Discovering The Roles Of Man And Woman

Introduction

1. In this first section of the Introduction we will discover that man and woman stand equally before God in his kingdom of grace for salvation. In God’s kingdom of grace there is no difference between man and woman. Both are equals and co-heirs of salvation through faith in Christ. We discover this from the following Bible verses:

Galatians 3:26-28 You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 All of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

1 Peter 3:7 Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers.

2. In this second section of the Introduction we will discover that our response of faith as Christian men and women to God’s undeserved grace in Christ by which we are saved is loving and serving him and our Savior Jesus Christ. The following Bible verses reveal this:

1 John 4:19 We love because he first loved us.

2 Corinthians 5:14,15 For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.

The Aim Of This Bible Study:

God has graciously made us his children and heirs of heaven through Christ Jesus, his Son. This is the gospel of good news. In response to his graciousness our faith desires to serve him in every way that is pleasing to him. How we can serve him according to his will is law. This Bible study of the roles of man and woman is law. It is a Bible study of how we Christian men and women by faith can serve our gracious God according to his moral law for all people.

The aim of this Bible study on the roles of man and woman is to discover how we men and women, as a fruit of our faith in Christ, can serve God in a pleasing way according to the roles he has established for men and women, which are his will for us.

Study Of The Pertinent Sections Of The Old Testament

Through the following sections of this Bible study we will discover that God had a grand design for the roles of man and woman when he created them in the beginning.

1. In this section of this Bible study we will discover that in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth and all that is in them in 6 consecutive days of 24 hours each. The following verses reveal this:

Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

Exodus 20:11 For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

Note: The Hebrew verb “create” means to produce. Its basic meaning is to cut and to carve out. It is used a total of 53 times. Whenever it is used to mean to create, its subject is always God. Only God creates. Man never creates.

2. In this section of this Bible study we will discover that God’s having created all things as he did tells us much about what was his will for what he had made. In creating all things as he did, God created all things as he wanted them to be. The creation with all its creatures and what he created them to be and to do were according to his will that suited his purpose and was pleasing to him. The way in which God created all things to do what was pleasing to him reveals that was his will for them. The following Bible verses state:

Psalm 115:3 Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him.

Psalm 135:6 The LORD does whatever pleases him, in the heavens and on the earth, in the seas and all their depths.

3. In this section of this Bible study we will discover that what God had created and ordained for his creatures in the beginning cannot be improved upon. The reason for this is simple: All that he had made was very good, that is perfect, as the next Bible verse plainly states. Being perfect, his creation and what he had ordained for his creatures could not be made better than it was. It was already a perfect world. By faith we will now recognize that we ourselves cannot improve upon what God had made and established for us men and women in the beginning. Accordingly, we will exercise our faith and show our love for God by accepting what he has established for man and woman in the beginning as his blessing for us men and women today.

Gen. 1:31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning —the sixth day.

4. In this section we will discover that on the 6th day of creation the Trinity expressed their inner intentions, will and purpose to create man in their image. Then God did create man, meaning the human race, in his image with the role and function of ruling over the other creatures God had made.

Genesis 1:24-27 states: 24 And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that move along the ground, and wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so. 25 God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. 26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

Verses 24 & 25 tell us that on the 6th day by the power of his Word God made all the land creatures -- the livestock, other ground creatures, and the wild animals, each according to its kind. They were all good, that is perfect.

In verse 26 God said, “Let us make...” The word “us” refers to the three persons of the Godhead –Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

In verse 26 the words “Let us make” tell us about the inner thinking and purpose of God. These words take us into the inner council of the Godhead and into what the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit were proposing to do. These words reveal the inner intentions, will, and purpose of God, which was to make man who had not yet been made.

In light of verses 24 and 25 and the previous verses of Genesis 1 that tell us what other creatures God had made, the term “man” in verse 26 is to be understood generically in the sense of a creature that is distinct from all the other creatures God had made previously. Man is to be understood, not in the sense of the male gender, but as a term denoting the human race and mankind.

The following verses confirm the understanding that the term “man” in verse 26 is a generic term meaning mankind and the human race.

Genesis 5:2 states man consisted of a male and a female. This makes it evident that the term man was used in the sense of the human race, mankind.

Genesis 5:2 He created them male and female and blessed them. And when they were created, he called them “man. ”

Exodus 13:15 makes it clear that man is a distinct creature from the animals God had made.

Exodus 13:15 When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the LORD killed every firstborn in Egypt, both man and animal.

Verse 26 reveals God willed to make man, that is the human race, with the attribute of his own image and likeness.

Verse 26 also reveals that God intended and willed that man’s role and function was to be the ruler over God’s creation. God willed that mankind should rule under him over the other creatures on earth.

5. In this section of this Bible study we will discover that on the 6th day of creation God created, not merely two persons--Adam and Eve, nor a husband and wife, but the first male and female of their kind, who represented their respective sex that would inhabit the earth as God’s creature man.

Genesis 1:27 states: So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

Genesis 1:27 tells us that God followed through on what he willed and intended in verse 26. He created man, the human race in his image. When God created his creature man, verse 27 tell us he specifically created a male and a female, the two different sexes and genders.

God made me an individual who happens to be a male. God made you an individual who happens to be a male or a female. On the 6th day of creation, however, verse 27 draws our attention to God’s creating, not just two individual persons, but the first of the two distinct genders that make up the human race. In creating Adam he made the male sex. In creating Eve he made the female sex. This is further supported by Genesis 5:2.

Genesis 5:2 “He created them male and female and blessed them. And when they were created, he called them ‘man.’ ”

In view of the fact that God created the male and female sexes on the 6th day of creation, Adam and Eve bore more significance than their just being individual persons such as you and I are. Being the first male and the first female, each represented his and her respective sex and kind that would inhabit the earth as God’s creature man.

6. In this section of this Bible study we will discover that Genesis 2:7-9 and 15-25 provides additional evidence that substantiates that on the 6th day God created, not merely two individual persons, but a male and a female who were the first of their kind to represent their respective gender in God’s world.

Genesis 2:7-9 and 15-25 state: 7 The LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. 8 Now the LORD God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. 9 And the LORD God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground —trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 15 The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 16 And the LORD God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.” 18 The LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” 19 Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. 20 So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds of the air and all the beasts of the field. But for Adam no suitable helper was found. 21 So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and closed up the place with flesh. 22 Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. 23 The man said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.” 24 For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh. 25 The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.

Note: Like a newspaper report the account of creation in Genesis 1 provides the main story. Its headline is its 1st verse: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Beginning with its 2nd verse Genesis 1 reports the main parts of the story of the creation of the heavens and the earth. Starting at Genesis 2:4 a report on the history of the heavens and the earth is given that continues through Genesis 4. The history of what happened in the heavens and the earth begins with the details of God’s creating the most important creature that God made--man, who was the crown of God’s creation. Genesis 2:7-25 is a divine commentary and elaboration of how God created his creature man on the 6th day of creation. Genesis 2:7-25 explains more fully what was reported in Genesis 1:27.

Verse 7 declares God created the first human being, his creature man, by forming the man from the dust of the ground and then breathing into his nostrils the breath of life so he became a living being.

Verse 8 reveals that after creating the first man, God put him in the Garden of Eden.

Up to the moment of verse 18 on the 6th day of creation everything in God’s creation was good and perfect. But verse 18 states that God noted something that was not good. What was not good was the man’s being alone. This has been called a “not good of incompleteness,” because God’s creative work was not yet done.

Note: At the moment of God’s assessment in verse 18 that the man’s being alone was not good, the entire human race consisted of Adam. He was, and represented, the entire human race at that time. This is why he was given the name Adam. The name Adam in the Hebrew text is the word for “man”. So it was that the first human being, from whom all other human beings would come, and who represented all of mankind at the time, was appropriately named Adam, or Man. We might paraphrase his name as Mr. Human Being.

Genesis 2:18-25 indicates that Adam himself understood that what was said about him in verse 18 applied to him, not solely as one individual person, but as a male and the first of his male kind who would follow him. The term “man” in verse 18 is the Hebrew word “adam,” which means “man, a human being. The term “man” in verse 23 is a different Hebrew word. In verse 23 the word for “man” is “ish”. This Hebrew word “ish” is a noun that is used for a male in contrast to a female, whether human or beast. Examples of this meaning of the Hebrew word “ish” can be seen in Genesis 4:1, which says, “brought forth a man,” and in Genesis 7:2, which says, “a male and its mate.” Now the man, the “adam” of verse 18, referred to himself in verse 23 as a male, an “ish.” This reveals that Adam did see himself and understood himself to be a male, an “ish,” who was the first of his gender. He saw himself and understood himself to be the male of Genesis 1:27 who had been created. He understood that the words of Genesis 2:18 applied to him, not as one individual person, but as a male who represented his male gender.

