A word of exhortation to women |
How a Christian
woman should dress and conduct herself
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Sisters,
you also believed in our Lord by the grace of God and obtained through faith
the remission of your sins. You are daughters of God for you also received
Christ and came out from among the sons of this age and God received you in
Christ Jesus, therefore you also are members of the household of God and together
we are the body of Christ. “There is neither male nor female” (Galatians |
You must
understand also that God has never showed partiality, therefore do not think
that God despises you because Eve, the first woman, was deceived by the old
serpent and fell into transgression, because that’s not true. Neither is it
true that you are useless in the house of God nor that you can’t contribute
to the spread of Gospel, because the Scripture affirms the opposite,
therefore do not believe these harmful and vain things, which the old serpent
tries by his craftiness to make you believe in order to stir up bitter envy
in your hearts and to make you become haughty and conceited. |
After this
brief introduction, I want to tell you first of all how you should dress so
that the doctrine of God may be honoured through you. |
Paul
wrote: “I also want women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, not
with braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but with good
deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God” (1 Timothy 2:9-10 –
NIV). |
Sisters,
you must wear dresses which are appropriate for you, who were sanctified in
Christ. The dresses which are fitting for you are those dresses which are
modest and not those dresses which are expensive and which are loved by women
of corrupt minds, who are haughty. Therefore do not set your mind on those extravagant
and expensive dresses which attract man’s attention and which are a waste of
money. Know this, that the women’s fashion of this present evil age leads
those women who follow it to be haughty and to walk with outstretched necks
and to look humble women up and down; this is something which can be seen by
everyone, so do not be fascinated by it; be humble and do not give place to what
the haughty women call ‘the pride of being a woman’. |
Besides
being modest, your dresses must be decent; they should cover your legs, your
arms, and your breast, that is to say, all those parts of the body which are
not fully covered by indecent dresses. This means that you must avoid miniskirts,
and those skirts which reach the knee or the part just below the knee: I
exhort you to wear long skirts, which should be without vents and without
those strange drawings which are stamped on many skirts to attract men’s
attention. |
As for
your blouses, they should not be see-through nor close-fitting, nor
low-necked. |
As to the
colour of your dresses, avoid wearing gaudy dresses (that is to say, avoid
colours such as blood red, lemon yellow and scarlet), lest men be induced to cast
longing glances at you. |
As for your
shoes, I tell you to wear modest shoes and not those shoes with stiletto
heels, which don’t permit your feet to breathe well and cause you to have
pain in your feet; not only this, they compel you to walk in a abnormal and
shameful way, and with much more difficulty. Do not wear gold/silver shoes,
lest you attract men’s attention. |
As for
your stockings, you, as is fitting for holy women, should wear modest
stockings and not fishnet stockings nor any other kind of stockings invented
to make the woman seductive and provocative. |
When you
go to buy a skirt or a blouse or a pair of shoes or some material to make a
skirt or a blouse out of it remember that the Scripture says: “Do not set
your mind on high things, but associate with the humble” (Romans 12:16 –
NKJV). |
Paul says:
“We know that the law is good if a man uses it properly. We also know that
law is made not for good men but for lawbreakers and rebels …. And for
whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine” (1 Timothy 1:8-9, 10 - NIV);
and – as far as women are concerned - wearing trousers is one of the things
which are contrary to the sound doctrine, for it is written: “A woman shall
not wear anything that pertains to a man, nor shall a man put on a woman’s
garment, for all who do so are an abomination to the Lord your God” (Deuteronomy
22:5 – NKJV). The so called trousers for women are still trousers, thus a
Christian woman should not wear them. |
Those who
like to be contentious and to suppress the truth by their lies, say all kinds
of things to nullify what is written so clearly. They say: ‘This commandment
of God applies only to those women who exchanged the natural use for what is
against nature, and to those men who have left the natural use of the women,
and to the effeminate!’ Now, it is true that God abhors those women who dress
up as a man, and those men who dress up as a woman, that is, the
transvestites; however I ask you the following question; ‘Do we not live in
the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, without self-control, which
puts darkness for light, and light for darkness? Don’t you think that the
trends of the fashion of this age oppose the above mentioned words of God?
