Strife Behind The Pulpit Part 3- An Examination of Women In Ministry: Digging Deeper (cont.)

Who are Chole's People?

A woman, presumably a Christian, mentioned only in 1Corinthians 1:11. She was a resident either of Corinth or of Ephesus. Paul had been informed by some of her household, probably Christian slaves, of the dissensions in the church at Corinth. Nothing more is known of her. Many are quick to assume that because she is mentioned in this manner that she must have been a “pastor”. I would be quick to caution readers against such a hasty assumption. Chloe, who most likely kept the house church, is not mentioned again in the Scriptures. Whether or not she addressed the assembly in any way remains shrouded in ambiguity. So, too, is the participation of other women of the New Testament, including Lydia (Acts 16:14–15) and Nympha (Colossians 4:15). There is nothing in this passage that suggest that she was the shepherd of the flock. Yet even if she had managed to work her way into such a place we must take into account the nature and theme of the book she is mentioned in.

Corinth was an unruly community, Paul rebuked them for many things among them were incest (1 Corinthians 5:1–13), pagan worship, and corrected the women several times over. Chapter 14 of Corinthians is chalked full of exhortations including one in which he said that a women is not to speak in the church rather they are to ask their husbands in private. The Corinthian Church was in a state of complete choas! So to base the doctrine of women pastor's on the idea that people from Chloe's house took this message of division is utterly absurd.
This passage here implies that they were either members of her household or that there was a group of Christians who met in Chloe's house. It is a common accepted idea that there were not many established buildings in which the 1^st century Christians gathered. Instead they would meet together in homes, overseers or elders would watch over this flocks. In a later chapter we will look long and hard and the qualifications of these overseers.
I do not want to give of the impression that I am a misogynist. In fact I do not hate women I am a married man, father and older brother. Some may wrongfully accuse me of being an arrogant chauvinist, I assure you this is not my intention. We do not have to look very long at all to see that women played, and still play, a vital role in Christianity. Without the service of Phobe or the hospitality of Chloe, Nympha and others who opened their homes to groups of believers, 1^st century Christianity would not have been as successful.

God used women in profound ways to shape the future and He still is using women today. Without the Godly influence of my wife, mother, sisters and dear grandmothers in the faith I could not be the man I am today. There are several grandmother in the faith who have poured into my life and the lives of others. They have given me a glimpse of what true love, service, and humility is. They have shown me things of the Spirit I would have missed and provided insight that only a woman can give.