Let us turn once again to God's Word and turning to the Gospel according to Saint Luke in chapter 8 and reading the first three verses Luke chapter 8 reading verses 1 through 3 and it came to pass afterwards that he went throughout every city and village preaching and showing the great tidings of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with him, and certain women, which had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities, Mary called Magdalene, out of whom went seven devils, and Joanna, the wife of Tusa, Herod's steward, and Susanna, and many others, which ministered unto him of their substance. in Luke chapter 8 and verses 1, 2, 3 and particularly those verses 2 and 3, and certain women which had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities, Mary called Magdalene, out of whom went seven devils, and Joanna, the wife of Juza, Herod's steward, and Susanna, and many others. which ministered unto him of their substance. We do here in Holy Scripture, of course, read much concerning many remarkable choice women who were favored with the grace of God. We have such as Deborah in the book of Judges. We have the book of Ruth there in the Old Testament. Coming to the New Testament we read of Phoebe who was servant of the church at St. Crea there in the opening verses of Romans chapter 16. Many others we could mention were spoken of here in the word of God and then subsequently throughout the history of the church there have been those remarkable women In fact, I would say, amongst the many books and various portions that one read through the years, I'm much attracted to a woman who I suppose anyone knows very much about, Henrietta Gilpin. She was the wife of the Minister Bernard Gilpin, who was one of those seceders from the Church of England back in the early years of the 19th century. And she appears of course in that Gospel Standard Trust publication called The King's Daughters which gives accounts of some of these various women through parts of church history. But I was much struck years ago when I read Bernard Gilpin's own memoir where there is a section which deals with something of the gracious experiences of his wife, his first wife. Henrietta and I've always felt a peculiar attraction to her reading of the way in which the Lord dealt so graciously with her soul. There are many accounts in the history books as well as here in the Word of God of these gracious women and I thought it would be useful today to consider something of the ministry of the women, the ministry of the women. It's a topical subject I suppose in many ways because of course we've recently had the appointment of a new Archbishop of Canterbury in the Church of England and I'm sure we're all aware it's very much a feminist church and strange that they should have appointed a woman to that particular position. in not only ignorance but defiance really of what we read here in the Word of God. I wonder sometimes if we should even refer to it as a church at all. It seems to be a sort of feminist institution these days and it's now being led of course by an Archpriestess although they don't like to refer to those women who they call ministers as priestesses, they like to call themselves priests. Such confusion in our day. So I thought it would be good just to turn to God's Word and to consider something of what we're told here concerning this ministry, the ministry of the women. We see it in this context as the Lord is passing through various cities and villages preaching showing the glad tidings of the kingdom and the twelve, that is the twelve apostles are with him in the opening verse of the chapter and we know that the twelve of course were all men, that is so evident given their names in the Gospels and here in in Luke's account of the things concerning the Lord Jesus Christ. In chapter 6 verse 13 following, For when it was day, he called unto him his disciples, and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles, Simon, whom he also named Peter, and Andrew his brother, James and John, Philip and Bartholomew, Matthew and Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called Zelotes, and Judas, the brother of James, and Judas Iscariot, which also was the traitor. And as I said, it's not just recorded here in Luke, but in all of the Gospels, certainly in the Synoptic Gospels we read of the calling of the twelve, and in In Mark's account, there's a certain emphasis there, really, on the fact that it was a sovereign work of the Lord Jesus. In Mark 3 and verse 13, He goes into the mountain and calls unto Him whom He would, He says. He called unto Him whom He would, and He appoints the Twelve. And they are They're all male, they're all men. However, what we see here is that there was a ministry to the women and the Lord Jesus himself was so dependent really on the ministry, the kindness of these various women who were spoken of in the 2nd and 3rd verses. We are told how they ministered unto him of their substance, ministered unto him of their wealth, and they seem to have been women of some substance really. We read, for example, of this woman Joanna, the wife of Cusa, Herod's steward. She has some association then with the court of Herod's antipas. Her husband was obviously a man of some standing, and they were doubtless people of some wealth, and she is willing to minister to the Lord. These women had received so much from the Lord Jesus Christ, He had ministered to them in various ways. In the second verse, certain women which had been healed it says of evil spirits and infirmities and then we have the names of these various women how the Lord then administered to them in spiritual matters and what are they doing here well they're ministering to him in in material things and this of course is the biblical order when the apostle himself Paul writes to the church