How Newness of Life in Christ Entails Sharing

How Newness of Life in Christ Entails Sharing Authority and Leadership Philip B. Payne, Ph. D. Author: Man and Woman, One in Christ Teacher: Fuller, Gordon-Conwell, Bethel, Trinity, Cambridge President: Linguist’s Software www. pbpayne. com

New Life in Christ My purpose is to show that new life in Christ entails the equal standing of man and woman with shared authority and leadership.

New Life in Christ We will overview first the New Creation context for the new life in Christ, then 5 key passages affirming men and woman sharing authority and leadership

New Life in Christ Galatians 3: 28 1 Corinthians 11: 2– 16 Romans 16 1 Corinthians 7 Ephesians 5: 21– 22

New Life in Christ Romans 6: 4 “Walk in newness of life” Obviously applies to life Galatians 3: 28 shows that it applies equally to men and women

The New Creation The new creation is important: Galatians 6: 15 “Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is the new creation. ”

The New Creation Its context in Galatians shows that ethnic, social, and gender ranking has no place in the new creation. It entails the equal standing of man and woman in the life of the church (Galatians 3: 28).

The New Creation 2 Corinthians 5: 17 the essence of the new creation is being in Christ: “If anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come. ” New creation transforms relationships: 5: 16 “from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view”

The New Creation Each of Paul’s combinations of “new” and God creating entails a transformed life and attitudes. Paul repeatedly associates the new creation with the removal of divisions between people, all of whom are now made one.

Galatians 3: 28 repudiates the division between Jew and Greek, slave and free, and male and female in Christ.

Galatians 3: 28 S. Lewis Johnson, Jr. wrote, Galatians 3: 28 is “not speaking of relationships in the family and church, but of standing before God. ”

Galatians 3: 28 & Relationships Many factors in the cultural, historical, theological, and literary context of Galatians 3: 28, its actual wording, and its parallel passages prove that Galatians 3: 28 must not be divorced from life in the church and the home.

. Galatians 3: 28’s cultural context early Jewish prayer: “Blessed art Thou, O Lord our God, King of the Universe, who hast not made me a heathen … a bondman … [or] a woman. ”

. Galatians 3: 28’s cultural context These three groups were exempt from and excluded from the study of the law. Paul’s repudiation of these distinctions therefore denies that these groups are excluded from privilege in Christ.

. Galatians 3: 28’s historical context Peter withdrew from table fellowship with Gentiles in Galatia. “I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned … [of] hypocrisy … [and] not acting in line with the truth of the gospel” Galatians 2: 11– 14

Galatians 3: 28’s historical context Paul fought for equal standing in church life 2 Peter 3: 15 “Our dear brother Paul wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him…in all his letters, Scripture” Peter repented of discrimination

Galatians 3: 28’s theological context Many of Paul’s key theological themes imply the equal standing of man and woman: 1 The gifts of the Spirit are for all believers 2 The priesthood of all believers 3 The nature of church leadership as service

Galatians 3: 28’s theological context • 4 Mutual submission in church (Ephesians 5: 21) • 5 Mutual submission in marriage (1 Corinthians 7; Ephesians 5: 21– 22)

Galatians 3: 28’s literary context 6 factors in the literary context of Galatians 3: 28 demand it not be divorced from life in the church and the home

Galatians 3: 28’s literary context 1 The theme of the radical newness of life in Christ lived through the Spirit permeates Galatians 1: 4; 2: 19– 20 3: 2, 5, 14, 28; 4: 3, 5– 7; 5: 1, 19– 21, 22– 23, 25– 26; 6: 15

Galatians 3: 28’s literary context 2 The entire letter is a frontal attack against favored status or privileges being granted to Jews over Gentiles

Galatians 3: 28’s literary context 2 3: 28 addresses Jew-Greek relationships, the issue chapter 2 is about. The crisis was not about spiritual standing but about denial of privileges

Galatians 3: 28’s literary context 3 The absence in Christ of the Jew-Gentile division is the foundation for denying the need for circumcision

Galatians 3: 28’s literary context 4 the references to baptism in 3: 27 and “you are all one body in Christ” in 3: 28 imply church life ‘one’ implies a noun such as ‘body’

Galatians 3: 28’s literary context 5 “For” in 3: 26, 27 shows Paul is giving reasons believers are “no longer under law” (3: 25)

Galatians 3: 28’s literary context 6 Galatians 2: 6 speaks about life in the church It affirms that “God does not show favoritism”

Galatians 3: 28’s wording Four factors in the actual wording of Galatians 3: 28 demand it not be divorced from life in the church 1 “There is no Jew-Greek division” must apply to life in the church since their equal standing in the church is the primary concern of Galatians.

