SPECIAL TOPIC: PAUL'S USE OF WOMEN IN MINISTRY

Notice all of the women in Romans 16 who were fellow-workers with Paul in the gospel (cf. Phil. 4:3):

Phoebe (deaconess) in Rom. 16:1

Prisca in Rom. 16:3

Mary in Rom. 16:6; Junia (or Junias—if so it was a man) in Rom. 16:7

Tryphaena and Tryphosa in Rom. 16:12

Persis in Rom. 16:12

“his mother” in Rom. 16:13

Julia (possible apostle) in Rom. 16:15

and “his sister” in Rom. 16:15

Be careful of dogmatism in the area of women in ministry. All believers are gifted (cf. 1 Cor. 12:7,11); all believers are full-time ministers (cf. Eph. 4:12). In this list we have a woman deacon, Phoebe, and a possible woman apostle, Junia (cf. Joel 2:28; Acts 2:16-21). It is difficult to know how to handle this issue biblically because of the seemingly paradoxical statements of Paul such as 1 Cor. 11:4-5 compared with 14:34.