Different By Design

God's blueprint for men and women

Carrie Sandom

• Publisher: Christian Focus Publication
• Year: 2014
• eBook ISBN: 9781781910092

8

The Implications of God’s
design for the church

Emily has been working on the staff team of a local church for five years. Initially, her responsibilities were in children’s work but, more recently, the arrival of two apprentices to help in the running of the Sunday school has given her opportunities to branch out and do some ministry among the women in the congregation. She studies the Bible one-to-one with three different women – one who is a new Christian, one who is interested in Christianity but not yet believing, and still another whom she hopes might study the Bible one-to-one with other women in the future. She also leads a women’s Bible study on a Thursday morning and, from time to time, speaks at a women’s brunch on a Saturday morning. She is clearly gifted at teaching the Bible, and many of the women in the church have appreciated her clear and challenging talks, which have been helpfully applied to them as women.

Emily came to talk to me some months ago because she was feeling pressured by some people in the congregation who think she ought to go to theological college and get ordained. They argue that someone with her kind of teaching gifts should be freed up to teach the whole church and ordination would open the door to new and exciting opportunities. They also say it would give her the wider recognition that her gifts deserve. Her role, at present, is to work among the women and children, but some of the congregation think that is too narrow a role and want her to have a bigger platform so that the wider church might benefit from her gifts.

When I met with her, Emily said that it was ironic that people thought she should pursue even more ministry opportunities when she, herself, was thinking that she couldn’t really keep up with the ministry she was doing. She told me she wasn’t sleeping very well, she often felt overwhelmed by the responsibilities she had; she found it hard to maintain the pace of ministry and didn’t seem to be able to see as many people as her male colleagues. This meant that she felt rather lightweight on the team and wondered if she was really cut out for Bible teaching ministry at all.

Emily’s predicament is, sadly, not that uncommon for women in full-time Bible teaching ministry and illustrates some of the ways that the homogenisation of our culture has impacted the life of the local church. Not only are women being pushed into inappropriate roles for inappropriate reasons, but the way they are expected to exercise them is often very masculine. Of course, some people would argue that the homogenisation of our culture is a good thing. If you treat men and women the same, you don’t risk offending anyone, or limiting anyone, or hindering anyone. But, as one American pastor puts it…

What if God created men and women differently? What if it‘s not a question of limitations but a matter of distinct divine purposes for different parts of the body? I guess you could say that the eye is limited because it cannot hear. Or that the ear is limited because it cannot see. But that would be missing the point, wouldn‘t it? The egalitarianism of Western culture, for all its good purposes, leads to the homogenisation of men and women, to unisex clothes, colognes, roles, and lifestyles. The lovely and distinct colour palettes of men and women then mush together into a grey-brown muck.¹

The aim of this chapter is to show that God’s design for men and women has important implications for the life of the local church. Where these are ignored there is confusion and disorder – which not only dishonours the name of the Lord, but also reduces the effectiveness of the church’s ministry. Jesus said that it would be by our love for one another that all people would know that we are His disciples.² Where that love has been replaced by competitiveness or conflict, the church is ridiculed and open to the charge of hypocrisy.

EQUAL IN SALVATION

The equality of men and women in salvation is clearly upheld in the New Testament. We are equally redeemed, equally included into Christ, and equally marked out by the Holy Spirit. There is no suggestion anywhere in the Bible that redeemed men are in any way more important or more precious to God than redeemed women…

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)

For he (the Father) has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. (Col. 1:13-14)

And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession – to the praise of his glory. (Eph. 1:13-14)

As well as being marked by the Spirit, men and women receive gifts from the Spirit and are expected to use them for the benefit of others…

Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. (1 Cor. 12:7)

Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. (1 Pet. 4:10-11)

These last two passages cause some people to think that teaching gifts should be exercised in similar contexts and that it doesn’t really matter who has them – it could be a man, it could be a woman. But while the New Testament affirms that some women as well as some men will have teaching gifts, the way those teaching gifts are to be exercised will be slightly different, because God’s purposes for men and women within the body of Christ are determined by the order of their creation.

