Our Sister Phoebe

Preached a sermon recently about friends we’ve not met yet, based on Paul’s lengthy list of saints in Romans 16:1-16, which begins: “I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant of the church at Cenchreae, that you may welcome her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints, and help her in whatever she may need from you, for she has been a patron of many and of myself as well” (v. 1-2, ESV). So, Paul starts with this servant sister, and more words describe her than anyone else in the densely populated verses.

Much has been said about Phoebe being a διάκονον. Where most translations use “servant,” the NIV has “deacon.” Phoebe clearly was not a “deacon” in the official sense of a man appointed after meeting specific qualifications, including “let deacons each be the husband of one wife” (1 Tim 3:12). It’s like calling Epaphroditus an ἀπόστολον (i.e. “apostle,” Phil 2:25). An “apostle” is a “messenger,” which is how English versions translate it in the case of Epaphroditus. He was an “apostle” in the sense of being a “messenger” from the church at Philippi. Phoebe was a “deacon” in the sense of being a “servant” (as all Christians are) at the church in Cenchreae. There is no need to make more of it. But, that should not diminish what Paul said she was: a saint who excelled in helping the church, and who deserved to be welcomed worthily and assisted in any way.

She was a προστάτις to Paul. It is translated “patron” (ESV), or “helper” (NKJV, NASB95), or “benefactor” (LSB, NIV). The word means, “a woman in a supportive role” (BDAG, p. 885), “female guardian, protectress, patroness, caring for the affairs of others and aiding them with her resources” (Thayer, p. 549). Paul doesn’t say how Phoebe helped him, but it wasn’t just him. She helped a lot of people, which is why her description is so lofty.

Some think Paul was anti-woman, or that the Lord’s church marginalizes women for not having them in the pulpit or as leaders over men. And yet, in the long list of saints, three out of the first five are women whom Paul praises, beginning with Phoebe (v. 1). Prisca risked her life on Paul’s behalf (v. 3), and Paul said all the Gentile congregations were grateful for it. Mary “worked hard” for the church in Rome (v. 6). The list contains other women, as well. Feminism degrades women and men, and taints every institution it touches. Breaking glass ceilings is not progress if it means stepping into roles contrary to feminine nature and Scripture. The gospel of Christ lifts women higher than any religion or political ideology. Human purpose is to glorify God, which translates today as imitating Phoebe in being “a servant of the church.”