God’s Glorious Church
Male-Female Equality & Male Headship
Genesis 1:26-27
Woodlawn Baptist Church
May 15, 2005
Introduction
(See credit below)
Many times now we have considered the words of Ephesians 3:21. The apostle Paul, writing by inspiration of God, said,
“Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end.”
As we continue this short series about women, I want to remind you that our primary theme in all these messages has been God’s glorious church. We have come a long way during the last three and half months and have covered several different subjects, but I don’t want you to forget where we have been headed in it all. Our destination is to give God glory in our church by being the church He wants us to be. Part of being that kind of church is in understanding the unique and distinct roles God has given us in His churches.
The message I’ll be preaching this morning is one I preached back in November, but I want to preach it again as I lead up to the next two messages about women and their roles in God’s churches. Next Sunday we are going to look at the text where Paul said that women were to be silent in the church, and I’ll preach about what that means. The following Sunday we’ll deal with role distinctions in the church, particularly concerning what places men and women have in the church and when and where lines ought to be drawn for them. There is confusion today about these roles; a misunderstanding concerning the roles of men and women in today’s society or in our western culture. One of the great battles we face as we read the Bible is that we try to interpret its meaning according to our cultural scripting. The truth of the matter is that we are to be interpreting our cultural scripting according to the Bible.
Before we can understand role distinctions in the church context, we must have a biblical understanding of roles at their most foundational level, and that is in the home. Before there were any churches or governments God created the home, and in that home He gave us the pattern for everything else He would do.
We’re living in a day however where it is not socially acceptable to say there are distinct and admirable differences between men and women. We hear much about breaking down the walls of gender and sexuality. What has traditionally been recognized as biblical morality and fundamental truth is now seen as old-fashioned and out-dated. Society is bent on proving that there is a better way – a more liberating way of life where our gender differences are not only unnecessary, but also disastrous.
“The tendency today is to stress the equality of men and women by minimizing the unique significance of our maleness or femaleness. But this depreciation of male and female personhood is a great loss. It is taking a tremendous toll on generation of young men and women who do not know what it means to be a man or a woman. Confusion over the meaning of sexual personhood today is epidemic. The consequence of this confusion is not a free and happy harmony…The consequence rather is more divorce, more homosexuality, more sexual abuse, more promiscuity, more social awkwardness, and more emotional distress and suicide that come with the loss of God-given identity.
“It is a remarkable and telling observation that contemporary [Christianity] devotes little attention to the definition of femininity and masculinity. Little help is being given to a son’s question, “Dad, what does it mean to be a man and not a woman?” Or a daughter’s question, “Mom, what does it mean to be a woman and not a man?” A lot of energy is being expended today minimizing the distinctions of manhood and womanhood. But we do not hear very often what manhood and womanhood should incline us to do. We are adrift in a sea of confusion over sexual roles. And life is not the better for it.”
People today are confused about what it really takes to be a man or a woman, and the Lord’s churches for the most part are ignoring the issue. We just assume kids will grow up understanding their roles, but we assume too much Listen, Satan is no fool. He knows better than you or I do that if he can undermine God’s created order for men and women, then he has undermined every institution on this earth.
Now let me make sure we are clear on something. I am not going to talk about how women are taking over the men. I’m not going to talk about male-passivity or female domination. What I do want to talk about is built on the idea I shared with you last week: women hold high value in the eyes of God, they should be held in high value by men, and when we rightly relate to one another, we build relationships that beautifully reflect the glory of almighty God. So, what I’d like for you to do this morning is to turn to Genesis 1:26-27, and let’s consider…
God’s Divine Order
“And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.”
After God created the heavens and earth and all the animals, He went on to create Man. In doing so, I want you to recognize that God does some interesting things found in verse 27. First, we are told that God created man. Don’t ever forget that – we came from God. Second, we bear God’s image, then line three affirms the dual sexuality of man. We are male and female.
Now, in the creation of Man, God instituted at least two things: male-female equality, and male headship. Let me define male-female equality:
Man and woman are equal in the sense that they bear God’s image equally.
What does it mean to bear God’s image? It means that we were created to be reflections of who God is. We are His image bearers by bearing His nature, His person, His personality, His moral and spiritual capacities, His emotions, intellect, conscience, and will. God created man to be an image of His righteous character, of His holiness, and of His unconditional love.
