Women in Ministry Silenced or Set Free? Parts 5-7: 1 Corinthians 14, 1 Timothy 3, Galatians 3:28

Video: https://youtu.be/EhlME-7DtD8

[Music] the women are to keep silent in the churches for they are not permitted to speak but are to subject themselves just as the law also says if they desire to learn anything let them ask their own husbands at home for it is improper for a woman to speak in church 1 Corinthians 14 has been a difficult passage for theologians because it seems to completely restrict women to a position of Silence in the church The Silence has been interpreted anywhere from no talking at all in church to a Prohibition on married women asking questions Out Loud Let's listen to Brother John MacArthur as he lists what God forbids women to do then in verse 34 says let the women keep silent keep silent about what that's obvious speaking publicly in the Assembly of the church either in ecstatic speech or prophecy so if we look at First Timothy we see women are not to preach or teach if we look at 1 Corinthians 14:34 and 35 we can conclude very simply women are not to speak in tongues and women are not to give prophecies in the church they are not to speak forth in the church why it's not permitted why there to be under obedience why the law of God says that brother MacArthur says God God forbids women from speaking publicly in the church whether in Prophecy or in speaking in tongues is this really true how will we know let's study this passage in context Paul says much about spiritual gifts in chapter 14 the context of chapter 14 is clearly a communal meeting of the entire church prophecy Paul says brings edification exhortation and comfort to the body of Christ if Paul silenced women from prophesying in the church he would be contradicting what he had already said in 1 Corinthians chap 11 that women could prophesy in this 1 Corinthians 14 passage we note three things women are to keep silent in the church there is a law that silences women and forbids them from speaking in the church women speaking in the church is shameful and the Greek word means vile indecent or filthy what would happen if we took this passage out of its context and took it literally word for word as it is written we would have no women preaching there would be no women singing no women teaching children or adults and no women doing anything else that requires vocalization women could not even say hello for all women complete silence fortunately for women no church or denomination that we know about takes this passage that literally all churches understand that a strict literalism contradicts the context as well as other clear passages that encourage women to use their spiritual gifts for those who believe women are under a partial rule of Silence there are several interpretations offered let's listen to John MacArthur explain here it comes it is indecent for women to speak in the church it's not indecent for women to speak speak all you want unless you're usurping the role of authority unless you're taking leadership in the church this is so clear so what are we saying then when it comes to the meeting of the church together women are not to preach or teach they are not to speak forth the word of God and they are not to speak an ecstatic speech obviously the sum of those things is to say that the church when it comes together is to be spoken to by men that's just God's way John MacArthur says that it is God's way that the church is spoken to by only men but is this what the inspired scripture says reading the passage in context refutes that view and the councel on biblical manhood and Womanhood agrees with us on this point in the book recovering biblical manhood and Womanhood da Carson disagrees that Paul is restricting women from prophesying moreover the church enjoyed the heritage of Pentecost and the Fulfillment of the Joel prophecy as we have seen which promised that both men and women should have the spirit poured out on them and that in consequence they would prophesy acts chap 2: 16 some conclude that there appears to be a contradiction in scripture allowing women to publicly pray and prophesy and then telling them to be silent da Carson comments on this apparent contradiction some are willing to leave a contradiction and say no more but apart from any bearing this might have on the doctrine of scripture it is hard to believe that Paul could contradict himself as boldly as some think he has within the space of a few pages we agree scripture is inspired and it does not contradict itself if there is a contradiction then the passage must not be properly interpreted da Carson gives what he believes to be the most likely interpretation Paul had just been requiring that the church in Corinth carefully weigh the prophecies presented to it women of of course May participate in such prophesying that was established in chapter 11 Paul's Point here however is that they may not participate in the oral weighing of such prophecies that is not permitted in any of the churches in that connection they are not allowed to speak as the law says so when Paul writes that women are not allowed to speak in the church is he really removing women from the responsibility of separating the good from the bad well that does not fit with 1 Corinthians 6: 1-3 does any one of you when he has a case against his neighbor there go to law before the unrighteous and not before the Saints or do you