A Woman’s Place in Christ

The Bible says in Galatians 3:28 that because of what
Christ has done, there are no longer any differences among us. “There
is neither Jew nor Greek” (no ethnic or national difference); “neither
slave nor free” (no economic difference); “neither male nor female” (no
gender difference), “for [we] are all one in Christ Jesus” (NKJV). This
verse refers to the equality we have in God.

But if we are all equal, how is it that the church has so
often been guilty of sanctifying a chauvinistic system in which women
are put—and not always gently—in second place? I believe it is time for
us to revisit the issue of what a woman’s place is in God’s order of
things.

My purpose is not to incite every woman in the church to
rise up to assert her individuality, authority and rights. It is to
examine what the Bible says a woman can be so that women are free to
move into all the things God has for them.

Casting Off Old Ideas

I want to begin by declaring that my view of women is not
a radical feminist or anti-traditional church view. It is a solid
biblical view. This view holds that God has a high destiny for every
one of the redeemed—whether male or female—and that that destiny is the
blossoming of who they are in the created being of Jesus Christ.

But discovering who we are in Christ can be made
difficult by the old ideas we cling to that originate from the culture
around us, imposed systems of thought such as human or religious
philosophy, or our own ignorance or misunderstanding. We must allow the
Lord to deliver us from all preconceived notions in order to discover
His true call on our lives.

One way to do that is to examine closely the Scriptures
that many people use to dispute the role of women in the church and try
to determine what God is really saying through them. To that end, we
will look at 1 Timothy 2:8-15:

“I desire therefore that the men pray everywhere, lifting
up holy hands, without wrath and doubting; in like manner also, that
the women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with propriety and
moderation, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly clothing,
but, which is proper for women professing godliness, with good works.

“Let a woman learn in silence with all submission. And I
do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to
be in silence. For Adam was formed first, then Eve. And Adam was not
deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression.

“Nevertheless she will be saved in childbearing if they continue in faith, love, and holiness, with self-control.”

First let’s see what the different verses in this passage don’t mean.

That the women adorn themselves in modest apparel (v. 9).
“All women should dress as crummy as possible to verify their holiness.”

Let a woman learn in silence (v. 11). “Women should keep their mouths closed in church and have no input on spiritual matters.”

With all submission (v. 11). “Women should do as they’re told.”

I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man (v. 12). “Women are allowed to teach only other women.”

Adam was formed first, then Eve (v. 13). “God likes men more than He does women.”

Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression (v. 14). “Men are smarter than women.”

She will be saved in childbearing (v. 15). “The only thing a woman is good for is having babies.”

Are you guilty of interpreting any of the verses this
way? Now let’s see what God is really telling us about women. We can’t
analyze every verse, but we will look at a few of the most important
ones.

Let a Woman Be Silent

The first thing we have to understand is that, in this
passage, Paul is writing to Timothy to instruct him on how to lead a
church. He is giving him counsel on how to deal with relationships
within the body.

But we cannot divorce the counsel given here from what we
find in other parts of Scripture. Elsewhere Paul mentions “women who
labored with [him] in the gospel” (Phil. 4:3) and others, such as
Priscilla and Phoebe, whom he recognizes as teachers and deaconesses
(see Acts 18:26; Rom. 16:1,3,12). So he can’t be saying that women are
to have no input regarding spiritual matters in the church.

In fact, let me begin by addressing verses 11-12: “Let a
woman learn in silence with all submission. I do not permit a woman to
teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence.” These
verses are commonly interpreted to mean that a woman is permitted to
teach only other women; in particular, older women may teach younger
ones, as Titus 2:4-5 suggests.

But if this is true, it is true only in the United
States. As soon as a woman goes abroad as a missionary, she is
allowed—even expected—to teach, and not just other women.

And what happens if she becomes a writer? We put no sign
at the top of her articles warning men not to read them—“Caution: This
article was written by a woman and could be hazardous to your spiritual
health.”

So why the dichotomy? Because the word “silence” is
mistranslated in verses 11-12. The same word is translated “quiet” in a
preceding verse (v. 2): “that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life.”

You can’t take the word that is used in verse 2 to mean
one thing and then claim it means something totally different in verses
11-12. And the two translations of the word are not interchangeable. It
wouldn’t make sense for Paul to tell Timothy to pray that those in
authority would take away the right to speak so that he could live a
“silent” life, a life in which he never got to say anything.

What he is telling him, on the contrary, is to pray that
he’ll have the kind of government that will allow his life to have a
serene quality about it—a sense of peaceableness. In the same way, when
Paul says let a woman learn in “silence” (really, “quiet”) he is making
an appeal that has to do with the dynamics of male-female relationships
in general. He is calling for peace between the genders in a church
setting.