Society looks at a man or a woman and starts with the hair and teeth and face and figure, but God spoke first of man as being His image bearers – something inward and of the heart and soul and spirit.
Now let’s define male headship.
In the partnership of two spiritually equal human beings, man and woman; the man bears the primary responsibility to lead the partnership in a God-glorifying direction.
Understand that there is a difference between male headship and male domination. Male domination can be defined as the assertion of the man’s will over the woman’s will, heedless of her spiritual equality, her rights, and her value. God instituted male headship, not male domination. Now, every one of us must rightly conclude that the perfect model of headship is our Lord Jesus Christ. In Ephesians 5:23, in the middle of Paul’s discussion of the husband and wife relationship, we are told,
“For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the savior of the body.”
If that’s not clear enough, 1 Corinthians 11:3 says,
“But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.”
Those aren’t my words, they are God’s, and both of those verses harmonize with our definitions of male-female equality and male headship. Now, let’s go on to Genesis 2:18-24,
“And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him. And out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof. And Adam gave names to all the cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him. And the Lord God causes a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; and the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. And Adam said, This is not bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.”
Now, watch what God does here. He has created a man and woman who share equality in that they both individually reflect His image, but He also made the male the head of the female the helper. Keep in mind that we are talking about male headship – God calls the man, with the counsel and help of the woman, to see that the partnership serves the purposes of God, not the sinful urges of either member of the partnership.
Listen, this is what we like to do though, particularly women in today’s society. We take the male-female equality too far and try to level out any and all distinctions between us. “I can do anything a man can do and probably better.” Sure there are women who are stronger and smarter and faster and more faithful and more devoted to God than men, but here is what you’ve got to remember: God does not value equality in those things. It only takes a little reasoning to see this. Does God value equality along these lines? Of course not! It is God who deliberately ordains inequalities in our lives. My brother and I came from the same womb, but we are not equal in strength, in finances, in height, in talents or in opportunities.
When God called Moses…
“Moses said unto the Lord, O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue. And the Lord said unto him, Who hath made man’s mouth? Or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? Have not I the Lord?”
In other words, God said to Moses that He didn’t make everyone with equal abilities or talents. Anytime a woman is tempted to say she is equal with a man she needs only to realize that she is equal with only some men. She is inferior to some men in some ways, superior to other men in other ways, and equal with many men in many ways. Her equality is relative to the man and to the thing in which she is comparing herself.
Listen to me: God is not interested in equality among us in that sense. However, the Bible does teach equality along another line. We are each of equal value as human beings to God. “For God so loved the world…” How much of the world? All of it! “God is not willing that any should perish…” Not one! So, are men and women equals? Absolutely! In the sense that we all stand before God, not one of us having any more worth than the next—but all of us: men, women, even children, being full of worth because we were created by God as His image bearers.
Now, let us move on to male headship. In order to understand what I want to say, look at Genesis 2:15.
“And the Lord God took the man (singular), and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: but of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone…”
Now this is a beautiful scene. In the midst of all God’s wonders, He finds something wrong. Man is alone. Rather than telling him he is alone, God chooses to lead him to make the discovery for himself. He parades all the animals before Adam so he can name them. As they come by in pairs, he notices how perfectly suited each is for the other. At the end of verse 20, Adam realizes that there was no one for him. He is alone, and now he realizes his aloneness. God then puts him to sleep, takes a bone from his body, creates the woman, and joins them in the union of marriage. What was one body became two, but according to verse 24, they became one again.
But what about headship? Where does that fit in? It is whispered in the fact that God calls the human race “Man” and not “Woman.” But that is not it. It is suggested in that God created the male first and the female second, but that is not really it either. Could it be because the woman was taken from the man? Again, it is but a whisper. Male headship however is emphatically seen in the order of events that take place from Genesis 2:15 to the end of chapter 3. God tells Adam he may freely eat of any fruit in the Garden except for the fruit from that one tree. In scene two though we see Satan enter the picture. He strikes up a conversation with the woman.
“Queen Eve,” the serpent inquires in astonishment and disbelief, “something is bothering me. Is it really true that God forbade you two to eat of any of these trees? That perplexes me. After all, didn’t He pronounce everything “very good?” Our loving Creator wouldn’t impose so severe a limitation on you would He? I don’t understand Eve. Would you please explain this problem to me?”
