Journal: Journal for Biblical Manhood and Womanhood
Volume: JBMW 01:4 (Oct 1996)
Article: From the editor: “I was just thinking…”
Author: Anonymous

From the editor: “I was just thinking…”

At the heart of egalitarians’ attack on a complementarian understanding of gender roles is the concept of authority. According to egalitarians, head means “source,” not “authority”; wives are to submit to their husbands only as their husbands submit to them in “mutual submission”; the Son’s subordination to the Father is matched by the Father’s dependence on the Son for his own deity; and male authority is not part of the created order but merely a result of the fall. As far as concepts of authority are concerned, egalitarians and complementarians may as well inhabit different planets.

But what does Scripture say? Despite egalitarians’ best efforts, the Bible is too replete with references to (legitimate) authority to be drained of all such notions. We read of the sovereign, omnipotent Creator, the conquering Warrior-Lamb who will rule the nations with a rod of iron, and, yes, man’s bearing of ultimate responsibility for God’s creation, the family, and the church. In the face of egalitarians’ negative stance toward authority, we must remember:

(1) Authority in and of itself is not evil. To the contrary, appropriately used, it can be the source of great blessing.

(2) Authority does neither imply that the person exercising it is superior nor that the person under authority is inferior.

(3) Not everyone can be in positions of authority. But much more important than being in charge is submitting to whatever calling God has given us.

(4) Authority is a fact of life.

Apart from the fact that an egalitarian understanding of authority is not borne out by Scripture, it is also profoundly impractical. Of two people, how many can make the final decision? Or will there really never be a need for someone to make the final decision? How true is that to real life?

Finally, is it a coincidence that egalitarians’ negative stance toward authority mirrors an anti-authoritarian bias deeply rooted in sinful human nature as well as contemporary Western culture? As complementarians, we have the unique opportunity to model a positive stance toward authority. Let those who are in positions of authority exercise it properly and to the glory of God. And let those who are under authority submit to it willingly and joyfully as unto the Lord.

—AJK