Introduction

Most of us have had experiences that make us wonder how Christian men and women should work together in the home, church, and workplace. These questions relate to leadership, submission, sex, divorce, abuse, and God’s original design. We want to be faithful to Jesus, who gave his life to save our own. Yet, what we see and experience in the church seems to contradict what Jesus represented in his life, teachings, death, and resurrection. This course takes these experiences seriously, while also holding the Bible as the inspired word of God. In that spirit, this module will answer common questions that get right to the heart of who we are as men and women created in God’s image. If you are coming to this course with specific questions, feel free to jump to the sections that most relate to your own experiences. Each section will provide easily digestible answers, while also allowing you to go deeper as your time and interest allows.

The course is divided into three main categories:

1. In the Beginning: God’s Design

Some say male authority over women (gender hierarchy) is God’s perfect design—a pristine plan for women’s and men’s flourishing. They point to Genesis, arguing that God intended patriarchy from the start. But the text tells a different story. If we look closer, we see that patriarchy was never God’s plan for humanity. Rather, God created humanity—male and female—in God’s own image (Gen. 1:27), to live together in mutuality, enjoying and governing his creation together. And when the arc of scripture is examined, it shows that God never abandoned this design. Rather, Jesus lived, died, and was resurrected to restore humanity to proper relationship with God and with one another.

The questions and related resources in this section get to the heart of God’s intended design for female and male relationships. 

2. Leadership

There are passages in scripture that have often been used to teach that women are not allowed to lead or teach men. Churches have understood this in different ways, restricting women from certain leadership positions and prohibiting women from teaching men. Yet other passages present women as teachers of men, as ministers, as deacons, as missionaries, as judges, and as spiritual leaders. Jesus tended to treat women in counter-cultural ways, talking to women that society considered outcaste, touching women that religious leaders deemed unclean, and praising women that studied at his feet as disciples. The key witnesses to his birth, death, and resurrection—the key elements of our faith—were women. Likewise, Paul worked with women, planted churches with women, praised women and their ministry, and relied on women’s leadership for the success of his own ministry. Thus, understanding the role of women’s leadership at home, in the church, and the world is central to understanding our faith and our place within it.

3. Marriage

Humanity is created for relationship—with God, with one another, and with creation. Within human relationships, marriage has the potential to be the most intimate and most fulfilling, as well as the most abusive and damaging. Scripture devotes much time to the issue of marriage, and often uses it as an analogy for our relationship with God. Some passages written by the New Testament church seem to promote the patriarchy found in the surrounding cultures of the time. Other passages seem to promote mutuality. So, what is God’s design for the marriage relationship? Is it a relationship characterized by a hierarchy or is it a relationship characterized by mutuality? 

This section explores these passages and their interpretations. Some of these studies uncover subversive patterns that undermine the patriarchy supported only by a surface reading. Others explore specific church pressures and issues whose solutions were never meant for universal application. Many of these studies provide an opportunity to go deeper, to understand the nuances of the Greek text as it impacts meaning. We’ll also consider the controversies over its English translation.  

As you explore this section, you may find it helpful to revisit earlier sections to review the foundations of God’s original design, fulfilled in the coming of Jesus as it helps frame the overall investigation into these topics.My Bible says Eve is Adam’s helper. Were women created to help men succeed?