The Role of Older Women in the Church, Part 4

God has a specific design for all ages of His people in the church. Whether one is young or more mature, male or female, God has a designed and purpose for each to fulfill.

In the last three blogs, we have seen what are the roles of Older Women in the church. We have seen some characteristics of how they ought to behave as older Christian Women.

Here is a review:

First, older women ought to be reverent in their behavior (Titus 2:3).

Second, older women are not to be malicious gossips (Titus 2:3).

Third, older women are not to be enslaved to much wine (2:3b).

And now - 


Fourth, older women are to be known for teaching what is good (Titus 2:3c).

Teaching what is good is simply teaching things that are noble, holy and godly. In other words, teaching the things of God. You see, the idea is this: Now that they are older, and now that they have in their younger years taught and trained up their own children, teach now the younger women in the church. So then, their teaching and training ministry is not over with since their children are raised and gone. They still carry a vital teaching role. They now can direct their efforts to teaching the younger women.

In fact, that is precisely what Paul says in the very next verse: Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, 5to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God – vv. 4-5.

The word “encourage” means “to cause someone to be of sound mind and to have self-control.” It is closely related to the word “sensible” (1:8; 2:5). The idea is for the older women to help the younger women in the church to cultivate good judgment and sensibilities.

To encourage is merely another way of instructing others in the Word of God. And what better people to instruct than those who are younger in the church. Younger women need godly examples.

Of course there is a strong debate on whether women in general are permitted to teach and have authority over men in the church (see 1 Tim. 2:12).  This is a sensitive subject worth a series of blogs that will be one day forthcoming. But one thing is certain and there is no debate: Older women should have a teaching ministry especially among the younger women in the church.  When godly Christian older women hold back from teaching the younger women in the church, the body of Christ will suffer for it.

The Role of Older Women in the Church, Part 3

Tim Peck is the minister of the Life Bible Fellowship Church of Upland California. Listen to his thoughts about wasting opportunities:

The older I get, the more I realize that there’s a lot of waste when you’re young. The young have so much idealism, but so little wisdom. They have boundless energy and enthusiasm, yet they lack many of the life skills necessary to harness that energy and enthusiasm for lasting good. They’re ready to take risks, yet often they take foolish risks, rather than calculated ones. So much is wasted during our youth.

And the older I get, the more I realize that being older has a lot of waste as well. When we finally have the wisdom of hindsight, we no longer have the guts to take the risks we did in our youth. All that wisdom, learned from the school of hard knocks, yet its wisdom we’ll probably take to our graves with us. We have the perspective of experience, yet we distrust new ideas, so we waste that perspective. Aging has a lot of waste.

But what would happen if the young and old respected each other? What would happen if the generation gap closed some, so the vigor and idealism of the young was joined with the hindsight and wisdom of the older? What would happen if the young and old had a common vision of God’s kingdom work on this earth, and instead of discounting each other, they respected each other for what each group had to offer? It would almost be like the day of Pentecost, when the church began, and God’s Spirit was poured out on both men and women, young and old, slave and free, where all without distinction received the Spirit of God because of their faith in (and obedience to) in Jesus.

Perhaps, this is why Paul singles out older men (Titus 2:2), older woman (2:3), young women (2:4), and young men (2:6), so as to encourage them all to help one another out and not let their age become a stumbling block to themselves and to one another.

Here are some qualities that ought to characterize older women in the church.

First, older women ought to be reverent in their behavior (2:3). The phrase “reverent in behavior” is actually one word in the Greek. It is known as a hapax legomenon, which simply means this word is a rare word only used here in the New Testament. The basic foot meaning refers to being priestlike and it came to refer to that which is appropriate to holiness. In other words, older women are to be godly examples of holiness.

God’s want to display in older women (and of course not just the older women, but especially them) His glory through their holiness. So when others see their virtue and godly behavior, they will honor God and see Jesus in the character and the lives of such seasoned saints.

Anna is a prime example of this. She was a widow at the age of 84, and “she had never left the temple, serving night and day with fastings and prayers” (Luke 2:37). Because at her age she lived for the Lord so honorably and faithfully, God allowed her to immediately recognize the infant Jesus when Joseph and Mary brought Him to the temple. The moment Anna saw baby Jesus, she began giving thanks to God and told others about God’s wondrous plan of redemption for Jerusalem (v. 38).

Now folks, this was before Jesus had done anything significant in terms of a miracle. This was before Jesus had said anything significant. How did she know that this child was the Messiah – God in the flesh? To me, one baby looks like all other babies. What made this baby so special and how did Anna know? Simply: God opened her eyes and showed her. Why? Because she was a woman of holiness and seeing the Messiah and knowing what God was about to do became her reward.

With Timothy, Paul had this to say: 9I also want women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, 10but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God – 1 Tim. 2:9-10 NIV

God wants women to dress the part. What is their dress code? “Good deeds,” which is “appropriate for women who profess to worship God.”

Second, older women are not to be malicious gossips (Titus 2:3). That is, older women are not to listen to nor should they take part in the slander of others. This is easy to do since they are most likely as this age not to be working or bearing children. They got time on their hands and it is easy to be caught in the latest gossip club of the church. Men are capable of abusing others physically and women are capable of abusing others verbally, which in some cases can be more destructive and longer lasting.

The words “malicious gossips” is the Greek word “diabolos,” which means “slanderer or false accuser.” It is a term used of Satan, whom Jesus described as “the father of lies” (John 8:44). Thus the gossip is not so much idle chatter, but falsely slandering another person secretly to others and spreading rumors all throughout the church.

