Dakota Community Church
October 19, 2014
Deborah 3
The topic of Deborah’s leadership very obviously leads us to reflect on the topic of women and the roles they are allowed or not allowed to play in God’s kingdom.
Two weeks ago we looked at Complementarianism; today we will consider the opposing view.
1. What is Egalitarianism?
The term Egalitarian is derived from the French word égal, meaning "equal." Thus, it involves affirming, promoting, or believing in equal rights for all people. It is the hermeneutical hypothesis, based on interpretations of scripture, that men and women are designed by their Creator to have no gender-based limitations of what functions or roles each can fulfill in the home, the church, and the society. The egalitarian view is that there are no roles or responsibilities that uniquely fall to the male, no limitations of what functions the female can fulfill in the home, the church, and the society. According to this view, women as well as men can serve as pastors, elders, deacons, etc., in light of passages like Galatians 3:28.
Egalitarians' interpretation of Scripture brings them to the conclusion that the manner and teachings of Jesus, affirmed by the Apostle Paul, abolished gender-specific roles in both the church and in marriage. Accordingly, this view teaches that God calls believers to roles and ministries in the church without regard to class, gender, or race, and all have equal responsibility to use their gifts and obey their calling to the glory of God, with no limitations or privileges according to gender. (theopedia.com )
Galatians 3:28
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise.
2. Clear passages dictate/Scripture interprets Scripture.
Clear passages dictate but when clear passages seem to conflict with the rest of scripture the weight of scripture overall takes precedence.
1 John 3:6-8
No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. 7 Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. 8 Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.
According to this clear passage I am not a Christian, and I do not know God, furthermore, I have never even had the privilege of meeting a Christian.
This passage can only be understood correctly in light of the rest of scripture. In the same letter John said this:
1 John 1:8
If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
Here’s a clear passage that trips up a lot of people:
James 2:24
You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.
If that is true; and it is the inspired word of God, how can these following verses be true?
Galatians 2:15-16
We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; 16 yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified .
Ephesians 2:8-9
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works , so that no one may boast.
In light of all of scripture we conclude that faith alone saves but that saving faith is never alone.
So what about these clear passages we examined two weeks ago?
1 Timothy 2:11-14
Let a woman learn quietly with all submissiveness. 12 I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man ; rather, she is to remain quiet. 13 For Adam was formed first, then Eve; 14 and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor.
1 Corinthians 14:33-35
33 For God is not a God of confusion but of peace. As in all the churches of the saints, 34 the women should keep silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak , but should be in submission, as the Law also says. 35 If there is anything they desire to learn, let them ask their husbands at home. For it is shameful for a woman to speak in church .
Do they offer a view that is in conflict with other passages in scripture?
Judges 4:4-5
Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, was judging Israel at that time. 5 She used to sit under the palm of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the people of Israel came up to her for judgment.
Judges 5:31
And the land had rest for forty years.
The leadership of Deborah is not some obscure anomaly; God chose the judges exclusively and Deborah lead for 40 years.
Joel 2:28-29
“And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. 29 Even on the male and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit.
Acts 2:14-17
But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them: “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words. 15 For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. 16 But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel:
17 “‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy…
Until Pentecost, only a few select people were given the Spirit of God for a limited time to carry out a special task. What Joel prophesied was an abundant out-pouring of God's spirit on all people, not on Jewish people only, but on Gentiles as well; not on men only, but on women as well; not on socially free and advantaged people only, but on the poor and oppressed as well.
We already looked at Galatians 3:28 but notice it again in light of the removal of barriers.
Galatians 3:28
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise.
Acts 21:8-9
On the next day we departed and came to Caesarea, and we entered the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, and stayed with him. 9 He had four unmarried daughters, who prophesied.
Romans 16:1-7
I commend to you our sister Phoebe , a servant [deaconess] of the church at Cenchreae, 2 that you may welcome her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints, and help her in whatever she may need from you, for she has been a patron of many and of myself as well.
3 Greet Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, 4 who risked their necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks but all the churches of the Gentiles give thanks as well. 5 Greet also the church in their house. Greet my beloved Epaenetus, who was the first convert to Christ in Asia. 6 Greet Mary , who has worked hard for you. 7 Greet Andronicus and Junia , my kinsmen and my fellow prisoners. They are well known to the apostles, [outstanding among the apostles-NIV ] and they were in Christ before me.
So how do we explain:
1 Timothy 2:11-14
Let a woman learn quietly with all submissiveness. 12 I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man ; rather, she is to remain quiet. 13 For Adam was formed first, then Eve; 14 and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor.
1 Corinthians 14:33-35
33 For God is not a God of confusion but of peace. As in all the churches of the saints, 34 the women should keep silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak , but should be in submission, as the Law also says. 35 If there is anything they desire to learn, let them ask their husbands at home. For it is shameful for a woman to speak in church .
1 Corinthians 14:33-35 is part of a large problem solving letter.
Paul is correcting problems that have arisen in the house churches in Corinth.
One such problem is caused by some women who are interrupting the time of prophesying by asking questions.
Now Paul has already said:
1 Corinthians 11:4-5
Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonours his head, 5 but every wife who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonours her head, since it is the same as if her head were shaven.
Women are allowed to pray and prophesy in Christian worship if they wear head coverings to hide their ‘glory’ (hair), since only God’s glory should be visible in worship.
The largely Gentile congregation in Corinth brought with them into the church their pre-existing assumptions about prophecy and what was appropriate when approaching a prophet or prophetess.
The oracle at nearby Delphi for example was a consultative prophetess. People would go to her to ask questions like— “Should I marry this man?”, or Should I buy this land? And the oracle would give an answer. Thus it was natural for some Corinthians to think that when prophets spoke in their assemblies, they had a right to ask them questions. Paul’s response is “No, worship time is not Q+A time, and you are interrupting the prophets. If you have questions ask your husband at home.”
There is a time and place for such questions, but Christian worship isn’t it. The reason Paul corrects women/wives in this case is not because they are women but because they are in this instance causing this problem.
1 Timothy 2:12
I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man ; rather, she is to remain quiet.
According to Dr. Phillip B.Payne (the founder and president of Linguist’s Software, Inc., and a specialist in New Testament Studies) the Greek verb translated “I do not permit” can be understood “I am not presently permitting”
Why not? Because the women needed to learn before they taught.
Quote:
Since we are dealing with a text where a correction of behaviour is being offered, “I do not permit” should be translated as follows “I am not currently permitting women to teach or usurp authority over the (authorized) men. This is a prohibition of an abuse of a privilege, It does not rule out the possibility of a later authorization of a proper use of the privilege of offering Christian teaching, indeed we hear elsewhere in the Pastorals about more mature Christian women doing some teaching. The verb authenteo here is a rare one, meaning either to exercise authority, or to usurp authority, and it occurs only here in the NT.
Ben Witherington, Amos Professor of New Testament for Doctoral Studies at Asbury Theological Seminary and doctoral faculty member at St. Andrews University in Scotland
3. The price of getting it wrong.
One of these two positions is wrong.
If egalitarianism is wrong, a lot of uninspired ministry is happening shamefully in the name of God who is not behind it in any way.
If complementarianism is wrong, a lot of women have been forced to deny the will of God for their lives.
Err on the side of grace.
PowerPoint available (Free of charge) on request dcormie@mts.net
Follow Dan on twitter: @DanCormie
