Come, Let Us Reason Together In Pursuit of Restoration The issue of gender equality is the hot topic of debate in the Body of Christ today. And the most misunderstood. In fact, just mention the subject and most Christians in
Come,
Let Us Reason Together In
Pursuit of Restoration
The issue of gender equality is the hot
topic of debate in the Body of Christ today. And the most misunderstood. In
fact, just mention the subject and most Christians in America believe you to be
a proponent of homosexuality and gender confusion. Of course, biblical equality
has nothing to do with these. But this tactic of our enemy – a basic PR ruse in
which precious, cutting-edge truth is grouped together in the media with sin –
has proven to be a very effective tool for him in the past. Why, just a few
decades back he misrepresented the Pentecostal Movement using this same ploy.
While it was still in its infancy, he lumped Pentecostals (Christians of many
denominations who believe the baptism of the Holy Spirit is a separate event in
the life of a Christian1) in with
“snake-handlers” and “poison-drinkers,” his plan simple yet effective: group
the godly with the ungodly to scare aware the sincere. And for a while it
worked, frightening many Christians away from the gifts of the Spirit.
But as the Church grew in maturity,
learning to discern good from evil,2 millions of Christians were able to
distinguish between the gifts of the Holy Spirit and those weird, demonic
aberrations. They at last stood against this “scheme[s] of the devil.”3 And with the
Pentecostal Movement now the fastest growing segment of Christianity throughout
the world - with over 600 million adherents4 - this particular plan of our enemy has
ultimately failed. But make no mistake about it, the battle to re-establish the
legitimacy of spiritual gifts was fierce. And many Pentecostal Christians who
were on the forefront of this important movement 11
suffered misunderstanding, derision and
even abuse…not only from the world, but also from other Christians.
Today, the Church is once again
embroiled in combat, this time to re-establish the truth of gender equality.
Because that’s just what this is: Restoration, not Innovation. The early
Church flowed in newly discovered parity, with women ministering right
alongside men, as those courageous saints heeded Paul’s charge to maintain the
principles of God “without bias, doing nothing in a spirit of partiality.”5 Phoebe was
recognized by every church as a deacon,6 and Junia as an apostle “outstanding
among the apostles.”7
Women
prophets are mentioned in the book of Acts8 right alongside their male counterparts.
And Paul obviously respected the call of God in the lives of Priscilla,9 Clement, Eudia
and Syntche,10
commending
these women as “fellow workers” in the Gospel, a significant title that he also
used when referring to Timothy,11 Luke,12 Titus,13Apollos14 and himself!
Clearly, early Church leaders took the
revolutionary truth of Galatians 3:28 to heart, believing Paul when he wrote,
“There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is
neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Now, Paul was
certainly not saying that differences didn’t exist - there obviously were Jews
and Gentiles, slaves and free, male and female - but that in Christ no one has
the upper hand based on these distinctions. So what happened? Why have we
failed to “join in following [Paul’s] example?” 15Instead of maintaining equality
between men and women in the Body of Christ, why has the greatest portion of
the Church taken a different path, one of hierarchy, stereotypes and
domination? How did we get here from there?
There has never been, nor will there
ever be, anything like the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Into a world of racial
hatred, ungodly social and economic division, and male superiority entered a
freedom and equality this fallen world had never experienced. The blind could
suddenly see. The lame could walk. And those typecast and bound by worldly
partitions were set free. Of course these 12
blessings garnered the jealousy and
hatred of our enemy. And just as the Philistines, driven by envy and
resentment, stopped up the ancient wells of Abraham16- so Satan
immediately began his war against the liberating Gospel of Jesus Christ,
determined to block these life-giving wells of truth and sound doctrine.
In fact, Paul warned the early Church,
“Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock…I know that after my
departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from
among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things…”17 Peter too sounded
the alarm, “there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly
introduce destructive heresies…and because of them the way of truth will be
maligned;”18
And
Jude pleaded, “…contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all
delivered to the saints. For certain persons have crept in unnoticed…”19One by one, the
radical truths of the Gospel were attacked. And many of these foundational
truths -racial harmony, the legitimacy of spiritual gifts, and now gender
equality - are just now being restored to the Body of Christ.
We’ve got our work cut out for us,
overcoming stereotypes, old mind-sets and confusion over scriptural
interpretations, but we trust the Holy Spirit to bring discernment and clarity
to this vital subject. In this book we’ll scrutinize the message of the Gospel
as a whole, and then go into great detail to address disputed, and often
misunderstood, passages in the Bible, doing our best to help unclog this
ancient well which Satan has so successfully stopped up.