Women in the word of god

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Women have an increasing role in the work of the church. Women not only lead women in “women’s ministries,” but also lead men and women in music, prayer, teaching and speaking. Some people wonder why women should be allowed to do anything in church; others wonder why women can’t do everything in church.

To give biblical perspective on this issue, let’s look at evidence that God has used women to speak to his people. Women have spoken the word of God, and they have done so with divine approval and divine authority.

Hagar

The Lord gave Hagar a promise similar to the promise given to Abraham (Genesis 16:7-10). Hagar then “gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: `You are the God who sees me,’ for she said, `I have now seen the One who sees me’ ” (verse 11).

What Hagar said is now in the word of God. She told us one of the names that tell us who God is. He is the God who sees us, and Hagar is the person who spoke that truth.

Miriam

After God brought the Israelites through the Red Sea, Miriam sang praises that are now part of the word of God: “Miriam the prophetess, Aaron’s sister, took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women followed her, with tambourines and dancing.

“Miriam sang to them: `Sing to the Lord, for he is highly exalted. The horse and its rider he has hurled into the sea’ ” (Exodus 15:20-21). In public worship, Miriam sang what is now the word of God.

Miriam was a prophetess, which means that she spoke the word of the Lord. A prophet is someone who speaks on behalf of God to the people; a prophetess had the same role. Miriam had a role of spiritual leadership. [Click here for article on Miriam]

Deborah

The next prophetess in the Bible is Deborah. “Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, was leading Israel at that time. She held court under the Palm of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites came to her to have their disputes decided” (Judges 4:4-5).

Deborah was a prophetess and a judge, and in both roles she spoke the word of God. Her role was not just a one-time event, but an ongoing responsibility. The people came to her for leadership on a regular basis—and there is nothing in the Bible to suggest that anyone thought it was unusual for a woman to perform this role. She was simply the most qualified person, and people accepted that.

God can raise up stones to do his work, and if he needed a man to do his work, he could raise up a man. But in this case he chose to work through a woman, showing that there is no theological reason that God can’t use a woman to speak on his behalf, or to have a woman lead his people.

There were many men in Israel at that time, but God wasn’t searching for one to be the judge, and apparently the Israelites weren’t, either. They were quite willing to go to Deborah to have their disputes decided. She had wisdom, and her wisdom was more important than her gender.

Deborah was a prophetess, someone speaking the words of God. “She sent for Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali and said to him, `The Lord, the God of Israel, commands you: “Go, take with you ten thousand men of Naphtali and Zebulun and lead the way to Mount Tabor. I will lure Sisera, the commander of Jabin’s army, with his chariots and his troops to the Kishon River and give him into your hands” ‘ ” (verses 6-7).

Here the Bible describes a woman speaking the words of God, giving commands to a man who was apparently enough of a leader that he could raise an army of ten thousand men. God is quite willing for a woman to give his commands to men. There is nothing in the nature of God or the nature of men and women that makes such a thing inappropriate. God can use women, and we need to be alert for the possibility that he is, and we need to be willing to respond.

Deborah went with Barak, and in verse 14 she again gives the word of the Lord to Barak: “Go! This is the day the Lord has given Sisera into your hands. Has not the Lord gone ahead of you?” So they went, and they won. It was a great victory, and Deborah and Barak commemorated their victory with a song of praise that is now part of the word of God.

“On that day Deborah and Barak son of Abinoam sang this song: `When the princes in Israel take the lead, when the people willingly offer themselves—praise the Lord! Hear this, you kings! Listen, you rulers! I will sing to the Lord, I will sing; I will make music to the Lord, the God of Israel’ ” (Judges 5:1-2)

Who is this “I” who is singing? In verse 7 we see that it is Deborah: “Village life in Israel ceased,” the song says, “ceased until I, Deborah, arose, arose a mother in Israel.” Deborah is the primary author of this part of Scripture. Like Miriam, she was singing praise to God in public worship. She is expressing spiritual leadership, speaking the word of God. This is a legitimate thing for women to do.

When the best person for the job is a woman, then God is quite willing to use a woman to do the work that needs to be done. Even in a patriarchal society, God can use women to speak his words.

A similar thing happened with Hannah, the mother of Samuel. “Hannah prayed and said: `My heart rejoices in the Lord; in the Lord my horn is lifted high. My mouth boasts over my enemies, for I delight in your deliverance. There is no one holy like the Lord; there is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God’ ” (1 Samuel 2:1-2).

Again, a woman’s words are now inspired Scripture. She spoke the word of God with words of worship that have inspired synagogues and churches for thousands of years, and that is a notable achievement for anyone. God inspired her to sing a song of praise.

