Promote the Patriarchy

Hebrews 12:7-9

Introduction

Patriarchy has essentially become an assumed evil.

Many brethren continue to defend patriarchy in minimal ways.

We can’t have women preachers or elders.

But they’re very sorry about it all and they wish it could be different.

I want to begin a series of lesson about men, masculinity, and leadership this morning.

Godly men have always been the enemy of culture but the heat seems to be turning up to a fevered pitch.

I hope this study is helpful to us who are men, to women who want to support godly men, and to those of us who are engaged in trying to raised godly men.

What is Patriarchy

The literal definition is “rule of the father.”

“social organization marked by the supremacy of the father in the clan or family, the legal dependence of wives and children, and the reckoning of descent and inheritance in the male line. - broadly : control by men of a disproportionately large share of power” - Miriam Webster

“Patriarchy is a social system in which positions of dominance and privilege are held by men.” Wikipedia

Article on CNN:

“However, the main characteristic of a patriarchal society is one where men hold more power and authority which subsequently leads to male privilege.”

“Deeply ingrained biases see men hold most positions of leadership and control resources in both the public and private spheres, while women play a secondary role and are seen as weaker andbetter suited to domestic labor. As such, a woman's place in a patriarchal society is primarily to be homemakers, procreators or caregivers.”

“This male dominance perpetuates beliefs and practices (cultural norms) that -- whether consciously or unconsciously -- favor men over women, and these beliefs are not just held by men, but by the majority of the people in that society, whatever their gender.”

It is viewed generally as something that needs to be dismantled:

“Despite strides towards sex equality that have been gaining momentum for more than a century, the US remains a patriarchal society.”

“The patriarchy is a social system that was designed by men to favor men. It has been adopted throughout the ages through learned behavior and cultural norms that put men on top. To dismantle this ideal, we have to challenge the entrenched biases against women.”

What is Natural

Patriarchy is a part of our created nature (1 Cor. 11:8-12).

God commands us to act in accordance with creation (1 Tim. 2:12-15).

Too often we see the patterns of authority as mere instruction as distinct from what may or may not be according to nature.

Women might be just as good at this or even better, but God said this so we will be faithful to Him even if it isn’t best.

Part of faithful loyalty to God is recognizing that what He says is best.

I don’t believe God just picked one of the two genders and decided at random, He gave commands in accord with what He had made.

Then what happens, we promote patriarchy only where God has specifically said it must be so but where the mandate is more general, we are prone to fall into bouts of, “He didn’t say NOT to.”

In questions of whether a woman should “work outside the home” we get so far from the root questions. What are the primary and natural functions of men and women. Are you willing to be submissive to those natural functions and missions.

There are women who earn a paycheck and stay faithful to that function and there are women who rarely leave the house but who abandon and even rebel against that function.

We have reduced a question of our very natures to one of where we geographically spend our time.

Even pagans can see what is natural (Ex. 1:16).

You cannot destroy nature but you can suppress it (Rom. 1:18).

“Custom will never conquer nature, for it is always invincible.”

“Patriarchal ideology acts to explain and justify patriarchy by attributing gender inequality to inherent natural differences between men and women, divine commandment, or other fixed structures.” - Wikipedia

“Social constructionists contest this argument, arguing that gender roles and gender inequity are instruments of power and have become social norms to maintain control over women” - Wikipedia

“The patriarchy is a social system that was designed by men to favor men. It has been adopted throughout the ages through learned behavior and cultural norms that put men on top.” - CNN

What is natural can still be corrupt (cf. Ex. 22:16).

What is unnatural cannot be reconciled.

When what is natural is perverted, the remedy is to bring that natural thing into subjection to God.

The solution to perversion of the natural will never be what is UNnatural.

The solution to corrupt patriarchy is strong godly patriarchy.

To put it in the crudest of terms, the way to stop a bad man with a gun is a good man with a gun.

Conclusion

Raising good patriarchs starts with being good patriarchs. This won’t come naturally.

Our boys will not naturally pick up what used to be naturally picked up. We will have be more sure to point them in the right directions.

Much of the work here lies with mothers but the weight is on fathers.

We will be revisiting this topic both to give more shape to what Biblical masculinity looks like as well as what has been done to suppress it over the last century and beyond.

God has identified Himself as our patriarch not as our gender less parent.

Even if you are fatherless or the child of an utterly failed patriarch, your Father in heaven will be a Father that makes a shadow of the best fathers this world has to offer.