How Newness of Life in Christ Entails Sharing Authority and Leadership

Philip B. Payne, Ph.D.Author: Man and Woman, One in ChristTeacher: Fuller, Gordon-Conwell, Bethel, Trinity, CambridgePresident: Linguists Softwarewww.pbpayne.com

New Life in ChristMy purpose is to show that new life in Christ entails the equal standing of man and woman with shared authority and leadership.

New Life in ChristWe will overview first the New Creation context for the new life in Christ, then 5 key passages affirming men and woman sharing authority and leadership

New Life in ChristGalatians 3:281 Corinthians 11:216Romans 161 Corinthians 7Ephesians 5:2122

New Life in ChristRomans 6:4 Walk in newness of lifeObviously applies to lifeGalatians 3:28 shows that it applies equally to men and women

The New CreationThe new creation is important:

Galatians 6:15 Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is the new creation.

The New CreationIts context in Galatians shows that ethnic, social, and gender ranking has no place in the new creation. It entails the equal standing of man and woman in the life of the church (Galatians 3:28).

The New Creation2 Corinthians 5:17 the essence of the new creation is being in Christ: If anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come.New creation transforms relationships: 5:16 from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view

The New CreationEach of Pauls combinations of new and God creating entails a transformed life and attitudes.Paul repeatedly associates the new creation with the removal of divisions between people, all of whom are now made one.

Galatians 3:28Galatians 3:28 repudiates the division between Jew and Greek, slave and free, and male and female in Christ.

Galatians 3:28S. Lewis Johnson, Jr. wrote, Galatians 3:28 is not speaking of relationships in the family and church, but of standing before God.

Galatians 3:28 & RelationshipsMany factors in the cultural, historical, theological, and literary context of Galatians 3:28, its actual wording, and its parallel passages prove that Galatians 3:28 must not be divorced from life in the church and the home.

.Galatians 3:28s cultural context early Jewish prayer: Blessed art Thou, O Lord our God, King of the Universe, who hast not made me a heathen a bondman [or] a woman.

. Galatians 3:28s cultural context These three groups were exempt from and excluded from the study of the law. Pauls repudiation of these distinctions therefore denies that these groups are excluded from privilege in Christ.

. Galatians 3:28s historical contextPeter withdrew from table fellowship with Gentiles in Galatia. I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned [of] hypocrisy [and] not acting in line with the truth of the gospel Galatians 2:1114

Galatians 3:28s historical contextPaul fought for equal standing in church life2 Peter 3:15 Our dear brother Paul wrote you with the wisdom that God gave himin all his letters, Scripture Peter repented of discrimination

Galatians 3:28s theological contextMany of Pauls key theological themes imply the equal standing of man and woman:1 The gifts of the Spirit are for all believers2 The priesthood of all believers3 The nature of church leadership as service

Galatians 3:28s theological context4 Mutual submission in church (Ephesians 5:21)5 Mutual submission in marriage (1 Corinthians 7; Ephesians 5:2122)

Galatians 3:28s literary context6 factors in the literary context of Galatians 3:28 demand it not be divorced from life in the church and the home

Galatians 3:28s literary context1 The theme of the radical newness of life in Christ lived through the Spirit permeates Galatians 1:4; 2:19203:2, 5, 14, 28; 4:3, 57; 5:1, 1921, 2223, 2526; 6:15

Galatians 3:28s literary context2 The entire letter is a frontal attack against favored status or privileges being granted to Jews over Gentiles

Galatians 3:28s literary context2 3:28 addresses Jew-Greek relationships, the issue chapter 2 is about. The crisis was not about spiritual standing but about denial of privileges

Galatians 3:28s literary context3 The absence in Christ of the Jew-Gentile division is the foundation for denying the need for circumcision

Galatians 3:28s literary context4 the references to baptism in 3:27 and you are all one body in Christ in 3:28 imply church life one implies a noun such as body

Galatians 3:28s literary context5 For in 3:26, 27 shows Paul is giving reasons believers are no longer under law (3:25)

Galatians 3:28s literary context6 Galatians 2:6 speaks about life in the churchIt affirms that God does not show favoritism

Galatians 3:28s wordingFour factors in the actual wording of Galatians 3:28 demand it not be divorced from life in the church1 There is no Jew-Greek division must apply to life in the church since their equal standing in the church is the primary concern of Galatians.

Galatians 3:28s wording2 3:28 teaches that the male/female division does not exist in Christ. Logically, then, it should not restrict privilege in Christs church.

Galatians 3:28s wording3 Each pair deals with social standing, so to say they do not affect social standing is to deny the most obvious application of this language

Galatians 3:28s wording4 You are all one body in Christ implies a social unit Status-based discrimination and special privilege are contrary to the unity of Christs body

. Galatians 3:28s Parallel Passages6 Parallel passages specify practical application1 Galatians 5:6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.

