Characteristics of a Godly Woman

Did you know that if you are a believer in Jesus Christ, you have the Holy Spirit living inside you? 

Women of the church, the Spirit of God that’s in you is the same Spirit that’s in me… and in your husbands and in your sons if they’re Christians.

Men, the Spirit of God that’s in you is the same Holy Spirit of God that’s in your wife, and your daughter and in your saintly mom and in your believing female friend. 

So we’re going to focus on women today, but really everything we’re going to talk about applies to everyone. We’re just specifically using women as the examples today.

 

Biblical Examples of Godly Women

What women stand out to you in the Bible as being examples of a godly woman?

 

Shiphrah and Puah (Exodus 1) - didn’t follow Pharaoh’s orders, risked themselves to save children, sacrificial 

Exodus 1:8-21

Then a new king, to whom Joseph meant nothing, came to power in Egypt. ⁹ “Look,” he said to his people, “the Israelites have become far too numerous for us. ¹⁰ Come, we must deal shrewdly with them or they will become even more numerous and, if war breaks out, will join our enemies, fight against us and leave the country.”

¹¹ So they put slave masters over them to oppress them with forced labor, and they built Pithom and Rameses as store cities for Pharaoh. ¹² But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread; so the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites ¹³ and worked them ruthlessly. ¹⁴ They made their lives bitter with harsh labor in brick and mortar and with all kinds of work in the fields; in all their harsh labor the Egyptians worked them ruthlessly.

¹⁵ The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, whose names were Shiphrah and Puah, ¹⁶ “When you are helping the Hebrew women during childbirth on the delivery stool, if you see that the baby is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, let her live.” ¹⁷ The midwives, however, feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do; they let the boys live. ¹⁸ Then the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and asked them, “Why have you done this? Why have you let the boys live?”

¹⁹ The midwives answered Pharaoh, “Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women; they are vigorous and give birth before the midwives arrive.”

²⁰ So God was kind to the midwives and the people increased and became even more numerous. ²¹ And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own.

Think about these women's situation. Would you do the same? I bet you would, because if it came down to it, the Holy Spirit inside you wouldn’t let you do anything else.

 

Deborah and Jael (Judges 4) - prophetess, political leader, holding men accountable, willing to fight, Jael then kills the enemy commander, doing herself what needs to be done rather than calling a man to do it

 

Ruth (Book of Ruth) - commitment to her family, working to provide for herself and her family. How many of you have had to work, or wanted to work, to better your family's stability? 

 

Hannah (1 Samuel 1) - wanted a child but was then willing to dedicate that child to the Lord’s service. Women, do you ever feel the sacrifice of having to give something or someone to the Lord?

 

Abigail (1 Samuel 25) - was a peacemaker between David and her husband, the humble, soothing voice of reason, did not follow her husband's wishes when he was in the wrong

² A certain man in Maon, who had property there at Carmel, was very wealthy. He had a thousand goats and three thousand sheep, which he was shearing in Carmel. ³ His name was Nabal and his wife’s name was Abigail. She was an intelligent and beautiful woman, but her husband was surly and mean in his dealings—he was a Calebite.

^….

¹⁴ One of the servants told Abigail, Nabal’s wife, “David sent messengers from the wilderness to give our master his greetings, but he hurled insults at them. ¹⁵ Yet these men were very good to us. They did not mistreat us, and the whole time we were out in the fields near them nothing was missing. ¹⁶ Night and day they were a wall around us the whole time we were herding our sheep near them. ¹⁷ Now think it over and see what you can do, because disaster is hanging over our master and his whole household. He is such a wicked man that no one can talk to him.”

¹⁸ Abigail acted quickly. She took two hundred loaves of bread, two skins of wine, five dressed sheep, five seahs of roasted grain, a hundred cakes of raisins and two hundred cakes of pressed figs, and loaded them on donkeys. ¹⁹ Then she told her servants, “Go on ahead; I’ll follow you.” But she did not tell her husband Nabal.

²⁰ As she came riding her donkey into a mountain ravine, there were David and his men descending toward her, and she met them. ²¹ David had just said, “It’s been useless—all my watching over this fellow’s property in the wilderness so that nothing of his was missing. He has paid me back evil for good. ²² May God deal with David, be it ever so severely, if by morning I leave alive one male of all who belong to him!”

