Greet Andronicus and Junia, my countrymen and my fellow prisoners, who are of note among the apostles, who also were in Christ before me.
Romans 16:7
“The term apostles designates three distinct groups of people,” writes Gilbert Bilezikian in his book Beyond Sex Roles. “Initially, only the original disciples of Jesus were called apostles. Later, the name was given to missionaries involved in church planting who were also eyewitnesses of Christ’s resurrection, such as Paul himself and a group of Jesus’ followers other than the Twelve. Finally, the designation was extended to people who had never seen Christ but who were involved with apostles in pioneer missionary efforts? Apollos; Epaphroditus; Silvanus and Timothy.”1
Yet Bilezikian seems to forget these distinctions when he later writes that “the term apostle connoted the highest level of leadership and authority in the early church.” He concludes that “Even in its broader, more general use, it was an appellation of the highest distinction.”2 In his mind, this is strong proof that the early church was open to women serving in every level of leadership. He concludes that the church today should not limit women’s roles, if they are gifted and capable.
The chief example he uses is a greeting written by Paul in the closing verses of his letter to the church of Rome. He speaks of Andronicus and Junia as his kinsmen and fellow prisoners, and says that they are “outstanding among the apostles.” Bilezekian says that they were “probably a husband-and-wife team of veteran missionaries,”3 and serve as proof that Paul would call a woman leader an apostle. But is this how it should be understood?
If anyone wants to make an argument for women in elevated church leadership from this verse, he is building on a very weak and questionable foundation.
There is some dispute over the identity of this person. The NET Bible explains that, “In Greek only a difference of accent distinguishes Junias (male) from Junia (female).” Because both readings can be found in the manuscript tradition, most modern versions include a footnote indicating that it is uncertain whether the name is masculine or feminine. This includes the NLT, NASB, HCSB, and ESV. Interestingly, the 1995 edition of the NASB used the masculine Junias and placed the feminine in a footnote.
Why does this matter? If the name if masculine, then this is not a husband-and-wife team, and the entire argument over female apostles falls flat. If Junia was a woman, however, this does not necessarily mean she was a leader “of the highest distinction,” as Bilezekian maintains. The NET Bible offers the following alternatives: “it is possible (1) that she had the gift of apostleship (not the office), or (2) that she was not an apostle but along with Andronicus was esteemed by (or among) the apostles.”
We need to recognize that the identity of these two individuals is entirely uncertain. If anyone wants to make an argument for women in elevated church leadership (such as elders or pastors) from this verse, he is building on a very weak and questionable foundation.
No one disputes the fact that women served in the early church as missionaries. But it is careless to see Paul use the term apostle without considering the sense in which it is intended. Does anyone think that he means to say that Andronicus and Junia were among the Twelve? Of course not. Neither would we conclude without some significant additional evidence that they were apostles “born out of due time” like the apostle Paul. This leaves only Bilezikian’s third sense of the term.4
In that case, they would be similar to those brothers Paul calls “messengers [or apostles] of the churches” in 2 Corinthians 8:23. Another instance is Phil. 2:25, where Paul says of Epaphroditus, he is “my brother, my fellow worker, and fellow soldier, but your messenger [or apostle] and the one who ministered to my need.” There is no reason at all to assume that Andronicus and Junia shared the apostolic authority that was given to Paul, or even to Barnabas (called an apostle in Acts 14:14) or James the brother of Jesus (see Galatians 1:19).
Thomas Schreiner believes that Junia was most likely female and Andronicus’ wife, yet he states, “One should scarcely conclude from the reference to Junia and the other women coworkers named here, that women exercised authority over men contrary to the Pauline admonition in 1 Tim. 2:12. We see evidence that women functioned as early Christian missionaries, and it may have been the case that they concentrated especially on other women, given the patriarchal nature of the Greco-Roman world.”5
The arguments offered by Bilezikian and others in favor of women holding elevated leadership positions in the congregation are simply without merit. The NT gives evidence that women served in various capacities in the early church including disciple-making, missions, hospitality, public prayer and prophecy, and possibly the office of deacon.
What else is left to discuss? There are a number of offices and ministries in the church today that were unknown in NT times. Since God’s word does not speak directly to them, are there biblical principles to guide our thinking and practice, or are we free to do as we please? That will be our next concern.
1Gilbert Bilezekian, Beyond Sex Roles: What the Bible Says About a Woman’s Place in Church and Family (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books), 197.
2Ibid., 198.
3Ibid.
4The other option suggested by the NET Bible translators is that Paul called neither Andronicus nor Junia apostles, but merely said they were thought well of by them. If this is the case, the verse has no bearing whatsoever on the role of women in the early church.
5Thomas Schreiner, Romans, Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 1998), 797.