Galatians 3: 28’s wording 2 3: 28 teaches that the male/female division does not exist in Christ. Logically, then, it should not restrict privilege in Christ’s church.

Galatians 3: 28’s wording 3 Each pair deals with social standing, so to say they do not affect social standing is to deny the most obvious application of this language

Galatians 3: 28’s wording 4 “You are all one body in Christ” implies a social unit Status-based discrimination and special privilege are contrary to the unity of Christ’s body

. Galatians 3: 28’s Parallel Passages 6 Parallel passages specify practical application 1 Galatians 5: 6 “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. ”

Galatians 3: 28’s Parallel Passages 2 Galatians 6: 15 “Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is the new creation. ”

Galatians 3: 28’s Parallel Passages 3 Colossians 3: 9– 12 “Put off the old nature with its practices. There is no Greek and Jew, … slave, free, but Christ is all and in all. Put on … compassion, kindness”

Galatians 3: 28’s Parallel Passages Early manuscripts D* F G 629, the Old Latin witnesses, the Vulgates and its citation by Hilary (d. 367) and Ambrose (d. 397) begin Col 3: 11: “There is no male and female, ” which thus entailed for the Western church practical life consequences and was not restricted to spiritual status.

Galatians 3: 28’s Parallel Passages 4 1 Corinthians 12: 13– 25 “We were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free … “that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. ”

Galatians 3: 28’s Parallel Passages 5 Ephesians 2: 11– 19 “Christ … has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. … you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people. ”

Galatians 3: 28’s Parallel Passages 6 1 Corinthians 11: 11 “Woman is not separate from man, nor is man separate from woman in the Lord. ”

. Galatians 3: 28 Summary These many factors in the historical, theological, and literary context of Gal 3: 28, its actual wording, and its parallel passages are incompatible with divorcing Gal 3: 28 from life in the church.

Galatians 3: 28 Summary Such a divorce opposes Paul’s understanding of faith (5: 6), spirituality (5: 16– 26), and the gospel (2: 14)

Galatians 3: 28 Summary Is only “male-female” limited to spiritual Status? NO! 1 “There is no” introduces each 2 Each statement is absolute with no qualification 3 “You are all one in Christ Jesus” must apply to all

. 1 Corinthians 11: 2 -16 affirms women prophesying. Key verse 11: 11 I will highlight 13 points about this passage that are important to make sense of it and its affirmation in v. 11 that “woman is not separate from man … in the Lord”

. 1 Complementarians agree: 1 Cor 11 affirms women prophesying Orthodox Presbyterian Church 3 year 5 person committee declared: “prophesying in public meetings of the church is recognized and accepted … a notion of ‘private prophecy’ is a virtual contradiction in terms and certainly an artificial abstraction”

. 2 Was there a garment headcovering custom in all churches? v. 16 “We have no such custom” Some translations, e. g. RSV NASB, translate it the opposite of its Greek meaning, we have no “other” custom, implying all churches do have this custom!

. 3 What was disgraceful? Men put a garment over their heads as a sign of reverence Abundant graphic evidence shows it was not disgraceful for a woman to be in public without a garment over head 11: 14– 15 identify the shameful head coverings: “long hair is a disgrace to him … long hair is given to her as a covering”

. 1 Corinthians 11: 14– 15 the key 14 “Does not the very nature of things teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a disgrace to him, 15 but that if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? For long hair is given to her as a covering”

. 4 women’s hair let down loose was regarded as disgraceful It symbolized “undisciplined sexuality” Numbers 5 “bitter water” ordeal: A priest lets down the hair of an accused adulteress. If convicted, he cuts it off explains v. 5: a woman who uncovers her hair by letting her hair down is one and the same as “the shorn woman”

4 women’s hair let down loose was regarded as disgraceful Philo, The Special Laws, III. 60, cites Num 5: 18 about the bitter water custom using the identical expression in 1 Cor 11: 5, “with uncovered head (ajkatakaluvpt w/ th/'

