A Woman's Place in Christ
A Mothers Day Message Adapted from an article by Jack W. Hayford
For too long, the church has devalued the role and the ministry of women. Are you ready to step up to the place Jesus has prepared for you?
The Bible says in Galatians 3:28 that because of what Christ has done, there are no longer any differences among us. "There is neither Jew nor Greek" (no ethnic or national difference); "neither slave nor free" (no economic difference); "neither male nor female" (no gender difference), "for [we] are all one in Christ Jesus." This verse refers to the equality we have in God.
But if we are all equal, how is it that the Church has so often been guilty of sanctifying a chauvinistic system in which women are put (and not always gently) in second place?
I believe it is time for us to revisit the issue of what a woman's place is according to God's order of things.
My purpose is not to incite women in the Church to rise up to assert their individuality, authority, and rights. It is to examine what the Bible says a woman can be so that women are free to move into all the things that God has for them.
Casting Off Old Ideas
I want to begin by declaring that my view of women is not a radical feminist nor anti-traditional Church view. It is a solid biblical view. This view holds that God has a high destiny for every one of the redeemed-whether male or female-and that this destiny is the blossoming of who people are in the created being of Jesus Christ.
But discovering who we are in Christ can be made difficult by the old ideas we cling to that originate from the culture around us, by imposed systems of thought such as human or religious philosophy, or by our own ignorance or misunderstanding.
We must allow the Lord to deliver us from all preconceived notions in order to discover His true call on our lives.
One way to do that is to examine closely the Scriptures that many people use to dispute the role of women in the Church and try to determine what God is really saying through them. To that end, we will look at 1 Timothy 2:8-15:
I desire therefore that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting; in like manner also, that the women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with propriety and moderation, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly clothing, but, which is proper for women professing godliness, with good works. Let a woman learn in silence with all submission. And I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence. For Adam was formed first, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression. Nevertheless she will be saved in childbearing if they continue in faith, love, and holiness, with self-control.
First, let's see what the different verses in this passage do not mean.
That the women adorn themselves in modest apparel (v. 9). "All women should dress as crummy as possible to verify their holiness."
Let a woman learn in silence (v. 11). "Women should keep their mouths closed in church and have no input on spiritual matters."
With all submission (v. 11). "Women should do as they're told."
I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man (v. 12). "Women are allowed to teach only other women."
Adam was formed first, then Eve (v. 13)."God likes men more than He does women."
Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression (v. 14). "Men are smarter than women."
She will be saved in childbearing (v. 15). "The only thing a woman is good for is having babies."
Are you guilty of interpreting any of the verses this way?
Understand the culture
What was it like for women in Paul’s day? When Paul wrote this letter to Timothy, women were seen as second class citizens. Women’s behavior was extremely limited in ancient times, much as the women of Afghanistan during the recent Taliban oppression.
- Unmarried women were not allowed to leave the home of their father.
- Married women were not allowed to leave the home of their husband.
- They were normally restricted to roles of little or no authority.
- They could not testify in court.
- They could not appear in public venues.
- They were not allowed to talk to strangers.
- They had to be doubly veiled when they left their homes.
2. Understand that Jesus had set them free - but did they understand how to use that freedom?
Jesus set women free - treated them with respect and as followers. The first person to see the resurrected Christ was a woman.
Examples:
"There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus" (Gal 3:28 NIV).
"’In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy’" (Acts 2:17-18 NIV)
Often an inmate who has spent a long time in prison is very disoriented when released back into society. That’s why they have half-way houses. They are designed to have some order to them like prison, yet be out in the community. With time the inmate adjusts.
With women of the first century church it was much the same. The women did not know what to do with their new found freedom and ended up being unduly influenced by false teachers.
Now let's see what God is really telling us about women. We can't analyze every verse, but we will look at a few of the most important ones.
"Let a woman be silent..."