Most of God’s spokesmen were men. In this patriarchal society, all the priests were men, the kings were men, the military leaders were men. But even in that male-dominated society, God could use women to do his work.

Huldah

In 2 Kings 22, we catch another glimpse of what God was doing with women. In the 18th year of Josiah’s reign, workers found a scroll of the law in the temple. Josiah told the high priest what he should do: “Go and inquire of the Lord for me and for the people and for all Judah about what is written in this book that has been found” (verse 13).

The high priest wanted to ask the Lord about the scroll, so he “went to speak to the prophetess Huldah, who was the wife of Shallum son of Tikvah” (verse 14). They could have looked for Jeremiah, but there was no reason to. Huldah spoke the word of the Lord just as much as Jeremiah did. A prophet speaks the words of God, and a prophetess speaks the words of God, and God inspires one just as much as the other.

So they asked Huldah, and in verses 15-16 we read her reply: “She said to them, `This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Tell the man who sent you to me, “This is what the Lord says: I am going to bring disaster on this place and its people, according to everything written in the book the king of Judah has read.” ‘ ”

Huldah was commenting on the meaning of the Scriptures and predicting the future, giving an authoritative message from God. Again, there is no indication that anything unusual was happening. No one said it was strange to go to a woman instead of a man. Huldah was known as a prophetess, which means that she was known to speak the word of the Lord. She was doing the same thing she had on many other occasions: She spoke on behalf of God to the people. That is what prophetesses did.

New Testament

In the New Testament we learn of other women who spoke the word of God. Mary sang praises that are now in Scripture (Luke 1:46-55). Anna was a prophetess (Luke 2:36-38). After Jesus was resurrected, he appeared to some women and gave them a message: “The women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples.

“Suddenly Jesus met them. `Greetings,’ he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, `Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me’ ” (Matthew 28:8-10).

Jesus has no problem with women delivering commands to men. There is nothing inherently wrong with that. He gave them that authority by giving them the message, and in doing so, these women were speaking the words of the Lord. Jesus expected the men to listen to the women and obey the command they delivered.

There were prophetesses in the early church, too. When the disciples were speaking in tongues, Peter told the crowd what was going on. It was a fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy: “In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy” (Acts 2:17-18).

God inspires both men and women to speak. That was not unheard of in Old Testament times, and this is the way it should be in the new covenant age, too. God will cause both men and women to speak. Luke does not tell us what the women were inspired to say. All the preaching done in the book of Acts is done by men. That was probably a practical necessity in that culture. But there is nothing theoretically or theologically wrong with women being inspired to speak.

Luke mentions in Acts 21:9 that Philip had four daughters who prophesied. As prophetesses, they would speak the word of God, as they were inspired by God. They may have composed songs of praise, like Miriam and Deborah did, or they could have commented on the meaning of the Scriptures, as Huldah did. All of those are within the range of what is biblically possible. [Click here for longer article about women in the New Testament.]

1 Corinthians 11

1 Corinthians 11 gives us another example of women speaking the word of God—and this in a letter from Paul, who is sometimes quoted as saying that women should not speak. But that kind of quote is possible only when it is taken out of context, because 1 Corinthians 11 shows that Paul did approve of women speaking, even in church.

There are many details in the chapter that we cannot explore now, but we can take note of a few things about women. Paul writes: “Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head. And every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head—it is just as though her head were shaved” (verses 4-5).

Christians have debated the meaning of these words for centuries. Paul was writing about a cultural custom we do not have today. His point seems to be that that men and women should act in culturally appropriate ways when they pray or prophesy.

Paul is addressing something that is done in public. He is not worried about whether people cover their heads in private—and prophesying almost by definition has to be done in public. Paul is discussing something that other people can see. The concepts of shame and honor concern what other people can see.

In chapter 14 he talks in more detail about prophesying, and it is something done in church, in the worship services. It seems clear that in chapter 11 Paul is talking about women praying and prophesying in church.

What does Paul mean when he talks about prophesying? In chapter 12, he lists prophecy as a spiritual gift. In chapter 14, he says: “Everyone who prophesies speaks to men for their strengthening, encouragement and comfort. He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church” (verses 3-4).

Prophecy is an ability that God gives to people to strengthen, encourage, comfort and edify others. Paul wished that everyone in the church could do this. It is a valuable gift, for the strengthening of the church as a whole. It is done in church, for good of the church. Verse 24 says that prophecy is something that could convince people of sin and could lead someone to faith in Christ.

When Paul writes about women who prophesy, he means women who encourage, comfort, edify and strengthen the church. He means women who are speaking in church to help the church grow, to help believers become better servants of God. [Click here for a longer article about this passage.]