at Corinth he reminds them of these things remember in chapter 9 of that first epistle 1 Corinthians 9 and verse 11 He says, If we have sown unto you spiritual things, is it a great thing if we should reap your carnal things? And then he says at verse 14, Even so hath the Lord ordained that they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel. And what we see here is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself as that One who is really setting that pattern that Paul is making mention of. The Lord Jesus, of course, could quite easily have sustained himself. He is not only man, he is God-man. And in all that we read in the Gospels, we have the actions of the person of Jesus Christ. What was conceived in Mary's virgin womb, that holy thing, is united to the eternal son of God that holy thing says the angel shall be called the son of God so in everything that we read throughout the gospels the son of God that's Jesus of Nazareth in everything it is that one who is God's eternal son but now united to him in the mystery of the incarnation of human nature he's God man and he performs many miracles he can feed 5,000 people with 5 loaves and 2 small fishes on another occasion we read of him feeding 4,000 with 7 loaves and a few fishes he could so easily have sustained himself by performing those sort of miracles he doesn't need to be dependent upon anyone And yet, this one who is able to perform great miracles is pleased to live a life of faith and a life in which he is dependent upon the goodness of others, even these women who are ministering to him. What miracles we see him performing! We have it mentioned here, don't we? Concerning these women, he had healed them. of evil spirits, it says, and infirmities, or the word literally means bodily sickness. And in the chapter, of course, we read of these things. We have the mention of miracles. We read of a certain woman in verse 43 with the issue of blood, 12 years had spent all are living upon physicians and yet never healed and she comes behind the Lord and touches the border of his garment and immediately there's healing just by touching him and the Lord is conscious of what she has done she's stolen upon him and touched him and there's been this remarkable miracle and then later in the chapter we also read of what the Lord does in raising the daughter of Jairus to life. She's dead. And what does the Lord do right at the end of the chapter? He comes into the house, suffers no man to go in, save Peter and James and John, these favored men, these apostles, together with the father and mother of the maiden. And they're all weeping and they know she's dead. But the Lord says, Weep not, she is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laugh Him to scorn, knowing, knowing that she was dead. And He put them all out, and took her by the hand, and called, saying, May the rise! And the Spirit came again, and she arose straightway, and He commanded to give her meat, and her parents were astonished. but he charged them that they should tell no man what he had done. He can perform such remarkable miracles, bodily sicknesses can be healed, people can be raised again from the dead, but he can also perform miracles of spiritual healing and we're told that, aren't we, concerning Mary Magdalene, it cost out seven devils what a miracle he had performed on that woman and previously of course we read at verse 26 of the chapter where he heals the Gadarene he heals the Gadarene in verse 26 they arrived at the country of the Gadarenes which is over against Galilee and when he goes forth to the land there meets him this certain man which had devils long time and wore no clothes but is living there in the tombs and when the Lord when he sees Jesus he cries out and falls down before him and says, What have I to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? I beseech thee, torment me not. And what does the Lord do? The Lord casts out the demons, the legion. Verse 20, verse 30 rather. The Lord asks, What is thy name? And the demons say, Legion, because many devils were entered into him. But the Lord cast them out into the swine, and the swine run down some steep place into the sern. What a remarkable miracle it is that the Lord is performing. But this is His ministry. This is the fulfillment of those things that have been prophesied in Old Testament Scriptures. And so previously there in In the fourth chapter where we see him beginning his public ministry after his baptism and his temptations in the wilderness he comes to Nazareth and as was his custom on the Sabbath he goes into the synagogue and they deliver him the book of the prophet Isaiah and he turns to chapter 61 and opens the book and reads, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor. He hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised. to preach the acceptable year of the Lord. He reads his all remarkable portion and he closes the book, gives it to the minister. The eyes of all in the synagogue fasten upon him and he says, this day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears. And they all bear him witness and wonder at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth. And they said, is not this Joseph's now we see him going on to perform those things that are spoken of in Isaiah 61 later on the end of that fourth chapter he says unto them I must preach the kingdom of God to other cities also for therefore am I sent and he preached in the synagogues of Galilee this is of course the principal part of his ministry The miracles are those signs that point to him and bear testimony to him as that one who truly is the Messiah. He is the Son of God. As Peter will confess at Caesarea Philippi, thou art the Christ. the son of the living God. And so we see the Lord exercising his ministry. What does he do? In a sense we might