A leader is a person who is able to attract and motivate people to accomplish a goal. Good leaders are motivators of vision and direction. The biblical image used when describing a leaders is “shepherd”. A Shepherd does not force his will upon the sheep, rather he tends and cares for them.
Like a pair of twins, leadership and followership go hand in hand. ... So the ideal relationship between leaders and followers is a partnership of equals; one without the other results in failure.
Equality is a tricky concept. Just because two people are equal does not mean they are the same. Let’s take men and women, for example. No matter how you look at it, men and women are inherently different. Women can give birth to children while men cannot. In general, men are physically stronger and taller than women. Men’s and women’s brains are even different, processing thoughts and emotions in separate ways – giving each sex a different advantage.
Religious Influence
Depending on your religious beliefs, you may have different opinions about gender roles. Some religions follow traditional ideas – the man is the head of the household, while the woman takes care of the house and is under the authority of her husband. This happens to varying degrees, of course. In some religions women are expected to never question their husbands, while others encourage a more equal relationship –though still not 100% equal.
Additionally, some religions require men to be leaders of their religions institution. Roman Catholics, for example, forbid women from being in a position of authority, unless they are teaching other women or leading a program for children. Other denominations of Christianity are more progressive, and do allow women to be pastors and leaders in the church. A lot of these differences hinge upon how religious texts are interpreted.
Husbands And Wives Are Equals
A wife's submission to her husbands does not make her inferior or unequal!
Ephesians 5:22-29, 31-33 CEV A wife should put her husband first, as she does the Lord. A husband is the head of his wife, as Christ is the head and the Savior of the church, which is his own body. Wives should always put their husbands first, as the church puts Christ first. A husband should love his wife as much as Christ loved the church and gave his life for it. He made the church holy by the power of his word, and he made it pure by washing it with water. Christ did this, so he would have a glorious and holy church, without faults or spots or wrinkles or any other flaws. In the same way, a husband should love his wife as much as he loves himself. A husband who loves his wife shows he loves himself. None of us hate our own bodies. We provide for them and take good care of them, just as Christ does for the church, As the Scriptures say, “A man leaves his father and mother to get married, and he becomes like one person with his wife.” This is a great mystery, but I understand it to mean Christ and his church. So each husband should love his wife as much as he loves himself, and each wife should respect her husband.
Husbands and wives are absolutely equal before God, even when a wife submits to her husband. To suggest that women are inferior to men because they submit denies the equality of the Trinity doctrine. Jesus and the Father are both uncreated God, yet Jesus submits to the Father. Jesus is not less God than the Father because He submits to the Father?
Some suggest that a wife submitting to husband makes her inferior to men. This is wrong. Husbands and wives share equal rights a humans. The husband is not "higher" than the wife because she submits to him!
Scripture teaches that the husband must treat his wife as an equal, even though she submits.
1 Peter 3:7 NASB You husbands in the same way, live with your wives in an understanding way, as with someone weaker, since she is a woman; and show her honor as a fellow heir of the grace of life, so that your prayers will not be hindered. (emphasis mine).
A husband must submit to his employer? Is the boss categorically superior to an employee? No! They are equal in their rights as men, but one is head and the other is subordinate.
Like a pair of twins, leadership and followership go hand in hand. ... So the ideal relationship between leaders and followers is a partnership of equals; one without the other results in failure.
Equality is a tricky concept. Just because two people are equal does not mean they are the same. Let’s take men and women, for example. No matter how you look at it, men and women are inherently different. Women can give birth to children while men cannot. In general, men are physically stronger and taller than women. Men’s and women’s brains are even different, processing thoughts and emotions in separate ways – giving each sex a different advantage.
Religious Influence
Depending on your religious beliefs, you may have different opinions about gender roles. Some religions follow traditional ideas – the man is the head of the household, while the woman takes care of the house and is under the authority of her husband. This happens to varying degrees, of course. In some religions women are expected to never question their husbands, while others encourage a more equal relationship –though still not 100% equal.
Additionally, some religions require men to be leaders of their religions institution. Roman Catholics, for example, forbid women from being in a position of authority, unless they are teaching other women or leading a program for children. Other denominations of Christianity are more progressive, and do allow women to be pastors and leaders in the church. A lot of these differences hinge upon how religious texts are interpreted.
