Women as Faithful Servants of God

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Women as FaithfulServants of Gods Revelation

• Robert L. GallagherIntercultural Studies
• Wheaton College Graduate School
• Understanding Missiological Controversies Past
  Present
• Annual Evangelical Missiological Society
• Graduate Institute of Applied LinguisticsDallas,
  TX
• Saturday, September 19, 2015

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Gender the Church

• Evangelical Agreement
• Both females males are created in Gods image.
• 2. Christian men and women have the Holy Spirit.
• 3. Both genders are gifted by God
• for ministry.

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Egalitarian View

• Christians for Biblical Equality
• Gender is irrelevant for spiritual authority.
• The subservient role of women to men, especially
  in regard to spiritual leadership, is another
  aspect of fallen culture that God wants to
  overthrow.
• Church leadership roles and roles in the home are
  determined by gifting rather than by gender.

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Complementarian View

• The Council on Biblical Manhood Womanhood
• Created equal, with complementary roles.
• Males and females have different, complementary
  roles in the church (and at home), and leadership
  roles in the church are reserved for males only.
• Scripture teaches that Gods design is for men to
  have primary spiritual authority in the church.

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Theodoulos View

• Gods Spirit distributes leadership gifts, such
  as prophesying, to women as Servants of the
  Lord within metaroles and via metatapestries in
  both the Old and New Testaments.
• Further, the New Testament gift lists in context
  are completely gender neutral, with the Holy
  Spirit empowering individuals in such a way as to
  transcend gender, age, and social status.
• It remains Gods prerogative to give gifts to
  persons, and God will do so as he pleases, to
  both women and men.
• (Joel 228-32 Acts 216-21)

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Acts 216-18

• 16 This is what was spoken by the prophet Joel
• 17 In the last days, God says,    I will pour
  out my Spirit on all people.Your sons and
  daughters will prophesy,    your young men will
  see visions,    your old men will dream
  dreams.18 Even on my servants, both men and
  women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days,
  and they will prophesy. (NIV)

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MetaTapestry Method

• Narrative often teaches more indirectly than
  didactic literature without becoming any less
  normative. How then should we proceed to
  interpret narrative? Primarily, we need to study
  the entire book to determine if specific events
  form a consistent pattern throughout or if the
  positive models of the narrative vary from one
  situation to another. The former will suggest
  that the narrative was emphasizing a normative,
  consistent principle the latter, that
  applications may change from one time and place
  to the next.
• Adapted from William W. Klein, Craig L. Blomberg,
  Robert L. Hubbard. Introduction to Biblical
  Interpretation. Dallas, TX Word Publishing,
  1993, 349-350.

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How to do Theology of Mission The Tapestry of
Gods Mission
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MetaRoles of Women

• OT NT
• Prayers Hannah Acts 1 Women
• Prophets Deborah Anna
• Theologians Miriam Priscilla
• Influencers Ruth Lydia
• Missionaries Servant Samaritan

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MetaTapestry of Theologians

• Asenath, wife of Joseph (Genesis 41)
• Zipporah, wife of Moses (Exodus 4)
• Deborah (Judges 5)
• Hannah (1 Samuel 2)
• Singers of David (1 Samuel 18, 21, 29)
• Abigail (1 Samuel 25)
• Wise women (2 Samuel 14)
• Mothers (Proverbs 1, 6)
• Esther (Esther)
• Pilates wife (Matthew 27)
• Elizabeth (Luke 1)
• Mary (Luke 1)
• Samaritan (John 4)

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3 Gentile Theologians

• Hagar Genesis 16
• Rahab Joshua 2
• Sheba 1 Kings 10

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Didaskalos Thesis

• Throughout the Bible, Gentile women were servants
  of the LORD in the role of the didaskalos, the
  dispenser of Gods authoritative instruction, to
  bring about his corrective purpose at a turning
  point in Israels history.

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Hagar

• Genesis 161-16

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Genesis 1613-14

• 13 She gave this name to the LORD who spoke to
  her You are the God who sees me, for she
  said, I have now seen the One who sees me. 14
  That is why the well was called Beer Lahai Roi
  it is still there, between Kadesh and Bered.

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Rahab

• Joshua 21-24

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Joshua 28-10

• 8 Before the spies lay down for the night, she
  went up on the roof 9 and said to them, I know
  that the LORD has given you this land and that a
  great fear of you has fallen on us, so that all
  who live in this country are melting in fear
  because of you. 10 We have heard how the LORD
  dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when
  you came out of Egypt, and what you did to Sihon
  and Og, the two kings of the Amorites east of the
  Jordan, whom you completely destroyed.

