"Did God actually say, 'You shall not eat of any tree in the garden'?"(Genesis 3:1 – ESV)
Satan tempted Eve with a focused plot, “we never have enough unless we have it all”. It was Satan’s sin, covetousness. God hadn’t said “not any”, He had said “all but one”, but when focused upon, that one forbidden thing seemed as important as anything. It continues today. It is now a part of our fallen nature; the one thing we can’t have is the one thing we must have.
This truth applies in many areas, but let us consider one “hot topic” from this perspective. If a woman is not supposed to be the leader at home, and the home is a model for Christianity and the Christian life, why then would that change for the church, a model itself? Is this Christlike? Jesus was equal with the Father but He functionally subordinated Himself for the sake of His role (1 Corinthians 15:27-28 / Philippians 2:6), and so wouldn’t it be more Christlike for a woman to do the same? Wouldn’t the biblical idea of submitting to not being able to be a pastor / elder / teacher of men (1 Timothy 2:12), in spite of our gifts, be an opportunity for Christlikeness not an obstacle to it?
You might say, “But I have these talents; and God has given them to me, so why shouldn’t I use them?” Indeed, you should, but in the way that God wants you to, and this is defined by His Word, not by His giftings. The temptation is great, but consider something first. Sure, you could preach and teach men and perhaps do it more effectively than any man in history. However, Christ had all the power of the Godhead, but in His role as Messiah, He was limited in using that power. He could have demonstrated His power by jumping off the Temple. To come down off that Temple would have been a powerful witnessing tool to proclaim His role as Messiah, but it would have been out of God’s will.
Just because you have the power to do something, or you could be effective at doing something, more effective than the current way of doing things, well this doesn’t make it right. The temptations of Christ in the wilderness teach us that it is not about what you can do, it is about what you should do. God allows us to be rebellious and out of order, but to be godly and Christlike is to be in order, as the Word of God defines it. Practical benefit is not the measure. If Christ would have turned the stones to bread, the next thing Satan would have said is “now feed the world!” The world may have been fed, but with ill begotten bread. Is this what you want?
When God says that there is something we cannot have, Satan says it is the one thing that we must have. When God says all but one, Satan says all or none. Then in a way, so does God. Think about it.
20 comments:
When exercising our abilities they must always be subject to God's authority and order.
The Apostle Paul reminds us that even though somethings can be done lawfully, they are not always necessary.
Good word, sista...
Exellent post. Submission is perhaps one of the hardest lessons I've learned (yes, I'm still learning) but in the end, one of the nicest. I must admit that it's a bit of a relief when coming up to an impasse in a situation to take it and say to a pastor/elder, "here it is; I've done all that you asked me to and can do no more (ususally a counseling situation)." Then I dump it back in their laps and walk away, not feeling the heavy responsibility that I would if the burden were mine.
I do have a question for you - what do you think of team teaching - female with an elder so that the female can address a mixed group but the elder is there for headship and any followup needed? It seems sometimes that it is unwise to always teach men and women separately but difficult to do in a mixed group without the presence of female teacher also. I'm thinking in particular about a mixed Sunday School class. I would be very interest to hear what you think about this.
I appreciate the serious thoughts on covetousness.
But on a lighter note, I was looking at the picture you chose. And yes, many people use an apple to represent the forbidden fruit, even though we have no idea what it actually was...
But ORANGES?! Why are all the good fruit represented by ORANGES? Man, that's a Floridian bias if ever there was one!
Ha! Ha! I love ya, Bro! Blessings from the Great Lakes area!
Craver, I knew you would catch that!
halfmom, that is an outstanding question and my answer is...
It depends on many factors, but I can see situations where it would be okay, and even advisable, as you say...perspective in that case wouldn't violate the principle...
Oh, and halfmom, your first paragraph was good, it is just like my wife thinks (and rightly so...)
