What He Really Said About Men and Women: Rethinking Paul

I’ve started a series of teachings in defense of the words and ministry of the Apostle Paul. I realized I started the series with controversial matters, mostly in regard to women and sexual orientation.

You can read it here: A Deeper Dive Into The Controversial Teachings of the Apostle Paul

I admitted in the above that today, many of Paul’s teachings seem outdated based on today’s normal practices and cultural relevance. However, I want to first explain why Paul’s apostleship and the apostleship of all the Biblical writers outside the four gospels are essential.

Why? — because Jesus continued His ministry through them.

Today, some have tried to surgically separate the teachings of Jesus from those of the disciples. In effect, they eliminate all the New Testament save for the four Gospel stories. Some prefer the teachings of Jesus without the complications the Epistles bring to Christianity.

This practice is a major and fatal mistake! I do not claim this as an apologetic argument, or a critique of the various Bible fragments, translations, or past editing the scriptures have endured. No, I position my argument from a spiritual perspective, which is highly dependent on faith.

Without faith in Jesus and God, none of this will make sense and therefore be meaningless!

My thesis in this message is that there is a spiritual element to Scripture that is overlooked and ignored. Despite all of the arguments of philosophies, including science, the one factor that connects all Biblical truth is the Holy Spirit, and the fact that Jesus is still a “living” Lord in charge of His church!

Let’s start with the statement of Jesus from the Gospels themselves. Jesus tells his disciples:

“it is for your good that I go away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.” -John 16:7. [1]

We see from this statement of Jesus that he was forming a bridge of communication between Himself and the disciples and all that follow Him. The continuity of Scripture was assured through them because Jesus himself would remain in contact with them.

This also supports why Peter could say that no Scripture was written based on the philosophical leanings of the prophets and Apostles of Jesus. [2] And why Paul stated that Scripture is “God-breathed,” therefore good for teaching and learning. [3]

To believe in Jesus is to believe in His continued ministry to His followers through the Holy Spirit. Jesus speaks now, as He did on earth two thousand years ago. Since God’s words do not conflict with God, His ministers do not add or take away from the authority of the Scriptures by introducing conflicting doctrine or attempting to force loyalties to one or the other Biblical teachers.

The Scriptures seek a harmonious message as conveyed by all the Apostles and Biblical leaders.

This is why Paul could say with boldness the following:

“if anyone thinks they are a prophet or otherwise gifted by the Spirit, let them acknowledge that what I am writing to you is the Lord’s command.” — 1 Corinthians 14:37 NIV

Based on what I have presented so far, it should be noticeably clear that anyone attempting to sever Jesus from the teachings of His apostles is of the devil and are impostors and false prophets — period!

For the true believer, the case should be closed, and the matter no longer germane for further discussion. Nor should true believers have given any credibility to listening to such evil doctrine with evil intentions.

We serve a “living” Lord, not a dead one left in history.

Beware of anyone bringing a “different” gospel than what the disciples gave us — and this includes deconstructionists, reconstructors, new age Christianity, and hard-core Nationalism teachings!

If it differs, you must reject it.

Concerning Men

It may seem misogynistic of Paul (and Peter) in their instructions for Godly women and their behaviors within the churches and towards men. All the more towards their husbands.

Peter even stated that Sarah, the wife of the patriarch Abraham, called him “lord” as a sign of respect. [4] Peter further said for the daughters of this age that they would do well to follow Sarah’s example, as long as they did so without being afraid or bewildered by the command to do so.

I say this because the daughters of this age have much to fear and be bewildered about.

For God’s perfect guidance to work, there must be a balance with Godly men in support of Godly women. Men must allow and support their Godly wives to behave like Sarah. This, unfortunately, simply is not happening!

Instead, women are assaulted, mistreated, abused, demeaned, and abandoned by men, or at best treated as objects to possess or prey to be devoured.

Much worse is that this is even happening in the Christian churches by men professing faith in God.