Some speakers must be silent

In verse 26, Paul gives some instructions for the worship services. “When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church.” The priority in our worship services is building and strengthening the church.

In verses 27-28, he says: “If anyone speaks in a tongue, two—or at the most three—should speak, one at a time, and someone must interpret. If there is no interpreter, the speaker should keep quiet in the church and speak to himself and God.” “Keep quiet” is a Greek word that is later translated as “silent.” It does not mean total silence, but peace and order. Instead of everybody talking at once, people ought to take turns.

Verse 29: “Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should weigh carefully what is said.” We don’t have to assume it is a message from God just because somebody said it is. Rather, we should judge it carefully, thinking about what it means and how it fits in with other things we know about the gospel.

Verses 30-31: “And if a revelation comes to someone who is sitting down, the first speaker should stop [the same Greek word is used here for being quiet]. For you can all prophesy in turn so that everyone may be instructed and encouraged.” Everyone could prophesy, as God gave the spiritual gift to encourage, comfort, edify and instruct.

Paul said they could all prophesy, as long as they took turns doing it. So in verse 34, “women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the Law says,” what did Paul mean? Is he contradicting what he wrote in chapter 11? Is he saying, contrary to the Scriptures that we have seen, that women are not allowed to speak the word of God? Or that they can do it anywhere except church?

No, Paul is not contradicting himself. There are several reasons to believe that this verse applies to a limited situation. First, common sense tells us that women do not have to be completely silent in church. They can say amen; they can sing hymns; they can whisper a question to their husband to find out what verse is being discussed.

Paul does not forbid all talking or all questions—he is concerned mainly about peace and order in the worship service, and what he forbids is talking that disrupts the worship service. When he tells women to be quiet, he uses the same Greek word that he had used for men who were speaking in tongues or prophesying. He is referring to out-of-turn talking. The second clue that Paul is discussing a limited situation is that the Law does not tell women to be silent in the worship meetings. The Bible says that wives should be in submission to their husbands, but not to all men in general.

When Paul says that women must be silent, he means that wives are not to be asking disruptive or non-submissive questions of their husbands in the worship service—and he assumes that similar rules would apply to women who aren’t married to believers. Whispered questions are not disgraceful, but disruptive questions are. If wives want to find out something, they can ask their husbands at home. If it’s somebody else’s husband, of course, they couldn’t ask at home; they would have to ask in church just like everybody else. [For a more detailed study of this passage, click here.]

If we take verse 34 out of context, we could turn it into a requirement for total silence of all women in church. But that is not what Paul meant. Paul is simply requiring women to be silent for a time, just as he required everybody else to be quiet for a time. The context itself tells us that Paul’s words are limited to a specific situation—a situation that rarely occurs in churches today, because our worship services use a different format.

A basic rule of biblical interpretation is that we should try to understand a writer in such a way that we don’t make him contradict himself. The Bible clearly says that women can speak the word of God, and Paul allowed women to speak in church. So when he says that women have to be silent, we need to understand that his comments are limited in some way by the situation.

That is what we have done here, and that is what we need to do in 1 Timothy 2. When it says that women are not allowed to speak in church, we should not try to make it say more than it means. We should try to understand the words in such a way that they do not contradict the clear examples in Scripture that women can speak the word of God. [For a more detailed study of that passage, click here.]

Peter gives us a fitting conclusion when he says, “Each one should use whatever gift he [or she] has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks [whether man or woman] he should do it as one speaking the very words of God” (1 Peter 4:10-11). Anyone who speaks in church should strive to speak the words of God, and women are certainly included in those who may speak the words of God in church.

Author: Michael Morrison

2.0 out of 5 stars

I couldn’t get to grips with the author’s angle on ‘womanhood’.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 6, 2013

746 reviews53 followers

April 16, 2009

This book is an old friend. I have recently dusted it off to read again after recommending it to a friend who will be married this year. The contemplation of a Christian woman living single or living in marriage brings always questions – what does it mean to submit? do single women submit? if so, to whom? are women to submit to all men or just their husbands? if you submit are you inferior? are women inferior to men? did God restrict women from preaching or was that just Paul who was reflecting the cultural times?

The author, Susan Foh, wrote this book in response to Biblical feminism. Biblical feminists agree that the Bible is the inspired Word of God, however they reject those passages in the Bible where they see irreconcilable contradictions regarding the Bible’s teaching on women. These contradictions include cultural elements which portray women as inferior, thus limiting them from complete participation in the church – inferiority of Eve because she was created second, inferiority of women because they are prohibited from becoming pastors, to name a few. Biblical feminists have tried to prove from scripture that these elements were never meant to be propagated as scripture, and thus should be rejected. However by rejecting passages they personally do not like, human reason is set forth as the final authority and judge of “what is scripture” and “what is not scripture”.

