The Biblical Foundation for Mutual Submission and Shared Authority Between Men and Women in Church and Marriage

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The Biblical Foundation for Mutual Submission
and Shared Authority Between Men and Women in
Church and Marriage

• Philip B. Payne, Ph.D.
• Author Man and Woman, One in Christ
• Teacher Fuller, Gordon-Conwell, Bethel, Trinity,
  Cambridge
• President Linguists Software
• www.pbpayne.com

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Objections to Equality

• The Bible (Allegedly) Teaches
• Male Headship
• Wives, submit to your husbands
• Women may not teach
• Mans priority in the Creation Order
• Woman is mans helper
• He will rule over you

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Objections to Equality

• The Bible (Allegedly) Teaches
• Only males exemplify OT leadership
• Only male priests
• Only male Apostles
• Only male overseers, pastors, elders
• Women should not speak in church
• Women have separate roles

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1. Male headship

• Liddell Scott Jones, Greek-English Lexicon, lists
  48 translations of kephale as a metaphor, but
  none means leader or authority.
• In only 6 of 171 instances in LXX (Greek OT)
  where head (ro?š) may convey leader did they
  translate it with the metaphor kephale in a way
  that clearly means leader.

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Male headship

• Seven of the ten people Rom 16116 names as
  Pauls colleagues in ministry are women
• 1-2 Phoebe, deacon of the church in Cenchreae
• 3 Priscilla and Aquila, my co-workers in Christ
  
• 7 Andronicus and Junia outstanding among the
  apostles.
• 6 Mary, Tryphena and Tryphosa, 12
  Persis women who work hard in the Lord.

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2. Wives, submit to your husbands

• Eph 52122 Context mutual submission
• 23 head explained as savior by apposition
• 25 savior husband gives himself for
• 29 nourishes and cherishes
• 1 Tim 514 Wives be house despots.
• 1 Cor 7 Wives and husbands equal 12x

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3. I do not permit a woman to teach or to have
authority over a man 1 Timothy 212

• Authentein is best translated
• to assume authority
• Paul typically uses the conjunction (oude) to
  join two elements to convey a single
  idea
• I am not permitting normally not universal
• Paul permitted women to teach elsewhere

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NT Affirmations of Women Teaching

• Acts 1826 Priscilla and Aquila explained
  to Apollos the way of God more adequately.
• Acts 2189 Philip had four daughters who
  prophesied.
• 1 Cor 115 But every woman who prays or
  prophesies
• 1 Cor 145 I would like every one of you to
  prophesy.
• 1 Cor 1424 while everyone is prophesying
• 1 Cor 1426 brothers and sisters each of you
  has a word of instruction, a revelation
• 1 Cor 1431 you can all prophesy so that
  everyone may be instructed.
• 1 Cor 1439 brothers and sisters, be eager to
  prophesy
• Col 316 Addressed to the whole church
  teach and admonish one another with all wisdom.
  
• 1 Tim 312 Whoever aspires to be an overseer
  is to be able to teach.
• 2 Tim 22 entrust to reliable people who
  will also be qualified to teach (d?d??a?)
  others.
• Titus 23 teach the older women to
  teach what is good.
• 2 Tim 15 314-16 your faith, which first lived
  in your grandmother Lois and in your mother
  Eunice from infancy you have known the Holy
  Scriptures.
• Heb 31, 12 512 brothers and sisters, by
  this time you ought to be teachers.

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4. The Creation Order Establishes Mans
Priority

• Genesis Creation Account Stresses Equality
• 12627 God said, Let us make mankind in our
  image, in our likeness. So God created mankind in
  his own image, in the image of God he created
  them male and female he created them. When God
  created mankind, he made them in the likeness of
  God.

126, 2829, God gave both dominion over the
earth, 128 52 God blessed them And He named
them Mankind (plurals are consistent
throughout)
223 Made of the same substance bone of my
bones and flesh of my flesh. 224 In marriage
they are united and one flesh. 224 a man
leaves his father and mother and is united to his
wife. This is contrary to a male centered
culture. 3613 Together they face temptation
and fail. Both hide from God. Both experience
guilt. Both pass the blame. God speaks to both
announcing specific consequences of their sin.
Both are responsible for their own acts.
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5. Woman is Mans Helper

• Gen 218 ?ezer help, savior, rescuer,
  protector, strength, might
• Elsewhere in the OT 15x God is our help, 4x of
  a military protector
• as in front of him kenegedô
• (ke as) (neged in front of/before) (ô
  him)
• like his opposite gt proper for him. HALOT
  2666.
• The etymologically-related noun nagîd refers to
  the person in front, HALOT 266768, the one
  declared (by Yahweh) to lead chief, leader,
  the leader of Israel, appointed by Yahweh.
• It is used of Davids and Solomons rule over
  Israel in 1 Sam 916 1314, and 1 Kgs 135.
• Together this expression conveys Strength as in
  front of him. (literal)
• a strength corresponding to him. (flowing)

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6. He will rule over you Gen 316

• A statement of what will result from the fall,
  not Gods decree of what should be.
• All male rule, not just bad rule, comes from
  the Fall. Both major Hebrew Lexicons (HALOT
  264748 and BDB 605) list no negative meaning
  for rule.
• Why should we support a curse the Fall
  introduced, namely mans rule over woman?

