Man and Woman in Biblical Perspective December 7, 2014

Man and Woman in Biblical Perspective December 7, 2014 I would like to speak this morning to the topic of Man and Woman in Biblical Perspective. In doing so, I will touch upon some misunderstood concepts about submission and authority and hopefully demonstrate that Christianity is radically unique in its affirmation of the equal dignity and standing of the woman alongside the man in God s eyes. While this is not an advent, Christmas oriented message, I trust that it is a relevant word for us. Please pray with me. Father, we thank you for Your special revelation through the Scripture. As we consider Your word, may it not only enlighten us in truth, but also work to transform us into greater conformity with Yourself and how you would have us practically live in relation to one another. In Christ we pray. Amen. Let us begin with a passage from Genesis 3 as we consider this fundamental concept of man and woman in Biblical perspective. Following Adam s and Eve s disobedience of God, that which we call the original sin, God pronounces the consequences resulting from that disobedience. Particularly, in addressing the woman, He states: I will greatly multiply Your pain in childbirth, In pain you shall bring forth children; Yet your desire shall be for your husband, And he shall rule over you." Gen 3:16 While there are observations we could make concerning the effects of original sin on the process of childbirth, let us focus on the second part of the statement concerning the woman s subordinate relationship to her husband. The Message puts it like this: You'll want to please your husband, but he'll lord it over you. Gen 3:16 The Message This particular consequence of sin is the distortion of God s creation order in the relation between the man and woman. What was a selfless relationship of mutuality between the husband and wife has now become a twisted version of what God originally intended. Now, because of sin, [the husband] shall be the wife s master [in a domineering manner] Gen 3:15 TLB/Paraphrase Of this distorted relationship between man and woman, one commentary observes: In every age of the world's history woman has been found in a state of subjection; in all pagan countries she has been the slave of man, as throughout the East at the present day she is his property-his possession by purchase. Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown In the ancient Greek and Roman cultures, the wife, along with the children, were considered the legal property of the husband and father. In the Hebrew culture of Jesus day, the woman was subordinated. For example, she was not seen as a credible witness in the courts, in that her word did not have the same weight as that of a man, nor was she given the same opportunities for education as men. Today, we see this subordinate role of women as a characteristic of many Eastern/Middle Eastern cultures. Sadly, we have seen much of this same mindset even in the Christian influenced cultures of the West. Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown observe: although in Christian nations, where the sexes are more generally restored to their just and proper relations yet even there women are often doomed to bear much from the will, temper, or caprice

of imperious husbands. That is, Peter s and Paul s exhortations to wives to submit to their husbands have been terribly misunderstood and misapplied with women being treated as inferior, second class citizens in some Christian circles. In the history of own culture, we can think of how the woman was subjugated when it came to voting rights, educational opportunities, salaries, and her general status based on the wrong-headed bias that as the weaker sex she is somehow less intelligent and capable than the male. In another, more exploitive context, I was thinking this past week, in reading the recent allegations about sexual exploitation and abuse of women at the University of Virginia, how this Genesis 3 curse of man s mistreatment of women continues, even in a supposedly enlightened, liberated culture as ours. Indeed, Man exercises a lordship over the weaker sex in a selfish and, at times, abusive manner as sin distorts the beauty of God s original creation order. (Paraphrase/commentary: Gen 3:15) If you want to understand the roots of the on-going abuse, oppression, and exploitation of women by men throughout the centuries, you need look no further than Genesis 3. But we see something radically different in God s original creation order. In Genesis 1 we read: "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." And God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. And God blessed them; and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves on the earth. Gen 1:26-29 First, we see in this profound passage that man is considered not merely male, but male and female. The image of God is reflected in both sexes rather than merely in the male. Furthermore, we see the profound reality here of God as Trinitarian Let us make man in our image. 3:26 Indeed, God is three Persons and as such, is a plural Being where the Father is not the Son, and where the Son is not the Father, and the Spirit is not the Father or Son. Yet, the Three are essentially one Being who is God. As we have often emphasized, we are limited in our understanding of this reality; however, it is the only explanation for our differentiated creation as man and woman a diversity of individual persons, yet a beautiful, complementary oneness in our humanity. Only Trinitarian theology can explain this unity and at the same time diversity that we see in humankind and, more particularly, in the male and female. It is not the individual male who is created in God s image; rather it is the plural male/female them mankind as a whole. And, second, we see that in the beauty of this original creation order, female is not inferior to male, but is commissioned by God as his partner a co-laborer with the male: Let them rule over [the creation]. vs. 26-29 From the beginning, He created them male and female as complimentary beings. There is no notion here of superiority or inferiority.

But, some would argue, doesn t Paul direct Wives [to] be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church [and] as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything? Eph 5:22-24 And doesn t Peter agree with Paul: you wives, be submissive to your own husbands? 1 Peter 3:1 And don t we generally equate headship and submission to the concept of superior and inferior? That is, the one in subjection is inferior to the one to whom she is submitting. But while this may be the case with fallen, sinful man, it is emphatically not the case in the Kingdom of God or in the very Trinitarian nature of God Himself. We see this illustrated in an account of Jesus in John 5. In dialogue with the Jews, who are criticizing Him for healing a paralytic on the Sabbath, we read: Jesus therefore answered and was saying to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner. John 5:19 In this context, we see the unique role of the Son of God, Jesus, in representing and serving the will of the Father. As it were, Jesus is submitting to and obeying the Father s will; He in no way acts independently from the Father, but only does those things that He sees the Father doing. We might assume from this concept of His submission to the Father that the Father is superior and the Son is inferior. Yet, in the two preceding verses, we read: But He answered them, "My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working." For this cause therefore the Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him, because He not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God. John 5:17-18 The Jews had no allusions as to what Jesus was saying, in that they realized He was making Himself equal with God by calling God His own Father. Let us understand that within the Trinity, there are different roles assumed by each of the three Persons. In this case, the Father has sent the Son as God Incarnate, and in a real sense, the Son is obedient and submissive to the Father. Yet, these differentiated roles between the Father and Son, and we could add the Holy Spirit to the mix, are never equated with superiority or inferiority among the three Persons. This was an important issue with which the early fathers wrestled, because there were dangerous heresies related to the notion that Jesus and the Holy Spirit were less than God Himself or somehow inferior to the Father. But for our purposes this morning, we see that within the perfect communion and fellowship among the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, even though submission and obedience are involved, there is never any hint of superiority and inferiority. Thus, as Christians, if we properly understand the nature of God s creation order, the call for the wife to be submissive to the headship of the husband should never be interpreted in the context of superiority and inferiority. Rather, as a reflection of His Trinitarian Being, God has created man and woman, husband and wife, with uniquely different roles that have nothing to do with superiority and inferiority. It is only sinful man who equates submission with inferiority.

Let me illustrate this concept in what is one of my own experiences. In my senior year in high school, I had the unique privilege of playing for an outstanding basketball coach who emphasized unselfish, team play. We each had a unique role on the team. In my case, I was the point guard, and it was my job to handle the ball and to initiate a sequence of plays and passes that would usually result in others being set up to score the points. It was one of the most meaningful experiences I have ever had, in that none of us were selfish players who worried about the limelight or getting individual credit. Rather, our joy was in fulfilling our unique, individual role and bringing it into complementary relationship with the other four players on the floor in order to be the best team possible. This was in stark contrast to my junior year, when we had several prima donnas on our team who were more interested in their own glory, so to speak. While we actually had more raw talent on that year s team, there was on-going discord and factions within the team, and it was a disappointing experience. But my senior year represented the unadulterated joy of functioning together in true mutuality without any self-centered individualism or technical emphasis on a hierarchy of leadership emphasizing superiority or inferiority. The Trinity is like that, where each Person is all about the complimentary loving of the other Persons. I increasingly catch glimpses of this in my own marriage. While I love my wife very imperfectly, I view her as my co-equal partner. Though I am called to spiritual headship and leadership in our marriage, and though she is called to submit to that leadership, there is no sense of our being technical when it comes to that headship and submission. Rather, it is an organic relationship where, when we both have our eyes on Christ, we are flowing together in mutuality and unity, carefully listening to each other, respecting each other s perspectives, without there being any sense of rank, or superiority/inferiority. In stark contrast, Jesus stated: "Among the heathen, kings are tyrants and each minor official lords it over those beneath him. But among you it is quite different. Anyone wanting to be a leader among you must be your servant. And if you want to be right at the top, you must serve like a slave. Your attitude must be like my own, for I, the Messiah, did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give my life as a ransom for many." Matt 20:25-28 TLB In this context, we see the stark contrast in Paul s words to husbands: husbands [are to love their] wives, even as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her. Eph 5:25 This takes any sense of superiority and inferiority out of the husband and wife relationship. Such love, as modeled by Jesus Christ, trumps any sense of lording it over by the head or condescension toward the one called to submit. As Robert Letham observes: [In God s eyes, leadership is not to be] equated with superiority, or submission with something [inferior.] Actually, God has shown that loving, willing submission to [the other] is superior. This is so because Jesus, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, Phil 2:6-7 That is, as Jesus submitted to the Father, neither was He inferior to the Father. Rather, He embraced His unique role as the Son of God, made incarnate, by obeying the Father s will. This was the unique nature and order of His being the Son of God, rather than being the Father or the Spirit.

