BIBLICAL BRIEFS 112
Ironically, it is often wives who encourage their husbands to become the king, priest and prophet of their household, because it is preached that it is the way God commands it. It sounds like a beautiful spiritual thing to say, but it’s not Biblical at all and perpetuate an arbitrary boxing-in of male and female authority, which is not Scriptural. Why do we say this? We clearly understand from Gal. 3:28 that God says that in the new covenant there is no longer male and female. Can a woman therefore be a king, priest, and prophet? Absolutely! Rev. 5: 9-10 deals with the first two concepts. In a letter written to God’s “servants” (Rev. 1:1), to the seven churches of Asia” (1:4), which clearly included women (2:20), it states in the ‘Song of the Lamb’, which will be sung by all redeemed people: “You made them a kingdom and priests for our God. They will rule as kings on the earth.” Men and women can clearly be part of the “royal priesthood” referred to in 1Pet. 2:9. And the prophet qualification? Although all born-again believers (not all people) were called to rule as kings and priests, all were not as such called as prophets. Therefore all men, for example, are not necessarily prophets. With this being said: Scripture reports of many women who acted as prophets: Miriam (Ex. 15:20), Debora (Jud. 4:4-5), Hulda (2Kin. 22:14), Noadia (Neh. 6:14), Anna (Luke 2:36-37) and the daughters of Philip the evangelist (Acts 21: 8-9). Men, as well as women, can be prophets, but not necessarily, because prophethood is a specific gift of Christ (Eph. 4:11). Finally – the expression ‘king, priest and prophet of our house’ is not Biblical, and especially not gender-specific, but also not applicable to Christian households. The teaching that has made you understand that there will be judgment on your household in case of a so-called authority imbalance, is far from the truth – “there is NO condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:1).
Dr Tom Gouws