Since Adam saw himself as being a male, he also saw and understood that the helper who was made for him was not just one individual but was the first female of her gender. This is why he named her, not with a personal name such as Eve, but for her gender –“Woman.”

Genesis 2:19, 20 further substantiates that on the 6th day of creation God created not just two individual persons but the first male and female of their respective gender. We do not know for how long on the 6th day of creation Adam was alone. We do know that God left him alone on the 6th day long enough to name the other creatures God had made. God gave Adam the privilege of naming the other creatures to teach Adam a valuable lesson in preparation for what God intended to create next – the woman. The object lesson that God wanted Adam to learn from naming all the other creatures was that he did not have a helper suitable to him like all the other creatures had. A buck had a doe. A bull had a cow. A lion had a lioness. But the male Adam had no one who was suitable for him.

In naming the creatures Adam learned that the other creatures had helpers who were females suitable for them. When he looked at himself, verse 20 states that he noted that he had no such helper who was suitable to him. Since Adam learned the helpers of the other creatures were females, when his helper was created and brought to him, he understood that she was a female, which is why he named her “Woman” in verse 23. This clarifies that Adam understood and saw himself and Eve, not as merely two individuals, but as a male and a female who were the first of their respective kind and genders. Adam likewise understood that the helper, of whom God spoke in verse 18, was not one individual but represented the entire female gender.

Note: The internal evidence of verse 23 really substantiates that Adam understood and received Eve, not as one individual person, but as the first female of her gender, a woman. For after naming the other creatures and learning they had a female counterpart that he did not have, looking at Eve he literally said in the Hebrew: “This one, this time, is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman’ (Hebrew ishah), for she was taken out of man (Hebrew ish).”

Verse 22 supplies additional internal evidence that the text of Genesis 2:18-25 is not merely about merely two persons, Adam and Eve, but is about the first male and first female who represented their respective sex. For verse 22 states that God did not create Eve from Adam’s rib but he created a woman, a female, from Adam’s rib.

7. In this section of this Bible study we will discover that in the New Testament Jesus himself provided additional evidence to substantiate that on the 6th day God created, not just two individuals, but a male and female who were the first to represent their respective gender in God’s world.

Matthew 19:3-6 below reveals that Jesus understood that the account of Adam and Eve in Genesis 1 & 2 did not apply to them only as two individual persons but primarily as male and female, the first of their respective gender. Jesus indicated that what took place with that first male and female established a divine principle that was applicable to all males and females, as indicated by the words “for this reason.”

Matthew 19:3-6 Some Pharisees came to him to test him. They asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?” “Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.”

8. In this section of this Bible study we will discover that the Scriptures substantiate that the words in Genesis 2:18 are true for men of all ages. God’s statement that the man’s being alone was not good and that he needed a helper were not only true for Adam but for all men.

The following Bible passages verify it is good for a male to have a female helper and companion.

Proverbs 18:22 states that a man’s finding and having a wife is good. Contrarily, his not finding and having a wife is not good.

Proverbs 18:22 He who finds a wife finds what is good and receives favor from the LORD.

Malachi 2:14 reveals that a wife is a man’s partner and companion for life. This was established by their consent to be married. The man, therefore, ought not to break faith with his wife and partner by divorcing her and sending her away. He should keep her and remain with her.

Malachi 2:14 You ask, “Why?” It is because the LORD is acting as the witness between you and the wife of your youth, because you have broken faith with her, though she is your partner, the wife of your marriage covenant.

Ephesians 5:31 states that a man leaves his parents’ home to have a wife of his own for his companion. He unites himself to her and is to remain glued to her for life. The term glued” is used here, because this verse is a quotation of Genesis 2:24 where the Hebrew term for “united” means to cleave to something, like being glued to something.

Ephesians 5:31 “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.”

Proverbs 5:18 clarifies that a man ought to rejoice in his wife, and see that his having her is a blessing of God for his good.

Proverbs 5:18 May your fountain be blessed, and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth.

Since the fall into sin men are tempted to commit adultery. For this reason 1 Corinthians 7:2 states that it is good for men to have a wife and not be alone. Having a wife of their own enables them to live a morally pure life within marriage and not fall into the sin of adultery.

1 Corinthians 7:2 But since there is so much immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman her own husband.

Christian husbands today can exercise their faith and serve their Savior God by what they think of their wives. They can look upon their wives as God’s answer to their need of having a helper and a companion for their good. They can thank God for blessing them with the wife he has given to them.

Christian wives, on the other hand, can exercise their faith and serve their Savior God by what they think of themselves in their role of being their husbands’ helpers. They can look upon their role of being their husbands’ helpers as a blessing of God to fulfill an important need. They can accept their role of being their husbands’ helpers as a great good and their life as a mission their God has given them to fulfill. They can see their position as a grand and lofty one. For creation was not completed until the coming of the woman into the world to serve a most needed function.

9. In this section of this Bible study we will discover that Adam’s and Eve’s representing their respective gender has a significant implication for all males and females in God’s world. What God said in Eden about the first male and female, Adam and Eve, pertains to all men and women in God’s world. For this reason what is stated in Genesis 2:18 also apples to all men and women, even to us today.

Since Adam and Eve represented their respective gender, God’s will and intentions for them were also his will and intentions for all males and females who were to follow them. The roles and functions that God designed for and assigned to Adam and Eve as the first perfect, representative male and female were also applicable to all the males and females who would in time follow after them. When God created the human race male and female on the 6th day and intended and willed that they should rule over the other creatures, it was not God’s will that only the first male and female, Adam and Eve, rule over the other creatures, but it was God’s will that all males and females who would come to live on the earth would also rule over the other creatures.

What God said in Genesis 2:18 about the man’s being alone and the woman’s being the man’s helper also applies to all males and females in God’s world, including us.

Therefore, Christian men and women today can exercise their faith and serve God with regard to the roles and functions that God has assigned to them as males or females. They can hold a positive attitude about those roles and functions, accept those roles and functions as God’s will for them, and with his help strive to fulfill the respective role that God has assigned to them as a male or a female.

10. In this section of this Bible study we will discover that when God created male and female, he did not create one sex inferior to the other.

Genesis 1:27 below states that God created man, meaning the human race, male and female, in his image. This clarifies that both sexes, male and female, were created in the image of God.

Genesis 1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

Since both male and female were created in the image of God, neither of the sexes was inferior to the other as a creature of God. There could have been no inferiority in either the male or the female, for both were perfect creatures, as we know from God’s seeing them and all that he had made as being good, that is perfect.

Genesis 2:22 below states that God made the woman from the man’s rib. Genesis 2:23 below states that the woman was the man’s flesh and bone. Having been made from the man, her physical qualities as compared to those of the man would have been of the same quality. She would not have been inferior to him, nor would he have been inferior to her. They would have been equally good.

Genesis 2:22 Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.

Genesis 2:23 The man said, "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.”

Genesis 1:31 below states that the condition, not only of all of God’s creation, but also the male and female God had created, were perfect. This being true, neither could have been any better than they were, and neither could have been inferior to the other.

Genesis 1:31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning —the sixth day.

Today we can exercise our faith to serve God by what we think of the opposite sex. We can view the opposite sex as a creation of God that was made in his image and is not inferior to us. We can resist the temptation to think that our sex is superior to the opposite sex. We can hold the attitude that both sexes were made equally well.

11. In this section of this Bible study we will discover that on the 6th day of creation God blessed both the male and the female. In blessing them God revealed that his will for both sexes was to reproduce, fill the earth and subdue it, and to rule over the other creatures in God’s world. This is made clear in Genesis 1:27 & 28 below.

Genesis 1:27 & 28: So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. 28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”

The blessing that God bestowed on them was given in the form of a command that revealed his will for the male and the female, not just for Adam and Eve but for all males and females. Verse 28 shows that God’s blessing and will for all males and females in his creation was: 1) To reproduce children and increase in number. 2) To fill the earth in time and subdue it. The Hebrew word for “subdue” means to wrestle with the earth and to master it and make it do what they wanted. The female, as well as the male, was to be active in using her God-given abilities and talents in this subduing of the earth. 3) To rule over the other creatures on earth.

Mankind lost the blessing of ruling over the other creatures through the fall into sin. But God still gives us males and females today the blessing of bearing children and subduing the earth to master it.

Today we can exercise our faith to serve God with regard to these blessings he has given to us. By faith we can consider our children a blessing of God and thank him for them. By faith we can use the talents and abilities God has given us to do our part in working to subdue the earth and to make it serve and benefit us and others.

