Chapter 7: Evangelical Feminist Claims about the Church from the New Testament Epistles
Wayne Grudem
Answer 7.1a: We should be hesitant to accept an interpretation that is found in no English translation. (221)Egalitarian claim 7.2: Junia: There was even a woman apostle, Junia (Rom. 16:7). If a woman can be an apostle, she can hold any other church office as well. (223)
Answer 7:1b: Recent Greek lexicons show the meaning "patron" or "helper" to be most likely. (222)
Answer 7.1c: Spencer has constructed a lexical "sleight of hand" argument, because she is not defining the noun prostatis but the related verb proistemi, and words don't take all the meanings of all the other words that are related to them. (222)
Answer 7.2a: The name that is spelled iounian in the Greek text of Romans 16:7 could be either a man's name or a woman's name simply according to the spelling. (224)
Answer 7.2b: In light of the most recent research in Greek grammar, the verse means, "Greet Andronicus and Junia(s)...well-known to the apostles." (224)
Answer 7.2c: There is very little comment on this name in the first four hundred years after the New Testament, and the comments are mixed regarding the gender of the name. (225)
Answer 7.2d: However, evidence from Latin seems to favor the view that this was a woman's name, Junia. (226)
Answer 7.2e: The word translated "apostles" could just mean "church messengers" here as it does elsewhere in Paul's writings. (226)
Answer 7.2f: In conclusion, the feminist claim that there was an apostle named Junia is built upon one uncertainty (the gender of the name) on top of another uncertainty (the meaning of "apostle" in this verse) on top of an improbable meaning of a phrase ("well known among" rather than "well known to"). (227)
Egalitarian claim 7.3: Women Could Prophesy: Women could prophesy
in the New Testament (1 Cor 11:5), and this implies that
they could also teach God's word and be pastors
or elders. (227)
Answer 7.3a: Prophecy and teaching are not the same. They are always viewed as separate gifts in the New Testament. (228)
Answer 7.3b: Prophecy in the New Testament is reporting something God spontaneously brings to mind, while teaching is explaining and applying Scripture or the teachings of the apostles. (228)
Answer 7.3c. Therefore it makes sense to say that women could prophesy but not teach in the church. (230)
Answer 7.3d: The fact that people can learn from prophecies does not mean that prophets were the same as teachers. (230)
Answer 7.3e: Prophecy, like other spiritual gifts, was to be subject to the teaching authority of the elders. (231)
Answer 7.3f: Those who believe that the New Testament gift of prophecy was the same as fully inspired prophecy in the Old Testament still see a difference between prophecy and Bible teaching. (231)
Egalitarian claim 7.4: Nobody Obeys 1 Corinthians 14:34: Complementarians
can't be consistent; 1 Corinthians 14:34 requires
that women be silent in church, but everybody disobeys
that command today, because women can sing, pray, read
Scripture, and so forth. Similarly, other New Testament
restrictions on women were for a particular circumstance,
not for all time. (232)
Answer 7.4a: The passage does not require women to be completely silent. (232)
Answer 7.4b: This passage requires women to be silent with respect to the activity under discussion, which is the judging of prophecies. (233)
Answer 7.4c: This passage is consistent with other New Testament passages that reserve the task of teaching and governing the whole congregation to men. (235)
Egalitarian claim 7.5: 1 Corinthians 14:34-35 Not Part Of Bible:
1 Corinthians 14:34–35 is a later scribal interpolation
that does not belong in the Bible. (235)
Answer 7.5a: No Greek manuscripts of the New Testament lack these verses, and they do not necessarily contradict what Paul wrote elsewhere. (236)
Answer 7.5b: This is a sophisticated academic procedure that results in removing the authority of part of the Word of God (236)
Egalitarian claim 7.6: A Quotation That Paul Rejects: 1 Corinthians
14:34–35 are not Paul's words, but are a quotation
from the Corinthians that Paul rejects. (238)
Answer 7.6a: It is precarious to consider a statement in the Bible a quotation that the author rejects unless we have strong evidence from the context. (238)
Answer 7.6b: These verses do not fit the pattern of other quotations from the Corinthians. (238)
Answer 7.6c: Bilezikian's (and Kaiser's) argument for the word "or" (Greek e) claims exactly the opposite of what the word means in contexts like this. (239)
Egalitarian claim 7.7: Disruptive Corinthian Women: Women in the Corinthian
church were being noisy and disruptive, and that is the
reason 1 Corinthians 14:34–35 tells women to be
silent. (242)
Answer 7.7a: There is no evidence inside or outside the Bible to prove this theory. (243)
Answer 7.7b: This theory says Corinth is a special situation, but Paul applies his rule to "all the churches." (245)
Answer 7.7c: This "noisy women" theory does not make sense of Paul's solution. (245)
Answer 7.7d: This theory makes Paul's remedy unfair. (246)
Answer 7.7e: Paul does not give noisy women as a reason, but gives the Old Testament law. (246)
Egalitarian claim 7.8: Women As Paul's Coworkers: Women such
as Euodia and Synteche (Phil. 4:2–3) were Paul's
"coworkers" and therefore had significant
leadership roles in the New Testament. (247)
Answer 7.8a: It is true that women were Paul's coworkers, but the title "coworker" does not imply that they had equal authority to Paul, or that they had the office of elder, or that they taught or governed in any New Testament churches. (248)
Answer 7.8b: Some coworkers do things that other coworkers do not do. (248)
Answer 7.8c: 1 Corinthians 16:16 does not tell Christians to be subject to every coworker. (249)
Egalitarian claim 7.9: Women Elders: Women elders are mentioned in
Titus 2:3, which speaks of "older women."