Today, more than ever we have to proclaim the above mentioned words so that
everybody may see that we reject and dislike both the men and the women
fashion, which tend to feminize men and to masculinize women. |
Brothers,
we live in towns and villages where there are many sodomites and also many
women who exchanged the natural use for what is against nature, who are encouraged
in every way to do evil things; in this country immorality is called cultural
tradition, perverse people are called respectable people, and do you know
what many believers do? They tolerate and respect the tastes and habits of
this sinful generation, and are ashamed of the words of the apostles, which
they consider antiquated and old-fashioned and inadequate. If today sometimes
from a distance it is difficult to tell a girl from a boy, the reason is
because girls dress up as a boy. They begin to be corrupt from youth. The
women fashion, which tends to make the woman look stronger and more
self-confident, is the fruit of the woman’s desire not to look different from
man even in the way she dresses. |
Sisters,
you who are always ready to oppose the sound doctrine, you have conformed so
well to this present evil age that even some women who are outside, such as
the nuns of the Roman Catholic Church, can teach you by their example how you
should dress. I tell you this because I have seen that the way they dress (it
is a sad thing to say it and to see it) is better than the way you dress. Of
course, you can tell them that praying to Mary, praying to the dead, making
statues and worshiping them, are all things which are an abomination to God;
however, on their part they can tell you that you are not dressed with
modesty and decency. |
Therefore,
we would not be surprised at hearing that some unbelieving women have taught
some of you, who follow the women fashion, how a Christian woman should
dress! What are you waiting for? Are you waiting for some daughters of this
age, who are dressed with decency and modesty, to tell you that you must
dress with modesty and decency? Are you waiting for some women, who are
dressed indecently like you, to reply to you, after you tell them that you
are the light of the world, ‘Where is the light in you? We don’t see it, in
that you dress the way we also dress!’? Sisters, you must look different also
in the way you dress, in the midst of the daughters of this age, and not only
in the way you talk; thus examine carefully your wardrobe and get rid of your
trousers and of all those indecent skirts and blouses you are still wearing. |
The Word
of God states also that you must not braid your hair and that you must not
wear jewelry. |
Some of you
plat your hair because you know that plaits make you more attractive and
provocative; sisters, stop plating your hair. |
Some
others among you wear gold jewelry; earrings, necklaces made of pearls, bracelets
and rings; I exhort you not to persist in this evil thing, and to throw away
all your jewelry. You may say: ‘What harm is there in wearing jewelry? Why do
you tell us to throw them away?’ There is harm in it, but you can’t see it
because your eyes were blinded by darkness; anoint your eyes with eye salve,
that the Lord is willing to give you, that you may see. Why should you throw
your gold jewelry away? Because it is written: “If you remove wickedness far
from your tent and assign your nuggets to the dust, your gold of Ophir to the
rocks in the ravines, then the Almighty will be your gold, the choicest
silver for you” (Job. 22:23-25 – NIV) |
Some of
you say: ‘Even the Israelites when they came out of |
You say:
‘Gold was made by God!’ Yes, it is true that gold was made by God, but it is
also true that the jewelry you wear were not made by God but by men. Silver
also was made by God, however the silver shrines of Diana were made by a
certain man named Demetrius who lived in |
I want you
to know that the apostle Peter confirmed what Paul wrote to Timothy, saying
to you: “Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the
hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; But let it be the
hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament
of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price” (1 Peter
3:3-4). Therefore, both the apostle to the Gentiles (who was unmarried) and
the apostle to the circumcised (who was married) exhorted women not to wear
gold or costly clothing, and not to braid their hair. |
Sisters,
here is now what you should adorn with. Paul says that the women must adorn
themselves “with good works” (1 Timothy |
However,
if you dress and adorn yourselves like the women who do not fear God, how can
people see the light in you? How can the name of God be glorified in you? Don’t
you think that the name of God will be blasphemed if you let yourselves be
deceived by the prince of this world? Do you think perhaps that the prince of
this world wants the name of God to be glorified in you? |
Let no one
deceive you with empty words, which unfortunately many brethren have ready on
their lips, such as: ‘A little vanity won’t do any harm!’ Have you never read
in the Scriptures: “A little leaven leavens the whole lump” (1 Corinthians 5:6
– NKJV)? Do you not know that “a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor” (Ecclesiastes
10:1 – NIV)? Do you not know that “dead flies give perfume a bad smell” (Ecclesiastes
10:1 - NIV)? The Scripture cannot be broken because it is given by
inspiration of God, and that little vanity, which does not do any harm
according to some, harms both you and the |
Some
pastors and teachers say to you: ‘Sisters, do not dress like bigoted women
(they call those women who dress modestly and decently ‘bigoted women’), or
else the children of this age will not come into the place of worship nor
will they accept Christ’; do not give heed to their words, and beware of them
for they are poisonous snakes, men of corrupt minds. Do not accept what they
say, because they want to use you to attract men with the lusts of the flesh.