12. In this section of this Bible study we will discover from Genesis 2:18 that God made the human race and the man and the woman to be sociable people with others of their own kind.

Genesis 2:18 states: The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”

A very literal translation of the Hebrew text of Genesis 2:18 is as follows:

Then the Lord God said, “The being of the man alone is not good, I will make for him a helper corresponding to him.”

God’s noting that the state of man’s being alone was not good tells us that God made the human race and the male sex to be sociable persons who had companionship with others of their own kind. The man needed companionship. The woman, whom God would make for the man, was to provide that companionship. Thus both man and woman were made to be sociable people. Their having companionship with others was God’s will for the role and function of all people in the human race, man and woman alike.

Today we can exercise our faith to serve God by what we think of the other men and women around us. We can see them as a blessing of God for our good to give us companionship as our friends and associates. We can understand that our life would be miserable if we were all alone with no one to converse with and to be friends with.

13. In this section of this Bible study we will discover that Genesis 2:18 clarifies that the role and function God designed and assigned to the woman was being the man’s helper.

Genesis 2:18 states: The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”

Again, a very literal translation of the Hebrew text of Genesis 2:18 is as follows:

Then the Lord God said, “The being of the man alone is not good, I will make for him a helper corresponding to him.”

Genesis 2:18 teaches us that God said his remedy for the male’s problem of being alone was to make a helper suitable for him.

God’s making a helper for the male Adam to remedy his problem of being alone tells us that the role of the female was that of being the male’s helper and her function was to provide companionship for the male.

Genesis 2:18, in the light of Genesis 1:27 and Eve’s being the representative of the female sex on the 6th day of creation, clarifies that the role of helper and the function of providing companionship for the male was true, not only for the first female, Eve, but for all females who were still to be brought into existence to be like her.

Some have argued that Genesis 2:18 referred to Adam and Eve as husband and wife. Accordingly, those individuals have argued that the role of helper and the function of providing companionship apply only to the woman in the marital relationship. Genesis 2:18, however, does not speak of Adam and Eve as being husband and wife. So the role of helper does not apply only to the marital relationship. The role of helper and companion applies to the relationship of females to males in general even outside of the marital relationship. This becomes clear when the following are considered: 1) Genesis 1:27 states God created a male and a female, not a husband and wife. 2) When God spoke the words of Genesis 2:18 Adam was alone and Eve had not yet been created. These two factors show that God created a male and a female, not a husband and a wife. When the male and female were created, they were not yet married. Eve did not even exist when God spoke the words of Genesis 2:18, so she could not possibly have been married to Adam at the time. The marital relationship did not come into existence until God later brought the woman to the man. Therefore, what God said in Genesis 2:18 was true generically for the relationship of males and the females as an entire class and group in general, and, no doubt, in preparation for and with a view to marriage.

Bearing in mind what was noted above about the female being the male’s helper and companion, God’s grand design for the men and women who would live in fellowship with God on earth in his perfect world becomes clear. In God’s perfect world women would live in harmony with their Creator God and with the men as their helpers and companions. Being perfect women, whose will was united with God’s will for them, they would find joy and fulfillment in their role and function of being men’s helper and companion. At the same time, being perfect men, the men would look upon the women as being a blessing of God for their good. The men would rejoice in having the women’s help and companionship, and would treat them accordingly with love, respect, and appreciation. A perfect harmony would have existed between men and women, each loving and honoring the other for what they were.

Today we Christian men can serve God as a fruit of our faith by what we think about all women in general. By faith we can see that women are a blessing of God that he has given to us men for our good, to provide us with help and companionship. We can rejoice in women in general and treat them with love, respect, and appreciation.

Today Christian women can serve God as a fruit of their faith by what they think about their role and relationship to men in general. Christian women can gladly accept their role and function with regard to the men, live in harmony with them, and treat them with love and respect.

Some have thought that saying the woman was made to fulfill the role of being man’s helper is demeaning to women. They consider being made to fulfill such a role a contrived assertion that should not be forced upon women. But it is untrue that having been made to fulfill a role or position is demeaning. God made other creatures to fulfill a certain role and function as well. God at times raised up individuals to fulfill a certain role and position. That was not demeaning to that creature or creation of God or to that person. Since it was not demeaning to others, it should not be asserted that being made a helper is demeaning to the women in God’s creation. The following are examples of this:

By saying that it was not good for the man to be alone in Genesis 2:18, God was saying that he made the human race, both man and woman, to be sociable beings with others. This was how they were to function. Their being made to be sociable was not demeaning to them.

In 1 Samuel 12:6 Samuel said to the people of Israel that the LORD had appointed (literally in the Hebrew “made”) Moses and Aaron and brought their forefathers up out of Egypt. God made Moses and Aaron the leaders over his people. That was the role he had made for them and had given to them, to lead his people. Acts 7:22-35 clarifies this as well. Having been made and raised up for that role and purpose was not demeaning to Moses and Aaron.

Genesis 1:14, 15 state that God made the sun, moon, and stars to serve the function of signs, seasons, days, and years, and to give light on the earth. When God had made them for those purposes, God said it was very good. Thus those purposes and functions could not have been demeaning to those creations of God. The functions they would serve were perfect.

Jeremiah 1:4, 5 state that God made and appointed Jeremiah to be his prophet. This was God’s will for Jeremiah even before Jeremiah was born. Having been made and born to be God’s prophet was not demeaning to Jeremiah.

14 In this section of this Bible study we will discover that the words “for him” in Genesis 2:18 indicates the woman was made for the benefit of the man.

Genesis 2:18 The LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”

Again, a very literal translation of the Hebrew text of Genesis 2:18 is as follows:

Genesis 2:18: “Then the Lord God said, ‘The being of the man alone is not good, I will make for him a helper corresponding to him.’ ”

Note the words “for him.” In the Hebrew the word translated “for” means “on behalf of anyone, and for the benefit of someone”. This clarifies that God said he would make a helper for the benefit of, and on behalf of, the male, the man.

Today we Christian men can exercise our faith to serve God with regard to the female’s having been made for our benefit. We can thank and praise God for his goodness in providing the female for our benefit. We can consider all females, especially our wives, as a great benefit and blessing from God.

Today Christian women can exercise their faith to serve God with regard to their having been made for the benefit of the male. They can thank and praise God for having made them such great benefactors and blessings, and for having given them such a grand and elevated position in his world. For since God said it was not good for the man to be alone, it is clear that the world and men would not be good without the women in this world. Christian women can see their role as a most important and beneficial function for great good.

15 In this section of this Bible study we will discover that the woman’s role of being the man’s “helper,” as stated in Genesis 2:18, does not mean the woman is inferior to the man but that she is subordinate to the man.

Genesis 2:18 The LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”

Again, a very literal translation of the Hebrew text of Genesis 2:18 is as follows:

Genesis 2:18: “Then the Lord God said, ‘The being of the man alone is not good, I will make for him a helper corresponding to him.’ ”

Consider the passages that follow. They say that the Lord with respect to us is our help.

Psalm 33:20 We wait in hope for the LORD; he is our help and our shield.

Psalm 70:5 Yet I am poor and needy; come quickly to me, O God. You are my help and my deliverer; O LORD, do not delay.

Since the Lord is our helper, and that is not demeaning and degrading to him, the woman’s being the man’s helper is not a demeaning and degrading role for her.

Since the woman was made a helper for the benefit of the man, the man’s role with respect to the woman was the head and the leader. The woman’s role with respect to the man was not superior, or coordinate, but subordinate and submissive to the man’s role.

Scripture interprets Scripture. In our study of Genesis 3 and the pertinent parts of the New Testament that follow, we will discover that those portions of the Scriptures uphold and clarify that the woman’s role of being the man’s helper was a subordinate, submissive role with respect to the man.

Genesis 1:28 enables us to understand in what ways the woman would be the man’s helper.

Genesis 1:28 states: God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”

This verse reveals three ways in which the woman would be the man’s helper:

1. Being fruitful, reproducing and raising children, which man could not do by himself.

2. Filling the earth and subduing it with the man by using her talents to accomplish this also.

3. Ruling over the other creatures God had made.

Today we Christian men can exercise our faith to serve God with a proper attitude about the woman’s being the man’s helper. We will not consider the woman’s role as a degrading position that makes us better than women. We will not lord it over the women, nor will we desire to put women in their place. By faith we will love them for what they are and treat them with respect. By faith we will also strive to fulfill our role as the leader by carrying out our leadership responsibilities for the benefit of the women.

