptures, and down through Church history that served this way. If you find these women in Scripture, you find them in the Body of Christ today.  All of these woman are a picture of how other women are supposed to be functioning in the Church.

Jesus loves women. We see Him teaching women great spiritual truths throughout the Gospels. We see them functioning and active in the Early Church. And we should see them ministering to others in whatever way the Lord has gifted them today.

I believe there are lots of women out there who, though they may not have a job in a physical church building, you may not see yourself doing anything for the Body of Christ.  That is not true. The Body of Christ is not in a building.  It is in the people who come in the building. Jesus lives within you. Much of the ministry that took place within the Early Church as found in the book of Acts happened outside of a building. I am not saying that it is not important for Believers to meet together because it is. Connection to the Church encourages and strengthens us.  But you carry the Kingdom of God wherever you go.  He has placed you where you are now with purpose and given you gift of the Holy Spirit and ministry gifts to carry out His plans for your life, to tell others are about Jesus and to call other people into the Kingdom of God.  Just keep stepping forward and get to know Him and all that He has done for you. Then you will be able to lead many others to Him.

Recently, I wanted to look up some information about women in the book of Romans, so I pulled this book off my shelf called, "What the Bible is All About" by a woman named Henrietta Mears. This is a very well known book, and I highly recommend it for your Bible study. It contains a short synopsis of each book of the Bible along with some other information about Biblical history for your study.

As I was flipping through the pages I came to the section on Judges, and my eyes fell on this, a commentary by Ms. Mears about the prophetess Deborah. It was so cool that I had to share. It reads,

"Now a prophetess arises in Israel (Judges 4:4) She was one of those rare women whose heart burns with enthusiasm when people's hearts are despondent. Many a queen, like England's Elizabeth II, has reigned with honor and wisdom, and often a woman's voice has struck a deep note that has roused nations." (page 113, "What the Bible is All About")

Isn't that an amazing tribute? There are many woman in the Bible whose voice has changed circumstances and turned the tide of events for people. There are many countless women throughout Church history whom this could also be said about. And God is still raising up women for this purpose today!

Many blessings to you as you grow in grace, peace, and love in Him,

Beth

To read more posts in this series, go here to Women in the Life of Jesus. 

Women in the Life of Jesus: Women at the Resurrection/Mary the Evangelist

Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb.  Then she ran and came to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him.”

Peter therefore went out, and the other disciple, and were going to the tomb.  So they both ran together, and the other disciple outran Peter and came to the tomb first.  And he, stooping down and looking in, saw the linen cloths lying there; yet he did not go in.  Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb; and he saw the linen cloths lying there,  and the handkerchief that had been around His head, not lying with the linen cloths, but folded together in a place by itself.  Then the other disciple, who came to the tomb first, went in also; and he saw and believed.  For as yet they did not know the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead.  Then the disciples went away again to their own homes.

But Mary stood outside by the tomb weeping, and as she wept she stooped down and looked into the tomb.  And she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain.  Then they said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?”

She said to them, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.”

Now when she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus.  Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?”

She, supposing Him to be the gardener, said to Him, “Sir, if You have carried Him away, tell me where You have laid Him, and I will take Him away.”

Jesus said to her, “Mary!”

She turned and said to Him, “Rabboni!” (which is to say, Teacher).

Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.’”

Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that He had spoken these things to her.-John 20:1-18 (NKJV)

There was a flurry of activity amongst the disciples on the day of Jesus’ resurrection!  As I was reading, I noticed that each account by all four Gospel writers gives different details.  There was lots of running back and forth it seemed like, with the women and the men.  It was like putting a puzzle together, but way more fun.  If you want to read all four accounts you can go to Matthew 28, Mark 16, Luke 24, and John 20.  

Apparently there were many women there that day.  Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joses, Salome who is the mother of James and John, Joanna, and the other women (as told to us by Luke.)  They had all come bringing spices to anoint Jesus’ body. Now, why would they do that?  Because they all still thought He was dead.

Even though Jesus had told His disciples repeatedly He would rise from the dead, apparently nobody believed Him.  After the women see the empty tomb, and hear the angel’s message, they go and tell the men.  But they think they are speaking “nonsense.”  Human frailty was on display that day, but nevertheless Jesus was still bringing comfort, truth, and encouragement to them all.

