Women in Ministry Part 1

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9/26/10 5:Women in Ministry? Of Course! (Part 1)

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Women in Ministry? Of Course! (Part 1)

By Michael J. FastAssociated Canadian Theological SchoolsCanadian Baptist SeminaryLangley, British Columbia, Canada3 April 1994

Any reproduction must include acknowledgment of author.

Note: This document is too big to be placed in one HTML document (at least on my editor) so I have spli

into several parts:

[Part 2][Part 3][Part 4][Notes][Bibliography]

Part 1: TABLE OF CONTENTS

TABLE OF CONTENTS1.0 INTRODUCTION2.0 FOUR VIEWS2.1 TRADITIONAL VIEW2.2 MALE LEADERSHIP VIEW2.3 PLURAL MINISTRY VIEW2.4 EGALITARIAN VIEW3.0 GENESIS 1-33.1 EQUALITY AND ECONOMY3.1.1 POSITION BEFORE GOD3.1.2 ROLE ON EARTH3.2 THE FALL3.3 CONCLUSIONS

1.0 INTRODUCTION

Perhaps the most emotional issue in the church today is that of the role of women in the church. On the onhand, people are saying that women should be subordinate to men and have no place in the ministry of thechurch. On the other hand, many people are scrambling to find ways of including women in all areas ofchurch leadership with the result that good, biblical exegesis is being ignored. This is being done to appeasour consciences, guilty from the mistreatment of women over the past several thousand years.1 The
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evangelical finds himself/herself caught in the middle of this debate, unsure of whether or not to voicehis/her opinion. This is the greatest danger of the whole issue--if we as evangelicals do not enter into thedebate we will be left behind and will have no say in what the church finally decides. We must all carefullexamine Scripture and voice the truth, whether it be for women in church leadership or not, so that thebiblical faith is neither dirtied nor ignored.

This paper will examine the issue of women and the church. What is their role? Where should they be

involved? Are there any restrictions for them? The paper consists of six parts, including Introduction andConclusion. It will begin by examining four different responses to the problem. It will then move to adiscussion of Genesis 1-3 in order to determine its bearing on the present problem. It will continue byexamining three difficult texts in the New Testament, namely 1 Tim 2:9-15, 1 Cor 11:2-16, and 1 Cor14:34-35. Here it will discuss four ways of dealing with these passages and the key issues within each.Following this, the paper will discuss three church offices to see what light they can bring to bear on thematter at hand. A conclusion will be drawn at the end that will reflect the study and research this paper hademanded.

2.0 FOUR VIEWS

As seems to be the case with every other major issue in the church, there are four main views on howwomen should relate to the church.

2.1 TRADITIONAL VIEW

The first view can be called the Traditional View.

2.2 MALE LEADERSHIP VIEW

The second view can be called the Male Leadership View.

2.3 PLURAL MINISTRY VIEW

The third response can be called the Plural Ministry View.

2.4 EGALITARIAN VIEW

The fourth view can be called the Egalitarian View.We will examine the issue to determine if any of all of these views are correct.

3.0 GENESIS 1-3

Any study of the role of women in the church must begin in Genesis 1-3. There are two reasons for this.First, it is in Genesis 1-3 that we have the account of the creation of man and woman by God. By studyingit, we can determine why God made man and woman and evaluate how that information applies to us todaSecond, when Paul deals with the issue, he refers back to the creation account in Genesis as the basis for hargumentation. As a result, we should examine what the creation account says about this subject.


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3.1 EQUALITY AND ECONOMY

An in-depth reading of the creation account reveals two areas in which man and woman are related becauof creation.

3.1.1 Position before God. The first relationship that man and woman had together was one of equality.6Both the man and the woman bear the image and likeness of God.7 They are also equated in the blessing o

God.8 Both are given the responsibility to rule over creation.9 Perhaps the most important relationship thehave toward each other is their personal relationship. As we read the story we find that the man and thewoman are exact counterparts or equals.10 There is no sense given that the woman is in any way inferior tthe man or that the man is in any way superior to the woman. In fact, the woman is called a helper--thesame thing God is called in sixteen other references in the Old Testament.11 If "helper" is a demaning termGod would not use it in reference to himself!

Thus, we can see that man and woman were created equal before God. However, Genesis 1-3 not only tellabout the equality of man and woman, it also speaks of some differences--differences of economy ororderliness.12 This is the second relationship between man and woman described in Gen 1-3.

3.1.2 Role on Earth. When we read the creation story we find that man and woman were not created at thesame moment. Instead the man was created first?13 We must ask ourselves what the significance of this iWhy did God not do it simultaneously?

We also find out that, not only was the man formed first but, the woman, when she was made, was formedfrom the man.14 God could have also made the woman from the dust but did not. Why not?

Finally, we see that the command not to eat from the tree was given to the man.15 God did not tell thewoman this directly. This signifies that he had the responsibility for passing on God's Instructin to her.Perhaps his failure to do this is why he receives the longer sentence/punishment in chapter three.16

Thus, we have seen that, although woman and man were created equal before God, they remain unequal infunction--that is, they each have a different function on the earth. However, all of this was before the FallWhat things does the Fall have to tell us regarding the role of women and men on earth?

3.2 THE FALL

The Fall provides an interesting case study in the relationship between man and woman.17 We see abovethat the man and the woman differed on some things. In particular, the man had the responsibility to tell hwife the things God had told him. But what happens when the serpent tempts Eve? She eats of the tree Gohad commanded they not eat of (v. 6). Not only that, she convinces her husband, Adam, that he should als

eat of the tree (v. 6). In 1 Tim 2:14-15 we read that Eve was deceived when she ate of the fruit. However,Adam has no such excuse--he is completely responsible for his actions on that fateful day. Not only does hnot properly instruct his wife on how she should act toward the tree, but he also allows her to convince himto do something that he knows is wrong. There is a serious case of role reversal going on. Eve should haveasked Adam's advice on what she should do and Adam should have told Eve what the correct action was.Instead, Adam backs away from his responsibility and allows Eve to take over and make a spiritual decisifor the family. Soince she was not properly instructed by her teacher, Adam, she was deceived and fell intsin. However, Adam, her teacher, is completely responsible for everything that he does, because he was no


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deceived! Is it for this reason that Rom. 5:12-19 lays the blame for mankind's sin wholly at Adam's feet.

3.3 CONCLUSIONS

Genesis tells us several important things about the relationship men and women have with each other andhow these relationships affect the issue of women in the church. Although woman and man were createdequal before God, they remain unequal in function--that is, they each has a different function on the earth

would appear that man is created to preserve and perfect the relationship while woman is to "operatedependently rather than independently."18 The reason behind the fall in Eden was Adam's failure toproperly teach his wife and her subsequent independence from him.

[Forward][Notes][Bibliography][Index]

[ Mike & Eva Fast | Bryan & Tammie Thorne | Kroeker Family | New Hope | UniServe ]

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Women in Ministry Part 1