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I commend to you Phoebe our sister, who is a servant of the church in Cenchrea,<\/strong><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Women who serve in formal positions in a church perform an important service to God and His church.<\/p>\n \u201cCommend<\/span>\u201d is translated from the Greek verb sunist\u0113mi<\/em><\/span>, a compound word made up of sun<\/em><\/span>, meaning \u201ctogether with\u201d and hist\u0113mi<\/em><\/span>, meaning \u201cto stand or to set in place.\u201d Thus, the literal interpretation of this word is \u201cto stand together.\u201d When used of persons it generally means \u201cto introduce or present to one’s acquaintance for favorable notice.\u201d Thus, it means to commend or present as worthy. This is the word which was commonly used in letters of commendation.<\/p>\n The word translated \u201csister<\/span>\u201d is adelph\u0113<\/em><\/span>. This is the feminine form of adelphos<\/em><\/span>, which is made up of a<\/em><\/span>, implying togetherness or unity and delphus<\/em><\/span>, meaning \u201cthe womb.\u201d Thus, adelph\u0113<\/em> <\/span>means a female who has come out of the same womb. Both adelphos<\/em> <\/span>and adelph\u0113<\/em> <\/span>are frequently used metaphorically to refer to a brother or sister in Christ.<\/p>\n \u201cServant<\/span>\u201d is from the Greek word diakonos<\/em><\/span>, meaning \u201ca minister, a servant, or a deacon.\u201d In this verse it most likely refers to the formal position of deaconess within the church.<\/p>\n \u201cCenchrea<\/span>\u201d was a port city just nine miles east of the city of Corinth. Some believe that this was where the church of Corinth actually met, though there is some dispute on this matter.<\/p>\n Having finished his doctrinal teaching, Paul now closes the letter with a series of salutations. In doing so he demonstrates his intimate knowledge of members of the church in Rome even though he had not yet been to Rome. This is a sign of a good minister of the Gospel, knowing personal details about the people to whom and with whom he ministers.<\/p>\n He starts off this verse with a formal commendation of a woman named Phoebe, who was probably the messenger carrying this letter from Corinth (where Paul was when it was written) to Rome. Phoebe is referred to as a deaconess. Though this could be interpreted as simply \u201ca minister\u201d or \u201ca servant,\u201d the fact that Paul refers to her as a diakonos<\/em> <\/span>\u201cof the church in Cenchrea<\/span>\u201d indicates that it probably was her formal position in the church. In the first century of the Christian church, it was not uncommon to have deaconesses whose primary responsibilities were to minister to and care for other women in the church. Elsewhere in the New Testament, references are made to a class of females whose duty it was to teach other females and to take the general superintendence of that part of the church. Also, various letters of ecclesiastical history (not included in the Bible) give evidence to this class of females within the church. The strict separation of the sexes in the early church made the services of deaconesses necessary for baptism, visiting the women, and teaching women\u2019s study groups.<\/p>\n Though there is sound Biblical evidence that the position of pastoring a church is to be strictly limited to men, that doesn\u2019t mean that women are to be excluded from serving in formal positions. Women are needed to perform much needed duties in the church and are commended by God for doing so.<\/p>\n In God\u2019s service, for His glory,<\/strong><\/p>\nTruth to Learn<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
Behind the Words<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
Meaning Explained<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
Application<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
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