Don't Pass the Roles! Part 1

When one looks at Christianity from the outside he can see many debates. The issues in question range from relatively small issues (such as worship style) to very big issues (such as the sufficiency of Scripture). Evolution, predestination, abortion, infant baptism, homosexuality, etc… These are all big issues. Issues which can be understood in light of the gospel with relative ease; however, one issue that I don’t think gets enough attention is the issue of the role of women in the church. Of course, the role of men in the church is equally important, but the controversy always seems to be framed around women.

I want to be careful and try not to be misunderstood on this topic, but I also don’t want to keep you from learning biblical truth. The Bible teaches that God has a specific, high calling for women in the church that differs from the role of men. This goes against our culture, and even the teaching of several denominations. For some of you, believing this may come down to saying “my flesh doesn’t agree with this, but if that is what the Bible teaches I will submit to it” I’ve said that a few times as well, so you’re in good company. Remember, Scripture is supposed to renew your mind, not the other way around (Rom. 12:2).

As I said above, this is really about our roles more than it is merely about the role of women in the church. The reason I am focusing on the woman’s role in the church is because the Egalitarian view opposes the exclusion of women from certain functions in the church, thus belittling God’s high calling for women. This saddens me because I know so many godly women (including my own wife) who are seeking to fulfill their role while being forced to breath the air of feminism.*

I would love to be able to simply spend one post encouraging women to lovingly embrace their calling in the local church, but unfortunately I have to start by showing the flaws in the egalitarian/feminist arguments that seek to make us all exactly the same with the exception of physical differences.

*For men, the issue is the opposite. For example, We are called to the role of Christ-like leadership in our homes while most of us find it much more pleasant either to become chauvinistic or to simply take a back seat and be passive.

Pastoral Ministry

The argument that the office of pastor (or elder) is reserved for men only is pretty clear in Scripture. There are actually several ways you can make this case: there’s the fact that the requirements for a pastor seem to refer to a male**, and the fact that we see no examples of female pastors in Scripture, but I want to focus on Paul’s restriction of women from this biblical office.

**by itself, this case would be weak.

I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet. For Adam was formed first, then Eve; and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor. (1 Tim. 12-14)

First, what is Paul saying here? He is forbidding the exercise of authority (including preaching) of women over men. I believe this refers specifically to pastoral authority, however, it could apply to other roles depending on how they function in different churches***.

***it is my belief that women can serve as deacons provided that the “office” of deacon is one of leadership in service, rather than authority.

Here, Paul is specifically talking about how things should be in the church, as he makes clear a little later in the context (3:14-15). Having read the text, we can ask the question “is this a timeless command, or a cultural command from which we can simply find a principle?”
The answer is found in the basis of Paul’s argument. If he were to make the command and then appeal to the culture, we could safely say that this was a command specifically to those in the culture; however, Paul actually makes his appeal outside of his own time and culture. Paul goes back to the original hierarchy by which God spoke to man. God commanded Adam, who then commanded Eve. Eve was then deceived and Adam followed Eve’s deception rather than correcting her with God’s word, thus sinning. Paul isn’t saying that Eve is more prone to sin than Adam; he is saying that there is a God-made authority structure which is the normative way by which He speaks to His people. He gives man the responsibility of preaching His word to His people.

The rebuttal from those who do not believe this text to be a timeless command is to go to Galatians 3:28, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” The argument says that if we have a distinct role for women in the church, excluding them from certain offices, we must also have a distinct role for slaves in the church today. As is common with biblical controversy, this argument doesn’t only put the Bible against itself; it puts a specific author, namely Paul, against himself.

So first, what is Paul saying? He is saying that in Christ we all have equal standing. Jews are not privileged over Gentiles, men are not more justified than women, and even slaves find equality with their earthly masters. Complimentarianism (what I am arguing for) doesn’t dispute this. We say that men and women are equal in value and standing before God. We differ, however, in our roles. The context here in Galatians is discussing salvation by grace alone through faith. Paul is demonstrating that we are justified by the righteousness of Christ and not by our own ability to keep the law; and if we all have Christ’s righteousness we are all equal in that sense.

What we can’t do is argue against other biblical positions using this passage. In one sense, the Jews do have some advantages (Rom 9:4), so do masters over their slaves (Titus 2:9). Those relationships didn’t always end, but they did change if the two people in question were both in Christ.

Next week I will give a positive presentation on God’s high calling for women.

Grace and Peace,
Stephen