Before I move on to the next verses in 1 Timothy 2, I want to explain the differences between egalitarian versus complementarian views of reading the Bible, and especially this passage. I want to give a full disclosure here that I hold a complementarian view, but I will do my best to fairly represent both views. For the most thorough treatment of this subject that has possibly ever been done, see Mike Winger’s videos on Women in Ministry. You can access them here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3HQSlQLYQsE&list=PLZ3iRMLYFlHuBtpJlwi7F5JYw3N5pKyLC
Before I start, I want to emphasize that this is going to be a very brief overview. I am only trying to provide a helpful framework for those of you who are new to this topic. Both views have a wide range, from one extreme to the other. I may briefly cover those extremes, but my main goal is to explain the mainstream view.
I will begin with egalitarianism. This view teaches that all people are inherently equal and should be treated as such. Because of this, the way they view these verses in 1Timothy, and other verses, such as those in Ephesians, where wives are to submit to their husbands, are viewed differently than how complementarians would view these scriptures. Egalitarians use the following verses for their position.
“There is no Jew or Greek, slave or free, male and female; since you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28).
“My brothers and sisters, do not show favoritism as you hold on to the faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ.” “If, however, you show favoritism, you commit sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors” (James 2:1, 9).
Egalitarians acknowledge that there are passages in the Bible that restrict women, such as this one in 1Timothy and in Corinthians, but show the many examples where women do serve in scripture. They use the examples of Deborah the judge, the women who follow Jesus and witnessed his resurrection, Phoebe the Deacon, Phillip’s daughters who prophesied, Priscilla teaching Apollos, Paul greeting nine women in Romans 16 (five referred to as coworkers), among others. They then use these passages to nullify the admonition of Paul against women elders and pastors in 1 Timothy 2. They argue that this was strictly cultural, and that women should be ordained as pastors and priests.
Egalitarians believe that women and men are created equal. Before the fall we all had the same status, with the same responsibilities and purpose. While we have differences, there is no differentiation of roles. Male rule is a result of the fall. Jesus’s death and resurrection restores the original order of creation. We are all once again equal and can all participate in the ministry gifts.
Egalitarianism is a new movement in the church- within the last 250 years. The first woman ordained in a major US denomination was Antoinette Brown Blackwell in a Congregational Church in 1853. The Church of God began ordaining women in 1909, and the Assemblies of God has been ordaining women since its founding in 1914. Today, many Pentecostal, Mainline, and Methodist traditions ordain women ministers. My own denomination, the Wesleyan Church, believes in the ordination of women pastors, stating this on its website: “The Wesleyan Church affirms the equal calling, gifting, and responsibility of men and women in ministry leadership.” Our own congregation is a bit more on the conservative side and I am not sure how they would respond to a woman pastor. While I feel it is a secondary issue (not a salvation issue) for me it is significant enough that if this ever happens at my church, I will have to make some important decisions.
There are several conservative denominations such as the Wesleyan Church that ordain women ministers, but there are also some extreme egalitarian examples, such as the Presbyterian Church USA (PCUSA), United Methodist, and the Episcopal Church, who deny some of the key doctrines of the faith, such as the deity of Christ, his atoning work on the cross, and his bodily resurrection. They place a greater emphasis on social justice, inequality, and the environment, than on the gospel message. The emphasis on justice and equality for women in these denominations paved the way for ordination of not only women, but of LGBT clergy as well. This goes against the clear teaching of the Bible.
Complementarianism is the belief that masculinity and femininity are ordained by God. Man and woman complement, or complete, each other. It has been this way since creation. In Genesis 1:26-27 we read, “Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness. They will rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the livestock, the whole earth, and the creatures that crawl on the earth.” So God created man in his own image;
he created him in the image of God; he created them male and female.” We get further detail of the creation of woman in chapter 2. “Then the Lord God said, ‘It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper corresponding to him’” (v. 18).
In Ephesians, Paul shows the model for what the relationship should look like in the home. “submitting to one another in the fear of Christ. Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord, because the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church. He is the Savior of the body. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives are to submit to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her to make her holy, cleansing her with the washing of water by the word. He did this to present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or anything like that, but holy and blameless. In the same way, husbands are to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hates his own flesh but provides and cares for it, just as Christ does for the church, since we are members of his body. For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.This mystery is profound, but I am talking about Christ and the church.To sum up, each one of you is to love his wife as himself, and the wife is to respect her husband” (Ephesians 5:21-33). Gotquestions.org puts it this way. “The two genders are, therefore, part of God’s created order. Any modern day blurring of the genders or distortion of the rules is result of the fall.”
Egalitarians believe that men and women’s roles only came about because of the fall. Complementarians believe that God put them in place at creation. They are a part of the created order. Men and women are created equal and have equal value and worth in God’s eyes. But even though men and women have equal dignity and worth, complementarians hold that God has assigned different roles for each of them, in the home and in the church. These differing roles, with their unique strengths, contribute to the well-being of the family and the church. Just as the egalitarian movement has some extreme views, so does complementarianism. One of the extreme views within complementarianism is Christian patriarchy. These beliefs within some subsets of evangelical Christianity extend male authority to society, not just family and the church. A daughter would be under her father’s rule until she left home to be married, and then she would be under her husband’s rule. Women are to have no authority in any arena. This has led to abuse, hurt, and deconstruction.
Some egalitarians have used the patriarchal movement to prove that complementarianism is wrong. It is important not to take these abuses and use them to prove a point. Just because some have misused the biblical passages in Corinthians, Ephesians, and Timothy, does not mean the passages are wrong. We also must be careful not to import the cultural moment of today into our reading of the Bible. The women’s suffrage movement began to gain momentum in the 1840’s, about the same time the first woman was ordained in a church. We are using a cultural lens to interpret Scripture. While I do agree with the egalitarian verses that show that we are indeed equal in God’s eyes, they don’t convince me that our roles are not different.
Here is my last point. God is Trinity. He is in relationship with Himself: God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. They are equal in nature. They have the same divine nature and divine attributes. But they have different roles. Gotquestions.org describes it this way. “The three Persons of the triune Godhead voluntarily submit to each other respecting the roles They perform in creation and salvation. So, the Father sent the Son into the world (I John 4:10). These roles are never reversed in Scripture: The Son never sends the Father. Likewise, the Holy Spirit is sent by Jesus and ‘proceeds from the Father’ to testify to Christ (John 14:26; 15:26). Jesus perfectly submitted His will to the Father’s (Luke 22:42; Hebrews 10:7).” We are created in God’s image. Men and women are equal, but different. Even from creation, woman was created to be a helpmate to man. From the beginning, our roles were created to be different, and that is a beautiful thing.
Grace be with you!
Abundant Joy 