IX. THE ROLE OF MAN AND WOMAN IN THE CHURCH
Subject:
Men and women.Theme: Their roles in the church.
Objective: To learn what the biblical role of men and women are.
Text: 1Cor. 14:33 For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.
I. INTRODUCTION
A.
1. In the work of creation God did everything in an orderly systematic course.
2. Each day was significant and the work done on that day was significant.
(a). God gave Noah the plans for building the Ark.
(b). God gave Moses the plans for the building of the Tabernacle.
3. God's plan of salvation is systematic and orderly:
(a). Justification...
(b). Sanctification...
(c). And glorification--- in that order.
4. We are to repent and believe the Gospel, in that order.
(a). Mark 1:15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.
(b).
Acts 20:21 Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.(c).
Heb. 6:1 Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,5. My point is this--- 1Cor. 14:40 Let all things be done decently and in order.
B.
The Divine Order of The God Head.1. Acts 17:29 Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device.
2.
Matt. 28:19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:(a). The first person of the Godhead is the Father.
(b). The second person of the Godhead is the Son.
(c). The third person of the Godhead is the Holy Spirit.
3. I realize that they are co-equal, co-eternal, etc.; but let’s not forget that the Son prayed to the Father--- And so does the Holy Spirit--- Rom. 8:26 Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
4.
1Cor. 11:3 But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.5. Again, my point is that there is an orderly arrangement concerning everything involving God.
C. The Holy Bible.
1. The entire Bible is God's word telling us what we are to do, how we are to do it and the order we are to do it in.
2. The phrase "in order" is used 29 times in the Bible.
3. The word "order" is used 59 times in the Bible.
(a).
(b). "Order my steps", in other words "direct my steps"; one step after the other.
II. THE ORDER OF THE SEXES.
A. The Woman Is To Be In Submission To The Man.
1. To deny this is to deny God's Word, there are to many Scriptures stating this fact.
2.
3 .
Titus 2:3 The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things; 4 That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, 5 To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.4. Beloved, God's Word does not change, it never gets outdated and it is never obsolete.
(a).
(b).
Matt. 24:35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.(c).
"But my words shall not pass away;" be vain and empty, and un-accomplished; the design of this expression is to show the certainty and sure accomplishment of these things5. As much as we would like to ignore the fact, woman’s submission was part of the curse that God pronounced on Adam & Eve.
(a). The woman's curse---
(b). The man's curse---
Gen. 3:17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; 3:18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; 19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.6.
1Cor. 11:3 But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.B.
The Reason For The Submission.1. 1Tim. 2:12 But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. 13 For Adam was first formed, then Eve.
2. The man and woman was not created simultaneously.
3. The man was created first and then the woman was created for the man. See
1Cor. 11:9 Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man.4. Another reason the Bible gives for the subjection of the woman to the man is the fact that the woman was deceived in the transgression.
(a).
(b). Humanly speaking we would tend to think Adam's transgression the more evil of the two, seeing that he did it willfully and knew exactly what he was doing.
(c).
Gen. 3:4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: 5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.(d). Eve was deceived by Satan, he had convinced her that God had lied to her.
(e). Eve's sin was not only one of rebellion but by her very actions she called God a liar.
5. The Bible gives no other reasons for the subjection of the woman to the man.
6. To talk about the local conditions at Corinth or the culture that they lived in at the time as being the reason for the submission and the command to keep silence in the churches is to alter the Word of God.
C. The Nature Of This Submission.
1. This submission has nothing to do with personal character.
2. It does not imply that the woman is inferior to the man; in many areas a woman is superior to a man.
(a). Women are usually better students than men.
(b). All through the Gospel Books the women were catching the truths that Christ was teaching much quicker than the Apostles.
(c). Women are usually more spiritual than men. Compare the number of men and women in most churches today; and certainly compare the workers in a church.
3. This has nothing to do with equality; but we do need to understand that men and women are not equal.
(a). In order for two things to be equal, they have to be the same; man and woman are not the same they are very different.
(b). If you try to compare men and women, that is like comparing apples and oranges, they are different.
4. As a matter of fact, all men are not equal.
(a). We are different in size, strength, intelligence, abilities.
