Complementarian Position on the Role of Women Introduction: High view of Scripture. Necessity of good consistent hermeneutics. Gray vs. Black & White Issue C.S Lewis: I do not believe that God created an egalitarian world. I believe the authority of parent over child, husband over wife, learned over simple to have been as much a part of the original plan as the authority of man over beast. God s provision of order in the world & church. Complementarianism Defined: It is an understanding of men and women as both equal in dignity and value and different in role and responsibility according to Scripture. David Chapman, PhD. (Professor of New Testament and Archaeology at Covenant Theological Seminary, St. Louis) states: Throughout Scripture we see women and men jointly constituting the image of God and commissioned to rule creation, women fully involved in the worshipping community in song, prayer, praise, and prophecy (though not as doctrinal teachers or pastoral preachers), women involved in serving in and initiating a host of other ministries, yet women not acting as priests, kings, apostles, or elders. Dr. Robert Yarbrough, PhD. (Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, in Deerfield, IL): When we consider the cultural landscape of which we are a part in America, there are spiritual forces waging war on a Biblical understanding of personhood, marriage, and sexual identity. Societal pressures suggest that the notion of progress demands that believers relinquish long held truths and convictions about roles in which God created for our good and His glory. As the secular West struggles with views of women in ministry, 70 percent of the world church (60 percent Catholic and 10 percent Eastern Orthodox) still embrace the role of ordained men in ministry. Out of the balance, or 30 percent of Protestants, only a very small minority ordain or encourage role reversals in marriage relationships. Abuse of Complementarianism: I would be the first to admit that this view has not always been practiced biblically. It is often viewed as limiting or constricting by the church and society. Over the years, it has even been used as a means to oppress women and undervalue God s great gift in creation. Too often the term expresses suspicion, defensiveness, exclusion, or indifference. Jesus Christ established a wonderful example for a healthy attitude and relationship towards women as they played a vital role in His ministry. The apostle Paul wrote clearly about the value and influence of women in his ministry as well (on many occasions). 1
Considerations of Cultural Relativism: Not only our churches but the early church in the New Testament struggled with possessing a holiness and lifestyle that represented the holy nature and order of God. Too often, within our churches, due to preference or lack of serious study of Scripture, God s people embrace popular culture to be the trendsetter to the extent that the Bible is declared non authoritative in the realm of social relationships. Although many believers may acknowledge that God s Word is everything to them, some feel that God s word has expired and is not relevant to the times. I believe this distortion affects the home and the church alike and often consistently. What I mean by this is that when marriages are upside down or roles are reversed that the difficulties bleed into the church. When women struggle to submit to their own husband s spiritual leadership it is often difficult for them to respect the spiritual leadership of men in the church. In churches today, good interpretative practices (Hermeneutics) are lacking, thus creating a spirit of freedom in interpretation apart from God s promise to preserve His Word for us. I believe the idea that the church must be egalitarian because it is the social wave of the future is an unbiblical fallacy with very weak support and rationale. As Protestants, our convictions on this matter are vitally important because we believe that the ministry of the Word is the lifeblood of the Church. God s Word is Clear about Equality, and Very Distinct Roles play a part of God s Sovereign Order. Genesis 1:26 27 Considering Creation: Genesis makes it very clear that man and woman were both equally created in God s image. However, the Genesis account assigns a leadership role to the man as husband in the home. The very word helper (Gen. 2:18), in the Hebrew, carries a connotation of functional subordination. The Bible calls the husband to be the head in a Christian Marriage (Ephesians 5). It is the Christian husband who esteems, loves, and sacrifices for His wife, as the leader and lover of the home. When he leads in this fashion he is following the example of how Christ loved (agape self sacrificing) His church. In Genesis chapter 1, God is seen as the sovereign, sole creator who brings order out of chaos and formlessness, and who then entrusts His creation to human beings. I believe that the language in Genesis chapter 1 suggests that in the beginning there was perfect harmony between these mutually complementary human beings as perfect as the harmony in God. D.A. Carson suggests that, Both men and women are in God s image but we must still see some differences here. God made two complementary people. Our gender is inseparable from who we are. The expression of creation in Genesis 1:26 28 suggests that we maximally reflect God as gendered creatures. according to His design. 2
Another exegetical reflection on Genesis chapter two is that both the command to work and care for the garden (2:15) and the prohibition of eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (2:17) are given to Adam directly before the woman arrives on the scene. Although man was created first, it was the first time that God said it was not good for man to be alone; hence, God created a helpmeet for Adam. It is important to note that the headship or leadership role given to the man was not a result of the fall or sin. Although Eve did sin first, God sought out Adam for accountability. A crucial question arises: Why, if the woman was seduced first, is Adam given so much of the blame (Gen. 3:22 24)? Even Paul in the New Testament held Adam accountable (Rom. 5:12 19). This narrative presents a complete reversal of God s created order. We no longer see man submitting himself to God, and the woman submitting herself to man by helping him, and there was no authority over creatures. The woman listened to the creature, the man listened to the woman, and neither listened to God. God prefaced His curse to Adam by stating, Because you listened to your wife (3:17). This reversal overthrew the entire created order of Genesis 2. The sequence of events identifies Adam as the head or representative of the race. However, because of the fall, man is tempted to violate his wife and family by abusing his leadership privilege given to him by God. On the same token, the wife is capable of not submitting or respecting her husband as admonished to do so in Scripture. While there is vast flexibility and diversity within godly marriages, God s creation and redemption expectation is that the husband will take a leadership initiative within the marriage relationship in order for the two together to fulfill their domestic, ecclesial, and missional destiny in Christ. (Dr. Robert Yarbrough) 1 Timothy 3:15 identifies God s church as a household and it is paralleled with a family household. The male female partnership that the apostle Paul spoke about in the marriage relationship is extended to the house of God. God establishes a pattern to be followed with common principles that could be learned from. He does not have an entire set of different principles for personal families and His corporate family as they gather to worship. God graciously provided an analogy between a godly husband s leadership role in the marriage and a godly man s leadership role in His church. First Timothy chapter three provides many guidelines for a godly husband, (3:2) he is to be a husband of one wife and provide her with a well managed home (in other words he is to be a proven manager of his home). His success in the management of his own home reveals how well he might manage the household of God. Both deacons and elders, in 1 Timothy, are required to manifest a godly life of leadership at home prior to leading in God s house. A wife who enjoys her husband s selfless acts of love and undying commitment to her through acts of obedience to Jesus Christ has an equal commitment to submit to her husband s leadership as unto the Lord. All of this remains God s ideas communicated clearly in Scripture. God speaks through Peter identifying gender 3
difference that leads to a household of love and order (1 Peter 3:1 7) and men are cautioned to respect and honor this difference as they live with their wives. The idea of submission in roles is characteristic of God s order as 1 Corinthians 11:3 says, Now I want you to realize that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God. Distinct roles are part of God s order to glorify Himself. The Godhead provides a beautiful picture of distinct roles yet different functions. The apostle Paul identifies equality in Christ Jesus as it relates to dignity and worth (Gal. 3:28). However, equality in worth and dignity do not translate into strict equivalency of function and role in God s church. 1 Timothy 2:12; Teaching and Biblical Authority over Men: Two important notes must be made when considering the role of women elders or pastors who teach and rule the house of God. Paul gives two cautions: I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet. Some may view teaching and exercising authority as two independent functions and some would interpret them as one in the same. Either way the message by Paul is that when a woman teaches over men that she is exercising spiritual authority. This passage would preclude her from teaching over men in the house of God. Although Paul s use of the word authenteo (authority) is rarely used in Scripture, the connotation is one who stands positionally over another in a teaching manner. Scripture does not suggest that a woman does not have the gift of teaching. On the contrary, many women have teaching skills that supersede the teaching skills of many men. However, the apostle Paul is stating that God s expectation is that in His household a woman does not enjoy the privilege to teach over men as it demonstrates spiritual authority, that which he has charged godly men to embrace. 1 Timothy 3:1 13; Titus 1:5 9; Masculine Identity in the Church Offices: The offices of deacon and elder/pastor are identified as masculine in the original text. These offices in the early church were filled by men who were to serve Christ faithfully. They were instructed how to lead their wives and households on multiple occasions. In referencing the responsibility of an elder, Titus states, He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it. Titus is very consistent with the apostle Paul (1 Tim. 2:12) in that this role is to be carried out by godly men who exercise authority and teach over other men, and not by women. Conclusion: First and foremost, God s authority is the only authority that matters! The church is God s institution that He uses to carry out His work till He comes again. Being the pillar and ground of truth (1 Tim. 3:15), I believe the church must embrace a high view of Scripture using solid, consistent 4
hermeneutics when understanding or teaching Scripture. Being honest with the text may not always be the most popular or easiest way to lead in a culture that lives contrary to God s ideas but His glory is paramount and He is honored in obedience! Psalm 86:11 says, Teach me your way, O LORD, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name. May we all rely on the Spirit of Truth, that unites our hearts, to understand the heartbeat of God. 5