not know that the Saints will judge the world if the world is judged by you are you not competent to constitute the smallest Law Courts do you not know that we will judge judge Angels how much more matters of this life the obligation to practice righteous judgment is for the entire body of Christ because the Saints will judge the world and the angels in the next life Paul does not exclude the women from this responsibility because judging prophecy is a duty assigned to all let two or three prophets speak let the others pass judgment this verse says nothing about forbidding women from judging truth from error the key to understanding this passage is knowing what law is referred to in verse 34 the women are to keep silent in the churches for they're not permitted to speak but are to subject themselves just as the law also says where is this law let's listen to Brother John MacArthur explain in verse 34 it says let your women keep silence in the churches now it isn't too hard to figure out what that means you do not have to be a Greek scholar it's obvious what it means and in case you missed it let the women keep silence in the churches I love this kind of reasoning for it's not permitted to them to speak he say well wait a minute that's just saying the same thing twice without a reason no that is the reason the reason women to keep silent in the churches is because it isn't permitted for them to speak you say it doesn't give me a reason sure it gives you a reason they are commanded to be under obedience so also says what the law the law of who the law of God he is saying that God's law does not permit women to speak in the church where is this law that forbids women from speaking in the church do you know why women aren't to preach in the church you say Well it has to do with their psychologic no no well it has to do with the fact that see if you give a woman that kind of role doesn't have the mentality to deal with the things that come up no no the reason they don't do it is because God's law says they can't do it that's all that's the issue it's not sociological it's not psychological it's not pathological it's not anything it's just the law of God so women are to keep silence in the church in his audio tapes Pastor McArthur does not reveal where we can find this law in scripture he just states that there is a LA and leaves it at that it took some research to find a reference to Genesis 3:16 from the MacArthur Study Bible but there is no explanation of how this verse is a law that silences women why is that the reason is because there is no such law in the Old Testament that silences women at the time of Paul's writing to Corinth only the Old Testament was available as scripture although the Jewish tradition suppressed women Pastor MacArthur agrees that the scriptures did not in spite of Jewish tradition the Old Testament did not teach the suppression of women in spiritual matters that was a non-biblical tradition the Old Testament elevated women alongside men in an equal position of spiritual life and blessing yes it was the non-biblical IAL traditions of the Jews that suppressed women let's look at the recovering biblical manhood and Womanhood to see if it identifies a law of God that forbids women from speaking in the church Paul is probably not referring to Genesis 3:16 as many suggest but to the creation order in Genesis 2 the passage from Genesis chapter 2 does not enjoin Silence of course but it does suggest that because man was made first and woman was made from man some kind of pattern had been laid down regarding the roles the two play Da Carson admits Paul is not referring to Genesis 3:16 but is referencing Genesis chapter 2 the passage he says doesn't enjoin silence for women but suggests a pattern for women may we respectfully say that God doesn't suggest laws God didn't give Moses the 10 suggestions when God gives a law it is clear it is understandable and it is enforceable Paul already told us in the same passage that a word must be distinct and understandable for if the bugle produces an indistinct sound who will prepare himself for battle since there is no biblical law that demands the Silence of women where is the law referred to in 1 Corinthians 14 this passage won't make sense until we can clearly identify the law that is quoted historical records show us the law that was in force in Paul's day that silenced women from speaking in the assembly this law is embodied in the oral law now called the talet Jesus speaking to the Pharisees and scribes said these man-made rules invalidated the word of God and he answered and said to them why do you yourselves transgress the Commandment of God for the sake of your tradition and by this you have invalidated the word of God for the sake of your tradition Jesus denounced these traditions and the men who elevated their own human laws to the level of Godly Doctrine you hypocrites rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you this people honors me with their lips but their heart is far away from me but in vain do they worship me teaching as doctrines the precepts of men the oral law had much to say about women and their place in society women were blamed for the fall of Man were to be heard and seen as little as possible and they were not permitted to learn according to talmud's Scholars the talmud is the written form of the teaching of the Pharisees the very sect of Jewish priests with