How can
we serve God best, when we are ...
Women In The Church
The role of women in the
Church is one of the controversies of our time. Many focus on Paul's statement
"Let women keep silence in the church" (1 Corinthians
Perhaps we could better
understand this subject if we first study and come to understand the roles
women have played in the Bible.
Creation of Woman
To begin with, we may
ponder some common questions: Why and how did God create woman? Is she inferior
or superior to man? Do women have a place in religion, or are they simply to be
mindless robots following a man around? No doubt you have a few questions of
your own on this subject and no doubt some have posed such questions to you.
What can we surmise or
deduce from the Scriptures on this issue? Let's go back to the beginning. In
Genesis 1:26-31, we find the creation of man: "And God said, Let us make
man in our image, after our likeness; let them have dominion ... in the image
of God created he him, male and female created he them. And God blessed them,
and ... said to them Be fruitful and multiply ...
replenish ... subdue....And it was very good."
Now notice that:
1. God created mankind in His own image and likeness.
2. God created mankind as male and female
3. God gave mankind dominion over all living things and power to increase and
multiply.
What does this tell us about man and woman?
If you think about it, it
tells us that they were equal in being and different in function (sex). There
is nothing here that would indicate that the male could rule by himself,
multiply by himself, or subdue by himself. This passage plainly indicates a
partnership. And it reveals that sexual differentiation is part of the order
established at creation. Just as God (Hebrew: Elohim) is uni-plural
("let us"), man is uni-plural ("them/them"). And the two
(male and female) though they become one, can multiply, creating more mankind
in their own image, as did God.
This important concept is
further revealed in Genesis 2:18-24 in the "creation" of the marriage
institution. Here we find the account of God's taking a rib from the sleeping
Adam and creating woman. What does God's taking a rib to create Eve suggest? It
seems to suggest sameness of creation (all other creatures were created from
the dust of the ground). It suggests the role, the function of the woman: she
wasn't taken from his head to indicate rulership or headship over him: she
wasn't taken from his foot to indicate being trodden under his feet; but from
his side to indicate that he was to love her, protect her - and she was to
support him. A "help" from him and for him.
[It also suggests that without woman, man is missing something vital].
Biblical Headship
Does this suggest
functional subordination? It's neither subordination nor domination of a
superior over an inferior. This account rather indicates:
1. Helper status of the
woman
2. Order of creation
3. Naming of humanity (man/woman) or in Hebrew ish/isha.
In 1 Corinthians 11:3-12
Paul addresses the "headship" of man to woman. He clearly understands
the created functionality of man/woman "For 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... 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." (verses
8-12). And again, in Ephesians 5:21-28: "Submitting yourselves one to
another in the fear of God. Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as
unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the
head of the church:... So ought men to love their
wives as their own bodies."' This was not a fabrication of Paul, but an
application of what we have seen from creation. Colossians 1:13-18 shows
Christ's headship "he is the head of the body, the church,
.. and, having made peace through the blood of
his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto [the Father]". In 1 Timothy
2:13, Paul again shows that man was formed first, and, though Eve was deceived,
Adam was the first to sin. Note how Paul always appeals to order of creation
and not to any other reason, such as a supposed "curse of Eve" as a
result of the first sin.
In a body, does a rib rebel
against or envy the head? The rib is in a supporting role to the body. This
does not make the rib inferior to the head. Without the ribs, the body could
not stand. On the other hand, does the head despise or mistreat a rib? No, the
head makes great efforts to insure that the ribs are as comfortable as
possible!
So, the first lesson we get
from the Bible on this issue is that male/female does not mean
superior/inferior. We should clearly see that God created male and female as
functions to complement each other to make a better one than either
could be apart.
Representation
Now let's consider some
other aspects. In the Old Testament, men represented their tribe, their nation.
Men received the sign of the covenant in their flesh (circumcision). Women
could not. But women shared with men in the blessings and responsibilities of
the covenant and were vital to the fulfillment of its blessings which included
long life, prosperity, children and land. In particular, women were blessed in
child-bearing, which men could not (1 Tim.
Role of Women
What roles, then, were
women to play in the family and community?
1) Learning and Keeping the
Law (Deuteronomy 31:12; 13:6-11; 17:2; 29:18; 2 Chronicles
2) Praying: Women [like
men] prayed. Read the examples of Hannah, Rebekah and Sarah in Genesis 25:22;
30:6, 22; 21:6-7. And in 2 Kings 4:9-10, 20-23 we see the moving story of the
Shunammite woman, her faith and actions that led to the resurrection of her son
by Elisha. For an example of how women independently inquired of God, read the
account of Hannah in I Samuel 1:9-11. The result of her prayer was a prophet
named Samuel.
3) Teachers: Proverbs 1:8
speaks of the instruction of a mother.
4) They were required to
fulfill v: Numbers 30:9 and Numbers 6:2-21.
5) Public Worship: Women
were expected to be present at Festivals as you can see from Deuteronomy 12:7;
6) Community Office: Huldah
was a significant prophetess in
Women Priests?
But no
priestesses.
Though we have examined the many and various roles women played in ancient
Consider how God
established and chose the priesthood. In ancient times, the patriarch was also
the family priest: Noah, Abraham, Jacob, Job - men
represented the family. Then, with the establishment of the nation of
In New Testament times,
before God, Christians are "neither male nor female" (Galatians
In Summary
Men were the representative
Heads of Household. Women were never, from creation, intended to be heads of
household. Everything we have seen can fit into the created "role
function" we saw at creation.
We have studied the
creation and noted the intended roles of man and woman. Woman made from man and
for man, but as equal in value, yet different in function. Man is to serve
woman, and to give himself for her, as Christ serves and gave himself for the
church. Men and women are to serve God, in or out of the church. Men and women
are to submit to one another, in or out of the church.
In 1 Corinthians 12, in his
analogy of the body, Paul showed how we ought to accept our functions and work
together. The creational functions are not the result of a curse. The
God-ordained relationship between husband and wife helps us understand the
relationship between Christ and his bride, the church. As we meditate on this,
we come to perceive the nature of God, His relationship to His creatures, and
His goal for the future relationship between Himself and all Mankind.
The author, Darryl
Watson, is an elder of the Churches of God in
as of 12-2004