Written by Dr. Kristi Meyer
“Laura summoned all her courage and said, ‘Almanzo, I must ask you something. Do you want me to promise to obey you?. . . Even if I tried, I do not think I could obey anybody against my better judgment.’“
Growing up, I couldn’t get enough of Laura Ingalls Wilder. I loved her strength, courage, and independence—an independence that refused to say “obey” in her wedding vows. But does her attitude align with God’s Word? And how can we communicate the nuanced and potentially offensive subject of the roles of men and women to the next generation of WELS members?
Biblical Principles
The biblical concepts of headship and submission began at the very dawn of time. God created Adam and Eve to fulfill distinct, complementary roles: head for Adam, helper for Eve. This “order of creation” was established before the fall into sin and is therefore perfect. Although the fall into sin tarnished the head-helper roles God designed for men and women, this does not give us license to set them aside. Nor did God intend for the head-helper relationship to apply only to Adam and Eve. Rather, it is a relationship that applies to mankind and womankind in general.
Perhaps the best-known application of the “order of creation” is recorded in 1 Timothy 2:11-14, where Paul does not permit a woman to teach or have authority over a man. In order to understand these verses, we must distinguish between biblical principles and applications. Communicating this distinction is essential when we teach our students how to faithfully live out the roles they fill in their various callings and vocations.
Application of Biblical Principles
Because the biblical principles of headship and submission are timeless, we stand with Paul and “do not permit a woman . . . to have authority over a man.” How to apply the principles, on the other hand, varies across the centuries and can be challenging. Both MLC and WLC call female professors—myself included—and so there is implicit agreement that not all teaching is authoritative.
When we consider how to explain the roles of men and women to our students—especially to female students who live in a secular world where there has never been a stronger push for gender equality—a few cautions are in order. First, the terms “helper” and “submissive” should not carry negative connotations. Although many women—myself included—bristle when we are told to be submissive, the God-given role of helper is not one of inferiority. It is simply a complementary role intended to establish good order. From personal experience, I assure you that this concept of “distinct, not inferior” must be emphasized.
We should also be careful not to conflate “authority” and “leadership.” Many women—myself included—are blessed with gifts of leadership. It is entirely possible for women to exercise this gift without assuming authority over men or stepping out of their helper role.
This became clear to me several years ago when I was discussing church polity with my pastor. I expressed my frustration that as a single female unable to vote in the church, I had no official voice in decisions made by the voters’ assembly. He said something that continues to resonate with me: that not being able to vote in my church should not be confused with not having influence in my church.
Since then, I have seen that “in spite of” being female, I do indeed have a significant amount of influence in my church. I say this not to be boastful or to step out of my helper role but instead to point out that God has given me the spiritual gifts he desires. I have a responsibility to use these gifts as best as I can—not in violation of the “order of creation,” but in harmony with it.
When we teach the next generation about the biblical roles of men and women, we must do more than simply quote 1 Timothy 2:11-14. We must differentiate between biblical principles and applications. We must remind young men and women that these roles were established by God to bestow blessings on his people. We must emphasize that these roles are not a mark of inferiority and are not primarily intended to limit how women can serve in the church. And we must always use the gifts God has given us to the best of our ability. When Christian men and women live within the roles God established, we are freed to serve him and bring glory to his name.
Kristi Meyer serves as a mathematics professor at Wisconsin Lutheran College. She is enrolled in the MLC Master of Arts in Theological Studies program.
Adapted from a paper written for THE 5002: New Testament Theology.
References
Clark, Stephen B. (1980). Man and Woman in Christ. Ann Arbor, MI: Servant Books.
Knight, George W. (1975). New Testament Teaching on the Role Relationship of Male and Female with Special Reference to the Teaching/Ruling Functions in the Church. Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, 18(2), 81-91.
Lawrenz, Carl J. (n.d.). The Role of Man and Woman According to Holy Scripture. Retrieved from http://essays.wls.wels.net
Schroeder, Edward H. (1972). Orders of Creation: Some reflections on the History and Place of the Term in Systematic Theology. Concordia Theological Monthly, 43(3), 165-78.
Schuetze, Armin W. (2000). The People’s Bible: 1, 2 Timothy & Titus. Milwaukee, WI: Northwestern Publishing House.
Wilder, Laura Ingalls. (1943). These Happy Golden Years. New York: Harper & Row Publishers, Inc.
Thanks for the great article. One factoid to add. The word “helper” (Ezer) shows up 18 times in the OT talking about a person. Twice in Genesis talking about Eve then 16 times talking about God. We bristle at the termer helper because we are God’s enemies by nature.
Thank you for a succinct explanation of a thorny issue.
While some important thoughts are captured, the biblical principal of law and gospel is not emphasized. God’s law depicts our role relationships. The author only speaks of “roles” -law. Luther emphasized this in his table of duties. The gospel emphasizes our equality – Galatians 3:28 “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Jesus did not come primarily to be our example – he came to live in our place – to do what we cannot do – he is the One that frees us to live inside of the will of God. That is why we speak of the blood and righteousness of Jesus.
Thanks for the feedback. I completely agree that Galatians 3:28 emphasizes our equality as redeemed children of God, and I address this more fully in the paper that formed the basis for this article.
However, due to space limitations, I wasn’t able to include everything from the paper in this article. Therefore, I decided to focus more on the issues that have greater potential to be divisive or misunderstood than the issues that are clearer. Faithfully fulling the roles God established at creation is a much stickier issue than our equality as redeemed children of God. This accounts for the emphasis on the former rather than the latter.
Thank you for your article. We know how easy it can be to overlook, ignore, or ever so subtly change what Scripture says. I appreciate the faithfulness our Lord has worked in you. Your reminder, that through the roles our Lord has given to us he blesses us, is vital. We can view our roles as a matter of power, control, and rights – all of which veil and contradict our Lord’s teaching – or as a matter of service, responsibility, and love. Thank you again!
Your thoughts on leadership are so appropriate. Jesus is the example for this when He washes the disciples’ feet, and WLC has a statue on its campus to proclaim it. Servant-leadership and how one can influence is also shown by the servant girl in 2 Kings 5: 1-19 who tells Naaman’s wife that he should go to the prophet in Israel. Thank you for your essay. If the service of women is limited, we all lose.
Outstanding. Thanks so much for writing and sharing this article!!