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1. Introduction
The role of women is an issue of vital importance to us today, not only as this issue is tearing churches apart, but also because of the large number of women actively pursuing ministry opportunities in churches. The doctrine of humanity as espoused in Scripture is the basis of any solution to whether women are allowed to teach and have authority (i.e. lead) in local churches. This issue is intricately bound up with the general issue of women’s submission to men and male authority, especially within marriage.
This assignment will deal only with general human relationships and marriage where it has a direct bearing on the issue of women teaching and leading in the church.
2. Approach of This Assignment
Realising that the traditional conservative position of not allowing women to teach or have authority in the local church has been defended from Scripture for many decades, I will not concentrate on defending this view. Neither will I attempt to totally discredit it. What I wish to do is to show the possibility of alternative interpretations, while remaining true to Scripture, that would allow women to teach and lead in a church. In doing so, I shall highlight arguments on both sides, indicating their strengths and weaknesses, and hopefully in the process, demonstrate the consistent witness of Scripture. This assignment is based loosely on a response to Piper and Grudem’s book.
3. Foundations: Four Phases of Human Spiritual History
3.1. The Creation Accounts
Genesis tells us that when God had created humanity (male and female) it was "very good" (Gen. 1:31). An understanding of humanity in its pre-fallen state is essential to an understanding of what God intended us to be, and to an understanding of the NT passages that refer to the principles established in Gen. 1- 3. Jewett, in a discussion on Barth’s approach to this issue, makes an important point: the true essence of humanity is not found in the creation of man or woman, but humanity as man and woman (Gen. 1:27). The true essence of humanity cannot be found in just one of the genders, but in being as "being-in-fellowship" (1975:49). This means that humanity, although represented in two specific and separate genders, is nevertheless defined by both genders. A society where only one gender existed would be an incomplete society. Thus, both man and woman were created in the image of God, and both had a full relationship with God, as they had a relationship with each other.
3.2. The Fall
The sin of Adam and Eve changed the world forever. The nature of humanity and the relationships therein were radically changed. "The unity and equality expressed so clearly in [Genesis] chapter 1 is replaced by the authority of one over the other. Sin has spoiled not only the spiritual relationship between creator and creature but has also affected the social relationships between men and women" (Carey, in Furlong 1984:45; cf. Schaeffer 1972:94).
3.3. Redemption Through Christ
The total curse of sin and the law has been fully removed (cf. Rom. 5:12 -21, Gal. 3:10 - 14; Rev. 22:3). That curse is the curse that separated man from God in the Garden of Eden. Christ’s death secured the permanent removal of all that separates us from God and from each other. This is a glorious, victorious truth that is at the heart of our Christianity. Yet, the effects of sin and the work of Satan have been allowed by God to continue in the world, until the victory is enforced when Christ returns. Thus, we live today in a constant tension between the "now" (of a world still affected by the Fall) and the "not yet" (of the full effects of Christ’s redeeming grace).
3.4. Eschatological Anticipation
It may be helpful, too, to attempt to understand what heaven will be like, for we know that in heaven we will be perfect. Since the state of being in perfection is the highest state a being can attain, it must also be the ideal role model, remembering, however that we live and function in a different sphere at present.
4. The Role of Tradition and Church History
Weinrich claims that women in the history of the church have been "learned and holy, but not pastors" (in Piper and Grudem 1991:263ff.). Tucker and Liefeld, however, endeavour throughout their book to show that "historically, women have had far more involvement in the church’s mission and other ministries than has generally been realised" (1987:435). In any case, this should not be a decisive factor in our discussion. Where tradition is contrary to Scripture, it is tradition that must change. As society develops, the church must always be open to adjustment and development, within the parameters of Scripture.
5. Headship, Submission and Subordination Within and Without Marriage
As a precursor to this discussion, it should be noted that Scripture clearly starts its teaching on marriage with a call to mutual submission (Eph. 5:21). Elsewhere, mutual authority is taught (1 Cor. 7:1 - 5; cf. Col. 3:16) (cf. Haubert 1993:57). Nevertheless, there are other principles which arise from various texts.
5.1. The Husband’s Role: Godly Headship
Eph. 5:23 tells us that the husband is the head (Gr. kefalh) of the wife. There is much debate as to what headship means (cf. Grudem, Piper and Grudem 1991:127f.; 425ff.), especially as it is equated with Christ’s headship over the church. The two main viewpoints are that headship means either "authority over" or it means "source". Grudem seems to have answered most of the objections, and convincingly argues that the meaning is "authority". His argument, however, seems to ignore the point that a word can mean different things in different contexts. Various passages will be discussed below, some where "source" is obviously unacceptable, but others where it seems to be an exegetical option.
