The Point of Christianity 4: Reconciling Male and Female

 

by Douglas A. Foster

The first article in this series began with a question: “What is the point of Christianity?” My one-word answer was reconciliation. From the first sin in Genesis to the throne scene in Revelation, reconciliation is at the heart of God”s dealings with humanity.

 

If anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God (2 Corinthians 5:17-20*).

 

In Christ everything is new and different. Christ”s work does away with the old order of things””the hostility and separation among humans and between God and humans. Christianity is about reconciliation. Through Jesus, God brings us back to him, breaks down the walls, and removes the alienation created by sin. On earth, reconciliation is acted out in Christ”s body, the church. That”s the point of Christianity.

In Ephesians 2:13-16, Paul says Christ breaks down the dividing wall of hostility between Jews and Gentiles, making the two groups one through his blood. One of the strongest and most enduring ethnic divisions in human history was being eradicated by the reconciling work of Christ!

But how could that be? They were still Jews and Gentiles. They were still diverse in culture, customs, food, and looks. Because of Christ, however, these differences no longer divided them. Somehow in this new reconciled relationship, their differences drew them together and transformed them into the likeness of Christ (2 Corinthians 3:18).

Galatians 3:27, 28 adds two more debilitating divisions that Christ”s work was putting an end to. “As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.”

Like Ephesians 2, this is an amazing statement of the reconciling power of Christ. Still, what are we to make of it? Men were still men and women were still women””with all the distinctions that implied. Many Christians have assumed this passage refers exclusively to an “otherworldly” reality””these walls will be broken down eventually in Heaven. Christians should certainly accept all people at some level in the church, but full reconciliation should not be expected here and now.

Significant and Essential

I believe, however, that this passage reflects something deeply more significant””even essential””about the point of Christianity and how it shapes us here and now. As mentioned in the first article of this series, over time (and it took a very long time), where Christianity became dominant, slavery was eventually seen as inherently contrary to the gospel. Why? Neither the Old nor the New Testament ever condemns it. In fact, Scripture regulates slavery as if it were normal and acceptable. Yet surely no one reading this article would attempt to defend slavery as being in harmony with God”s will.

This says something profound, I believe, about the nature of Scripture and how it functions. The gospel through the Spirit of Christ powerfully shapes people whose hearts are turned toward God””even when we are not fully aware of it. This transformation is not the result of a merely intellectual literalistic approach to Scripture. Taking a simple literal approach to Scripture, no one can refute the statement that the Bible never condemns slavery but regulates it as acceptable. If one assumes that Scripture functions merely or primarily as a “book of facts,” the conclusion that slavery is OK, approved and regulated by God, is inescapable.

Certainly the Bible contains facts””truths revealed by God for us to know and obey. Yet despite the reality that the Bible never labels slavery as a sin, Christians have come to understand that the message of the gospel is that slavery cannot be right. Christ came to reconcile the world to God, and people to one another. He came to break down the barriers that separate humans and that embody oppression and exploitation. He came to bring freedom to the captives. Somehow our encounter with God”s Spirit in Scripture shapes our thinking in ways that go far beyond a sheer literal, factual approach.

So what does it mean that in Christ there is no longer “male or female?” This brief essay does not pretend to cover every aspect of this complex and contested issue. Yet in the context of reconciliation as the “point” of Christianity, especially as reflected in Galatians 3:28, we cannot ignore this matter.

Setting Things Right

The breach of relationships between males and females came into existence as a result of sin””both the man and the woman sinned according to Genesis. In this world influenced by sin, that broken relationship has been the source of countless sorrows. It is not what God intended””it is the result of human choice to violate God”s commands.

Christ came to set things right””to reorder the relationships disordered by sin. His work was not merely for some day in the distant future, but now, in the one place on earth where a glimpse of his rightly ordered kingdom can be seen””the church.

Why didn”t the New Testament church embody the truth of Galatians 3:28 that “there is neither male nor female” immediately? The answer seems to be the same as with slavery. Over a long time it became clearer and clearer to those who were being transformed into the likeness of Christ that slavery was contrary to the very nature of God.

Christians today would not use the command “Slaves, obey your earthly masters” (Ephesians 6:5-9; Colossians 3:22″“4:1; Titus 2:9, 10) to defend slavery. Can we continue to use passages like 1 Corinthians 14:33-35 and 1 Timothy 2:9-15 to defend the restrictions placed on women in our assemblies and in leadership? Like the slavery passages, these verses have very specific historical and cultural contexts to which they were responding in the first century. One excellent resource on the background and historical setting of all the relevant passages surrounding this matter are two volumes of essays edited by Carroll D. Osburn titled Essays on Women in Earliest Christianity (College Press, 1993, 1995).

Surely there will be no separation and discrimination in Heaven where God”s kingdom is fully realized. Why can we not reflect God”s intention to break down those walls in the one place on earth where the kingdom ought to be most clearly seen? Christ himself specifically prohibited us, his followers, from structuring our communities in hierarchical ways””where “the privileged” have arbitrary power over others. That”s the way the world operates, but not God”s kingdom.

I am quite aware of significant differences between followers of Christ on this matter. A brief bibliography that spans the various positions in contemporary Christianity is attached to this final essay. Regardless of how we see this matter, my prayer is that God will continue his work of transforming us all increasingly into the likeness of Christ.

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*All Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible.

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  Some Materials on Women"s Role in the Church

 Traditional Position

(Restricted role for women)

Jack Cottrell, Gender Roles & the Bible (Joplin: College Press, 1994).

Complementarian Position

(Men and women have different roles that complement each other)

John Piper and Wayne Grudem, eds., Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood: A Response to Evangelical Feminism (Wheaton: Crossway Books, 1991).

Equalitarian Position

(Men and women can use their talents equally in the church)

Stanley J. Grenz and Denise Muir Kjesbo, Women in the Church: A Biblical Theology of Women in Ministry (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1995).

 

 
  

Doug Foster is director of the Center for Restoration Studies at Abilene (Texas) Christian University and chairman of the 2009 Task Force.