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No.3.
Man, Woman and Equality (continued).
pp. 126 - 130
Attention has so far been drawn to God's desire for order in His creation, that every
part of that work of His should find its proper place in His arrangement. As belonging to
God's order, man and woman each have an allotted place, according to His pleasure, in
the present economy. But it is necessary to draw a distinction between the positions
given to man and woman, and their own individual standings before God.
Misunderstanding of this distinction has led to the non-scriptural idea that man is himself
superior to woman, whereas, in actual fact at best, it is only that the position allotted to
man, since it speaks of headship and authority, is superior. This distinction is now to be
illustrated by two examples.
Jew and Gentile during the Acts period.
"The Lord shall make thee the head, and not the tail", said Moses to Israel
(Deut. 28: 13). It is quite evident that in choosing Israel, the Lord never suggested
once that they were a superior nation above other nations of the earth. In fact:
"The Lord did not set His love upon (cleave to) you, nor choose you, because ye were
more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people: But because the
Lord loved you . . . . ." (Deut. 7: 7, 8).
"Love" was the reason for such a choice, and hence Israel were not to exalt
themselves, the Lord would exalt them in due course. They were chosen to fill a certain
position in God's economy for the earth, and this position no more made them a superior
nation, than God's vesting of the headship in the man placed him as a superior being over
the woman.
During the Acts period, when both Jew and Gentile were being called by the
preaching to Christ, a distinction is to be observed in this respect. With regard to "faith
in Christ Jesus":
"There is neither Jew nor Greek . . . . . And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's
seed, and heirs according to the promise" (Gal. 3: 28, 29).
But Paul could also write:
"What then is the superiority of the Jew? or what the profit of the circumcision?
Much in every way: for first that they were entrusted with the oracles of God" (English
Greek N.T. translation of Rom. 3: 1, 2).
And yet:
"What then? are we (i.e. we Jews) better than they? No, in no wise: for we have
before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin" (Rom. 3: 9).