GOD’S INTENT FOR POWERFUL WOMEN
Dr. Jay Zinn • River’s Edge Church • 3/18/12
Everyone has heard of Paul Revere's famous ride to warn friends and neighbors that the British were
coming, but there was someone else who rode through the night with a warning, too.
Sybil Ludington was the eldest of twelve children born to Colonel Henry and Abigail Ludington. As
the oldest, she helped with the household and in raising her brothers and sisters. Col. Ludington had
served in the French and Indian War and he volunteered to serve as the local militia commander of 400
men when the war with the British began.
In April, 1777, British General William Tyron invaded Connecticut from Long Island Sound. He
commanded 2000 soldiers, and ordered them to burn Danbury where supplies for the rebels were
stored. In the process, the British soldiers ate and drank what they could find. A messenger was sent 17
miles to the Ludington home to tell Colonel Ludington that Danbury was burning and he knew that the
British would move into New York for further attacks. He needed to gather his troops who were
scattered around Dutchess and Putnam counties at their homes and farms. The messenger was
exhausted and could not go any further, so Sybil, who had just had her sixteenth birthday, volunteered
to ride out in the stormy night to tell the militia to meet at her father's house. She and her horse, Star,
rode 40 miles through the countryside to the towns of Carmel, Mahopac and Stormville. By the time
Sybil made it back home near dawn, most of the 400 men were already gathered and ready to march.
The town of Danbury could not be saved, but the militia was able to prevent the British from
advancing into New York. The British were pushed back to their boats in Long Island Sound in the Battle
of Ridgefield. Sybil was recognized by General George Washington for her contribution to the war.
Question: Why did we not hear of this girl in our classrooms when we were taught about
American History? Why did we only learn about Paul Revere who rode 12 miles on a horse?
Church tradition and the cultural barrier for women in the church:
1. Only males should hold an office in the church or be given approved leadership roles.
2. Only males should teach where both genders were present.
3. Women should only use their teaching gifts with other women and younger children.
Imagine this tradition enforced within the context of society’s culture for women today:
1. Only males should hold an office in education, the government, the military, and the marketplace; or
be given approved leadership roles.
2. Only males should teach or speak in classrooms, auditoriums, or businesses where both genders are
present.
3. Women should only use their teaching gifts in classrooms, auditoriums, or businesses with other
women and younger children.
The sad conclusion between the two “norms” (church culture and social cultural):
The closer to the church a powerful woman (in social spheres) gets, the more diminished she
becomes. Once inside the traditional church, powerful women are not allowed to use the full
measure of their gifts, graces, and talents which have been given to them by God.
Why is it that the church is so behind the world in empowering women to be all they can be in God?
The answer: traditions of men held on to for the sake of their traditions and the fear of losing face
and place, thus nullifying God’s word and his original design and intent and for women.
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GOD’S INTENT FOR POWERFUL WOMEN
Dr. Jay Zinn • River’s Edge Church • 3/18/12
Jesus turned the “traditions” of men upside down:
Matt 15:1-6
Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, "Why do your disciples
break the tradition of the elders? They don't wash their hands before they eat!"
Jesus replied, "And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? For God said, 'Honor
your father and mother' and 'Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.' But you say that if a
man says to his father or mother, 'Whatever help you might otherwise have received from me is a gift devoted to
God,' he is not to 'honor his father' with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. NIV
Jesus turned the “tradition” of patriarchy upside down:
Luke 10:38-42
As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her
home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said. But Martha was
distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, "Lord, don't you care that my
sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!"
"Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is
needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her." NIV
Point: Mary did something that was culturally unthinkable. She sat in a meeting alongside men to listen
to and engage in a dialogue with Jesus (considered a Rabbi). Martha was not only upset because she
needed help, she was upset because Mary was breaking tradition. Her place was to be in the kitchen
with Martha, not out with the men as a disciple; and how much more unthinkable—she was sitting at
Jesus’ feet. Yet, Jesus applauded Mary’s hunger to learn and risk stepping outside of the boundaries of
men’s traditions. Jesus came to set the captives free. Women of the day were possessions, captives, and
slaves to the culturally accepted mandates for the place of women. Isaiah predicted Jesus would do this
for women (not men only) when he prophesied in 61:1—
The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good
tidings to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the
opening of the prison to those who are bound. NKJV
The original intent of God for man and woman—to be CO-laborers and CO-rulers over the earth.