The first thing we have to understand is that, in this passage, Paul is writing to Timothy to instruct him on how to lead a church. He is giving him counsel on how to deal with relationships within the body.
But we cannot divorce the counsel given here from what we find in other parts of Scripture. Elsewhere Paul mentions "women who labored with [him] in the gospel" (Philippians 4:3) and others, such as Priscilla and Phoebe, whom he recognizes as teachers and deaconesses (see Acts 18:26; Romans 16:1,3,12). So he can't be saying that women are to have no input regarding spiritual matters in the church.
In fact, let me begin by addressing verses 11-12: "Let a woman learn in silence with all submission. I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence." These verses are commonly interpreted to mean that a woman is permitted to teach only other women; in particular, older women may teach younger ones, as
Titus 2:4-5 suggests.
...the older women, likewise, that they be reverent in behavior, not slandering, not given to much wine, teachers of good things-that they admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, home makers, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be blasphemed.
But if this is true, it is true only in the United States and Canada. As soon as a woman goes abroad as a missionary, she is allowed-even expected--to teach, and not just other women.
And what happens if she becomes a writer? We put no sign at the top of her articles warning men not to read them-"Caution: This article was written by a woman and could be hazardous to your spiritual health."
Our fellowship has been blessed over the last one hundred years with many women who made incredible strides for God
Amy Semple McPherson ( A Canadian and founder of the 4 Square church)
Just down the road Norwood Church was ably pastored by two great woken of faith.
And we cannot discount the number of women who paved the way for world missions ( Iris Scheel for example)
History and the Word of God testify to the fact that the same annointing God placed upon men He has placed on women also.
So why the dichotomy?
Because the word "silence" is mistranslated in verses 11-12.
The same word is translated "quiet" in a preceding verse (v.2): "that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life."
You can't take the word that is used in verse 2 to mean one thing and then claim it means something totally different in verses 11-12. And the two translations of the word are not interchangeable. It wouldn't make sense for Paul to tell Timothy to pray that those in authority would take away the right to speak so that he could live a "silent" life, a life in which he never got to say anything.
What he is telling him, on the contrary, is to pray that he'll have the kind of government that will allow his life to have a serene quality about it, a sense of peaceableness.
In the same way, when Paul says let a woman learn in "silence" (really, "quiet") he is making an appeal that has to do with the dynamics of male-female relationships in general.
He is calling for peace between the genders in a church setting. And women are to learn not only in a spirit of serenity, according to Paul, but also "with all submission."
Some people take the word "submission" to mean "subjection." Subjection, or subjugation, is the term that defined the action of the ancient emperors when they would overwhelm an enemy and bring them under dominion. "Submission" is not even a remotely similar concept.
In real life, this erroneous idea of submission would give us a picture of a wife who just keeps her mouth shut, no matter what her husband does or says. She would just bite her lip and wait for him to ask her, "Well, my dear, do you have anything to offer? It's difficult to imagine you would, considering that I am primary in the purposes and mind of God and you are only secondary. But go ahead."
A more valid understanding of submission shows a wife who says what she thinks in a very simple and open-not insistent or demanding-way, with a "gentle and quiet spirit" (1 Peter 3:4).
3 Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes.(A) 4 Rather, it should be that of your inner self,(B) the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.(C)
Then she trusts God to help her husband understand the value of partnership-to see that they are co-heirs in the life of God (see Romans 8:16-17)-and respond appropriately.
16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit(A) that we are God’s children.(B) 17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs(C)—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings(D) in order that we may also share in his glory.(E)
Serenity and submission are not characterized by misty-eyed pacifism, but by the fruit of the Spirit-love, joy, peace and so on. A woman is not to insist on her rights; yet she should be free to express herself in a gracious way as she feels led. If her husband does not receive what she says, she must look to the Lord to take up her cause.
"Suffer not a woman to teach..."
If you look at verse 12 of 1 Timothy in the context of the whole Bible, you will see that Paul couldn't be prohibiting women from teaching, or even from teaching men.
