Riverwood Presbyterian Church

Family, Church and Worship

Recap of Lesson one of What’s the Difference

by Jeff Miller

Here's a recap of the main points covered on 3/4/12:

Some touchpoints:

Council on Biblical Manhood & Womanhood

http://www.cbmw.org/

Christians for Biblical Equality

http://www.cbeinternational.org/

Definitions:

Egalitarianism or Evangelical Feminism (used interchangeably)

A view of some evangelicals who believe that God has not assigned different role to men and women within marriage and the church.  In this view, men and women share a joint authority and responsibility before God for leadership.  Therefore, there are no limitations on either sex regarding offices, etc.

Complementarianism:

A view of some who believe that God has assigned different and complementary roles to men and women within marriage and the church.  In this view, men bear a unique authority and responsibility before God for leadership and are, therefore, the only sex allowed to hold offices of leadership within the church.

Danvers Statement

A 1987 document from the CBMW refuting Egalitarianism and supporting Complementarianism from a Biblical perspective.  Read it here.

Today's lesson deals with the idea of whether Biblical sex roles were established by God before the fall of man or were a result of the fall.  Piper believes they were established pre-fall and he lists 9 indicators of his belief from Genesis 1-5.  Some of them sped by quickly, so here they are:

1) Man and woman were both created equal in God's image, but with a respective leadership function implied for the man.  Gen 1:26-27

2) Man was created first.  God could have chosen to create simultaneously, but didn't.  He created sequentially.  Gen 2:7, 1 Tim, 2:15

3) Man is given moral teaching for passing on to the woman who would come to be with him. We are not told that God taught Eve directly, but we are told that God gave Adam instruction which he then gave to Eve.

4) Woman was created from man as a suiable helper for man.  Gen 2:18-23, 1 Cor 11-9-10

5) Man names woman. Taxonomy implies leadership.  Gen. 2:23

6) The serpent undermines the roles ordained by God and draws Adam & Eve into a deadly role reversal with God and each other.  The serpent's actions were an assault on God's order.  Gen. 3:1-6, 17

7) God calls the man to account first.  Gen. 3:7

8) The curse of 'desire' and 'rule' show the futility of the corruption.  Gen. 3:16

9) God named both man and woman 'man' in the Hebrew text.  Gen 5:1-3