“This is a faithful
saying: If a man desires the position of a bishop, he desires a good work.” (1 Timothy 3:1 NKJV)
The office of elder in the church is reserved for a
God-called man. God has established
roles and responsibilities for human institutions—and some of these are gender
specific. Men are to be leaders in their
family and among God’s flock.
It must be stated emphatically that this has nothing to do
with one sex being superior to the other—that is a misguided notion of
subordination. The Spirit is subject to
the Father and the Son and the Son is eternally submissive to the Father. Yet, each Person of the Godhead is fully
divine and equal in their standing, although having a different role and being
a distinct Person. There is perfect
harmony and equality.
Note these verses:
Then
comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an
end to all rule and all authority and power.
For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His
feet. The last enemy that will
be destroyed is death. For “He
has put all things under His feet.” But
when He says “all things are put under Him,” it is evident that He who put all
things under Him is excepted. Now when
all things are made subject to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subject
to Him who put all things under Him, that God may be all in all. (1 Cor.15:24-28 )
Women may serve in many capacities in the church—and
thankfully so many do! As they serve in
submission to their husbands and/or elders their gifts are incredibly useful in
building up and extending the Kingdom.
We are equal, as men and women, but different. That is by God’s design and extends to the
Garden of Eden—before the fall. However,
since the fall and because of the curse of sin, the battle between the sexes
still exists. Yet, Christ came to redeem
us from the curse and part of that extends to redeeming sexuality. It is vital that the church portray a redeemed
community and proper exercise of authority is a facet of that.
Men are hard-wired to the side of objective thinking, as a
general rule; likewise, women are instinctively more subjective in their
thoughts and feelings. Both aspects are
essential, yet better suited for particular roles, both in the home and in the
church. Because of this, men are better
fitted to teach Scripture authoritatively and guard doctrine against
heresy. This is crucial for the church
and therefore the elders who are to insure this are to be holy men of God.
Just before Paul gave these qualifications for the pastors
and deacons in chapter three, he wrote the following words and this helps us
understand the context,
Let a woman learn in silence with all submission. And I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority
over a man, but to be in silence. For Adam was formed
first, then Eve. And Adam was not
deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression. Nevertheless she will be saved in childbearing
if they continue in faith, love, and holiness, with self-control. (1 Timothy 2:11-15 )
I know such thinking is not politically correct, but our aim
is to be theologically correct. The purpose of this brief post is not to
discuss all the dimensions of this complex and, in the present day,
controversial nature of gender roles. My
heart is to charge men—and young men in particular—to be open to the call of
God and if the Lord is dealing with them about Gospel ministry to devote their lives
to His church.
A PRAYER
Lord, You are Sovereign over the Church. You appointed Your Son as Head, and the
Church is His Bride. May we submit to
the Spirit’s order for how the church is to be led as given in the Word. Thrust out men into the fields that are ripe
and ready for harvest. Oh, Lord of the
Harvest, the laborers are few! Give us
men of God. Father, make me a holy man
of God. Thank you for the inexpressible
privilege of serving You and Your flock.
In the name of the Your Son, Jesus, Amen.
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