Observation: This verse has been scrutinized by Christian's for a long time. The apparent problem is that Junia was a woman and Paul says she ranked high among the apostles. Why is that scandalous? It is thought by some that apostles can only be men because the office of an apostle exercised authority over the church and Paul said in 1 Timothy 2:12 that woman are not to be in authority over men (in the church). Therefore, either Junia was a man or the phrase about her apostleship meant that the apostles took note of her because of her excellent work for Christ in ministry.
Two things here: (1) the best N.T. and first century scholarship confirms that "Junia" would not be a man's name, even if it was short for something else, and (2) the word "apostle" is not a technical one nor is it strictly a biblical one. It was a common Greek word for an emissary or messenger (meaning "one sent with a message").
1 Timothy 2:12 is still God's design for church leadership. It does not reflect God's valuation of men or women, but merely defines roles or functions. The Bible frequently, as a historical document that accurately records historically true events, describes sexism or prejudices but that does not mean that it endorses it.
Application:
Again, the Bible teaches no inequality between the sexes. Guard my mind from the prejudices that the word teaches. Even when the world attempts to correct such sex-based superiority, they either denigrate one sex or they swing to the opposite extreme. Ultimately, they reject God's authority as Creator and for God's designed purpose for men and women. In doing so, they can provide neither sufficient nor logically-sound justification for equality. So, they swing from one extreme to the other.
Prayer; Father, thank You for speaking to me today. Thank You for Your protecting grace and Your grace which guides me away from evil. Your Spirit is my strength. I love You. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment