The Wonderful Women of God

Posted on May 13, 2007

 

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Romans 16:1-16

Paul shows such deep concern for so many people. He had never been to Rome, but he was the kind of man who had developed these relationships with a concern for his friends.

Jesus told us in Matthew 6:33 to seek first the Kingdom of God and then He will add to our lives the basic necessities. Paul wrote to a church full of Kingdom-seekers. He points out the names of ten women who mattered a great deal to the Kingdom of God. What was it about them that mattered so much?

Women In Other Cultures

Women tend to live in oppression and without dignity. This has always been the trend in virtually every culture and in every religion. Consider the fact that until the recent past, women could not own land, hold office, or have a public voice in most civilizations.

Women In the Bible

In the Old Testament, Eve is the one who will produce the Messiah. Sarah is the princess of Israel. Esther and Deborah are deliverers for Israel.

In the New Testament, Mary and Elizabeth play prominent roles early in Jesus’ life. The women are participants in church life and are at the cross without the disciples, as well as at the empty tomb before them. Here in Romans is a prime example of the prominence of women.

Women In Recent History of the Church

Where would the modern church be without godly women? In addition to the well-known heroines, I think of my great-grandmother who paid for the roof to save the original structure of Clear Fork Baptist Church and squeezed blackberry juice for communion.

HOW CAN YOU BE A KINGDOM WOMAN?

Be a helper. (Phebe, vs. 1-2)

Phebe is labeled both a helper and a succourer. Some debate whether or not the word “servant” should be deaconess. When compared with 1 Timothy 2-3 and when taking into account that the word diakonon here is neuter, like other occurrences when it is a general reference, it most likely means she was simply a prominent servant.

Be a discipler. (Priscilla, vs. 3-4)

She is commended by Paul here for risking her neck for his life. She is named before her husband. And she is the one, along with her husband, who helped personally disciple Apollos, who would go on to be a great Pastor and disciple-maker himself (Acts 18:5, 26)

Be a laborer. (Mary, v. 6 & Tryphena, Tryphosa, & Persis, v. 12)

Mary is said to have labored to exhaustion. Tryphena and Tryphosa, who were probably twin sisters, also worked hard, along with Persis. There’s still something to be said for just getting our hands dirty in the work of the Lord.

Be extraordinary. (Junia, v. 7)

“Of note among” literally means, extraordinary. In other words, Kingdom women live an extraordinary life, above the level of mediocrity. They don’t settle.

Be a good Mom. (Rufus’ Mother, v. 13)

Obviously, not all women are Moms. But there are really two special things said about Rufus’ mother. First, she was a good mother to Rufus. Second, she was like a mother-figure to Paul. A Kingdom Mom focuses on her home but has room to love others like a Mother too!

I think of Lottie Moon. She was supposed to marry a man named Crawford Toy, but when she found out that he had been persuaded by German rationalism, she went back to China alone. When she died on a boat trying to leave China, where she had served for forty years, she was seen to motion with her hands in a traditional Chinese greeting as she named out the names of people whom she had led to the Lord there. She was never a Mom biologically, but became a mother-figure to all of those precious souls in China.

Conclusion:

One thing all of these women (and the men too) had in common. They were lost sinners until Jesus had saved them! Are you a saved woman or man today?