Gen 1:26-28
Then God said, "Let us make man [Adam & Eve] in our image, in our likeness, and let them [Adam & Eve] rule
over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that
move along the ground."
So God created man [Adam & Eve] in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he
created them [Adam & Eve].
God blessed them [Adam & Eve] and said to them [Adam & Eve], "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the
earth and subdue it. Rule [Adam & Eve] over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living
creature that moves on the ground." NIV
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GOD’S INTENT FOR POWERFUL WOMEN
Dr. Jay Zinn • River’s Edge Church • 3/18/12
Gen 2:18
The Lord God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper [ezer] suitable [neged] for him."
The Lord God said, “It is not good for Adam to be alone. I will make a power facing him for strength.” JZV
Gen 5:1-2
When God created man [Adam], he made him [Adam] in the likeness of God. He created them [Adam & Eve]
male and female and blessed them [Adam & Eve]. And when they [Adam & Eve] were created, he called them
[Adam & Eve] "man."
Point: There is no indication in any of these passages that women were made subservient to man.
Remove the lens of generations of cultural bias in our interpretation and the original intent of God’s
plan for women is clearly seen for them to be man’s equal in ruling the earth. Like man, she was made in
God’s image. Like man, she was given gifts and talents and strengths. Like man, she was wired by God to
rule, subdue, and have authority over Satan and the creation.
Paul’s declaration to the Galatians about being under the law versus freedom in Christ:
Galatians 3:23-4:7
Before this faith [in Jesus Christ] came, [women] were held prisoners by the law [of the Old Testament], locked
up until faith [in Jesus Christ] should be revealed [in the New Covenant]. So the law [of the Old Testament] was put
in charge to lead [women] to Christ that [they] might be justified by faith [in Jesus Christ]. Now that faith [in Jesus
Christ] has come, [women of faith] are no longer under the supervision of the law.
You [women] are all [daughters] of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you [women] who were baptized
into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female,
for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you [women of faith] belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs
according to the promise.
What I am saying is that as long as the heir is a child, [she] is no different from a slave, although [she] owns the
whole estate. [She] is subject to guardians and trustees until the time set by [her] father. So also, when [men and
women] were children, [they] were in slavery under the basic principles of the world. But when the time had fully
come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem [both men and women who were] under
law, that [they] might receive the full rights [as God’s children]. Because you [men and women] are *God’s
children by new birth in Christ], God sent the Spirit of his Son [Jesus] into [your] hearts, the Spirit who calls out,
"Abba, Father." So [you men and women] are no longer a slave [to the law], but a [son or daughter of God]; and
since you are a [son or daughter of God], God has made you [men and women] also an heir [of the whole estate of
God’s kingdom in heaven and on earth].
Point: This passage as been altered and amplified to say the same thing, but through the lens of the
equality of rights for a woman in Christ, as much as a man has in Christ. In the same way that God used
the word “man” in Genesis 5:1 to refer to both “male & female,” Paul used the word “son” or “sons” in
this passage to refer to both men and women. Before the fall and after the cross, God’s intent for
women was to be co-heirs, co-ruling in the King’s domain on the earth. The same intent goes for race,
ethnicity, and social status. All are one in Christ’s family. Gender, race, ethnicity, and social status carry
no superiority over any of the members in the New Testament family of God in Christ.
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GOD’S INTENT FOR POWERFUL WOMEN
Dr. Jay Zinn • River’s Edge Church • 3/18/12
Note: Paul’s Galatians 3:28 isn’t talking about ministry, it’s talking about God’s family, about relationship
in God’s family to one another and the “full rights” we have in this family as sons and daughters of God.
Question: Why is it that only two-thirds of Galatians 3:28 is practiced in the church today?
