Pentecostal Feminism - Are Men and Women EQUAL??

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God's Word is the FINAL authority. (John 12:48)

So, we ought to study it and BELIEVE it. (II Tim 2:15; John 5:47)

ARE MEN and WOMEN EQUAL in LEADERSHIP POSITION, AUTHORITY, and HEADSHIP?

Among many other wolves and false teachers plaguing the church today, Jon Zens is destroying the lives of women, the cohesiveness of families, and the functioning of the church, with his books - including: "What's With Paul & Women", Ekklesia Press 2010.

As a response to that book, and as instruction on the issue in general, let's allow God's word to speak directly to us.

What are the REAL meanings of these bible verses? Are men and women “EQUAL”? What does the bible actually MEAN to SAY when it says:

a. The head of the woman is the man? (I Cor 11:3)

b. The head of the man is Christ? (I Cor 11:3)

c. If the verse said instead, that “the woman is the head of the man”, what would that mean? (I Cor 11:3)

d. Do these words actually mean something, or are the two statements exactly interchangeable (the woman is the head of the man, and the man is the head of the woman)? (I Cor 11:3)

e. Why is the word “but” used in (I Cor 11:7) and what do the words following it mean? (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.)

f. What does it mean that “the husband is the head of the wife”? (Eph 5:23)

g. Why is the husband the “head” if men and women are "equal"?

h. What do the words “even as” mean in (Eph 5:23) - "even as" Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body? Are husbands and wives equal with each other “even as” Christ and the church are equal, or is there a hierarchy of authority within the relationships?

i. What do the words “weaker vessel” mean? The woman is “the weaker vessel”. (I Pet 3:7)

j. Why does the bible specify that deacons and bishops, specifically appointed leaders in the church, are to be the husbands of one wife? (I Tim 3:2; 3:12; Titus 1:6). Can a woman be the husband of one wife? If men and women are actually equal and both are qualified for leadership roles in the church, why would the bible only identify men for these roles?

k. What did Paul mean when he said, “Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man”? (I Cor 11:9) How can men and women be equal without violating this verse?

l. Within the context of the "church", the New Testament teaches about the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free. Is that "liberty" in Christ inherently included in the verses we have considered so far - wherein the roles of men and women, husbands and wives, the "head", and the "weaker vessel" have been defined and specified?

m. Galatians 5:1 says, “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.” The context of chapters 4 and 5 explain that the yoke of bondage is the law of the Old Testament from which we are free in Christ. So, is it not completely taking this verse out of context to say that the liberty we have in Christ provides scriptural authority for a wife to over-rule her husband? And is it not further obvious that, even in marriage, the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband. (Rom 7:2)

n. Why did Paul say (I Cor 14:37) that “If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord”? Does this statement apply to Jon Zens? If so, why it is that Jon Zens is seen as an authority saying that women are to have equal authority in the church when, in the three verses preceding this statement, Paul says that women are to keep silence in the churches; and not to speak (I Cor 14:34), and that it is a shame for women to speak in the church (I Cor 14:35)? (We even use the phrase “to speak” today, in the sense of teaching or preaching, the special “speaker”. Therefore, it is not reasonable to say that women are entirely forbidden from talking in the church. The “silence” mentioned here in I Cor 14 is consistent with the “silence” mentioned in I Tim 2:11-12, both of which are given in the context of silence from teaching or usurping authority over - not forbidding women from saying things, singing, praising, giving thanks, or praying.)

o.Why did God make Adam first, if men and women are equal? Why didn’t he create them both at the same time?

p. Does the owner, creator, maker, head or authority of something have the ‘right’ to name it? If not, who does?

q. Why did God have Adam name all of the animals, if men and women are equal? Shouldn’t Eve have participated in naming them, if they were both equal?

r. Why did Adam name Eve “woman”, if men and women are equal?

s.Why did Adam name the woman “Eve”, after the fall. Why didn’t Eve ever name Adam at all before or after the fall, if they are both equal?

t.Why did God only tell Adam to dress the garden and keep it? (Gen 2:15) Why didn’t he wait until after creating Eve and then tell both of them to dress it and keep it - if they were both made equal?

u.Was only Adam in charge, or responsible?

v. After the fall, what did God mean when he said to the woman that “he (thy husband) shall rule over thee”? (Gen 3:16)?

w.Why did Jesus pick 12 men for Apostles, his inner circle, if men and women are equal?

x. Given that there were women present - and praying - in the upper room (Acts chapter 1), why were none of them even considered as candidates for the position of Apostle, let alone elected as such? (Acts 1:21).

y. Where in Acts chapter one, or in the whole bible for that matter, do women ever complain about not being given a leadership role either over or alongside men who have been given that role? What happened to the women who DID complain? (Miriam - Num 12:10; Jezebel - I Kings 19:2; Rev 2:20; Mary - Matt 12:50)

z.Why is the church built on men (Apostles and Prophets), rather than on women or on men and women together (Apostles who are women and Prophetesses), if men and women are equal? (Eph 2:20)

aa.Why did Paul say, “But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.”? (I Tim 2:12) Does this verse say that women are to teach men? Does this verse say that women are to usurp authority over men? Does the context of this verse really suggest that being in “silence” pertains to being in complete silence, or only to being in "silence" in respect to the opening of the mouth for the purpose of teaching or usurping authority over men?

bb. (Is 3:12) Why does God cast a negative light on a situation of women ruling - “As for my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, they which lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths.” Why didn’t he say “wicked women rule over them” or “evil women” rule over them, instead of just saying “women rule over them”? Where does the bible ever cast a negative light over the idea that “men rule over someone”, without qualifying the evil nature of the man?

The reality is that these are very self-explanatory passages of scripture. The relationship between men/women, husbands/wives provides a picture of Christ and his bride - and, to some extent, of the godhead, itself. The Father, Son and Holy Ghost are all “God” (See our article on the godhead) in nature and substance. Likewise, men and women are of the same nature and substance. But in position, authority and leadership, the Son is submitted to the Father (the church is submitted to Christ), and the Father is “greater” than the Son (in position and authority; not nature or substance). Therefore, the husband is the “head” of the wife and is “greater than” the wife (in position and authority; but not in nature or substance), the weaker vessel.

The concurrent truth - that men ought to love their wives - is not a counter-argument to this. It is a simple fact that is equally true and valid, and has no augmentative or mitigating impact on the truth of the original issue.