Galatians 3:28s Parallel Passages2 Galatians 6:15 Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is the new creation.

Galatians 3:28s Parallel Passages3 Colossians 3:912 Put off the old nature with its practices. There is no Greek and Jew, slave, free, but Christ is all and in all. Put on compassion, kindness

Galatians 3:28s Parallel PassagesEarly manuscripts D* F G 629, the Old Latin witnesses, the Vulgates and its citation by Hilary (d. 367) and Ambrose (d. 397) begin Col 3:11: There is no male and female, which thus entailed for the Western church practical life consequences and was not restricted to spiritual status.

Galatians 3:28s Parallel Passages4 1 Corinthians 12:1325 We were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other.

Galatians 3:28s Parallel Passages5 Ephesians 2:1119 Christ has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with Gods people.

Galatians 3:28s Parallel Passages6 1 Corinthians 11:11Woman is not separate from man, nor is man separate from woman in the Lord.

. Galatians 3:28 SummaryThese many factors in the historical, theological, and literary context of Gal 3:28, its actual wording, and its parallel passages are incompatible with divorcing Gal 3:28 from life in the church.

Galatians 3:28 SummarySuch a divorce opposes Pauls understanding of faith (5:6), spirituality (5:1626), and the gospel (2:14)

Galatians 3:28 SummaryIs only male-female limited to spiritual Status? NO!1 There is no introduces each2 Each statement is absolute with no qualification 3 You are all one in Christ Jesus must apply to all

. 1 Corinthians 11:2-16 affirms women prophesying. Key verse 11:11I will highlight 13 points about this passage that are important to make sense of it and its affirmation in v. 11 that woman is not separate from man in the Lord

. 1 Complementarians agree: 1 Cor 11 affirms women prophesyingOrthodox Presbyterian Church 3 year 5 person committee declared:

prophesying in public meetings of the church is recognized and accepted

a notion of private prophecy is a virtual contradiction in terms and certainly an artificial abstraction

. 2 Was there a garment head-covering custom in all churches? v.16 We have no such custom

Some translations, e.g. RSV NASB, translate it the opposite of its Greek meaning, we have no other custom, implying all churches do have this custom!

. 3 What was disgraceful? Men put a garment over their heads as a sign of reverence

Abundant graphic evidence shows it was not disgraceful for a woman to be in public without a garment over her head

11:1415 identify the shameful head coverings: long hair is a disgrace to him long hair is given to her as a covering

. 1 Corinthians 11:1415 the key 14 Does not the very nature of things teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a disgrace to him, 15but that if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? For long hair is given to her as a covering

. 4 womens hair let down loose was regarded as disgraceful It symbolized undisciplined sexuality

Numbers 5 bitter water ordeal: A priest lets down the hair of an accused adulteress. If convicted, he cuts it offexplains v. 5: a woman who uncovers her hair by letting her hair down is one and the same as the shorn woman

4 womens hair let down loose was regarded as disgraceful Philo, The Special Laws, III.60, cites Num 5:18 about the bitter water custom using the identical expression in 1 Cor 11:5, with uncovered head (ajkatakaluvptw/ th/' kefalh') to refer to the womans hair let down loose

. 5 it was disgraceful for men to display effeminate hairHerter identified over 100 passages in Greek literature ridiculing mens effeminate hair, most from Pauls time

Pseudo-Phocylides (30 BCAD 40) wrote, Long hair is not fit for men because many rage for intercourse with a man

5 it was disgraceful for men to display effeminate hairLivy says of Dionysiac initiation rites: There were more lustful practices among men with one another than among women

Merkelbach: Dionysiac initiation into sexual life was so pervasive that almost every Greek did join in

5 it was disgraceful for men to display effeminate hairThe Dionysiac Temple in Corinth was its center

long hair dishonors a man in v. 14 having down from the head in v. 4 refer to men wearing long effeminate hair to attract homosexual liaisons

5 it was disgraceful for men to display effeminate hair11:7c repudiates this: woman, not another man, is the glory of man, his proper sexual partner

11:9 repudiates this: Woman [was made] for the sake of man to be his sexual partner

5 it was disgraceful for men to display effeminate hairJohn Chrysostom with regard to the man, it is about wearing long hair

Ambrose, How unsightly it is for a man to act like a woman

Pelagius, Paul was complaining because men were fussing about their hair an incitement to fornication

. 6 10 key reasons favor interpreting head as source rather than authority1 The standard Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible hardly ever uses the word when the Hebrew word for head meant leader 2 It is not true that authority over is a well-established meaning of in Greek literature

