A few posts back, I asked the question “Do we have a male-dominated expression of faith?” Particularly, has the Anabaptist subculture assumed a narrow perspective on gender expressions and personalities? Has it neglected to make space for women to put into practice their faith in active and engaging ministry?
In this post, I’m going to share a few thoughts I have as I observe Scripture and what it says about women and their role in the church. This is an excerpt from a patron-sponsored post I wrote called, What Is a Woman’s Role in Church? If you’d like to read the whole thing, you can become a patron here.
God’s Design Liberates Women More Than Cultures of This World Do
When you compare ancient culture with biblical commands and expectations, God’s design is more liberating for women than cultural norms. Culture, ancient and modern, has typically had an extremely low view of women.
Women serve. Women do the heavy labor. Women are to be seen and not heard. Women don’t have voice in decisions. And while Western culture has seen a major shift regarding this in the last hundred years or so, all cultures have typically had a low-view of women.
But God, way back in the Garden of Eden, had an extremely high view of women. “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” (Gen. 1:27) Both men and women carry God’s image. He puts them on the same level of worth and value. They are both His. Both embody His glory and design.
Furthermore, God gives women voice.
The gifts of the Spirit are not gender exclusive. Women, as well as men, are gifted with apostleship, prophecy, teaching, pastoring, and evangelizing. God wants women to be as much a part of building His Kingdom and carrying His message to the world as men. Not only that, Paul and Peter both give instructions to women in how to teach and make disciples (Tit. 2:1-15, 1Pet. 3:1-2, 1Co. 11:2-16).
Again, this was radically liberating for women in the time the Bible was written. The fact that they would have any voice, and be able to teach in any way, was completely counter-cultural. Yet, it’s clear that women are as much a part of God’s Kingdom building process as men are.
God also commands their protection.
Husbands are to love their wives as Christ loves the church (Eph. 5:25, Col. 3:19). It’s not a small calling. Furthermore, the church is to look out for widows and care for them (1Tim. 5:16, Jas. 1:27).
It’s nothing new to give women a place and a voice in culture. It was God’s idea from the very beginning. He truly liberates women as equals in their value and worth and role in advancing His Kingdom. In fact, the modern feminist movement actually suppresses women because they try making them like men.
According to God, women are valued as women. They have something to offer the church and the world at large because of how they are uniquely designed as females. They don’t need to be men or do the things men do in order to fulfill the calling and role God has given them in this world as equal heirs of the Gospel.
NT Letters Are Extremely Challenging to Interpret—Especially 1 Corinthians
New Testament letters can be difficult to interpret because they’re like piecing together a conversation from hearing one end of the telephone line. We can read Paul’s responses, but we don’t know exactly what was going on or what he was addressing and why. We can piece it together, and sometimes we can do it fairly well.
But 1 Corinthians is actually one of the most challenging New Testament letters to interpret. We need to be careful not to jump to conclusions about what is said and respect the fact that there are some deep, theological concepts biblical scholars have wrestled over for generations.
Paul is addressing something specific in 1 Corinthians 14. What is it?
Is the statement “women should keep silent” universally true? Or was there a unique situation taking place in 1 Corinthians that Paul is referring to?
1 Corinthians was one of Paul’s first letters written. Was something new happening because of the newness of the Gospel taking place in communities?
Could it be that the Gospel liberated women in a way they had never been before? They could now be a part of the teaching and edifying of people in faith, only they had never been educated before like men had been. So, when they came into church services and began speaking, it caused confusion, not clarity? Could that be why Paul exhorts them to be quiet and learn at home?
There is a lot to digest and explore in 1 Corinthians, and I think we honor God by respecting the fact that His Word is not as dry and cut as we sometimes think it is. Instead of grabbing it with our hands and assuming we know what it’s saying, let’s make sure we’re doing our best to understand the audience and the situation so we can best interpret what the author was intending to communicate.
While God Liberates Women, He Never Places Them in the Role of Priesthood
I personally lean toward giving women more voice and opportunity to serve (even lead) in church than churches have traditionally done.
But my concern in having women play a role in being the primary shepherd and teacher of a local body comes from the fact that while we see women playing many significant ministry roles (even leadership roles) in Scripture, we never see them in the role of priesthood or apostleship. For whatever reason, God always has men as His priests or apostles.
Paul touches on this slightly in 1 Timothy 2:11-15. Again, there is a lot of allusion and complexity to Paul’s exhortations here, but something about Eve being deceived causes him to not permit women to teach men or exercise authority over men.
I don’t understand all of what Paul is saying. I don’t understand entirely how women are “saved through child-bearing,” other than that I believe he is referencing Mary birthing the Messiah. But this concept of men being the primary spiritual leaders and intercessors for God’s people plays out throughout the whole of Scripture. So, I have strong hesitation about women becoming pastors and preachers of local churches.
I will be doing more research on this topic more, and no doubt writing on it again in the future. Until then, these are a few thoughts I have. I’d love to hear yours!
Share your thoughts in the comments below.
