E: THE WOMAN: A SPIRITUAL AUTHORITY

Peter said the Old Covenant was to be our schoolmaster. In it we would find natural examples, shadows and types of the things that God would do in the New Covenant. Let us explore examples of God placing His Spirit upon a woman and using her to instruct, lead, rule or operate in any authority over the man.

HULDAH THE PROPHETESS:

II Chronicles 34:22-28

22 And Hilkiah, and they that the king had appointed, went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tikvath, the son of Hasrah, keeper of the wardrobe; (now she dwelt in Jerusalem in the college:) and they spake to her to that effect.

23 And she answered them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Tell ye the man that sent you to me,

24 Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will bring evil upon this place, and upon the inhabitants thereof, even all the curses that are written in the book which they have read before the king of Judah:

25 Because they have forsaken me, and have burned incense unto other gods, that they might provoke me to anger with all the works of their hands; therefore my wrath shall be poured out upon this place, and shall not be quenched.

26 And as for the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the LORD, so shall ye say unto him, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel concerning the words which thou hast heard;

27 Because thine heart was tender, and thou didst humble thyself before God, when thou heardest his words against this place, and against the inhabitants thereof, and humbledst thyself before me, and didst rend thy clothes, and weep before me; I have even heard thee also, saith the LORD.

28 Behold, I will gather thee to thy fathers, and thou shalt be gathered to thy grave in peace, neither shall thine eyes see all the evil that I will bring upon this place, and upon the inhabitants of the same. So they brought the king word again.

Regardless of what we want and how we feel about a matter, God’s Word is the final authority.

This is very noteworthy. Though Huldah was used by God to instruct the men of Israel concerning the book of the Law, her husband was a keeper of the wardrobe. He was the laundry man. Nevertheless, we do not read where he interfered with what the Lord was doing with his wife.

DEBORAH THE JUDGE:

Judges 4:4-5

4 And Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, she judged Israel at that time.

5 And she dwelt under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in mount Ephraim: and the children of Israel came up to her for judgment.

Here we have a perfect example of the power that was to come to spiritually liberate the woman. Deborah was a prophetess, but not just any prophetess. She was the one who “stood in the room.” She was the one God was using to lead, guide and direct Israel. Deborah was also a Judge.

JUDGE:to rule... pronounce sentence for or against; to vindicate or punish; to govern; to litigate, execute judgment

Gideon, Othniel, Ehud, Jephthah and Samson were all judges. They ruled or governed Israel. Now we see Deborah named among them. She did not do less than the male judges; no, the Word declares she judged all Israel.

Deborah instructed the men of Israel as well as the women. In fact, they respected her leadership and instruction so much that they would not go against the enemies of Israel without her.

The Bible declares her as the most courageous of the judges. They wrote a song about her in the Book of Judges.

In those days (1200 BC) women were not even recognized as citizens. In the home they were not allowed to make any decisions. However, God raised up a woman to rule over the nation. He raised up a woman to whom He revealed His will for the nation. He used her to lead, guide and direct the nation to victory. We are going to see why.

Deborah was a type of the New Testament woman to come. By what authority did she lead and correct the man of Israel? By the power of the Holy Ghost and the Spirit of God that rested upon her.

Judges 4:6-10

6 And she sent and called Barak the son of Abinoam out of Kedesh-naphtali, and said unto him, Hath not the LORD God of Israel commanded, saying, Go and draw toward mount Tabor, and take with thee ten thousand men of the children of Naphtali and of the children of Zebulun?

7 And I will draw unto thee to the river Kishon Sisera, the captain of Jabin's army, with his chariots and his multitude; and I will deliver him into thine hand.

8 And Barak said unto her, If thou wilt go with me, then I will go: but if thou wilt not go with me, then I will not go.

9 And she said, I will surely go with thee: notwithstanding the journey that thou takest shall not be for thine honour; for the LORD shall sell Sisera into the hand of a woman. And Deborah arose, and went with Barak to Kedesh.

10 And Barak called Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh; and he went up with ten thousand men at his feet: and Deborah went up with him.

Deborah was a wife. However, we are not told of any ministerial gifts in which her husband operated. However, it is important that we recognize the fact that Deborah’s husband never interfered with what God was doing with and through his wife.

Let us go back to the New Covenant. Paul had a tremendous revelation of the operation of the Holy Ghost in the life of the hand-maidens.

Deborah was a type of the New Testament woman to come.

I Corinthians 11:3

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.

The question should be asked, “What man” and “What woman?”. It is obvious that the man is not the head of every woman; but he is only the head of his own wife.