They don’t have the wisdom of God nor the power of God, and in order to draw
people to their meetings, are willing to trample the sound doctrine underfoot
and to lead believers to walk in crooked paths. They say to you: ‘You can
make up, you can follow the fashion, do not be too austere (the say ‘too
austere’ in order to make you think that you exaggerate), lest you cause
unbelievers to stumble!’ Know this, that if you obey what the apostles wrote,
you will never cause anyone to sin and you will never cause anyone to
stumble, but know also that if you obey what these idle talkers teach, you
will cause many people to stumble. It is written: “It is good neither to eat
meat nor drink wine nor do anything by which your brother stumbles or is
offended or is made weak” (Romans 14:21 – NKJV) and also: “Give no offense,
either to the Jews or to the Greeks or to the Church of God” (1 Corinthians
10:32 – NKJV), therefore, sisters, please your neighbour for his good, and
not for his evil (as these rebels would like you to do). |
Some of
you say also: ‘I want to please my husband!’. Listen; first of all, if your
husband really loves you and fears God, he does not want you to dress like a
prostitute. Have you ever read how |
You are now
daughters of Sarah, “if you do good and are not afraid with any terror” (1
Peter 3:6 – NKJV), therefore you must imitate Sarah, your mother. Peter tells
you in his first epistle not to let your adornment be outward – arranging the
hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel - “rather let it be the hidden
person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet
spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God” (1 Peter 3:4 – NKJV), and
he says that “in this manner, in former times, the holy women who trusted in
God also adorned themselves, being submissive to their own husbands, as Sarah
obeyed Abraham, calling him lord” (1 Peter 3:5-6 – NKJV). Sisters, you must
adorn your heart with a gentle and quiet spirit, which means that you must be
gentle and quiet, and not rude or quarrelsome. This is an adornment of great
value in the sight of God, and in this manner the holy women who trusted in
God also adorned themselves, and among those holy women was Sarah your
mother. |
Sarah was
a beautiful woman, but also a gentle and quiet woman, and she was the wife of
Abraham the patriarch, and she did not braid her hair nor did she wear gold
jewelry or costly clothing, because she was a holy woman, who obeyed Abraham. |
Abraham
was a very rich man who had gold and silver (Eliezer, the oldest servant of
Abraham’s house, said to Laban and Bethuel: “The Lord has blessed my master
greatly, and he has become great; and He has given him flocks and herds,
silver and gold, male and female servants, and camels and donkeys” Genesis
24:35 – NKJV) but Sarah his wife did not adorn herself with gold. Someone
will say: ‘Abraham did not have god jewelry!’ Have you never read that when
Eliezer left for |
Furthermore,
I tell you that if your husband is not a believer, it is not by wearing
provocative and costly clothing that you will win him to Christ, because
Peter says: “Wives, likewise, be submissive to your own husbands, that even
if some do not obey the word, they, without a word, may be won by the conduct
of their wives, when they observe your chaste conduct accompanied by fear” (1
Peter 3:1-2 – NKJV). On the contrary, some of you are seeking to win to Christ
your husbands only by words, not taking heed to your conduct, which is
blameworthy, and then you pray to God and weep in His presence so that He may
save your husband! I ask you the following questions: ‘Is it not time for you
to throw away all your gold jewelry? Is it not time for you to stop dressing
in a seductive manner and exercising authority over your husband?’ |
Sisters,
besides this, I exhort you to be reverent in behaviour as is fitting for holy
women; thus, when you are seated don’t cross your legs and don’t part them,
lest you provoke sexual attraction or reaction. |
Some of
you, during the worship service, put the chewing gum in your mouth and chew
it, so you move your mouth in a shameful manner; stop doing such a thing. |
Be wise,
do not pluck part of your eyebrows, do not make up as Jezebel did, the wife
of Ahab who practiced occult arts, as it is written: “She put paint on her
eyes” (2 Kings 9:30 – NKJV); do not change the colour of your face and of
your lips painting them with all those harmful cosmetics which are on the
market. Do not put varnish on your nails, keep yourselves pure. |
Do not put
on those perfumes which are so strong and provocative that distract those who
are near you and leave a trail of perfume wherever you go; I assure you that
these perfumes are made to make you seductive and to enable you to attract
attention from men, and you can realize this by observing the way they are
advertised and by reading the name of some of these perfumes (‘Malice’,
‘Temptation’, etc.). |
Furthermore,
I exhort you to flee all those odd modern hairstyles which are in fashion,
such as ‘the perm’. Do not have your hair dyed: why do you want to change the
colour of your hair? Are you no longer happy with the way God made your hair? |
Now I want
to say something to you women who are no longer young and try to look younger
by dying your white hair: ‘Why are you ashamed of being old, and do you make
all efforts (in vain) to look younger, spending so much money for things
which are vain? Have you never read in the Scripture: “The splendour of old
men is their gray head” (Proverbs |
Wisdom
says: “Favour [grace] is deceitful, and beauty is vain” (Proverbs 31:30),
because with the passing of time they disappear, therefore do not try to
embellish what is perishing day by day before your eyes. God says to the
woman who continues to harden her heart: “Though you clothe yourself with
crimson, though you adorn yourself with ornaments of gold, though you enlarge
your eyes with paint, in vain you will make yourself fair” (Jeremiah 4:30 –
NKJV). |
You older
women, let your conduct be holy, do not be slanderers, do not be gossips, do
not meddle in other people’s business, and do not say things you ought not
to; do not be given to much wine because when one gets drunk he loses his
wits and begins to say and do perverse things; be teachers of good things, so
that you may train the younger women to love their husbands and children, to
be self-controlled and pure, homemakers, good and obedient to their own
husbands. |
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A woman ought to
have a sign of authority on her head
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It is
written: “But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ;
and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God. Every
man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonoureth his head.