In Eph. 5, however, it seems that "authority" would be the correct translation, as the wife is told to submit, and it would be difficult to see how Christ could be the "source" of the church, or the husband, the "source" of the wife. So, "the debate continues, but both sides agree that the NT’s teaching on headship must never be used as a prop to support chauvinist sexism" (Olthuis 1995:430). The emphasis is always on self-sacrificing, loving, servant-leadership, based on the example of Christ (Phil. 2:5 - 11; cf. Field, in Lees 1984:55).
5.2. The Wife’s Role: Godly Submission
Many of the supporters of woman ordination have claimed that Scripture teaches the subordination of women (e.g. Jewett 1975:58f.; 73f., etc.). This may have arisen through an incorrect understanding of the King James Version word "subjection" in describing the wife (translating Gr. FWBEW). However, they need to be more careful to distinguish between subordination and submission. Subordination, being the subservience of the women, is never taught in Scripture, and should not influence the debate.
It is interesting that, in Scripture, the wife is always addressed first when the nature of the husband-wife relationship is discussed (cf. Eph. 5:22; Col. 3:18; 1 Peter 3:1; Titus 2:4f.), indicating possibly that she is to take the "lead" (the first step, initiation) in the relationship of headship-submission. The wife is instructed to submit to her husband. The Greek word for "submit" (Gr. hupotassw - in the middle voice) is used in all the passages, and implies a voluntary putting of oneself under another (Knight, in Piper and Grudem 1991:166). This makes sense, as there is no intrinsic superiority of either the male or female, but the women must voluntarily place herself, not where she is by right (equal), but under, her husband. This is re-enforced in 1 Peter 3:1 - 7 (cf. Grudem, in Piper and Grudem 1991:194ff.), although the specific context of a non-believing husband should be noted.
5.3. Relationships Outside of Marriage and Single People
The passages discussed above exhort wives to be subject to "your own" (Gr. idio") husbands, and similarly, the husbands must love their wives. This term, "your own", clearly shows that the relationship of headship and submission between a wife and her husband is different from the relationship of headship and submission which they may have with other people in general. "Paul is not insisting that every relationship between a woman and a man is one of submission and headship" (Knight, in Piper and Grudem 1991:169; cf. pg. 44).
6. Marriage as an Analogy of the Church
Having established a pattern for relationships within marriage, how are the husband and wife to relate to each other in other settings, outside the home? In addition, how do this pattern of headship and submission relate to the church, which has unmarried people and "other-married" people? Marriage is used as an analogy of the church throughout Scripture (in fact, that was what it was designed to be, cf. Eph. 5:31 - 32; Knight, in Piper and Grudem 1991:175f.), but this does not necessarily mean that what applies to marriage, also applies to the church.
Some would argue that "male leadership in the family requires male leadership in the church" (cf. Poythress, in Piper and Grudem 1991:233ff.). The crux of this belief is that 1 Tim. 3:15 refers to the church as "God’s household". In addition, it is argued that elders or overseers are to be men who are the "husbands of but one wife" (1 Tim. 3:2). This argument is weak and circular (using an implication of the argument to prove the argument). Applying it properly would mean that all church leaders must be married. In fact, they must all be married with children. If we cannot draw these inferences, then neither can we draw a male-only inference.
It would seem that the only transferral of marital roles to the church is the relationship of husband and wife within church life. Scripture is clear that family life extends to the church as well. It should be noted in this regard, that children who were Christians were totally equal with their parents, yet nevertheless had to maintain a relationship of honour and respect (e.g. 1 Tim. 5:1 - 2), and similarly with slaves and masters. So, too, a wife who must submit to her husband at home, must do the same at church. Beyond this principle, there does not seem to be adequate grounds for transferring male headship at home to influence the structure of the church, where Christ assumes the headship function.
7. Texts Specifically Prohibiting Women from Teaching or Leading
A very important initial observation must be made. In Greek, the term "man" can be used generically for "mankind", thus including both male and female. In addition, the Greek word for "woman" and for "wife" (gunh) are exactly the same, and similarly, Greek has one word for "man" and "husband" (anhr). The correct translated term is discovered only on investigation of the context. Every single passage that restricts women from teaching men can be placed in the context of marriage, and thus could legitimately read, "I do not permit a wife to teach her husband". These passages are: 1 Cor. 11:3 (is every woman subject to every man, or are wives subject to their husbands, just as Christ is the bridegroom of the church, His bride?); 1 Cor. 14:34 - 35 (obviously a marriage relationship); and 1 Tim. 2:11 - 15 (Adam and Eve are the marital role models, and how could any woman, except a wife, be given promises regarding child birth?).