Husbands And Wives Are Equals
A wife's submission to her husbands does not make her inferior or unequal!
Ephesians 5:22-29, 31-33 CEV A wife should put her husband first, as she does the Lord. A husband is the head of his wife, as Christ is the head and the Savior of the church, which is his own body. Wives should always put their husbands first, as the church puts Christ first. A husband should love his wife as much as Christ loved the church and gave his life for it. He made the church holy by the power of his word, and he made it pure by washing it with water. Christ did this, so he would have a glorious and holy church, without faults or spots or wrinkles or any other flaws. In the same way, a husband should love his wife as much as he loves himself. A husband who loves his wife shows he loves himself. None of us hate our own bodies. We provide for them and take good care of them, just as Christ does for the church, As the Scriptures say, “A man leaves his father and mother to get married, and he becomes like one person with his wife.” This is a great mystery, but I understand it to mean Christ and his church. So each husband should love his wife as much as he loves himself, and each wife should respect her husband.
Husbands and wives are absolutely equal before God, even when a wife submits to her husband. To suggest that women are inferior to men because they submit denies the equality of the Trinity doctrine. Jesus and the Father are both uncreated God, yet Jesus submits to the Father. Jesus is not less God than the Father because He submits to the Father?
Some suggest that a wife submitting to husband makes her inferior to men. This is wrong. Husbands and wives share equal rights a humans. The husband is not "higher" than the wife because she submits to him!
Scripture teaches that the husband must treat his wife as an equal, even though she submits.
1 Peter 3:7 NASB You husbands in the same way, live with your wives in an understanding way, as with someone weaker, since she is a woman; and show her honor as a fellow heir of the grace of life, so that your prayers will not be hindered. (emphasis mine).
A husband must submit to his employer? Is the boss categorically superior to an employee? No! They are equal in their rights as men, but one is head and the other is subordinate.
Men And Women Are Equal
Men and women are equal in God’s eyes in that both men and women are created in the image and likeness of God
Genesis 1:27 CEV So God created humans to be like himself; he made men and women.
Men and women are also equally sinners in need of grace and salvation. Redeemed men and women are equally forgiven, equally indwelt by the Holy Spirit, equally invited before the throne of grace, and equally heirs of God.
Galatians 3:26 CEV All of you are God's children because of your faith in Christ Jesus.
It was God who said that man (Adam) needed help.
Genesis 2:18-21, 23-24 CEV The Lord God said, “It isn't good for the man to live alone. I will make a suitable partner for him.” So the Lord took some soil and made animals and birds. He brought them to the man to see what names he would give each of them. Then the man named the tame animals and the birds and the wild animals. That's how they got their names. None of these was the right kind of partner for the man. So the Lord God made him fall into a deep sleep, and he took out one of the man's ribs. Then after closing the man's side, and the man exclaimed, “Here is someone like me! She is part of my body, my own flesh and bones. She came from me, a man. So I will name her Woman!” That's why a man will leave his own father and mother. He marries a woman, and the two of them become like one person. (emphasis mine)
Everything about this passage points to the fact that men and women are equal in God’s eyes. The woman was “suitable” for (not inferior to) the man, she was created from him, and she becomes “one person” with him in marriage. The roles of men and women are divinely designed to be complementary.
Nowhere does Scripture imply that women are unequal to men in God’s eyes or that they should have less significance than men. Men and women have different roles in the home and in the church, but different roles do not indicate differing worth. A screwdriver has a different role in the carpenter’s shop than a hammer, but that doesn’t mean one tool is more valuable than the other just as no Spiritual
gift is more valuable than another gift.
1 Corinthians 12:12-26 CEV The body of Christ has many different parts, just as any other body does. Some of us are Jews, and others are Gentiles. Some of us are slaves, and others are free. But God's Spirit baptized each of us and made us part of the body of Christ. Now we each drink from that same Spirit. Our bodies don't have just one part. They have many parts. Suppose a foot says, “I'm not a hand, and so I'm not part of the body.” Wouldn't the foot still belong to the body? Or suppose an ear says, “I'm not an eye, and so I'm not part of the body.” Wouldn't the ear still belong to the body? If our bodies were only an eye, we couldn't hear a thing. And if they were only an ear, we couldn't smell a thing. But God has put all parts of our body together in the way that he decided is best. A body isn't really a body, unless there is more than one part. It takes many parts to make a single body. That's why the eyes cannot say they don't need the hands. That's also why the head cannot say it doesn't need the feet. In fact, we cannot get along without the parts of the body that seem to be the weakest. We take special care to dress up some parts of our bodies. We are modest about our personal parts, but we don't have to be modest about other parts. God put our bodies together in such a way that even the parts that seem the least important are valuable. He did this to make all parts of the body work together smoothly, with each part caring about the others. If one part of our body hurts, we hurt all over. If one part of our body is honored, the whole body will be happy.