whom Jesus argued is the literature that Jesus was familiar with in his early years yet in existence in the world can we ourselves review the ideas which were current in his time to such inquiries the Learned class of Jewish rabbis answered by holding up the telet the tud then is the written form of that which in the time of Jesus was called the tradition of ERS and to which he makes frequent allusions The Missing Link in Christian understanding on the subject of the tradition of the elders or Pharisees is best supplied by the universal Jewish encyclopedia the telet is the largest and most important single piece of that literature and the study of it is essential for any real understanding of phariseeism along with the written text there was and always had been from the time of Moses an Unwritten tradition which supplied that which was wanting in the written text embodied in the talmood were all kinds of man-made rules that substituted man's regulations for the righteousness of God in the talet are the teachings that threatened to bring the early church under bondage some Jews loyal to the oral teachings were determined to force Christians to submit to the laws of men the ing of women was a Jewish ordinance women were not permitted to teach in the assemblies or even to ask questions the rabbis taught that a woman should know nothing but the use of her distaff women need not learn because they weren't allowed to use God's word the Jewish historian Josephus wrote about the oral law the woman says the law is in all things inferior to a man let her accordingly be submissive women were not allowed to speak in the assembly because the talet states a woman's voice is prohibited because it is sexually provocative women are sexually seductive mentally inferior socially embarrassing and spiritually separated from the law of Moses therefore let them be silent it is a shame for a woman to let her voice be heard among men the voice of a woman in is filthy nakedness the Jews were not allowed to burn God's word but if it came down to a choice between giving the scriptures into the hands of women or destroying God's word they were told that the scriptures should rather be burned May the words of the Torah be burned than that they should be handed over to women in a culture overflowing with sexist attitudes Jesus opinion of women was liberating Jesus not only conversed with women in public something that a respectable Rabbi would never do but he taught women and showed them that they were worthy to be entrusted with the truth there is no denying the fact that the oral laws of the Jews forbid women from speaking in the assembly Paul never gave validity to these oral laws as a basis for Christian conduct so why is the Jewish oral appealed to in verse 35 to find the answer to this question we need to understand the context of the book of First Corinthians now I exhort you Brethren by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ that you all agree and that there be no divisions among you but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment for I have been informed concerning you my brethren by Khloe's people that there are quarrels among you Paul received a letter from the church at Corinth that outlined some of the quarrels that were causing divisions in chapter 7 Paul references this letter and then proceeds to answer the disputed items and questions sent to him in the letter now concerning the things about which you wrote Paul responds to question on virgins in 1 Corinthians 7:25 Idol sacrifices in chapter 8:1 and questions on spiritual gifts in ch 12:1 in several of these passages Paul quotes directly from the Corinthian letter the original Greek had no punctuation marks so the quotation marks along with the periods and commas are at the discretion of the translator did they include all of the quotations the context will tell us if the words are from the Corinthians and express a contradictory position or if they are from Paul himself for example some Bibles put quotation marks in chap 10: 23 and some do not The New International Version the revised Standard Version and the English Standard Version have quotation marks around words attributed to the Corinthians is it possible that verses 34 and 35 are a quotation from the Corinthians in verse 35 there is another direct link to the oral law with the Greek word for shame or as The New American Standard Bible renders it improper it literally means lewd filthy indecent vile foul dirty morally degraded this is exact exactly how the oral law described the voice of a woman her voice was filthy and indecent false Brethren were infiltrating the body of Christ with their rules and regulations and Corinth was not exempt from those who wanted to bring Christians into bondage Paul tells us about these false brethren in Galatians Chapter 2 verse4 but it was because of the false Brethren secretly brought in who had sneaked in to spy out our Liberty which we have in Christ Jesus in order to bring us into bondage since the Jewish oral law was quoted by Paul in connection with the Corinthians we can rightfully state that there were judaizers within that congregation it was their rules that said women were to be supressed those who wanted to follow the Jewish oral law regarding the silencing of women brought their disputes to Paul along with all the other controversies the Montgomery New Testament translates this passage