EQUALITY AND SUBMISSION: THE ROLE OF WOMEN

The Bible teaches that both men and women are created in the image of God (Genesis 1:27), that is, both men and women are equal bearers of the divine image. This means that both men and women are equally human beings. Consequently, women are not inferior members of the human race and are not to be counted as second-class citizens.

Furthermore, women are not second-class citizens of the kingdom of God either (Galatians 3:28). They are full members of the church of Christ (viz., the universal body of the saved) with access to all the spiritual rights and benefits of such membership. In other words, one cannot be kept from the saving blood of Jesus Christ by his or her nationality ("neither Jew nor Gentile"), status in society ("neither slave nor free"), or gender ("neither male nor female"). All human beings are equal in that they can become "children" and "heirs of God" through faith in Christ Jesus (Galatians 4:7). Consequently, the context of Galatians 3:28 deals with who can become a Christian and on what basis, not with male/female roles.

Equality And Subordination Are Not Contradictions

Equality and subordination are not contradictions. The Bible teaches that, as image-bearers of the divine nature, the female and male are totally equal. It teaches, therefore, that she is totally equal with the male in her humanity. Furthermore, the Bible teaches that the female is not a second-class citizen of the kingdom of God. It teaches, in fact, that she is totally equal in her access to the salvation that takes place in Christ. Nevertheless, the Bible emphatically teaches that the female role is to be one of submission. Unless one is willing to charge the Holy Spirit with being inconsistent and contradictory (and what true Bible believer would ever think of doing such a thing?), then one is forced to conclude that subordination and equality are not contradictory.

An irrefutable example that equality and subordination are not contradictory is the Son of God's submission to His Heavenly Father (I Corinthians 11:3; 15:28). The Bible teaches that there never was a time when the Son of God ever ceased to be fully God (Colossians 2:9). Ontologically (i.e., having to do with His nature and being), the second person of the Godhead was equal with His Father (Philippians 2:6). Even so, whenever the Bible says that God the Father sent His Son into the world (e.g., John 3:17), it is understood that the Son's role was one of subordination: the Father commands and sends; the Son obeys and comes. Only the heretic would be so bold as to suggest that the Son is a lesser God because it is His role to be submissive to His Father. Furthermore, the Bible tells us the Holy Spirit was sent by both the Father and the Son (John 14:26; 15:26; 16:7). Does this mean that He was even a lesser God than the Son who was already a lesser God than His Father? Again, none but a heretic would so teach!

If Christ's subjection to His Father does not suggest inferiority, then the woman's subjection to the male certainly does not imply her inferiority, as feminists so wrongly insist. The difference between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is a functional one, not an essential one. They differ not in their essence or nature, but in the different roles they carry out in the Godhead. Similarly, men and women do not differ in their humanness, only in the roles they have been assigned by their Creator. Neither the natural equality that men and women enjoy as creatures made in the image of God nor their covenant equality in the kingdom of God is abrogated by the Biblical assignment of masculine and feminine roles.

As originally created, the male and female were to complete each other as they enabled one another to fulfill the God-ordained purpose of procreating and subduing the earth (Genesis 1:26-28). Neither was to seek the other's position, but as half of a whole they were to complement each other. When sin entered into the world, their distinctive roles were blurred and their harmonious relationship distorted. Instead of working together in unity, they began to compete with each other. Instead of reflecting the glory of God, they began to mirror the corruption of sin. Their original "oneness" was replaced by a power struggle that has continued in society ever since. This struggle, although it does not always manifest itself overtly, does, nevertheless, lie just below the surface in even the best of marriages.

Unfortunately, many men, even Christians, "hardened through the deceitfulness of sin" (Hebrews 3:13), have engaged in the practice of "lording it over" their wives. While on the other hand, many women, even Christians, have become "silly women laden with sins" (II Timothy 3:6) and have not willingly submitted to the headship of their husbands. It is sad but true that many Christians, both male and female, instead of "prov[ing] what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God" (Romans 12:1), are actually being guided by current secular values. Of course, we, of all people, ought to know that the answer to this problem is not to be found in current secular thought or even in so-called traditional thinking. The answer, instead, is to be found in God's Word, the Bible. It is in this book that we will find the answer to our problem.

A part of the "good news" of the gospel of Jesus Christ is that what was lost in the Garden of Eden can be restored in Christ. As faithful followers of the humble Galilean, the husband and wife can once again become the unit God intended them to be from the very beginning: the husband, the loving leader who "nourishes and cherishes" his wife as if she were his own body (Ephesians 5:28,29) and the wife, the suitable helper who willingly submits to her husband's guidance, "as to the Lord" (Ephesians 5:22). Such a relationship must be characterized by selflessness, yet it is only in Christ that one learns to crucify Self. It is only in Christ that one exchanges the egotistical "I am" of sinful pride for the loving guidance of the Great I Am. It is only in Christ that two people will live in the estate of matrimony as God truly intended.

Written by: Allan Turner