But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered
dishonoureth her head: for that is even all one as if she were shaven. For if
the woman be not covered, let her also be shorn: but if it be a shame for a
woman to be shorn or shaven, let her be covered. For a man indeed ought not
to cover his head, forasmuch as he is the image and glory of God: but the
woman is the glory of the man. For the man is not of the woman; but the woman
of the man. Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the
man. For this cause ought the woman to have power [a sign of authority] on
her head because of the angels. Nevertheless neither is the man without the
woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord. For as the woman is of
the man, even so is the man also by the woman; but all things of God. Judge
in yourselves: is it comely that a woman pray unto God uncovered? Doth not
even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame
unto him? But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her: for her hair
is given her for a covering” (1 Corinthians 11:3-15). |
Sister,
man is your head, that is, the one who has authority over you is the man.
Whether you are unmarried or married or even a widow, you must understand
that man is your head. Therefore, because of the angels, when you pray or
prophesy, you ought to have a sign of authority on your head, and this sign
is the veil. In other words, because the angels are being taught through the
Church that the woman is under man’s authority, you ought to have a veil on
your head. If your head is not veiled, when your pray or prophesy, you
dishonor your head, that is, man (in other words, you don’t give him the honour
he is worthy to receive from you). I remind you that you must cover your head
with a veil not only when you are gathered together with the saints in the
worship place but also when you pray or prophesy anywhere else, because man
is your head and the angels observe you even outside the place of worship. Furthermore
I advise you to tie your veil to prevent it from falling on your shoulders. |
To those
sisters who say: ‘Since I have long hair I don’t need to cover my head with a
veil for my hair is my veil!’ I say this: ‘Listen, if you have long hair, it
is certainly a glory to you, however long hair is not the sign of authority
you ought to have on your head, because long hair is given to you “as a
covering” (1 Corinthians 11:15 – NIV); that is to say, it serves as a shawl
for you, thus your hair is not the veil you must wear.’ This is confirmed by
what Paul says in verse 6: “If a woman does not cover her head, she should
have her hair cut off,” (NIV) for if we were to substitute ‘hair’ for
‘covering’ this statement of Paul would be ludicrous. Listen how it would
read, ‘If a woman does not have her hair, she should have her hair cut
off’!!! My question is: ‘But if her hair is already off, how can she have her
hair cut off?’ That you may understand what I mean, I will tell you this: as
you know the apostle Paul says that “every man who prays or prophesies with
his head covered dishonors his head “ (1 Corinthians 11:4 – NIV), that is
Christ; and that “if a man has long hair, it is a disgrace to him” (1 Corinthians
11:14 – NIV), however, if a man has long hair and prays or prophesies he does
not dishonor his head, because his head is not covered with a veil or a hat
or something else. |
In the
light of all this, to the question asked by Paul: “Is it proper for a woman
to pray to God with her head uncovered?” (1 Corinthians |
With
regard to this subject, I conclude with these words of Paul: “But if anyone
seems to be contentious, we have no such custom, nor do the churches of God”
(1 Corinthians |
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A woman is not allowed
to teach or to exercise authority over a man
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Sisters in
the Lord, you must learn in silence with all submission; therefore without
grumbling and without interrupting him who is teaching the Word of God. So,
when the Church comes together in one place (that is, during the worship
service) you must not talk with anybody, rather you must keep silent “for it is
shameful for women to speak in church” (1 Corinthians 14:35 - NKJV), says
Paul; and if you want to learn something, do not ask the pastor (while the
church Is gathered together in one place), but ask your husbands at home, as
it is written: “And if they want to learn something, let them ask their own
husbands at home” (1 Corinthians 14:35 – NKJV). You ought to keep silent in
the churches, for women “are to be submissive, as the law also says” (1
Corinthians |
Therefore,
since you, sisters, must learn in silence, you are not allowed to teach the
doctrine of God, that is, the same doctrine that Paul, Peter and the other
apostles taught to the saints and which Paul commanded Timothy and Titus to
teach. Neither are you allowed to exercise authority over your husband
because he is your head and you are to submit to him. |
To sum up,
therefore, what I have just said: “Let a woman learn in silence with all
submission. And I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a
man, but to be in silence” (1 Timothy |
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A woman is
not permitted to teach |
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With
regard to the fact that a woman is not permitted to teach, the law also
confirms it, and we know that the law is made for whatever is contrary to the
sound doctrine (1 Timothy 1:10). For, when God chose the Levites, under the
law of Moses, to entrust them with the service of the tabernacle and that
they might teach His laws to the Israelites, as it is written: “They shall
teach Jacob Your judgments, and Israel Your law” (Deuteronomy 33:10 – NKJV)
he chose men and not women. |
I can
confirm this also by what we read in the book of Nehemiah, for in the days of
Nehemiah and Ezra, after the temple and the walls of Jerusalem were rebuilt,
when the law of God was read and explained publicly before the people, that
was done by some men from among the Levites, as it is written: “Also Jeshua,
