Male Headship?

Some of Paul’s instructions to Timothy regarding the demeanor of men and women in the church are offensive to modern ears. The expectation that men would pray without rancor and women not dress ostentatiously or provocatively are less likely to raise eyebrows. But the call for women in church to be submissive and silent and to not teach men, strikes the modern hearer as archaic, patriarchal, chauvinistic. I would suggest that Paul’s teaching is designed to bring the relationship between the men and women of the church back to creational order. 

Despite efforts by some to interpret his remarks as pertaining to issues current in that particular church, Paul resorts to universal terms. Referencing the Genesis account, he notes that Adam was created first. He was then placed in the garden and given the task of guarding and keeping. In the course of his work God declared that Adam needed a helper “fit” for him. So he builds a woman from Adam’s rib and presents her to him. Adam, realizing the marvel of this, affirms that she is “bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh.” What is revealed in this account? To put it succinctly, the woman was made from the man, for the man.

This is what sounds offensive, and not without cause. The “headship” of the man, and the expectation that he will lead in his family and the church has been much abused. Instead of servant leaders, working to bring out the best in those they have been charged to lead, too often men have resorted to dominance in both church and home. Additionally, the rationale given by Paul as to the facts involved in the ‘fall’ have historically been leveraged to assert incapacity on the part of the woman. Neither of these unfortunate misunderstandings should be the take away from what Scripture offers.

God has woven authority into his creation. It is his to delegate and he entrusts it to his image bearers to exercise in three spheres: civil society, the church, and the home. I believe Paul is indicating that Eve, acting as she did, undermined God’s order (something which Adam was all too ready to accept) and with catastrophic results. The corruption of human nature perpetrated by Eve’s transgression and Adam’s failed stewardship led immediately to impure hearts, dull consciences, and idolatrous faith.

It is just this state of affairs that the gospel targets. The aim of the gospel charge “is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.” Should we not expect, therefore, that obedience to the gospel will include an effort to order our relationships according to God’s initial intent? I think that not unreasonable to conclude. If we interpret that intent as demeaning or unjust, I would suggest we are using the wrong metrics by which we evaluate worth. God makes men and women to bear his image. He entrusts the stewardship of his creation to both. Both are called to know the Lord and serve him faithfully. That one is expected to take the lead in the formative institutions of church and home is not a matter of worth, but particular responsibility.