Women Elders

The Lord wanted me to show you some things. These truths have been tested by fire:

- In Paul's day, there were not many women elders to speak of, but as part of society it only meant women were not yet ready, or perhaps they were ready, but society of the day was not yet ready. To give credence to this fact, consider 1 Tim. 6: "Christians who are slaves should give their masters full respect so that the name of God and his teaching will not be shamed. If your master is a Christian, that is no excuse for being disrespectful. You should work all the harder because you are helping another believer by your efforts" (v.1,2). Though slavery is wrong, it was not yet ready for change, because society still functioned in that mode for centuries later. Similarly, women were treated a certain way in those days, and society was not yet ready for radical change. But what has happened in the past century alone? Women can vote and take on every level of administration including mayors of cities. One thing is sure, before the return of Christ, women will be prominently elders of localities and meeting places. Christ will not return until women are prominent in the administration of the church equal with men. God is no respecter of persons (Acts 10.34). So why not encourage women instead of holding them back?

- In defense of a spiritual Christian and to show how culture does have its impact, take for example Watchman Nee's culture in his region of the world in the 20th century and the culture in the first century which were male-centric, so naturally Nee did not see women elders which agreed with the culture of his day many decades ago in his far off country. His conclusion that women could not be elders is deemed acceptable for his day because women did not have much say in that society and there were no notable women elders to speak of in his day (though, he did admit there were women apostles in the Bible). However, today, there is no excuse for someone saying women can not be elders. Many men can not repent of this.

- Watchman Nee points out I think it was in Church and the Work that Junia was an Apostle and a highly respected one too. However, in Nee's day in his society, women had few rights like women had few rights in the first century, so obviously it would not be appropriate to have many women elders over many Biblical localities, until the time came in God's ordering. Priscilla may have been an Elder of her locality, if not, then an Apostle, "When Priscilla and Aquila heard him preaching boldly in the synagogue, they took him aside and explained the way of God more accurately" (Acts 18.26). This is very characteristic of an Apostle. 

- What we can say for certain is that Priscilla was an Elder of a meeting place: "The churches of Asia salute you. Aquila and Priscilla salute you much in the Lord, with the church that is in their house" (1 Cor. 16.19). But, upon closer examination we can also, now, be sure Priscilla was an Elder of her church locality, because the first portion says, "the churches of Asia," in which Priscilla was an Elder of one of these churches in Asia. Hence, what follows is a most notable Elder, "Priscilla salutes you" and she had helped Apollos showing she had authority and was a gift for the Church in the Work. Formerly she could have been a "helper" (Rom. 16.3), but then becomes an Elder of a locality, and perhaps one day she became an Apostle for a region of churches.
- The church would be very dull in our day if it was male-centric as was in the RCC system, the great harlot or religious Rome, still today.
- Some of those closest to Christ were women. The 144,000 firstfruits virgins fulfill roles of authority, for they are closest to Christ, who can be either male or female. See pp. 153-157, "Come, Lord Jesus", by Watchman Nee (CFP white covers).
- There is a woman apostle, Junia in Rom. 16.7 then there are women elders (though none in the Bible because of the culture of the day). You can't have women apostles yet no women elders, for an apostle is higher than an elder. Even so, God treated the culture of that day according to what they could spiritually handle. God never works impatiently. He waited 1900 years before women could even vote.
- Apostles are appointed by God directly; whereas, elders are also appointed by God, but also by an apostle (there must be this order which is perfect harmony in obedience and submission). Since women have the indwelling Holy Spirit also, they too can be commissioned by God to be apostles, and be appointed by apostles.
- The Bible is very plain about women's emotion being a problem, but Jesus never said women can't be apostles or elders. 
- These past 2000 years, progress has been made on the woman issue: some women can be elders, and more can be apostles today than before.
- If it is true in the world that women are receiving more equal rights, and it is good, why would God stay behind the times for the Church? Rather it is males who are still living in the past who rejects women apostles and women elders. It is a fact that more women elders in the Church have caused more equal rights for women in society because in the Church we are the leading conscience to the world. If you are in Christ, can you sense this by the Holy Spirit?
- God can only deal with us according to our knowledge of the day: today, women have a more equal footing than before, both in culture and in the Church, as they do not allow emotion to rule them as much, but walk after the spirit and stand on principle. Praise the Lord!

- Women only began to be allowed to vote in the 20th century; this doesn't even include many eastern countries like China. God has been patient on this matter. Praise the Lord!

- Ask yourself, is not even one women on the whole planet allowed to be an Elder of a locality or an Elder of a meeting place? If your answer is "No," shame on you! This question is one of the questions to determine your apostleship or approval of being an elder...see the 17th question.

- The cause and effect is that because there has been more women elders in the past century per capita, society consequently has also reflected more rights for women.

- Observe the comparative method, in which the condition prior to 100 years ago is not the same as it is now for women. Therefore, though the same principle exists in the Word of God (Gen. 1.26), the condition for the principle to come into realization has not been achieved until the past century or so. Even still, it will not be fully realized until there are 6 women and 6 male apostles to reclaim the first love that was lost in the first century of regional apostles and elders of a locality. If the latter was preserved the former would have been attained by now. God is waiting for this to transpire. He knows it will, but will not not move ahead of church prayer. He wants man's participation (i.e. men and women equally made in God's image).

- Ergo, though there were no women Elders noted in the first century, no doubt there were some, just not that many.

- How truly sad it would be in a place of just women, if such a case arose, there could be no women elders of a Biblical locality or even women elders of a meeting place within that Biblical locality. It is at times like these, logic of men fail.

- This is the meaning of an elder - relative to other members of the body of Christ. Elder is a relative term. Women can be more spiritual relative to others. Praise the Lord!

 - Damarias was from Athens who joined Paul and became a believer on his second missionary journey. Greek women lived in seclusion, so it is believed that she was a member of the Hetairai which was an intellectual class of women that were associates of philosophers and statesmen. They were the only free women in Athens. The point of this is to show women were greatly oppressed in prior centuries, so it is perfectly reasonable not to have women elders in those prior times, but no such reason should apply today in civilized nations. "Howbeit certain men clave unto him, and believed: among the which was Dionysius the Areopagite, and a woman named Damaris, and others with them" (Acts 17.34). "Certain men" is followed by ":"; which includes some women. So, when the Bible says, "husband of one wife" (1 Tim. 3.2). Please don't take the legalistic stance towards the latter phrase. Let the Word of God breathe into your spirit God's life.

- If the Gospels are recorded back upon what occurred 50 years prior, then you don’t pick women as witnesses. In the first century, Jewish law said women could not testify in a court of law. Jewish writings said women are liars. “And their words seemed to them as IDLE TALES, and they believed them not” (Luke 24.11). When the women came back from the tomb, the disciples did not believe them that the tomb was empty. They thought the women were spreading gossip and tales. What this shows is that it was not the time for women to be elders because God lovingly does not overburden women. Such times have passed. Today, women can vote, they are senators, etc. Is it a sin for a woman to be a senator? I think not. So it is also not wrong for a woman to be an elder in the Church.

- I despise men who are abusive towards women who say they can not be elders of a locality, not even elders of a meeting place in the 21st century where 2 or 3 are gathered. For any man that says this, though they might be saved, they most certainly will lose the reward of reigning during the millennial kingdom.

We are not to suffer a man to teach us; nor are we to suffer a woman to teach us (1 Tim. 2.12) for "as for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him" (1 John 2.27, 2 Cor. 4.10).

"And I have faced danger from men [false brothers] who claim to be Christians but are not" (2 Cor. 11.26).
 

Troy