DOES it really matter if the top-level decision-making body of the church has only four women on it to 275 men? Is it a matter of concern to some that when Christ Himself came to this earth He chose twelve apostles (as many in number as the twelve patriarchs of old), all of them men? Is it really that significant that when Moses organized his "council of elders" (Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 383) he did not include one woman among the seventy (Num. 11:16-26)? Do some ask why it is that no miracle is ever attributed to a woman? Does it trouble some that descent was reckoned in the Hebrew family through the male (see Ezra 10:18 ff) and that God appeared in human flesh as a man? Does it sound strange to some that God Himself in addressing Eve told her that Adam "shall rule over thee" (Gen. 3:16) or that the apostle Paul said: "Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife" (Eph. 5:22, 23)? Do some inquire as to what the apostle Peter meant when he said that the holy women of old were "in subjection unto their own husbands: even as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord" (1 Peter 3:5, 6) and that "she is presented in the New Testament as a worthy example" (Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 147)? Is it really true that if the wife "has the Spirit of Christ . . . she will be submissive" (The Adventist Home, p. 118)?
In other words, does lack of or little representation on the highest councils, along with the Biblical admonition given to women to submit to their husbands, constitute an admission that the woman is subservient to man? Is man really pre-eminent? Not at all.
Priority Doesn't Mean Superiority
Priority does not necessarily mean absolute superiority, neither are the distinctive duties generally the lot of man a sign of his merits and superior qualifications. Who dare say that Christ's act of washing the disciples' feet in the upper room made the twelve apostles (and Judas was one of them) superior to Mary, who anointed the feet of Jesus with ointment and dried them with her hair (John 11:2)? Indeed, in God's sight "conformity to the will of God makes any work honorable that must be done" (The Adventist Home, p. 24). "True service links the lowliest of God's servants on earth with the highest of His servants in the courts above." --Messages to Young People, pp. 72, 73.
Is it not a fact that "the humble tasks before us are to be taken up by someone; and those who do them should feel that they are doing a necessary and honorable work, and that in their mission, humble though it may be, they are doing the work of God just as surely as was Gabriel when sent to the prophets. All are working in their order in their respective spheres. Woman in her home, doing the simple duties of life that must be done, can and should exhibit faithfulness, obedience, and love, as sincere as angels in their sphere." The Adventist Home, p. 24. This is what makes Christianity the unique religion. Christ, its founder, became a servant of servants. He came "not to be ministered unto, but to minister" (Matt. 20:28). "No one was so exalted as Christ, and yet He stooped to the humblest duty. . . . He served all, ministered to all." The Desire of Ages, p. 649. And because He ministered to all, He will again be served and honored by all. It is foreign to the spirit of Christ to join any movement of men or women that would seek to exalt one above another or that seeks to exalt self.
Man, poor man, mistakes priority for superiority. Some, be cause of their misunderstanding of this fact, assert that Christ is not divine. They say: "How could He be divine when the Bible says, 'The head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God' (1 Cor. 11:3). If God is the head of Christ, then Christ cannot be divine," they reason. What a fallacious argument! They accept the fact that man is the head of the woman and that they are both human but refuse to understand that God is the head of Christ and they are both divine! What they really misunderstand is that priority in the Godhead does not necessarily mean superiority. The Father and the Son have different duties. The Father gave His Son, and He sits in judgment. The Son gave Himself, and He intercedes. But they are both divine, and Christ is "equal with God" (Phil. 2:6). So man and woman may have different distinctive duties and one be the head of the other, and yet they are equal before God.
In Christ There Is No Distinction
God makes no difference be tween men and women when it comes to salvation. Women participated in prayer and in the feasts (see 1 Sam. 1:9 ff.; 2:19; 2 Sam. 6:19). The Deuteronomic code makes express provision for the presence of women be they daughters (Deuteronomy 12:12) or maidservants (verse 18) at the Temple festivals. They took part in the ancient sacrifices (Judges 13:20). They listened to readings of the law (Neh. 8:2, 3). They participated in the national rejoicing that accompanied acts of dedication (Neh. 12:43). They shared like their brothers in eating sacrificial meat (Lev. 10:14). They brought their own sacrifices (chaps. 12; 15:19-33). They took their own Nazarite vows (Num. 6:2). They enjoyed the privilege of Theophanies (Cen. 16:7 ff.; 21:17 ff.; 18:9 ff.; Judges 13:3 ff.). They engaged in the Temple choir (Ezra 2:65; Neh. 7:67), and they received the gift of prophecy (Ex. 15:20; Micah 6:4; Judges 4:4, 5; 2 Kings 22:13-20). In other words, in Christ there is no value preference between man and woman (Gal. 3:28).
