A woman carried the Word and A woman can carry the Word!
Genesis 3:15
15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
Luke 1:44
44 For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.
Galatians 4:4-5
4 But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,
5 To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.
The growing call for the church to protect and empower women is not a new phenomenon. This call and challenge is as old as the church itself. The seven full of the Holy Ghost, including Stephen, was appointed to serve the neglected women of the congregation, and he eventually became church history’s first martyr.
That being said, I submit to you how God has called and used a woman to carry His Word both naturally and spiritually…allowing the woman to emerge front and center for his ordained kingdom purpose.
1. A woman’s absence is the first thing declared ‘not good’ in creation (Gen. 2:18).
The “not good” of woman’s absence contrasts the “good” of everything else God made (Gen. 1:31). Man cannot rule the earth without woman (Gen. 2:18). Even on the new earth, the last Adam will not reign without his bride, (Rev. 22:5) the church.
2. The first woman is named as being at enmity with the serpent (Gen. 3:15).
The woman plays a role so crucial that she is a special object of Satan’s hatred. (Satan’s hatred is towards the Word…promised to come thru the woman)! emphasis mine
3. A woman will give birth to the serpent-crushing seed—the Messiah (Gen. 3:15).
History will be a war between the Devil’s children and God’s children with victory coming at Calvary.
4. A woman is the first and only character in the Old Testament to confer a name on God (Gen. 16:13).
Given the significance of naming in the Old Testament, it’s notable that it is the abandoned servant woman, Hagar, who names God “the God of seeing.”
5. Women act bravely at decisive moments to preserve the endangered line of the seed—often in the midst of vulnerability and oppression.
Tamar (Gen. 38), Hebrew midwives (Ex. 1:15–21), Rahab (Josh. 2), Ruth, Esther, and others step forward at key points to preserve the Redeemer’s line and move it toward fulfillment.
6. Women are the first to believe that Jesus and his forerunner soon would be conceived (Luke 1:5–38)—and the first to speak aloud of it.
Zechariah disbelieved and became mute. Joseph contemplated a quiet divorce. Elizabeth and Mary received the announcement in publicly expressed faith.
7. A woman and her child (in utero) are the first recorded people to recognize the Messiah’s arrival (Luke 1:39–45).
Elizabeth recognizes the presence of the Messiah through the prophetic work of the son in her womb.
8. A woman is the first recorded person to declare the Messiah’s presence on earth (Luke 1:39–45).
39 Now Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste, to a city of Judah, 40 and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. 41 And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 Then she spoke out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43 But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. 45 Blessedis she who [a]believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord.”
As her baby leaped in her womb, Elizabeth prophetically proclaimed the Savior’s presence. (Mary was carrying the Word!!)-emphasis mine
9. A woman voices the New Testament’s first poetic song, praising God for the Messiah’s arrival (Luke 1:46–55).
While carrying Jesus in her womb, Mary spoke the first hymn of the inaugurated kingdom. (Mary was carrying the Word)!! –emphasis mine
10. A woman is the first to expect and request a miraculous sign (John 2:1–11).
Jesus’ response to his mother indicates that Mary requested more than quick thinking—she expected and received a messianic sign.
11. A woman is the first recorded Gentile to recognize Jesus as the Messiah, and the first to go tell a community about him (John 4:4–42). (A woman was carrying the Word)!!-emphasis mine
The Samaritan woman—likely abused and marginalized by her people—was the first recorded non-Israelite to identify Jesus as the Christ, immediately becoming the first to go and proclaim him among a community.
12. Only women are said to give general, regular financial provision (out of their own means) to Jesus and the Twelve. (Luke 8:3) Women financially supported the Word!
We are told elsewhere of the disciples’ communal moneybag. This is our only insight into the underwriting of their itinerant ministry.
13. No woman is ever recorded as acting against Jesus. Jesus’ recorded enemies were all men. So, what does it say if you are against women supporting and carrying the Word?
14. Women were the last to stay with Jesus at the cross… along with one disciple, John (John 19:25).
Jesus’ mother, his aunt, Mary the wife of Cleopas, and Mary Magdalene were the last to stand by the cross.
15. A woman is the final person Jesus directly ministered to before his death (John 19:26–27).
Jesus’ last act of ministry on earth was to provide care for a woman, probably widowed and soon to be bereaved of her eldest son—his own mother.
16. Women were the first tasked with proclaiming news of the resurrection (Matt. 28:7).
At this point in history, women were not even regarded as reliable witnesses in a court of law. Nevertheless, all four Gospel writers insist that women were the first to discover—and herald the news about—the empty tomb. Women herald…carried the Word…the Good News!
17. A woman is the first to see the resurrected Lord, and also the first to touch his resurrected body (Matt. 28:9; John 20:14).
Jesus told Mary not to cling to him but instead go tell his brothers he was ascending to the Father. A woman was told to “go tell” the Word of His ascension!
18. A woman is the first to hear the resurrected Lord’s voice—and the first name he utters is a woman’s (John 20:14–18).
The first to see, touch, and hear the voice of Jesus’ resurrected body were women.
19. Women being mistreated and overlooked is the impetus for appointing the first deacons (Acts 6:1–6).
This mistreatment of women in the church proved serious enough to warrant the ordination of seven men to prevent it—including Stephen.
20. Of Paul’s four greetings that include specific names, a woman’s name is listed first in three of them (Rom. 16:1,3; Col. 4:15; 2 Tim. 4:19).
In the fourth instance, the first people mentioned are a couple, with her name appearing second (1 Cor. 16:10).
What Does This Teach Us?
All of this should remind us of at least three main lessons.
1. God speaks often about women. Jesus protected the woman, recognized and acknowledged her, forgave her sin, sent her forth, and positioned her as “neither male nor female, but …all one in the body of Christ.”
We know these events because the Holy Spirit inspired men to record them for the good of God’s people. We follow God’s pattern and continue the witness of Stephen when we hear and respond to women’s stories today.
2. Stories of misogyny and abuse matter and must be told.
To end misogyny and to honor the dignity of women, responding to negative stories alone is insufficient. We must affirm the positive stories and contributions of women—not only as wives, mothers, and daughters, but as image-bearers of God. This means we must see, hear, and tell about women just as God does and empower them just as Jesus did.
3. God deeply values women.
The Lord gives women a crucial and indispensable role in redemptive history. If God so values women that he includes them as a consistent and essential part of his mission, how can we feel and act any different?
God so valued the woman that he honored her
And HE chose
A woman to carry the Word and
A woman can carry the Word!
Your partner in ministry,
Dr. Clara M. Malvin
Thanks for your gracious comments. Understand we as women, minorities, and disappropriated individuals may still experience denial and yet come out front and center… all because of His grace and purpose!
I appreciate you sharing this blog article. Really looking forward to read more. Keep writing. Erminie Prentiss Gallenz
Thanks for viewing!
Thanks for taking time to view!