. 5 it was disgraceful for men to display effeminate hair Herter identified over 100 passages in Greek literature ridiculing men’s effeminate hair, most from Paul’s time Pseudo-Phocylides (30 BC–AD 40) wrote, “Long hair is not fit for men … because many rage for intercourse with a man”

5 it was disgraceful for men to display effeminate hair Livy says of Dionysiac initiation rites: “There were more lustful practices among men with one another than among women” Merkelbach: Dionysiac initiation into sexual life was so pervasive that “almost every Greek did join in”

5 it was disgraceful for men to display effeminate hair The Dionysiac Temple in Corinth was its center “long hair dishonors a man” in v. 14 “having down from the head” in v. 4 refer to men wearing long effeminate hair to attract homosexual liaisons

5 it was disgraceful for men to display effeminate hair 11: 7 c repudiates this: woman, not another man, is the glory of man, his proper sexual partner 11: 9 repudiates this: “Woman [was made] for the sake of man” to be his sexual partner

5 it was disgraceful for men to display effeminate hair John Chrysostom “with regard to the man, it is … about wearing long hair” Ambrose, “How unsightly it is for a man to act like a woman” Pelagius, “Paul was complaining because men were fussing about their hair … an incitement to fornication”

. 6 10 key reasons favor interpreting “head” κεφαλή as “source” rather than “authority” 1 The standard Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible hardly ever uses the word κεφαλή when the Hebrew word for “head” meant leader 2 It is not true that “authority over” is a well-established meaning of κεφαλή in Greek literature

6. 10 key reasons favor interpreting “head” κεφαλή as “source” rather than “authority” 2 Theological Dictionary of the NT: in secular usage κεφαλή ‘is not employed for the head of a society’ C. K. Barrett: the meaning “ruler” “was not a native meaning of the Greek word. ” Liddell Scott Jones: 48 English equivalents, none mean “leader”

6. 10 key reasons favor interpreting “head” κεφαλή as “source” rather than “authority” 3 “source” is an established meaning for κεφαλή listed from the earliest Greek lexicons to the present Galen identifies the “head” (in the singular) of a river as its “source”: “No river that comes from a single spring is smaller at its head [τὴν κεφαλήν] than it is thereafter”

6. 10 key reasons favor interpreting “head” κεφαλή as “source” rather than “authority” Hippocrates Coac. 498: uses κεφαλή metaphorically to identify the “origins” of muscle Philo, Prelim. Studies 61: “Of all the members of the clan here described Esau is the progenitor, the head [κεφαλή] as it were of the whole creature”

6. 10 key reasons favor interpreting “head” κεφαλή as “source” rather than “authority” Philo, Rewards 125 identifies “The virtuous one, whether single man or people, will be the head [κεφαλή, explained by the editor as ‘the source of spiritual life’] of the human race and all the others like the limbs of a body which draw their life from the forces in the head [κεφαλή]. ”

6. 10 key reasons favor interpreting “head” κεφαλή as “source” rather than “authority” Apoc. Mos. 19. 3 calls “Lust the source [κεφαλή] of every sin” T. Reu. 2. 2 states, “seven spirits are established against mankind, and they are the sources [lit. , ‘heads’] of the deeds of youth”

6. 10 key reasons favor interpreting “head” κεφαλή as “source” rather than “authority” Artemidorus Daldiani, Onir. 1. 35, writes, “If a man dreams that his head [κεφαλή] has been taken away (= beheaded)” refers to his parents as his source “For the head [κεφαλή] resembles parents in that it is the cause [αἰτίαν] of one’s living”

6. 10 key reasons favor interpreting “head” κεφαλή as “source” rather than “authority” Artemidorus “for just as the head [κεφαλή] is the source [αἴτιος] of life and light for the whole body, he was responsible for the dreamer’s life and light … the head [κεφαλή] indicates one’s father” “the head [κεφαλή] represents the father; the removal of the head, the death of the father. ”

6. 10 key reasons favor interpreting “head” κεφαλή as “source” rather than “authority” Orphic fragment 168 records the widely quoted metaphor: “Zeus is the head, Zeus the middle, and from Zeus all things exist (Ζεὺς κεφαλή, Ζεὺς μέσσα, Διὸς δ’ ἐκ πάντα τέτυκται myriad references to Zeus as the source through whom things come

