The church is all about people. Of course, because people are frail and limited, this makes the church an interesting place to be. An old joke among missionaries is that mission service would be quite enjoyable if it weren’t for the local believers and the other missionaries!
In another case, a pastor was preoccupied with thoughts of how he was going to, after the worship service, ask the congregation to come up with more money than they were expecting for repairs to the church building. Therefore, he was annoyed to find that the regular organist was sick, and a substitute had been brought in at the last minute.
The substitute wanted to know what to play. "Here's a copy of the service," he said impatiently. "But you'll have to think of something to play after I make the announcement about the finances."
During the service, the minister paused and said, "Brothers and Sisters, we are in great difficulty; the roof repairs cost twice as much as we expected, and we need $4,000 more. Any of you who can pledge $100 or more, please stand up." At that moment, the substitute organist played "The Star-spangled Banner."
And that is how the substitute became the regular organist!
This Sunday is Mothers’ Day, and today we want to focus on some very important people of the church, namely women. I’d like us to look at some women in the New Testament whom we might call the “Mothers of the Early Church.” As we do, let’s consider how they helped the infant church grow and mature in the 1st Century.
IN THE EARLY CHURCH, WOMEN HELPED SEEK GOD’S GUIDANCE
In the 1st Century, women were not considered equal with men. They had to be related to a man in some way and they could not act on their own. They were not even allowed to worship alongside men in the Jewish synagogue, for example. Women sat in the rear of the sanctuary, usually behind a screen of some type.
This attitude towards women still exists in many places today. When we were missionaries in Africa one of our workers who was a Muslim had to remarry against her will. She was a mature lady with adult children, but when her husband died, she was required to marry another man whom she had never met because she was not allowed to live outside the authority of a husband.
In the case of the early church, however, we see a radical difference, which is revealed in Acts 1:12-14 and 26:
When the apostles returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day’s walk from the city. When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers . . . Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles.
In this passage, we see women and men praying and consulting together. We even see women apparently deciding about calling a new Apostle. This shows a radical change in understanding.
Although many see the church as discriminating against women, what we actually see is that the church was on the cutting edge in empowering women. Women were not allowed to vote in the United States until 1920, but women were involved in deciding the course of the church right from the start!
IN THE EARLY CHURCH, WOMEN RECEIVED GOD’S MERCY
If sin is an equal opportunity killer, then it is good to see that mercy knows no gender.
We know that Jesus did many miracles for men; for example, we know that Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead and that He caused a blind man to see. We also know that He did many miracles for women as well. The woman with the issue of blood who touched the hem of His cloak was healed, as was Jairus’ daughter.
The application of mercy did not end with the founding of the church. This is clearly demonstrated in Acts 9:36-41:
In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (in Greek her name is Dorcas); she was always doing good and helping the poor. About that time she became sick and died, and her body was washed and placed in an upstairs room. Lydda was near Joppa; so when the disciples heard that Peter was in Lydda, they sent two men to him and urged him, “Please come at once!” Peter went with them, and when he arrived he was taken upstairs to the room. All the widows stood around him, crying and showing him the robes and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was still with them. Peter sent them all out of the room; then he got down on his knees and prayed. Turning toward the dead woman, he said, “Tabitha, get up.” She opened her eyes, and seeing Peter she sat up. He took her by the hand and helped her to her feet. Then he called for the believers, especially the widows, and presented her to them alive. This became known all over Joppa, and many people believed in the Lord.
Dorcas was a disciple who was known for her good works & charity. She fell sick and died, but God was not finished with her. He wanted to use her for His glory, and so He did.
Notice a couple of interesting points in this passage. Peter made sure that the widows were called so they could be encouraged and comforted. What a great example of pastoral care!
Also, note that God did not raise Dorcas simply to bless her or to comfort the widows. No! He used this event to bring glory to Himself and to win souls to the cause of Christ! Dorcas was a channel for God’s grace and mercy to be issued for His glory.