6. 10 key reasons favor interpreting head as source rather than authority2 Theological Dictionary of the NT: in secular usage is not employed for the head of a societyC. K. Barrett: the meaning ruler was not a native meaning of the Greek word.Liddell Scott Jones: 48 English equivalents, none mean leader

6. 10 key reasons favor interpreting head as source rather than authority3 source is an established meaning for listed from the earliest Greek lexicons to the presentGalen identifies the head (in the singular) of a river as its source: No river that comes from a single spring is smaller at its head [ ] than it is thereafter

6. 10 key reasons favor interpreting head as source rather than authorityHippocrates Coac. 498: uses metaphorically to identify the origins of muscle Philo, Prelim. Studies 61: Of all the members of the clan here described Esau is the progenitor, the head [] as it were of the whole creature

6. 10 key reasons favor interpreting head as source rather than authorityPhilo, Rewards 125 identifies The virtuous one, whether single man or people, will be the head [, explained by the editor as the source of spiritual life] of the human race and all the others like the limbs of a body which draw their life from the forces in the head [].

6. 10 key reasons favor interpreting head as source rather than authorityApoc. Mos. 19.3 calls Lust the source [] of every sin

T. Reu. 2.2 states, seven spirits are established against mankind, and they are the sources [lit., heads] of the deeds of youth

6. 10 key reasons favor interpreting head as source rather than authorityArtemidorus Daldiani, Onir. 1.35, writes, If a man dreams that his head [] has been taken away (= beheaded) refers to his parents as his source For the head [] resembles parents in that it is the cause [] of ones living

6. 10 key reasons favor interpreting head as source rather than authorityArtemidorus for just as the head [] is the source [] of life and light for the whole body, he was responsible for the dreamers life and light the head [] indicates ones fatherthe head [] represents the father; the removal of the head, the death of the father.

6. 10 key reasons favor interpreting head as source rather than authorityOrphic fragment 168 records the widely quoted metaphor: Zeus is the head, Zeus the middle, and from Zeus all things exist ( , , myriad references to Zeus as the source through whom things come

6. 10 key reasons favor interpreting head as source rather than authorityseveral manuscripts of this well-attested saying have [source] instead of

A scholion identifying it as [the] producing cause ( ) clearly identifies to mean source

6. 10 key reasons favor interpreting head as source rather than authorityIrenaeus, Haer. 5.3: he should be the head [] and source [] of his own essence

Irenaeus explains head as source, and ruler does not fit of his own essence

6. 10 key reasons favor interpreting head as source rather than authority4 1 Corinthians 11:3 is not a descending or ascending order of authority It is chronological: mans creation, womans from the man, Christ came from God

6. 10 key reasons favor interpreting head as source rather than authority5 source fits better than authority as the meaning of in the Christ is [] the of every manChrist is not now the only authority over men, but he is uniquely the source of every man1 Corinthians 8:6 Christ, through whom all things came

6. 10 key reasons favor interpreting head as source rather than authority6 source fits better than authority as the meaning of in the man [with an article] is of woman

All 3 the man, the Christ, the God have an article identifying a specific person. As in 11:12 it refers to the man, Adam, from whom woman came

6. 10 key reasons favor interpreting head as source rather than authority7 source fits better than authority as the meaning of in God [with an article] is the of the ChristIf means authority, Christ after the resurrection and ascension is subordinated to GodThis is subordinationist Christology

6. 10 key reasons favor interpreting head as source rather than authority7 Chrysostom, Theodoret, and Theophylact emphasize the misuse of 1 Cor 11:3 by Arians and others to subordinate the present, eternal, or ontological Christ to the FatherThe church has regarded subordinationist Christology as heresy since the early church creeds

6. 10 key reasons favor interpreting head as source rather than authority7 Christ in the incarnation relinquished equality with God Philippians 2:68Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered (Heb 5:8) implies that obedience was a new experience to be learned through his incarnate sufferings, not from any prior subordination

6. 10 key reasons favor interpreting head as source rather than authority7 Cyril of Alexandria states, The Word was begotten of Him. Because head [] means source []

6. 10 key reasons favor interpreting head as source rather than authority8 This passage discusses disgraceful head-covering practices in prayer and prophecy, not hierarchical roles. The only reference to authority is verse 10s affirmation of the womans authority

6. 10 key reasons favor interpreting head as source rather than authority9 This passage says nothing about mans authority but rather affirms womans authority: to pray and prophecy 11:5, over her own head 11:10, equal standing with man 11:1112

6. 10 key reasons favor interpreting head as source rather than authority10 Much early Greek commentary on 11:3 specifically interprets to mean source. Cyril of Alexandrias De recta fide ad Arcadiam et Marinam 52.63E: The source [] of man is the Creator God. Thus we say that the head of every man is Christ, because he was made through him and brought forth to birth.