6. 10 key reasons favor interpreting “head” κεφαλή as “source” rather than “authority” several manuscripts of this wellattested saying have ἀρχή [source] instead of κεφαλή A scholion identifying it “as [the] producing cause” (ὡς ποιητικὸν αἴτιον) clearly identifies κεφαλή to mean source

6. 10 key reasons favor interpreting “head” κεφαλή as “source” rather than “authority” Irenaeus, Haer. 5. 3: “he should be the head [κεφαλή] and source [ἀρχή] of his own essence” Irenaeus explains “head” as “source, ” and “ruler” does not fit “of his own essence”

6. 10 key reasons favor interpreting “head” κεφαλή as “source” rather than “authority” 4 1 Corinthians 11: 3 is not a descending or ascending order of authority It is chronological: man’s creation, woman’s from “the man, ” Christ came from God

6. 10 key reasons favor interpreting “head” κεφαλή as “source” rather than “authority” 5 “source” fits better than “authority” as the meaning of κεφαλή in “the Christ is [ἔστιν] the κεφαλή of every man” Christ is not now the only authority over men, but he is uniquely the source of every man 1 Corinthians 8: 6 “Christ, through whom all things came”

6. 10 key reasons favor interpreting “head” κεφαλή as “source” rather than “authority” 6 “source” fits better than “authority” as the meaning of κεφαλή in “the man [with an article] is κεφαλή of woman” All 3 “the man, ” “the Christ, ” “the God” have an article identifying a specific person. As in 11: 12 it refers to “the man, ” Adam, from whom woman came

6. 10 key reasons favor interpreting “head” κεφαλή as “source” rather than “authority” 7 “source” fits better than “authority” as the meaning of κεφαλή in “God [with an article] is the κεφαλή of the Christ” If κεφαλή means authority, Christ after the resurrection and ascension is subordinated to God This is subordinationist Christology

6. 10 key reasons favor interpreting “head” κεφαλή as “source” rather than “authority” 7 Chrysostom, Theodoret, and Theophylact emphasize the misuse of 1 Cor 11: 3 by Arians and others to subordinate the present, eternal, or ontological Christ to the Father The church has regarded subordinationist Christology as heresy since the early church creeds

6. 10 key reasons favor interpreting “head” κεφαλή as “source” rather than “authority” 7 Christ in the incarnation relinquished “equality with God” Philippians 2: 6– 8 “Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered” (Heb 5: 8) implies that obedience was a new experience to be “learned” through his incarnate sufferings, not from any prior subordination

6. 10 key reasons favor interpreting “head” κεφαλή as “source” rather than “authority” 7 Cyril of Alexandria states, “The Word was begotten of Him. Because head [κεφαλή] means source [ἀρχή]”

6. 10 key reasons favor interpreting “head” κεφαλή as “source” rather than “authority” 8 This passage discusses disgraceful head-covering practices in prayer and prophecy, not hierarchical roles. The only reference to authority is verse 10’s affirmation of the woman’s authority

6. 10 key reasons favor interpreting “head” κεφαλή as “source” rather than “authority” 9 This passage says nothing about man’s authority but rather affirms woman’s authority: to pray and prophecy 11: 5, over her own head 11: 10, equal standing with man 11: 11– 12

6. 10 key reasons favor interpreting “head” κεφαλή as “source” rather than “authority” 10 Much early Greek commentary on 11: 3 specifically interprets κεφαλή to mean “source. ” Cyril of Alexandria’s De recta fide ad Arcadiam et Marinam 52. 63 E: “The source [ἀρχή] of man is the Creator God. Thus we say that “the head of every man is Christ, ” because he was made through him and brought forth to birth. ”

6. 10 key reasons favor interpreting “head” κεφαλή as “source” rather than “authority” 10 “And the head of woman is man, because she was taken from his flesh and has him as her source [ἀρχή]. Likewise, the head of Christ is God, because He is from Him according to nature” Also: Theodore of Mopsuestia, Saint Basil, Athanasius, Eusebius, Ambrosiaster

6. 10 key reasons favor interpreting “head” κεφαλή as “source” rather than “authority” 10 Photius sums up the work of earlier Greek fathers: “Christ is the head of us who believe, being made by him But the head of Christ is the Father, as procreator and progenitor and of like substance with him And the head of the woman is the man because he is her procreator and progenitor and of like substance with her”

