The Ministry of Women

Copyright © 2025¹

by
Percy Gutteridge

The Original Blessing and Its Loss

In the beginning Adam and Eve were created partners, of the same substance. Eve and women were not created to be a different and an inferior race. They had the same kind of natural, physical body, the same kind of soul, the same kind of spirit. Woman, like man, was a tri-unity, a trichotomy—body, soul, and spirit. Thus Mary, the mother of Jesus, speaking out of her physical body, could prophetically say,

⁴⁶“My soul magnifies the Lord,
⁴⁷And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.”
Luke 1:46-47

The original blessing of God was on the pair, not upon Adam alone—

Once again, please note that the blessing is on them, not only upon him.

But there came the Fall and the sentence of judgment upon the man and the woman. Eve was made subject to her husband:

“…Your desire shall be for your husband,
And he shall rule over you.”
Genesis 3:16

But notice that this was a punishment upon Eve; it was not so at the beginning. And unfortunately, with ever-increasing sin, evil men took advantage over the weaker vessel, and because they were physically stronger they exerted brutal authority over women, even to having a plurality of wives. Lamech, following his ancestor Cain who murdered, exceeded him by being the first to commit the sin of bigamy in his prideful wickedness. Consider, too, that the “wise” Solomon, in his backslidden condition, outdid all men by having a thousand wives.

At last today we are realizing that in no way are women inferior to men intellectually, although the male usually has an advantage physically. The desire of some men to dominate others is often motivated by fear and is a sign of their mental inferiority.

When our heavenly Father sacrificed His only begotten Son to be His Lamb to take away the sin of the world, it included a reversal of the sentence pronounced against Adam and Eve and their offspring. Legal fundamentalists who especially are insistent upon the continued lower status of women in respect to men, even under this Gospel era, either have forgotten, or do not understand, that Christ on Calvary redeemed us all from the original curse on Adam’s race.

The Church has restored the original decree that had been enacted before the Fall that one man should marry one woman, and it has added that she should have the right of choice in saying “Yes” or “No” to his suit of marriage with her. In the Galatian epistle Paul writes:

The One Teacher, the Lord Jesus Christ, made it very clear that in Heaven all sexual distinctions are abolished. There are not male spirits and female spirits there. Nor are there such on Earth. Yet even the professing church for centuries held the tradition that demons were either incubi or succubi, that is male or female. But Jesus said, “In the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage but are like the angels of God” (Matthew 22:30).

Women in Leadership?

In the past Woman has very rarely taken leadership, by reason of her natural modesty, and because of male dominance and the false teaching that it was against the will of God that she should do so. But where circumstances have compelled her to do so, both biblical and secular history record the satisfactory results. For instance, we remember the Elizabethan era, the “golden age” of English history (1558-1603) under the 55-year reign of Queen Elizabeth I. And the Scriptures offer the example of how, in the reign of good king Josiah, God’s people went for counsel to the prophetess Huldah (2 Chronicles 34:14-28). If women in leadership had been against His will, God would not have appointed Deborah to judge Israel. Two whole chapters are devoted to her (Judges 4-5).

The argument is often raised in these two cases that God chose a woman because He could not find a man! Our God is a great God. He prepares ahead of time for the carrying out of His will. If He had wanted a man to judge Israel during the time of Deborah, there would have been such a man present. If you doubt it, remember as examples Isaac and John the Baptist, both born in the intention of God. And if you think that God is casual in preparing His great matters, read the book of Jonah again and notice the occasions when He planned ahead—preparing a great fish, a gourd, a worm and a vehement east wind. Too often we are inclined to think that the Most High God is such a one as we are ourselves.

The greatest example of God choosing women as His messengers and leaders is the overseas mission field. Here are a few of the very many who have shown an ability and a courage equal to the most renowned men:

• Mary Slessor of Calabar, called “the uncrowned Queen of the Congo”;²
• Pandita Ramabai of India;³
• Amy Carmichael of India;⁴ and
• Gladys Aylward of China.⁵

And such female leadership isn’t confined to the mission field. In America and Canada, for example, the Church has seen such public crusade-leading evangelists as:

• Maria Woodworth-Etter,⁶ a pentecostal leader before the 1906 revival; and
• Amy Semple McPherson,⁷ founder of the Foursquare Church.