6. 10 key reasons favor interpreting head as source rather than authority10 And the head of woman is man, because she was taken from his flesh and has him as her source []. Likewise, the head of Christ is God, because He is from Him according to natureAlso: Theodore of Mopsuestia, Saint Basil, Athanasius, Eusebius, Ambrosiaster

6. 10 key reasons favor interpreting head as source rather than authority10 Photius sums up the work of earlier Greek fathers: Christ is the head of us who believe, being made by him But the head of Christ is the Father, as procreator and progenitor and of like substance with him And the head of the woman is the man because he is her procreator and progenitor and of like substance with her

. 7 Verse 3 lays out the underlying logic for the whole passageMen should respect Christ, their creator source, by not repudiating the way he created them men by displaying long effeminate hairWomen should respect man. Womans source was in the man, Adam (repeated in vv. 8, 9, 12). Therefore, women should not symbolize repudiation of their marriage vows by letting their hair down loose

. 8 v. 11 begins with the word for emphasizing what is importantIn Pauls letters, always points to the matter of his central concern and shows a change in perspective: BDAG 826 [1.c] emphasizing what is important BDF 449 essentialA.T. Robertson: his main point

8 v. 11 begins with the word for emphasizing what is importantNevertheless, woman is not separate from man, nor is man separate from woman in the LordThis gives the theological basis women may pray and prophesy, leading in church worship

. 9 The central question in verse 11: What does (separate from) mean?independent is not listed regarding persons in standard Greek dictionaries. It adds a nuance which goes beyond the adverb (Thiselton). Nor is interdependence something distinctively in the Lord

. 10 woman is not separate from manseparate from fits all but 4 of Pauls 16 uses of this word It fits this context perfectlyIt affirms that, in spite of the created differences between man and woman (which should be upheld in this life), Pauls key point is that the barriers that separate man and woman have been overcome in Christ

. 11 Verse 12 further argues for no gender separation in Christ since both men and women should respect the other as their source

For just as woman is from man, so also man comes through woman, and all this is from God

. 12 Verses 1112 clarify that Paul is not teaching hierarchy based on source Not from woman is from man in verse 8Not from woman is made for man in verse 9Not from head in verse 3 Not from image of God in verse 7

. 13 This passage, therefore, affirms women leading worship in prayer and prophecy and justifies this since woman is not separate from man, nor is man separate from woman in the Lord Thus it applies the Gal 3:28 principle of no male-female division to church leadership

. Romans 16Seven of the ten people Romans 16:116 names as Pauls colleagues in ministry are women: 1-2 Phoebe, deacon of the church in Cenchrea leader of many including myself

Romans 163 Priscilla and Aquila, my co-workers in Christ 1 Corinthians 16:16 calls believers to submit to all co-workers 7 Andronicus and Junia outstanding among the apostles

Romans 166 Mary, 12 Tryphena and Tryphosa, Persis women who work hard in the Lord 1 Corinthians 16:16 calls believers to submit to all work hard

Romans 166 1 Thessalonians 5:12 equates Those who work hard () with Those who have charge over you in the Lord

Philippians 4:2-3 calls Eudodia & Syntyche Gospel co-workers

1 Corinthians 71 Corinthians 7 is Pauls most detailed treatment of marriage It identifies exactly the same rights and responsibilities for wives and husbands regarding twelve different issues about marriage, both natural and spiritual

1 Corinthians 7In each he addresses men and women as equals.

His wording is symmetrically balanced to emphasize this equality

1 Corinthians 7e.g. 1 Corinthians 7:4 The wife does not have authority over her own body, but her husband does. In the same way, the husband does not have authority over his own body, but his wife does.

1 Corinthians 7Richard Hays correctly observes how revolutionary this was, Paul offers a paradigm-shattering vision of marriage as a relationship in which the partners are bonded together in submission to one another. First Corinthians p. 131

. Ephesians 5:2122Submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ, wives to your own husbands as to the Lord.Paul teaches mutual submission in the church and in marriage.

. ConclusionNewness of Life in Christ Entails Men and Women Sharing Authority and Leadership

Galatians 3:28 asserts there is no male/female division in Christ

ConclusionGalatians 3:28s cultural, historical, and literary context, its wording, and themes in Pauls theology and its parallel passages demand that this apply to church life

Conclusion1 Corinthians 11:11 asserts woman is not separate from man in the Lord as regards leading worship

ConclusionSeven of the ten church leaders Paul names in Romans 16 with a description of their ministry are women.Paul identifies women in church leadership as apostle, prophet, gospel laborers, deacon and leader

Conclusion1 Corinthians 7 teaches mutual authority and reciprocity between husband and wife Ephesians 5:2122 teaches mutual submission in marriageLet us foster the equal standing of men and women in Christ.

Edwin Judge