say he's living, he's living the gospel. That's what Peter says when we see him there in the house of Cornelius in Acts chapter 10 as the Holy Ghost is to be poured now upon the Gentiles and the preaching of of Peter on that occasion how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power who went about doing good and healing all manner of diseases how he is living the Gospel and he's living the Gospel here in this 8th chapter he came to pass afterward he went throughout every city and village preaching and showing the glad tidings of the kingdom and the twelve were with him is living the gospel and as he lives the gospel so he rightly is to live of the gospel and this is the privilege that's granted to these women they sustain him in all that ministry They minister unto him of their substance, they do it all so willingly, they're so pleased to do these things for him. And yet, as I said just now, he could have easily made that provision for himself. But he will live a life of faith, a life of dependence, even at the beginning of that ministry. After his baptism, when he's led of the Spirit into the wilderness, how does Satan tempt him? There in chapter 4, we read of him in 14, dies tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing. And when they were ended, he afterward hungered. And the devil said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread and Jesus answered him saying it is written that man shall not live by bread alone but by every word of God it's true of course that man doesn't live by bread alone there's spiritual bread that is necessary for man there's the word of God but there surely the Lord is speaking about physical bread he will live a real human life here upon the earth, but it will be a life of complete and utter dependence. The kind ministry of these women then, upon whom the Lord was so dependent, it's written down, it's recorded, and we have it here in the Gospel. It's not the only occasion, of course. Remember what we're told concerning another woman in the 14th chapter of Mark, and there at verse 3 and the following verses, and the Lord makes it clear why this is to be recorded. He's in Bethany, he's in the house of Simon the leper, he sits at meat, and there comes a woman having an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard, very pressured she says, and she broke the box, and poured it on his head. And there were some that had indignation within themselves and said, why was this waste of the ointment made? For it might have been sold for more than 300 pence and had been given to the poor. And they murmured against her. They murmured against what the woman had done. And the Lord says, let her alone. Why trouble ye her? She hath wrought a good work on me. for ye have the poor with you always, and whatsoever ye will, ye may do them good. But me ye have not always. She hath done what she could. She is come aforehand to anoint my body to the burying. Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world, this also that she hath done shall be spoken for a memorial of her. How the Lord regards then this remarkable ministry that is being performed by these various women and these things are written and they're written throughout the gospel. Well, what is the meaning of all this ministry? What is the significance of those things that we're reading? It tells us something about the Lord's high regard for the female, as it were. We know, don't we, that the Bible clearly teaches us what is usually referred to as complementarianism with regards to the different interdependent roles of men and women. How they are really dependent one on the other and we we see this in the various portions that we read earlier we read those words that we have in the 11th chapter of the first Corinthians the first part of that chapter of course dealing with the ordinances that have been appointed in the gospel Verse 2, Paul says, I pray you, brethren, that you remember me in all things and keep the ordinances as I deliver them to you. And one of the ordinances is this matter of the woman's head covering, which he speaks of in the first part of the chapter. In the latter part he'll speak about the Lord's Supper and try to correct their various abuses. They need to be corrected. And so he speaks to them quite definitely about how they are to observe that Holy Supper. But in the first part he speaks of the men and women, and the head covering for the women. But it's interesting what he does say there with regards to the interdependence. In verse 11, Nevertheless, neither is the man without the woman, Neither the woman without the man in the Lord, for as the woman is of the man, even so is the man also by the woman, but all things of God. Of course, at the beginning God creates the man, and as we read in Genesis 2, the woman is created out of the rib that's taken out of Adam's sides. So the woman initially is of the man, but then subsequently, every man is born of a woman, of course. It is the woman who is the child-bearer. So there is that clear interdependence. Why is the woman made? She's made to be a help, meet, appropriate for the man. We read the words there in Genesis 2.18, I will make him a help, meet, appropriate for him. God had made the animals, they'd all been taken to the man, he'd named all the animals. What a mind Adam had! He could give appropriate names to every creature that God brings before him. This is before the fall, this is man in his pristine condition, made in the very image of God. But no help that's really meet for the man is found amongst the animal kingdom. And so God makes the woman, creates the woman and brings the woman to the man. And it is so evident that they are distinct. It's binary, isn't it? We know that. This is so basic. It says in the opening chapter of Genesis, male and female created in them. The matter of sex is binary, biological. And of course we have to deal now with all the wicked confusion of gender identity, that you can choose what you will be today and then maybe change your mind tomorrow, the nonsense. As man rejects the words of God. It's sad when we think that even in what people would say is the established church in this country, the Church of England, ignores the Word of God when it comes to the matter of the distinctive roles of men and women. So saying something more with regards to the significance of what we have set before us in Scripture, We read various portions, those words at the end of Genesis 2 and the opening part of 1 Corinthians 11, then I read the whole of 1 Timothy 2. And of course, there also we have reference back to how God ordered things at the beginning. 1 Timothy chapter 2, remember? Verse 13, Adam was first formed, then Eve, and Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression. Notwithstanding, she shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety. It's a significant statement that we have there at the end, Adam was first formed, and the woman is created, formed to be a helpmate for the man. It was not good that the man should be alone. He needed this. But then, sadly, when we come into Genesis chapter 3, we see that it is the woman who is first in the transgression. Adam was not deceived. The woman was deceived. Adam partakes of that forbidden fruit with his eyes wide open, he knows what he's doing. The woman has been deceived by the tempter, through the serpent. And this is the following, you see, the woman taking the lead, and the man following the woman, which was contrary to the divine order. And then we have that remarkable statement, notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing. now it's not an easy statement it's hard, it's difficult in some ways to understand just what is the significance of it we know that in childbearing there is the curse, isn't there? the anguish, the labour pain and all that that entails that the woman has to pass through in order to deliver the child, no easy matter at all, but I was interested in the remark that's made in Gill. Gill says this with regards to being saved in childbirth, he says, notwithstanding there is salvation through the birth of a son, there is salvation through the birth of a son, And what Gillies, of course, indicating there is that the son is that one who will come in the fullness of the time, the second man, the last Adam, of whom the first man, the first Adam was a type. We know that from Romans 5 and 1 Corinthians 15. Adam, the first man, is the type of him who is the great antitype, the man, the Lord Jesus Christ. And that's how Gill indicates it, notwithstanding salvation through the birth of a son. And it's interesting, isn't it, because when Eve, we have the curse mentioned there in chapter 3 and verse 16, unto the woman God says I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception in sorrow shall thou bring forth children and thy desire shall be to thy husband and he shall rule over thee that's the curse but there is that promise also previously in that sense verse 15 is the prior statement the promise before the curse in a sense God says I will put enmity between thee and the woman and between thy seed and her seed it shall bruise thy head and thou shalt bruise his heel and that's the promise of the gospel that's the first gospel promise in the middle of the very chapter that gives us the account of the fall and then when we come to chapter 4 Eve seems to be anticipating that this promise is going to be fulfilled, she's going to see him. Adam knew Eve is white and she conceived and bared Cain and said, I have gotten a man from the Lord, this is the man! This is the seed of the woman, he's going to bruise the serpent's head and of course, instead what happens, Cain kills his brother Abel. But then at the end of the chapter, verse 25, Adam knew his wife again, and she bare a son, and called his name Seth. For God said she hath appointed me another seed, instead of Abel, whom came slew. So Eve is continually looking for the birth of the son. She knew the salvation would come through a woman bearing a son. It was not until, of course, the fullness of the time that Christ came. When the fullness of the time, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, and no man had any part in that conception. No man had any part. She's with child of the Holy Ghost. His human nature that holy thing, it's from his mother alone. The privileged position of the woman, yet she has such a part really in the four. It's remarkable really the ways of God. Notwithstanding, says Gil, salvation through the birth of a son. No wonder we read of these women, there were many of them. It's interesting here. It says, doesn't it, and many others in verse 3. We have the names of these ones, Mary, Magdalene, Jusa, Susanna, and many others. And it's a feminist gender there. It really means many other women. It's these women who are continually ministering to the Lord Jesus Christ and well there are others we could read of we have in the previous seventh chapter that account don't we of Simon the Pharisee who entertains the Lord Jesus verse 36 one of the Pharisees desired him that he would eat with him and he went into the Pharisee's house and sat down to meet and behold a woman in the city which was a sinner when she knew that Jesus sat at meet in the Pharisee's house brought an alabaster box of ointment and so forth and what does she do as she as she ministers ministers to the Lord Jesus and how the Lord acknowledges it Verse 44, He turned to the woman and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet, but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head. Thou gavest me no kiss, but this woman since the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss my feet. My head with oil thou didst not anoint, but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment. Wherefore I say unto thee of sins which are many are forgiven, for she loved much, but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little. And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven. And they that sat at meat with him began to say within themselves, Who is this that forgiveth sins also? And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee. Go in peace. or the woman might be first in the transgression but there's forgiveness or there's forgiveness for sinners even the chief of all sinners in the Lord Jesus Christ but then also in scripture of course with regards to the women we read of them as the weaker vessel there in another passage we may have read in 1st Peter chapter 3 she is the weaker vessel but they are heirs together of the grace of salvation, man and woman, heirs together of the grace of salvation. And again, in the passage that we were reading in the 11th chapter of 1 Corinthians, where we read of the importance of the recognition of the headship of the man as the stronger vessel what does he say we read it there at verse 8 the man is not of the woman but the woman of the man neither was the man created for the woman but the woman for the man for this cause ought the woman to have power on her heads the margin says that is a covering in sign that she is under the power of her husband because of the angels all the angels take an interest in these things, don't they? which things the angels desire to look into angels take an interest in the worship of the children of God those great creatures, the elect angels And yet the Lord Jesus doesn't take upon Him the nature of angels. He made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death. He comes to save men and women, but the angels, they have an interest. They are the weaker vessel. The man is the head of the woman, that's to be recognized. But the woman is not despised. What an honored place. And it's not just the Lord, we see it in Paul. And Paul writes so strongly with regards to the distinctive roles, but how he recognizes those women, he says, which labored with me in the Gospel. In Philippians chapter 4 and verse 3. They labored with him in the Gospel. They had their part in all that work of the ministry, but it was something different and distinct to the men it's a similar sort of ministry that we have here of course in the portion before us these opening verses we read of Christ together with his apostles in verse one and then and certain women they are with him also but their ministry is a different ministry what I find quite remarkable really is the Important place that the women have with regards to the resurrection of Christ. Who are those who are first at the empty tomb? Who are those who are first to behold the wonder of Christ's resurrection from the dead? Well, we have it, don't we? The end of this gospel in Luke 23. It's those women. in verse 55 of 23 the women also which came with him from Galilee followed after and beheld the sepulchre and how his body was laid and they returned and prepared spices and ointments and rested the sabbath day according to the commandment now upon the first day of the week very early in the morning they came unto the sepulchre bringing the spices which they had prepared and certain others with them and they found the stall rolled away from the sepulchre and they witnessed the resurrected Christ they might be the weaker vessels and the man might be the head of the woman but what favoured what favoured people these women are and they do have a position they do have a position in the church but what is it? what is it? and of course Paul is the one who mentions these things. There are those today who would accuse him, I suppose, of misogyny. But it's not Paul, is it? It's the Word of God. It's not the authority of Paul, it's the authority of God that we have here in Holy Scripture. And what does he say, the apostle writing to the Corinthians here in chapter 14? Verse 34, you know these scriptures, let your women keep silence in the churches for it is not permitted unto them to speak but they are commanded to be under obedience as also saith the law and if they will learn anything let them ask their husbands at home for it is a shame for women to speak in the church. Paul is clear on the distinction between the roles of men and women, and again of course in the portion that we did read in that second chapter in which he's addressing Timothy, a pastoral epistle. In verse 12 of that chapter, I suffer not a woman to teach nor to usurp authority over the man but to be in silence. And it's ignored, it's despised. even in the state church in this country. I say, how can that be a church that has no regard for the teachings of the Word of God? When Paul, writing there in that 11th chapter of Corinthians, speaks of the ordinances that are to be observed in the churches. And he's writing to a very gifted church at Corinth, and yet there was so much disorder. And yet in the midst of all the disorder there were those things that he commenced, they had respect for the ordinances. How many churches desire really to attend to those holy precepts of the gospel? If we are those that truly love the Lord, we're not just embracing his promises, we want to abide by his commandments. That is the mark, that is the mark surely of the disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ. They follow Him and His teaching. Paul says quite clearly, I suffer not a woman to teach nor to usurp authority over the man but to be in silence. And so here we have a distinction in the Gospel between the apostles who are there with the Lord in the opening verse and then these certain women. who are subsequently spoken of in