This is yet another example of why women should not attempt to teach or be allowed to be elders. Doctrines are based upon the figment of imagination, not exegesis.
It has been shown before that the word simply means servant such as in
Jn 2:5.
(
Joh 2:5 KJV) His mother saith unto the servants (diakonos), Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it.
To use the logic of S. Alvear these people were church leaders before there was ever a church. After all they are called “diakonos”.
She speaks out of both sides of her mouth when she says we must look at the whole of scripture then she turns around and ignores the historical word definition as well as the context. Diakonos were servant’s period. The church later adopted this word as a position within the church.
In the beginning the Apostles said they should not leave the word of God to serve (diakoneō) tables (
Acts 6:2). This makes a very clear distinction between “serving” and “preaching”. The Apostles, correctly, knew they had to remain focused upon their calling or they would not be able to do what they needed to do. They needed fellow laborers that could do these needful things.
In Christianity women have a very important role and should seek to be used of God. There are many things they can and have done. They ministered (diakoneō) to Jesus -
Luke 8:3 for example. Based upon the definition foisted upon us we must assume these women taught Jesus Himself. Tabitha in
Acts 9 was full of good works towards the household of faith and the list could go on. Women do have an important role to fill. However, every time there is a qualification for church leadership in scripture there is always a qualification that implies male leadership period. This is also the context of the whole of scripture that is ignored by the imagination of S. Alvear.
S. Alvear confuses what became an office with a word definition. Servants (diakonos) were around long before the church. It means just what it says, a servant. The church, in time, took the word and created an office from the word; therefore, one must first recognize the historical meaning of the word and how the church adopted that word for its internal use. To make assumptions is to ignore the historical meaning of the word. This is what has happened here. No doubt Phebe, like Tabitha, served the church like so many others.
To make an assumption that Phebe was a church leader over men one would have to prove first of all that it was possible. This cannot be done in any way shape or form. As mentioned above every time there is a qualification for a church leader it always, without exception, implies a man. Therefore we must conclude that Phebe, like Tabitha, was a great woman that served the church well. The only other possibility is that Phebe was a leader of women as taught here:
(
Tit 2:3 KJV) The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things;
(
Tit 2:4 KJV) That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children,
(
Tit 2:5 KJV) To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.
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