with the quotation marks to show that these words were from the letter in your congregation you write as in all the churches of the Saints let the women keep silence in the churches for they're not permitted to speak on the contrary let them be subordinate as all o says the law and if they want to learn anything let them ask their own husbands at home for it is shameful for a woman to speak in church would Paul have used the oral law to back up his Doctrine would Paul have described a woman's voice as indecent lewd filthy vile or fou absolutely not Paul replies back to the quote from the letter what was it from you that the word of God went forth or came it unto you alone Adam Clark represents one of the earliest post reformist biblical Scholars who said that verses 34 and 35 was a Jewish ordinance Dr Clark says that the Jews would not allow a woman to read in the synagogue though a servant or even a child had this permission Sir William Ramsey says on this subject we should be ready to suspect Paul is making a quotation from the letter addressed to him by the Corinthians whenever he alludes to their knowledge or when any statement stands in marked contrast either with the immediate context or with Paul's known views Paul's response shows astonishment and a marked contrast to the view from verse 34 and 35 what Paul says did the word of God originate from you and is it only for men no women learning the scripture and no women giving forth the word nonsense in verse 36 Paul responds to the claims of verse 34 and 35 with the Greek word a the exegetical dictionary of the New Testament says that a is used frequently to introduce rhetorical questions to which a negative answer is expected they then give 1 Corinthians 14:36 as an example of a rhetorical question that we are expected to answer no to theer's Greek English lexigo agrees it lists the a as a disjunctive conjunction before a sentence contrary to the one just preceded eting to indicate that if one be denied or refuted the other must stand theirs then list 1 Corinthians 14:36 as an example so Paul is saying what the word of God has come only to you men and not to women and we are to answer this rhetorical question with a no Paul then makes a very important statement he contrasts his commands that are from God with the law of man that was just quoted by doing this Paul invites us to compare his commands the original Greek is plural here with the command given in verse 34 to see that they are mutually exclusive we cannot hold to Paul's commands throughout chapter 14 that releases women to prophesy in church and at the same time hold to the tradition that silences women and considers their speaking in public as lewd filthy and shameful let's look at verse 37 to see how Paul does this if any seem to be a prophet or spiritual let him know the things I write to you that they are the Commandments of the Lord Paul is saying that the things plural that he has written are the commands from God we already know that the command in the Jewish oral law that silences women in public makes their voice in public as an indecent act and stops them from being taught scripture is not from God but from man what are the commands that Paul says are from God verse one says pursue love Love and Desire earnestly spiritual gifts especially that you may prophesy the Greek is in the imperative and it is a command verse 12 commands us to excel at our spiritual gifts in order to edify the church so also you since you are zealous of spiritual gifts seek to abound for the edification of the church verse 13 commands those who speak in a tongue to pray that they may interpret the reason is for edification of the church verse 26 says that all things are to be done for edification this is another command about edification and more commands follow in verses 27 28 29 and 30 what is the purpose of these commands for you can all prophesy one by one so that all all may learn and all may be exhorted the common bond between all of the commands is edification of the church now let's look again at verses 34 and 35 the women are to keep silent in the churches for they are not permitted to speak but are to subject themselves just as the law also said if they desire to learn anything let them ask their own husbands at home for it is improper for a woman to speak in church do you see a difference here who is being edified with this command do you see that the commands plural from God are consistent in edifying the whole church but the laws of men stop women from learning in the church stops them from exercising their spiritual gifts in the assembly and calls their public speaking lewd filthy vile and indecent do you see that God's commands are mutually exclusive from the traditions of men now for those people who think that women are not allowed by God to use their spiritual gifts in the church God's word in First Corinthians 12:7 confirms that our gifts are for the use of the entire B Body of Christ but to each one is given the manifestation of the spirit for the common good the gifts for women are not just to save for use in their own home or just with other women all of the gifts are given by the holy spirit for the common good of the body Paul is inviting us to compare his commands to the doctrine of men do you see the difference are his commands from God yes what does Paul tell us to do regarding those who disregard the commands of God and