JD what are you saying? That a female cannot teach or preach? Aren't we all the same now...neither bond nor free, male nor female in Christ? How about God not being a respecter of persons? Love and prayers, Mom
That verse (Galatians 3:28) does not speak to roles in the churh...it speaks of the church being one new man (Ephesians 1:23, 2:15 / Colossians 3:11)..."not a respector of persons" doesn't apply to our respecting God's ordained authority structures, if there were none, then why does Paul place restrictions on whom can be an elder? The fact that there are any restrictions at all shows that there must be some differences...
The slave still had an obligation to obey his master, though they might be equal in Jesus (Ephesians 6:5-8). There are still different roles for male and female in the home and in the church (1 Timothy 2:1-5, Ephesians 5:22-33), though they are equal in standing before God. There are differences in role and in function, but none in standing before God through faith in Jesus.
You cannot take what Paul says and press it into a service it wasn't intended for, he emant to show the inclusiveness of the gospel, not the chnaging of gender roles at home, or in the church...
Oh, and thanks mom for commenting and asking questions...you of course can call me whenever and ask more about this...
...and the books came today (well some of them yesterday, and awaiting the others today via UPS)...we mailed yours and Tony's to you, and sent Chris' to his place...
Thanks to JD's mom for asking that question and to JD for a great answer...As a single mom who sort of HAS to take on the roles of the Mom and Dad and head of the house, it is difficult to submit to a teaching like this. However, I am in full agreement. My youngest son learns about God from me, yes, but also from the men of the church who step up to their responsibility to be leaders and mentors for these young men, and to help look out for the women of the church who have no husbands or fathers to do so. Praise God for Godly men!!
It is also interesting that Satan indeed twists our minds to believe that we MUST have It or All and that we can't be satisfied with exactly what God HAS given us. Thanks for the teaching JD -
Lynda R
Thanks Lynda, happy mother's day (belated but beloved)!
Yeah, it isn't that we have nothing to learn from sisters, we most certainly do and we must (otherwise we would be stupid, and I guess I couldn't read ladies' blogs, but that isn't what I am talking about at all), it isn't that they cannot teach at all, or that men cannot learn from them...it about context, authority, and church structure, as Paul was laying it down in the epistles, especially for Timothy and Titus...
Thanks for the kind comment on my post JD.
To Lynda R - yes, it makes for a very interesting situation when you're a single parent and trying to teach your children about Biblical Submission but we have been blessed (my daughter will be 23 this summer and has just graduated from University this past weekend)to have a church family that does understand and model it - so she understands it quite well, especially for one so young.
Now - back to JD - here's a notion that I would love to hear your thoughts on.
It seems to me that it is a God-given responsibility for women to give counsel, even strong counsel, because you need input from the whole body for it to work well and in coordinated fashion. What I have discovered though, is that many men don't realize that, even backed up with scripture, it's just counsel/opinion and not an attempt to "boss" them around. In fact, if someone is really willing to listen to what I have to say, I will have a much easier time in actually doing the "lap dump" too.
I think that, even in a secular environment, women desire more to be heard and have their opinions valued than they desire to lead - then again, Eve just wanted what she didn't have - what do you think?
It can be a fine line, like much else in the Kingdom, it is a heart matter, and we must ask God to search our hearts, not just feel like we are doing right because we want to help....
Counsel, certainly, I don't do much without Margie's input...
Good for you! I would imagine that makes submission much easier for Margie too, even when she's not in agreement with what you choose.
It just never dawned on me before that some men might automatically assume that giving counsel was the same as being bossy - so now I'm trying to figure out how to communicate the intent clearly so that they do not need to "intuit" it.
5-15-07
For more on ths issue, see the sermon "Both Sides of the Coin" from sermonnaudio, or look for the blog posts with submission or marriage as labels...
True submission is true freedom in Christ. When we are not worried about getting noticed or being heard, allowing the authority which God has placed in our midst to rule accordingly we are honoring God and the ones within the role of authority. In turn, we also are honored by being listened to. It is just like the example of the military in battle. If the one in charge is constantly trying to get everyone in line, everyone loses there life.
Good stuff indeed, honey...
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