• In the church, we acknowledge that the dividing wall between Jew and Gentile no longer exists since
the cross. Jews don’t rule over Gentiles and vice versa. Jews aren’t superior to Gentiles and vice versa.
Both are one in Christ. The Gentiles have been adopted into God’s family with equal status as heirs.
• In the church, we acknowledge that all men are created equal in God; therefore, no one has the right
to own or possess any child, man, or woman in slavery. All are one family in Christ. Brothers and
sisters don’t own their brothers or sisters. They are family. They are free to pursue their own dreams.
• BUT—In the church, we don’t acknowledge that women are created equal in God with men, or have
as much right (as the men) to pursue and to use all of their God-given gifts, graces, and talents—even
if those gifts include the ability and calling to lead, preach, teach, and equip their Christian brothers as
a sister in Christ. What natural family carries a rule in the home that the girls are to keep silent at the
dinner table? What natural family carries a rule in the home that the girls are to never, ever teach or
show their brothers something that could empower and equip them to be better and more mature
brothers as a family member. Yet, this is precisely the rule that the “traditions” of men require of the
relationship between brothers and sisters in the family of God in the church: that sisters in Christ are
to keep silent at the dinner table (at church) and can never, ever try to lead, preach, or teach their
spiritual brothers (at church) about God.
POINT: Galatians 3:28 isn’t about ministry, it isn’t about ordination—it is about relationships. It is about,
unity in Christ that transcends all ethnic, social, and gender barriers. Christ came to renew the order of
creation. The renewed order of creation was and is about— being renewed IN Christ. The old order of
the Old Testament had ethnic, social, and gender bias. The renewed order of the New Covenant
promotes the exact opposite. It is taking us back to the way things were before the fall…when man and
woman functioned as co-rulers over earth, and to produce a race of “image-bearers” who would reflect
God’s glory throughout the earth. If men are to fully honor women as heirs and sisters in Christ, then by
love and relationship as brothers, we should remove our traditions, biases, and prejudices to release
them into their full inheritance. We should do everything we can to throw off the restraints of men’s
tradition, and protect their kingdom rights as co-heirs and co-rulers in the kingdom of God.
Joseph’s mandate from God—to protect Mary from the laws and prejudice that would kill her.
Matthew 1:18-25
This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but
before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband
was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace (Deut. 22:23-24), he had in mind to divorce
her quietly (Deut. 24:1).
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GOD’S INTENT FOR POWERFUL WOMEN
Dr. Jay Zinn • River’s Edge Church • 3/18/12
But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of
David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their
sins."
All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: "The virgin will be with child and will
give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"-which means, "God with us."
When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his
wife. But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus. NIV
Point: Mary’s situation broke tradition; she would have been considered a lawbreaker to be punished.
Joseph’s mandate from God was to protect Mary from himself and the law, and to assist her to become
the vessel God had called her to be—to bear the Son of God in her womb. Today we live in a church
culture where women—who try to pursue their call to carry out God’s plans and dream for their lives—
are considered law breakers. The traditions of men will crush, shun, and publically disgrace women in
the church who break from tradition.
At the gathering of Baptist leaders, Anne Graham Lotz, the daughter of Billy Graham, was invited to
speak. She had her father’s gift for preaching. Sadly, the “traditionalists,” who comprised a good number
of the men in the audience, turned their chairs around so that she had to preach to their backs. It was
their way of showing their contempt for women preachers. This not only happens in the Baptist
denomination, it happens in others, including non-denominational churches. Had this been Joseph’s
attitude toward Mary’s condition, she would have never carried the Savior of the world to full term. Her
destiny, and the destiny of the world, would have been lost to the prejudice of men’s traditions.
Today the church needs “Josephs” to protect their sisters in Christ from the traditions of men. The
church needs “Josephs” to assist their sisters to give birth to “Christ in them the hope of glory” in all his
glory that is able to be manifested in and through them. Charles Finney, the dominant American
Evangelist in the 19th century (the Billy Graham of his day) was such a “Joseph.” He advocated for
women’s rights and contended that women should be free to exercise all their gifts in all sectors of
society and should be free to be leaders in politics, the marketplace, and in religious institutions. He was
also a strong and outspoken advocate of the antislavery movement.
