From the very beginning, gender was pivotal to Creation and the plan of redemption. God created man first. Scripture is clear about this. That doesn’t mean man is better or superior, it means what it means: God made man first. But man was created, by a perfect God, purposefully incomplete. That was God’s intent as was His solution to provide a complementary partner for him. We see the origin of women early on in the second chapter of Genesis.
Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.” (Genesis 2:18)
In that one verse we see gender explained Biblically. Every conversation about gender needs to be framed by that verse. While some people are gifted with singleness, the normative state is not to be alone. Men are formed intentionally incomplete and God in His infinite mercy and wisdom created woman from man to be a helper and a compliment to men. God did not say that Adam was just lonely and needed someone else to keep him company so he made another person who was just like Adam. God made man a helper fit for him, a helper that was different and complementary. Men and women are made differently for a reason and neither is complete alone. Both are of equal value in the eyes of God even, and perhaps especially, though they are made differently and called differently. This theme runs throughout the Bible and culminates in the Son of God being born of a woman and in the picture of Christ and the church, the Bridegroom and the Bride.
Unfortunately, instead of rejoicing that God in His infinite and holy wisdom created men and women with a purpose and for a purpose, many have decided to rewrite the Script to suit our cultural standards or worse yet to appease that same culture out of fear of ridicule and being called “backwards”.
What is ironic is that so many of the advocates of gender equality or egalitarianism or whatever they call it are also the most anti-hierarchical people around. In spite of the distrust of hierarchy and clericalism, many advocates of egalitarianism seem to be unable to view women as serving equally in the church unless they are filling traditional leadership roles. The idea that if a woman is not recognized as an elder in the church or if she does not teach men or hold the title “pastor”, she is somehow inferior and being oppressed is completely without Scriptural warrant and a gross misunderstanding of the idea of leadership, service and discipleship in the Bible.
Jesus is the King of what many rightly describe as an upside-down Kingdom, where the great are brought low and the lowly are lifted up, where the greatest among us are the least among us and where being a servant is the highest calling. When I read Scripture and look around the church, I don’t see the “great” Christians among us as the leading theologians or the famous pastors that everyone wants to endorse their book. I see the women taking meals to people recovering from surgery or the older men who share their simple wisdom with the younger. I think we all get that but once you make a suggestion that God has fenced certain functions in the church and home based on gender, our theology goes flying out the window.
This is a tragic shame because the message women hear is that the callings of a woman are inferior. That message comes not from the ogres who advocate complementarianism, if comes from egalitarians who are unable to see the value in a woman unless she is functioning in a traditional male role. Taking a page from the handbook of the prevailing culture, womanhood is discounted. How ironic that this comes from those who wish to liberate women from patriarchy!
A woman’s strength is not found in demands to be treated like a man. The strength of women, which is considerable and formidable and found throughout the Bible, is a different kind of strength. While we see the male leaders of the church out preaching the Gospel on the street to crowds, we get a different picture of women. Peter writes that women are powerful influencers in a completely different way. Not an inferior way, a different way and one that is honoring to God.
Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives, when they see your respectful and pure conduct. (1 Peter 3: 1-2)
An unbelieving husband who has his heart softened to the Gospel by the working of the Holy Spirit and the quiet, submissive conduct of his wife is redeemed the same as someone who comes to faith under the authoritative teaching of a man. What is missed by so many is that this is not a “woman submitting to man” thing. It is a woman submitting to God thing. God created women for a specific purpose, to carry and bear children and to raise those children to honor their parents and above all honor God. That is a glorious and wonderful purpose and we would see a far greater impact on the wellbeing of the church if more women embraced this truth. We have plenty of teachers and pastors and preachers but we certainly need more women committed to fulfilling the calling God has made them for.
Ultimately when it comes to gender roles in the church, there is really only one thing to ask. Doesn’t God get to determine what the full role of anyone is in the Body of Christ? If God calls you to minister in Africa because He chose for you to be born there, that is His calling. If God calls you to minister to children and care for your household because He made you a woman, that is a noble and righteous calling. Certainly the world would not agree but I didn’t think we were supposed to take our cues from the world. The picture of the relationship between men and women is the relationship between Christ and the church. I don’t think anyone in their right mind would suggest that the church should usurp the role of Christ as mediator of the New Covenant, as King of Kings, as the propitiation for sins. Why would we then suggest that the relationship between men and women is subject to reinterpretation at the whim of the prevailing culture?