²³ When Abigail saw David, she quickly got off her donkey and bowed down before David with her face to the ground. ²⁴ She fell at his feet and said: “Pardon your servant, my lord, and let me speak to you; hear what your servant has to say. ²⁵ Please pay no attention, my lord, to that wicked man Nabal. He is just like his name—his name means Fool, and folly goes with him. And as for me, your servant, I did not see the men my lord sent. ²⁶ And now, my lord, as surely as the Lord your God lives and as you live, since the Lord has kept you from bloodshed and from avenging yourself with your own hands, may your enemies and all who are intent on harming my lord be like Nabal. ²⁷ And let this gift, which your servant has brought to my lord, be given to the men who follow you.

²⁸ “Please forgive your servant’s presumption. The Lord your God will certainly make a lasting dynasty for my lord, because you fight the Lord’s battles, and no wrongdoing will be found in you as long as you live. ²⁹ Even though someone is pursuing you to take your life, the life of my lord will be bound securely in the bundle of the living by the Lord your God, but the lives of your enemies he will hurl away as from the pocket of a sling. ³⁰ When the Lord has fulfilled for my lord every good thing he promised concerning him and has appointed him ruler over Israel, ³¹ my lord will not have on his conscience the staggering burden of needless bloodshed or of having avenged himself. And when the Lord your God has brought my lord success, remember your servant.”

Esther (Book of Esther) - risked her life by speaking to the Babylonian king about sparing the Jews from being exterminated

 

Mary the mother of Jesus (Luke 1, John 2) - willing to accept the Lord’s plan despite the shame it brought on her, told the servants at the wedding in Cana to do whatever Jesus told them to do

 

Anna (Luke 2) - an example of a widowed single woman, dedicating her life to God 

There was also a prophet, Anna, the daughter of Penuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying.

 

Tabitha (Acts 9:36-41) - lived a life of ministry serving others

There was a believer in Joppa named Tabitha (which in Greek is Dorcas). She was always doing kind things for others and helping the poor. ³⁷ About this time she became ill and died. Her body was washed for burial and laid in an upstairs room. ³⁸ But the believers had heard that Peter was nearby at Lydda, so they sent two men to beg him, “Please come as soon as possible!”

³⁹ So Peter returned with them; and as soon as he arrived, they took him to the upstairs room. The room was filled with widows who were weeping and showing him the coats and other clothes Dorcas had made for them. ⁴⁰ But Peter asked them all to leave the room; then he knelt and prayed. Turning to the body he said, “Get up, Tabitha.” And she opened her eyes! When she saw Peter, she sat up! ⁴¹ He gave her his hand and helped her up. Then he called in the widows and all the believers, and he presented her to them alive.

 

Priscilla (Acts 18) - a leader in the church along with her husband, teaching and discipling others

 

Phoebe (Romans 16:1-2) - the messenger to the church in Rome, a deacon, a great benefactor in the early church

I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a deacon of the church in Cenchreae. ² I ask you to receive her in the Lord in a way worthy of his people and to give her any help she may need from you, for she has been the benefactor of many people, including me.

 

Bible Verses on How to Be a Godly Woman

 

Proverbs 14:1

The wise woman builds her house, but with her own hands the foolish one tears hers down.

How does a woman build or tear down her house? I think mostly about how a woman speaks. Is she building up the people in her life, encouraging them, standing behind them, or is she tearing them down with her words and being too critical?

There is a time to be critical and hold men and other women accountable. My wife helps me to see ways I can do and be better a lot of times. The women in this church are going to have the opportunity and help me to be a better Christian and pastor.

I hope the men in this church have had women in their lives that help them to be better. I hope the women have had other women to be honest with them and show them to be a more godly woman.

But I also hope the women remember to be gentle and building up, not tearing down, like Abigail was gentle and humble in her rebuke of David.

Mindy has a saying, “The grass is greener where you water it.” Not the grass is greener on the other side, but the grass is greener where you water it. Ladies, how can you water and nourish and build up what’s right in front of you? 

 

1 Peter 3:1-6 

Wives, in the same way submit yourselves to your own husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, ² when they see the purity and reverence of your lives. ³ Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. ⁴ Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. ⁵ For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to adorn themselves. They submitted themselves to their own husbands, ⁶ like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her lord. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear.