Today Christian women can exercise their faith to serve God with respect to their role of being man’s helper. By faith they can accept their subordinate, submissive role as God’s will for them, desiring to fulfill it as his servants who are eager to do his will. They will not covet the man’s role of leadership.

16 In this section of this Bible study we will discover that the words “suitable for him” in Genesis 2:18 means the woman was suitable for the man in the sense that she corresponded to him. She was his flesh and bone, a human being like him. She was his matching partner who went with and belonged with him.

Geneses 2:18 The LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” (NIV)

Again, a very literal translation of the Hebrew text of Genesis 2:18 is as follows:

Genesis 2:18: “Then the Lord God said, ‘The being of the man alone is not good, I will make for him a helper corresponding to him.’ ”

Genesis 2:18 states that the woman was made “suitable” to the man. Adam had learned from naming the other creatures that none of their female helpers was suitable for him. When God made the woman from the man’s rib, she was suitable for him. The word “suitable” in verse 18 can correctly be translated “I will make for him a helper corresponding to him.” “Corresponding to” is a good rendering of the Hebrew word. The Hebrew word is used to make comparisons of things that are set opposite of each other. As the saltshaker corresponds to the peppershaker, so the woman corresponds to the man. She is opposite and different from the man, but she corresponds to him and together they make a matched pair. Adam recognized this truth when he saw the woman, and after seeing that none of the females of the other creatures was suitable for him, he literally said, “This one, this time, is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh.”

Today we Christian men can exercise our faith in seeing that women are suitable for us. By faith we will see all women are our flesh and blood, special creations of God who correspond to us as no other creature of God does. The women fill out our lives, which otherwise would be very lonely and miserable without them.

17 In this section of this Bible study we will discover from Genesis 2:22-24 below that the particular relationship God established for man and woman in which they could fulfill their respective roles was the marital relationship. God established the marital relationship to be a blessing for man and woman. In marriage their need for companionship could be met, and they could enjoy the blessings of sexual happiness and children.

Genesis 2:22-24 Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. 23 The man said, This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.” 24 For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.

Genesis 2:22 states God brought the woman he had made to the man. God’s bringing the woman to the man established the holy state of marriage.

Genesis 2:24 indicates that God’s joining the first man and woman in marriage established an important principle for the men and women who would come into God’s creation after them. Men would leave their parents to marry their wives to establish new family units.

In marriage a woman fulfills man’s need for companionship and has her need for companionship satisfied as well. Taking into account the statement in Genesis 2:24 that the man and the woman would become one flesh, and recognizing the blessed command in Genesis 1:28 that they were to be fruitful and multiple, God gave man and woman the additional blessings of sexual happiness and children.

Today men and women can exercise their faith to serve God by cherishing marriage as a blessing of God for both the male and the female, in which both are blessed with companionship, sexual happiness, and children.

18. In this section of this Bible study we will discover that God’s grand design for man and woman in his perfect world was upset and ruined by their fall into sin. This is evident from the following sections of the Bible.

Genesis 2:15-17 The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 16 And the LORD God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.”

Genesis 3:1-24 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” 2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’ ” 4 “You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. 8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the LORD God called to the man, “Where are you?” 10 He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” 11 And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?” 12 The man said, “The woman you put here with me —she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.” 13 Then the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” 14 So the LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, Cursed are you above all the livestock and all the wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life. 15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” 16 To the woman he said, I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing; with pain you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.” 17 To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat of it,’ Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. 18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. 19 By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.” 20 Adam named his wife Eve, because she would become the mother of all the living. 21 The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. 22 And the LORD God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.” 23 So the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. 24 After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.

God gave the man the command not to eat from the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Man could eat from any other tree but that one. This command gave the man the opportunity to love, respect, worship, and serve his Creator God by obeying that one command.

God told the man that the penalty for disobeying his command would be death.

God’s giving that one command to the first man, who represented the human race at that moment, and expecting him to obey it, tell us what God’s will is for all people who would come to live in his perfect world. God’s will was that all people would live with him in loving and respectful obedience and be like God himself. They would reflect the image of God by doing only what was good and right. Their doing so would redound to the glory and honor of God.

This account of the fall into sin is well known. We need not discuss it in detail. There are certain facets of the fall into sin that we should explore, however, because they pertain to the role of man and woman in God’s world. And we should remember that at the time in Eden, the man and the woman comprised the church, the family, and society all at the same time.

Genesis 3:6 reveals that the man was with the woman at the time that she was being tempted by Satan to disobey God’s command not to eat from the forbidden tree. Having the leadership role, the man should have spoken up to warn the woman. He should have warned her that snakes do not talk, that that snake was telling her to disobey God’s command, and that she should not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. But he said nothing. In this way he failed to uphold his role of leadership that God had given to him. He reneged on his responsibility of providing leadership.

The woman’s fall into sin also upset and overturned the roles that God had established for man and woman. Genesis 3:6 and 17 reveals that when the woman had sinned herself, she usurped the leadership role of the man by giving him the forbidden fruit and telling him to eat it. She became the leader and the man became the submissive follower.

After the fall into sin God came seeking the man Adam first.

God’s seeking the man first tells us that God held the man responsible for what happened in Eden and for the fall into sin. The Scriptures in Romans 5:12-19 below uphold that the man was responsible for the fall into sin, and that by what he did he brought sin upon the whole human race.

Rom. 5:12-19 Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned — 13 for before the law was given, sin was in the world. But sin is not taken into account when there is no law. 14 Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who was a pattern of the one to come. 15 But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! 16 Again, the gift of God is not like the result of the one man’s sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. 17 For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ. 18 Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men. 19 For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.

God held the man responsible for the fall into sin, even though the woman sinned first. God’s holding the man responsible for what occurred in Eden makes it obvious that he was the one who held the position of leadership, not the woman. The man was responsible for not providing the necessary leadership that was expected from him. He had failed as a spiritual, family, and social leader in the church, home, and society.

Genesis 3:16 above clarifies that God reinstated and reasserted the roles he had established for man and woman before the fall into sin. He reinstated the leadership of the man. God told the woman her husband would rule over her. The term rule is a neutral term. In itself it does not convey a sinful tyranny or domination. Sinful men have done this of course. But this verse cannot be cited as justification for such sinful behavior. It should also be remembered that God and our Savior Jesus Christ rule over all things. They certainly rule without being guilty of any sinful tyranny or domination.

In Genesis 2 we observed that the man Adam named the helper God had made for him “woman”, naming her for her sex and gender. Genesis 3:20 above reveals that Adam did not give her a personal name that recognized her as an individual person until after the fall into sin. He then named her Eve, because she would be the mother of all the living. His naming her, rather than she taking a name for herself, also indicates that the man was exercising authority as the leader over her.

Genesis 3:12 shows that the fall into sin upset and ruined God’s grand design for man’s and woman’s living together in his world. The perfect harmony, love, and respect that God had designed to exist between man and woman ceased. Having become sinful, the man quickly and without hesitation turned against the woman and shifted the blame for his sin to her as well as to God. His love and concern had become self-centered and he had become preoccupied with what he thought was in his best interest, rather than thinking first of the woman and what was to her benefit.

As a result of the first man’s and woman’s fall into sin and their passing their sinful natures on to their children, who became the men and women in God’s world, God’s grand design for the role of all men and women in relation to one another was overturned and ruined by sin. Men and women have been sinning against one another ever since, instead of living in harmony with one another and exhibiting a perfect love and respect for one another.

Like Adam, we Christian men can fail to serve God by faith and renege in fulfilling the role God has given to us. We also fall into sin and disobey his commands. We can fail to serve God by failing to provide the leadership we are responsible for providing in our homes, society, and church.

Like Eve, Christian women can fail to serve God by faith and overturn the roles of man and woman that God established. They too can fall into sin and disobey his commands. They can usurp the leadership role and foster a power struggle for control.

To summarize what we have discovered in this section of this Bible study: In the fall into sin the first male failed to provide the leadership expected of him for the family, church, and society. The first female usurped the leadership role, leading the male and telling him what he should do--to disobey God’s command. God clearly showed that the man was the leader by seeking him out first to give an account of what he had done. God reinstated and reasserted the roles he had established for man and woman by telling her that her husband would rule over her. Adam’s not giving the woman her personal name of Eve until after the fall into sin reinforces that on the sixth day of creation she was recognized and accepted and addressed as a female, the first of her gender, and was named according to her sex, not as an individual person. Adam’s giving the woman the name of Eve also shows that he was exercising authority over her as the leader. Because of the fall into sin God’s grand design for the role of man and woman in relation to one another has been upset and ruined by us sinful men and women who fail to fulfill our respective role as we should. We men can sin against God by failing to provide the leadership expected of us in our homes, society, and the church. Women can sin against God by struggling for control and leadership in their homes, society, and the church.

