Beyond Authority and Submission

This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
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I feel compelled to repeat the disclaimer I threw on a book last week—and I should probably throw this on a lot of theologically-oriented works. This is another one of those works that I feel really unqualified to discuss. So, know that this is from the perspective of an opinionated and semi-(formally)educated reader and occasional armchair theologian. Not the reflections of an ordained minister or professional theologian.

Contrary to what popular culture states, women and men are not from different planets. We're complementary—more alike than different. Without denying the differences, we need to stop defining women as the polar opposite of men and vice versa. Such divisive definitions create and encourage unnecessary conflict and set up unrealistic and unbiblical expectations for how women and men should behave.

Paul frequently refers to fellow believers—both men and women—as co-laborers. The word he uses, sunergos, means “a companion in work.” As we will see in the next sections, co-laborer captures the sense of what we were created to be and what we are called to be in Christ.

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The Bible testifies to our unity. We don't have one Bible for men and a different one for women. The armor of God isn't just for men, and the fruit of the spirit doesn't apply only to women. No, we have one Bible for us all, and most of the Bible's commands apply to all of us—male or female, old or young, rich or poor, servant or master.

It's important to emphasize that when God made humanity in His image, He did so by making a man and a woman. Women are as much made in the image of God as men are. Men don't have more of God's image because of their masculinity. We are equal in worth, but we're not the same. We are different, but we are also interdependent. We were created to complement each other, and we need each other.

Tolle Lege