What is a Woman

Introduction

“Has ever a topic been so fixated on, maligned, idolized, marginalized, criticized, and generally made a mess of? Well, yes, other topics are as fraught. But still, it ranks.” - Abigail Dodds (A)Typical Woman

We are planning a series of lessons on the subject of Biblical Womanhood.

Our goal will be Biblical clarity and not simply having an opposite cultural reaction to the current cultural fad.

This morning we are starting with a basic question and a not so basic answer.

The Difficulty

Many can’t even answer this question at the most basic level.

In March 22, 2022, Kentanji Brown Jackson was asked “What is a woman?”

Her response, “I’m not a biologist.” (Gen. 1:27)

So we have the extreme of trans nonsense to deal with.

We have more traditional criticisms of Biblical models of womanhood (Eph. 5:22).

“The Bible’s teachings on women reinforce a system of male dominance, telling women to obey and submit. This is nothing more than a strategy to keep women in secondary roles under the guise of divine will.” - Gloria Steinham

“The problem with biblical womanhood is that it confines women to a life of domesticity and dependence on men, robbing them of the ability to explore their own identity and ambitions outside of these roles.” - Betty Friedan

“The Bible and the Church have been the greatest stumbling blocks in the way of women’s emancipation.” - Elizabeth Cady Stanton (1895)

Those criticisms come from religious circles as well.

“What does it say about God if half of His children are unqualified to lead in His kingdom simply because of their gender? We’re missing the point if we think leadership is based on something so arbitrary.” - Jen Hatmaker

“Patriarchy is not God’s dream for humanity. It’s a result of our sin, and Jesus came to set us free from it.” - Sarah Bessey (Jesus Feminist)

“The Bible does not present us with a single model of biblical womanhood. So when we talk about ‘biblical womanhood,’ we’re really cherry-picking which verses we want to apply to women today.” - Rachel Held Evans

Even more conservative religious thinkers have shifted

Beth Moore

“I believe God designed men and women with different roles. Men are called to be the spiritual leaders of the home and the church, and I respect that order, as outlined in Scripture.” - 2004

“My calling is to teach women, and I believe that is where God has led me. I believe God has given men the responsibility of teaching and leading the church as a whole.” - 2010

“The Scripture makes it clear that women were the first witnesses to the resurrection of Christ and that they played key roles in the spread of the Gospel. Women are vital to the mission of the church, and their gifts should be fully used.” - 2016

“I am compelled by my calling to stand up and use my voice. It’s not about my gender, but about the Gospel and obedience to Christ. We must support women who are called to ministry, wherever God leads them.” - 2018

“I am still a complementarian, but I no longer see it as a matter of first importance. I have seen the devastating effects of putting women in a second-class position in the church and in life, and I want to say that this is not what Christ came to do.” - 2019

“I am no longer a Southern Baptist. I love so many Southern Baptist people, but I am at odds with the denomination’s stance on women in ministry, and I cannot align myself with that any longer.” - 2021

Then there are the overreactions to all of this.

That women are allowed no authority in any context.

Expectations to conform to the most exaggerated feminine stereotypes.

Failure to wrestle with exceptions appropriately.

Image Bearers

Women are created in God’s image (Gen. 1:27).

The image we bear is not male or female.

But the image must be born AS a male or as a female.

All of scripture is for women (Deut. 31:10-13).

There are two dangers here:

One is to only focus on the parts that mention women specifically.

This can lead to a lack of contextual understanding.

It can also lead to stretching just to find applicable passages.

The other danger is to pretend that those passages aren’t any more applicable to women than anyone else.

“I’ve know men who gossip worse than women.”

If a patriarch of your family wrote a letter to your family and at some point said, “now, to my granddaughters.”

You wouldn’t ignore everything up to that point.

And you wouldn’t pretend that part wasn’t extra special for you.

Feminine virtue comes from God (Isa. 49:15; 66:13).

When a woman is everything she ought to be…she is “like God.”

This is no less true for her than it is for the man.

Natural Revelation

In addition to Biblical revelation, God has revealed His truth in His creation (Rom. 1:20, 26-27).

Man not only has given up the natural function, he believes he can actually change nature.

Nature is just a problem to solve.

The roles of men and women are rooted in nature (Gen. 1:27; 1 Tim. 2:13-15).

But natural revelation is imperfect (Gen. 3:16).

One of the main arguments that feminist theologians make is that they “feel” so restricted and want more and that this is something “most” women “feel.”

Well, to a degree, that is what God said would happen. Women would want more control. But that is a curse, not a sign to follow.

Additionally, while natural revelation may give us norms, a broken world gives us exceptions to those norms and we will need to acknowledge those for what they are.

Conclusion

So, we will give more attention to the push that got us where we are today and how to detox our minds (men and women).

We will think about how women are specifically supposed to bear God’s image that God created them for.

And we will do this by considering natural revelation alongside all of scripture.