I will not be able to review every aspect of this book, because it is detailed and thorough. So I will summarize the portions that I learned most from, and were most significant to me. It is important to know that I first read this book when I was single and working outside my home as I made a living for myself in the work world. Subsequent readings have been after my marriage (working outside our home, then working inside our home) before and after children were added to our family.

The most significant portions of the book for me wer the linking of the Genesis 3 passage (the judgments pronounced on Adam and Eve after the fall) and the Ephesians 5 passage (commands to the wife to submit to her husband, commands to the husband to love his wife).

In Genesis 3: 16b, the judgment against Eve after she sinned against God says “Yet your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.” Interestingly enough, the word “desire” is the same Hebrew word used in Genesis 4:7b where God is speaking to Cain after he has killed his brother Abel. God tells Cain “its (sin’s) desire is for you (Cain), but you must master it.” Eve somehow desires her husband, and sin desires to control Cain.

Quoting the author in the chapter “What the Old Testament Says About Women”,
“So after the fall, the husband no longer rules easily; he must fight for headship. The woman’s desire is to control her husband, to usurp his divinely appointed headship. And he must master her, if he can. Sin has corrupted both the willing submission of the wife and the loving headship of the husband. And so, the rule of love founded in paradise is replaced by struggle, tyranny, domination, and manipulation.”

And a bit later on,
“As Cain did not rule over sin (Genesis 4:7b), so not every husband rules his wife. Wives have desires contrary to their husbands’ and often have no desire (sexual or psychological) for their husbands. But wives do have a desire, whether overt or covert, conscious or unconscious, to control or manipulate their husbands.”

Then the passage in Ephesians 5: 22 — 33, where wives are commanded to submit to their husbands (v 22) and husbands are commanded to love their wives (v25). I had always wondered, why is the wife not told to love her husband too, and why isn’t the man told specifically to submit to their wife also since in Ephesians 5:21 it tells believers“submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God”? The answer to these questions has to do with the judgments back in Genesis 3. If you remember, women were told that “ your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you “ (Genesis 3:16b). Before the fall, it was easy for a woman to accept the headship of her husband. After the fall, submitting to her husband would be one of the hardest things she would do, because she would be fighting the sin nature she had to control or manipulate her husband. So in Ephesians 5, the wife is commanded to DO that hardest of things…. submit to her husband!

In Genesis 3: 17 – 19 God explained to Adam that his judgment would have to do with the struggle to work and make a living. Before the fall, it was easy for the man to work and also love and cherish his wife. After the fall, taking time out from his busy and hectic work schedule would be one of the hardest things he would do, because he would be so busy fighting his sin nature which leads him to focus on work above all else. God then instructs the husband in Ephesians 5 to DO that hardest of all things…. love his wife! So what is hardest now for the man is to take time aside and cherish and love his wife. He is so busy struggling with work and finding his fulfillment there, that often he neglects to nurture and care for his wife. So in both cases, God explains the commands he gives in Ephesians 5 in light of the judgments of Genesis 3. The wife is not told to love her husband, because she has that more naturally in her nature. But in obeying God’s command to submit to her husband, she will fight against the “desire that sin has for her, and will master it”.

This was hugely important to me, because it explained submission to the creation order God had established, and also explained some of the differences between what God wants women to do and what God wants men to do and how the fall and sin messed that up. Sin separates husband from wife and puts strife between them. Obedience to God’s commands restores the right relationship between husband and wife, and allows both husband and wife to indeed fight against sin’s desire to have mastery over them. This becomes a life long struggle because you cannot just do it once and have it over and done with. And it is impossible to do in your own strength. God tells us the result of our sin (Genesis 3), then tells us what we must do to live in obedience (Ephesians 5), and then enables us through the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit in our lives to DO what is hardest for us. But DOING that hard work does not mean recasting it in terms we like better (rejecting Paul because he was a cultural bigot against women), or rejecting what God has put in place (the creation order).

Another huge issue for me was the assumed inferiority of women simply because Eve was created second after Adam and told that her function was to help him. The author shone a blazing light of truth on this issue by reminding me that Jesus himself came to “serve”, to be humble, to love others more than himself such that he died for them. Jesus submitted himself to the will of God the Father. So to submit is not an act of inferiority, but is actually an act of great humility. A wife who submits to her husband willingly puts herself in a position of great vulnerability. Husbands are not Jesus, and will not always treat their wives as Jesus would treat them. So the wife may be treated unfairly. But God honors obedience, so wives are told without exception or excuse to submit to the authority of their husbands. To put this submission in the same light as the way Jesus submitted to God the Father was a great joy for me. Jesus was in no way inferior or a doormat because he submitted. And wives are in no way inferior either when they willingly submit themselves to the authority God has placed over them in their husbands.

