Greet Andronicus and Junias, my relatives who have been in prison with me. They are outstanding among apostles, and they were in Christ before I was. Romans 16:7 NIVThere is a great debate that is raging in the Church today. It's not a new one. It's been going on for decades really. It's the debate about gender and God's will with regard to leadership and authority within the Church.
Over the next week(s), I'll try to delve into this issue to enlighten us on the historical, social and Biblical views on this subject.
Junia is a female name. Junias is a male name. During Paul's era, Junia was a very common name while the name Junias can't be found in any ancient literature of any kind. Junia is the Latinized name for Joanna, a disciple of Christ mentioned in Luke 8:3 and 24:10. It wasn't until the 13th century that the name was considered to be masculine. All early Church fathers and commentators agreed that the person in this verse was a woman.
The assertion that the original language of Romans 16:7 merely states that the two were well known by the apostle crumbles in the light of scrutiny. The grammatical gymnastics are a poor attempt by leaders in the Church to avoid dealing with the issue that Paul commends a woman who was not just a leader, but who was "outstanding among the apostles." That's saying something when you consider all the apostles Paul knew!
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