The Great Equalizer

The Holy Spirit came equally on all individuals on the Day of Pentecost. Indeed, this is a theme of the Book of Acts. The prophecy of Joel, fulfilled on the Day of Pentecost, brought the Holy Spirit equally on “sons and daughters” so that both sons and daughters would prophecy (Acts 2:17-18). Indeed, we see the four daughters of Philip prophesying in Acts 21:9. Acts 10 shows that the Holy Spirit came equally on Gentile and Jew, making no distinction between the two (15:9). Galatians 3:28 indicates the same was true of slaves and free individuals – the same Spirit came on them all.

The Day of Pentecost smashed the Fall because of Jesus’ victorious defeat of death and Sin! Paul describes the power of Sin over us as a power over our flesh, our “body of death” (Rom. 7:24). Without the Holy Spirit, we may want to do good, but we are not strong enough to do it because of our flesh (Rom. 7:15). The Spirit has changed all that. The law of the Spirit has set us free from the law of Sin (Rom 8:2-4). If we walk in the Spirit, we can overcome the sinful desires of our flesh (Gal. 5:16). Free at last, free at last, thank God Almighty, in Christ we are free at last!

Our bodies are thus no excuse that could hold back women (or men) from leading and ministering in the Spirit – not in the age of the Spirit! These are spiritual functions, and the law of the Spirit has set us free from the spiritual chains of the Fall! Our bodies are now on a path to return to what God made them to be, and they will be fully and ultimately redeemed when Jesus returns!

The New Testament often talks about us in terms of our bodies and our spirits. Understandably, there has recently been a push to make sure that this sort of “dualistic” language doesn’t undermine a sense that our bodies are important too. We wouldn’t want to fall into the trap of an early Christian group known as the Gnostics. They had trouble believing that Jesus was fully human or – for that matter – that he genuinely died on the cross. Rather, we believe that God made our bodies, and he made them to be good. 

Nevertheless, the New Testament regularly uses dualistic language. Jesus tells Nicodemus, “That which has been born of the flesh is flesh, and that which has been born of the Spirit is spirit” (John 3:6, NASB). In Matthew 10:28, Jesus says not to fear the person who can kill the body but not the soul. While this dualism of body and soul may be a picture, it is a picture that the New Testament regularly uses.

The New Testament consistently considers our spiritual dimension as the part of us that is in direct relationship with God and the heavenly realm. Yes, we serve God with our bodies as well, but our union with God is the joining of our spirits with his spirit (1 Cor. 6:17). This union with the Holy Spirit is what gives us access to the mind of God so that we can think spiritually rather than “carnally” (that is, with our flesh – 1 Cor. 2:15-16). 

In the book of Acts, it is the fact that the apostles have the Holy Spirit that gives them the power to act boldly (1:8). Throughout Acts, it is the Holy Spirit that leads them, such as when the Holy Spirit directs Philip to talk to the Ethiopian eunuch (8:29) or tells the church to set apart Paul and Barnabas for the first missionary journey (13:2). Clearly, although their bodies were involved, the spiritual dimension was definitive in the leadership and ministry of the church.

The bottom line is that to prohibit a woman from leadership and ministry after Pentecost is to quench the Spirit in the name of her body. It is a concession to Sin in the face of our victorious Christ! There are reasons that Pentecost-focused traditions like the Wesleyans and Pentecostals have always tended to support women in ministry and leadership – because the Day of Pentecost reflects the common empowerment of all God’s people from this Day of the Spirit. 

We are optimistic about the power of the Spirit to overcome the power of Sin in our lives, and we are optimistic about the power of the Spirit to smash the effects of the Fall. Do we believe in healing and miracles? Yes, of course, it is biblical! And it is rooted in our faith in what the Spirit has done and wants to do to overcome the power of Sin over the physical world. This includes the fractured relationships and functions of women after the Fall.

Do you believe that the Spirit brings power? Why insist on perpetuating the brokenness of the world when God wants to do more? Why not have faith that Christ has redeemed Eve as well as Adam? The Day of Pentecost anticipates what it will fully be like when the kingdom of God sees the whole creation redeemed from its corruption (Rom. 8:21). Why would we artificially hold back the Spirit now when God wants to show us a more excellent way?