Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Adult Sunday School Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/bb/bb20020407.htm

THE ROLES OF CHRISTIAN MEN AND WOMEN
Part III: The BIBLICAL Role Of Christian WOMEN
(Gen. 2:19-25; 3:6, 16; Eph. 5:22-24, 33b; 1 Pet. 3:1-6; 1 Tim. 2:9-15; 5:11-15; Tit. 2:3-5)
  1. Introduction
    1. Many Christians "know" Christian women are to "submit" to their husbands and to men in general.
    2. However, due to abuses by men and the reaction of the feminist movement against such abuses, this "submit" theme has been greatly distorted or misapplied with a loss of God's blessing for women.
    3. We examine Scripture on the proper role for women so they can adjust and see God's blessing restored:
  2. The BIBLICAL Role Of Christian WOMEN.
    1. God created the woman to be a "helper" to the man in SUBJECTION to him, Genesis 2:19-25:
      1. When God brought the newly created woman to the man in Genesis 2:21-22, He was duplicating His work of bringing the animals to the man to see what he would name them as seen in Genesis 2:19-20a.
      2. As we learned before, the Ancient Near Eastern cultures all viewed one's naming another entity as signaling SOVEREIGNTY OVER the one so named, cf. Zond. Pict. Ency of the Bible, Four, p. 363.
      3. Thus, even before SIN, the woman was made to be subject to the man! (cf. 1 Timothy 2:12-13)
    2. When the man and woman sinned, she usurped her husband's ROLE by leading him to partake of the forbidden fruit, Genesis 3:6. Accordingly, to CHECK such insubordination tendencies, the woman's "subjection" was only intensified by GOD after the fall into sin, Genesis 3:16.
    3. Applying this fact to the role of CHRISTIAN women today, we have the following descriptions of the role of Christian women as applied to marriage, the home, church and community at large (as follows):
      1. In marriage, the woman is to "submit" to her own husband's leadership "as unto the Lord," Eph. 5:22:
        1. 1 Peter 3:1-6 calls wives to view their respective husbands with self-induced subjection to the point where their husbands are viewed by themselves as their "masters," cf. especially 1 Peter 3:6.
        2. The word translated "own," idios, in Eph. 5:22 emphasizes the need to focus on submitting to one's rightful husband as opposed to any other man, cf. UBS Grk. N.T., p. 676; Thayer, Grk.-Engl. Lex., p. 296. The woman's submission is to be SINGLE in relationship to all other men -- a submission to her husband as opposed to any OTHER man!
        3. This subjection on the part of the wife is to be in every area of life, cf. Ephesians 5:24b.
        4. Also, the wife is to "love" her husband, Titus 2:4b. As the word "love" here is philandros, meaning an emotionally subjective kind of love (UBS Grk. N.T., p. 741; T.D.N.T., vol. IX, p. 113ff), the wife is subjectively to let herself be emotionally attached to her husband.
        5. There is a limit to this attachment and subjection, the limit being the wife's allegiance and love for God above that of her husband, cf. Eph. 5:22b in light of Acts 5:29.
      2. In the home, the woman is to love her children emotionally (philoteknos, Ibid., UBS Grk. N.T.; Thayer, Ibid., p. 655) as well as focus on being a homemaker in that household, Titus 2:4-5.
      3. Because of her divine assignment to submit to men in general (even before the Fall), a Christian woman is to be subject to men in her community and church, and that by neither exercising leadership over nor teaching men in an authoritarian role, 1 Tim. 2:12-14. However, due to the capacity for the woman to be subjectively attached to others and her resulting tendency to be deceived and thus get into destructive sins, she should seek to minimize her role in the marketplace and church and focus on making her ROLES in her HOME her MAIN FOCUSES, 1 Timothy 2:15; 5:14-15!
Lesson: God wants a woman to FOCUS on being the "queen in her own home" to enjoy His blessing.

Application: (1) A Christian woman should make FIRST her MARRIAGE and THEN her HOUSEHOLD her MAIN focuses. (2) As such, she should use her capacity to be SUBJECTIVE to LET herself be emotionally attached to her husband as opposed to another man, and to submit to him to the degree it does NOT conflict with her relationship with God. (3) Thus, she should be submissive to men in general in the Church and marketplace, but (4) MINIMIZE her functions in THESE places to MAXIMIZE her role FIRST as a WIFE and THEN as a HOMEMAKER in her OWN HOME!