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“The Widow’s Might” I Timothy 5:9-16
April 6, 2009
By WRF member, Rev. Richard Tyson In I Timothy 5 , the Apostle Paul is addressing personal relationships within the church. The focus of verses 3-8 is on the care of widows who are true widows – the women with no other means of support. The government did not provide social services. Many pagan families would abandon a new convert. These widows are to receive support from the church but only after it is determined the family will not step up to the plate and take the responsibility.
In verse 9-16 the discussion changes. Here it is not about the care which the widows receive, it is about the help the widow can offer. Here we are introduced to a roster, or registry to which women are enrolled.
What is this registry? It seems to suggest that in the early church there was a group of widows who are set apart for ministry and service. It consists of the older women who are able to give valuable help to the church.
Acts 9 records the story of Dorcas from Joppa, who was known for her good works. When Dorcas falls ill and dies, Peter is called. She was surrounded by widows who were showing the garments she had made. Here is evidence that early in the history of the church, widows were providing valuable service.
Who qualifies to be on the list? There are three qualifications:
Maturity - They must have reached the age of sixty, the age when a person was considered to have reached the prime of wisdom. Also, they would be much less likely to want to marry again, and so they could give the time and commitment necessary to serve without other distractions.
Faithfulness to her husband: In a day when marital fidelity was at a premium, these women were faithful.
Good works - These women possessed recognizable and observable gifts for service.
These gifts are spelled out. First is the raising of children. Nothing conquers self-indulgence like parenting.
Hospitality - These women would open their homes to travelers seeking lodging from the Christians. They would wash feet literally and figuratively, willing to do menial acts of service reserved for slaves. They would care for the afflicted, and devote themselves to every good work. These are gifted, godly, available women who are directing their energies to helping in the church – they are a powerful force in the church of Ephesus, and a powerful force in any church if their skills can be organized and directed.
These may be the women mentioned in Titus 2:3-5; the older women helping the younger women.
Who does not qualify? In verses 11-15, we are told who is not to be put on the list. These are the younger women, some of whom may qualify as true widows without any other means of support, and who are receiving financial help, yet they are to be excluded from this particular list. Paul is concerned that these women are younger, and are more interested in being remarried. Their focus and commitment would be in finding a husband. There is nothing wrong with this. However, it seems these women would make a vow of celibacy. If they were put in the position of being remarried, they would need to break their vow. The NIV says they would bring judgment on themselves for having broken their first pledge. Younger women should not be put in that position.
Two other sins are mentioned – laziness and gossip. Some of these younger women who were immature had too much time on their hands. They would spend time poking their noses into other people’s business. Some of them were influenced by false teachers and were spreading false doctrine. Others were trying to help people in distress but they did not know how to keep a confidence and so were spreading gossip.
In this regard Phil Ryken says “Gossip in all its varieties is a common problem in the church, perhaps particularly among Christian women…it is good for us to stay in touch, but not just to have something juicy to talk about. Instead, our conversation should be directed toward encouraging the weak, helping the needy, and praying. Laziness and gossip are serious and destructive sins.”
Paul’s solution – it is better to remarry. In that condition, it is far more difficult to be lazy and a gossip when you are busy caring for the needs of the family.
What has happened to this order of widows? Was this order of widows a temporary condition for Ephesus, or was this something the other churches should follow? If the office of elder and deacon is permanent and for all the churches, should not this be also? Does church history have any light to shed on this?
Three early church fathers, Polycarp, Ignatius, and Tertullian all make reference to serving widows although they make no reference to a formal order of widows. William Mounce, in his technical commentary, says that by the fourth century there was an order of deaconesses that were serving the poor and the sick, and the widows.
William Barclay points us to the Apostolic Constitutions, which gives this description of the third century church: “Three widows shall be appointed, two to persevere in prayer for those who are in temptation, and for the reception of revelations when such are necessary, but one to assist women who are visited with sickness: she must be ready for service, discreet, telling the elders what is necessary, not avaricious, not given to much love of wine, so that she may be sober and able to perform the night services, and other loving duties” These women were not ordained as the elders were, but were set apart by prayer for the work to which they were called.
According to Kittel, in the Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, the early church had different practices in the west and in the east. In the east, an order of deaconesses was established, made up primarily of widows to do works of mercy. In the western church this task fell to virgins who were never married. By the early middle ages, a monastic order for women had arisen that had its roots in this passage, but the standards had been lowered to include young women, even teenagers who were expected to take a vow of celibacy.
John Calvin, in Geneva, in the 16th century, pondered this and had to admit that when it came to widows, “even his church was not organized along Biblical lines.”
In the Korean church, there is an order known as the Quanza-Nim. They are older women, married or single who have been members at least seven years and have a track-record of providing service in the church. They assist the pastor, visit the sick, and give themselves to prayer. However, in second and third generation Korean churches, this order is disappearing.
IMPLICATIONS:
The principle of discernment in the giving of help: We are not to be indiscriminant. Look at the situation and make some hard choices. The Deacons are given this task to look at the individual needs that come to them and exercise discernment.
The principle of dignity: Those who receive help can be treated with dignity and respect by seeing that they have opportunities to serve and to give back. There is no shame in receiving help. This does not disqualify anyone from service.
A season of sadness can be the doorway of opportunity. This is true for anyone here who has suffered loss – the loss of a job, a loved one, or the loss of health. The loss of a spouse is one of the most difficult experiences of life. And as you go through the painful process of healing, God in his way and in his time begins to open doors of opportunity you never had before. Through the mercy of Jesus, and the comfort of the Spirit, you can find a productive ministry.
Prayer: I Timothy 5:5. “She puts her hope in God and continues night and day to pray and ask God for help.” Many of the great movements in the church have been brought about by the faithful prayers of the widows. In Luke 2 we read about Anna, a woman who was married for seven years before becoming a widow, and is now in her eighty-fourth year. She is described as spending her days in the temple engaged in the ministry of worship and prayer. She was one who was praying and waiting for the redemption of Israel, and was at the Temple when Joseph and Mary brought Jesus to be dedicated. She was engaged in kingdom building prayer. Her prayers had been answered and she gets the blessing of seeing this One who would redeem us.
Anna’s children are still around in the life of our older women who commit to prayer. Susan Hunt writes about the women of prayer in the days of communist Russia: “How mistaken the communists were when they allowed the older women to continue worshipping together. They were considered no threat to the new order, but it was their prayers and faithfulness over all those barren years that held the church together and raised up a new generation of men and young people to serve the Lord.”
When the Berlin wall came down during the Reagan presidency, it was not so much the result of political diplomacy; it was in answer to the prayers of the church, particularly the prayers of the band of Godly women who persevered in prayer for years until God moved in answer to those prayers.
Service: You women who are with us as widows have so much to offer your church. You can serve as a deaconess. You can serve with the Encouragers. Some of you can knit clothing for the needy – you can volunteer in the community, you can be a part of the Women’s Bible Study and encourage the younger women. You can be an adopted grand-ma to some of the children of the church. Let me challenge you to serve if you are not, and let me encourage you to keep it up if you are. May I be so bold as to suggest that you organize for prayer and service? You have a lot to offer.
Perhaps it is time to rediscover what has been neglected too long – an order of widows who are mature and godly, who can give themselves to pray and service. AMEN!
 
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