If someone were to judge me based on first impressions, they might assume that I am an egalitarian. For one, I attended seminary, where I earned a Master of Divinity (MDiv), a degree common to ordained ministers. Plus, I am a strong woman with leadership gifts and a passion to inspire and equip women for the harvest. So, naturally, I must be egalitarian, right? Wrong.
I am a complementarian because I believe it’s the position the Bible most clearly teaches. That does not mean, however, that I consider our evangelical egalitarian brothers and sisters unfaithful to Scripture. I have learned a great deal from several evangelical egalitarian scholars, and believe they love Jesus and are seeking to honour him in their handling of Scripture. This is a secondary issue, along with questions of predestination and free will, the miraculous gifts, eschatology, etc.
That having been said, even if this doctrine is secondary, my positioning significantly impacts how I exercise my spiritual gifts in the context of my public ministry. Which is why I wanted to address it in this article.
Is It a Question of Competence?
A faithful male listener to the French podcast I co-host, Chrétienne, recently made the following comment on one of our episodes on YouTube: Why do some churches teach that women should not preach? At the Salvation Army, of which I am a member, women preach and do so much better than men.
This brother’s question suggests that complementarian churches don’t allow women to preach because of a lack of competence. Some may implicitly or explicitly communicate that, but most healthy complementarian churches do not.
And that’s because what the Scriptures teach about gender roles has nothing to do with competence and everything to do with God’s good plan for humanity. To discover that, we need to go back to the beginning.
The Cultural Mandate Issued to Man and Woman
In Genesis 1-2, we discover two different accounts of creation. The first, in chapter 1, is the big picture: God speaks everything into existence. He creates the heavens, the earth, and the seas, and then he fills them with the sun, moon, and stars, and with flying, swimming, and crawling creatures of every kind. And finally, he crowns his creation by forming humanity in his image.
In Genesis 1:26-31, God gives the man and the woman the Cultural Mandate, to rule over all of creation together as his co-regents. So, from the start, we see that God creates them equal in dignity, worth, and calling. He gives them a job that they can only carry out together. He does not say to the man to exercise dominion and to the woman to be fruitful and multiply. Both must work together to accomplish their mission in the world.
Man and Woman: Equal Yet Distinct
In chapter 2, the author slows down and retells the story with special attention to the creation of the first man and the first woman. And this is where we begin to see some of the distinctions between them—distinctives that predate the fall.
The Order of Creation
God makes the man first, and then the woman. I believe God does this for two reasons. First, to highlight Adam’s need for community. Bringing all the animals before him two by two, the Lord has the man name them. Yet he finds no companion who corresponds to him (Gen. 2:20). Something’s missing, or rather someone, and it takes being alone for the man to appreciate that truth.
The second reason God creates Adam first is to highlight his leadership. We see this in a couple of ways. First, God gives Adam the responsibility of naming the animals. And secondly, before forming the woman from his side, God gives the man the command not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Paul later on leans on the order of creation to explain God’s design for male leadership in the church (1 Cor. 11:8-9; 1 Tim. 2:9-15).
Woman as Helper
Before the fall, God appoints woman to be man’s helper (Gen. 2:18). The Hebrew term ezer does not suggest a subordinate role, a connotation which English “helper” can have. In fact, the most common use for ezer in Scripture is in reference to God. He does for us what we cannot do for ourselves.
In this context, the word seems to express the idea of an “indispensable companion.” The woman would supply what the man was lacking in the design of creation, and logically it would follow that the man would supply what she was lacking.
Gender Relations at the Fall
Genesis 3:16 has often been misunderstood throughout church history. The exact meaning of this verse is the subject of much debate. But one thing is clear: God is not commanding the man to dominate the woman. He’s not saying, “You must ensure her submission. Keep her in line.”
This verse speaks, rather, of a natural consequence of the fall. And I would argue that the possible conflictual relationship between man and woman is undone in redemption. Christ makes it possible for man and woman to once again live in harmony.
Women of Courage Throughout Redemptive History
The Bible reveals that women hold a special place in God’s plan throughout redemptive history. Many debates on complementarianism jump straight to the key passages (see 1 Tim. 2; 1 Cor. 14; Eph. 5).
The Bible tells one united, cohesive story, however, and Scripture writers go out of their way to showcase women of valour whose faith parallels that of their male contemporaries. Some examples include:
- Miriam: Prophetess of the Exodus
- Rahab: Woman of Courage
- Deborah: Judge, Prophetess, and Mother in Israel
- Jael: Slayer of Sisera
- Ruth: Woman of Valour
- Hannah: Woman of Faith
- Abigail: Woman of Wisdom
- Huldah: Prophetess During Josiah’s Revival
- Esther: Queen and Deliverer
- Mary the Mother of Jesus: Servant of the Lord
- Elizabeth: Woman of Prayer
- Mary of Bethany: Woman of Extravagant Love
- Martha: Woman of Understanding
- Mary Magdalene: Woman of Devotion
- Priscilla: Church Planter with Aquila
- Phoebe: Patroness of Paul
- Euodia and Syntyche: Co-Labourers of Paul
- Junia: Prominent Among the Apostles with Andronicus
Male Leadership in the Home
We find the most detailed New Testament passage concerning male leadership in the home in Ephesians 5:22-33. It is one of a series of household codes (Col. 3:18–4:1; Eph. 5:21–6:9; Titus 2:1–10; 1 Pet. 2:18–3:7) . These texts make clear that a wife is to submit to her own husband and not to every man. Certain complementarians teach that all women are to submit to all men, but this does not come from the Scriptures.