Wow. I could go on. This book just has so many wonderful things in it, but I will leave it as these. In summary (and adding a few items that I did not have time to go over),

1)men and women are in the image of God in exactly the same way. God created Man in two sexes in his image. Both male Man and female Man are in God’s image. So men and women are equal as persons, and men and women should treat one another with kindness and respect, as persons made in the image of God.

2)Wives are to submit to their husbands, and woman are not to teach or exercise authority over men in the church. This subordination to her husband and in the church is NOT BASED ON MERIT OR LACK OF IT. It is based on God’s appointment. So while God has created men and women equally in personhood, God has ordained a difference in function.

3)God has ascribed HONOR to the place of subordination. Jesus himself was not ashamed to take the form of a servant and humble himself. It is pride and rebellion against God that moves Christian women to refuse to fulfill their positions in marriage and the church. This rebellion is part of the judgment in Genesis 3:16.

4)It is God alone who decides what justice is. Justice is defined by God’s word, and not by human reason. Therefore, it is just and fair that women cannot be elders in the church, even though an equal partnership of the sexes in marriage and in the church may seem like a better idea to many persons.

I would recommend this book with 10 stars if 10 stars were available. This book helped me understand and articulate a Biblically grounded position about women as Christians – whether single, widowed, divorced, married, working outside the home or inside, with children or without. We are Christians first and foremost. God created us with great care and love to be women. With the creation of Adam and Eve came an order (Adam first, Eve second), and with that creation order came differing roles. To live within the roles God has established in the creation order brings great peace and joy. To kick against the goads of the creation order, to reject that God can choose how he has ordered things, and to fight against obedience is to live in strife and anger and frustration.

Women, there is still forbidden fruit today, just as there was in the garden. That fruit is role interchangeability in marriage and in the church. I’m glad the author has written to show Christian women that, like Eve, they are being tempted with half truths (such as subordination implies inferiority) and are being told that God (or the Bible or the church) is depriving them of something quite arbitrary. Let us with the Psalmist resist this temptation and say,

“Psa 19:7 The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.
Psa 19:8 The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.
Psa 19:9 The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.
Psa 19:10 More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.
Psa 19:11 Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward.“

christian philosophy

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84 reviews2 followers

March 18, 2023

A very well-researched book that engages critically with egalitarianism, headship and roles of men and women in the church. Foh deftly shows why many of the arguments of the ‘Biblical feminist’ group are based on poor exegisis of Biblical texts, and offers a balanced interpretation of male-female roles. Her section on Women in the Old Testament gave me lots of new things to think about, and, whilst I don’t quite agree with her on her view of head coverings, she has provided much for future consideration. She is very clear on how submission does not mean inequality, and how it must not be abused. Ultimately she shows us that God’s Word and God’s plans for men and women are good.
I think this is a very important book; it goes a bit deeper than some others I have read on the subject, and provides lots of material for discussion. It’s helpful to see how to engage with the claims of biblical feminists — both in seeing what they have got right, and what they have got wrong.
I was slightly disappointed that the section on head coverings wasn’t more conclusive; it seemed to end with ‘this needs further examination’; but perhaps that is a good thing, forcing us to do the text work ourselves rather than just relying on the author.

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Although women have traditionally fulfilled supportive roles in serving the church and gained their greatest joy and sense of accomplishment from being wives and mothers, the feminist movement has successfully influenced many women to abandon these divinely ordained roles. Unfortunately, this movement has made headway even in the church, creating chaos and confusion regarding the role of women both in ministry and in the home. Only in Scripture can God’s intended design for women be found.

The Old Testament and Women

In the creation account of Genesis 1, God’s first word on the subject of men and women is that they were equally created in the image of God (v. 27). Neither received more of the image of God than the other. So the Bible begins with the equality of the sexes. As persons, as spiritual beings standing before God, men and women are absolutely equal.

Despite this equality, there is in Genesis 2 a more detailed account of the creation of the two human beings that reveals differences in their God-given functions and responsibilities. God did not create the man and the woman at the same time, but rather He created Adam first and Eve later for the specific purpose of being Adam’s helper. Eve was equal to Adam, but she was given the role and duty of submitting to him. Although the word “helper” carries very positive connotations—even being used of God Himself as the helper of Israel (Deut. 33:7; Ps. 33:20)—it still describes someone in a relationship of service to another. The responsibility of wives to submit to their husbands, then, was part of the plan from creation, even before the curse. The first books of the Bible establish both the equality of men and women and also the support role of the wife (see Exod. 21:15, 17, 28–31; Num. 5:19–20, 29; 6:2; 30:1–16).