and Bani, and Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodijah, Maaseiah, Kelita,
Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites, caused [helped] the people
to understand the law: and the people stood in their place. So they read in
the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused
[helped] them to understand the reading” (Nehemiah 8:7-8). On the basis of
these passages, nowadays among the Jews (the Orthodox Jews) the woman is not
permitted to read the law publicly in the synagogue nor to explain any
passage of the law to the congregation. |
Obviously,
the New Testament’s writings confirm that a woman is not permitted to teach,
for the twelve apostles appointed by Jesus, whom He sent to preach (Matthew
10:1-8; Luke 6:12-16) were all men, as well as the seventy disciples whom He
appointed afterward and sent before His face (Luke 10:1). |
There were
of course some women who followed Jesus, but they did not teach the Word of
God, for they ministered to Jesus and His disciples, as Luke says: “The
Twelve were with Him, and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits
and diseases: Mary (called Magdalene) from whom seven demons had come out;
Joanna the wife of Cuza, 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 - NIV). As you can see, the women who were with Jesus and His
disciples did not preach nor teach the Word of God, but they provided for
Jesus and His disciples from their substance. Is it not written: “Let him who
is taught the word share in all good things with him who teaches” (Galatians
6:6 – NKJV)? |
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Replies to
the main objections |
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Let us now
reply to the main objections raised by some sisters and brothers. |
● ‘Since a woman can prophesy, she can teach
because he who prophesies teaches’. |
That’s not
true, because the gift of prophecy and the gift of teaching are two different
gifts, they are not the same gift. That is confirmed by Paul when he says:
“Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let
us use them; if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; or
ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching”
(Romans 12:6-7 – NKJV). Bear in mind this, that Paul did not say: ‘I do not
permit a woman to prophesy’ because such a statement would have contradicted
the Scripture which says: “Your daughters shall prophesy” (Joel |
● ‘According to the Scripture, a woman can
serve as a deaconess, which means that she can also teach’ |
That’s not
true; now I am going to explain why. The Word declares that in the |
● ‘A woman can teach because in ancient
times God appointed some women prophetesses’. |
That’s not
true, for the ministry of prophet is different from the ministry of teacher,
and the fact that one is a prophet does not necessarily mean that he is able
to teach. Deborah (who lived in the days of the judges), Huldah (who lived in
the days of king Josiah) and Anna (who lived in the days of Jesus), were all
prophetesses, but they were not appointed by God to teach the law to the
people because according to the law of Moses the precepts of the law had to
be taught by the Levites, as God said: “For the lips of a priest should keep
knowledge, and people should seek the law from his mouth” (Malachi 2:7 –
NKJV). |
The
prophet Micah also made a distinction between the office of a priest and the
office of a prophet, for when God rebuked the people of Israel through him He
said: “Her priests teach for pay, and her prophets divine for money” (Micah
3:11 – NKJV). As you can see, it was the priests and not the prophets who were
appointed to teach. |
A woman,
under grace, can be appointed by God prophetess, but to be a prophet does not
mean to be enabled by God to teach the Word; a woman who is a prophetess
prophesies by the Spirit when the Spirit comes upon her, and tells the visions
and the revelations God gives to her, but this does not mean at all that God
has appointed her to teach the doctrine of God. In order to be able to teach,
a prophetess needs to possess also the ability to teach, but that’s an
ability which she can’t receive from God. |
● ‘A woman can teach because when Jesus rose
from the dead He appeared first to a woman, that is, Mary Magdalene, to whom
He said: “Go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and
your Father; and to my God, and your God” (John 20:17)’ |
Now,
according to the Scripture, “Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that
she had seen the Lord, and that He had spoken these things to her” (John |
To confirm
this I remind you that the Scripture says that (after the Spirit was poured
out upon the Church) the early believers “continued steadfastly in the
apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers”
(Acts |
● ‘A woman can teach because Anna was a
prophetess’. |
Now, Anna
was a prophetess who “departed not from the temple, but served God with
fastings and prayers night and day” (Luke |
● ‘A woman can teach because some of the
women who helped Paul taught the Word of God’. |
These
women, according to this objection, were Priscilla, Euodias, and Syntyche,
for it is written: “And he [Apollos] began to speak boldly in the synagogue:
whom when Aquila and Priscilla had heard, they took him unto them, and
expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly” (Acts 18:26), and again: “I
beseech Euodias, and beseech Syntyche, that they be of the same mind in the
Lord. And I intreat thee also, true yokefellow, help those women which
laboured with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and with other my
fellowlabourers, whose names are in the book of life” (Philippians 4:2-3). |
Now, if
the above mentioned passages meant that Priscilla, Euodias and Syntyche did
teach the Word, that would mean that Paul permitted them to teach. Then, if
it were so, Paul told a lie to Timothy, because He told him that he did not
permit a woman to teach. So, who says the truth? Those who say that these
passages mean that those women taught or Paul? Perhaps we might say that Paul
permitted some women to teach while he did not permit other women to teach!