There were many more, who subject to the prejudice of men, lived their lives in obscurity, but faithfully fulfilled their spiritual calling; they are well known in heaven!

God’s appointed leaders are like His Son, “meek and lowly in heart”; they are not tyrants demanding a legal obedience. Like the Great Shepherd, in eastern fashion they lead the sheep; they never drive them. There are too many managers, foremen, overseers, and husbands who make the working life of those under them a misery, to use no harsher term. We are all stewards, and must answer at the Judgment Day for the position that we now hold on Earth, whether as master or servant.

The Lord Jesus gave us THE example of true humility. Knowing that He was the Sovereign Lord of the universe, He took a towel and girded Himself and began to wash the disciples’ feet. And He said, “If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you” (John 13:14-15).

Many a sincere Christian husband, an apt quoter of Paul, in the halcyon days of his courtship would have counted it an unspeakable privilege to have washed the feet of his future bride. He has now been married for years and still “believes the Bible from cover to cover,” but the thought of doing such a thing as that never enters his rather legal scripture-filled mind. A wise marriage counselor dealing with a couple whose marriage at long last was falling apart, asked the husband, a man of the land and the plow, “Have you told your wife lately that you love her?” He replied, “I told ‘er that over thirty years ago and I ’aven’t changed me mind.”

Women’s Ministry

What has all this to do with women’s ministry? Quite a lot, if we think about it. For years we have accepted a double ethical standard—an easier one for men, and a harder one for women. The Church has refused to believe that now “there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28).

In my youth I was for some years worshiping with a Christian denomination proud of its close adherence to Bible doctrine. They were distinctly antinomian⁸ concerning the Law. They would not allow the Ten Commandments to be taught in the Sunday School, where I was a teacher. They would have objected strongly to a preacher attempting to lead the congregation in the Lord’s Prayer. Their women kept silent in the worship meeting. A senior lady teacher in the Sunday School was able to lead some of the older boys in her class to the Lord Jesus as Savior. It was immediately decided that they must now be transferred to a male teacher, which was duly done. The reason? Paul had said, “I do not permit a woman to teach” (1 Timothy 2:12). I will not comment on the absurdity of this, save to say that they had abandoned Moses as the Lawgiver and had substituted for him the apostle Paul as their new Lawgiver.

In the second part of The Pilgrim’s Progress, good John Bunyan tells us that Christiana and her company had reached an inn kept by Gaius. In his entertainment of the pilgrims he says the following:

These remarkably broad-minded and enlightened words come from the pen of an imprisoned Puritan preacher who lived in the 17th Century!

I will answer here a question that I am often asked by earnest Christians: “Do you believe in the ordination of women for the ministry?” I answer, “I don’t believe in the ordination of men for the ministry!” Too many men in the Christian ministry today have not been called into it by the Head of the Church, the Lord Jesus Christ. They are in it as a profession, or worse still, as an easy way of making a living. True ordination for Christian ministry comes from heaven, not a denominational board. It is a calling, not of men, but of the Lord. Thus, the church needs the discernment to recognize and affirm those whom the Lord has called.

For many years a vital question was asked of each candidate at their ordination for the ministry: “Do you trust that you are inwardly moved by the Holy Spirit to take upon you this office and ministration to serve God for the promoting of His glory, for the preaching of His Gospel, and for the edifying of His people?” It is the Lord Himself who calls into His ministry, and it is only His sheep who hear and know His voice.

This truth applies also to the calling of elders in the local church. No church council should arbitrarily appoint and consecrate elders. Spiritual discernment is needed. True elders have been forged by the Lord in the fire; but because of humble origin and self-effacing humility, they may go unrecognized, to the detriment of the spiritual quality of that church. And why are sanctified women who have been under, and have gratefully accepted, the Father’s long discipline, and who are now manifestly partakers of His holiness, excluded from eldership? Such women have a viewpoint and a spiritual intuition that the church needs.

The Lord Jesus Honored Women

On the morning of Christ’s glorious Resurrection, the Lord employed women (and only women!) as the first heralds of the greatest news ever proclaimed:

• “He [Jesus ] appeared first to Mary Magdalene” (Mark 16:9).
• “And they [the women] departed quickly from the sepulcher… and did run to bring His disciples word… and Jesus met them, saying, ‘All Hail.’… Then said Jesus, ‘Go tell my brethren that they go into Galilee, and there they shall see Me” (Matthew 28:9-10).
• “But their words [the women’s report] seemed to them [the male disciples, and, more specifically, the Eleven Apostles] as idle tales and they believed them not” (Luke 24:11).
• “Afterward He appeared to the eleven and rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart because they believed not those who had seen Him after He was risen [i.e., the women]” (Mark 16:14).