Adam and Eve’s disobedience to God’s command resulted in certain consequences (Gen. 3:16–19). For the woman, God pronounced a curse that included multiplied pain in childbirth and tension in the authority-submission relationship of husband and wife. Genesis 3:16 says the woman’s “desire” will be for her husband but he shall “rule” over her. In Genesis 4:7 the author uses the same word “desire” to mean “excessive control over.” Thus, the curse in Genesis 3:16 refers to a new desire on the part of the woman to exercise control over her husband—but he will in fact oppressively rule and exert authority over her. The result of the Fall on marriage through history has been an ongoing struggle between the sexes, with women seeking control and men seeking dominance.

Throughout the Old Testament, women were active in the religious life of Israel, but generally they were not leaders. Women like Deborah (Judges 4) were clearly the exception and not the rule. There was no woman with an ongoing prophetic ministry. No woman was a priest. No queen ever ruled Israel. No woman wrote an Old Testament (or New Testament) book. Isaiah 3:12 indicates that God allowed women to rule as part of His judgment on the sinning nation.

Jesus and Women

In the midst of the Greek, Roman, and Jewish cultures, which viewed women almost on the level of possessions, Jesus showed love and respect for women. Though Jewish rabbis did not teach women and the Jewish Talmud said it was better to burn the Torah than to teach it to a woman, Jesus never took the position that women, by their very nature, could not understand spiritual or theological truth. He not only included them in His audiences but also used illustrations and images that would be familiar to them (Matt. 13:33; 22:1–2; 24:41; Luke 15:8–10) and specifically applied His teaching to them (Matt. 10:34ff.). To the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4), He revealed that He was the Messiah and discussed with her topics such as eternal life and the nature of true worship. He also taught Mary and, when admonished by Martha, pointed out the priority of learning spiritual truth even over “womanly” responsibilities like serving guests in one’s home (Luke 10:38).

Although men in Jesus’ day normally would not allow women to count change into their hands for fear of physical contact, Jesus touched women to heal them and allowed women to touch Him (Luke 13:10ff.; Mark 5:25ff.). Jesus even allowed a small group of women to travel with Him and His disciples (Luke 8:1–3), an unprecedented happening at that time. After His resurrection, Jesus appeared first to Mary Magdalene and sent her to announce His resurrection to the disciples (John 20:1–18), despite the fact that women were not allowed to be witnesses in Jewish courts because they were considered liars.

The Epistles and Women

In the Epistles, the two principles of equality and submission for women exist side by side. Galatians 3:28 points to the equality, indicating that the way of salvation is the same for both men and women and that they are members of equal standing in the body of Christ. It does not, however, eradicate all differences in responsibilities for men and women, for this passage does not cover every aspect of God’s design for male and female. In addition, there are many other passages that make distinctions between what God desires of men and what He desires of women, especially within family and within the church.

The Family

While Christian marriage is to involve mutual love and submission between two believers (Eph. 5:21), four passages in the New Testament expressly give to wives the responsibility to submit to their husbands (Eph. 5:22; Col. 3:18; Titus 2:5; 1 Pet. 3:1). This voluntary submission of one equal to another is an expression of love for God and a desire to follow His design as revealed in His Word. It is never pictured as demeaning or in any way diminishing the wife’s equality. Rather the husband is called to love his wife sacrificially as Christ loved the church (Eph. 5:25) and to serve as the leader in a relationship of two equals.

While husbands and fathers have been given the primary responsibility for the leadership of their children (Eph. 6:4; Col. 3:21; 1 Tim. 3:4–5), wives and mothers are urged to be “workers at home” (Titus 2:5), meaning managers of the household. Their home and their children are to be their priority, in contrast to the world’s emphasis today on careers and fulltime jobs for women outside the home.

The Church

From the very beginning, women fulfilled a vital role in the Christian church (Acts 1:12–14; 9:36–42; 16:13–15; 17:1–4, 10–12; 18:1–2, 18, 24–28; Rom. 16; 1 Cor. 16:19; 2 Tim. 1:5; 4:19), but not one of leadership. The apostles were all men; the chief missionary activity was done by men; the writing of the New Testament was the work of men; and leadership in the churches was entrusted to men.

Although the Apostle Paul respected women and worked side by side with them for the furtherance of the gospel (Rom. 16; Phil. 4:3), he appointed no female elders or pastors. In his letters, he urged that men were to be the leaders in the church and that women were not to teach or exercise authority over men (1 Tim. 2:12). Therefore, although women are spiritual equals with men and the ministry of women is essential to the body of Christ, women are excluded from leadership over men in the church.

