For ages, it has always looked like women are not allowed to perform essential roles in their society.
Even the Bible/Christianity has been criticized for discriminating against women by not giving them any key role in the church.
However, that’s not true. God has always used women – from Sarah, who served as the mother of all nations “Gen 16:17”, to Dorcas, a charity leader in the early church “Acts. ”
In this article, we will look at women’s role in the church according to the Bible and some examples of godly solid womanhood displayed in the Bible.
So without further ado, let’s dive in.
7 Women’s Role In The Bible Explained
It’s not often that you come across a list of women from the Bible, let alone a list of women with their own stories. The women named in the Bible are given very few lines in this time, but what we do know about them is that they had huge roles in their influence on the Bible. The question is, how did they impact the Bible?
1. Women’s Role In Evangelism
1 After this, Jesus traveled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve were with him,
2 and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (called Magdalene) from whom seven demons had come out;
3 Joanna the wife of Chuza, the manager of Herod’s household; Susanna; and many others. These women were helping to support them out of their own means.
~ Luke 8:1-3
Women have played massive roles in evangelism, according to the Bible.
In Luke 10: 1, Jesus appointed seventy-two disciples and sent them out two by two to preach the gospel all over Jerusalem.
And in Luke 8:1-3, the Bible mentioned that some women were among Jesus’ disciples, some of which include Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Salome.
Also, the Samaritan woman in John 4:4-30 who met with Jesus at the well went into the town to proclaim the arrival of the Messiah.
2. Women’s Role In Prayer
He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they invited him to their home and explained to him the way of God more adequately.
~ Acts 18:26
Women were prayer warriors in the Bible times. Right from the garden of Eden when Eve worshipped God.
In Hebrew 11, Sarah was mentioned as a legend of faith, and you don’t become a faith leader without praying.
Hagar prayed, Hannah Prayed, and even Esther fasted and prayed for three days.
In the early church as well, there were powerful Christian women like Priscilla, Eunice, etc. who wouldn’t have gotten there without prayers (Acts 18:26).
Lydia was also a woman of prayer who could hear from God and easily understand things spoken by the Apostle Paul.
3. Women’s Role In Charity
40 Some women were watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joseph,[a] and Salome.
41 In Galilee these women had followed him and cared for his needs. Many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem were also there.
~ Mark 15:40-41
In Matthew 25, Jesus taught about the importance of charity in the church; throughout the Bible, women took the lead in Charity.
From the Shunammite woman who gave to the prophet Elijah to the new testament believers.
In Mark 15:40-41, we learned of Mary Magdalene, Mary the Mother of James, and Salome, who followed Jesus and cared for his needs.
They even went to his grave, intending to anoint his body.
We also read of Dorcas in the early church, widely known for her excellent charitable works.
She sewed clothes for the people around her and gave them to the needy (Acts 9:36).
4. Women’s Role In Teaching
These older women must train the younger women to love their husbands and their children,
~ Titus 2:4 (NLT)
While the Bible did not permit women to teach in the early church but to remain quiet (1 Timothy 2:12), it does encourage women to teach their fellow younger women.
In Titus 2:4, Women are told to teach the young ones to be sober, to love their husbands, etc.
Paul talked about Timothy being acquainted with sacred writings right from childhood, and thus was a result of Timothy’s grandmother, Eunice, who trained her grandson in the thorough knowledge of the word of God.
So women do have teaching roles in the church. But, first, they should teach their young women and children the knowledge and ways of God.
5. Women’s Role In Business
And when she and her household were baptized, she begged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.” So she persuaded us
~ Act 16:15
In Colossians 3:23-24, we understand that all jobs and businesses a Christian engages in are also an act of serving the Lord Christ.
And men were not the only workers. Some godly women in the early church worked also and ran their various businesses.
Lydia was an influential and wealthy businesswoman who imported Tyrian purple clothes (Act 16:15).
Phoebe occupied a very influential office as a public servant, serving as a Patron to many (Romans 16:1-2).
Also, we know about our mother, Eve, who had to work tirelessly to keep the garden along with Adam as commanded by God (Genesis 2:15).
6. Women’s Role In Church Leadership (Deaconess)
Women also served in leadership roles in the early church.
One of the women mentioned earlier, Phoebe, was one of the women’s church leaders in the early church, serving as a deaconess in the Church of Cenchrea (Romans 16:1).
There might be deaconesses in other churches, but she was the only one mentioned in the Bible.
7. Women’s Role In The Prophetic Ministry
Women also played roles as prophets in the Bible.
Even though they didn’t write prophetic books, it doesn’t mean they did not exist.
Some of the women prophetesses in the Bible include;
- Prophetess Mariam: Who served as a prophetess in Moses’ days (Exodus 15:20)
- Prophetess Huldah: Prophetess Huldah was used by God during the reign of King Josiah to prophecy the fall of God’s wrath on the wicked people of Judah (2 Kings 22:14-20)
- Prophetess Isaiah: While not much was mentioned about Isaiah’s wife, he did note that she was a prophetess, and she bore him a son(Isaiah 8:3).
- Prophetess Anna: The Bible talked about prophetess Anna the daughter of Penuel, who lived in the temple all her widowed life and would not die until she had seen the redemption God promised Israel – Baby Jesus (Luke 2:36-38).
Biblical Examples Of Strong Godly Womanhood
Some godly women played decisive roles in the Bible that changed the course of history.
The following are examples of godly solid womanhood;
1. Sarah: Sarah served as the mother of all nations (Genesis 17:16)
2. Jochebed and Mariam: The mother and sister of Moses who saved him at childbirth (Exodus 2).
3. Deborah: Deborah served as a prophetess, Judge, and heroine in Israel.
She served as the commander of the Israelite armies and led them to victory (Judge 4,5).
4. Rehab: Rehab was a woman of faith who helped Joshua’s spies escape from the land of Jericho, help Israel, and save the household (Joshua 6).
5. Jael: Herber’s wife, Jael, helped Israel claim prime victory after single-handedly killing Sisera by driving a tent peg (like a nail) through his head while he was asleep.
6. Esther: Esther saved the entire lineage of Israel when she turned the tables against those that sought to wipe out all of Israel from the land of Persia.
We could go on and on.
Bottom Line
The Bible has its chronicles of women who have made a massive impact in their times.
They were courageous and fearless, witty and clever, full of faith, Industries, righteous, obedient to God, effective in service, and much more.
If you are a confident woman reading this, know that God is not sexist and does not discriminate against women has always been using them to do great things in the past and will keep doing so in the future.
