There is neither Jew nor Greek slave nor

There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus (Gal. 3: 28) Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all (Col. 3: 11) 65 - Women in ministry (1) 1

… the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God (1 Cor. 11: 3) Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. Wives submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church … Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her (Eph. 5: 21 -25) 65 - Women in ministry (2) 2

… women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak … it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church (1 Cor. 14: 34, 35) And every woman who prays or prophesies … (1 Cor. 11: 5) For God is not a God of disorder but of peace (1 Cor. 14: 33) 65 - Women in ministry (3) 3

When Priscilla and Aquila heard him [Apollos], they invited him to their home and explained to him the way of God more adequately (Acts 18: 26) Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my fellow-workers in Christ Jesus. They risked their lives for me … Greet Andronicus and Junia … who have been in prison with me. They are outstanding among the apostles (Rom. 16: 3, 7) 65 - Women in ministry (4) 4

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to the ends of the earth (Acts 1: 8) They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women … (a group numbering about a hundred and twenty) … When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place … all of them were filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 1: 14, 15; 2: 1, 4) 65 - Women in ministry (5) 5

I also want women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, not with braided hair or gold or pearls of expensive clothes, but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God. A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man (1 Tim. 2: 9 -12) 65 - Women in ministry (6) 6

Discussion & dialogue Discuss with your study group matters of culture that tend to divide the church, planted at your mission field, as happened in Corinth, and what biblical answers can be found to address these issues Discuss how women can perform all ministerial functions on the mission field, without causing offence, whether from a cultural or a legalistic perspective 65 - Women in ministry (7) 7