Women are precious in the sight of Christ and have a wonderful calling and role in the home and in the church. It is simple pride and dare I say sin to say to God that women deserve more. God made men and God made women and I think He gets to determine how His creatures should serve Him. I thank God for a wife who loves me and loves my children, who walks in an attitude of submission to my flawed leadership because she is confident in God, a woman who doesn’t see her role at home or in the church to be inferior because she isn’t the center of attention. You won’t see her at the front of the church but never assume that means she isn’t ministering to others and serving her Lord.
Showing posts with label strong women. Show all posts
Showing posts with label strong women. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Monday, July 27, 2009
Showing honor to our wives
Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered. (1Pe 3:7)
How do we honor and esteem our wives?
We do not esteem our wives by asking them to do what we have been called to do. Abdication of leadership in the church and the home is not a sign that we honor our wives, it is a sign that we are lazy. I fear that some of my brothers who are seeking a Biblical ecclesiology have not only cast the baby out with bathwater, they have inadvertently slipped backed into the institutional thinking that places a premium on preaching and teaching over all other callings in the church. All callings in the church have value and by exalting the role of leadership and preaching by insisting that Biblical roles be set aside betrays the idea that all members of the Body of Christ have a vital but different role to play. More on this later.
We do not honor our wives by telling them that how they were made and to what they were called by our mutual Creator is inferior and that in order to be valuable in the eyes of God they need to ignore His Word and listen to the values and standards of the world.
We esteem our wives by recognizing and taking joy in their unique womanhood. We honor our wives by honoring their callings. We honor them by not only recognizing but taking joy in the differences in nature and calling that God has ordained. Equality in salvation does not equate to uniformity in calling.
We honor our wives by taking joy in them and in recognizing their unique and irreplaceable call as our helpmeets. We show honor to our wives by protecting them and by leading in the home. By respecting her and demanding that same respect from our children and from others toward her.
Most of all we honor our wives by loving them as Christ loved the church. He loved His elect so much that He laid down His life for us. How many of us can say that we love our wives in this way? I know I fall far short of that but I strive to live up to that lofty goal in my own imperfect and inadequate way. Our wives are heirs with us in salvation and the blood that Jesus Christ shed for them is as precious as the blood He shed for us. The same one who died for His sheep, men and women alike, ordained roles that suit and complement one another in the church and the home.
Honor His Word by honoring our wives and by honoring womanhood.
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)
How do we honor and esteem our wives?
We do not esteem our wives by asking them to do what we have been called to do. Abdication of leadership in the church and the home is not a sign that we honor our wives, it is a sign that we are lazy. I fear that some of my brothers who are seeking a Biblical ecclesiology have not only cast the baby out with bathwater, they have inadvertently slipped backed into the institutional thinking that places a premium on preaching and teaching over all other callings in the church. All callings in the church have value and by exalting the role of leadership and preaching by insisting that Biblical roles be set aside betrays the idea that all members of the Body of Christ have a vital but different role to play. More on this later.
We do not honor our wives by telling them that how they were made and to what they were called by our mutual Creator is inferior and that in order to be valuable in the eyes of God they need to ignore His Word and listen to the values and standards of the world.
We esteem our wives by recognizing and taking joy in their unique womanhood. We honor our wives by honoring their callings. We honor them by not only recognizing but taking joy in the differences in nature and calling that God has ordained. Equality in salvation does not equate to uniformity in calling.
We honor our wives by taking joy in them and in recognizing their unique and irreplaceable call as our helpmeets. We show honor to our wives by protecting them and by leading in the home. By respecting her and demanding that same respect from our children and from others toward her.
Most of all we honor our wives by loving them as Christ loved the church. He loved His elect so much that He laid down His life for us. How many of us can say that we love our wives in this way? I know I fall far short of that but I strive to live up to that lofty goal in my own imperfect and inadequate way. Our wives are heirs with us in salvation and the blood that Jesus Christ shed for them is as precious as the blood He shed for us. The same one who died for His sheep, men and women alike, ordained roles that suit and complement one another in the church and the home.
Honor His Word by honoring our wives and by honoring womanhood.
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)
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Strong women?
Please note that I wouldn't watch The View with a gun to my head, but I heard this quote on the Mark Levin show. It comes right out of the gate, so I will spare you the pain of listening to the remaining minute of cackling and clucking.
Ms. Obama makes this statement regarding Hillary Clinton: "People aren't used to strong women" and gets nods and affirming murmurs from the enraptured hosts of The View.
