The ManicaPost
Pastor Lee Fore
Religion
FOR all matters in the Christian life and in the life of the church, we are guided and follow the principles and words of scriptures.
In addition to the many affirmations of both men and women, the scriptures also give direction for the roles of women who 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.
It is only in scriptures where we can find God’s intended design for women.
The Old Testament teachings outlined that God’s first word on the subject of men and women is that they were equally and created in the image of God.
No one received more of the image of God than the other, showing that the scriptures begin with sexes’ equality.
As people and 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 reveal the differences in their God-given functions and responsibilities.
God did not create man and woman at the same time, but rather 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 by 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 supporting role of the wife.
Jesus spoke about 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 did not only include them in His audiences, but also used illustrations and images that would be familiar to them and specifically applied His teaching to them.
When Jesus met 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, He pointed out the priority of learning the spiritual truth even over “womanly” responsibilities like serving guests in one’s home (Luke 10:38).
Although men in Jesus’ day 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 13:10).
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.
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 setup suggest that Christian marriage should involve mutual love and submission between two believers (Ephesians 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.
The church creeds teaches from the beginning that women fulfilled a vital role in the Christian church, 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 never appointed 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 fulfil the roles and responsibilities specifically designed for them, a pattern that can be seen even in the Godhead (1 Cor. 11:3).
In fulfilling the divinely given roles taught in the New Testament, women are able to realise 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.
LET CHURCH BE THE CHURCH
Pastor Lee Fore: Religious Commentator: /Email: [email protected] #+263 773 469 191 or +263 712 314 734
