Different for Good Reason
One of the revolutionary, historical contributions that the Word of God has made is to elevate the status of women. In a culture where women were treated as chattel, having very few rights compared to men, Paul wrote“There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28). It was unprecedented to value women in the way Christianity did. The ground was truly declared level beneath the cross.
In the book, Women and Men in Ministry: A Complementary Perspective, Professor Robert Saucy writes:
Equality of persons in Christ means the rejection of placing more value on one person than another, whether based on social status, particular ministry, or position in social orders. Galatians 3:28 points both men and women back to God’s original design. Although created with differences and a distinct relationship and responsibility to each other, man and woman were equal and therefore equally valued in every respect as human beings in the image of God. The outworking of this equality has always been marred by sin, but it must be the goal of all believers. We will fulfill God’s desire in relationships only if we fulfill this teaching on the equal value of persons, only if we truly love the other, both men and women, as ourselves.
Women and Men in Ministry: A Complementary Perspective . Moody Publishers. Kindle
There is a counterfeit of this concept of equality being widely promoted in the world today. Like all counterfeits, it mimics the original, but is at best worthless, and at worst, harmful. This counterfeit has caused much harm. In our culture, it has created an identity crisis. “There is…neither male nor female” means something completely unbiblical to people like the many victims of radical feminism.
The contemporary cultural mindset includes the idea that equality means no distinction whatsoever. Abandoning the idea that God created two sexes—complementary but different—they have adopted a strange concept of innumerable “genders.” For some, belief in just two genders, and distinct differences between a man and a woman, is considered “sexist,” “misogynistic,” “patriarchal,” “bigoted,” and some kind of phobic.
The Bible is clear about the origin of the sexes. We read, “He created them male and female, and He blessed them…” (Genesis 5:2). They were different and complementary to one another. If they were exactly the same, one of them would have been unnecessary! But both were absolutely vital as God created Man. In fact, Genesis 5:2 goes on to say that God “…named them Man in the day when they were created” (emphasis added). Together they are “Man.”
The fact is that it takes both genders to make Man points up the absurdity of being careful to avoid masculine pronouns and references to designations like man and mankind, in the name of gender equality. Two genders are necessary for mankind and both genders are vital to the church.
Because the genders are different, they have different roles. For the purpose of order in the church, as in marriage and family, the roles differ, but are complementary and necessary. In fact, even in the early church, women played a significant role. The church allowed for a new kind of equality. For example, rather than an identifying rite that highlighted only men (like circumcision), Christianity has baptism for all, recognizing priesthood for both men and women. Previously, in Judaism for example, it was exclusive to men.
Christianity has been labeled with promoting inequality when it comes to the sexes. New Testament writers, like Paul and Peter, do identify certain limitations on church roles and functions, depending on gender. That doesn’t make them unequal, just different for good reason.
“…the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.”
—EPHESIANS 4:15-16