Follow Scripture Regarding Male Leadership The Bible stresses a special place of leadership for Christian men, both in the home and in the church. We must be careful to follow the order of Scripture without addition or subtraction. While Liberal Protestant and secular influences have caused some Christians to abandon God’s plan for male leadership, cultic teachings of some fanatical sects have caused members of the church to bind restrictions beyond what God has ordered. God Has Set Boundaries The distinct nature of male spiritual leadership is directly stated in several indisputable passages, such as Ephesians 5:22-24: Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands. The apostle Paul describes an order in the home - the husband is to lead and the wife is to submit. Male spiritual leadership is also designed by God for the ordering of the church. Implicitly, the exclusively male composition of the apostles (Matthew 10:2-4) and the requirement of elders and of deacons to be husbands (1 Timothy 3:2, 12) show this truth. The prohibition against women leading in public teaching is even more direct, as in 1 Timothy 2:11-14: Let a woman learn quietly with all submissiveness. I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet. For Adam was formed first, then Eve; and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor. The apostle Paul is clear. Women are not “to teach or to exercise authority over a man” because of the order in which God created Adam and Eve and because of how Adam and Eve fell into sin. Rooting these prohibitions in the truth of Creation, Paul shows they are valid for Christians in all places and all times. 1 Corinthians 14:34-35 makes the same point: 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. 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. The prohibition against women speaking in worship in no way lessens the shared responsibility all Christians have to engage in the work of the church. Participation of women in the Lord’s work, however, must never blur the distinct spiritual leadership God has reserved for men. Respecting the Silence of Scripture We must not, however, place boundaries where God’s word is silent. Some, in a misguided attempt to preserve male spiritual leadership, have placed legalistic restrictions on women. Extreme examples of this error can be seen in cultic denominational trends, attempting to tightly regulate home life. False teachings advanced by an increasing number of perfectionist sects include prohibiting women from working outside of the home, and even restricting women’s access to education. Members of the Lord’s church should be careful not to be deceived by such error. Respect for the word of God requires both speaking where the Bible speaks and remaining silent where it is silent. God has not placed any restriction on the education of women. Tolbert Fanning with his wife, Charlotte, opened an academy for young ladies before expanding their efforts to the education of young men. The Fannings understood the value of education for Christian women, as an enhancement of their ability to serve the Lord effectively in all of life. Ignorance is not a friend of biblical holiness among either men or women. God has also not placed any restriction on women working outside of the home. On the contrary, we have approved examples of women engaged in commerce. Lydia, for example, was a seller of dye (Acts 16:14), and Pricilla was, with her husband, engaged in the trade of tent-making. (Acts 18:3) The qualities of a godly women enumerated in Proverbs 31:10-31 include many business dealings. Respecting the word of God we must not bind unscriptural restrictions, just as we must not lay aside God’s commandments. “Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him,” we read in Proverbs 30: 5f, “Do not add to his words, lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar.”
Posted on: Thu, 18 Dec 2014 22:37:59 +0000
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