That said, there are some occasions in Scripture where both men and women are expected to teach one another informally…

Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Eph. 5:19-20)

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. (Col. 3:16)

There is no suggestion in either letter that Paul is only writing to men at this point. Nevertheless, there are clearly some other, more formal contexts where it is inappropriate for women to teach men or to exercise authority over them. While men and women may have functional differences in the body of the church, that neither makes one superior to the other nor one less important than the other. As brothers and sisters in Christ, we belong to each other and need each other. The analogy of the body works very well here…

Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. If the foot should say, ‘Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,’ it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. And if the ear should say, ‘Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,’ it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I don’t need you!’ And the head cannot say to the feet, ‘I don’t need you!’ (1 Cor. 12:14-21)

So it is with men and women. God has given us different roles in the life of the local church, but that does not mean we don’t belong to each other. Neither does it mean we don’t need each other. The pastor cannot say to the children in his congregation, ‘Because you’re not pastors, I don’t need you!’ Neither can the Sunday school teacher say, ‘Because I’m not the pastor, I’m not really needed here!’ God delights in both the unity and diversity of His church.

DIFFERENT IN FUNCTION

We have already seen that Jesus appointed men (and not women) to be His twelve disciples and then after His resurrection, to be His eleven apostles. The apostles themselves understood the significance of this and when it came to appointing a replacement for Judas Iscariot (who betrayed Jesus and later hanged himself), they chose a man and not a woman.

Peter made it clear on what basis the candidate was to be a suitable replacement…

‘It is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from John’s baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection.’ (Acts 1:21-22)

The man was to be an ear-witness to Jesus’ teaching, from the beginning of His ministry at His baptism to the very end at His ascension; and he was to be an eye-witness to the risen Lord Jesus – someone who had actually seen Him in the flesh after the resurrection. Some of the women who had been with Jesus throughout would, probably, have fulfilled these criteria, but a man, Matthias, was chosen instead.

It’s not that the apostles didn’t appreciate the ministry of women; they just knew that they did not have the same function in the body as men. Paul, in particular, is often criticised for being very dismissive of women but, in fact, he endorsed and commended the ministry of women when it was exercised appropriately…

I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant of the church in Cenchreae. I ask you to receive her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints and to give her any help she may need from you, for she has been a great help to many people, including me. (Rom. 16:1-2)

I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to agree with each other in the Lord. Yes, and I ask you, loyal yokefellow, help these women who have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life. (Phil. 4:2-3)

I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also. (2 Tim. 1:5)

But when it comes to determining what roles are appropriate for men and women in the life of the church, there are a number of passages that need to be considered.

1 Timothy 2:8-15

We should note the context of this passage. Paul is writing to Timothy, who has been left in charge of the church at Ephesus. He is particularly concerned about the reputation of the church and wants Christians to live consistently so the influence of the gospel spreads…

I want men everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer, without anger or disputing.

I also want women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God. (1 Tim. 2:8-10)

Men are to pray and not quarrel. Prayer demonstrates their dependence on the Lord, but quarrelling destroys their unity with one another and leads to division. The church and the gospel lose credibility if Christians are always fighting one another. Women are to dress modestly and clothe themselves with good deeds appropriate for women who profess to know God. Where modesty and good deeds are absent, there are all kinds of unhelpful consequences, and the church’s credibility is again affected.

Paul is also concerned that women understand that they do not have the same role as men within the church…

A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent. For Adam was formed first, then Eve. And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner. But women will be saved through childbearing – if they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety. (1 Tim. 2:11-15)

For a woman to be taught alongside a man was hugely significant, given the Jewish culture that tended to separate them. We have already seen how Jesus commended Mary for sitting at His feet and listening to Him. Here, Paul also anticipates that women will be taught alongside men, but he urges women to learn in quietness and submission, understanding that they do not have the same teaching role as men do. They are not forbidden to speak, as we shall see from 1 Corinthians, but a restless and aggressive attitude (the opposite of a quiet and submissive one) will, in the end, dishonour Christ and divide the church.

