Phebe - a servant of the church

“I commend unto you Phebe our sister, which is a servant of the church which is at Cenchrea:

That ye receive her in the Lord, as becometh saints, and that ye assist her in whatsoever business she hath need of you: for she hath been a succourer of many, and of myself also.”

Romans 16:1-2 [KJV]

Monarch butterfly

Some of my recent research into the role of women in the church has involved looking up what celebrity preachers say about female preachers and pastors. Now, I don’t take my theology from celebrity preachers—and after this research, I am particularly thankful for that! Most arguments in support of female preachers are either rationalistic (e.g. “50% of humans are female, so 50% of preachers should be female”); emotional (e.g. “I’m a woman and I feel called to preach”) or rely on ‘Bible name association’, (e.g. “Paul mentions a lady’s name amongst a group of men’s names, therefore she must have been a preacher/apostle/pastor.”)

In the last category, people kept mentioning a woman in the Bible called ‘Phebe’. The more I studied the verses in the book of Romans where Phebe is mentioned, the more convinced I became that Phebe is a wonderful example of a woman serving in church ministry—but not for the reasons celebrity preachers claim.

In Romans 16:1-2, Paul writes, “I commend unto you Phebe our sister, which is a servant of the church which is at Cenchrea: That ye receive her in the Lord, as becometh saints, and that ye assist her in whatsoever business she hath need of you: for she hath been a succourer of many, and of myself also.” Paul had never visited Rome himself (Romans 1:13, 15:22), but he planned to do so, and wrote this letter to introduce himself, explain the Gospel and address issues within the church at Rome. Since no postal service existed, and he was busy ministering in Corinth, he needed someone to physically carry his letter to the church leaders in Rome. It seems Phebe was that person, so Paul introduces Phebe to the Christians in Rome and asks them to take care of her needs. He recommends they welcome and help Phebe because she has proven herself in three areas: as a sister in the Lord, a servant of the church and a succourer of many.

Firstly, Phebe is described as “our sister”. This term clearly refers not to biological family, but to her identity in the Lord. Ephesians 2:19 states, “Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God”. Although Phebe had never met the Roman Christians, she was to be welcomed as a member of God’s family. Similarly, we should warmly welcome believers who share our doctrinal beliefs. Paul’s use of the word ‘sister’ is significant; he was recommending a genuine Christian, not merely someone who claimed to be a Christian. Being saved is the minimum requirement for all women in ministry. That might seem obvious, yet some churches cause disasters through neglecting to check whether the people they allow to serve in ministries are saved. We must be confident of a person’s salvation and godly lifestyle before recommending them or their ministry. While we should recommend sound, godly examples; if there are early warning signs, it’s wise to take a ‘wait and see’ approach. None of us want to lead others astray by recommending unsound examples.

Secondly, Phebe is described as a “servant of the church which is at Cenchrea”. Before we discuss the meaning of the word ‘servant’, notice that Paul identifies Phebe as an active member of the church in Cenchrea, a coastal town near Corinth in Greece. In our day, where so many ministries are run by either individuals or ecumenical organisations, we need to be reminded that God chose the local, physical church as His primary ministry centre. Christians should meet in churches (Hebrews 10:24-25), missionaries should be sent out by churches (Acts 13:1-4) and new converts added to local congregations (Acts 2:47). Christians and ‘their’ ministries should be accountable to Biblical church leadership (1 Timothy 3:1-13, Titus 1:5-9). Church leaders feed you spiritually (Acts 20:28), watch for souls (Hebrews 13:17) and guard against wolves who teach false doctrine (Acts 20:28-31). Initial and ongoing ministry accountability matters. How it looks in practice will vary, but for this blog it means having my pastor on the subscriber list. He’s aware of this blog, supports its purpose, and can check what I’ve written any time.

In addition to belonging to the Cenchrea church, Phebe is described as a ‘servant’ of that church. The word translated ‘servant’ is the Greek ‘diakonos’, so some claim that Paul meant Phebe held the formal office of a ‘deacon’. However, several strong arguments challenge that view. Scripture teaches that church leadership is male: Pastors and deacons must be the husband of one wife and rule their own households, a male responsibility (1 Timothy 3:1-13, Ephesians 5:23). Additionally, when deacons were appointed, the apostles instructed the church to select from amongst the men—not women—of the congregation (Acts 6:1-6). The word ‘diakonos’ appears three times in the book of Romans. It’s translated once as ‘servant’, (in reference to Phebe) and twice as ‘minister’. Neither instance translated ‘minister’ refers to a formal church office. One describes secular rulers as ‘ministers’ (or instruments/tools) of God to judge evil (Romans 13:4), and the second describes Christ as a ‘minster’ (servant) of the circumcision, referring to his voluntary submission to Jewish law. In fact, almost all the 28 references to ‘diakonos’ in the New Testament refer to “someone who runs errands; an attendant, waiter, minister, servant” (Strongs) rather than a formal church office.

If Phebe wasn’t an official deacon, however, what role did she have in the church at Cenchrea? While only a few men are called to be deacons; all believers, men and women, are called to serve the Lord. Jesus said, “If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant (diakonos) be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour” (John 12:26). Galatians says we should “by love serve one another” (5:13); and to " …do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith” (6:10).

As women, we are not Scripturally permitted to be pastors or preachers to men (1 Timothy 2:12), but there are so many other ways we can serve our local church. These include kitchen, administration, children’s Sunday school, creche/nursery, women’s groups, women’s Bible studies, music, hosting visitors, financial support, organising or writing resources, discipleship, counselling, fellowship, witnessing, décor, hospitality, cleaning, supporting families and encouraging missionaries. I’m sure you can think of many others. And let’s not forget the critical role married women have in strengthening the church through building strong, godly homes. Different people have different giftings (1 Corinthians 12), responsibilities and circumstances. Some are so servant-hearted they must be restrained from overcommitting, but many others, sadly, are content to benefit from a church but never assist it. Phebe was not like this. She was a servant, and, our passage goes on to say, “a succourer” of many.

Paul writes that Phebe was “a succourer of many, and of myself also”. A succourer is a ‘helper, patroness, assistant’ (Strongs). It’s speaks of someone who is a cheerful giver, particularly regarding finances and hospitality. I think it’s significant that Paul asks the Romans to receive and assist Phebe; no doubt Phebe had received and assisted many herself in similar ways. Paul had personally benefited from her generosity and so had many others. Phebe does not appear to be either partial or begrudging in her service; we get the picture from these verses of a generous and caring woman who loved the Lord and sought to serve Christ and His church wherever she could. That included carrying Paul’s letter almost a thousand kilometres from Corinth to Rome. What a woman, what a heart to minster to others! And what a challenge today for us women. Where is our heart to serve our local church? Serving might not always be glamorous (think cleaning toilets), noticed, or what we expected it to look like, but Hebrews 6:10 says, “For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister."

 So, as we think about what it means to serve the Lord as women, let’s be encouraged by Phebe’s example. May the Lord help us all to be servants of the church and succourers of many.