But if it were so, how could Paul say to Timothy: “I charge thee before God,
and the Lord Jesus Christ, and the elect angels, that thou observe these
things without preferring one before another, doing nothing by partiality” (1
Timothy 5:21)? The truth is that Priscilla, Eudioas and Syntyche did not
teach. At most, we can say that Priscilla and her husband |
I am
convinced that you, sisters, ought to follow the example of Mary, Martha’s
sister, who “sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word” (Luke |
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A woman is
not permitted to exercise authority over her husband |
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I said
before that a woman is not permitted to exercise authority over her husband,
let us see therefore how a woman must behave towards her own husband. Paul
wrote: “Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.
For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the
church: and he is the saviour of the body. Therefore as the church is subject
unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing”
(Ephesians |
Now, the
Church is the Lamb’s wife and she must submit to Her head, that is, Christ
Jesus, therefore just as the Church submits to Christ with all reverence and
doesn’t dare to exercise authority over the Christ of God, so, in the same
manner, the wife must submit to her husband. |
Sarah is
an example of a woman who submitted to her husband, for the Scripture says
that “Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord” (1 Peter 3:6 - NKJV). I would
like to point out that even though she was submissive to her own husband, she
was not a slave of her husband but a free woman, as it is written that
“Abraham had two sons: the one by a bondwoman, the other by a free-woman”
(Galatians 4:22). Why do I say this? Because some women think that in ancient
times the wives of the patriarchs were treated and regarded as bondwomen.
Consider this: the holy women who trusted in God were submissive to their own
husbands, and because of their respectful behaviour they are called
‘bondwomen’! The reason why today many women think that those holy women were
bondwomen is that they think that in this modern age for women to submit to
their husbands, as did those holy women, is absurd. Today, what should be a
normal thing for a woman, is considered outdated and inadequate; therefore,
no wonder that many women do not want to submit to their husbands. Those
women who call the obedience and the submission of Sarah towards Abraham
‘bondage’ are nothing but women who have become slaves of a perverse way of
thinking, and if they want to escape the snare of the devil into which they
have fallen they must repent and obey the truth. |
We live in
the midst of a crooked and perverse generation which has perverted the
straight ways of the Lord, and we see with our eyes that many so called
‘feminist movements’ have risen and these movements are fighting against God,
for their purpose is contrary to the sound doctrine of God. The fight which
is called ‘the fight in favour of the emancipation of women’ is nothing but a
device used by Satan to destroy the family. Furthermore, there are some women
who do not know what the verb ‘to emancipate’ means. Now, to emancipate means
‘to set free from slavery’ and when a married woman says that she wants to
become an emancipated woman she means that she wants to stop obeying her
husband and submitting to him, and if she is unmarried she means that she
doesn’t want to submit to man. After the woman was deceived and fell into
transgression, God said to the woman: “Your desire shall be for your husband,
and he shall rule over you” (Genesis 3:16 – NKJV); these words were spoken by
God, the Creator of all things, and the woman, who is just a creature, has
decided to nullify the Word of God. Will she manage to nullify it?’ No, she
won’t. Did her struggle improve our society? No, it didn’t, rather things in
this world are going from bad to worse, and we see that what the woman is
doing in order to emancipate herself is hastening the destruction of the
family. Am I wrong in saying that divorces and separations are increasing in
number because of the perverse ideas displayed by the feminists, who are
under the leadership of the devil? Am I wrong in saying that today a woman
who is obedient and submissive to her own husband is considered by the
feminists (who are filled with hate for the Word of God because it reduces
their claims to silence) a crazy and ignorant woman, and thus they encourage
her to rebel against her husband to claim her ‘rights’? Today that old
serpent, that is, Satan, is still deceiving the woman: he began in the Garden
of Eden and is actively prosecuting his diabolical work to this day. Satan
knows how to deceive the woman; he knows that it is sufficient to make her
believe that God is a liar in order to cause her to fall into transgression.
