The short on Women

Hi Teal,

I was actually surprised at how convinced that women should be in ministry. I came into the study leaning the other way.
I will attach my paper but in short... (well in retrospect, not sooo short..)

Gen 2- men and women are equal with each other and have dominion to rule over the rest of creation together (not to rule over each other).
Eve was created to be a help to Adam. We assume that the helper is like the janitor or lackey but 'helper' is used 75% of the time to refer to God. Normally it is an upward movement. Eve was created after Adam. This is also sometimes held to mean that she is inferior, but if we look at the order of creation we see that the most sophisticated creatures are created last, not first. This would if anything imply that women were higher in the created order. At the least it is more complicated than most people give it credit for.

Gen 3- Woman is deceived. Man is not deceived; he know what he is doing and deliberately sins. You tell me which is better, to be decieved into sin or to knowingly walk into it. At this point God give the curse, part of which is that women's desire will be for her husband and he will rule over her (vs 16). The ruling of the man over the woman is part of the curse! Not the way that God had planned things in the garden.

From this point on in the Old Testament we see women in leadership over women but rarely over men. We see man become domineering to the point where Solomon had 1000 wives and women were seen more like objects or property than people.

Then Jesus comes in. Jesus comes to be the curse and end it for us (Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree" Gal 3:13.) We know the kingdom is both now and not yet. We see God's kingdom in this world but know it will not be fully fulfilled until Jesus' return. The curse is on its way out but will not be completely removed until Jesus returns (No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. Revelation 22:3).

So from Jesus' resurrection onward we see both the curse and the redemption. Paul writes strong words to churches who are living under the law and curse instead of the redemption. He even appeals to the law in 1 Cor 14:34 to say that women should not speak and be submissive. This is the law that Jesus fulfilled and they are clearly not living in the redemption but under the law.

But later Paul (same author) writes and says "In the Lord, however, woman is not independent of man, nor is man independent of woman. For as woman came from man, so also man is born of woman. But everything comes from God (1 Cor11:11-12)". And he does permit the women of Corinth (who he says not to speak in church) to pray and prophesy (1Cor 11:15) in church. And he says to the Galatian church that, "There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." IN CHRIST things are different than they are under the curse. IN Christ we see...

Christian women such as Lydia were the spiritual pioneers of their families and led their whole family to faith in Jesus(Acts 16). We hear about Junia who was “outstanding among the apostles” (Romans 16:6). Pricilla taught God’s way (Acts 18:26) and Phoebe was a deacon (Romans 16: 1-2). Anna was a prophetess who prophesied about Jesus while he was still a baby (Luke 2:36). We see both men and women receiving the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:18) as a mark insuring their inheritance and place in God’s family (Eph 1:13, Rom 8:18). As Jesus is being crucified we witness the faithfulness of the women in his life. It was two women who did not abandon Jesus’ grave and women who were the first to see Jesus on the third day, the day of his resurrection. The resurrected Jesus revealed himself first to women and then to men. Women were the first to have faith and then men. Something that helps me to remember this is that - women were first to be deceived but also first to ones who believed.

I think this issue goes hand in hand with slavery. It is something that can be permissible for a time but is never God's ultimate plan for us. And I see the church cutting off half of its leadership giftings, skills, passions, and potentials because they are not living in Christ but under the law and curse.