That said, we should not dismiss this passage as purely cultural and irrelevant to us today, because Paul anchors his argument on two timeless truths: the love of Christ for his Bride, and the condition of husband and wife prior to the fall.
Some argue that this teaching lays a heavy burden on women. And this is certainly true if a husband lords submission over his wife like a master. I would argue, however, that in a harmonious Christian marriage, husbands carry the heavier load.
While submission may not always be easy for a wife, Christ’s call to husbands to sacrificial love to the point of death is even more demanding. Moreover, while Paul describes a wife’s responsibility in two verses, he takes eight verses to elaborate on the husband’s.
Limits to Voluntary Submission
The Bible makes clear that a wife’s submission is voluntary. Scripture never commands husbands to ensure that their wives submit. Instead, it directs its exhortation directly to the wife. She is to submit to her husband as to the Lord. That means that there are limits to that submission. If a husband requires anything that goes against Christ, a wife must submit to the Lord rather than to him.
A Gag Order on Women?
Turning now to the issue of male leadership in the church, one key passage is found in 1 Corinthians 14:33-36. Egalitarian scholars believe that its injunction calling women to silence is a culturally bound practice unique to Corinth. Yet in verse 33, Paul qualifies this as a practice “in all the churches.” He is thus indicating that this is not an isolated incident requiring special instructions for rowdy women in one church in one city.
To be clear, Paul does not put a gag order on women in this passage. Most complementarian scholars believe the apostle limits the silence required of women to the judgment of the prophets, because these verses occur in a long series of instructions on orderly public worship (1 Cor. 11–14).
Paul begins in chapter 11 by addressing the question of head coverings, as well as of the Lord’s Table. He then writes in chapter 12 concerning the exercise of the spiritual gifts in the church. Then, in 1 Corinthians 13, Paul insists that everything done in the assembly of the saints must be founded on love. He then returns in chapter 14 to give further instructions on orderly public worship, specifically in the use of tongues and prophecy.
Paul cannot be placing a gag order on women in 1 Corinthians 14, given that in 1 Corinthians 11, he lays out instructions on how women are to pray and prophesy during public worship. We may not know exactly what New Testament prophecy looks like, but Paul is clear that women, along with men, are free to pray and prophesy in public worship.
Authoritative Teaching: Reserved for Elders
A final text to consider on male leadership in the church is 1 Timothy 2:9-15. Our egalitarian friends also argue that this passage speaks to Paul’s cultural moment, unique circumstances in the Ephesian church, and the prominence of women in the cult of Artemis. Again, Paul’s anchoring his argument in creation and the fall makes it applicable to every age.
Women as Learners
Rather than seeing this text through our own cultural lenses, consider it in its cultural context and see the dignity it gives to women. Paul encouraged women to receive instruction in verse 11. This contrasts with the rabbinic tradition common in that era. The Jerusalem Talmud states, “The words of the Torah should be burned rather than entrusted to women” (Jerusalem Talmud, Sotah 3:4).
Moreover, we need to understand this passage in its literary context. In the verses that follow, Paul lays out the requirements for elders. For this reason, many scholars believe Paul is barring women from the authoritative teaching reserved for qualified men, i.e. elders.
As we’ve already seen in 1 Corinthians 11, Paul does not forbid women all forms of teaching. In Acts 18:26, Priscilla and her husband Aquila instruct Apollos more accurately in the way of Christ. Other examples of women teaching Scripture include the Old Testament prophetesses and the four daughters of Philip in the New Testament. And let us not forget Romans 16 with its long list of Paul’s female gospel partners.
My Mission: To Inspire and Equip Women
A thorough study of all that the Bible has to say on gender is beyond the scope of this article. What we do know is:
(1) Paul instructs women in Titus 2 to teach other women.
(2) Women have spiritual gifts and are called to use them to build up the body of Christ.
I have the privilege of equipping women to do just that: My mission is to inspire and equip (mostly) French-speaking women to unearth the treasures of Scripture for themselves.
Gender and Me
This subject deserves consideration because understanding the biblical mission of women is a major challenge of the 21st century. What is my role in this great story? How can I better reflect Christ in my home, my church, and my community? As society progresses in gender confusion, we should seek his wisdom so that we might better reflect the glory of God.
Gender and We
Pastors need to clearly articulate their church’s convictions regarding women’s roles. In many churches, women limp (with one foot in the church and another outside) because they haven’t found a place to exercise their gifts. I understand that there are fears, but it is up to the elders to say where women’s ministry starts and where it ends with solid biblical support.
If the church does not give a clear biblical vision of gender roles, we will not fulfill the mandate God gave us in Genesis 1 and 2.
Gender and Eternity
Our ultimate goal in the way we live as men and women in the church is not earthly, but heavenly. We yearn to be found without spot or blemish when Christ returns. We long to be that community of men and women who worship with one heart and one voice, for the glory of God.
This eternal perspective should help us give grace and love to those who do not share the same position and to show wisdom and patience to live out the one-anothers of the Christian life in unity and peace.
(Special thanks to my podcast co-hostess Aurélie for her reflections, which I borrowed for this last section).