It was a typical male reaction not to believe women, and it earned a much-deserved rebuke from the Lord Jesus.

Women in the Early Church

Despite the fact that at the beginning the Church was not free from prejudice, being very largely Jewish (for women had very little part to play in the synagogue), there was nevertheless the appointment of deaconesses. In 1 Timothy 3:8-13, Paul gave instruction to Timothy concerning deaconship in the church. Yet, the King James translation leaves us with a lack of clarity in verse 11:

Likewise, their wives must be reverent, not slanderers, temperate, faithful in all things.

Deacons’ wives? But there is no mention of the wives of elders in the previous “eldership” passage (1 Timothy 3:1-7). Didn’t it matter whether or not the elders’ wives were reverent, temperate, etc.?

In verse 11 here, the word their isn’t found in the Greek. And the word translated as wives¹¹ is more often translated simply as women in the New Testament. It is now more commonly accepted that the word translated wives should have been rendered women;¹² and in the context of this deaconship passage, Paul is referring to female deacons. When Paul writes to the Romans, he mentions Phoebe, who is a diákonos, that is, a deacon of the church at Cenchrea (Romans 16:1-2).¹³ In Paul’s epistles as translated in the King James, this word is usually translated minister.¹⁴

So the Church, following apostolic precedent, very early on appointed a ministry of deaconesses, mentioned quite frequently by the early Church Fathers.

Women also were to pray or prophesy in the assembly. This was a freedom not allowed to them under Judaism. However, they were subject to conditions in prophesying, about which we shall have something to say further on.

The Headship of Man Over Woman

Paul says, “I want you to know that the head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God” (1 Corinthians 11:3). That does not give the husband permission to make his wife his servant, to give her his orders and exact instant obedience. She is the hostess in the home, not the maidservant.

Consider this headship. Is the husband a mediator between the wife and her Savior? Is there not only “one mediator between God” and the human race, even the Lord Jesus Christ (1 Timothy 2:5)? The wife has the same direct access to God as her husband. I have read in a publication especially for Christian women that every woman needs a spiritual covering, and that the covering for the wife is the husband, even IF he is an unbeliever! The truth is that every Christian wife has the only covering she needs, which is the Almighty hand of her loving Heavenly Father. The Lord Jesus Christ is not only the head of the man but also of the woman, whether she is married or not.

Paul says that the head of Christ is God the Father. What then is the Lord Jesus Christ’s relationship to the Father? For that must be the wife’s relationship to her husband. Both men and women are admonished by Paul,

Remember that the Lord Jesus is equal to the Father; He is fully divine. All that the Father is, He is. “I and My Father are one” (John 10:30). He it is who created all things and “upholding all things through the word of His power” (Hebrews 1:3), for by Him all things hold together (Colossians 1:17 kjv). Yet He voluntarily gives due honor to the Father.

In the same way, the Bible says that husband and wife are one, not that the husband is her superior made of different quality than his wife; for they are of one flesh, even as the Father and the Son are of one Spirit. How does the Lord Jesus show His headship over man? By being to us ever loving and kind, tender, burden bearing, meek and lowly in heart, taking upon Himself all of our responsibilities. I have found that when the Lord makes a request to me, He always says, “Please do this for Me.” He never yet, since I gave myself unreservedly to Him, has abruptly given me an order! This is the way in which a husband should show his headship over his wife—in humility and meekness. And her response to him must be in exactly the same measure.

Women in the Christian Assembly

Head Covering

In our western civilization women do not now wear any kind of veils. They did, not so very long ago. I remember that when I was a little boy, an aunt came to visit us, and she kissed me through her veil. It gave me quite a peculiar feeling, as it seemed to put a distance between us. Perhaps that was her intention. But in the East in Bible times all women wore a veil which covered them. In Islamic Arabian countries they are often under obligation to do so still. Until quite recently it was the custom with us for a woman to wear a hat in church.

Paul made it clear in his day that women were to wear, as usual, the veil, when in speaking on God’s behalf they prayed or prophesied during the service. For under Holy Spirit inspiration she became a priest when praying on behalf of the congregation to God. Her covering was to veil out the authority of man, to signify that she was under God’s authority. The same thing applied when in prophecy she was speaking on God’s behalf to the people. In those early days Paul wrote, “Whenever you come together, each of you has a psalm, has a teaching, has a tongue, has a revelation, has an interpretation”—not just the men, but the women also (l Corinthians 14:26). He says emphatically that the women should not throw off the veil, as did the pagan prophetesses in such places as Delphi. In demonic frenzy they unbraided their hair, letting it fly loose, and threw off their veils.

The following question may be asked, “Should a woman wear a head covering in a place of worship?” The answer is in the affirmative, ONLY if that person, individually, feels that she should do so, but it should not be a fixed rule of the church. If that is so, then that church has become legally ritualistic and is in great danger of losing its spiritual quality.

Some years ago I had been speaking at a well-attended women’s meeting; it was for a denomination that is very strict about their women folk keeping silence in the assembly. I was afterward approached by the leader, a gracious lady, who thanked me for the correct biblical content and spiritual value of the message. She shared with me a problem that was a concern to the older sisters in the assembly, and asked for my opinion concerning it. The younger women increasingly were coming to the worship meeting not wearing a hat. I reminded her that Paul said that the sisters were only to wear a head covering when they prayed or prophesied; but seeing that they were not allowed to do either in the meeting, it need not be a matter of concern. I was not asked to speak there again!

As a matter of interest, in 1 Corinthians 11:6, when Paul writes “For if the woman be not covered,” etc., the word for covered is katakalúpto,¹⁵ which means completely covered; so to comply with what Paul is saying, a head-scarf would not be deemed by him sufficient. But to finish the matter, let Paul speak again: “But if anyone seems to be contentious, we have no such custom [i.e., “common usage”], nor do the churches of God” (1 Corinthians 11:16). In other words, the matter has very little importance either way.

Speaking in the Assembly¹⁶

Some men make much of Paul’s statement in 1 Corinthians 14:34—

Let your women keep silent in the churches, for they are not permitted to speak; but they are to be submissive, as the law also says.

Does this really mean, then, that a woman must never open her mouth to do anything in church? It does not! How could a woman pray or prophesy in the assembly (1 Corinthians 11:5) without speaking aloud? And the manifestation of the gifts, on which Paul focuses in the fourteenth chapter of 1 Corinthians, is about the Holy Spirit using whomever He chooses:

• • I wish you all spoke in tongues… (v. 5);
  • If all prophesy… (v. 24);
  • …each one of you has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation.
  • For you can all prophesy one by one.… (v. 31).

The Holy Spirit has already told us through the Prophet Joel (Joel 2:28-29), and affirmed through the Apostle Peter on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:17-18), that “your sons and your daughters will prophesy.” (Peter, under the Spirit’s inspiration, even expands on Joel 2:29, which says, “Even on the male and female servants I will pour out My Spirit in those days, by adding “and they shall prophesy” (Acts 2:18). So let there be no doubt that when Paul says “all” and “each one of you,” most emphatically the women are included.

No, the prohibition in 1 Corinthians 14:34, often quoted out of context, is made clearer by the verse which follows:

In verses 34 and 35, Paul uses a common word for speak. It’s not the word for preach (euangelízō), nor is it the word for teach (didáskō), nor is it the Greek word for proclaiming as a herald (kērússō). The word Paul uses of women here is laléō—meaning simply to talk. Paul is enforcing good manners and common courtesy. Please don’t talk to your husband¹⁷ (or anyone else, for that matter) and distract from or even interrupt whoever is speaking. Paul is saying, “Would you please defer your ‘information exchanges’ until after you get home?” Isn’t that sensible?

Teaching and the Related Ministries

What about (1 Timothy 2:12), where Paul writes, “I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence”? A very important question should now be asked. Are we to accept Paul’s words as of equal authority with that of the WORD, the Lord Jesus Christ? When the Lord says, “I say to you,” has it not a far greater weight, He being “our great Savior God,”¹⁸ than the words of one of His servants? When Paul speaks, is it not an opinion? When the Lord speaks or has spoken, He is not just giving an opinion, for it is vested with all the power and authority of the One who commanded, “Let there be”—and there was! His word is always literal truth.