Men and women stand as equals before God, both bearing the image of God Himself. However, without making one inferior to the other, God calls upon both men and women to fulfill the roles and responsibilities specifically designed for them, a pattern that can be seen even between the Father and the incarnate Son (1 Cor. 11:3). In fulfilling the divinely given roles taught in the New Testament, women are able to realize their full potential because they are following the plan of their own Creator and Designer. Only in obedience to Him and His design will women truly be able, in the fullest sense, to give glory to God.

I have a granddaughter who loves to be read to.  When I start reading she pays close attention, but sometimes when we get to the middle she abruptly closes the book, because she already knows how the story ends.

I think we often do the same thing when it comes to understanding what it means to be made in the image of God (Imago Dei) and the implications for gender equality.  That is, our understanding has been based primarily on the beginning of the story.  In the first pages of the Bible, there is true equality between the first man and the first woman.  Both Adam and Eve are image bearers who equally reflect their Creator, both are under the authority of their Creator alone, and both are given the mandate to fill the earth and have dominion over it.

End of story.  Or not?

Theologian Lisa Stephenson agrees that the fact that men and women are created in the image of God is the foundation for a biblical basis for equality, but suggests that if we stop there our theology will not be as robust as it should be.  To get the fuller picture we also need to consider the implications of the Incarnation and of Pentecost. In other words, we need to read the whole story.

Imago Dei – women are equal to men on the basis of their creation in the image of God.

“So God created humankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” (Genesis 1:27-28)

In Genesis 1 Adam and Eve are created in God’s image and given equal responsibility for the stewardship of creation. Though different, the woman is not a separate creation; she is made from the same material as the man. Both embody the fundamental qualities and capacities of being human while at the same time having the added dimensions of sex and gender. Clifton is helpful here: “…biological differences do not necessitate substantial functional distinctions.  While it is true that men cannot give birth or breastfeed…almost all other functions pertaining to the health and flourishing of families can be equally performed by either parent, unless, of course, we want to assert that men do not reflect God’s image as nurturer” (p. 64). It is also important to note that God tells both Adam and Eve to “rule” over the other living creatures, but there is no command to Adam to rule over Eve.

Genesis 2 provides more details about the relationship between Adam and Eve.  In Genesis 2:18 God says, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” The word translated as “helper” is “ezer”, which comes from Hebrew root words meaning strength and power.  The word translated as “suitable” is “kenegdo”, which means facing, corresponding, or equal to.  In English “helper” suggests an assistant or subordinate, but the Hebrew doesn’t carry that connotation.  In fact, the term is used more than 20 times in the Old Testament to describe a superior helper; usually God.  So a better translation is: “I will make him a “strength corresponding to” him, or “a rescuer equal to him”.

I see nothing in the narratives of Genesis 1 and 2 to support the idea that Adam is given priority or authority over Eve at creation. The first mention of any kind of power dynamic between the man and the woman occurs in Genesis 3 after sin enters the picture.  The imbalance of power that is introduced into the relationship impairs their ability to accurately reflect God’s image. Some would say that this new power imbalance is consistent with God’s desire for how men and women should relate today – that because of what happened in the garden women are meant to be under the authority of men.  But I believe that, like every other consequence of the fall, the statement in 3:16 that “he shall rule over you” describes what will be, not what should be.

Fortunately, this is not the end of the story!

Imago Christus – women are equal to men on the basis of salvation in Christ

^“So in Christ Jesus, you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:26-28).

In the New Testament, the redeeming work of Jesus on the cross reverses the effects of the Fall.  Jesus ushers in a new covenant under which believers have a new identity – that of being ‘in Christ”.  While the apostle Paul has been maligned through the ages for a handful of texts that appear to limit the participation of women in church contexts, it is actually Paul who consistently defends the equal standing of men and women “in Christ” (see for example 1 Corinthians 7, 1 Corinthians 11:11, Romans 8:1, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Galatians 3:28).

Let’s just look briefly at Galatians 3:28. When Paul states that “there is no longer male and female, for you are all one in Christ”, he leaves no room for debate.  Payne believes it is significant that the wording “male and female” does not match the previous pairings of “Jew nor Gentile”, “slave nor free”:

“The reference to ‘male and female’ is different from the previous two pairs, highlighting it as an exact quotation from the Greek Old Testament reference to God creating mankind in his image “male and female” (Genesis 1:27)…Paul’s repudiation of this fundamental creation distinction in Christ clearly points to the new creation breaking barriers between man and woman. Like every other passage about the new creation…it refers to transformation of life, not just spiritual status” (p. 14).