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7. Pattern of male leadership in OT

• God sent the prophetess Miriam to lead Israel.
  Micah 64
• Deborah prophetess, the highest leader in all
  Israel (Judg 445).
• Queen Esther along with Mordecai, Wrote with
  full authority. Esthers decree confirmed these
  regulations. Esther 92932
• The king, the elders, the prophets, and the
  people accepted the prophetess Huldahs word as
  divinely revealed, producing Israels greatest
  revival (2 Kgs 22142325 2 Chr 34223519).
• would that all the Lords people were
  prophets! Num 1129
• O woman, say, Here is your God! Isa 409
• The Lord announced the word the women
  proclaiming (feminine plural) it are a great
  company. Psalm 6811 (12 MT)

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8. Only males were priests

• Deut 2317 provides cultural explanation for no
  women priests in ancient Israel prohibiting cult
  prostitution.
• Exod 196 The OT ideal was for all of Israel to
  be A kingdom of priests and a holy nation.
• Isaiah 616 predicted a future when all of Gods
  people Will be called priests of the LORD, you
  will be named ministers of our God.

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Only males were priests

• God revealed inspired Scripture through women
• Exod 1521 the song of Miriam
• Judg 5231 the song of Deborah
• 1 Sam 2110 Hannahs prayer
• 1 Sam 252431 Abigails prophecy and
  blessing of Davids enduring house
• Luke 125, 4245 Elizabeths blessing
• Luke 14655 Marys Magnificat

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9. Only males were apostles

• Jesus chose men to avoid scandal and for symbolic
  parallel, not to ban women leaders.
• Jesus in all his words and deeds treated women as
  full persons equal with men, never subordinate or
  restricted in role. Jesus
• John 41426112526 taught Samaritan woman
  and Martha.
• Luke 103842 encouraged female disciples like
  Mary.
• Mark 1012 treated men and women equally
  regarding adultery and divorce.
• John 201418 demonstrates his respect for
  womens testimony by appearing post resurrection
  first to Mary Magdalene.

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10. Only males were elders, overseers, or
pastors

• Apart from Christ, the NT does not name anyone
  man or woman as overseer (episkopos) or
  pastor (poimen). Heb 1320 1 Pet 225 54
• John refers to himself twice as The elder, (2
  John 1 3 John 1) a title unique to him. Nothing
  in context associates this title with a local
  church or with administrative duties.
• 2 Pet 51 Peter Fellow-elder, a witness of
  Christs sufferings (synpresbyteros) also
  highlights his special witness status.
• Rom 161 Clearest identification of an
  individual with a church office is Phoebe,
  deacon of the church in Cenchrea.

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11. Let women in the churches be silent 1
Corinthians 143435

• 1 Cor 145 I would like every one of you to
  prophesy
• 1 Cor 1424 while everyone is prophesying
• 1 Cor 1426 brothers and sisters each of you
  has
• a word of instruction, a revelation
• 1 Cor 1431 you can all prophesy so that
  everyone may be instructed
• 1 Cor 1439 brothers and sisters, be eager to
  prophesy
• 1 Cor 115 But every woman who prays or
  prophesies

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Let women in the churches keep silent 1
Corinthians 143435

• Codex Vaticanus, the oldest Greek Bible,
  written ca. A.D. 350, uses this symbol 8
  times. Each occurs at the exact location of a
  widely-recognized, multi-word later addition.
• All the evidence indicates that this one
  marks 1 Cor 143435 as a later addition.

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12. Separate roles for women

• 1 Cor 1111 mutuality and shared authority
  of man and woman, even in prophecy.
• Gal 211-14 328 Any exclusion of women as a
  class from participation in the church is
  contrary to the gospel.
• Gal 328 doesnt merely state that all can be
  saved. It calls for radically new social
  interaction based on equality in church.

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Objections to Equality,Answered

• The Bible Teaches
• Shared leadership,
• NOT Male Headship
• Submit one to another, NOT just
• Wives submit to your husbands
• Women may not teach

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Objections to Equality, Answered

• The Bible Teaches
• Shared dominion in Creation, NOT Mans priority
  in the Creation Order
• Woman is strength corresponding to man, NOT
  mans subordinate helper
• Male rule is part of the Curse. He will
• rule over you is NOT Gods ideal.

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Objections to Equality, Answered

• The Bible Teaches
• Female leadership in the OT. NOT only males
  exemplify OT leadership
• All believers being priests is the ideal, even
  though only male priests in OT
• Women leaders in the apostolic church, even
  though only males in the 12 Apostles

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Objections to Equality, Answered

• The Bible Teaches
• Phoebe was a deacon. NT gives no man by name a
  local church leadership title.
• Women should not speak in church
• Exclusion of women from church leadership is
  contrary to the Gospel, NOT separate roles for
  men women

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Conclusion

• The Bible teaches the equal standing of men and
  women in the church, including church
  leadership.
• An avalanche of texts clearly support this.
• Let us who know these truths proclaim the
  liberating message of the gospel!