“‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.’” Acts 2:17-18 (NIV)
Christ gave women power to speak in the church. He promised that “your sons and daughters will prophesy.” When the apostle Paul wrote in his letter to the Corinthian church saying, “Women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the law says.”(1 Corinthians 14:34) he was correcting a social dynamic that existed in that gathering. Cultural context tells us that at that time the Corinthian women (most of them uneducated) would disrupt a service by shouting out questions to their husbands in the middle of the preaching/teaching. It was distracting and causing chaos. Paul was simply giving them specific guidance on how to conduct themselves in a public gathering, and to save their questions for a more private moment when their questions could be answered without disturbing a meeting. Furthermore, Paul still encouraged women to prophesy. “But every woman who prays or prophesies…” (1 Corinthians 11:5, NIV) There was an understanding that it is usual and customary for a woman to pray and prophesy.
Ladies of the Spirit, be filled with power to speak, heal and work miracles.