Study Of The Pertinent Sections Of The New Testament

19. In this section of this Bible study we will discover that 1 Corinthians 11:2-16 teaches us that the roles God established for man and woman in the beginning should be heeded by us New Testament Christians.

1 Corinthians 11:2-16 I praise you for remembering me in everything and for holding to the teachings, just as I passed them on to you. 3 Now I want you to realize that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God. 4 Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head. 5 And every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head —it is just as though her head were shaved. 6 If a woman does not cover her head, she should have her hair cut off; and if it is a disgrace for a woman to have her hair cut or shaved off, she should cover her head. 7 A man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God; but the woman is the glory of man. 8 For man did not come from woman, but woman from man; 9 neither was man created for woman, but woman for man. 10 For this reason, and because of the angels, the woman ought to have a sign of authority on her head. 11 In the Lord, however, woman is not independent of man, nor is man independent of woman. 12 For as woman came from man, so also man is born of woman. But everything comes from God. 13 Judge for yourselves: Is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered? 14 Does not the very nature of things teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a disgrace to him, 15 but that if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? For long hair is given to her as a covering. 16 If anyone wants to be contentious about this, we have no other practice —nor do the churches of God.

Verse 16 in the NIV and NASB has an unfortunate and misleading translation. The emboldened word "other" in the original Greek text is literally “such”. The second half of this verse should be translated: “We have no such practice -- nor do the churches of God.”

In 1 Corinthians 11:2-16 Paul addressed a situation and custom that was unique to the ancient city of Corinth. What Paul was stating in verse 16 is that if anyone wanted to argue about what he said regarding the head of man and woman being uncovered or covered there in Corinth, he and his fellow co-workers had no such practice and custom that they followed, nor did any of the other New Testament churches. The covering or uncovering of the head and what it stood for in Corinth was a custom that was followed and practiced only by the citizens of Corinth. It applied to the Christians in Corinth only because they lived there. It did not apply to Christians who lived elsewhere.

1 Corinthians 11:2 states: “I praise you for remembering me in everything and for holding to the teachings, just as I passed them on to you.”

The church of Corinth was a young congregation of former pagans, who had been brought to faith in Jesus by the gospel that Paul had preached among them. That young congregation was fraught with problems. Because of all the problems in their church Paul had little praise in his letter for them. But they were Christian believers in Jesus who were holding to the true gospel and the basic teachings of God’s Word that Paul had taught them. For this he praised them in this verse 2.

After his word of praise in verse 2 Paul takes up the subject of the women in the worship service and what was proper conduct for them there in Corinth. He specifically addresses the subject of their having their heads covered. So far removed in time as we are from the custom that was followed in ancient Corinth, we do not know for certain what kind of head covering the women wore in public. Generally the head covering has been understood to have been a veil of some type that covered the women’s heads. The wearing of the veil by the women acknowledged in their Corinthian society the headship of the man over the woman.

1 Corinthians 11:3 states: “Now I want you to realize that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.”

In this verse Paul speaks of three kinds of headship that he wanted the Christians in Corinth to understand exist and applied to all Christians everywhere.

1. The headship of Christ over every man. Christ is the head and leader of every man. Every Christian man is submissive and subordinate to Christ, who is the head of the church.

2. The headship of the man over a woman. Every woman is submissive and subordinate to the man who is her head.

3. The headship of God the Father over Christ according to his human nature. As a man Christ was submissive and subordinate to God the Father.

Note that the headship of the man over a woman is cradled between Christ’s headship over the man and God the Father’s headship over Christ according to his human nature. Since the woman’s role with respect to the man is cradled between the man’s subordinate role to Christ and Christ’s subordinate role to the Father, there can be no doubt in that context that the woman has a subordinate role to the man.

Verse 3 upholds God’s grand design for the role of man and woman as it was in the beginning and started on the 6th day of creation.

Note: If the woman were a single woman living with her parents, her father was her head to whom she was submissive and subordinate. If she were a married woman living with her husband, her husband was her head to whom she was submissive and subordinate.

In Corinth having the head covered reflected upon whom the person’s head was. In verse 3 Paul stated that Christ is the head of every man. Verse 4 states: “Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head.” According to this verse 4, in a worship service if a Christian man had his head covered while praying or prophesying (that is preaching the Word of God or praising God in the Spirit), Christ would be dishonored and disgraced by the man’s having his head covered.

1 Corinthians 11:5 states: “And every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head —it is just as though her head were shaved.”

According to this verse 5 every Christian woman, on the other hand, who prayed or prophesied in a worship service with her head uncovered, disgraced her head. She dishonored and disgraced her father or her husband by being in public with her head uncovered.

Note: Verse 5 states that in Corinth a woman who appeared in a public worship service with her head uncovered was just the same as the woman who had her head shaved. In Corinth adulteresses and prostitutes were compelled to have their heads shaved as punishment for their sin and immoral behavior. Her shaved head was a symbol of the shame she bore for being such an immoral woman or a prostitute. A woman who appeared in public with an uncovered head was viewed as bearing such a moral shame in the eyes of Corinthian society. Her shame reflected on her father or husband. Her father or husband was dishonored and disgraced in the eyes of all, because he was viewed as having either a daughter who was a prostitute or a wife who was an adulteress.

1 Corinthians 11:6 states: “If a woman does not cover her head, she should have her hair cut off; and if it is a disgrace for a woman to have her hair cut or shaved off, she should cover her head.”

In this verse 6 Paul says that if a woman appeared in the Corinthian church’s worship service and did not cover her head, she should be compelled to have her head shaved as a sure sign of the shame she carried for dishonoring her head, that is her father or husband.

On the other hand, in verse 6 Paul says that since it was a disgrace for a woman to appear in public and to come to the worship service having her hair cut or shaved off, she ought to cover her head so as not to shame herself and her head, that is her father or husband.

1 Corinthians 11:7 states: “A man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God; but the woman is the glory of man.”

According to this verse 7 a Christian man should not appear in a worship service with his head covered because he is the image and glory of God. In light of the creation account in Genesis 1 and 2, the male was created first in the image of God and for the glory of God’s name. The male’s being created gave glory to God his Creator, from whom he came and by whom he was formed from the dust. Therefore, the male should not cover his head, so as not to dishonor his God who had created him in his image.

According to verse 7, on the other hand, the woman and the female sex gave glory to the man from whom she was created, as Genesis 2 clarifies in stating the woman was created from the man’s rib. The man is her head. Therefore, the woman of Corinth should have her head covered so as not to dishonor her head, her father or husband.

1 Corinthians 11:8 states: “For man did not come from woman, but woman from man.”

Note that this verse 8 begins with the word “for”. The word “for” tells us that what is said in this verse 8 is the reason or explanation for verse 7 stating that the woman is the glory of man. Our understanding of verse 7 above, that the woman gives glory to the man because she was created from the man, agrees with the reason and explanation given in verse 8.

1 Corinthians 11:9 states: “Neither was man created for woman, but woman for man.”

Note that the word "neither" indicates this verse 9 continues the reason and explanation of verse 8 for the woman's being the glory of the man as stated in verse 7. The reason given in this verse 9 that the woman gives glory to the man is that she was created for the man; he was not created for her.

This verse 9 agrees with the words in Genesis 2:18 that God said he would make a helper “for him,” meaning for the benefit of the man. The words “for man” in this verse 9 can be translated from the Greek text as “because of, or for the sake of, man.” So both this verse 9 and Genesis 2:18 clarify that the woman was made for the sake of, and for the benefit of, the man.

1 Corinthians 11:10 states: “For this reason, and because of the angels, the woman ought to have a sign of authority on her head.”

Notice that this verse 10 begins with the words “For this reason,” which could also be translated from the Greek text as “Therefore.” It tells us that what follows in verse 10 is the conclusion for what was stated in verses 8 and 9 as to why the woman is the glory of the man. The conclusion that fit into the social custom of Corinth was that the woman should have her head covered to show her subordinate role to her male head, that he has authority over her, because the woman is the glory of man.

Notice also that verse 10 states that in conclusion the woman ought to have her head covered as a sign of the male’s authority over her because of the angels. God’s holy angels are present with his people in worship as well as in their daily lives. The angels do perfectly what is God’s holy will. They are offended by what is contrary to God’s holy will and will not be a party to it. So as not to offend the angels and drive them away, because God’s holy will for the role of man and woman is being rejected and disobeyed, the woman ought to have her head covered as a visible sign of the man’s authority over her, which was in keeping with the social custom in Corinth at the time.

