Historically, Christ’s church – apostolic, patristic, catholic, and evangelic – has always held a complimentarian view of the distinctive roles and responsibilities of men and women in the christian family and ministrty. Both receive the same measure of saving grace for they are one in Christ; yet each one receives different measures of serving grace for they are members of one body.
According to apostolic tradition –
The spiritual order of things teaches us that the head of every man is Christ, the head of a wife is her husband, and the head of Christ is God. Also, a husband is the head of his wife, just as Christ is the head of his church. Nevertheless, in the Lord woman is not independent of man nor man of woman; for as woman was made from man, so man is now born of woman. And all things are from God.
The natural order of things supports scripture against culture on this matter. “Man is the image and glory of God, but woman is the glory of man. For man was not made from woman, but woman from man. Neither was man created for woman, but woman for man.”
Just in case anyone wants to be contentious about these things, Paul reminds us of the dangerous consequences of inverting the spiritual and natural order of things. “Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor.” Clearly, Eve was not deceived because she was a woman, nor because she was spiritually, intellectually, or morally inferior to Adam. She was not inferior to Adam, rather she was created to compliment him as a suitable helper. Adam was the first minister of the word in human history, but when he abdicated his authority and responsibility, Eve was deceived by a doctrine of demons and she became the first heretic in human history. Thus sin and death entered paradise and came to wreck the world.
Therefore, one of the far-reaching consequences of Eve’s sin is that women are not permitted to teach the word of God over men nor to exercise authority over men. In contrast to Eve, women are to learn the word of God quietly with humility from godly men. Older women are expected to teach God’s word to younger women. And godly women – mothers and grandmothers — are expected to teach the sacred writings to children. Yet as far as the curse is found there are plenty of women who desire to rule over men, and there are plenty of irresponsible men who desire to be ruled by women.
In contrast to Adam, godly husbands are to lead their wives in the truth of God’s word and godly ministers are to lead the church in the truth of God’s word — not idly stand by as they sin. Of course, if a husband loves his wife as Christ loved the church, she will be more willing to respect her husband and submit to him as her spiritual leader. If ministers serve the church as Christ served the church godly women will be more willing to learn — and less desirous to lead. So husbands and ministers must imitate Christ in all things, not lording it over their wives or other women, but leading them in the grace and truth of the gospel.
Egalitarianism to the contrary, the spiritual leadership of the church and the ministry of the word was/is entrusted to godly men by the Lord Jesus Christ. The principle is trans-cultural because it was established by God in creation and re-established by Christ and the apostles in the new creation. Therefore, on the matter of gender roles and responsibilities we must obey God rather than men, and we must obey scripture rather than culture.
Scripture references — 1 Corinthians 11:2-16; 1 Timothy 2:11-14; Genesis 2:18-24; 3:1-7
arm, and say in a faint crackled voice, ”Keep tryin’.”