want to hold back the church with their own Traditions Paul gives another command but if anyone does not recognize this he is not recognized the international Standard Version says this but if anyone ignores this this he should be ignored we are not supposed to pay attention to the rules of men but to the commands of God has God silenced women in the congregation and considered women's voices in public to be lewd and indecent no this is a quote from the Corinthians letter to Paul and Paul promptly refutes this view the Holy Spirit has in Inspire this passage in 1 Corinthians 14 so that we can clearly see the contrast between the inspired commands of God freeing women and the command of men restricting women when we put the quotes around verses 34 and 35 there is no longer a contradiction in the passage there have been those in the church who have not only demanded that women stop using their spiritual gifts in church but even outside the church as well Cynthia Hampton is a former Jehovah's Witness who after coming to Christ found some opposition to her moderating a discussion group on evangelicals and Jehovah's Witnesses theologies what position did one of the participants take when he learned that a woman was moderating the discussion group well he became quite agitated uh he was was he was angry he started writing me emails saying that I as a woman had no business u moderating a discussion group uh with evangelicals and Jehovah's Witnesses did you have the support of your co-leader oh yes absolutely uh in fact Rob Bowman is the one who is uh the moderator or the the list owner of this discussion group and so I kind of turned the matter over to him and he wrote this person and said that I was actually working under him I don't know if he did it to make him feel better but he was still angry about it he kept writing to me and said that uh you know women still should be silent so what position did this man take even after he was corrected by your male Co leer well he uh brought up us the scripture in 1 Timothy uh chapter 2 and told me about that Eve was the one was deceived and and therefore that was his reasoning as to uh whether uh whether or not women should be participatory in the church by uh speaking and uh he believe that they should not be speaking and they should remain silent and this wasn't a church setting at all and he used that scripture for this setting yes this was only a discussion group on the internet but yet he felt like it should be applied uh in this situation as well even though we weren't in a church setting that is quite an attitude of superiority that won't allow a woman to even moderate a discussion on a topic that she is knowledgeable on is it possible that some men have taken an attitude about restrictions for women that does not come from scripture now let's go through a list of questions that will help us to summarize this section where is the law that is quoted in 1 Corinthians CH 4 14:35 is God's law ever just a suggestion or is God's law direct and understandable would Paul have quoted from the Jewish oral law or would Paul have said that a woman's voice is lwd or filthy [Music] why would Paul allow women to prophesy in church and then a few verses later say women must keep silent in [Music] church in verse 36 why does Paul contradict the law to silence [Music] women there are many who would keep women silent and not allow them to speak for God's word one of these women who had been taught that God doesn't use women in Ministry is now our ministry partner Lori McGregor Lori was a Jehovah's Witness for 15 years when God released her from the bondage of the Watchtower Lori has been in full-time Ministry now for over 25 years Lori tell us a little about your history as a woman in the Jehovah's Witnesses and how the Lord called you into min Ministry it all began when I was 18 years of age I experienced two traumatic deaths being young vulnerable uninformed and biblically illiterate I found myself drawn to the Jehovah's Witnesses they seem to have all the answers I remained there for 15 long years before Christ set me free during that time I found out what it meant to be a woman who was truly repressed by the Watchtower organization and the men who ruled over us although Jehovah's Witness women do the brunt of the tedious door too work and other menial tasks they're not entitled to any of the leadership roles they are controlled by the men through their man-made organization even to the point of being told that husbands are the owners of the wives it's truly a man's world in the watch Tower the cult groups are curious in that they either stifle the women or Elevate them too highly it's one extreme or the other we watched how our women were truly stifled I remember studies being conducted by semi literate men who could barely read yet they were the elders while the university educated women sat under their leadership and rarely spoke any woman present could have done a better job but we knew our place when Christ Set Me Free I still carried with me many of the prejudices against women that I believed were biblical however when God called me to a Teaching Ministry it set me in turmoil night after night I asked the Lord what he was doing calling me when I could not answer I quoted scriptures to him that I believed forbid women to teach still the call on my life was so strong that I was driven into the word to find out for myself