Let's begin in Genesis:
Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.
And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
-Genesis 1: 26-28
The commandment to have dominion over the earth was given to both Adam and Eve, not just Adam. Many people use this to say that from the beginning God had a hierarchy. But here God makes no distinction between the man and the woman. In fact, God calls both of them Adam. The one who named Eve was Adam but God called them both "Man". That is why it says in verse 26 that God created man in his own image, that he created them male and female. Both male and female bear the image of God and both male and female rule the earth together. There was no change in this until the fall, until sin, the sin that Jesus dealt with on the cross. More prove of what I am talking about?
This is the book of the generations of Adam. When God created man, he made him in the likeness of God. Male and female he created them, and he blessed them and named them Man when they were created.
-Genesis 5:1,2
Then Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women went out after her with tambourines and dancing.
-Exodus 15:20
Miriam was a prophetess. She spoke the Word of God. It also seems to be that she was a leader in Israel among with Moses and Aaron.
Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married, for he had married a Cushite woman. And they said, “Has the Lord indeed spoken only through Moses? Has he not spoken through us also?” And the Lord heard it.
-Numbers 12:1,2
Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, was judging Israel at that time. She used to sit under the palm of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the people of Israel came up to her for judgment.
-Judges 4:4,5
Deborah was a prophetess and she was the judge of Israel at the time. Now, people love to say that the only reason Deborah was a judge was because Barak didn't want to. The Bible never says that there was any attempt at Barak being the judge of Israel. The Bible does say that Barak didn't want to go fight against Sisera on his own and that Deborah had to go with him.
She sent and summoned Barak the son of Abinoam from Kedesh-naphtali and said to him, “Has not the Lord, the God of Israel, commanded you, ‘Go, gather your men at Mount Tabor, taking 10,000 from the people of Naphtali and the people of Zebulun. And I will draw out Sisera, the general of Jabin's army, to meet you by the river Kishon with his chariots and his troops, and I will give him into your hand’?” Barak said to her, “If you will go with me, I will go, but if you will not go with me, I will not go.” And she said, “I will surely go with you. Nevertheless, the road on which you are going will not lead to your glory, for the Lord will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman.” Then Deborah arose and went with Barak to Kedesh. And Barak called out Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh. And 10,000 men went up at his heels, and Deborah went up with him.
-Judges 4:6-10
Not only was Deborah a prophetess who spoke the Word of God, she was the Leader of Israel and she had leadership even over the head of the army as well. We can also see that she did not abuse her leadership and we can also see that she was married.
The next verse takes us to the reign of King Josiah. They found the Book of the Law and they needed a fresh Word from God. Who did they go to see? Well, they went to see Huldah the Prophetess of course:
And Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the secretary, “I have found the Book of the Law in the house of the Lord.” And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, and he read it. And Shaphan the secretary came to the king, and reported to the king, “Your servants have emptied out the money that was found in the house and have delivered it into the hand of the workmen who have the oversight of the house of the Lord.” Then Shaphan the secretary told the king, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read it before the king.
When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, he tore his clothes. And the king commanded Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam the son of Shaphan, and Achbor the son of Micaiah, and Shaphan the secretary, and Asaiah the king's servant, saying, “Go, inquire of the Lord for me, and for the people, and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that has been found. For great is the wrath of the Lord that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book, to do according to all that is written concerning us.”
So Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam, and Achbor, and Shaphan, and Asaiah went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tikvah, son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe (now she lived in Jerusalem in the Second Quarter), and they talked with her. And she said to them, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel:
-2 Kings 22:8-15
Huldah was a Prophetess of the living God. The Word of God came to her and men came to hear the Word of God from her.
And I went to the prophetess, and she conceived and bore a son. Then the Lord said to me, “Call his name Maher-shalal-hash-baz;
-Isaiah 8:3
We can also see here that Isaiah was married to a Prophetess.
Now, let's move on to the New Testament, the Samaritan woman. Read John 4 for a full account. Jesus speaks with her and then she goes on to tell everyone what he has told her and many believed because of her testimony.
Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman's testimony, “He told me all that I ever did.” So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days. And many more believed because of his word. They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world.”
John 4:39-42
Now people say that she wasn't preaching or evangelizing, that she also wasn't calling herself a preacher or an evangelist, etc. But let's remember that was not a lingo that would be acquired at this particular time. People told stories. That is how the gospel was spread; stories of true accounts. It says that many believed because of her words. I wonder if Jesus would be glorified if she had kept quiet. For every other commandment in the Bible the Evangelical Christians abide by, there are clear and understandable consequences for breaking them. To this day, no one can tell me the clear understandable consequences of a woman preaching the Word of God, other than people coming to faith in Jesus, which is the whole point of the Bible.
Let's also remember the fact that Jesus himself broke the norm in that instant. Do you remember how the disciples reacted when they saw him speaking to her?
Just then his disciples came back. They marveled that he was talking with a woman, but no one said, “What do you seek?” or, “Why are you talking with her?” So the woman left her water jar and went away into town and said to the people, “Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?” They went out of the town and were coming to him.
-John 4:27-30
It wasn't the norm for a man to be speaking to a woman unless she was his wife or relative. But Jesus broke that. It also wasn't normal for Jesus to be teaching women, yet he did.
Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”
-Luke 10:38-42
I assure you that Jesus didn't teach women to sit there and just listen to the Word of God. This is not aligned with the character of Jesus and his desire to bring redemption to everyone in the world. Jesus broke gender patterns so much that his whole ministry was supported by the women. In a world where we still believe the man is the breadwinner, Jesus and the 12 apostles are completely supported by the efforts and hard work of the women.
Soon afterward he went on through cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with him, and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, and Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod's household manager, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them out of their means.
-Luke 8:1-3
Let's remember that there were many people that Jesus healed and who wanted to follow him. However, Jesus didn't let just anyone follow him. The ones who did were the ones being taught directly by Him. Now, there were many norms Jesus broke but the most important message was God's plan for salvation; it was to bring the kingdom of God to earth. Jesus didn't focus on less important things- like gender roles. The most important message is salvation by believing in the death and resurrection of Jesus.
And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin, and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day. And coming up at that very hour she began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.
-Luke 2:36-38
Anna, another Prophetess, speaking of God to all who were waiting for the redemption, both men and women. The author of the Bible thought it worthy to include it here, for us to see a woman proclaim the good news.
Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.” So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.”
-Matthew 28:1-10
Wow! The most important message: the message of the resurrection and Jesus doesn't go and tell his super preachers and leaders of the world. He tells the women, and THEN he tells the women to tell the men. Why would Jesus entrust women with these words if they were to keep quiet? And why would he entrust them with something so heavily important? These women were born to preach the gospel to both men and women. Not only that, but they were prepared to teach the gospel as well. Why do you think they sat under Jesus' teaching alongside the apostles?
‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares,
that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh,and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
and your young men shall see visions,
and your old men shall dream dreams;
even on my male servants and female servants
in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy.
in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy.
-Acts 2:17, 18
They are all together waiting to receive the promise of the Holy Spirit, men and women, and the Word says that the daughters will prophesy. The main reason the Holy Spirit came was to speak the gospel with boldness. If God didn't mean for women to preach the gospel, then why did he pour out his Spirit to them and in addition to this give them the gift of prophecy? Again, you cannot ignore these verses. If you believe to have a clear interpretation of the Timothy verses you must also have a clear and understandable interpretation of these.
Here are more prophetesses:
On the next day we departed and came to Caesarea, and we entered the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, and stayed with him. He had four unmarried daughters, who prophesied.
-Acts 21:8,9
Now in these following verses, Apollos was preaching but didn't know the whole story:
He began to speak boldly in the synagogue, but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately.
-Acts 18:26
Priscilla and Aquila explained to him the way of God more accurately. If it was true that women weren't teaching and preaching, then why was Priscilla qualified to do that work alongside Aquila? Or why would Paul refer to them both as his fellow workers?