Are women and men equal? In some ways, yes, and, in some ways, no. Spiritually, men and women are absolutely equal. Physically, they are obviously not equal. God has chosen distinct roles for both men and women that they may complement each other in a way that most glorifies Himself. Women may be fragile in some regards, but so are many things that are most precious to us. Men and women should work together, each fulfilling their respective, distinct roles, for the common goal of glorifying God.
Men and women are equal in God’s eyes in that both men and women are created in the image and likeness of God
Genesis 1:27 CEV So God created humans to be like himself; he made men and women.
Men and women are also equally sinners in need of grace and salvation. Redeemed men and women are equally forgiven, equally indwelt by the Holy Spirit, equally invited before the throne of grace, and equally heirs of God.
Galatians 3:26 CEV All of you are God's children because of your faith in Christ Jesus.
It was God who said that man (Adam) needed help.
Genesis 2:18-21, 23-24 CEV The Lord God said, “It isn't good for the man to live alone. I will make a suitable partner for him.” So the Lord took some soil and made animals and birds. He brought them to the man to see what names he would give each of them. Then the man named the tame animals and the birds and the wild animals. That's how they got their names. None of these was the right kind of partner for the man. So the Lord God made him fall into a deep sleep, and he took out one of the man's ribs. Then after closing the man's side, and the man exclaimed, “Here is someone like me! She is part of my body, my own flesh and bones. She came from me, a man. So I will name her Woman!” That's why a man will leave his own father and mother. He marries a woman, and the two of them become like one person. (emphasis mine)
Everything about this passage points to the fact that men and women are equal in God’s eyes. The woman was “suitable” for (not inferior to) the man, she was created from him, and she becomes “one person” with him in marriage. The roles of men and women are divinely designed to be complementary.
Nowhere does Scripture imply that women are unequal to men in God’s eyes or that they should have less significance than men. Men and women have different roles in the home and in the church, but different roles do not indicate differing worth. A screwdriver has a different role in the carpenter’s shop than a hammer, but that doesn’t mean one tool is more valuable than the other just as no Spiritual
gift is more valuable than another gift.
1 Corinthians 12:12-26 CEV The body of Christ has many different parts, just as any other body does. Some of us are Jews, and others are Gentiles. Some of us are slaves, and others are free. But God's Spirit baptized each of us and made us part of the body of Christ. Now we each drink from that same Spirit. Our bodies don't have just one part. They have many parts. Suppose a foot says, “I'm not a hand, and so I'm not part of the body.” Wouldn't the foot still belong to the body? Or suppose an ear says, “I'm not an eye, and so I'm not part of the body.” Wouldn't the ear still belong to the body? If our bodies were only an eye, we couldn't hear a thing. And if they were only an ear, we couldn't smell a thing. But God has put all parts of our body together in the way that he decided is best. A body isn't really a body, unless there is more than one part. It takes many parts to make a single body. That's why the eyes cannot say they don't need the hands. That's also why the head cannot say it doesn't need the feet. In fact, we cannot get along without the parts of the body that seem to be the weakest. We take special care to dress up some parts of our bodies. We are modest about our personal parts, but we don't have to be modest about other parts. God put our bodies together in such a way that even the parts that seem the least important are valuable. He did this to make all parts of the body work together smoothly, with each part caring about the others. If one part of our body hurts, we hurt all over. If one part of our body is honored, the whole body will be happy.
Are women and men equal? In some ways, yes, and, in some ways, no. Spiritually, men and women are absolutely equal. Physically, they are obviously not equal. God has chosen distinct roles for both men and women that they may complement each other in a way that most glorifies Himself. Women may be fragile in some regards, but so are many things that are most precious to us. Men and women should work together, each fulfilling their respective, distinct roles, for the common goal of glorifying God.
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