Appendix B

What does "labour and co-labour mean?

Were any of those women mention above preachers? Does it say they were preachers. Does it say they were Pastors? The answer is NO! Since these women are named and no husband is mentioned, it appears they were widow women who having been taken in by the Churches, spent their time in labouring for the Lord in task other than preaching. The words "labour and laboured" must mean something other than preach, or Paul contradicts his own prohibitation of allowing women to usurp authority over men and instructing them.

In Revelation 2:2-3, the words labour and laboured are used to acknowledge Christian work by Church members. The words are not used in this text to describe Preaching or any act of the official Five-Fold-Ministry. It is easily recognized then that Christians who assist their Pastor and the Ministry in fulfilling their non-ministerial duties and responsibilities, were considered labours together with God and their Pastor. A Pastor's wife may labour with him in many duties outside the pulpit, but that is not an ordination or right to preach.

You will find in Philemon 1:24, the names of Marcus, Aristarchus, Demas, and Lucas, as FELLOWLABOURS. Yet, there is no hint that any of these men were ever ordained to Preach or to Pastor. At best, they were non-Ministerial helpers who wanted so bad to be around Apostle Paul that they would help him in those things outside the Pulpit. So even a male may be identified as a FELLOWLABOURER or a labour, and not be entitled to be called a preacher.

Before Titus was ordained to be a Minister, after many years of following Apostle Paul as one of his helpers, he was acknowledged only as a "partner and fellowhelper (2Cor. 8:23)."

Philemon, a friend of Apostle Paul was not a Minister, yet in Philemon 1:1, Paul calls him a fellowlabourer.

The words "labour and laboured" as used with the non-ministerial males, proves that they performed work that was not associated as Preaching. How could use of these words then be twisted to mean "preach" only as an excuse to force womanhood, with authority, over a Church from behind the pulpit?

In those verses where "labour and laboured" applies to the Ministry it is clearly understood, and the Ministry of the person so addressed is undeniable. Such is true when Paul said he laboured more abundantly than they all. Paul's Ministry is the focus. His labour is then understood to be associated with his Apostleship, for that is to what he measured it among the other Apostles.

In conclusion. The Apostolic Church was new and fresh. There were many things new in the Church that were strange to foreign countries outside of Israel. Women steeped in paganism needed help in instruction in Apostolic practice: their clothing; their hair; the wearing of jewelry; their sexual behavior; their idol worship; keeping their homes holy; loving their husbands; loving their children; preparing food not sacrificed to idols; pagan holidays; pagan sports and going to arenas; their fellowship with fornicators and unbelievers; pagan temples; false gods; cleanliness; and how to be discreet in female matters. There is no evidence women preached to women. There is only evidence the aged women were authorized to teach the younger women. In this realm, a woman may teach other women, but outside of the official services of the Church, and then, down out from behind the pulpit. Women may teach children, because this is their normal holiness duty anyway. As with the previous teaching, it is done down out of the pulpit, in another part of the building, or separate from the Church. There is absolutely no sin in women teaching sunday school, youth services, regular Christian school, or any other types of meetings between women and "unmarried" youth. Women may lead in singing and even in testimony service down out from behind the pulpit. But she is not to take this opportunity to begin preaching between songs or testimonies All of these will be under the direction and authority of the Ministry or it is out of order and unscriptural.

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