Likewise, the husband is not called to headship because he is superior, more intelligent and clever, or spiritually advanced over the woman. Rather, the husband is simply called to a unique role that is different from that of the wife, but which, in both cases, are roles that are mutual and complimentary. So it is that Peter states to husbands: in the new life of God's grace, you're equals. Treat your wives, then, as equals so your prayers don't run aground. 1 Peter 3:7 When we understand the larger history of cultures over many centuries, and especially the first century culture in the Roman, Greek, and Middle Eastern world, we must appreciate how incredibly radical is this Christian emphasis concerning the dignity and co-equality of the woman with the man. The argument that Christianity is a maledominated, chauvinistic religion that puts down women is simply a gross misunderstanding of authentic Biblical teaching. And Christian men who attempt to subjugate their wives and women in general sadly misunderstand the true nature of God s love. Let me observe that while I have focused this morning primarily on this notion of man and woman in Biblical perspective, this emphasis also speaks clearly to us about the nature of our relationships together in larger Christian community. That is, the mutuality of love called for in the husband/wife relationship is to also characterize our relationships in the larger community of faith. Robert Letham observes: Since God is love (1 John 4:16), and we have fellowship and communion with him, love is the acid test of our discipleship. If we love others, we belong to Jesus Christ. If we lack love, we are not his at all. God is a triune communion of Persons. Love is intrinsic to who He is... Love belongs to Who He is in Himself in the undivided communion of the three Persons... In that we are enabled to be partakers of the divine nature, changed from glory to glory by the Spirit of the Lord, we are brought into this communion of the love of God. Robert Letham Indeed, such a fellowship of self-giving love is the spirit behind Paul s words in Ephesians: Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. Eph 5:21 In Christianity, submission is not a technical, hierarchical thing involving superiority and inferiority. For example, if you come to me in my role as pastor to talk about something, even though I am an officer of the church, I am to submit to you by carefully seeking to hear you and then responding in a servant manner that reflects the love and compassion of Christ. That is, while there is a proper place for us to defer in submission to the authorities as established by God, authentic pastoral leadership should be characterized first by a servant s heart, and never with a spirit of condescension or lording over. And this is also true in our overall relationships with one another, where we submit to one another because of our reverence for Christ. Christianity is a sharp sword that cuts through the very heart of an independent spirit; God knows that in the professing Christian community, our churches are filled with people who are still primarily motivated to practice their religion in a self-centered, independent manner. But this is far from the Spirit of Christ and the life of Christian community as God intends it.

As for me, I deeply desire personally, as well as for this local church, that we might grow in an awakening of what it means to be a vital community of those who have put aside their independent, selfish agendas, and who are motivated to love one another as the ultimate expression of what the church is to be all about. Anything less in our mindset is to merely be playing religious games. Letham states: The mission of the church to spread the gospel also requires the practice of love, of self-effacement, of looking to the interests of others... As recorded in Acts See how they love one another. As a professing Christian husband who fails to love His wife with a servant s heart is either a fraud or extremely shallow in his faith, so we as professing Christians must beware of playing with mere religious formalism and end up being more like the religious hypocrites the Pharisees. May God help us to be satisfied with nothing less than the reality of becoming increasingly conformed in His Trinitarian image of pure love, not only in our marriages, but also for each other in authentic Christian community. Let us pray.

Alternative Ending Utilize Ephesians 5:25-33 Within the Trinity of three Persons, there is an ultimate love of one for the others. In such love, there is no superiority or inferiority; likewise, there is not to be any such lording over by the husband. Rather, as perfect love is expressed within the Trinity, so the husband is to love the wife even as he loves himself. Such love is the true litmus of our Christianity. The husband who does not continually seek to love his wife thusly is either extremely shallow in his faith or a fraud. Likewise, the wife is not to take advantage of such love in a selfish manner, but is to deeply respect and appreciate her husband. Such mutuality of relationship is the ultimate litmus of our relationship with Christ.