Eve didn’t know there had been a problem, but now the seed is planted in her mind. As they continue the conversation, Satan convinces Eve that God has been withholding something good from her. Listen to the subtle argument he poses.
“Now, Eve…I know this Garden seems pleasant enough; but, really, it is a gigantic ploy, to keep you in your place, because God feels threatened by what the two of you could become. This tree, Eveyou’re your only chance to reach your potential.
Now you know the story. Genesis 3:6 says,
“And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that is was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.”
Doest the Bible say that Adam watched her eat it and decided to try also? No—it says clearly that she gave it to him. Eve usurped Adam’s headship and led the way into sin. Adam abandoned his post and gave up his authority for a moment and allowed the woman to lead the way. Now you write it down—here is the first occasion of role reversal in the history of man.
But here’s what I want you to see. Eve led the way, but who does God come looking for? Who gets the blame? It’s the man! “Adam, where are you? What have you done?” Why doesn’t God summon them both? Because as the God-appointed head, Adam bore the primary responsibility to lead their partnership in a God-glorifying direction.
Listen to me: Satan did not strike at the woman because she was weaker than Adam. He deceived her. His attack was not on the woman – it was an attack on Adam’s headship. His words had the effect of inviting her to assume primary responsibility at the moment of temptation: “You decide Eve. You lead the way. Wouldn’t you rather be exercising headship?”
Now, one last verse in Genesis 3. In the next few verses, God begins to pronounce the effects of the fall on both man and woman. He says in verse 16,
“Unto the woman [God] said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.”
The phrase “your desire shall be to your husband” is an interesting phrase. It means this: “You will have a desire Eve. You will want to control your husband.” But the Lord doesn’t stop there, He goes on. Even though the woman will want to control the man, “he will rule over you.” In other words, “he must not allow you to have your way with him. He must rule over you.” God requires the man to act as the head God made him to be. As the woman competes with the man, the man, for his part, always holds the trump card of male domination to “put her in her place.”
But listen, the competition is sinful. It is wrong, and it has been from the beginning. God never intended a woman to rule over the man, and He never intended for a man to dominate his wife. Remember, male headship was instituted before the fall—it was perverted in the fall. So while many women today need release from male domination, the liberating alternative is not rivalry, it is not a reversal of the roles, it is not a knocking down of the walls of sexual identity—What is needed is genuine, godly, biblical male headship wedded to female help so that as the head in a partnership of two spiritually equal human beings, man and woman; the man can lead the partnership in a God-glorifying direction with the help and godly counsel of his wife.
Some of you men want to be the leaders in your home but don’t know how to take that position back. Like Adam, you stood by and gave it away. Some of you ladies are leading because your husband won’t, or wouldn’t, and you’ve been left holding the bag. Rather than enjoying the relationships God has given you, many of you will get in the car today and return to a home where both of you are competing; trying to dominate the other.
I hear about men telling their wives that they are in charge, trying to dominate. Most of the time though the battles get fought out in money matters or sexual problems or about who’s going to clean the kitchen; whose job it is to fold the clothes; pay the bills, do the grocery shopping, and on and on it goes.
The answer to the problems is for us to return as men and women to God’s standards of male and female equality: every one of us standing on equal spiritual footing before God. Every one of us will stand alone before God and give an answer for what we did with Jesus Christ. Did you accept Him or not? Did you trust in His blood sacrifice or not?
The answer will also come in men rightly, responsibly and lovingly leading their families just the way Christ would. Men, you are going to give an account one day for the way you have led your home. Are you striving each day to recognize the distinct value and giftedness of your spouse? Do you recognize that God has given her to you not to wash and cook and clean, but to help you lead your home in a manner that will bear His image and glorify Him? Could your leadership be described as male headship, or male domination?
Ladies, you too will answer to God, not for the way the home was led, but for how you responded to the authority God has placed in your life. There is nothing wrong or dirty about the word authority, nor with following the lead of your husband so long as he is leading biblically.
Let us commit ourselves today to the purposes and plans of God in our homes. We may not be able to change our nation, but we can do something about our own homes. Let it start with you.
Work Cited:
This message was adapted from an essay written by Raymond C. Ortlund, Jr, in the book Recovering Biblical Manhood & Womanhood, compiled by John Piper and Wayne Grudem. Crossway Books, Wheaton, IL 1991