What makes Hillary Clinton a "strong woman"? Her marriage of convenience to Bill as a vehicle to fulfill her own ambition? Her strident and shrill speeches? Her desire for adoration and personal power? What makes her so strong?
And strong compared to what? Is a mom who raises her kids quietly without seeking personal glory a weak woman? She must be because she is the opposite of Hillary and if Hillary is a "strong woman", then they must be weak. There are millions of strong women in this country who are nothing like Hillary, women who raise their kids, who work a crappy job because they need to feed their kids, who clean up the same mess over and over. It is not glorious. No one will write adoringly in the New York Times about them. But they are the ones who make this country strong, not power mad women like Hillary.
This is where we must turn to the Word of God and reality to see that truly strong women are those who sacrifice, those who care for children and home, those who put others ahead of themselves. Michelle Obama thinks Hillary is a strong woman? Try having Hillary come over here and take care of my eight kids, homeschool them, parent them, discipline them, love them and play with them all day. She wouldn't make it five minutes. She isn't a strong woman because she wears an expensive suit and has sycophants fawning over her. My wife is a strong woman because she is a godly woman. No one is going to have her guest host the view, but that is OK because her glory is in her family and above all in Christ, instead of in herself.
An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels. The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain. She does him good, and not harm, all the days of her life. She seeks wool and flax, and works with willing hands. She is like the ships of the merchant; she brings her food from afar. She rises while it is yet night and provides food for her household and portions for her maidens. She considers a field and buys it; with the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard. She dresses herself with strength and makes her arms strong. She perceives that her merchandise is profitable. Her lamp does not go out at night. She puts her hands to the distaff, and her hands hold the spindle. She opens her hand to the poor and reaches out her hands to the needy. She is not afraid of snow for her household, for all her household are clothed in scarlet. She makes bed coverings for herself; her clothing is fine linen and purple. Her husband is known in the gates when he sits among the elders of the land. She makes linen garments and sells them; she delivers sashes to the merchant. Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come. She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue. She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: "Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all." Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised. Give her of the fruit of her hands, and let her works praise her in the gates.
(Proverbs 31: 10-31 ESV)
Please note that I wouldn't watch The View with a gun to my head, but I heard this quote on the Mark Levin show. It comes right out of the gate, so I will spare you the pain of listening to the remaining minute of cackling and clucking.
Ms. Obama makes this statement regarding Hillary Clinton: "People aren't used to strong women" and gets nods and affirming murmurs from the enraptured hosts of The View.
What makes Hillary Clinton a "strong woman"? Her marriage of convenience to Bill as a vehicle to fulfill her own ambition? Her strident and shrill speeches? Her desire for adoration and personal power? What makes her so strong?
And strong compared to what? Is a mom who raises her kids quietly without seeking personal glory a weak woman? She must be because she is the opposite of Hillary and if Hillary is a "strong woman", then they must be weak. There are millions of strong women in this country who are nothing like Hillary, women who raise their kids, who work a crappy job because they need to feed their kids, who clean up the same mess over and over. It is not glorious. No one will write adoringly in the New York Times about them. But they are the ones who make this country strong, not power mad women like Hillary.
This is where we must turn to the Word of God and reality to see that truly strong women are those who sacrifice, those who care for children and home, those who put others ahead of themselves. Michelle Obama thinks Hillary is a strong woman? Try having Hillary come over here and take care of my eight kids, homeschool them, parent them, discipline them, love them and play with them all day. She wouldn't make it five minutes. She isn't a strong woman because she wears an expensive suit and has sycophants fawning over her. My wife is a strong woman because she is a godly woman. No one is going to have her guest host the view, but that is OK because her glory is in her family and above all in Christ, instead of in herself.
An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels. The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain. She does him good, and not harm, all the days of her life. She seeks wool and flax, and works with willing hands. She is like the ships of the merchant; she brings her food from afar. She rises while it is yet night and provides food for her household and portions for her maidens. She considers a field and buys it; with the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard. She dresses herself with strength and makes her arms strong. She perceives that her merchandise is profitable. Her lamp does not go out at night. She puts her hands to the distaff, and her hands hold the spindle. She opens her hand to the poor and reaches out her hands to the needy. She is not afraid of snow for her household, for all her household are clothed in scarlet. She makes bed coverings for herself; her clothing is fine linen and purple. Her husband is known in the gates when he sits among the elders of the land. She makes linen garments and sells them; she delivers sashes to the merchant. Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come. She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue. She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: "Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all." Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised. Give her of the fruit of her hands, and let her works praise her in the gates.
(Proverbs 31: 10-31 ESV)
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