Disclaimer ⚠️
This post is my personal stab at what I believe is the biggest controversy in the church today. Strap yourselves in for a wild ride!
Biblical Gender Roles
1st Corinthians 14:34-35 and 1st Timothy 2:11-15 are notorious for defining roles for women in the church. The question is, are these verses intended to restrict women from using their gifts in church or are these verses referencing the dynamics between a husband and a wife?
Let's take a look!
First, let's be real. Everyone has that part in the Bible that makes them cringe. It could be when Lot offered his daughters to some reckless pervs demanding to sleep with his visitors or when Peter advised slaves to endure undeserved harsh treatment from their masters. You can believe the Word to be infallible, sacred and pure and still have mad questions. We know in part, but it doesn't hurt to ask, right? So if you're ever curious or even uncomfortable with a text, pray for revelation, but also stand in the faith that while we do not understand everything, we are assured of our very foundation! And that's this: Jesus died so that we may be redeemed from sin, the consequence of our sins, and be reconciled back to God like the good ol' days in the garden of Eden.
Okay, to start, stop referencing verses without first acknowledging its context. People, context is EVERYTHING! Did you know that the original Bible didn't even have verses and chapters??!! We're supposed to be reading entire books as a whole in relationship to the greater story of the Bible. No wonder the Bible is so easily weaponized. Let me be clear though, the Bible is not a book for your flattery. There are brutal truths that we ought to face by faith because it just is what it is. We aren't entitled to answers, but we are given permission to ask with humble inquisition. At the end of our curiosity, we believe that God is good regardless of the answers we discover or never uncover.
Without further ado, allow me to introduce the first set of verses of contention.
1st Corinthians 14:34-35:
34"The women are to keep silent in the churches; for they are not permitted to speak, but are to subject themselves, just as the Law also says."
35 "If they desire to learn anything, let them ask their own husbands at home; for it is improper for a woman to speak in church."
Whoa! Striking right?! Okay, let's rewind here. Remember what I just told y'all? Let's take the the entire chapter into consideration. In 1st Corinthians 14, we learn that the chapter is primarily about the proper functions of tongue speaking and prophesy in the church. Paul refers to his audience as "brother and sisters" several times to signify that the gift of tongue speaking and prophecy can be given to either gender. And you don't need to be a bible scholar to know that tongue speaking requires you to open your mouth and speak. So we can conclude that the word "silent" in verse 34 is not to be taken literally in all circumstances. Aight, let's dive deeper.
Verse 35 brings much clarity to verse 34. The Greek word "γυνη" or gunē can mean woman, female, or wife depending on the context. Verse 35 says "husband," so we know that Paul is talking about wives. 1st Corinthians 14:34-35 is inextricably linked to Ephesians 5:22-33. If a husband's role is to wash his wife in the Word, it is "improper" or "disgraceful" for her to ask questions disrupting the church service when her husband is supposed to be her personal spiritual guide. It's like a foreign exchange student disrupting class to ask the teacher to translate the entire lesson when the student has a personal interpreter sitting right by him/her. I know there are millions of "what-ifs" darting at me right now haha! I can just see y'all spewing them out at your screens. Relaxxx. In an ideal marriage, the man is far ahead of his wife in spiritual maturity and therefore, the wife learns from him. The operative word here is ideal. That is God's perfect order. This wasn't just so "back then"... this ought to be the case even today. Wives must submit to their husbands and husbands must address their wives' biblical questions as they wash their wives in the Word of God.
A wife ought to submit to her husband's teaching of the Word as he is led by Christ himself and a husband ought to have the competency to address his wife's biblical inquiries because he is led by Christ himself.
Additionally, it is wise for both women and men to have spiritual mentors or small group communities where they can help each other address their intricate questions as they study the Word of God so as to not disrupt the proper order of church either (Hebrews 10:25 & Acts 2:42). It's quite evident that these directions were given to women specifically because before Jesus, women weren't allowed in places of worship. Therefore, the new equality in Christ made it so that women could attend church too, but this meant that women were likely unaware of the proper order of church service. Thus, to maintain the structure, those with husbands can seek support from their husbands and those without, can seek support from their small group communities. Clearly, Paul is not blanketly condemning all forms of speech from women.
