Some Key Words (1/21/01)

Commend (sunistemi [4921]):

to place together with, to stand together with, to recommend or make acceptable or illustrious, to commit to the care of another, to prove, approve, or manifest; to set in the same place, to stand with, to set one with another by way of introduction, to teach by combining and comparing, to unite parts into a whole; to introduce favorably, to exhibit

Phoebe (phoibe [5402]):

"radiant";

Servant (diakonos [1249]):

a minister, servant, deacon, one who willingly renders service to another; one who executes another's commands, the king's servant, a church officer caring for the poor and charged with distributions for their use, a waiter; an attendant, a Christian teacher or pastor

Church (ekklesia [1577]):

the congregation of those called out, the community of the redeemed; an assembly in public for purpose of deliberating, a throng of men assembled by chance, an assembly of Christians gathered for worship, the whole of Christianity worldwide, a local company of Christians united into one body; a popular meeting, a religious congregation, a Christian community - whether on earth or in heaven

Cenchrea (kegchreai [2747]):

"millet" - the eastern harbor of Corinth

Receive (prosdechomai [4327]):

to take the spoiling of one's goods with joy, to accept as deliverance, to receive kindly, as a friend, to entertain, admit, expect, look or wait for; to give access to oneself, to admit, receive into intercourse and companionship, to expect the fulfillment of promises; to admit to intercourse, hospitality, and credence, to await with confidence and patience

Worthy (axios [516]):

suitably, in a manner worthy of; appropriately

Help (paristemi [3936]):

to place beside, to set at hand, to proffer, to provide, to place at one's disposal, to present or show, to prove by argument, to stand beside or near, to be at hand, to appear, to stand ready to help, to succor; to proffer, recommend, substantiate, to be ready, to aid

Need (chrezo [5535]):

necessity, to have need of, to want; to be in want of;

 

Paraphrase: (1/21/01)

1 I am sending Phoebe, our sister servant of the church at Cenchrea. 2 Receive her as you ought to receive any saint, and give her aid in any need she may have upon her arrival; for she has so helped many, including myself.

Key Verse: (1/21/01)

16:2 - Receive her as is worthy of all saints, helping her in any need presented.

People Mentioned: (1/21/01)

Phoebe

mentioned only in this one place, a member of the church in Cenchrea, a city near Corinth, on the other side of the isthmus. The implication from this passage is that she bore Paul's letter to Rome.

 

Some Parallel Verses (1/21/01)

16:1

2Co 3:1 - Are we such that we require commendations from some other before you can accept us? Ac 18:18 - Paul had his head shaved for a vow in Cenchrea before heading for Syria with Priscilla and Aquila.

16:2

Php 2:29 - Epaphroditus, and men of like character are to be received with joy and high regard. Ac 9:13 - Ananias queried the Lord, for Saul was known to have done harm to the saints in Jerusalem. Ac 9:15 - But God declared him a chosen instrument to declare the gospel to Gentiles, kings, and Jews.

 

New Thoughts (1/22/01)

The egalitarian ways of the Church are clearly established here. The greeting and assistance which Paul could have expected for himself, he asks for his fellow believer. He declares that all of God's servants, all His saints, are worthy of the same reception, and the same hospitality. Here, too, he displays some of the equality and unity of which he has been speaking throughout the letter. Consider. Paul, a well educated and religiously trained Jew, is sending a woman to bear his letter. Paul, the product of a society that didn't think of women as particularly counting. Think about it. When Jesus distributed bread and fish, we are told there were five thousand men (and some women). Again, at Pentecost, the men in the upper room are listed by name as having been there together in prayer. Oh, and the women were there, too. This was the natural thought pattern of the Jewish male of that period, and for most of the region, for that matter. It was the basic male view in a patristic society. This is the society that bred Paul. But, what is Paul, the Jew among Jews, doing? He sends along Phoebe to bear what is apparently his first ever letter to the church in Rome. And not that alone, but he requests that her reception be such as they would have given him, were he there in person. Why? Because of his reputation? Not at all, but simply because that is the reception any one of Christ's saints should be able to expect from their brethren.

Have we come so far? In many churches, the debate runs strong as to whether women should serve in ministry, and quite often, Paul's own writings are taken to argue the point of their exclusion. But Paul is the one who began a church in Lystra's house, the one who worked side by side with Priscilla as well as Aquila, the one who sent Phoebe as his first emissary to Rome. How, then, is this support for an exclusively male pastorate? Paul's message is a message of equality amongst all of Christ's family. There is neither Greek nor Jew, neither male nor female, but only the community of saints. That community ought to be united; united enough to accept messengers from other churches, united enough to send word from themselves out amongst their brothers. We have built up false walls of denomination, of sex, and - to some degree - of creed. Creeds, at least, are important when held to their purpose. They are there to guard against foolish teaching. They are not there to exclude all comers. They are, in the end, manmade, and ought to be able to deal with differing views without decrying others as heretics. We are beginning to see some of this in the current day, as churches are learning how to agree to disagree, how to work together in the unity of their common faith in Christ, while continuing in their unique understandings of the details. I would neither suggest, nor ask, that any should set aside their beliefs and convictions for the sake of unity. I would, however, suggest that they recognize the source of their beliefs and convictions, and the source of faith in Christ, and accept those who share their faith but not their specific doctrines as brothers, deserving of the reception worthy of any of God's saints.