what women could and could not do in Ministry I saw many women used of the Lord through the pages of the Bible I read the forbidding women scriptures with new understanding with the help of the Holy Spirit A Whole New World of ministry opened up before me suddenly I was free in my spirit to serve the Lord wonderful indeed with my husband's support we together began a Ministry in 1977 By 1979 we were serving the lord fulltime teaching Christians how to reach the Cults for Christ we often faced opposition to a woman teaching throughout the years but the lord always made a way with his Blessing this ministry has continued and increased down to this day our teaching tapes videos DVDs booklets books and tracks are being distributed on a worldwide basis the fruits of this ministry have been many and they have been good with many Souls set free from the Cults I am reminded at this time that all this began because one woman myself chose to believe the word of God is as it is written regarding women in the ministry Lori laid aside her L held bias and answered the call of God on her life thank you Lori in our next section we will be looking at the qualifications for leaders in the church [Music] 1 Timothy 3 has been used as a proof text to disqualify women from the pastorate let's have a close look at the chapter it is a trustworthy statement If any man aspires to the office of an overseer it is a fine work he desires to do Paul says it is a positive thing to Aspire to be an overseer Aspire means to reach after or desire something an overseer is one who has the care and oversight of a Christian church today this person is called a pastor and Paul encouraged people to desire to be a pastor is this desire only for men Paul said If any man here the Greek for any man is an indefinite pronoun and means anyone male or female the exact same Greek word and grammar is listed in many places for any man regarding salvation Faithful is the word if anyone reaches out to overseers ship he desires a good work if the Holy Spirit wanted us to understand that only males could desire to be a pastor he would have inspired the term for males only however the inspired word means men or women what qualifications must an overseer or Pastor have an overseer then must be above reproach the husband of one wife husband of one wife sounds like men only but does this term disqual qualify women from being a pastor the qualifications for overseer and Deacon are the same and both list the husband of one wife as a qualification this term must be understood within the culture of that day the oral law of the Jews had the same requirement for the high priest although the talet shows that the Jews made allowances for polygamy there was no allowance made for the high priest the high priest was to be the husband of one wife and could not practice polygamy the high priest could be divorced and remarried or widowed and remarried but he could not be a polygamist the term husband of one wife is only used in reference to polygamy and someone who is divorced and remarried is never called the husband of two wives both pastors and deacons are to be the husband of one wife yet we can see from scripture that women can be deacons I commend you to our sister Phoebe who is a servant of the church which is a Sentria the word translated as servant in Romans 16:1 is the same Greek used in 1 Timothy chter 3 for Deacon since deacon are to be the husband of one wife and women can be deacons it is obvious that women are not disqualified by this phrase Paul connects the qualifications for pastor and Deacon by saying likewise deacons likewise Paul also connects these qualifications with women women must likewise the qualification for women are similar except they are not required to be the wife of one husband this was unnecessary because women were not allowed to marry more than one man at a time the word for women in verse 11 is the Greek word for women or wives depending on the context there is no possessive form to indicate that these women are the wives of the leaders also Romans 16:1 shows that a woman can be a deacon with 1 Timothy 3 the only passage that specifically spells out the qualifications for women deacons what about 1 Timothy 3:4 and the reference to one who manages the home he must be one who manages his own household well keeping his children under control with all dignity the one who qualifies to be a pastor needs to be able to manage his or her own household does this show that the pastor must be a man let's look to scripture for the answer deacons too must be able to manage their household and remember women can be deacons deacons must be husbands of only one wife and good managers of their children and their own households are women ever called the manager of their own households the same as the men are called the word for manager in Greek means to maintain to be over to rule how about a woman does Scripture list her as the manager of her home yes and there is an even stronger word for the woman therefore I want younger widows to get married bear children keep house and give the enemy no occasion for reproach although The New American Standard Bible says keep house the actual Greek word means one who is to be the head of that is Rule a family guide the house to be master or head of a house to rule a household and manage family Affairs a despot is a a ruler with absolute power so the manager of the