Did you hear that? This is one of my favorite verses! It said that unbelieving husbands would be won to Christ by the wife’s behavior! But this verse isn’t just for married women. The principle is this: A godly woman has the power to bring someone to Christ - without words, it says - just by the way she lives, just by shining out her purity and reverence for God.

Who is watching your life and behavior right now? Is it your husband? Your children? Your students, a co-worker, a friend? Are they seeing you live a pure life, and your reverence for God?

Then the passage says, More important than outward beauty is your inner beauty. And what is the inner beauty of a woman? It says a gentle and quiet spirit is of great worth in God’s sight. It also talks about putting your hope in God and not giving way to fear. 

Being gentle and quiet inside and having hope versus fear is not natural for a woman or a man. But you can ask the Holy Spirit to train your heart and your spirit to be gentle and quiet inside and hopeful and brave.

By they way, we’ll talk about what it means to submit to one another another time. I don’t want you to think we’re just going to skip over something the Bible says. That’s just not the topic today.

Titus 2:3-5

Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. ⁴ Then they can urge the younger women to love their husbands and children, ⁵ to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.

Again, why is a woman to be godly in the way she lives? Ultimately, it’s so that no one will malign, or speak against the faith. Women are to be good examples of what it means to live as a Christian. And I want to focus here on the fact that it says the older women are to urge and encourage and teach and mentor the younger women how to be godly. 

A woman who has been a Christian for a number of years and experienced life and learned some things has great value. We need her to pass on her wisdom to the next generation of godly women. Like Jesus wanting to take the people of Jerusalem under His wing, we need older women to take the younger ones under their wing and train them up. 

If you’re a mature believer in the faith, who can you encourage and guide? If you’re a younger woman, is there someone you can ask to encourage and guide you?

 

 

Finally, listen to Proverbs 31 for what stands out to you about being a godly woman.

 

Proverbs 31:10-31 [Edited]

A [woman] of noble character who can find?

    She is worth far more than rubies.

¹¹ [The people close to her have] full confidence in her

    and lack nothing of value.

¹² She brings [them] good, not harm,

    all the days of her life.

¹³ She selects wool and flax

    and works with eager hands.

¹⁴ She is like the merchant ships,

    bringing her food from afar.

¹⁵ She gets up while it is still night;

    she provides food for her family

    and portions for her female servants.

¹⁶ She considers a field and buys it;

    out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.

¹⁷ She sets about her work vigorously;

    her arms are strong for her tasks.

¹⁸ She sees that her trading is profitable,

    and her lamp does not go out at night.

¹⁹ In her hand she holds the distaff

    and grasps the spindle with her fingers.

²⁰ She opens her arms to the poor

    and extends her hands to the needy.

²¹ When it snows, she has no fear for her household;

    for all of them are clothed in scarlet.

²² She makes coverings for her bed;

    she is clothed in fine linen and purple.

²³ Her [family] is respected at the city gate,

    where [they] take [their seats] among the elders of the land.

²⁴ She makes linen garments and sells them,

    and supplies the merchants with sashes.

²⁵ She is clothed with strength and dignity;

    she can laugh at the days to come.

²⁶ She speaks with wisdom,

    and faithful instruction is on her tongue.

²⁷ She watches over the affairs of her household

    and does not eat the bread of idleness.

²⁸ [Those she cares for] arise and call her blessed;

   [They praise] her by saying:

²⁹ “Many women do noble things,

    but you surpass them all.”

³⁰ Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;

    but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.

³¹ Honor her for all that her hands have done,

    and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.

 

Sometimes, women find the "Proverbs 31 Woman" intimidating because of all the things she does, and it feels like you can’t measure up to her. 

But have you ever seen all the things you do, and all the things you have done in your life? Don’t sell yourself short. If the Proverbs 31 Woman knew everything you do, she might say, “Woah, Lady, that’s a lot.”

 

Conclusion

We’ve talked about what it means to be a godly woman today. Hopefully, you’ve seen yourself in some of these examples. Maybe you’ve heard some things that you want to work on and some areas you want to grow more godly in. The Lord will help you if you ask Him to.