It is conceivable then that all of these passages are referring to spiritual authority and leadership within the home, and how this should be expressed between a husband and wife in the public life of the church. It may have nothing to do with instructions regarding women in general. The fact that the gifts have no specific gender requirements placed on them, thus allowing women to receive the gifts of prophecy, preaching, teaching, pastoring, leadership, etc., would seem to add weight to this point of view (see below). Let us examine each of these passages in more detail:
7.1. 1 Corinthians 11:2 - 16
The issue of headship has been discussed above. Assuming the word kefalh means "authority" in 1 Cor. 11:3, Paul is arguing that man is the head of "the woman" (notice the definite article and the singular form) as Christ is the head of man and God the head of Christ (this seems to mitigate against the use of "source" for kefalh in this context). "Since Paul appeals to the relation between members of the Trinity, it is clear that he does not view the relations described here as merely cultural, or the result of the fall" (Schreiner, in Piper and Grudem 1991:128). Notice, however, that by referring to the Trinity, Paul consciously draws our attention to beings-in-fellowship, reminding us of Genesis 2, and the first couple who "for this reason" were the first marital pair. This principle is the key to the whole passage.
It should be noticed that nowhere in this passage does Paul forbid a woman to teach or lead in the church. In fact, he is saying the very opposite by giving instructions for the involvement of women in the church service, saying that she should do whatever she does in the church in a respectful and humble spirit - a ruling that applies equally to all Christians. There is no Biblical basis for assuming that whenever Scripture refers to a women prophesying or teaching, that she does so outside of the church congregation (cf. MacArthur 1994:39f.). "Distinctions between ‘official’ and ‘non-official’ teaching are difficult to substantiate in the New Testament" (Haubert 1993:65, and footnote).
Some scholars have argued that the phrase "authority on her head" (literal translation of 11:10) means that women must be under the authority of the men in the church. If this is what Paul intended, it seems unlikely that he would have used such an idiomatic phrase, or that he would refer to the angels. Whatever the correct interpretation of these phrases is, it is not unambiguously endorsing female submission in terms of not being able to lead or teach within the church. Paul, himself, anticipates some misunderstanding and so 1 Cor. 11:11 - 12 is an expression of what he has just been saying regarding the equality of the status and giftedness of men and women.
Thus, although Paul does advocate gender distinctions in the manner in which certain gifts are exercised, he nevertheless encourages men and women alike to exercise the gifts God has given them. Like (the very conservative) Mack (1972:60), I cannot find in these verses a prohibition on women teaching or leading in the church.
7.2. 1 Corinthians 14:34 - 36
On the face of it, this passage contradicts Paul’s statements elsewhere (most problematically, in the same letter, 1 Cor. 11) regarding the fact that women could speak, pray and prophesy in the congregation. Leaving the text critical arguments aside, the most compelling interpretation is that these verses refer to the process by which prophecies were weighed (cf. Carson, in Piper and Grudem 1991:151ff.). This interpretation best fits the exegetical context, both in terms of flow and structure (especially 1 Cor. 14:29 - 33). It would seem then that Paul is only prohibiting women being involved in the oral weighing of prophecies. Additional proof of this is that the silence (Gr. sigatw) required in verse 34 also applies to prophets and tongue speakers in verses 28 and 30 - it is not only related to women. This was not, as some have suggested, because only church leaders could weigh prophecies and women were not allowed to be leaders. If Paul had intended that, he would have also included all males who were not church leaders in this prohibition.
Nearly all of the commentators agree that Paul was writing to a church which was fighting an heretical onslaught, and was giving instructions that would result in sound teaching by restraining all unqualified teachers (cf. 1 Tim. 1:3; 6:3 - 5). Some commentators have argued that because women were untaught in those times, Paul forbade them to teach (e.g. Haubert 1993:64; Carey, in Furlong 1984:53f.). The obvious implication is that in cultures where women are educated, they can teach. This seems unlikely, however, as it is not a proven fact that women were uneducated in the prevailing Roman culture of Ephesus, and further, if this was Paul’s intention, it would seem that when writing to a busy sea port, he would have included in this prohibition those men who were uneducated and not able to teach.