house is not just the husband but also the wife other translations say rule the household controlling their families manage their households so women are to rule manage or control their household can we disqualify women from being pastors by using 1 Timothy chapter 3 let's consider these facts there is nothing in 1 Timothy CH 3 that says that a woman cannot be a pastor if the Holy Spirit wanted to say only men can aspire to be pastors he could have used the term for men only Paul separates the list for male pastors and male deacons because there is a special qualification for males only only men were polygamist in that society and Paul disallowed polygamy Paul brings the list together by using the word likewise to join the deacons and women to the qualifications for Elder Paul says a pastor must be a good manager of their home 1 Timothy 5:14 qualifies women by calling them managers and controllers of their household scripture verifies that women women are eligible to be deacons and lists a woman Deacon 2 Timothy 2:2 says in the Greek that anyone male or female can teach sound Doctrine this verse is for apologists teachers and pastors and what you have heard from me through many witnesses these things be committing to trustworthy people who will be competent also to teach others here the Holy Spirit has inspired the Greek word that means men or women men or women can be trustworthy and competent to teach sound Doctrine in the church in the next section we will consider the final arguments against full equality of women and men in the body of Christ [Music] can a woman serve God with all her heart mind and soul without having to wonder if the way she is teaching or leading is somehow violating a law of God the book of Galatians settles the matter once and for all the first few chapters of Galatians deals with the wall of separation between those who have been born into the abrahamic Covenant and those who had been born outside the Covenant Paul teaches that despite the Jews being a privileged Nation their privileged birth does not benefit them in God's eyes nor does the Gentiles birth outside of God's chosen Nation disadvantage them Paul says that they are all all one in Christ there is neither Jew nor Greek there is neither slave nor free man there is neither male nor female for you are all one in Christ Jesus and if you belong to Christ then are you Abraham's descendants hires according to promise now Paul isn't saying that the Nations no longer exist or that male and female are now unisex or that the slavery of men was already abolished but he was saying that in Christ there is no longer any advantage to be born a Jew or a free man or a male we are all United in the body of Christ and in the spiritual realm God shows no favoritism Galatians 2:6 says God shows no favoritism between people however ever there are those who claim that Galatians 3:28 is talking about salvation and nothing more you all he's saying you all come to Christ the same way male or female Jew or Gentile slave or free everyone inherits salvation the same way yet Galatians says that in Christ we are not just saved but we are fully Heirs of the promise we are Heirs of the promises of God and all of the gifts of God belong to us without regard to race social position or gender Galatians 4:1 says this now I say as long as the heir is a child he does not differ at all from a slave although he is owner of everything the Bible says that an heir is the owner of everything verses 6 and seven shows the importance of our being an air because you are Sons God has sent forth the spirit of his son into our hearts crying Abba Father therefore you are no longer a slave but a son and if a son then an heir through God men and women Jew and Gentile slave and free all equal HS we have been given joint ownership of everything this isn't just salvation it is the inheritance of everything none of the gifts of God are held back from any of the groups can you imagine if we said that the Gentiles are equal in Salvation but not equal in role if Galatians 3:28 only refers to Salvation then we would would have a difficult time defending the inclusion of the Gentiles in the leadership roles of the church let me explain what I mean what if someone said that only the Jews were to rule and all the Gentiles had to be subordinate after all weren't all the books of the Bible written by Jews weren't all of Jesus disciples Jews Jesus never appointed anyone that wasn't a Jew to a place of authority in the church is that biblical it may sound logical because these are the same arguments that have been used against women but the wall of separation has been taken down in every case for he himself is our peace who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall by abolishing in his flesh the emnity which is the the law of Commandments contained in ordinances so that in himself he might make the two into one new man thus establishing peace and might reconcile them both in one body to God Through The Cross by it having put to death the enity let's look at how the walls of Separation were constructed and how they have come down through Christ in the case of the Jews and the Gentiles the wall of separation was the Jewish Traditions these traditions did not allow the Jews to associate with Gentiles or to eat with them even at the temple grounds the Gentiles could only go to the court of the Gentiles that was their limit