by H. Wayne House, published in Bibliotheca Sacra — January-March 1979.
Was Christ's perception of women really contradictory to
Paul's? Though Jesus did treat women with kindness and respect and considered
them equal before God, the biblical records say nothing at all about Him
considering women equal to men in minsterial leadership or spiritual headship.
There is no evidence that any woman was commissioned as one of the seventy or
the Twelve. Women are not represented among the Apostles to head the heavenly
rule of Christ to come in the New Jerusalem. No amount of Argument or rhetoric
can change these facts.
How does Paul compare to Christ? The Book of Acts and Paul's
epistles reveal the tender heart Paul had toward women and his appreciation for
their help in the gospel ministry. But nowhere did he ordain them as overseers,
nor did they serve as apostolic representatives to the churches. Richardson is
correct; Paul has gone no further than Jesus — and neither should believers
today. Christ and Paul have no tension between equality and hierarchy as based
on creation.
Those feminists who see a contradiction in Paul make several
false assumptions that lead them to wrong conclusions.
First, it is assumed that equality between persons requires
interchangeability of roles. Since Paul regarded women as equal with men (Gal.
3:28), but did not let them teach or exercise authority over men (1 Tim. 2:12),
he was contradictory. But this assumption is without support both in experience
and in the Scriptures. Parents and children, employers and employees, the
president and citizens of the United States are all equal as persons, but they
have definite role differences. Also, while church members are equal in Christ,
some members are in positions of authority in the local congregation (1 Thess.
5:12; Titus 1:5; Heb. 13:17; 1 Pet. 5:1-5).