But again, there is more to the story.  It is not just about what Christ has done for us, it is also about what happens to us when we respond to him.  Stephenson notes:

“Paul depicts the act of water baptism as “a ‘putting on’ or a ‘being clothed with’ Christ (enduo).  Christ becomes like a garment that envelopes the believer.  Those who have been baptized in water are thus imago Christi because they have ‘put on Christ’” (p. 185).

This quality of being clothed with Christ is another aspect of being made in the image of God and a core principle supporting gender equality in the church. To say that Galatians 3:28 only applies to our spiritual standing before God and not to social structures (like the church) is to miss the whole point of the book. Throughout the letter Paul addresses practical issues and divisions that had surfaced in the early church; for example, the Jews insistence that Gentiles be circumcised to gain full standing.  He reminds the Galatians that all believers are re-made in the image of Christ and called to participate in God’s mission of reconciliation in very practical ways.

Imago Spiritus – women are equal to men on the basis of Pentecost

“When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.  Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting.  They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.”  (Acts 2:1-4)

The Holy Spirit is poured out on all believers at Pentecost, enabling them to live a holy life and equipping them with spiritual gifts for ministry.  Acts 1:14-15 provides a description of the men and women who were present on that day. The New Testament makes it clear that the Spirit works in the lives of all believers, that the gifts of the Spirit are given to all believers, and that all believers are expected to use those gifts for the good of the Church.  Paul writes over 70 verses about spiritual gifts but never once suggests that any of those gifts are dependent on a person’s gender.

The coming of the Holy Spirit adds a new dimension to our identity as image-bearers of God.  Stephenson notes that Paul’s reference to being “clothed” (enduo) in Christ is similar to a statement Jesus makes at the end of Luke’s gospel:

“Jesus tells his disciples that he is going to send them what the Father promised and that they should stay in Jerusalem until they have ‘put on’ or ‘been clothed with’ (enduo) power from on high…Therefore, it can be understood that those who have experienced the outpouring of the Spirit are clothed with the Spirit. The Spirit, like Christ, is a garment that envelopes the believer” (p. 185).

This “clothing” of the Spirit enables us to live together as the New Creation, no longer divided along gender, racial, ethnic, or socioeconomic lines. As the story progresses from creation to redemption to Pentecost, we see that men and women are equally created in the image of God, equally restored in Christ, and equally empowered by the Holy Spirit.

In spite of the evidence for gender equality in the Bible, the Church continues to be conflicted about what it means for men and women to be equal. Traditionalist and complementarian theology claim that men and women are created equal but are intended by God to have different roles and responsibilities. However, these roles and responsibilities are defined in ways that preclude women from holding positions of leadership in the church and require the unilateral submission of wives to husbands. It is a permanent subordination that results in the loss of autonomy and agency, two basic tenants of human equality. This “equal but subordinate” position has a striking similarity to the “separate but equal” rhetoric of racism.

It’s time for the church to throw off this distorted view of equality and to embrace the fullness of the Imago Dei, Imago Christus, and Imago Spiritus. Imago Dei, Imago Christus, and Imago Spiritus are realities of being made in the image of God that demonstrate the breadth and depth of our equality as men and women, an equality that is both ontological (applying to our essence of being) and functional (applying to our roles and abilities).

Frederick Buechner writes that “the gospel is not just good news, but knock-your-socks-off, couldn’t have dreamed it up in a thousand years news.”  But an “equal but subordinate” gospel is anything but “knock your socks off, couldn’t dream it up in a thousand years news” for women. On the other hand, an “equal together” gospel that recognizes men and women as co-image bearers without limitations based on gender is good news for the whole church. Anything less infers that Christ’s sacrifice on the cross was not enough to fully redeem humanity from the effects of the fall.

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References

Buechner, F. (1977). Telling the Truth: The Gospel as Tragedy, Comedy, and Fairy Tale. New York: Harper & Row.

Clifton, S. (2009).  Sexism and the Demonic in Church Life and Mission.  In Raising Women Leaders: Perspectives on Liberating Women in Pentecostal and Charismatic Contexts.  Australasian Pentecostal Studies Supplementary Series, Volume 3. APS: Sydney, Australia.

Payne, P. (2012). Galatians 3:28’s Application of Paul’s New Creation Teaching to the Status of Women in Christ. In Male Authority in Context: A Special Edition Journal of Christians for Biblical Equality, 11-16.

Stephenson, L. (2009).  Imaging God, Embodying Christ. In Raising Women Leaders: Perspectives on Liberating Women in Pentecostal and Charismatic Contexts. Australasian Pentecostal Studies Supplementary Series, Volume 3.  APS: Sydney, Australia.

This post was adapted from the original version which appeared on The Sophia Network, a U.K. based organization that exists to empower women in leadership, and to champion the full equality of women and men in the church.