1 Corinthians 11:11 & 12 state: “In the Lord, however, woman is not independent of man, nor is man independent of woman. For as woman came from man, so also man is born of woman. But everything comes from God.”

While the woman was originally made at creation from the man and for his benefit, these verses 11 and 12 tell us that now the two sexes of man and woman are dependent upon one another for their being brought into this world. As woman originally came from man, so now man is born of woman. And like everything else, they both come from God.

1 Corinthians 11:13 states: “Judge for yourselves: Is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered?”

Given the divine role from creation of the headship and the authority of the man over the woman, and given the custom in Corinth that a woman’s head being covered showed her submissive, subordinate position to her head--whether her father or husband, this verse 13 called on the Corinthian Christians to conclude that it was not proper for a woman to have her head uncovered. She should wear her veil that indicated she accepted by faith what was God’s role for her.

1 Corinthians 11:14 &15 state: “Does not the very nature of things teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a disgrace to him, but that if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? For long hair is given to her as a covering.”

These verses 14 and 15 again reflect the social morays present in Corinth at the time, which nature itself teaches. People naturally understood that it was more proper for a woman to have long hair than for a man to have long hair. A woman’s long hair was her glory. A woman was ashamed to appear with a baldhead in public. A man, on the other hand, customarily wore short hair and he did not feel the same shame if he lost his hair and became bald.

1 Corinthians 11:16 states: “If anyone wants to be contentious about this, we have no other (literally “such”) practice —nor do the churches of God.”

Paul favored observing the Corinthian custom of a woman wearing a veil to show her submissive role to the man over her, because that Corinthian custom harmonized with God’s will for the role of man and woman since creation. However, a woman could show her submissiveness to the man over her in ways other than wearing a veil. Thus, Paul said, no one should be contentious and argue that a woman must wear a head covering in public. For the wearing of the veil was a social custom in Corinth, not a divine command that must be insisted upon. Indeed, Paul said, he and his co-workers had no such practice, nor did the churches elsewhere outside of Corinth.

This section of 1 Corinthians 11 teaches us that New Testament Christians should heed the roles of man and woman that God established at creation. So today we can serve God by faith as his Christian men and women by heeding the roles he has established from the beginning for men and women.

To summarize what we have discovered in this section of this Bible study: We have discovered that 1 Corinthians 11:2-16 teaches us that the roles God established for man and woman should be heeded by us New Testament Christians. Man is the head of woman. The custom in Corinth of a woman’s wearing a veil to show her submissive role to her father or husband should have been observed in the Corinthians’ worship services, because that custom did uphold God’s will for women to be subordinate to the men. Today we can serve God by faith by heeding the roles of man and woman which God has established at creation.

20. In this section of this Bible study we will discover that in marriage God has made the husband the head of the wife, and God has given both the husband and the wife their table of duties to fulfill.

In this section of this Bible study we will study what the following Bible passages say:

Ephesians 5:22-33: Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. 25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 26 to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, 27 and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. 28 In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church — 30 for we are members of his body. 31 “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” 32 This is a profound mystery —but I am talking about Christ and the church. 33 However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.

Colossians 3:18, 19 Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. 19 Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them.

Titus 2:4, 5 Then they (the older women) can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, 5 to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.

1 Peter 3:1-7 Wives, in the same way be submissive to your husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, 2 when they see the purity and reverence of your lives. 3 Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. 4 Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. 5 For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to make themselves beautiful. They were submissive to their own husbands, 6 like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her master. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear. 7 Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers.

According to Ephesians 5:23 the role of the husband is being the head of the wife.

According to Ephesians 5:22 & 24 and Colossians 3:18 the role of the wife is to submit to her husband. The word “submit” in the original Greek means to arrange oneself under. The wife is to arrange herself under her husband.

The responsibilities and table of duties given to the husband according to the preceding verses are as follows:

Ephesians 5:25 & 29 state the husband is to love his wife self-sacrificially, putting her and her needs before himself. The Greek word for “love” in these verses is the agape love in Scripture that gives and does what is best and right for the good of another. The husband is to nourish and cherish his wife as his own body.

Colossians 3:19 reveals that the husband is to love his wife with the agape love and is not to be harsh with his wife, literally in the Greek not to embitter his wife, meaning to make her bitter by what he says and does to her.

1 Peter 3:7 declares that the husband is to live with his wife considerately, that is in an understanding manner. He is to understand she is a woman and a weaker vessel. He is to understand her personality, moods, needs, and everything else about her. He is to respect and honor her as being a co-heir of God’s grace and heaven with him.

Today we Christian men can exercise our faith to serve God in our marriage and home by loving our wives self-sacrificially, nourishing and cherishing them, treating them well and with respect so as not to make them bitter towards us, understanding who and what they are and what their needs are, and by honoring them as our fellow Christian and heir of grace.

The responsibilities and table of duties given to the wife according to the preceding verses are as follows:

Ephesians 5:24 & 29 state the wife is to be submissive to her husband in everything and to respect her husband. She is to accept her husband’s leadership in everything and respect him for the man he is, as he is, and for the role God has given to him.

Titus 2:4, 5 clarify that the wife is to love her husband. The Greek word for "love" in this verse means to love her husband as a friend. She is to love her children in the same manner. She is to be self-controlled, pure, busy at home, kind, and submissive to her husband, so others do not malign the Word of God. The end of this verse expresses the concern that if others saw that the Christian wives did none of these things but were horrible wives, then those other people might malign the Word of God by saying something like: “Well! If that is how God’s Word says Christian wives should be, I don’t want any part of God’s Word or the God who spoke it.”

1 Peter 3:1-6 reveal that the wife is to be submissive to her husband. Her Christian chaste and respectful behavior should win over her unbelieving husband, not harping and nagging at him. Her beauty is to be her quiet and gentle spirit, which means she would not be a complainer, or contentious, or an argumentative woman.

Today Christian women can exercise their faith to serve God in their marriage and home by being submissive to their husbands, respecting their husbands for whom and what they are, loving their husbands as a friend, taking care of their home and children, and by having a gentle and quiet spirit.

To summarize what we have discovered in this section of this Bible study: In marriage God has made the husband the head of the wife and has given both the husband and the wife their respective table of duties to fulfill. We Christian men and women can exercise our faith to serve God by fulfilling our duties for our spouse.

21. In this section of this Bible study we will discover that in the New Testament the Lord has applied the roles of man and woman to his church. The church is to follow the roles God established in the beginning by the order in which he created the first male and female.

In this section of this Bible study we will study the following Bible passages of 1 Timothy 2:11-15 and 1 Corinthians 14:26-38, which are quoted from the New American Standard Bible.

1 Timothy 2:11-15 Let a woman quietly receive instruction with entire submissiveness. 12 But I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man, but to remain quiet.13 For it was Adam who was first created, and then Eve. 14 And it was not Adam who was deceived, but the woman being quite deceived, fell into transgression. 15 But women shall be preserved through the bearing of children if they continue in faith and love and sanctity with self-restraint.

1 Corinthians 14:26-38 What is the outcome then, brethren? When you assemble, each one has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification. 27 If anyone speaks in a tongue, it should be by two or at the most three, and each in turn, and let one interpret; 28 but if there is no interpreter, let him keep silent in the church; and let him speak to himself and to God. 29 And let two or three prophets speak, and let the others pass judgment. 30 But if a revelation is made to another who is seated, let the first keep silent. 31 For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all may be exhorted; 32 and the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets; 33 for God is not a God of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints. 34 Let the women keep silent in the churches; for they are not permitted to speak, but let them subject themselves, just as the Law also says. 35 And if they desire to learn anything, let them ask their own husbands at home; for it is improper for a woman to speak in church. 36 Was it from you that the word of God first went forth? Or has it come to you only? 37 If anyone thinks he is a prophet or spiritual, let him recognize that the things which I write to you are the Lord’s commandment. 38 But if anyone does not recognize this, he is not recognized.

Our Study Of 1 Timothy 2:11-15

The Scripture verses quoted are from the New American Standard Bible.

The context of 1 Timothy 2 is about what is to be practiced in the church’s worship services. First the chapter takes up the matter of the prayers in worship and the men leading the prayers. Then the chapter takes up the matter of the women dressing modestly and appropriately in the worship services. Next the chapter takes up the matter of who does the teaching and the exercising of authority in the church’s assemblies.

1 Timothy 2:11 states: “Let a woman quietly receive instruction with entire submissiveness.”

Notice that this verse begins with the words “Let a woman...” The woman is being called upon to voluntarily exercise her faith and as a fruit of her faith to willingly do what is said in the verse. The NIV unfortunately translates the verse with a “should” that turns the verse into a command and a law.