The first person Jesus appeared to was Mary Magdalene, so I want to spend a little time talking about her.  She actually gets to have a conversation with Him.  And He gives her a message.  

Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.-John 20:17 (NKJV)

 Some have said that Mary Magdalene was an evangelist. The Greek word for evangelist means “bearer of good tidings.”  The Bible doesn’t refer to her as an evangelist, but it seems to me on that day she qualifies.  She was the first female to share the good news of the resurrection of Jesus.  She gets to tell the apostles that Jesus is alive and He is ascending to God.  

In Ephesians 4, there is a list of ministry gifts, but there is also a mention of His ascension as well.

But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift.  Therefore He says:

“When He ascended on high,

He led captivity captive,

And gave gifts to men.”

(Now this, “He ascended”—what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth?  He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.)

And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, -Ephesians 4:7-12

According to Strong's Concordance, the Greek word for "men"  in Ephesians 4:8, And gave gifts to men, is the word "anthrōpos."  It means "man, human, mankind."

HELPS-Word Studies says "anthrōpos " relates to both genders (male and female) as both are created in the image of God – each equally vested with individual personhood and destiny.

In Great Truths to Live By, Kenneth Wuest explains, "There are two words in the Greek which mean man, anēr, which refers to a male individual of the human race, and anthrōpos, which is the racial generic term, and which has the general, generic idea of mankind.

The Lord has given these ministry gifts to women as well as men.  There is no distinction in this passage of scripture about whether men or women gets specific gifts.  It just says that the Lord gave “some.”  Just like the Lord privileged Mary Magdalene that day by giving her the opportunity to serve Him with that message, so He gives other women the same opportunity.  The ministry gifts listed in this passage are for serving.  We are all called to service in some way.

 Many blessings to you as you grow in the knowledge of Him,

Beth

To read more posts in this series, go here to Women in the Life of Jesus. 

For the Work of the Ministry

And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;

For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:

-Ephesians 4:11-12 (KJV)

Every time I read or hear this passage of scripture, I think about when I worked at Ryan’s Steakhouse. I was in my early twenties, and in college. Waiting tables was fun for me because I got to do something I enjoy the most, talking. I talked to people all day!

After I had been there a while, they made me a lead or head waitress. That meant I trained new wait staff when they came in. There was a format for how they did things in that restaurant, as I am sure there is in every restaurant. Our main function was service. We were there to serve and wait on the people, meeting their needs as they partook of a meal.

The same is true with the Kingdom of God. Service is what we do.

Jesus said,

For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others, and to give His life as a ransom for many.

-Matthew 20:28 NLT 

As Believers, we are called to serve as well.

It seems to me that the office of the apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, and teacher is much like my position was as the lead waitress. When new people become part of the staff, I train them to serve. When new Believers become part of the Kingdom, those ministry gifts also train people and develop them in some way to serve. Those ministry gifts have different responsibilities. But, no matter how you look at it, we are all serving.

The beginning of the verse says that those five ministry gifts are for the perfecting of the saints. When I trained my staff, I had to make sure they did things the proper way. I had been there longer. I knew my way around, so I knew what to teach them and how.

The verse goes on to say, “for the work of the ministry.” Ministry is service. If you look up the word in the Greek, it is the word “diakonia.” One of the definition of that word literally means, “waiting at a table.”

Notice also that Jesus is the one who gives the gifts. We don’t get to decide which one we are. A few verses above this passage, it says “grace was given to each one us.” (Ephesians 4:7 HCSB) So, everybody in the Body of Christ has a gift to serve. Everyone has a place to fit.

Toward the end of this passage, it says that the work of the ministry is for the edifying of the Body of Christ. The word edify means to “build up.” So, when we are all ministering, we are building the rest of the body up. We are making it better than it was before. That means we are not tearing it down.


One final thought. When I was training wait staff, I was still waiting on tables too. I was still meeting the needs of the people. I didn’t just train people and then leave them to wait the tables. We all worked together to make sure the restaurant was functioning smoothly and that the people were served.


Many blessings to you as you take your place,

Beth




To read more about serving in the Kingdom, check out my friend Heather's post, The Kingdom of God is Like an Applebees.