Manhood and Womanhood

A hot topic within the secular world is how to define what it means to be a man or a woman. Is it something that can change, or is it whatever you’re born as? While this is something that needs to be well thought through, our pursuit today isn’t to define what a man or a woman is, but rather to see if there’s any difference between their functions.

We see that men and women essentially equal. “Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. The man said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.” (Genesis 2:22-23). “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:28). We are created equally. We both have equal standing before God.

While we are equal in our creation and in our standing before God, the function of a man and a woman is different. We see in scripture that men are to lead in the church. (1 Corinthians 11:2-16; 14:29-36, 1 Timothy 2:11-15) Men are to teach about God and his commandments. While it is not the popular opinion in society today, Scripture clearly teaches that women are not to have authority over men in the church. This is because this is the divine order that God created. We see this pattern starting all the way back to Adam and Eve.

Men are also to lead in the home. “Wives, submit yourselves to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them.” (Colossians 3:18-19). Men are to lead spiritually in the house and make major decisions. “Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.” (Ephesians 5:22-24). 

If the men are to lead both in the home and at church, what does that leave for the women? Women are to be supporting, nurturing, and serving. They are to help serve in the church alongside the men. They are to be nurturing, helping grow the other women and children in the church. They are to help support the leadership of the church and their husbands.

Men and women were created to function in different ways that complement each other. Their strengths help make each other better. They fill in where the other lacks. Just because men and women were created equally, it doesn’t mean that they were designed for the same purpose. This equal yet different reality is another display of God’s graciousness and wisdom.