1 Timothy 2:11 calls upon the woman to voluntarily receive instruction and to learn quietly.

1 Timothy 2:11 further calls upon the woman’s heart and will to quietly receive instruction and learning with an attitude of entire submissiveness. She is called upon to fully submit from her own heart and will to having the men instruct her without having any resentment or objection to the men teaching her.

1 Timothy 2:12 states: “But I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man, but to remain quiet.”

This inspired verse of the Lord’s apostle does not permit the woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man.

In Christ’s church the principle to be maintained is that a woman is not to exercise authority over a man. The application of this principle is that a woman is not to teach in the church. In teaching one speaks as the leader of the group. In teaching the leader is exercising authority over the others. Hebrews 13:7 &17 below clearly show that those who speak and teach the Word of God to others are the leaders in the church. They do exercise an authority that the others are to obey and submit to. Thus a woman teaching men is an exercise of authority over them.

Hebrews 13:7 Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith.

Hebrews 13:17 Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you.

1 Timothy 2:12 does not forbid all teaching in the church by a woman. This verse establishes one situation in the church when a woman cannot teach. That one situation is when a woman would be teaching a man or a group with men in it. Outside of this situation a woman can teach other women and the children in the church.

The principle is that a woman is not to exercise authority over a man. Teaching is not the only application of how a woman might exercise authority over a man in the church. There are a number of applications of how a woman might exercise authority over a man. For example:

1) When she is in charge of, and has authority over, some endeavor of the church that involves the men.

2) When she is in a position to establish policies that govern the whole congregation of men and women and what that church does.

3) When she serves on the governing boards of a church that run its various ministries and oversees the pastoral and teaching ministries of the church.

All of these application examples would violate the principle that a woman is not to exercise authority over a man and should therefore not be permitted.

1 Timothy 2:13 states: “For it was Adam who was first created, and then Eve.”

Notice that this verse begins with the word “For.” This word “for” indicates that what is stated next in verse 13 gives the reason and the explanation for the principle given in verse 12, namely that a woman is not to teach or exercise authority over a man. 1 Timothy 2:13 clarifies that what established the principle that a woman is not to exercise authority over a man was God’s creating the male first and the female second. The chronological sequence in which male and female were created established God’s role that the male was the head and the female was his helper. The church is to observe and follow these roles established by God’s order of creation.

1 Timothy 2:14 states: “And it was not Adam who was deceived, but the woman being quite deceived, fell into transgression.”

Notice that this verse begins with the word “And.” This word “and” tells us that this verse 14 is presenting an additional reason for the principle given in verse 12 that states a woman is not to exercise authority over a man. The additional reason is that the woman was fully deceived by the devil in the Garden of Eden and sinned first. She then told the man, Adam, to eat the forbidden fruit. As we discovered in our earlier study of Genesis 3 above, this overturned and reversed the role of man as the head and the woman as his helper. In Eden the woman had become the leader in telling the man what to do, namely to eat the forbidden fruit. And on the other hand, the man had become the follower who failed to provide the leadership he was responsible for providing. This reversal of the roles that took place in Eden verse 14 clarifies is not to be repeated in the Lord’s church. So a woman is not to teach or exercise authority over a man in the Lord’s church.

1 Timothy 2:15 states: “But women shall be preserved through the bearing of children if they continue in faith and love and sanctity with self-restraint.”

The woman’s role from the time of creation was not being the head and leader but man’s helper. She had the unique role of being the child bearer. Having stated in verses 11 & 12 that the woman is not to be the leader who exercises authority over a man, this verse 15 redirects the woman to fulfilling her role as the child bearer. Her bearing children in itself will not give her salvation. She is saved through faith in Jesus, which gives evidence of itself through its fruit of accepting the role of child bearer that God has given to her and through its fruits of love and holy living.

Our Study Of 1 Corinthians 14:26-38

Scripture verses are quoted from the New American Standard Bible.

1 Corinthians 14:26-38 What is the outcome then, brethren? When you assemble, each one has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification. 27 If anyone speaks in a tongue, it should be by two or at the most three, and each in turn, and let one interpret; 28 but if there is no interpreter, let him keep silent in the church; and let him speak to himself and to God. 29 And let two or three prophets speak, and let the others pass judgment. 30 But if a revelation is made to another who is seated, let the first keep silent. 31 For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all may be exhorted; 32 and the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets; 33 for God is not a God of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints. 34 Let the women keep silent in the churches; for they are not permitted to speak, but let them subject themselves, just as the Law also says. 35 And if they desire to learn anything, let them ask their own husbands at home; for it is improper for a woman to speak in church. 36 Was it from you that the word of God first went forth? Or has it come to you only? 37 If anyone thinks he is a prophet or spiritual, let him recognize that the things which I write to you are the Lord’s commandment. 38 But if anyone does not recognize this, he is not recognized.

The context of 1 Corinthians 14 pertains to what is proper in the church’s worship services. Verses 26-38 above are about speaking and being silent in the church’s services. In the New Testament the immediate context shows that the Greek word for “speak” is used for one of three different kinds of speaking. To understand verses 26-38 correctly, we need to understand what kind of speaking is being referred to. From the following verses and from their immediate contexts we will discover what the three different kinds of speaking are that the Greek word for “speak” depicts.

The first kind of speaking is speaking privately or personally to oneself, to another individual, or within a small group, as exemplified by the following verses.

Acts 26:30, 31 The king rose, and with him the governor and Bernice and those sitting with them. They left the room, and while talking (Greek: speaking) with one another, they said, “This man is not doing anything that deserves death or imprisonment.”

2 John 12 I have much to write to you, but I do not want to use paper and ink. Instead, I hope to visit you and talk (Greek: speak) with you face to face, so that our joy may be complete.

3 John 14 I hope to see you soon, and we will talk (Greek: speak) face to face. Peace to you. The friends here send their greetings. Greet the friends there by name.

1 Samuel 1:12, 13 As she kept on praying to the LORD, Eli observed her mouth. Hannah was praying (Greek LXX: was speaking) in her heart, and her lips were moving but her voice was not heard.

The second kind of speaking is speaking collectively in a group or as a group, as exemplified by the following verses.

Luke 2:15, 18 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said (Greek: spoke) to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”...and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said (Greek: spoke) to them.

Acts 2:4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

The third kind of speaking is speaking publicly to address a gathering of people, as exemplified by the following verses.

John 7:26 Here he is, speaking publicly, and they are not saying a word to him. Have the authorities really concluded that he is the Christ?

John 18:20 “I have spoken openly to the world,” Jesus replied. “I always taught in synagogues or at the temple, where all the Jews come together. I said (Greek: spoke) nothing in secret.

Acts 18:25, 26 He had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and he spoke with great fervor and taught about Jesus accurately, though he knew only the baptism of John. He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they invited him to their home and explained to him the way of God more adequately.

Acts 21:39, 40 Paul answered, “I am a Jew, from Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no ordinary city. Please let me speak to the people.” Having received the commander’s permission, Paul stood on the steps and motioned to the crowd. When they were all silent, he said to them in Aramaic...”

We have now discovered what the three different kinds of speaking are. It is clear that the kind of speaking being discussed in 1 Corinthians 14:26-33 is public speaking and addressing the people gathered in the congregation. The speaker in verses 26-33 is addressing the Corinthian congregation as a person who is leading and teaching others in the church. This being the case, the silence that verses 26-33 call for is not being able to address the congregation and to speak as the one leading and teaching the others.

It is in this context of speaking publicly as a leader or being silent in the church as a listener and a learner that we read in 1 Corinthians 14:34, 35 about the women speaking and being silent in the church. 1 Corinthians 14:34, 35 state: “Let the women keep silent in the churches; for they are not permitted to speak, but let them subject themselves, just as the Law also says. And if they desire to learn anything, let them ask their own husbands at home; for it is improper for a woman to speak in church.”

In light of the kind of speaking and silence being called for in verses 26-33, it is clear that verses 34, 35 are saying that the women are not permitted to speak publicly to the congregation as a leader and a teacher. Rather, they are to remain silent in the church.

Notice that like 1 Timothy 2:11, 12, 1 Corinthians 14:34, 35 state “let the women...” The women are not being given a harsh command that tells them what their place in the church is. Rather, they being called upon to voluntarily exercise their faith and willingly do for themselves what is stated in the verses that is pleasing to the Lord.

1 Corinthians 14:34 calls on the women to “subject themselves just as the Law also says.” The term “law” can refer to the law of God that was given on Mount Sinai or to the Old Testament. In this verse it refers to the Old Testament, where in Genesis 1 &2 the principle of the roles of man and woman were first established.