What did God say to Adam? He said: “In the day that you eat of it [that is,
of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil] you shall surely die” (Genesis
2:17 – NKJV); but what did the serpent say to Eve: “You will not surely die”
(Genesis 3:4), and she believed the serpent and ate of the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil, thinking that she would not die, and the baleful
consequences of that disobedience can be still clearly seen today. |
Sisters, I
exhort you to obey the Word of God and not to deceive yourselves (by thinking
that the freedom proclaimed by the feminist movements is useful to you and to
your families). The true freedom is in the Lord, for it is written: “Where
the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty” (2 Corinthians |
Daughters
of |
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The reasons
of these prohibitions |
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Now, let
us see why the woman is not permitted to teach nor to exercise authority over
her husband but she must keep silent. Paul says that it is because “Adam was
formed first, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being
deceived, fell into transgression” (1 Timothy |
Therefore
the reasons of this prohibitions to women are these. |
First,
because man was not created for the woman, but woman for the man (1
Corinthians 11:9), as it is written that after God formed Adam, He said: “It
is not good that the man should be alone” (Genesis |
Second,
because in the Garden of Eden it was not Adam who was deceived but Eve. Paul
confirms this by saying to the Corinthians: “The serpent deceived Eve by his
craftiness” (2 Corinthians 11:3 - NKJV). Why is it not written that the
serpent deceived Adam by his craftiness? Because it is not true that the
serpent deceived Adam. Of course, when Adam ate of the tree of the knowledge
of good and evil he sinned, as it is written: “Like Adam they have broken the
covenant – they were unfaithful to me there” (Hosea 6:7 – NIV), and again:
“By the one man’s offense many died” (Romans 5:15 – NKJV). But we need to say
all the truth about what happened in the garden of Eden, by saying that the
serpent deceived Eve and not Adam. The woman herself recognized that she was
deceived, for – after both she and her husband had sinned - when God said to her:
“What is this you have done?” (Genesis |
Therefore,
women, submit to your own husbands as is fitting in the Lord, and do not have
the presumption to teach. Be humble and respectful and you will be honored by
God and by all those who love God and fear Him. Do not think about the so
called emancipation of women, because you have already obtained the true
freedom, and this freedom is in the Lord. |
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Women will be saved in child-bearing, if they
continue in faith, love and holiness with self-control
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Paul says
to Timothy: “Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression.
Nevertheless, she will be saved in childbearing if they continue in faith,
love, and holiness, with self-control” (1 Timothy |
What does
Paul mean when he states that the woman will be saved in childbearing? He
means that she will be saved after bearing children. Be careful, Paul does
not mean that a woman who can’t bear children (for she is barren) will go to
hell! Nor does he mean that if a woman dies immediately after the wedding
ceremony she will go to hell! If childbearing were necessary for the woman’s
salvation, that would be tantamount to saying that all believing women must
get married. However we know that there are some women who remain unmarried
for all their life because their fathers have determined in their heart that they
will keep their virgins unmarried (as Paul says to the Corinthians – 1 Corinthians
7:37), and their fathers are not blameworthy at all for doing so for they do
a good thing in the sight of God. What shall we say about these women then?
Shall we say that they will not be saved for they did not bear children?
Certainly not, for Paul did not say that the woman will be saved if she bears
children, but if she continues “in faith, love and holiness, with
self-control” (1 Timothy |
“She will
be saved in childbearing” (1 Timothy |
I want to
tell you something else. We are not under the law but under grace. However,
this does not mean that the law is useless because Paul says to Timothy: “But
we know that the law is good if one uses It lawfully, knowing this: that the
law is not made for a righteous person, but for the lawless and
insubordinate, for the ungodly and for sinners, for the unholy and profane,
for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, for
fornicators, for sodomites, for kidnappers, for liars, for perjurers, and if
there is any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine” (1 Timothy
1:8-10 – NKJV). Now, if someone asks you: ‘Can a man have sexual relations
with another man?’, you answer him: ‘No, he can’t, because it is written in
the law: “You shall not lie with a male as with a woman. It is an
abomination” (Leviticus |
The
Scripture tells an incident that occurred in the days of Jacob (remember that
the law had not yet been given to the children of |
It is
written in the Psalms: “Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the
fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are
children of one’s youth. Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them;
they shall not be ashamed, but shall speak with their enemies in the gate” (Psalm
127:3-5 - NKJV). What are children then? They are an inheritance from the
Lord; while “houses and riches are an inheritance from fathers” (Proverbs |
“The fruit
of the womb is a reward” (Psalm 127:3 – NKJV) or a prize (the IBRV) Do you
know what a reward is? A reward is a thing given in recognition of service,
effort or achievement. Do you know what a prize is? A prize is a thing given
as a reward to a winner or in recognition of an outstanding achievement. For
example some people are given a prize for they have done a courageous deed,
some others are given a prize because they have won a race or a game and so
on. Do you think that a prize is a bad thing? Do you not know that in this
world those who are given a prize are honoured, praised and respected by
their neighbour? Do you not know that those who distinguish themselves during
a war by their heroism, and those who obtain the best results in sports
competitions, are given a prize? And do you not know that when they are given
a prize they are moved and some of them even weep for joy before all those
who are present? On the contrary, many women, when they get pregnant they
weep with rage and begin to curse their husband and the day on which they got
married, instead of blessing God and rejoicing with exceedingly great joy. Do