Third, older women are not to be enslaved to much wine (2:3b). Notice that Paul said “much wine” and not “some” or “little” wine. Paul is not forbidding the drinking of wine. He is forbidding becoming a slave to over indulgence. Paul is referring to drunkenness.

On the island of Crete, some had turned to wine as a stimulant and a means of ameliorating the pains, frustrations and loneliness of old age. This was not to be true of older Christian women in the church.

“Enslave” means “to be held in controlled against one’s will.” Thus the idea of bondage is pictured here. Therefore, “much wine” becomes more of a prison than a means of escape. When older women do such things, three things happen:

1. They bring dishonor to the Lord.
2. They give to the church a bad reputation
3. They lead others (especially younger women) into their ungodly example.

Paul just laid out the negative things that can tarnish the life and testimony of older Christian women. But are there positive things older women are to do?

Yes, there are and we will see what they are in Part 4.

The Role of Older Women in the Church, Part 2

The bible has a great deal to teach about the role of women in the church. We are just focusing primarily on what Paul had written to Titus. Here is our text:

3Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. 4Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, 5to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God – Titus 2:3-5 NIV.

In Part 1, I mentioned that the first thing Paul points out to Titus to look for are “older women.” Why? Because these season sisters have a lot to contribute to the rest of the saints. Their experiences are rich. Most likely when Paul told Titus about older women, he was referring to women who were around the age of sixty. Such women are to be given special esteem and consideration.

But there are some practical ways for older women to serve in the church.

First, they can pour their lives into teaching and encouraging younger women in the things of God. Think about it: Older women can minister to younger women, other older women, divorce women, widowed women, married women, women with or without children, single women, etc. They are such a rich resource of the church. To not use the older women in your church is to not use one of God’s most prize resources. They can also visit the sick and those in prison. They can serve the body in the area of hospitality.

In towns and places that were very much pagan to the core, Christian women would go through the streets and marketplaces searching for abandoned newborn babies who were unwanted and had been left to die. Abortion at this time was often too expensive and the procedures were often times not safe. Birth control pills and devices were not even around, therefore, unwanted babies were left and abandoned at birth. The unsaved would find male babies and raise them as slaves or gladiators, and if they found a female, she would be raised as a prostitute in order to give the person who raised her a lucrative income. However, Christian women who would find these babies first, would often bring them to church and allow others who could not have kids of their own to raise them as their own.

Older women who had already gone through the child rearing stage could offer help and assistance to young mothers just starting out. By helping out in this way, older women would spend quality time with other women and use such a time to talk about the things of God and build strong disciples.

When Paul used the term “likewise” in verse 3, he was pointing back to what he had just said about “older men” (v. 2). Just as there are roles for older men, there are also roles for older women.

Too often the church has a tendency to look outside of its membership to find that right program, that gifted speaker, that awesome idea in order to help its membership expand its faith in God. But how often do we see that God has given to the church rich resources in the older men and women who are in the church? We must not put such people on the shelf ant not use them. They have a lot to contribute and if directed properly by church leaders, they could become an invaluable asset to the church’s family.

So what are some of the specific qualities that should characterize older women in the church?

More to come in Part 3

The Role of Older Women in the Church, Part 1

The role of women in the church is a fine study to undertake. Some shy away from such a study for fear of women and possible backlash. But I believe such fears are unfounded. Women welcome a clear presentation of what the bible teaches to be their role. To not teach it is to forfeit a Christian woman’s right to know her role and to step into a sphere of blessing.

When Paul wrote to Titus, here is what he said: 3Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. 4Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, 5to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God – Titus 2:3-5 NIV.

Let’s dissect this passage and discover the richness of God’s truths regarding how women - -both old and young are to conduct themselves in the house of God. And may I add that this is not just when women are in church one or two days a week. This is a perpetual lifestyle.

First, older women in the church are to be given special respect because of their age. A mother as well as a father are to be given honor by their children (Eph. 6:2; Exod. 20:12). This is not a command to be obeyed and taken seriously only up until the children reach age 18. This honor extends to parents up until the time of their death. In fact, an older woman who does something wrong should be lovingly rebuked as a mother (1 Tim. 5:2). Therefore, when Paul addresses older women here, he first wants to get across the idea of treating them with respect and honor.

Who then are to be considered older women? Well, Paul does not actually specify on an age here. Typically, child bearing ends around 40-45 years of age and child rearing ends at about 60-65. I think it would be reasonable to say that older women in the church would be those around 60 years old. In fact, this is the exact age Paul mentions to Timothy when he says to put widows on the church financial support list who are at least 60 years old (1 Tim. 5:9).

When Paul wanted to bring in line two warring women in the church at Philippi – Euodia and Syntyche, he graciously urged the leaders “help these women who have shared my struggle” (Phil. 4:2-3). There is an inference of respect and honor applied here.

I believe such godly older women are such a rich source of spiritual resource in the church. Such women deserve special esteem and consideration. What would cause an older woman to be given such high esteem? See the list below taken from 1 Timothy 5:3-10:

1. She is at least 60 years old
2. She fixes her hope on God
3. She prays regularly
4. She is or was a faithful wife and godly mother
5. She shows hospitality to others
6. She assist those in distress
7. She devotes herself to doing good works

Paul says to Timothy, if you come across a widow in your church who has these qualifications, then the church, if it is able to afford so, ought to financially support her.

It is wrong to allow such a person to be given over to the state for support. The church ought to set aside its own funds and help in practical ways. I know we tend to only want to support those who can somehow contribute to the church in service. Nothing wrong with that. But the church should also contribute to the support of older women who are in need of financial support as long as they meet the qualifications as outline to Timothy. This is a great way to show honor and esteem to seasoned saints.
Nevertheless, older women can serve in the church in numerous ways. What are some of these ways?

More to Come in Part 2