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Joshua 211-13

• 11 When we heard of it, our hearts melted in fear
  and everyones courage failed because of you, for
  the LORD your God is God in heaven above and on
  the earth below.
• 12 Now then, please swear to me by the LORD that
  you will show kindness to my family, because I
  have shown kindness to you. Give me a sure sign
  13 that you will spare the lives of my father and
  mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who
  belong to themthat you will save us from death.

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Queen of Sheba

• 1 Kings 101-13

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1 Kings 106-9

• 6 She said to the king, The report I heard in my
  own country about your achievements and your
  wisdom is true. 7 But I did not believe these
  things until I came and saw with my own eyes.
  Indeed, not even half was told me in wisdom and
  wealth you have far exceeded the report I heard.
  8 How happy your people must be! How happy your
  officials, who continually stand before you and
  hear your wisdom! 9 Praise be to the LORD your
  God, who has delighted in you and placed you on
  the throne of Israel. Because of the LORDs
  eternal love for Israel, he has made you king to
  maintain justice and righteousness.

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Didaskalos Thesis

• Throughout the Bible, Gentile women were servants
  of the LORD in the role of the didaskalos, the
  dispenser of Gods authoritative instruction, to
  bring about his corrective purpose at a turning
  point in Israels history.

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Result of the Didaskalos Thesis

• Gentiles
• Encountered
• Marginalized
• Servants

The women were
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Result of the Didaskalos Thesis
The LORD was

• Sovereign
• Accommodating
• Countercultural
• Respectful
• Entrusting
• Donating

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• Evangelical Disagreement
• Is it appropriate for women to aspire to
  leadership roles within the church that will
  place them in positions of authority over men?

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• Who is asking the question?

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• God?

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• Or men of power?

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Implications for Israel

• God used Gentile women to teach the nation of
  Israelincluding male leadersto turn the nation
  towards Gods purposes.

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Implications for Today

• God can use powerless women to teach the
  Churchincluding male leadersto turn the Church
  towards Gods purposes.

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Conclusion

• 9 When they came back from the tomb, they told
  all these things to the Eleven and to all the
  others. 10 It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary
  the mother of James, and the others with them who
  told this to the apostles.
• 11 But they did not believe the women, because
  their words seemed to them like nonsense. (Luke
  249-11, NIV)

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• Whatever she does, a woman must do it twice
  better than a man to get equal recognition.
• Fortunately, its not difficult.
• Charlotte Elizabeth Whitton
• (Mayor of Ottawa, Canada 1951-1956 1960-1964)

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Coming Around

• And men stalk
• To their seat of power
• And wait for God
• To come around
• To their way of thinking.
• And God is still waiting,
• For a host of men,
• In their comfortable churches,
• To come around
• To his way of loving.

Thomas John Carlisle, You! Jonah! (Grand Rapids,
MI Eerdmans, 1968), 64.
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Women as FaithfulServants of Gods Revelation

• QUESTIONS?
• For more information
• robert.gallagher_at_wheaton.edu

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Abigail

• 1 Samuel
• 252-42

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1 Samuel 2528-29

• 28 Please forgive your servants presumption.
  The LORD your God will certainly make a lasting
  dynasty for my lord, because you fight the LORDs
  battles, and no wrongdoing will be found in you
  as long as you live. 29 Even though someone is
  pursuing you to take your life, the life of my
  lord will be bound securely in the bundle of the
  living by the LORD your God, but the lives of
  your enemies he will hurl away as from the pocket
  of a sling.

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1 Samuel 2530-31

• 30 When the LORD has fulfilled for my lord every
  good thing he promised concerning him and has
  appointed him ruler over Israel, 31 my lord will
  not have on his conscience the staggering burden
  of needless bloodshed or of having avenged
  himself. And when the LORD your God has brought
  my lord success, remember your servant.

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Samaritan Woman

• John 41-42

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John 428-29, 39-42

• 28 Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went
  back to the town and said to the people, 29
  Come, see a man who told me everything I ever
  did. Could this be the Messiah? . . .
• 39 Many of the Samaritans from that town believed
  in him because of the womans testimony, He told
  me everything I ever did. 40 So when the
  Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay
  with them, and he stayed two days. 41 And
  because of his words many more became believers.
  42 They said to the woman, We no longer believe
  just because of what you said now we have heard
  for ourselves, and we know that this man really
  is the Savior of the world.

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Pilates Wife

• Matthew 27

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Matthew 2719, 24

• 19 While Pilate was sitting on the judges seat,
  his wife sent him this message Dont have
  anything to do with that innocent man, for I have
  suffered a great deal today in a dream because of
  him. . . .
• 24 When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere,
  but that instead an uproar was starting, he took
  water and washed his hands in front of the crowd.
  I am innocent of this mans blood, he said.
  It is your responsibility!

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Acts 529

• But Peter and the apostles answered and said, We
  must obey God rather than men.