you not realize that such a behaviour is wrong and perverse? |
The
children of one’s youth are like arrows in the hand of a warrior; do you know
what arrows are? Do you know what a warrior uses arrows for? Arrows are
weapons which are used by a warrior against his enemies during a war or a
battle. When an archer goes to fight against his enemies he makes sure his
quiver is full of arrows, because how could he fight against his enemies without
arrows? Arrows are important for a warrior, they are of great value, and the
more arrows he has the safer he feels. Brothers, children are like arrows in
the hand of a warrior, therefore they are useful and precious, not only when
they are few but also when they are many (“Happy is the man who has his
quiver full of them” Psalm 127:5). |
Of course,
it is God who chooses how many children to give to a couple, however on the
part of the husband and the wife there must be no opposition to God who is
the one who gives children. |
Furthermore,
know this, that the fact that a woman gets pregnant means that she has been
visited by God, for the Scripture says that “the Lord visited Sarah” (Genesis
21:1 – NKJV) and “the Lord visited Hannah, so that she conceived and bore
three sons and two daughters” (1 Samuel 2:21 – NKJV). To be visited by God is
a wonderful thing, while not to be visited by God is a sad, very sad thing
for a woman. |
An awful
thing is being done in the midst of the people of God; some men as well as
some women undergo sterilization in order to limit the number of children and
– as they say – ‘to feel secure’. Listen, what is the fatal danger you want
to escape? What is the tragedy you want to escape? How is it possible that
some believers put themselves on a level with those men and women who
prostitute themselves? Those who act in this way have been deceived by the
old serpent and are not safe at all because only the righteous are secure (Proverbs
28:1). You are asleep; awake and expose these unfruitful works of darkness. |
To you who
say: ‘Life is very expensive, children are expensive and we cannot afford many
children!’, I say this: ‘It is true that you need money to bring up your
children, however, do you think that God does not know it? Do you think that
God is not able to meet all the needs of a large family? Is the Lord’s arm
shortened? Listen carefully to what I am going to say: ‘God increased His
people greatly in |
To you who
say: ‘If we have many children, many people will say that we behave like
beasts!’ I say: ‘First of all, you must not be afraid of the possible insults
some people will hurl at you, rather if you are insulted for this reason, you
are blessed! Peter said: “Let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an
evildoer, or as a busybody in other people’s matters ….” (1 Peter |
One thing
is sure; the Scripture says that those who have many children “shall not be
ashamed, but shall speak with their enemies in the gate” (Psalm 127:5 –
NKJV). |
If you
think that it is a bad thing to beget many children according to the flesh,
then you think that it is a bad thing also to beget many children in Christ
Jesus through the Gospel!! I hope that in reading these words of mine you will
be persuaded by God and you will acknowledge the truth. |
You know
that, from the spiritual point of view, we believers in Christ Jesus, who
have been begotten by God the Father through the Word of truth, have a mother,
who is the Jerusalem above, as it is written: “But the Jerusalem above is
free, which is the mother of us all” (Galatians 4:26 – NKJV). When we
repented of our sins and believed in the Gospel we were brought forth by our
mother, who is free. We are her children because we have been set free from
sin and we are free in the Lord. How many children does our mother have, who
was barren for a long time and at God’s appointed time she bore children?
They are many because the Scripture says: “The desolate has many more
children than she who has a husband” (Galatians |
Sisters in
Christ, I conclude by urging you to continue in faith, love and holiness,
with self-control, till the end, “for so an entrance will be supplied to you
abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ”
(2 Peter |
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A word to you who want to emancipate yourself
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I speak to
you, sister, who want to emancipate yourself (as the haughty women have advised
you to do). You have looked for and found a job you did not need at all,
because you do not want your husband to buy to you the things you need with
the money he earns, because you consider such a thing a dishonour for you who
are a woman and you also want to have an account with a bank so that you may handle
your money as you like and nobody may open his mouth, and thus you may say.
‘That money is mine!’. Furthermore, you found a job because you have set your
mind on designer dresses, on provocative and costly dresses, which make you
feel ‘more woman’ (as you also say now). You have been deceived, for you say:
‘I want to fulfil myself’, but you have not yet realized that you are seeking
your self-fulfilment by rebelling against God. You now do things which are
not necessary and neglect the things which are necessary, which you must do
for your good, for the good of your husband, and for the good of your family;
when you come back from work you are tired, angry and knowing that you have
to cook, to do your washing, to iron, and to do other useful things, you
murmur, you do not do these things joyfully any longer, but half-heartedly
and you dare to tell your husband that he must do housework. The rhythm of
your life has become frenetic, you have got too many things to do; you are
overloaded with work, you do not want to think of bearing children, and when
you hear someone speak of children and see other women bear children you try
to pretend nothing happened; you have become haughty, you walk along with
outstretched necks, tripping along with mincing steps, you have shoes with
stiletto heels on. |
You neglect
your husband, your children and your house because you decided to do things
which are not necessary; perhaps your husband had said to you many times: ‘I
go to work, you stay at home and do housework, you do not need to find a job,
my income suffices to cover all our expenses’, yet you did not want to live a
humble life; you began to read fashion magazines, you began to wish to spend
your holidays in famous summer resorts, you wanted to have a modern villa
with a modern and costly furniture because you envied your haughty neighbours
and girlfriends, and in order to afford all these things the money earned by
your husband was not enough. Repent, obey God, and you will be blessed and
you will make your husband happy. |