. 7 Verse 3 lays out the underlying logic for the whole passage Men should respect Christ, their creator source, by not repudiating the way he created them men by displaying long effeminate hair Women should respect man. Woman’s source was in the man, Adam (repeated in vv. 8, 9, 12). Therefore, women should not symbolize repudiation of their marriage vows by letting their hair down loose

. 8 v. 11 begins with the word for emphasizing what is important In Paul’s letters, πλήν always points to the matter of his central concern and shows a change in perspective: BDAG 826 [1. c] “emphasizing what is important” BDF § 449 “essential” A. T. Robertson: “his main point”

8 v. 11 begins with the word for emphasizing what is important “Nevertheless, woman is not separate from man, nor is man separate from woman in the Lord” This gives theological basis women may pray and prophesy, leading in church worship

. 9 The central question in verse 11: What does χωρίς (“separate from”) mean? “independent” is not listed regarding persons in standard Greek dictionaries. It “adds a nuance which goes beyond the adverb χωρίς” (Thiselton). Nor is interdependence something distinctively “in the Lord”

. 10 “woman is not separate from man” “separate from” fits all but 4 of Paul’s 16 uses of this word It fits this context perfectly It affirms that, in spite of the created differences between man and woman (which should be upheld in this life), Paul’s key point is that the barriers that separate man and woman have been overcome in Christ

. 11 Verse 12 further argues for no gender separation in Christ since both men and women should respect the other as their source “For just as woman is from man, so also man comes through woman, and all this is from God”

. 12 Verses 11– 12 clarify that Paul is not teaching hierarchy based on source Not from “woman is from man” in verse 8 Not from “woman is made for man” in verse 9 Not from “head” in verse 3 Not from “image of God” in verse 7

. 13 This passage, therefore, affirms women leading worship in prayer and prophecy and justifies this since “woman is not separate from man, nor is man separate from woman in the Lord” Thus it applies the Gal 3: 28 principle of no male-female division to church leadership

. Romans 16 Seven of the ten people Romans 16: 1– 16 names as Paul’s colleagues in ministry are women: 1 -2 “Phoebe, deacon of the church in Cenchrea” “leader of many including myself”

Romans 16 3 “Priscilla and Aquila, my coworkers in Christ” 1 Corinthians 16: 16 calls believers to submit to all co-workers συνεργοῦντι 7 “Andronicus and Junia … outstanding among the apostles”

Romans 16 6 “Mary, … 12 Tryphena and Tryphosa, … Persis… women who work hard in the Lord” 1 Corinthians 16: 16 calls believers to submit to all work hard κοπιῶντι

Romans 16 61 Thessalonians 5: 12 equates “Those who work hard (κοπιῶντας)” with “Those who have charge over you in the Lord” Philippians 4: 2 -3 calls Eudodia & Syntyche “Gospel co-workers”

1 Corinthians 7 is Paul’s most detailed treatment of marriage It identifies exactly the same rights and responsibilities for wives and husbands regarding twelve different issues about marriage, both natural and spiritual

1 Corinthians 7 In each he addresses men and women as equals. His wording is symmetrically balanced to emphasize this equality

1 Corinthians 7 e. g. 1 Corinthians 7: 4 “The wife does not have authority over her own body, but her husband does. In the same way, the husband does not have authority over his own body, but his wife does. ”

1 Corinthians 7 Richard Hays correctly observes how revolutionary this was, “Paul offers a paradigm-shattering vision of marriage as a relationship in which the partners are bonded together in submission to one another. ” First Corinthians p. 131

. Ephesians 5: 21– 22 “Submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ, wives to your own husbands as to the Lord. ” Paul teaches mutual submission in the church and in marriage.

. Conclusion Newness of Life in Christ Entails Men and Women Sharing Authority and Leadership Galatians 3: 28 asserts there is no male/female division in Christ

Conclusion Galatians 3: 28’s cultural, historical, and literary context, its wording, and themes in Paul’s theology and its parallel passages demand that this apply to church life

Conclusion 1 Corinthians 11: 11 asserts “woman is not separate from man in the Lord” as regards leading worship

Conclusion Seven of the ten church leaders Paul names in Romans 16 with a description of their ministry are women. Paul identifies women in church leadership as apostle, prophet, gospel laborers, deacon and leader

Conclusion 1 Corinthians 7 teaches mutual authority and reciprocity between husband wife Ephesians 5: 21 – 22 teaches mutual submission in marriage Let us foster the equal standing of men and women in Christ.