From—
Church: Why Bother
Philip Yancey
Page 30
“The (early) Christian Church was the first institution in the history of the world to bring together on equal footing Jews and Gentiles, men and women, slaves and free.
The earliest Christians broke down barriers. Unlike most other religions, Christians welcomed men and women alike. The Greeks (at the time the prevailing culture) excluded slaves from most social groupings, while Christians included them. The Jewish temple separated worshippers by real and gender.; Christians brought them together around the Lord’s table. In contrast to Rome’s mostly male aristocracy, the Christian church let women and the poor take leadership roles.
The Apostle Paul, a “Hebrew of the Hebrews”, waxed eloquent on this “mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God.” God’s intent, said Paul, “was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 3:9–10)
