Biblical Eldership Church Leadership

Male Leadership

traditional male-female role distinctions involving headship and sub mission. This viewpoint, however, is supported by the Bible only by means of “hermeneutical ventriloquism.” If the Bible is allowed to speak for itself, it teaches both the equality of the sexes and gender role distinctions. It cannot be my purpose in this short chapter to present a full-scale discussion of male and female roles. That has been done by many others and is presented exhaustively in the massive volume, Recover ing Biblical Manhood and Womanhood: A Response to Evangelical Feminism, edited by John Piper and Wayne Grudem. My specific pur pose is to show that Scripture excludes women from the church elder ship. Let us now turn to Paul’s teaching on the subject, which he deliv ered to the New Testament churches and their leaders.

HEADSHIP AND SUBMISSION ROLES IN THE MARRIAGE RELATIONSHIP

Regarding the marriage relationship, Paul could not have stated more pointedly the divine order or hierarchy of the husband-wife relation ship. In complete agreement with Peter’s instruction on the wife’s mari tal submission, Paul teaches that the husband is empowered and com manded to lead in the maniage relationship and that the wife is in structed to submit “as to the Lord.” The following texts speak for them selves:

- “Wives be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord” (Eph. 5:22).

0 “But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything” (Eph. 5:24).

0 “For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church” (Eph. 5:23).

- “Wives, be subject to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord” (Col. 3:18).

0 “But as for you, speak the things which are fitting for sound

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