Women in leadership roles in the Bible:
More than a hundred passages in the Bible affirm women in roles of leadership, with fewer than half a
dozen that appears to be in opposition. Prohibition of women in leadership has been built on a few
difficult passages, interpreted through the lens of cultural bias and traditions. Here is a list of some of
the women found in leadership or ministry roles in the Bible who were affirmed and used by God:
• Deborah (a married woman)—a prophetess and judge in Israel (Judges 4:4)
• Huldah (a married woman)—a prophetess in Jerusalem (2 Kings 22:14)
• Anna (a widow)—a prophetess in Jerusalem who pegged baby Jesus as the Redeemer (Luke 2:36-38)
• Phoebe—a deacon in the church (Romans 16:1)
• Priscilla—a fellow worker of Paul (Romans 16:3), who also taught theology to Apollos (Acts 18:26)
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GOD’S INTENT FOR POWERFUL WOMEN
Dr. Jay Zinn • River’s Edge Church • 3/18/12
• Mary—who worked very hard for the church in Rome (Romans 16:6)
• Junia—who shared prison time with Paul and was also an apostle (Romans 16:7)
• Tryphena, Tryphosa, and Persis—who worked hard in the Lord (Romans 16:12-13)
• Nympha—who led a church in her home (Colossians 4:15)
These are prominent women mentioned in the Bible (in a ministry role) who served both genders
through their leadership gifts (see Rom. 12:3-8). None of them were confronted by God to take a back
seat to men, but affirmed (alongside of men) as co-laborers in advancing the kingdom of God.
The New Testament is not a struggle between men and women arguing over who is better qualified to
lead the charge in advancing the kingdom message. It is the opposite. Jesus did not rebuke the woman
at the well of Samaria for proclaiming Christ to her community and then leading them back to the well
to meet him. Jesus did not rebuke Mary for being the first evangelist (or herald) to tell the twelve
disciples that he had risen from the dead. Jesus did not rebuke Mary, Martha’s sister, for sitting in on
the discourse of Christ with his disciples in the face of public opinion and scrutiny.
Whether by man or woman, let Christ be preached to the nations! Whether by man or woman, let’s
disciple the nations, teaching them to obey everything the Lord had commanded. Include women in
leadership roles and you will double the size of the pastoral workforce. Include women in leadership
roles with men and you will have the benefit of both sides of the human brain (left-brain/right-brain)
speaking into and discerning the needs of the church—which is a family, the family of God.
It’s about loving one another:
John wrote to “the chosen lady” and her children (2 John 6 ), “this is love: that we walk in obedience to
his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command was that you walk in love.”
I recently spoke to a woman of God whom I have admired for years. She is a prophet. I’ve ministered
alongside her and she is a pioneer in confronting sexism in the church. Not by words or debate, but by
loving patience. Her humility won the heart of those who formerly opposed her right in Christ to preach,
teach, minister and lead as a prophet. Today she goes into many nations, speaking into the lives of
pastors and church leadership teams. She is well respected, but paid the price to get there. She was
hurt, but not crushed. She was mocked, but not discouraged. She was saddened by the opposition, but
let Christ fight her battle for her. I asked her how she overcame the opposition. She said, “Love.” God
showed her that if men and women truly love each other as Christ loves his church, then we will
embrace, rather than resist, the gifts and graces and callings God has placed upon women. All the
theology in the world cannot argue against love letting each other be who God has called us to be. If we
walk in love, then love will choose relationship over traditions that do not represent the original intent
of God’s heart for women—to co-labor and co-rule over the earth.
In light of this study—“When Christ ascended …”
But to each one of us [male or female] grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. This is why it says: “When
he ascended on high, he led captives in his train and gave gifts to men [Greek word used here: anthropos—
referring to both male or female, i.e. as in “man” in the same way God referred to Adam and Eve as “man”].
