Among Christians there is a divide about the place of women in the Church. Complementarians believe that women must be subordinate to men in home and church. Women are denied roles in church leadership. The main passages used in support of this are 1 Tim 2:11-15 and 1 Cor 14:34-35. Egalitarians, on the other hand, believe that men and women are equal, and women should serve God based on gifting. The main passage used here is Gal 3:26-28. Being a woman, this debate is of consequence to me.
A few years ago, I studied spiritual gifts. When I was working through the gift of leading, I discovered something very pertinent to the debate. Some of these verses were familiar to me, but one in particular suddenly came alive as I read it. I understood something that I had never realized before, despite having read this passage many times. Let me share these with you.
1 Thess 5:12 speaks about church leadership. “Now we ask you, brothers, to respect those who work hard among you, who are over you (lead you) in the Lord and who admonish you.” The three activities mentioned in this verse are quite likely connected together. Church leaders are probably the ones who work hard (labour) among believers, who are over them and who admonish. If we accept that leading involves these things, then some very interesting conclusions follow. The first of which is the somewhat surprising conclusion that the New Testament mentions several women in leadership positions in the early church.
Several women are explicitly mentioned as those who work hard (labour) in the Lord. Rom 16 mentions four women in this category: Mary (v 6), Tryphena, Tryphosa and Persis (v 12). 1 Cor 16:15-16 also mentions women in leadership, but less explicitly. This passage is very surprising and I never saw the implications of this passage until recently.
You know that the household of Stephanas were the first converts in Achaia, and they have devoted themselves to the service of the Lord’s people. I urge you, brothers and sisters, to submit to such people and to everyone who joins in the work and labours at it (1 Cor. 16:15-16 NIV).
This is a command to submit to the household of Stephanas, not a command to submit to the male head of the household. The household of Stephanas would no doubt have included his wife and possibly children and slaves. These people are commended as those who served the saints. Indeed, the Corinthians were instructed to submit to them and anyone else who is involved in this labour. It is clear that this instruction tells the church to submit to the leadership of (at least one) a woman. Lest the complementarians argue that this is not what is being said here, the word “submit” is the same word used of “wives submit to your husbands” (Eph 5:22).
Given that the New Testament provides actual examples of women in church leadership, it is difficult to argue that women cannot be Christian leaders. The women mentioned in these verses were commended for what they were doing. The church was told to submit to them and honour their work.