So let us earnestly consider this matter. Is it Paul saying this or God? If it is Paul, he speaks with all the background and tradition of the sincere Jew. He says not “I was,” but “I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee” (Acts 23:6). He does not say, “God does not permit a woman to teach,” but rather, “I do not permit a woman to teach.” Do you not see the vast difference? We must examine this very carefully.¹⁹

Is it Paul saying this, or the one Teacher, God the Son? If it is God the Son, the Creator, then why did He create the woman with the same aptitude to teach as the man? It would have been better to have denied her the ability to do so, rather than giving her that gift and then denying her the right to use it. Some folks have argued that it is quite right for a woman to teach in any other sphere except the Church. We will consider that.

The Lord Jesus Christ, who is the supreme and only true builder of His church (“I will build my Church”²⁰), has the authority, the ability, and the right to utilize in that great work whomsoever He will in the many building needs of that great operation. He has appointed for this work as His subordinates five spiritual ministries. They are “apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers… for the work of the ministry, for the building up of the body of Christ” (Ephesians 4:11-12).

If you will consider this carefully, you will see that it is not a “pecking order,” that is, an order of precedence, but a chronological order. First there must be an apostle, a church founder, like Paul, then a prophet to bring to them the word of God in power and authority. Then there is the command, “Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature”—this is the work of an evangelist. But also, the sheep of the local church must be fed, so in due order God chooses and appoints for this most necessary work a pastor (the meaning of the word in the Greek is shepherd). And to assist in the feeding of the flock, which is most necessary—else they will languish, become sickly and die—His wisdom is shown in the calling and enduement of teachers.

Women in Missions Ministry

Now think again of Jesus’ great missionary commandment, “Go into all the world and preach the Gospel.” And consider that there are many more women than men in this ministry, teaching the native peoples the truths of the Bible and especially of His “so great salvation,” establishing churches, and ministering to them spiritually, mentally, and physically. You will notice that I have presented the need in the proper chronological order.²¹ When this fact has been pointed out to those Christians who maintain that women should not teach, the thoughtless reply is, “But the mission field is not the Church; it is only an outreach of the Church, and the Lord permits it because the men will not volunteer.” I regret to have to say that many professing Christians only know about the Lord; they do not know Him personally. If they knew Him better, they would realize that He is Sovereign Lord and Creator, and when He chooses a man, that man goes, even though it be through sore chastisement as with Jonah; He does not have to substitute for him a woman. And when He chooses a woman she goes, too, even if every missionary society refuses her, as the Church saw in the case of Gladys Aylward (mentioned earlier)!

Paul adds a condition to his words concerning women teaching, that in doing so they must not usurp authority. “A bossy woman is just as repellent as a bossy man”—I have taken the liberty of interpreting the apostle’s language into the vernacular, because I wish to make his meaning quite clear, for after all it applies to both sexes.

Let’s continue with our subject by considering the greatest news that was ever given on earth—the Lord had risen from the dead! It was great news that the Messiah had come, born of a virgin, in the village of Bethlehem of Judea. It was great news that His ministry had begun and that He was healing the sick, casting out demons, and raising the dead. But the greatest news of all was that He, though crucified, dead and buried, had risen again! That fact is the most important part of the Gospel. The apostles always emphasized it to their hearers. It meant that Jesus was here NOW, to do all those miracles through His Church worldwide that He had previously done only locally in Palestine. Through whom did He choose to take this good news of His resurrection to His disciples? We’ve already seen the answer—Women! And as we saw earlier, He scolded the men for not believing the women. (See Matthew 28:9-10; Mark 16:7,14; John 20:17-18.)

Teaching Children

Let’s get back to Paul’s word to Timothy—“I do not permit a woman to teach.” If we take those words strictly, then a mother should not teach her children. The good influence and teaching of Christian mothers upon their children is one of the great heritages of the Church. It is mostly Mother who teaches her children the stories of Jesus from the Bible. She it is who will teach them, when they are old enough, the Lord’s Prayer and the Shepherd Psalm (Psalm 23). And when they reluctantly go to bed, they will kneel at their mother’s knee as they repeat the good old prayer of generations, “Now I lay me down to sleep.”