Verse 35, therefore, seems to be the key to understanding this passage. It unambiguously states that the women referred to are wives. Thus, it would seem that Paul is prohibiting wives from weighing their husband’s prophecies, and if they have a problem with "their own" husband’s prophecies, this should be discussed at home. There are three very logical reasons for this: the church service is not to be disrupted by domestic squabbling; the wife is to submit to her own husband’s authority in all aspects of their marriage relationship, including church; and, a prophecy’s validity could be established two witnesses. If the husband and wife were to conspire to give a false testimony, it would be easy for them to do so, if the wife were allowed to weigh her husband’s prophecy. Once again, therefore, there is room to doubt the traditional interpretation of this passage.
7.3. 1 Timothy 2:11 - 15
The first aspect of this passage that bears attention is the usage of the word "man". There are a number of translation options, depending on the underlying Greek word. We would surely not think that only males are going to be saved (1 Tim. 2:4, 6), or that only men should pray (2:8)? Contrary to MacArthur’s claim (1994:112), the terms anqropo" and andro", used in these verses, can refer either to males or to human beings generically (Louw and Nida 1989:104).
The injunction in verse 11, that women are to "learn" (Gr. manthanetw) implies that they are to be discipled (cf. Gr. mathmth"). This was a new concept to those with a Jewish background, where women were not taught at all. However, they are to learn in "submission" (Gr. upotagh - the noun form of the word that describes a wife’s relationship to her husband). In addition, they are not to have "authority" (Gr. authentein) over men. This particular Greek word occurs only here in the NT. Some believe that it is simply a synonym for the normal Greek words for authority (cf. Knight 1992:141f.; Tucker and Liefeld 1987:460). However, most of the lexicons indicate that it is more forceful, implying "to control in a domineering manner" (Louw and Nida 1989:474). Paul is therefore not forbidding women to have authority, but rather counselling them not to dominate.
Whichever interpretation is preferred, there is one final difficulty that is often ignored. It would seem that, since Paul refers to the woman being "kept safe through childbirth" (1 Tim. 2:15), he is, once again, referring to a husband and wife relationship in the church (it would seem impossible to assume that Paul was referring to unmarried women in this verse), and not to male-female relationships in general. Thus, Paul is forbidding a wife to teach or have authority over (dominate?) her husband in the church setting. This is entirely consistent with Paul’s teaching on a wife’s submission to her husband.
It should be noticed that 1 Tim. 2:13 - 14 bases Paul’s argument in creation order. If Paul intended us to understand that all women are easily deceived and that is why they should not teach, why then does he allow them to teach children and other women (1 Tim. 1:5; 3:14 - 15; Titus 2:3 - 4)? They should not be allowed to teach anyone in the church (cf. Haubert 1993:66).
Some scholars, who would take these verses to prohibit women teaching, weaken their own argument by defining such teaching as "preaching" or the "teaching of Bible and doctrine", but leaving out of their definition "evangelistic witnessing, counseling, [and] teaching subjects other than Bible or doctrine" (Moo, in Piper and Grudem 1991:186). They further weaken their position when they try to define what a "man" is, often saying that women can teach male children in Sunday School, not realising that in Jewish culture, boys became men at the age of 13.
Although these verses present us with some translation difficulties, it would seem that once again the wording is ambiguous. Most scholars attempt to understand what is meant in these verses by an appeal to the passages in 1 Cor., discussed above. This often results in a particularly dangerous form of circular reasoning, as they use this passage to prove their interpretations of 1 Cor. (MacArthur, Mack, and Piper and Grudem are all guilty of this).
8. Other Biblical Arguments Against Women Teaching and Leading
9. Other Arguments in Favour of Women Teaching and Leading
10. The Ordination of Women
By "ordination", we mean the formal recognition to the office of ministry. Fortunately, within Baptist churches, this issue is not separate and additional to the issues of teaching and leading, for, unlike the more liturgical churches, where the priest somehow functions as a mediator between God and men, Baptists believe in the priesthood of all believers. Thus, if we agree that Scripture permits a woman to teach and lead, then we must agree that she can be ordained.
11. Conclusion
In this brief overview of some of the issues that need to be resolved, it has become obvious that Scripture clearly teaches that there is authority and submission involved in some relationships. Although all people are equal in the eyes of God, both in their sinful state and in the state of grace, there are differences in function. However, all Christians are called to serve one another, and be in submission to one another, by willingly considering others better than oneself. The church should be characterised by mutual love and submission, thus engendering an environment where each one is able to fully develop and utilise his or her God-given spiritual gifts for the benefit of the body of Christ.
If you have not yet done so, please e-mail Graeme at graeme@codrington.biz now to tell him that you are using his assignment.