(b). We are not equal in our social standing or our financial standing; even the communist were not able to accomplish that.
5. The submission of the wife to the husband is a matter of positions.
(a). It has to do with rank rather than of person.
(b). At my work place my manager is superior to me in position and authority; but there is no way he could do my job, he does not have that ability.
6. The wife is to be subordinate to the husband with respect to authority and the obligations that go with it.
7. According to the Bible men and women have different roles therefore they have different duties.
8. Whether in the home or in the church, the woman is to occupy a subordinate role.
9. This means that the man has greater measure Of responsibility before God; in other words the man will be held more accountable.
10. Men you are chiefly responsible for the condition of the church, you may escape the work of the church but yon can not escape the accountability, God holds you responsible.
11. There was never a woman priest in the Bible, the administration of the tabernacle and the temple was in the hands of the priest; and they were all men.
(a). God never made a covenant with a woman.
(b). Christ never called a woman to be an apostle.
(c). He never called a woman to preach His Gospel.
(d). All the deacons of the Jerusalem church were men.
(e). Women preachers were almost unheard of until the early 1900's.
(f). So often we Baptist men want to talk about how "God is going hold those women accountable for doing those things!" And He surly will: and He is going to hold the men responsible for "NOT" doing them.
12. Women are to be silent in he churches.
(a). 1Cor. 14:34 Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience as also saith the law. 35 And if they will learn any thing, let them ask their husbands at home: for it is a shame for women to speak in the church.
(b).
1Tim. 2:11 Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. 12 But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.D.
The Sign Of Submission.1. 1Cor. 11:1 Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ. 2 Now I praise you, brethren, that ye remember me in all things, and keep the ordinances, as I delivered them to you. 3 But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God. 4 Every man praying or prophesying, having his head COVERED {kata: to cover up or veil one’s self;}, dishonoureth his head. 5 But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered {katakalupto: uncovered or unveiled} dishonoureth her head: for that is even all one as if she were shaven. 6 For if the woman be not covered, let her also be shorn: but if it be a shame for a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her be covered. 7 For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, forasmuch as he is the image and glory of God: but the woman is the glory of the man. 8 For the man is not of the woman: but the woman of the man. 9 Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man. 10 For this cause ought the woman to have power (authority) on her head because of the angels. 11 Nevertheless neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord. 12 For as the woman is of the man, even so is the man also by the woman; but all things of God. 13 Judge in yourselves: is it comely that a woman pray unto God uncovered? 14 Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him? 15 But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her: for her hair is given her for a covering {peribolaion: (1) a covering thrown around, a wrapper (1.a) a mantle (1.b) a veil} KJV: 16 But if any man seem to be contentious, we have no such custom, neither the churches of God.
2. Notice that these verses tells us of...
(a). Three heads---
(b). Three Glories--- man is the image and glory of God while the woman is the glory of man (v.7); and a woman’s long hair is her personal glory to her (v.15).
(c). Two Coverings--- The woman’s hair and the veil/hat.
3. Keep in mind that a covering or a "head-covering" denotes subjection and you will understand why the man wears no covering on his head.
(a). He represents the glory of God...
(b). Therefore he wears no covering, for God is subject to no one.
4. The woman on the other hand, representing man’s glory, is covered.
(a). She teaches with her veiled head that man is in subjection to God, and that his glory (man’s) is out of sight, veiled, hidden
(b). Only God’s glory is to be seen.
5. At the same time, when the woman covers her head, she not only covers man’s glory but her own PERSONAL GLORY which is her hair.
6. Thus, when the saints are come together for some purpose, we see the man uncovered, for he teaches by so doing that God’s glory alone is to be seen.
7. The woman, with covered head, not only veils her own glory but, with her head covered, teaches that in this place, man’s glory is not to be seen, but God’s only.
III. CONCLUSION
A.
1. 1Cor. 11:10 For this cause ought the woman to have power on her head because of the angels.
2. This is deeply significant, it reminds us that the angels of God are interested spectators of what goes on in the assembly.
3. No one would know divine order and headship better than the angels.
4. They must watch in amazement, beholding the silent ministry of veiled head.
5. This shows the loving obedience of a devoted heart; both of the husband and wife.