Helpful (or Not so Helpful) Tidbits Regarding the Bible, Women, and Churches of Christ (No. 3)

Wineskins Contributor・08/20/19

These are brief: one tidbit each from the Hebrew Bible, thewritings of the New Testament, and from the history of Churches of Christ.

Hebrew Bible

Psalm 68 celebrates the movement of Israel from Egypt (v. 7)to Sinai (v. 8) and then victory in Canaan (vv. 9-14) whereupon God ascends tothe throne on Mount Zion (vv. 15-18).

Paul uses Psalm 68 to describe the ascension andenthronement of Jesus in Ephesians 4:8. Jesus, released from the grave,ascended to the throne and gave gifts to the church through the pouring out ofthe Holy Spirit.

Psalm 68:11 reads: “The Lord gives the command; great is thecompany of those who bore the tidings.” In the ancient Greek translation, theword “bore the tidings” is the same word as in the New Testament that describes“preaching the gospel” (euaggelizomenoi).They preached the good news.

In Hebrew, unlike in the Greek translation, that word is feminine. In other words, the Psalmenvisions a great company of women whodeclare the good news! In the light of Paul’s application of Psalm 68 tothe ascension of Christ, we may hear an echo of the gifting of women to preachthe gospel.

New Testament

Why did Jesus choose only male apostles? This is a good andimportant question.

It seems rather obvious that twelve is a number thatreflects Israel’s twelve patriarchs, the twelve sons of Jacob. Twelve maleapostles underscores continuity with Israel and also the renewal of Israel.

The twelve apostles were freeJewish men, and the apostleship before Pentecost was limited to thosecategories. However, Pentecost changed this. While the twelve retained a uniquehonor in the Christian community, after Pentecost the gifting of apostles,prophets, and evangelists (preachers of the gospel) also extended to slave aswell as free, Gentile as well as Jew, and women as well as men. The pouring ofthe Spirit in Acts 2, in fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy, enlarged the communityof gifted leadership from free Jewish mento even enslaved Gentile women.

The gifts given to the church in Ephesians 4 includeapostles (Junia was an apostle, Romans 16:7), prophets (Philip’s daughters wereprophets, Acts 21:9), and women preached the gospel (the men and women who werescattered went preaching the word, Acts 8:2-4).

Pentecost shifted the dynamics. Those once excluded were nowincluded, and those once unchosen were now chosen. Slaves, Gentiles, and womenwere now empowered and gifted to participate in the mission of God.

History

C. R. Nichol, a renowned and beloved conservative amongChurches of Christ, published an important book in 1938 entitled God’s Woman.

Nichol advocated for female deacons from 1 Timothy 3,underscored that women prayed and prophesied (taught!) in the public assemblyof the church in 1 Corinthians 11, and affirmed that women have the right toteach men in a Bible class when the church gathered. While he also taught akind of patriarchy, he did not believe this eliminated the female voice fromthe assembly or excluded them from teaching men.His book, with a few exceptions, was well-received. But its views didnot win out in the end, and most Churches of Christ silenced the female voicein the assembly and in teaching men (including, teaching eleven year oldbaptized males).