If he were, why would he, in another epistle, give rules for women to follow when they are prophesying?
5 But every woman who prays or prophesies(A) with her head uncovered dishonors her head—it is the same as having her head shaved.(B)
In 1 Corinthians 11:5, he is referring to prophetic utterances given in the midst of an entire congregation-one that includes men. And we know that prophecy can come by itself, or it can accompany either preaching or teaching. Therefore, Paul allows for the possibility of women speaking in church in the capacity of teacher.
The problem with this verse is similar to the one we found in verse 11: The Greek word translated here as man, "anair," actually means "husband." So what Paul is really saying is that he does not allow women to push their husbands around, to try to seize their authority. He is addressing the natural tendency that women have had, since the Fall, to clutch for the rule, or authority, that their husbands have been given over them (see Genesis 3:16).
God did, in fact, give husbands authority over their wives; He made them head over their wives as Christ is head of the Church (see Ephesians 5:23). But this authority is not for the purpose of quenching women into nothingness; rather, it is for husbands to act as releasing agents, doing everything possible to maximize their wives' potential and bring them into the highest possibilities of their created beings.
God's initial plan was for men and women to be equal. That's the way it can be in Christ, if men and women will submit to the redemptive process God has ordained.
The redemptive process requires that the husband take leadership and the wife submit (see Ephesians 5:22-24).
This is not the frightening proposition some women make it out to be. As I said before, submission is not subjugation; and it is not destructive to your person-hood. It is a summons to relate properly to the different kinds of authority in your life, from the civil government to church leadership to your spouse.
In the ancient world, the word "submission" was a military term that referred to the ordering of soldiers in rank-the strategic placement of soldiers not only for marching but also for going into battle. The soldiers were positioned in such a way that they were able to protect one another so that the likelihood of success was increased. It wasn't an issue of titles, or who was more important, but an issue of meeting the objective-victory.
That's the way it is with the military today. Individuals are positioned both in practice maneuvers and in a real war to best serve the overall purpose of winning. Each one keeps his place because he understands the need for order and the mutual benefit of the soldiers covering one another.
A woman's place...
So being in submission really means knowing and keeping one's place. But what is a woman's place?
It is not the rigid, chauvinistic, stay-in-the-background, keep-your-mouth-shut place sometimes offered her by the Church. It is not the liberal, insist-on-your-own-rights place carved out by modern feminists. And it is not the rebellious, do-your-own-thing place defined by flesh.
It is the place of being obedient to the Word of God and allowing that Word to become incarnate in a woman by the work of the Holy Spirit so that Jesus happens in her.
How does a woman reach this place? Not by falling prey to the enticements of the culture around her. Not by seizing authority from her husband. And not by getting out of order. She attains it by relating rightly to all the authorities in her life, submitting in serenity, and allowing the gifts of God to make room for her-knowing that as she obeys, God will cause the power of Jesus Christ to work in her situation so she can fulfill her destiny.
Application
So what does this mean for men and women
1. We are one tgether in Christ, Jesus has broken down the barriers that would divide and has made us one. Men and women are equal in Christ
2. Men have a responsibility to set the spiritual temperature in the home, church and community.
3. As men of God, we are to honour and encourage the gifts and annointings God has given our wives. Wives are to respect and honour the annointings and leadership of their husbands
4. Under the authority of Christ men and women are to operate in the gifting God has given.
5. Men do not despise or ignore the gifting God has given your wives. Wives do not disrespect the gifting as ministries God has given your husbands.
The Bible says that in the last days, “‘In the last days, God says,I will pour out my Spirit on all people.(Q) Your sons and daughters will prophesy,(R)your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. 18 Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.(S)
RESOURCES
"A Woman's Place in Christ" article by Pastor Jack Hayford
The Role of Women in Ministry As Described in Holy Scripture
(Adopted by the General Presbytery in session August 9-11, 2010)
SermonCentral, The roles of Women in the church, tom Fuller.