(251)
Answer 7.9a: The parallels with other groups of older and younger persons make this interpretation unlikely. (252)
Answer 7.9b: Spencer's interpretation is supported by no English translation and no lexicon. (252)
Egalitarian claim 7.10: Hebrews 11:2: Women are included in the "elders"
mentioned in Hebrews 11:2. Therefore there were women
elders. (253)
Answer 7.10a: The meaning "elders" does not fit the context. (253)
Egalitarian claim 7.11: Author Of Hebrews: It is very possible that
a woman was the author of the book of Hebrews. (254)
Answer 7.11a: The author's identity as a man is revealed in Hebrews 11:32. (254)
Egalitarian claim 7.12: Elect Lady In 2 John: The "elect lady"
in 2 John 1 is a woman in authority over a congregation.
(254)
Answer 7.12a: It is much more likely that 2 John is addressed to a whole church. (255)
Egalitarian claim 7.13: "The Widows" Were Women Elders:
The "widows" that Paul discusses in 1 Timothy
5:3–16 were actually female elders. (255)
Answer 7.13a: Older people are not automatically "elders." (256)
Answer 7.13b: The requirements for widows and elders are not the same. (256)
Answer 7.13c: Widows were given financial support because of need, not pay for ministry. (257)
Answer 7.13d: Wrongful gossip is not the same as rightful teaching. (257)
Answer 7.13e: Belleville's claims that widows had pastoral responsibility and taught the basics of the faith are incorrect. (258)
Egalitarian claim 7.14: Women Homeowners As Overseers: Women functioned
as overseers of the churches that met in their homes.
(261)
Answer 7.14a: In this section, as frequently elsewhere, Belleville goes beyond the text of Scripture and claims far more than it actually says. (261)
Answer 7.14b: A proliferation of unsubstantiated claims begins to look like grasping at straws. (262)
Egalitarian claim 7.15: Women Deacons4: Women such as Phoebe (Rom.
16:1) were deacons in the early church, and this shows
that all leadership roles should be open to women. (263)
Answer 7.15a: Many people think there were women deacons in the New Testament, while many others think there were not. But in either case, the office of deacon in the New Testament does not include the governing and teaching authority that is reserved for elders. (263)
Answer 7.15b: If the people who govern local churches are called "deacons," then women should not be deacons today. (266)
Answer 7.15c: There were women deacons in some parts of the early church, but they did not have teaching authority in the churches. (266)
Egalitarian claim 7.16: Elders Lacked Authority: Elders and overseers
in the New Testament did not have authority because authority
belonged to the church, not to persons. (268)
Answer 7.16a: It is a mistake to say that because one specific word is missing, an entire idea is missing, because the New Testament authors are not limited to one specific Greek word to express the idea of authority in the church. (269)
Answer 7:16b: It is not true that no leadership position in the New Testament is linked with authority. (269)
Answer 7.16c: It is not true that there is "no lexical basis" for associating proistemi with exercise of rule or authority by elders. (269)
Answer 7.16d: Hebrews 13:17 says to obey leaders, not just to follow them. (270)
Answer 7.16e: 1 Peter 5:3 tells leaders not to be domineering. It does not tell them not to rule over people. (271)
Answer 7.16f: Something is seriously wrong with an argument that changes the meanings of all the key terms in all the relevant passages to something not supported by any standard English translation. (272)
Egalitarian claim 7.17: Teachers Today Lack Authority: Teachers today
do not have the same authority as teachers in the New
Testament, because we have the whole Bible now and the
Bible is really our authority. (272)
Answer 7.17a: The authority of a teacher today is the same as at the time of the New Testament because Bible teaching always had to be based on the authority of the Bible, no matter how much of the Bible was available. (273)
Answer 7.17b: The authority of apostles was greater than that of teachers, and today the writings of the apostles (the New Testament) have taken the place of the living apostles in the New Testament church. (274)
Answer 7.17c: The primary authority for teachers today is the written Word of God. But in a secondary sense they have authority (a) because of congregational recognition of their trustworthiness as teachers, and (b) because of their own personal character qualities. (274)
Egalitarian claim 7.18: Paul Tells Women To Preach The Word: In 2
Timothy 4:1-2, Paul tells all Christians, including women,
to "preach the Word." (275)
Answer 7.18a: The commands in 1 Timothy 4:1-2 are all singular imperatives addressed specifically to Timothy. (277)
