“Lady” is used to translate the Greek word kuria. The phrase “elect lady” also points to this. Given the uniformity of John’s writing, the elect lady then would be the overseer of the church that most likely met in her house. In 3 John the almost identical greeting is given as 2 John: “The elder to the beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth” (v. “Elect lady” is singular and “children” are plural, which also suggests that John is referring to different sets of people.

Is she the overseer of the church or is the “elect lady” a metaphor for the church? It would be redundant to address the church twice as “elect lady and her children.” In both 1 and 2 John, “the elder” uses “children” to designate the church he is writing to (1 Jn. Most of the debate focuses on who the elect lady is. John’s second epistle is addressed “The elder to the elect lady and her children, whom I love in the truth,” (2 John 1). The church overseer I would like to focus on is the “Elect Lady” of 2 John. Women who were overseers include Priscilla, Phoebe, Euodia, Syntyche, and possibly John Mark’s mother, Chloe, Lydia, and Nympha (Spencer, 108). Church OverseerĬhurch overseers were what we traditionally think of as a pastor, and they were normally the person or people who opened their homes for believers to meet for hearing God’s word and worship. Now we will look at the last three leadership roles: church overseer, minister, and patron.

We saw women minister as prophets, apostles, teachers, elders, and coworkers.

In the last two articles we have been looking at women who ministered in leadership positions in the New Testament ( Apostles and Prophets and Teachers, Elders, and Coworkers). 'The Breaking of Bread' in the Catacomb of St.

Why not women by loren cunningham