Biblical Womanhood: Wrong Teaching & It’s Effects

In 2014 I began the process of digging into Scripture to discover what God's word said about women. Who are we? Why are we here? What is our purpose? All around me were women who were struggling with these same questions. As a result, 7 women and I embarked on a six month journey of studying our the answers to these questions and letting God's Word transform us. I have decided to begin sharing these studies with you over the months to come. I hope they are encouraging and ignite a passion in you to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, & mind. (Matthew 22:37)

Feminism is not in and of itself a bad thing. Without the leaders of the feminist movement women would not be free to vote, become educated, or be valued in society. However, every man made system has its flaws. Women in first world societies have been lead to believe that they are superior to men and are to be worshipped. The biblical perspective of womanhood has been thrown off for a cultural, natural love of self above God. We may not even realize the devastating effect that this mindset has had on our lives, marriages, and churches. Yet, just like cancer it has unknowingly invaded our thinking and quietly begun destroying us. 

Marriage

Consider first the effect that feminist thinking has had on our marriages as believers. In Genesis 1:26-28 we see that God gave men and women specific responsibility and, in Genesis 2:18, we see that she was not equal to him, but a helper (which we will look at in more depth later). However, some within the church have concluded that part of the curse was that woman suddenly had to submit to man (Genesis 3:16) when man began to rule over her. Their logic then is that for a woman to submit is a part of the curse and should not be practiced. One individual actually stated:

 “If this kind [complimentarian] of marital relationship, far from being divinely ordered, is the product of sin and the curse, then it is to be avoided rather than commended. It is characteristic of marriage outside of God’s grace. To prescribe this kind of relationship is to advocate living under the penalty of sin imposed upon Adam and Eve, as if Christ brought nothing new to marriage relationships.” - John Temple Bristow

We will discuss the different views of the role of women a little later in this session. However, according to Ephesians 5:15-33 Scripture defines the role of a woman as:

- Being wise (vs 15)

- Making the best use of our time (vs 16)

- Loving God supremely (vs 20)

- Submitting out of reverence to Christ (vs 21)

- Submitting specifically to one's husband because it images the submission that the church demonstrates with Christ (vs 22)

- To be one flesh and a united team with her husband (vs 31)

Parenting

A second area in which feminism has effected our lives is in the realm of parenting. Rather than training our men to be biblical, women who have bought into the idea of feminism (whether willingly or unconsciously) are now participating in a cultural shift that trains boys to be feminine (i.e. stay home with mommy all day, become sensitive & play gentle) and girls to be masculine (i.e. "I don’t need a man", a lack of any form of manners, never teaching basic skills for taking care of their homes, husbands, families).

Our Understanding of Sexuality

Consider still the area of homosexuality in which men and women have confused their roles and no longer understand how God made them and who He intended them to be. 

Two excellent passages that demonstrate the damages that occur when when men and women reject God’s design for them are Romans 1:26-27 and Judges 19.These passages clearly speak for themselves as we see man turn God’s created order into complete chaos. In so doing, they have actually attempted to destroy one another and the very image of God in them.

Female Roles Within the Church

Unfortunately, a wrong teaching and understanding of Scripture has resulted in many misusing the gifts of women in the church. Rarely do we see a balanced approach but instead we see extremes. While there are many results that stem from women understanding their roles, two specifically stand out. On the one extreme it is common to see women leading in a way which puts the spiritual authority over men squarely on the woman's shoulders. The other extreme is to find women not doing anything in the church because they are "not fit" for anything other than nursery duty. A lesser form of this, but still just as unbiblical is to find pastors and leaders not utilizing women biblically in an effort by the church to combat unbiblical mentalities. In I Timothy 2:11-15 Paul establishes the Scriptural teaching that women were not designed to hold spiritual authority over men in the church, nor is she to use her giftedness to teach, or instruct men within the church. I Corinthians 11:2-16 & 14:34-36 again enforce this truth. While these passages probably raise many questions in your minds, please be assured that we will discuss these passages in a later topic of study. For the sake of time they will not be expounded upon here. 

So…WHO are YOU?