We men must face that the Biblical narrative of Jesus Christ only works if men live up to their calling under God. Otherwise, we force our women to assume rule over themselves and even over men. In their defense, this becomes necessary when the imbalance caused by sin creates a hostile environment for women, and sadly, it often does.

I know, as a dad of two now very grown daughters, that I feared for them when they were young. I was very worried that when they grew up, they had to be prepared to take care of themselves, as I did not expect a man to do so. I wanted my daughters to be educated and able to work for their own living in a world that favored men.

They needed skills and self-value, which did not come from the approval of a man. Simply said: I feared men! Being a man myself, I feared what men were becoming, and the carelessness of society was teaching. I even assessed based on my own background and the difficulty it took for me to be able to take care of myself. But that is a different story, yet it influenced my behavior towards my daughters.

I am sure many fathers of daughters have such deep internal fears as to pressure their daughters to excel and achieve rather than to focus on becoming a good wife. We, in turn, implant fear in our daughters while allowing our sons to be “boys,” sowing their oats, as it were, and to compete and strive for dominance.

This is a cycle that is set in stone.

We are now stuck in a nightmare of our own creation — thus the ways of “missing God’s mark” and the nature of sin. But let us as men face it, we believe we have to adapt in a dog-eat-dog world, to live like sheep is to become prey to the wolves.

No, that is not God’s way; it is the way of this world and this evil age. As believers, we must fight not to become trapped in it. We are citizens of heaven, and not this mortal plane. If we fail to live like the true strangers we are to this world, then there is no one who will lead by example.

Everyone simply seeks to “fit in.”

God places a higher level of authority and responsibilities on men. We as men will carry the greater burden at judgment to account for how we altered the good intent of God and corrupted His world.

I mentioned Eve and her trespass due to spiritual temptation at the hands of Satan, but Adam allowed himself to be hoodwinked into sin by defaulting his authority to his wife, rather than standing for God. This happens far more often than we can account for even today.

It is not our place to blame women as Adam blamed Eve. We must bear our own responsibility, because of Adam, we all now face death. Eve represents new life, pain of birth, and motherhood, while we men represent the death of life and the hardship of lifelong struggles.

“ Because you (Adam) listened to your wife and ate from the forbidden tree about which I commanded you, that you must not eat from it. Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow, you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you shall return.” — Genesis 3:17–19 NIV

We men, following in the steps of Adam, screwed up royally and we cannot blame our hardships on women or anyone else. Our actions corrupted the Earth!

So, what are men supposed to do?

There are many Scriptures, mostly in the New Testament, on how men should treat women and their wives. [5] The crux is that men should treat women with respect, kindness, calmness, lovingly, and cherish them as you care for yourself.

Any mistreatment will block your prayers to God and open your life to extreme difficulties.[6]

There can be no pointing fingers of accusation or quarreling by men toward their wives, as God holds men responsible in such situations. Men in general should treat all women with respect and assurance of their protection and ability to thrive. Only then can a woman give her respect to a man.

Now this is how God’s orderly world should be and what He commands of us.

Our current corrupt world is fouled with evil, selfishness, and crimes of passion. So, it is little wonder why both men and women are off balance, and instead of being co-partners, we have become enemies and competitors.

God is Love.

Men are created in His image; therefore, we are to love our wives as Jesus loved the church. Willing to give up his life for her perseverance and glorification.

© Bob Russell

---

Sources:

[1] John 16: 12 — Jesus further reminds the disciples that the Advocate, the Spirit of Truth, will guide them in all truth and further take from Jesus and give it to them.

[2] 2 Peter 1:20

[3] 2 Timothy 3:16–17

[4] 1 Peter 3:6

[5] Galatians 3:28; 1 Peter 3:1–7; Colossians 3:19; Ephesians 5:25- 33; 1 Timothy 5:8; 1 Corinthians 7:3–5; Proverb 18:22; Malachi 2:14–16; Matthew 19:3–9; 1 Corinthians 11:11

[6] 1 Peter 3:7