The second equally debated set of verses are 1st Timothy 11-15:
11 "A woman should learn in quietness and full submission."12 "I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man; she must be quiet. 13 "For Adam was formed first, then Eve."14 "And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner."15 "But women will be saved through childbearing—if they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety."
Ouch! Looks like Paul's coming for women, huh?! Again, let's zoom out just a bit to read the entire chapter: 1st Timothy 2. Paul starts off by telling everyone to live "peaceful and quiet" lives, one that is humble and honorable to God as opposed to one that's reckless and flashy. He goes on to mention that Christ is the only one through which we can be saved. Right before verse 11, he instructs men to be prayerful and peaceful and women to be modest in appearance and decent in deeds. From context alone we can be sure of three things:
Quietness means humility.
The word "women" in Greek can be defined as women, females, or wives depending on the context, however, in verse 15 the Greek word was actually "she," and not women. Some translations have "she" instead of women (1st Timothy 2:15)
Salvation can only be achieved through Christ alone.
Adam and Eve were husband and wife so these verses are again talking about married couples (Genesis 2:24). To say that Adam and Eve's relationship is a standard template for all male and female relations is to say that any unmarried pair can also"be fruitful and multiply"🙃...but that's heresy. So we can agree that "women" is referencing wives in each verse except verse 15. Paul does not permit wives to teach or have authority over their husbands. Why? Because a man's role in marriage is to lead the woman in Christ so for a wife to teach is to distort gender roles (again Ephesians 5:22-33). That's not to say that husbands cannot learn from their wives, but it's to emphasize God's perfect order where Christ is the husband's covering while the husband is his wife's covering (1st Corinthians 11:3). Now that I'm rereading this, I can actually see what a huge responsibility husbands have when preserving order in church service.
14 "And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner."
Why did Paul say that Eve was deceived not Adam? Well, it's true. Satan went to Eve on purpose, knowing that if he could deceive Eve, he could take down Adam too. Adam didn't even need to be deceived by Eve to eat of the forbidden fruit. Eve literally passed him the fruit and he ate it without question 🙃 (Genesis 3:6). I mean a man's "Achilles heel" is often a woman. Look at Solomon, David, and Samson... So how do we prevent the destruction of a marriage? The husband must study the Word and wash his wife in the Word. The wife must submit to her husband's teaching of the Word so as to not bring the entire family down due to deception.
15 "But women will be saved through childbearing—if they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety."
Why does the text say that women will be saved through childbearing if salvation is through Christ alone? The old testament does A LOT of alluding and foreshadowing of Christ and many theologians believe that Jesus was prophesied even in the garden of Eden. When God cursed the serpent, he said that the seed of Eve will bruise his head (Genesis 3:14-15), this seed is Jesus. So while Eve was a sinner, all women who are sinners can find salvation through Eve's ultimate seed—Jesus—if women have faith in Jesus, love Jesus and abide in the holiness of Jesus. Wives will fail and fall short, but salvation is available for them also. They are not subject to the same consequences that Eve suffered because of Christ's redemptive blood shed on calvary and triumph on resurrection day.🙌🏿
A Woman's Place
When we think of the leadership roles in the church we are immediately offended by the lack of female pastors and apostles. But can women be pastors though? In terms of competency, of course! A woman's ability to be a pastor is not the argument because it is the Holy Spirit working in all of us anyway (John 16:13 & Acts 1:8). However, this is ultimately an issue of order and divine structure. If the way a husband leads his home is the litmus test for his capacity to lead a church, and a husband ought to be further along spiritually, serving as a covering for his wife, then it makes sense for a holy man of God to be the head of a church (1st Timothy 3:4).
Pause. Breathe. Let's not go beyond the Bible for answers to this controversy, but rather deeper into the Word itself. Here's the thing y'all...there are no biblical examples of women holding pastoral or apostle-like positions in the church that I'm aware of. I've read the Bible from cover to cover twice, but if you find something, please reach out to me! I mean that. And I know who you're thinking about! Junia is likely not a woman because in those times, Junia was commonly known as a male name (Romans 16:7). Look it up. However, there was one woman who co-led and hosted church service with her husband. Remember Priscilla and Aquila (1st Corinthians 16:19 & Romans 16:3-5)? This begs the question, can a woman lead if she has a husband as her spiritual covering and co-leader? Maybe! I do not yet feel comfortable with saying women can be formal pastors or leaders of a church by themselves because there aren't examples to support that...🤷🏿♀️ well none that I've come across. Y'all! Deborah was a judge and a prophetess, she doesn't count (Judges 4:4). The only other biblical examples of women in leadership positions in the church are deacons (i.e. Phoebe) and prophetesses (i.e. Anna).