Teaching through Books²²

If women are never to teach—full stop!—then they shouldn’t be writing books (which can be powerful instruments of teaching), and the Lord shouldn’t be so scandalous Himself by blessing those books to the hearts of so many hungry souls. A sampling of the many noteworthy women of God and their works includes:

• American Hannah Whitall Smith (1832-1911), whose The Christian’s Secret of a Happy Life has blessed hundreds of thousands of Christians since it was written 150 years ago. There’s a reason why it is still in print!
• Hannah More (1745-1833) of Britain wrote tracts for the literate poor. Her 52 titles exceeded 2,000,000 copies in circulation.
• Elizabeth Prentiss (1818-1878) was an American author of 25 titles. Her Stepping Heavenward is a marvelous book.²³
• England’s Frances Ridley Havergal (1836-1879), whose poetic pen produced many well-known hymns (which we shall consider presently), blessed countless thousands with her book Kept for the Master’s Use.
• Not to be overlooked is Margaret Gatty, whose fine book, Parables from Nature, contains deepest spiritual teaching taken from nature.

Teaching through Hymnody

There is wonderful and powerful teaching in Christian hymns composed by women. For example, consider this wonderful hymn by Mary Lathbury:

Break Thou the bread of life, O Lord, to me,
As Thou didst break the loaves beside the sea;
Beyond the sacred page I seek Thee, Lord;
My spirit pants for Thee, O living Word.²⁴

You have probably come across this hymn with some verses added by Alexander Groves, who has perverted the intention of the hymn to mean that the Bread of Life is the Bible. Mary Lathbury knew better than that! She knew that the Living Bread came down from Heaven and is a Divine Person, not a sacred book. So she says, “BEYOND the sacred page I seek Thee, Lord,” which means she seeks a closer personal fellowship with her Beloved on Earth now; she is not satisfied just to read about Him in the Scriptures.

Another woman, Harriet Auber, wrote a deep and lovely hymn about the Holy Spirit:

I do not know of any deeper, sweeter teaching on the person and work of the Holy Spirit than this. It is all so concentrated in such a delightful simple poetic form, that it is easy for anyone, without any theological learning, to assimilate it.

There is also the hymn Nearer My God to Thee, written by Sarah Flower Adams. It teaches us that under all circumstances, joyous or unhappy though they may be, we can by them be raised nearer to God.

And what a contribution Mrs. Cecil Frances Alexander has made, both for adults and children, in her hymns, such as:

Jesus calls us o’er the tumult
Of our life’s wild restless sea;
Day by day His sweet voice soundeth,
Saying, “Christian, follow Me.”²⁶

Think also of that lovely hymn, profitable both for children and parents, teaching in the simplest language the very essence of Christ’s atoning sacrifice:

There is a green hill far away,
Without a city wall,
Where the dear Lord was crucified
Who died to save us all.²⁷

Generations of children have learned and sung Mrs. Alexander’s lovely hymn giving God praise for the beauty of the Earth that He has made:

All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful,
The Lord God made them all.²⁸

And there’s her delightful carol,

Once in royal David’s city
Stood a lowly cattle-shed,
Where a mother laid her baby
In a manger for His bed,
Mary was that mother mild,
Jesus Christ her little child.²⁹

How much we owe as well to Frances Jane Van Alstyne, who, under her maiden name Fanny Crosby, wrote thousands of hymns, such as:

• Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross;
• To God Be the Glory! Great Things He Hath Done!
• Behold Me Standing at the Door;
• Blessèd Assurance, Jesus Is Mine;
• I Am Thine, O Lord; I Have Heard Thy Voice;
• Rescue the Perishing, Care for the Dying.

Finally, was there ever sublimer teaching on prayer than that of Mary Russell Olivant?

Do you see it now? Women have been in leadership and ministry roles since Old Testament times. They were entrusted to be the first proclaimers of the Resurrection and they served in the New Testament church. They have been ministering on Christ’s mission fields, nurturing the next generation of Christians, and teaching through their writings and through the sublime theology of hymns for centuries—all with God’s clear blessing upon their labors! Christ has redeemed us, men and women, not just from the curse of the law, but also from the stigma of the Fall. Oh, that we might believe the word of the Lord when He says, “There is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus”!

I will conclude our considerations of women with a few verses from Proverbs, where God shares about women as wives, a most honorable position:

Prayer

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Endnotes: