Joan Boney ... apostle/prophet
After I was born again in 1975, God did many signs and wonders in my life, confirming HIS calling upon my life and teaching me what I was to do in that calling.
One large problem for me was the following.
Concerning the gathering of the church, the apostle Paul said:
I Corinthians 14:34-35 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 any thing, let them ask their husbands at home: for it is a shame for women to speak in the church.
***
I said to God: "I don't see how I can do these ministries in the church, in view of what Paul said in I Corinthians 14."
***
Immediately, the Holy Spirit said: "Look at what the women were doing in I Corinthians 14."
***
By the statement made by Paul, it looked like these women had been disrupting the church gathering by asking questions.
Paul said: And if they will learn any thing, let them ask their husbands at home: (I Corinthians 14:35)
Paul said: And if they will learn any thing, let them ask their husbands at home: (I Corinthians 14:35)
This certainly looks to me like these women were out of order, interrupting the church gathering by asking questions.
***
But God gave me another body of truth about women speaking in the church and this is something I could not explain away nor deny!
God reminded me that the evangelist Philip had 4 daughters who did "prophesy".
Acts 21:8-9 and we entered into the house of Philip the evangelist, which was one of the seven; and abode with him. And the same man had four daughters, virgins, which did prophesy.
Prophesy is for the church.
I Corinthians 14 ... But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort.
He that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth himself; but he that prophesieth edifieth the church.
These 4 daughters would have to be able to speak to the church to "prophesy"... to give that which they heard from God.
By this, I was convinced Paul was speaking of another matter in I Corinthians when he said let women keep silence in the church.
I would not put up with disorderly women in the church.
Once I visited a non-denominational church. Pastor was teaching the Sunday school class. In the middle of Pastor's teaching, a woman jumped up, waved her hands into the air, began shouting "Praise the Lord" and ran about the room. The people thought it was the Holy Spirit in her. I thought it was "another spirit" in her. I was reminded of the following words for the gathering of the church.
I Corinthians 14:40 Let all things be done decently and in order.
I could not deny this fact of Acts 21:9.
***
Later I saw another section of scripture which pertained to women speaking to the church.
Acts 1:14-18 But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words:
For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day.
But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;
And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of MY Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:
And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy:
***
This cannot be denied nor explained away.
***
To be able to stand against the reasonings of devils, we need proofs that we cannot explain away.
We stand by faith, but our faith often needs to be based on something which we cannot deny.
Others might deny the truth, but we cannot deny the truth.
I've always found that God sets it up where I will have in my heart and mind HIS undeniable truth.
The gates of hell will not be able to stand against that WORD revealed to us by God.
*****