Friday, June 27, 2008

Imitation of Christ

Here are a few quotes that have stuck in my mind the last few months. In this passage, men and women both get to imitate Christ. Men imitate his headship of the church and women imitate his submission to the father.
    The husband is called to be the head of the wife in the same way that Christ is the head of the church. He imitates the headship of Jesus Christ. The wife is called to imitate the submission of Jesus Christ to the Father. Jesus Christ is so great that both a man and woman together are needed to display his glorious leadership and servanthood.
Here is Lig Duncan, as reported by Courtney Tartar, on a similar topic.
    Biblical manhood and womanhood must be rooted in the doctrine of the work and person of Christ. Therefore all women's ministry in the local church must rely on the doctrine of Christ. Jesus is the example of perfect submission. The work and submission of Christ radically reorients Christian service for Christian women because it is following in the footsteps of our Savior.
I know that Denny is moderating out some commenters but I don't know on what basis. You are welcome to comment here. Either way. Please be a kind to each other.

Addendum:

Here is more about Gen. 3:16 from Gender blog,
    In the curse pronounced by God upon the newly guilty Adam and Eve the distinctive nature of each part of the curse implies the need for men to protect women. The facet of the curse spoken to women includes vulnerability to the serpent, risk and pain in child-bearing and the spiritual danger of desiring to master her husband. Distinctively, the curse upon men includes difficulty in all matters of the earth, and in providing for oneself and family.
What think ye?

5 comments:

Lin said...

I read the whole article from the first quote. This passage proves they take scripture out of context:

"Nevertheless, 1 Corinthians 11:3 leads us to understand that there is a direct connection between the Trinity and our roles in marriage. In this verse, Paul writes, "But I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, the head of the wife is her husband, and the head of Christ is God." Hierarchy has always existed in the Trinity itself, because the head of Christ is God. The goodness of hierarchy is built into the very fabric of creation. Though we are all sinful, it is fundamentally good that children submit to their parents, Christians submit to lawful governments instituted by God, and that believers submit themselves to the leadership of elders in the church. "

Notice: The goodness of hierarchy is built into the very fabric of creation. Huh?

However, That is not what this passage in 1 Corinthians is really about. It is amazing what they can turn into a hierarchical teaching.

What is even more amazing is how they can divvy up the holy characteristics of Jesus as pink and blue and keep a straight face.

Jesus's "headship" (which does not mean authority over another) as BLUE

Jesus' submission to the Father: PINK

So this means either-

women have 2 'heads'? Husband and Jesus

Or,

women have 1 'head' which is her husband who acts as her mediator before Jesus Christ

But, if 'head' means source, origin or going before, then the whole house of hierarchical cards falls down...


...because.....Paul sums it up:

1 Corin 11

Nevertheless, neither is man independent of woman, nor woman independent of man, in the Lord. 12 For as woman came from man, even so man also comes through woman; but all things are from God.

The entire passage is Paul building a case for 'origin or source' giving women freedom to cover their heads or not. It was a cultural dilemma.

Charis said...

The facet of the curse spoken to women includes ...the spiritual danger of desiring to master her husband.

AHA! That explains the dreaded "feminization of the church"... They have just forced EVE to "wear the pants in the family"!!!

What version are they reading from, anyway? God never told her SHE would desire to MASTER her HUSBAND. God warned her "your desire shall be for your husband, and HE shall RULE OVER YOU".

Corrie said...

"Biblical manhood and womanhood must be rooted in the doctrine of the work and person of Christ. Therefore all women's ministry in the local church must rely on the doctrine of Christ. Jesus is the example of perfect submission. The work and submission of Christ radically reorients Christian service for Christian women because it is following in the footsteps of our Savior."

Interesting.

So men are not to be like Jesus in His perfect submission? They are only to be like Him when He is ruling and reigning? And where does the Bible teach this?

It seems that some of these guys think they are more like God than even Christ is.

Submission is for women and Christ, not for men. Their doctrine practically elevates them above Christ.

I cannot imagine creating a whole doctrine that elevates myself to such a high and lofty and advantageous position and then having the guts to claim that I am really a "servant" and that my job is much harder than that of the other gender!

Most people would call it idolatry. Jesus came to serve not to be served. Not so with Ware and others who make a man's will and the service of man as the defining factor for a woman.

Jesus came to serve and men are to be served.

I guess women really are more like Christ in the whole scheme of things. I am only glad that I can so identify with Him and I can follow Him in the way He has commanded. I would much rather be like Christ than claim some pseudo-equality with God. That sounds dangerous.

David Ker said...

Yep, I have thoughts on this. I refuse to define my life in the new covenant by an old covenant curse. For example, work is cursed in this passage, but under the new covenant work is a calling, a sacrament even. Also, in relations between the proto man and woman we can see fallen tendencies but not redeemed reality.

Same goes for childbirth. If you can do it without pain more power to you!

Just A Berean said...

Another poster said elsewhere that the subordinationst's have pictured Christ as needing the permission of the Father to create or do anything. That is hierarchy at it's best. But it is not an accurate description of the unity of God as three in One, the Trinity. No self respecting Messianic Jew would ever accept such as truth.