1 Corinthians 14:35 states that “It is improper (or disgraceful) for a woman to speak in church.” This verse clarifies that the woman’s speaking in the assembly of the church as the leader who is teaching and exercising authority is improper and disgraceful. Her speaking publicly is improper and disgraceful because it is contrary to the role of the woman in her relationship to the man. Thus her public speaking ought not to be done.

1 Corinthians 14:35 also clarifies that it is improper for women to ask questions in the church’s assembly when a public discussion is taking place. They should rather ask their husbands at home if they want to learn something about what was being discussed. The term “husbands” in this verse 35 is literally “men.” This verse can be understood to mean that the woman should ask her men folk -- her husband if she were married, or her father or brother if she were unmarried.

1 Corinthians 14:36 raises the question: “Was it from you that the word of God first went forth? Or has it come to you only?”

Paul raised this question to rebuke those who would set aside the role of man and woman in the church. The point Paul was making was that the Word of God did not come from those individuals, nor were they the only ones to really know what God’s Word said. In fact, the opposite was true. They did not really know what it said.

1 Corinthians 14:37 states: “If anyone thinks he is a prophet or spiritual, let him recognize that the things which I write to you are the Lord’s commandment.”

For the sake of those especially who wanted to ignore and reject the role of man and woman in the church, Paul asserted in this verse 37 that those individuals should recognize that the things he wrote to them regarding the women not being permitted to speak in the church were the Lord’s command. Paul himself did not assert the women should not speak in the church; God himself commanded it.

Since what Paul said he wrote was the Lord’s command, this command of the Lord did not apply only to the church in Corinth but it applies to the church of all ages, even to our churches today.

1 Corinthians 14:38 states: “But if anyone does not recognize this, he is not recognized.”

This verse 38 reveals that if anyone does not recognize that what Paul had written in these verses is the Lord’s command, then that person is not recognized as being one of the Lord’s people in harmony with the Lord’s will on the role of man and woman. Since that person ignores the Lord’s command, he himself and what he says will be ignored.

1 Corinthians 14:34 states: “Let the women keep silent in the churches; for they are not permitted to speak, but let them subject themselves.” At the same time 1 Timothy 2:11, 12 state: “Let a woman quietly receive instruction with entire submissiveness. But I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man, but to remain quiet.”

The doctrinal content of these 1 Corinthians and 1 Timothy verses are identical. Both verses are saying the same thing but in different words. To the Corinthians Paul wrote that a woman was not to speak publicly as one intending to teach and build up the church. To Timothy Paul wrote that a woman was not to teach. To the Corinthians Paul wrote a woman was not permitted to speak publicly but to subject herself. To Timothy Paul wrote a woman was not permitted to teach or to exercise authority over a man but was to learn with entire submissiveness. The doctrinal content is the same.

Today Christian women can exercise their faith to serve God in the church with respect to God’s roles for man and woman. As a fruit of their faith they can accept their role of being silent in the church and not teaching or exercising authority over the men in the congregation.

Today Christian men can also exercise their faith to serve God in the church with respect to God’s roles for man and woman. As a fruit of their faith they can fulfill their responsibility to be the teachers and leaders in the church.

Today Christian men can fail to exercise their faith to serve God in the church with respect to God’s roles for man and woman. They can do so by failing to provide the leadership they are expected to provide and by leaving that responsibility fall upon the women in the church.

Today Christian women can also fail to exercise their faith to serve God in the church with respect to God’s roles for man and woman. They can do so by not accepting their role to be submissive and silent in the church and by promoting a power struggle with the men for control. This happens when they demand equal voting rights and the right to serve in positions of authority in the church.

To summarize what we have discovered in this section of this Bible study: In the New Testament the Lord has applied the roles of man and woman to his church. The church is to follow the roles God established in the beginning by the order in which he created the first male and female. In the church the man is to hold the position of leadership and authority. It is his responsibility to do the teaching and the exercising of authority. On the other hand, the woman as a fruit of her faith is to accept her submissive, subordinate role in the church. She is not permitted to speak publicly in the church to teach or to exercise authority over the men in the church. That is disgraceful, for that is contrary to the roles of man and woman that God established. She is to be silent and learn. She can teach and exercise authority in situations where men are not involved. By faith we can serve God in the church by accepting and carrying out the role God has given us a man or a woman.

22. In this section of this Bible study we will discover that women may serve in the church in a variety of ways that do not violate God’s roles for man and woman in the church.

In this section of this Bible study we will study what the following verses say:

Titus 2:3-5 Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. 4 Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, 5 to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.

Acts 16:1; 2 Timothy 1:5 & 3:15: Acts 16:1 He (Paul) came to Derbe and then to Lystra, where a disciple named Timothy lived, whose mother was a Jewess and a believer, but whose father was a Greek. 2 Timothy 1:5 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 Timothy 3:15 …. and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.

Acts 18:26 He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they invited him to their home and explained to him the way of God more adequately.

Acts 9:36 In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (which, when translated, is Dorcas), who was always doing good and helping the poor.

1 Corinthians 11:5 And every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head —it is just as though her head were shaved.

Titus 2:3-5 show that women may be actively serving in the church by teaching other women.

Acts 16:1 and 2 Timothy 1:5 & 3:15 tell us that Timothy’s father was a Greek unbeliever. His mother was a Jewish Christian who believed in Jesus, as was his grandmother Lois. Timothy learned the Christian faith and the Scriptures from the time he was an infant, then, not from his unbelieving father, but from his believing mother and grandmother. This is an example that shows women may actively serve in the church by teaching the children.

Acts 18:26 indicates that Priscilla and her husband Aquila were evangelists. Since Priscilla was named first, she especially was recognized for her work. This is an example that shows that women may serve in the church as evangelists.

Acts 9:36 presents Tabitha as an example of how women may be actively serving in the church. The women may be busy serving with charitable acts of kindness.

1 Corinthians 11:5 reveals another way in which women might serve in the church. Even in Corinth, where the roles of man and woman were visibly recognized through the women’s wearing a veil, Christian women were able to participate in the church in praying and prophesying. If we were to make a thorough study of how the terms prophecy and prophesy are used in the Bible in both the Old and New Testaments, we would find that prophesying was either receiving a revelation from God about some future event and proclaiming it as the word of God, or preaching the word of God, or being filled with the Spirit and uttering and singing praises to God. With this understanding of what the term “prophesies” could mean in 1 Corinthians 11:5, and keeping in mind what other portions of the New Testament say about women not speaking publicly to teach the Word of God and to exercise authority over the men, we can understand that women could have been active in the apostolic church of the first century by prophesying if and when the Lord gave them a revelation that he wanted her to share with others in the church. Or, we can understand that women could have been filled with the Spirit to utter and sing God’s praises in the church with others. These special outpourings of the Spirit with his gifts came to an end with the demise of the apostles at the end of the first century, however.

To summarize what we have discovered in this section of this Bible study: Women may serve actively in the church by teaching women and children, by sharing the Word of God with others as evangelists, and by performing charitable works of service. Women may serve in other capacities also where they do not exercise authority over men.

A Study Of How God Has Applied The Roles Of Man And Woman To Society

Pertinent passages: None. There is not a single Bible verse that says how the role of man and woman applies to society and the world.

The fact that there are no Bible passages that apply the role of man and woman to society and the world in which we live tells us that God has made no specific application of the role of man and woman to society and the world. In Eden with the creation of the first male and female the role relationship of man and woman applied to society as well as to marriage and the church. Since the fall into sin, however, human society and the world do not observe this principle nor do they heed the Word of God that teaches it. The Word of God does not apply the roles of man and woman to the world’s society because the world pays no attention to what the Word of God says anyway, and the Word cannot be forced upon the world.

To sum up what we have just discovered in this section of this Bible study: We recognize that the roles of man and woman applied to all men and women beginning with the first male and female at creation, and that the roles applied to society as well as to marriage and the church. However, we also must recognize that Scripture has not shown how the roles can be applied to society and the world. Since Scripture has made no clear applications of the roles of man and woman to society, we must be careful not to insist on how the roles must be applied to society either. 

Unpublished work. Copyright © 2007 JCS of Christian Inconnect. All rights reserved.  No part of this document may be reproduced for distribution or publication without prior permission from Christian Inconnect.

All Scripture verses on this web page, unless otherwise indicated, are a translation of the pastor of Christian Inconnect and are a part of the Christian Inconnect Version (CIV), on which he is working. He reserves all rights to his translated verses and to their copyright ©. They may not be quoted without his prior permission.

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