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GOD’S INTENT FOR POWERFUL WOMEN
Dr. Jay Zinn • River’s Edge Church • 3/18/12
It was he [Christ] who gave some [men and women] to be apostles, some [men and women] to be prophets,
some [men and women] to be evangelists, and some [men and women] to be pastors and teachers, [why?] to
prepare God’s people *male and female+ for works of service *in God’s family+ so that the body of Christ may be
built up until we all [man and woman] reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become
mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
Ephesians 4:7-8, 10-13
The Feminine Paul Revere
Listen, my children, and you shall hear
Of a lovely feminine Paul Revere
Who rode an equally famous ride
Through a different part of the countryside,
Where Sybil Ludington's name recalls
A ride as daring as that of Paul's.
In April, Seventeen Seventy-Seven,
A smoky glow in the eastern heaven
(A fiery herald of war and slaughter)
Came to the eyes of the Colonel's daughter.
"Danbury's burning," she cried aloud.
The Colonel answered, "'Tis but a cloud,
A cloud reflecting the campfires' red,
So hush you, Sybil, and go to bed."
"I hear the sound of the cannon drumming"
"'Tis only the wind in the treetops humming!
So go to bed, as a young lass ought,
And give the matter no further thought."
Young Sybil sighed as she turned to go,
"Still, Danbury's burning--that I know."
Sound of a horseman riding hard
Clatter of hoofs in the manor yard
Feet on the steps and a knock resounding
As a fist struck wood with a mighty pounding.
The doors flung open, a voice is heard,
"Danbury's burning--I rode with word;
Fully half of the town is gone
And the British--the British are coming on.
Send a messenger, get our men!"
His message finished the horseman then
Staggered wearily to a chair
And fell exhausted in slumber there.
The Colonel muttered, "And who, my friend,
Is the messenger I can send?
Your strength is spent and you cannot ride
And, then, you know not the countryside;
I cannot go for my duty's clear;
When my men come in they must find me here;
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GOD’S INTENT FOR POWERFUL WOMEN
Dr. Jay Zinn • River’s Edge Church • 3/18/12
There's nowhere a man on the place tonight
To warn my troopers to come--and fight.
Then, who is my messenger to be?"
Said Sybil Ludington, "You have me."
"You!" said the Colonel, and grimly smiled,
"You!" My daughter, you're just a child!"
"Child!" cried Sybil. "Why I'm sixteen!
My mind's alert and my senses keen,
I know where the trails and the roadways are
And I can gallop as fast and as far
As any masculine rider can.
You want a messenger? I'm your man!"
The Colonel's heart was aglow with pride.
"Spoke like a soldier. Ride, girl, ride
Ride like the devil; ride like sin;
Summon my slumbering troopers in.
I know when duty is to be done
That I can depend on a Ludington!"
So over the trails to the towns and farms
Sybil delivered the call to arms.
Riding swiftly without a stop
Except to rap with a riding crop
On the soldiers' doors, with a sharp tattoo
And a high-pitched feminine halloo.
"Up! up there, soldier. You're needed, come!
The British are marching!" and the drum
Of her horse's feet as she rode apace
To bring more men to the meeting place.
Sybil grew weary and faint and drowsing,
Her limbs were aching, but still she rode
Until she finished her task of rousing
Each sleeping soldier from his abode,
Showing her father, by work well done,
That he could depend on a Ludington.
Dawn in the skies with its tints of pearl
And the lass who rode in a soldier's stead
Turned home, only a tired girl
Thinking of breakfast and then of bed
With never a dream that her ride would be
A glorious legend of history;
Nor that posterity's hand would mark
Each trail she rode through the inky dark,
Each path to figure in song and story
As a splendid, glamorous path of glory-To prove, as long as the ages run,
That "you can depend on a Ludington."
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GOD’S INTENT FOR POWERFUL WOMEN
Dr. Jay Zinn • River’s Edge Church • 3/18/12
Such is the legend of Sybil's ride
To summon the men from the countryside
A true tale, making her title clear
As a lovely feminine Paul Revere!
Sybil Ludington’s Statue at Lake Gleneida in Carmel, New York
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