verses 2 and 3. And then finally this morning I make mention of one other distinction between the men and women that we have in that portion that we read in the second chapter of 1 Timothy. And it's that concerning prayer in the public place He says doesn't he in verse 8 of that chapter, I will therefore that the men pray everywhere. Now it's a definite article, but more than that, it's also the men clearly now being distinguished from the women. In the earlier part of that chapter, he speaks of Christ as the mediatory member. He uses different words, really, as we go through the chapter. If you turn to that chapter, 1 Timothy chapter 2, verses 4 and 5 he says that God will have all men to be saved and to come into the knowledge of the truth for there is one God and one mediator between God and men the man Christ Jesus now when he speaks of all men in the context he's not saying every man who has ever lived upon the face of the earth he's been speaking of different stations of men, isn't it? Kings, all that are in authority and so forth and to understand the word men there to mean all different types of men high men, low men old men, young men but not just men, mankind in general men and women because he actually uses the word Anthropos, which is generic, it just means humankind. We could translate it like that really. We'll have all sorts of humankind to be saved. One God and one mediator between God and all humankind, men and women. He uses the word Anthropos. But then later in the chapter, when he's speaking of prayer, he uses a different word. He uses that word, ????, which distinguishes the man from the woman. You see, the Greek is a much richer language in that sense than our own, because it does have words that will distinguish between the sexes. The word for the woman, of course, is ??????. and I suppose our English word gynecology really is derived from that particular Greek noun which refers to a woman and so when he says in verse 8 I will therefore that men pray everywhere lifting up holy hands without wrath and doubting it's not the same word as we have previously in verses 4 and 5 it's a word that distinguishes the men. And in fact the definite article is before the noun. He says, I will that the men pray. And then he says, in like manner also that women, the women, adorn themselves in modest apparel with shamefacedness and tobriety, not with broided hair or gold or pearls or costly array. the distinctive roles. He's not saying that women are not to pray. It's a part of the epistle. He's talking about prayer in the public place. And when a person speaks in prayer in the public place, that's the voice of the church. In our prayer meetings, we're not engaging in personal prayer. We do that in the private place. Both men and women will go into their closets, as it says in Scripture, into their room, wherever it might be, and they'll pray to the Lord in secret, and the Lord who hears them in secret will reward them openly. That's what the Lord says. But when it comes to the public place, the prayer meeting, there's authority because that's the voice of the church. And the church says it's our men to the prayers. This is what Paul is saying. There are distinctive roles. But the important thing is this, ultimately, when it comes to salvation there is a blessed equality. God doesn't contradict himself. When Paul writes to the churches of Galatia and says there is neither Jew nor Gentile, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female, but you're all one in Christ Jesus. He's not contradicting himself. He's speaking of something different there. He's not speaking of the order that's to be observed amongst the people of God, and the recognition that is to be made between the complementary roles that the sexes have, which is what God himself ordained from the beginning. He made them male and female, they have different roles, but they are interdependent, one upon the other. When he says they're all one in Christ Jesus, he's saying there's an equality when it comes to salvation. We all need salvation. Whether we're men or women, we need salvation. Yes, the woman was first in the transgression, but the man followed her. And in a sense, she was deceived by the great adversary. The man, he does it eyes wide open. He's not deceived, she was deceived. One might have some sympathy for her. She was overcome by the great adversary. But she needs salvation, the man also needs salvation. We all need that great salvation. And I'm sure we all come as those who feel that we really are the chief of sinners. even in this portion we read of that woman Mary Magdalene certain women which had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities Mary called Magdalene out of whom went seven devils well if seven is the idea of perfection she was a perfect devil we might say if there could be such a thing she was a wicked woman well says Joseph Hart, none ever miscarry you on him rely though filthy as Mary Manasseh or I says the hymn writer even wicked people, sinful people Manasseh who of course offered up his own offspring as sacrifices to his idols and yet saved in the end a wicked king Manasseh and Yetz, in the end a saved sinner. Mary Magdalene. And these women, as they received so much from Christ, and what did they do? They ministered unto Him of their substance. May the Lord be pleased to bless His Word to us today. Amen. Let us conclude our worship this morning as we sing the hymn 200 and 21. The tune Houghton, 808. Ye children of God, by faith in his Son, redeemed by his blood, and with him made one, this union with wonder and rapture be seen, but which nothing shall sunder without or with him. Sick sinner, expect no balm but Christ's blood. Thy own works reject, the bad and the good, And I never miscarry, that on him rely, Though filthy as Mary, Manasseh, or I.