And women are to learn not only in a spirit of serenity,
according to Paul, but also “with all submission.” Some people take the
word “submission” to mean “subjection.” Subjection, or subjugation, is
the term that defined the action of the ancient emperors when they
would overwhelm an enemy and bring them under dominion. “Submission” is
not even a remotely similar concept.

In real life, this erroneous idea of submission would
give us a picture of a wife who just keeps her mouth shut, no matter
what her husband does or says. She would just bite her lip and wait for
him to ask her, “Well, my dear, do you have anything to offer? It’s
difficult to imagine you would, considering that I am primary in the
purposes and mind of God and you are only secondary. But go ahead.”

A more valid understanding of submission shows a wife who
says what she thinks in a very simple and open—not insistent or
demanding—way, with a “gentle and quiet spirit” (1 Pet. 3:4). Then she
trusts God to help her husband understand the value of partnership—to
see that he and his wife are co-heirs in the life of God (see Rom.
8:16-17)—and respond appropriately.

Serenity and submission are not characterized by
misty-eyed pacifism, but by the fruit of the Spirit—love, joy, peace
and so on. A woman is not to insist on her rights; yet she should be
free to express herself in a gracious way as she feels led. If her
husband does not receive what she says, she must look to the Lord to
take up her cause.

Suffer Not a Woman to Teach

If  you look
at verse 12 of 1 Timothy in the context of the whole Bible, you will
see that Paul couldn’t be prohibiting women from teaching, or even from
teaching men. If he were, why would he give rules in another epistle
for women to follow when they are prophesying? (See 1 Cor. 11:5.)

In that epistle, he is referring to prophetic utterances
given in the midst of an entire congregation—one that includes men. And
we know that prophecy can come by itself, or it can accompany either
preaching or teaching. Therefore, Paul allows for the possibility of
women speaking in church in the capacity of teacher.

The problem with this verse is similar to the one we
found in verse 11: The Greek word translated here as
“man”—anair—actually means “husband.” So what Paul is really saying is
that he doesn’t allow women to push their husbands around, to try to
seize their authority. He is addressing the natural tendency that women
have had, since the fall, to clutch for the rule, or authority, that
their husbands have been given over them (see Gen. 3:16).

You see, God did in fact give husbands authority over
their wives; He made them head over their wives as Christ is head of
the church (see Eph. 5:23). But this authority is not for the purpose
of quenching women into nothingness; rather, it is for husbands to act
as releasing agents, doing everything possible to maximize their wives’
potential and bring them into the highest possibilities of their
created beings.

God’s initial plan, of course, was for men and women to
be equal. That’s the way it can be in Christ, if men and women will
submit to the redemptive process God has ordained. The redemptive
process requires that the husband take leadership and the wife submit
(see Eph. 5:22-24).

This is not the frightening proposition some women make
it out to be. As I said before, submission is not subjugation; and it
is not destructive to your personhood. It is a summons to relate
properly to the different kinds of authority in your life, from the
civil government to church leadership to your spouse.

In the ancient world, the word “submission” was a
military term that referred to the ordering of soldiers in rank—the
strategic placement of soldiers not only for marching but for going
into battle. The soldiers were positioned in such a way that they were
able to protect one another so that the likelihood of success was
increased. It wasn’t an issue of titles, or who was more important, but
an issue of meeting the objective—victory.

That’s the way it is with the military today. Individuals
are positioned, both in practice maneuvers and in a real war, to best
serve the overall purpose of winning. Each one keeps his place because
he understands the need for order and the mutual benefit of the
soldiers’ covering one another.

A Woman’s Place

So being in submission really means knowing and keeping one’s place. But what is a woman’s place?

It is not the rigid, chauvinistic,
stay-in-the-background, keep-your-mouth-shut place sometimes offered
her by the church. It is not the liberal, insist-on-your-own-rights
place carved out by modern feminists. And it is not the rebellious,
do-your-own-thing place defined by her flesh. It is the place of being
obedient to the Word of God and allowing that Word to become incarnate
in her by the work of the Holy Spirit so that Jesus happens in her.

How does a woman reach this place? Not by falling prey to
the enticements of the culture around her. Not by seizing authority
from her husband. And not by getting out of order. She attains it by
relating rightly to all the authorities in her life, submitting in
serenity and allowing the gifts of God to make room for her—knowing
that as she obeys, God will cause the power of Jesus Christ to work in
her situation so she can fulfill her destiny.

Jack Hayford is the founding pastor of The Church on the Way in Van Nuys, California.