IN THE EARLY CHURCH, WOMEN HELPED SPREAD THE GOSPEL
As unusual as it was in the 1st Century, God used a woman to bring the Gospel to Europe. Let’s look at this remarkable event in Acts 16:9-15:
During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them. From Troas we put out to sea and sailed straight for Samothrace, and the next day we went on to Neapolis. From there we traveled to Philippi, a Roman colony and the leading city of that district of Macedonia. And we stayed there several days. On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there. One of those listening was a woman from the city of Thyatira named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth. She was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message. When she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home. “If you consider me a believer in the Lord,” she said, “come and stay at my house.” And she persuaded us.
The Macedonian Call was a tipping point in church history. When Paul and Silas took the Gospel into Macedonia, the church became a true intercontinental movement. This event took the Gospel to Europe, and then it expanded across the oceans to arrive here in America. It continued to move on around the world until it arrived back in the Middle East. The spread of the Gospel reminds me of a cartoon where a character threw a boomerang and it went around the entire world and hit the character in the head from behind.
The really fascinating thing about this is that God began this revolutionary missionary endeavor in a unique way. Amazingly, the first European convert was a woman! The first church planted outside of Asia was started in a woman's home. There is true equality before the Lord!
Galatian 3:28-29 tells us: “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.” Lydia is a prime example of this promise of God!
IN THE EARLY CHURCH, WOMEN DISCIPLED OTHERS
God calls all people to become disciples. The Great Commission does not say make converts it does command us however to make disciples. We are all called to salvation and to grow in the Lord. We are all called to become mature people, not remaining babes in the Lord. Even more than that, mature believers are called to help the immature to grow. In this case, God called a woman, Priscilla, to help disciple a man named Apollos in Acts 18:24-26:
Meanwhile a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was a learned man, with a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures. He had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and he spoke with great fervor and taught about Jesus accurately, though he knew only the baptism of John. 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.
Apollos was a loose cannon: He was a powerful orator and knew something of Jesus.
Much of what he was so eloquently preaching was wrong, because he was not actually saved yet. This reminds me of a young man in my home church who surrendered to the ministry, but then got saved! Like Apollos, he had the process backwards!
Priscilla helped get Apollos saved, and then helped disciple him. Discipling should normally be a same-gender exercise. In other Scriptures, older women are instructed to teach younger women. In this case, Priscilla worked alongside Aquilla, and God was able to use Apollos mightily!
As Acts 18:27-28 tells us: “When Apollos wanted to go to Achaia, the brothers and sisters encouraged him and wrote to the disciples there to welcome him. When he arrived, he was a great help to those who by grace had believed. For he vigorously refuted his Jewish opponents in public debate, proving from the Scriptures that Jesus was the Messiah.”
IN THE EARLY CHURCH, WOMEN LAID THE FOUNDATION FOR FAITH IN THEIR HOMES
As we consider this idea, we need to venture out of the Book of Acts to the book of 2 Timothy. Timothy was a protege of Paul and a valuable leader in the early church. As a young man he responded to the call of God and became the pastor of an important church in Ephesus. Even though young, he was a man of great Biblical knowledge, who had a Godly personality. As 2 Timothy 1:3-5 tells us, Timothy had a solid foundation in the faith which was laid for him by his mother and grandmother:
I thank God, whom I serve, as my ancestors did, with a clear conscience, as night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers. Recalling your tears, I long to see you, so that I may be filled with joy. I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also.
Both parents are responsible to God for their children, but mothers usually have more time with children. It is true that, “The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world!” These women took advantage of their time with Timothy and not only taught him how to walk, how to talk, and how to have manners, but also about God and the Scriptures.
We must raise up our children in the way they should go! These women obviously did and were commended for it!
CONCLUSION
Remember the old nursery rhyme that goes, “Here’s the church and here’s the steeple, open the doors, and here’s the people?
Well, in truth, the church is people: men, women, and children. In the passages above we have seen how God used the women of the early church to grow it and mature it the way a parent grows and matures the children in their family.
Each of these cases has much to teach us about the church today. The question is, have we learned our lessons?
Every blessing,
Dr. Otis Corbitt
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