Were Women Apostles in the New Testament? Women in Ministry part 5 

I like your acknowledgement that just because Biblical women most likely ministered to other women more than to men would not have been seen as a negative thing in their time. Rather, as women themselves they had many advantages in gaining access to converse with other women and being able to minister to them. Ministering to women in Biblical times was a job that could best be accomplished by a woman.

"For those of you who cannot wait for the next in-depth analysis"

I'm sorry, Mike, but it has been shown countless times with academic scrutiny that Wallace's and Burer's arguments for their peculiar interpretation of how Greek 'should work' in the case of reading Romans 16:7 don't hold up. The way they present the 'evidence' and proceed to make strong conclusions may seem appropriate to laymen, but, to be sure, there are virtually no Greek Grammar books nor dictionaries that would agree that ἐν + dative is to be understood exclusively as they claim. This goes against a strong consensus. Now, why is that? Conspiracy in academia? No. It's just that their method of interpreting 'the evidence' (including biblical, patristic, papyri, epigraphs, classical Greek, and koine-Greek examples) is still considered far from self-evident; it could almost be called ad hoc. On par with this is only to omit patristic commentators on the matter, which is simply arrogant. These would include Origenes, Ambrosiaster, Chrysostom, Jerome, Theodoretus, Primasius, John of Damascus, and so on, to name a few. To be clear, it seems that these patristic commentators were better at dealing with the unease that Paul seems to suggest, that Junia was an apostle among other apostles, despite the practices within the church of their time. Indeed, the tendency to downplay this conclusion is a fairly 'new' trend, from 1200 AD onwards, as you probably know. It began by making Junia a man, but the evidence piled up to make that conclusion impossible. Then came Wallace and Burer with their arguments in order to keep women in their place, so to speak - unconvincingly. Now, their attempt is not as obscene as Wallace's 'first-century Mark' (pun intended), but why to abandon good scholarly practices in drawing conclusions? Speaking of being unbiased, I do think the patristic writers themselves show good spirit and set an example in dealing with the actual data (texts). It is appropriateness that Wallace and Burer did not reach this time. Now, whether this fact settles the bigger question of women's ministry? Not necessarily, but it is one very important point on our way to deal with the matter.

If apostle just means "witness to the resurrection" then the Roman soldiers guarding the tomb were also apostles. 🙄

Best Bible teacher on RU-vid. You won’t get a more unbiased presentation with all the arguments and sides laid bare.

I am more appreciative than I know how to put in words for the exhaustive studies. I’m a discipleship training teacher for teens ages 13-16 and a stay at home wife and mother. I deep dive into apologetic studies in my free time lol. But I am busy and it’s hard to have lots of books and papers laid out sometimes when my 3 yr old son wants to run into the room and shuffle all the papers lol. Being able to listen to this while running errands or doing chores is SUCH a blessing!!!! I love this Women In Ministry series but I also love all of your content! Very thankful!! Keep doing what God leads you to do because you’re making a huge difference in the lives of people you don’t even know!

Interesting he had to pull away layers of confusion; who is the author of confusion but the spirit of anti-Christ.

Great series. Thanks for the hard work. I've come to the same conclusions about deacons for the same reasons, in particular the biblical and extra biblical references to active deaconesses. Granting that as the case does make Paul's instructions concerning role qualifications a little muddy to read though. I'm still lacking a bit of satisfaction in the solidity of my understanding.

I really appreciate this Pastor Mike. I appreciate the effort. Praise God for presenting both sides and yet not leaving it there hanging.

Anyone hell bent on leading is likely motivated by pride, man or woman. Leaders anointed by God - in my experience- don’t seek power and are ambivalent about the role they find themselves in.

Enjoyed Part 5 -Pastor Mike you gave me a lot to think on!!! I was raised in a culture where this was never an issue - Men and women shared EQUAL roles no difference made between the two!!! Nothing EVER taught on a distinction between men and women roles in church!!!

Love this. The point of a female missionary that ministers to women, "the wife can have access to the women's areas, which would not be generally accessible to the husband," is so true. I have been on mission to villages deep in the mountains of Central America, and there were times and places, men were not allowed. We had to bring women with us that were willing and capable to minister.

Thank you so much for your time and investment into your ministry, Mike. I am a green-on-the-vine kind of Christian, and having a wonderful time learning. I appreciate your logical and scriptural rigor, and admission of bias and presumption where they exist; with scriptural reference points!

Mike, I love these videos and your ministry. Your goal, to have people think biblically about everything is so helpful. I'm from an IFB background and there are many subjects that you have challenged me on, and changed my mind on, not because you believe it, but because you showed me from the Bible how God wants me to think. May God bless your ministry.

I am currently hungry to know the whole truth on this subject. I literally wait on the edge of my seat every Monday to see when you post...then I usually listen in its entirety on Tuesday. Thank you SO MUCH for the work you have done to present this series!

Hey Mike! Keep doing what you're doing! Actual scholarship and in-depth study are things a lot of the church have given up on and only be supporting a greater understanding of God's word will be able to speak to world and culture in the present day. Thank you for pushing us to think more and for providing the resources many of us "armchair scholars" need!

Thank you for doing this series.

I watch a lot of long RU-vid videos, and this series is notable among them. Thanks for this deep dive!

Thank you for making this incredible series, despite knowing that it's not going to be super popular. I've always been on the complimentarian side, but this is extremely helpful to learn what is biblical and what is simply "man-made tradition" when it comes to women in leadership.

I can’t thank you enough for your efforts with this series! It’s been extremely helpful. God bless you, brother!