Paul then makes it clear that there are some contexts in which a woman should remain quiet. It is not appropriate for her to teach a man or have authority over him. In this context she must be silent, recognising that it is not an appropriate role for her as a woman. This cannot mean that women should never say anything to men in case they inadvertently teach them something! We have already seen that men and women can teach each other in more informal settings.³ But Paul does say that it is inappropriate for a woman to teach a man in such a way that she exercises authority over him. That is not her role. This means that the teaching of the whole church, where men and women are gathered together to hear God’s Word, is a role that is limited to men alone – and not even to all men. The criteria for appointing the male elders who have this task are pretty stringent.⁴

We should note that Paul does not argue this from the contemporary culture. It wasn’t a ruling for the early church that is now obsolete for supposedly more enlightened generations. Nor does he argue it from the Law of Moses, which because of Jesus’ fulfilment of the Law didn’t apply in quite the same way in the New Testament era. Paul doesn’t argue his case in either of these ways. He argues it from creation. Men are to exercise authority in the church because God created them first! The created order needs to be upheld in the life of the local church. God wants the diversity of role within the body of Christ to be demonstrated alongside our unity in Him – as they are within the Godhead itself.

Verse 14 provides us with another reason. Whenever the created order is reversed, there is confusion, deception and chaos. When Eve rebelled against the created order, she was deceived by the serpent into thinking that eating the forbidden fruit was actually a good thing to do.⁵ Adam also rebelled against the created order and ate the forbidden fruit, but he was not deceived – the implication being that he sinned openly, knowing that it was wrong.

I doubt this means that women are more gullible than men and therefore more likely to lead the church into error, although some people take that view. If that were really the case, then I can’t see why other passages in Scripture would encourage women to teach women and children. ⁶ And why do Paul and the other apostles warn the early church so much about the false teachers, who were likely to lead them astray and who were, normally, men?⁷ Eve’s deception in the Garden certainly doesn’t mean that men never get their doctrine wrong; they are just as likely to lead the church astray as women.

Nevertheless, Eve’s downfall does serve as an example that women should learn from – that when they reject the created order and take on roles that are not appropriate for them, they are vulnerable to Satan’s deception. In exercising authority over men, they forfeit both the leadership and protection of men, and lay themselves open to all kinds of problems. They not only take on roles that are inappropriate but, by doing so, effectively prevent men from exercising their God-given role. In other words, sin has consequences, and when God’s designated ordering of creation is ignored, there is chaos and all manner of other repercussions.

Verse 15 is complicated, but when we come across a verse that is hard to understand, it’s good to eliminate what it doesn’t mean in order to narrow down the options and discover what it does mean. It cannot mean that women are literally saved, in a redemptive sense, by having children. Women are saved through faith and by grace alone, just as men are.⁸ Nor can it mean that godly women will be kept safe through labour. There are various examples in Scripture and throughout history of godly women who died in childbirth.⁹ This is not a promise that Christian women are somehow immune from the tragic consequences of living in a broken world.

There are two more plausible explanations. One is that Paul is making reference to the birth of the child who brings salvation, that is, Jesus! He was born of a woman and fulfilled the promise that one of Eve’s offspring would one day crush Satan’s head, bringing salvation to all. Many people take this view, although it’s hard to see why women are being singled out for salvation through this child, when men are also sinners and need to be saved by Christ.

So what does this verse mean? I think the most obvious explanation is that women restore the created order and are kept safe from Satan’s deception if they embrace the unique role God has given them as child-bearers and do not take on inappropria...

Table of contents

• Testimonials
• Title
• Dedication
• Indicia
• Contents
• Introduction
• Different by design
• The Pattern for God's design
• The Revelation of God's design
• The Rejection of God's design
• The Masking of God's design
• The Restoration of God's design
• The Implications of God's design for marriage
• The Implications of God's design for the church
• The Implications of God's design for the workplace
• The Perfection of God's design
• Conclusion
• Bibliography
• Other Books
• Christian Focus