Soooo how do we explain the powerhouse women spiritually leading households today? Paul even said that an unbelieving husband can come to salvation through his believing wife (1st Corinthians 7:16). This implies that there's such a thing as a woman being more spiritually mature than a man thus leading him to Christ or even growing him in Christ. BUT—big fat but—this isn't God's perfect order. This is not to say in the name of submitting, follow your husband's instructions to sin or ignore his spiritual failings. You may correct him in gentleness, while also submitting to him (Galatians 6:1-2). It takes trusting in the wisdom of God to continue to abide by the biblical gender roles to honor God's perfect order even when men fail to honor theirs (1st Peter 3:1). This is God using the foolishness of the world to shame the wise (1st Corinthians 1:27). Our rational mind can't make sense of what isn't intended to make sense to the wisest of us. This is where wives are called to crucify their flesh and take up their cross of submission even when it's unpleasant (Matthew 16:24-25).
I know you're rattled by the seemingly unequal gender roles in marriage that appears to have also permeated church leadership. Your train of thinking has been tainted by our atrocious patriarchal society. Truth is, men have failed to lead with honor and dignity since Adam and Eve. We have been subject to their abuse of power for centuries. If you're fed up, trust me, I thoroughly get your sentiment. Nonetheless, I do not want you to view God's perfect order through the prism of our warped society. Men are called to use their biological strength to protect women, not rape or beat them. Husbands are supposed to love their wives as Jesus loved the church onto death...think about that!!! I am asking you to renew your mind. Let the Holy Spirit help you read Scripture with an understanding of God's pure intentions for humanity before sin corrupted our world. It is entirely untrue to say that a woman's only role in the church is to teach the younger women to be good submissive wives (Titus 2:3-5). Like Phoebe, Priscilla and the rest, women of God are co-workers with men of God. Female deacons and prophetesses serve with elders, pastors, overseers and apostles according to their gifts (Romans 16:1-15 & Acts 21:8-9). If the Bible has examples of women in church leadership in the 1st century, then you better believe Christ tore the veil for women too ok!
And might I add, titles are actually irrelevant in terms of value. Titles exist for order, but do not negate the significance of each person's gift regardless of gender. The Holy Spirit does not discriminate giftings based on gender, for God is not a respecter of persons (Acts 10:34). The Bible makes it clear that God has called us to serve in different capacities in the body of Christ which are all of equal importance (1st Corinthians 12:12-27). Paul even instructs husbands and wives to live as if they were single—in utter and complete devotion to Christ alone (1st Corinthians 7:29,35). Sis, submitting to your husband is not your only ministry. Brother, teaching your wife the Word is not your only ministry. So where's the woman's place in the church? Is it cooking for the elders and cleaning the pews? Jesus said that Mary chose what was better at the feet of Jesus, not in the kitchen (Luke 10:39-42). The domestic duties are very important—don't get me wrong— but Stephen along with six other men were appointed to serve food in the church (Acts 6:2-8).The work of God is not gendered in that respect.
So women, what then is our call? Well, it depends on the gift(s) God has given you. It just might be serving domestically or giving generously or encouraging bountifully or even teaching the Word of God. Pray for God to reveal which of the following is your gift(s); you might already have a clue: Romans 12:3-8‼️ Whatever you have been given, you are to nurture, and grow, maximizing your returns. If the harvest is plentiful and the laborers are few, please do not let your gender get in the way of working the evangelical field (Matthew 9:36-38). Honor your role in your marriage, honor your role in your singleness, bare your cross, use your gift(s) for the Kingdom, and humble yourself to the leadings of the Holy Spirit. The great commission is to make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19). Women, that includes you too!
"...How beautiful✨are the feet of those who
bring good news!"
Romans 10:15
This was a hard one huh?! I even had to go Greek on y'all haha I love feedback, so shoot your thoughts my way. I look forward to the next topic. Feel free to share your ideas!
Thanks for binging with me. 😉 Latersss, bingerss!