If we just ask our selves, ‘What could be fundamentally wrong with women functioning in ministry, serving others from a heart of compassion and using their God-given gifts? What moral or ethical principle might that violate?” Then we shortly realize that the only possible violation of principle would be if a woman’s ministry somehow violated God’s order for the relationships between men and woman, husbands and wives. In both of the ‘problem passages” under consideration, Paul appeals to the divine order in marriage as the basis of his concern.
Thus we realize that women are only restricted in ministry in a very small sense. In so many other ways, God wants to use women for His glory, and He has been doing that for thousands of years. Scripture speaks of many positive contributions that women have made to God’s kingdom, some of which we have already considered. Let us not forget that some of Jesus’ closest friends were women (see John 11:5), and that women supported His ministry financially (see Luke 8:1-3), something that is not said of any men. The woman at the well of Samaria shared Christ with the men of her village, and many believed in Him (see John 4:28-30, 39). A female disciple named Tabitha is said to have been ‘abounding with deeds of kindness and charity which she continually did” (Acts 9:36). It was a woman who anointed Jesus for burial, and He commended her for it when certain men complained (see Mark 14:3-9). Finally, the Bible records that it was women who wept for Jesus as He carried His cross through the streets of Jerusalem, something not said of any men. These examples and many like them should encourage women to rise up and fulfill their God-ordained ministries. We need them all!