Greet Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, who risked their necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks but all the churches of the Gentiles give thanks as well.
-Romans 16:3-4
The work these two did was phenomenal, and I think the more amazing thing was that they worked together. I wonder what the church would look like today if we were willing to work together? I wonder what it would be like if male and female had dominion together the way that it was in Genesis before the fall?
There are many women whom Paul greets here. One of them is the Apostle Junia and the Deaconess Phoebe.
Salute Andronicus and Junia, my kinsmen, and my fellow-prisoners, who are of note among the apostles, who also were in Christ before me.
-Romans 16:7(KJV)
I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a deacon of the church in Cenchreae. I ask you to receive her in the Lord in a way worthy of his people and to give her any help she may need from you, for she has been the benefactor of many people, including me.
-Romans 16:1,2 (NIV)
Let's look more about prophesying in the church:
Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head, but every wife who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head, since it is the same as if her head were shaven.
-1 Corinthians 11:4,5
So both men and women were prophesying in church. No argument there. Let's read what Paul says a few verses later:
Nevertheless, in the Lord woman is not independent of man nor man of woman; for as woman was made from man, so man is now born of woman. And all things are from God.
-1 Corinthians 11: 11,12
Do you know what is the most important aspect of the above verse? When Paul says: "And all things are from God". Why aren't we paying attention to that? Equality is from God. Sin is what brings inequality, division, disunity, not God.
Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.
For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.
For the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body.
The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.
-1 Corinthians 12:4-26
This is the biggest theological argument for women being in ministry just as men are in ministry. If she is gifted, why then insist in stopping her? Especially if she is preaching the Word of God. Do you know what the saddest thing about this verse is? Just in the end, verse 26, says that if one member suffers, all suffer together. For years women have been suffering under oppression and discrimination. How can you ask us to keep quiet when we are all suffering? How can you as a church choose not to address this?
Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? But earnestly desire the higher gifts.
And I will show you a still more excellent way.
-1 Corinthians 12:27-31
If God has appointed first apostles and then prophets, then all the women prophetesses are working right alongside the apostles and are above teachers.
Once again, we need to be united in our faith in order to reach the fullness of God:
And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.
-Ephesians 4:11-15
There is no male or female in Christ:
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
-Galatians 3: 28
And we as a peoples are called to proclaim Christ:
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
-1 Peter 2:9
You need to explain these verses if you are going to make a case about Timothy:
I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet. For Adam was formed first, then Eve; and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor. Yet she will be saved through childbearing—if they continue in faith and love and holiness, with self-control.
-1 Timothy 2:12-14
There are many things here that do not align with the redemptive message of the Bible. If women (as a whole) are not allowed to teach or exercise authority over a man, then why are women doing it in other verses? Why is Paul himself encouraging women to prophesy in other verses? Why is he praising Priscilla and Junia and Phoebe? And why is he saying that women are to remain silent if the examples of women above clearly did not remain silent? There are different interpretations for this first part of the verse. The first takes into account the church Paul was addressing in particular and the culture within that church that was used to undermining men because they used to serve a female goddess. The second is that the word used here that we translated as authority is another word that is difficult to translate and that is only used this ONCE in the Bible- nowhere else. There is nothing else to compare it to.
The second part says that Adam was formed first, then Eve. However, we saw in Genesis that God made no distinction between Adam and Eve. It also says that Adam was not deceived but the Bible says that Adam sinned together with Eve, since he was right there with her. Then the verse says that women will be saved through childbearing but we can find that no where else in the Bible! I can't help but reach the conclusion that these verses were addressed to a particular person/people for a particular purpose I do not have any knowledge of. I can't take these verses and have them weigh just as much as the other verses especially if they do not line up. It is the same case as in Corinthians where women are told to wear head coverings because of the angels. I have no clue what Paul was talking about then and I cannot worry about it and make a doctrine over it because they are not the point. The gospel is the point.
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