Romans 16:3-7 - Women apostles?

16:3,4

Priscilla and Aquila are mentioned elsewhere in Scripture (1 Cor 16:19; Acts 18:1,2,18,26). The had worked often with Paul and had moved back to Rome. They had even risked their lives for Paul and all the churches valued them highly.

16:5,6

Priscilla and Aquila had moved back to Rome and a church met at their house. The implication could be taken that they led the church together.

We get an idea of the movement of people in that Epenetus was the first convert in Asia Minor but was now apparently in Rome. Mary was a Roman name, but could also be a variant of the common Jewish name Miriam. Again notice the prominence of women in the work of the church.

16:7

Adronicus and Junia are almost certainly a husband and wife team. They were Jewish believers and had been in prison with Paul. Of most interest is the statement “they were outstanding among the apostles”. This could be taken to mean the apostles had high regard for them, but most scholars prefer the alternative reading that they actually were apostles. So what does this mean? Calling anyone other than the twelve apostles throws some cats amongst the pigeons, having a woman as an apostle doubly so! The term apostle is used in two senses in the New Testament. The primary sense is that of the Twelve (including Paul) and they had special authority, particularly in the writing of Scripture. The second meaning is that they were sent out by the church with authority. There are no apostles like the Twelve today, and certainly no one can rewrite or add to Scripture! However, people will be given special tasks to do special work in the church, maybe of a foundational nature. There is also a strong implication here that women can be involved in this work. At the same time I do think the term apostle is bandied about a little too freely in some circles. We should remember that key signs of an apostle in the New Testament were: proclaiming Christ; signs and wonders; and suffering for Christ. If any does this today then I have no problem with them being called an apostle.

It should be noted that there are people who say the text means that Andronicus and Junia were held in high regard by the apostles, and there are those who say Junia was a man. In these sorts of debates it is always difficult to see whether an interpretation is reading into the text what we want to see, rather than seeing what it actually says (this can apply to both sides of the argument). However, the question of the role of women in the church is not as clear cut as some like to suggest.