Why then were the apostles all men, and why is it that men usually sit on the highest councils of the church in greater numbers than women? Can it be that this is mainly because, while men and women are one in the Lord, they each have their distinctive duties? No one can deny though some may wish to the indisputable fact that "the distinctive duties of woman are more sacred, more holy, than those of man" (The Adventist Home, p. 231; italics supplied). It is these "distinctive duties" that made the inspired writer say, "Next to God, the mother's power for good is the strongest known on earth" (page 240). A woman who forgets about being in the limelight and spends her years molding the character of her children is doing a work at least equivalent to that of "the king upon his throne" (page 231). In that she resembles Christ, who being "equal with God . . . made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant" (Phil. 2:7) and was submissive even unto death.
Women who may choose to wait until they are out of their teens before they marry (see Spiritual Gifts, vol. 3, p. 112; The Adventist Home, p. 79) and who may then spend another twenty years doing the greatest work in the world that of instilling character in their young may not end up sitting on the highest councils. (Men who are diverted from their careers for as many years most likely will not end up on these councils either.) However, the choice of those who do sit on these councils is to a great extent the result of a woman's selfless labors. Not only that, but no work done on these high councils can in any way be considered greater than their own. Many a woman has come to the conclusion that "important positions" can never compare with their most important "distinctive duties." Many of them believe that "a neglect on the part of women to follow God's plan in her creation, an effort to reach for important positions . . . leaves vacant the position that she could fill to acceptance" (Testimonies, vol. 3, p. 484; italics supplied).
Why Women Are Called "Weaker Vessels"
The Bible speaks of the woman as the "weaker vessel" (1 Peter 3:7). Though in God's sight there is no inequality between men and women, for they are "coheirs" of the eternal kingdom, the woman's role is decidedly different. In marriage it is not sufficient to say that there are fathers and mothers, and equate their contributions. In the family, a man, a woman, and children make a unit, but the woman has her unique place. She is the "queen of her household" (The Adventist Home, p. 231). Therefore, it falls to the lot of men to be the main providers. Anciently "the suitor was required to render service to secure his bride." That was done, among other reasons, "to test ... his ability to provide for a family." This custom "was productive of good results" (Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 189; italics supplied).
Never should the husband and father today shirk his responsibility as the main provider. But he also needs "to comfort and sup port the one who is called to walk by his side" (The Adventist Home, p. 218, italics supplied; see also p. 345; Testimonies, vol. 2, p. 255). Not only should the hus band support the family but also he should "allow" his "wife a certain sum weekly and should let her do what she pleases with this money" (The Adventist Home, p. 378). Indeed, if husbands receive higher wages, a Christian gentleman ought never to think that he is worth more, for he is not, but rather that he is given in his pay the share of his companion who should be spared over work in order to devote her time to her "more sacred, more holy" responsibility; that of "molding . . . her children's characters" (page 231). A Christian husband should recognize that his wife's "work in the education of her children is in every respect as elevating and ennobling as any post of duty he may be called to fill, even if it is to be the chief magis trate of the nation" (ibid.). "An angel could not ask for a higher mission" (ibid.).
While it is true that a wife "should feel that she is her husband's equal" (ibid.), while society should grant women at least equality in pay and honor, never should a mother "exhaust her strength through overwork (ibid., p. 218). Society can be cruel to a mother (especially an expectant one) who takes it upon herself to "take care of the children, cook the meals, and keep the house in order" (ibid., p. 232), and who is still expected to provide for the family. Indeed, "not half the care is taken of some women while they are bearing children that is taken of animals in the stable" (ibid., p. 257). The main burden for providing for a daughter and wife should primarily be the responsibility of the father and the husband. Even in old age the ancients relieved the widows of the worries of excess toil. Widows were provided for by the church (see 1 Tim. 5:9) or by their sons. Christ Himself set the example by providing for "His widowed mother" (Thoughts From the Mount of Blessing, p. 111).
Shouldering different roles should never mean inequality. Men and women have the God-given privilege of complementing each other. The Bible makes the marriage relation symbolic of the relation of man to God. A Christian man or woman ought never to be concerned with competition between the two sexes, for com petition is not a Christian virtue. Rather, honor should be given by each to each in their distinctive spheres of labor.