Ephesians 5:22-24

22 Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.

23 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.

24 Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.

Colossians 3:18

Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as it is fit in the Lord.

I Peter 3:1

Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives;. . .

The above scriptures define the head of the woman. The man referred to in the script is the husband. A husband is the head of his own wife. The wife is in submission to her own husband. There is no way that every man is that woman's head. Her husband is the earthly authority in her life.

Remember ladies, even in the Body of Christ, the Lord honors the righteous authority of the husband in the life of his wife. Although she is the hand-maiden of the Lord, she also chose to be a wife. But does this position of wife nullify the calling in her life? No. Does she no longer qualify to be used by the Holy Ghost? No.

God bears the responsibility of revealing to the man that it is He (God) who is using his wife. He will reveal it in the works that He does through her, as well as the grace and favor He bestows upon her in the hearts of the people. He will leave no doubt as to whether the Spirit that is using her is God's.

I Corinthians 11:4-9

4 Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonoureth his head.

5 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.

6 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.

7 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.

8 For the man is not of the woman; but the woman of the man.

9 Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man.

In 1 Corinthians 11:4-9, Paul is in agreement with the reasoning of the Corinthians concerning the natural order of the husband and wife or even every man and woman. It was a good custom for the woman or wife to honor her husband by covering her head in the general assembly. This meant that she was under the authority of her husband.

I Corinthians 11:10

However, For this cause ought the woman to have power on her head because of the angels.

God is not the author of confusion.

Power: authority, privilege, freedom, superhuman, potentate, delegated influence, jurisdiction, liberty, power, right, strength.

The woman has been given the supernatural power and authority of the Holy Ghost on her head. Therefore, even the angels have to respect her spiritual activity in the Church.

I Corinthians 11:11

Nevertheless neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord.

This is the verse that some find hard to digest. The man is not separate and apart from the woman in the Lord. Neither is she separate and apart from him. But they are equal in the Lord. This equality relates to the ability to perform the work of the ministry. In that capacity the woman is a supernatural force even as the man is. The woman has the same authority to operate in the ministry as the man. She should be respected for the power that God has placed on her head.

If God requires the angels to respect her spiritual calling, then where does the man or husband appear?

This does not take anything from the men. In fact, it adds to them. For now they truly have a help mate in the ministry. If you a husband sees the power of God willing to use his wife in the ministry, he must loose her to do so! Do not force her to choose between you and the calling in her heart.

I Corinthians 7:10

And unto the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord, Let not the wife depart from her husband . . .

I Corinthians 7:11

But and if she depart, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband: and let not the husband put away his wife.

Wives ought to make every effort to live peaceably with their husbands. Nevertheless, if it is impossible to do so; If the wife departs from her husband for the sake of the gospel, then she must remain unmarried or be reconciled to him. This is the relief the Lord gives the women of the Body whose mates are unreasonable and impossible to live with.

Many marriages have been broken by the unwillingness of the husband to loose his wife to perform spiritual responsibilities in ministry such as that of pastor. The Godly advice to husbands is to cooperate with the Holy Ghost and allow his wife to minister with his permission and blessing.

I Corinthians 11:12

For as the woman is of the man, even so is the man also by the woman; but all things of God.

The man needs the woman and the woman needs the man. They are both of God.

I Corinthians 11:13-15

13 Judge in yourselves: is it comely that a woman pray unto God uncovered?

14 Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him?

15 But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her: for her hair is given her for a covering.

In the beginning the woman was given power to subdue the whole earth. All she had on her head then was hair, saith the Lord.

I Corinthians 11:16

But if any man seem to be contentious, we have no such custom, neither the churches of God.

In the churches of God it is therefore not a custom for the women to cover their heads, and in the spiritual realm they are equal to men. So what is the Lord saying to us?

In the Body of Christ are many members and some are married to one another. This, however, should not cause contention. Although the Lord honors the marital institution, He expects the husband to also honor His presence and authority in the life of the wife.

This is God's Charge to the husband of a woman in Ministry: Whatever your position is in the Body, walk in it but do not deny your wife the same opportunity. You may or may not be called to the same office as she is. You may not have received the same influence from the Lord. You may not have given yourself over to the Spirit of Grace as your wife has. Respect the operation of the Holy Ghost in her. The angels do.

Respect - 1. To feel or show deferential regard for: ESTEEM. 2. To avoid violation of or interference with. 3. Willingness to show consideration or appreciation.

Webster’s Dictionary