Those of you who have ever watched Alice in Wonderland will remember Alice’s encounter with the old caterpillar. In his basic form, the caterpillar is meant to help Alice understand who she really is, not who people tell her she is. It is for this reason that his constant question to her is “WHO are YOU?” Unfortunately, the loud voices of the world and the confusion of people’s opinions have resulted in a very similar quandary for many women today. For this reason, it is incredibly important that we take some time to consider who women are before God and what sinful humanity has done to that truth. It is important to note here that many references to a biblical woman appear in Scripture in the context of marriage. However, this does not mean that the characteristics demonstrated by the biblical woman are limited only to those who are married. Instead, single women, widows, etc. are to be seeking the qualities listed.

A. Who you are in God’s perfect design:

If you are curious to know who you are, here are some treasured passages in which God specifically defines His design for YOU as a woman: 

Genesis 2:18 - A Helper

I Corinthians 11:9 - Created for man

Ephesians 5:21-33 - To represent the church. To be loved, presented blameless, cherished

Colossians 3:18-19 - Submissive, treated gently with love

I Peter 3:1-7 - Respectful, pure, submissive, internally beautiful, quiet in spirit, weaker vessel, heirs in Christ

Titus 2:5 - Self controlled, cares for her house/ family community, pure, kind, submissive, disciple makers

I Timothy 3:11 - dignified, not a slanderer, sober minded, faithful in all things 

B. Who you are as God’s chosen child:

Not only are you designed by God as a woman but, if you are a follower of Christ, your identity is also found as a chosen, adopted child of God:

Romans 8:16-18 - Children of God, heirs with Christ, 

Galatians 3:27-4:7 - different in role, equal in value before Christ. 

Eph 1:4-14 - Chosen, holy, blameless, adopted, loved, blessed, redeemed, forgiven, lavished with grace, given wisdom and insight, heirs of an inheritance, keepers of hope, sealed with the Holy Spirit.

Eph 2:18-22 - Member of the household of God, one with access to the Father.

Eph 5:8-10 - Child of light, producer of fruit, able to discern what pleases God.

I Timothy 5:2 - Part of a family, pure

John 15:14-15 - Friends of God, no longer an enemy

Colossians 2:12-14 - Buried with him, given new life, totally forgiven, justified.

Colossians 3:9-11 - Given a new self, renewed in the image of my Creator, equal in value before Christ.

C. The corruption of humans and it’s affect on God’s perfect design:

However, because of man's sin our identity and God's intention for women has been disgustingly marred and perverted. According to Scripture, some of the result of sin on God's design are:

Gen 4:19 - Polygamy

Gen 19:8 - Rape/Sodomy

Exodus 1:15-16 - Gendercide

Judges 9:54 - A view of women as worthless and weak, shameful to be overcome/defeated by a woman

Judges 19:22-30 - Rape, abuse, valueless approach to women

Ready to Challenge Your Thinking?:

1) How do you see that some of the following unbiblical comments made by feminists have slipped into how you treat men or see yourself?

“A woman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle” 

- Gloria Steinman

“The thing women have yet to learn is that nobody gives you power. You just take it” - Roseanne Barr

“I am too intelligent, too demanding, and too resourceful for anyone to be able to take charge of me entirely. No on knows me or loves me completely. I have only myself.” 

- Simone de Beauvoir

“Equality is not a concept. It's not something we should be striving for. It's a necessity. Equality is like gravity. We need it to stand on this earth as men and women, and the misogyny that is in every culture is not a true part of the human condition. It is life out of balance, and that imbalance is sucking something out of the soul of every man and woman who's confronted with it. We need equality. Kinda now.”

 - Joss Whedon 

2) What are some ways that an unbiblical view of men and women could affect the way we raise our children?(i.e. how you view men, how you view your children’s tendencies, how you interact with women, etc)

3) Look at Genesis 1:26-27 and Genesis 3:6. Then answer the following questions:

- Gen 1:26-27

Who designed Man?

How does being male image God?

- Gen 3:6

What is the real problem?

Conclusion:

This leads us to the question, what was it about Eve’s sin that specifically was a problem? Why was it such a huge issue that Eve ate the fruit? Was she just more gullible than Adam? 

The next blog post will focus in on the first woman in Scripture and also the woman that led the human race into sin.