For anyone who is willing to take the Scriptures seriously, there can be no doubt that they teach male headship. For example, in 1 Corinthians 11:3 we are told plainly 'The head of the woman is man'. Thus, in families, wives are to submit to their husbands as to the Lord in everything (Ephesians 5:22ff). In the church, a woman should learn in quietness and full submission, and is not permitted to teach or have authority over a man (1 Timothy 2:11,12).
What is the reason for this? Is it all a result of the Fall of mankind in Adam? Some verses may suggest so. In Genesis 3:16, following Adam's sin, Eve is rebuked and told by God, '1 will greatly increase your pains in childbearing; with pain you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you'. Similarly, in the New Testament, Paul says that one reason why a woman should not lead and preach in the church is that 'Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner' (1 Timothy 2:14). Is not male headship, therefore, just a punishment following the Fall?
SUBMISSION IN A PERFECT WORLD?
But is it true that in the perfect world before the Fall there was no such thing as Eve's submission and Adam's headship? Without its context, a text is just a pretext for a false idea. A more careful reading of the texts quoted above, in context, will show the truth.
If we look again at 1 Timothy 2:14 we see that the immediately preceding verse supporting male headship says, 'For Adam was formed first, then Eve' (verse 13). Paul does argue from the state of things following the Fall but he also goes back before the Fall. The very order of creation argues for male headship.
1 Corinthians 11:7-9 is the same, '(man) is the image and glory of God; but the woman is the glory of man. For man did not come from woman, but woman from man; neither was man created for woman, but woman for man.' Of course, procreation reminds us that men and women are not independent of each other (verses 11, 12). If we go back to Genesis we remember that Adam was indeed created first and that Eve was made after him, for him and out of him, with the express purpose that she should be a helper suitable for him (2:18). In the Fall, male headship seems to have been reversed. Eve takes the lead. She eats first and then gives some of the fruit to Adam. God's curse on the serpent and his words to the woman and the man follow. In order to see the nature of these rebukes, remember, as an example, that part of Adam's lot (3:17-19) would be to know painful toil and to eat in the sweat of his brow. It is clear that God is not here introducing work as a punishment. Rather, in this fallen world, work will no longer be easy. From the beginning, Adam was put in the garden to work it and take care of it (2:15). He also gave names to all the animals (2:19, 20). Work existed before the Fall as well as after. The difference is that after the Fall it became so much more difficult and wearying.
HEADSHIP IN A PERFECT WORLD?
Male headship is similar. It was there before the Fall as well as after. The difference is that it has now become a problem. God's words to Eve, 'Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you' in 3:16 point to the difficulties that male headship would bring after the Fall.
Firstly, your desire will be for your husband. Yearning for man's rule is now rooted in woman's very nature. For all her thoughts of independence, she inevitably finds herself desiring a man and wanting to be ruled by him. Further, 'and he will rule over you', there is also the keenness of man to domineer over woman. In an unfallen world such things are not to be feared. Their primitive beauty is imperfectly echoed in Christian marriage. There, ideally, the woman's desire for the man is no hindrance, for he rules in love. Sadly, most of the time, things are far different. We see it in the harsh rule of men over women, even to the point of physical violence and mental torture. We see it, on one hand, in the willingness of women to endure so much at the hands of men; on the other, in the struggle against innate desire as women seek to rid themselves of their femininity and divest themselves of their dependence upon men.
SIN THE REAL PROBLEM
Is male headship a result of the Fall? It is not. Rather, the difficulties and suffering associated with male headship are a result of the Fall. That distinction is important. As hard work can be good and rewarding in Christ, so is male headship. Similarly, just as work is often difficult, frustrating, unproductive and unrewarding in a fallen world, so male headship is abused and is often a source of much difficulty and frustration. It is sin that causes this, not the fact of male headship.
It is very important to remember this. If we suppose that one of the problems in the churches is lack of female leadership, we are wrong. Rather, one of the great needs today is for men to lead well and for women to be submissive. Or if we think problems in a marriage are due to the wife's submissiveness or to a lack of equality in the home, we are again wrong. Rather, wives must be submissive and husbands must love their wives, according to the word. The problem is sin, not the way God structured the world. The calling of believers is to live within such God-given structures, not to suppose that they are simply the result of the Fall.