they could not enter into the place of worship and they were kept away from the presence of God and away from the gifts of God but the barrier between these two groups was taken down in Christ Galatians 3: 8 and 14 says this the scripture foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham saying all the nations will be blessed in you in order that in Christ Jesus The Blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles so that we receive the promise of the spirit through faith the promise of the spirit and the gifts he brings are equally ours the Gentiles may now enter into a full relationship with God and are joint heirs with the Jews between the slaves and the freem men was another barrier there was no mixing of social position or privilege the free man was in a privileged position and had all the authority the slave had virtually no rights not even a legal right to marry but the barrier between these two groups is taken away in Christ Galatians 4:7 says this therefore you are no longer a slave but a son and if a son then an heir through God the promise of the fullness of the spirit and the full inheritance now belongs equally to slave men and free men the last barri is between the male and the female the male is born in a privileged position and by birth there are no limits on his service to God there has been a vast barrier a wall of separation between the Sexes the female has had limited to no choices depending on the area of the world she is Born Into in Bible times she was limited to the court of the women in the temple in the temple proper the females occupied according to Jewish tradition only a raised Gallery along three sides of the Court they were allowed to observe the ceremonies but never to participate in them she too with denied entrance into the holy of holies she was owned by her father and passed over to the ownership of her husband she had no freedom and few rights including no inheritance yet the promise of the gift of the Holy Spirit and the full inheritance now belongs to women along with men all of the gifts and the areas of service are now equally open by and inheritance to women Joel says it will come about after this that I will pour out my spirit on All Mankind and your sons and your daughters will prophesy but what about the role of submission isn't that mandated for the woman listen to what Paul says have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus who although he existed in the form of God did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped but emptied himself taking the form of a born servant and being made in the likeness of men submission Paul says is an attitude not a role Paul did not say let this role be in you women you slaves and you Gentiles he said let this attitude be in you that is all of us we are to have an attitude of humility an attitude of submission one to another and an attitude of submission is not an attitude of inferiority Jesus had an attitude of submission not a role of submission Jesus submission was voluntary and not forced on him because of some role in this world there is a role of submission this role is forced upon people because of their race social position or gender but in the church we are not told to have a role of submission but an attitude of submission some have tried to take what the Bible says is an attitude and have conformed it to the world system to make it a role but the word role is not even in in the Bible if you look up this word in The New American Standard Bible or the King James Bible you won't find it the word teaches attitudes not rules who is to have this attitude the leaders the apostles every member of the church is to have this attitude and be subject to one another in the fear of Christ there is so much that can be said about men and women and God's pattern for relationships and marriage but we regret that we do not have the time in this presentation we will have to leave that subject for another series Brothers and Sisters in Christ let's free women to serve Jesus in the way that he has called them all of us together are abiding in the vine of Jesus Christ let's not stop women from bearing fruit and ministering in their gifts because of their gender we are standing on the edge of history as God removes the final barrier and prepares his church to be spotless and without wrinkle so that he might sanctify her having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word that he might present to himself the church in all her glory having no spot or wrinkle or or any such thing but that she would be holy and [Music] blameless here we are as women ready to serve ready to be a living sacrifice for Jesus and the body of Christ will you let us [Music] you purify my life and make it holy purify my thoughts and keep me in your presence oh oh Lord abiding in the purify my heart oh Lord I Want to Know You purify my life and make it holy pufy my thoughts keep me in your presence oh Lord abiding in the abiding that's what I [Music] want let you spirit [Music] through Liv [Music] sa oh [Music] Lord purify my heart oh Lord I want you know purify my and make it purify my thought and keep me in your oh Lord abiding in the Lord [Music] in you that's what I [Music] want living iay down my [Music] purify my heart oh Lord I want to know pufy my life and make it holy purify my and keep me in your oh Lord abiding in the oh Lord abiding in the [Music]