To mark International Women's Day on March 8, we are publishing a special article by the President of the Spanisch Union of SDA from the Journal ISHA.
In an article that aims to address the abuse of power endured by women within the religious context, it may seem strange to begin with the words that the apostle Peter wrote in his second letter to the church, “Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace. And count the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures” (2 Peter 3:14-16 ESV).
We will spend more time dealing with Peter later on, but, in this passage, he talks about believers waiting for “these”, namely, “new heavens and a new earth” (see verse 13). Thus, believers should be “diligent” (quick, prompt, hard-working, conscientious) and, according to the NKJV Bible translation, “make every effort” (strive for, have the purpose of, or work towards) to be “found by Jesus without spot or blemish” (faultless, blameless, upright), and “at peace.”
Perhaps you read this last paragraph too quickly. Perhaps you need to read it again. As we await the fulfilment of the great promise, we should live a process of transformation that leads us to be who God wishes us to be. Beautiful, right?
In the passage, Peter mentions that Paul—his beloved brother, who writes according to the wisdom given to him by God—also touches on this beautiful topic in “his letters”. The man who wrote most of the New Testament letters included this fundamental topic in almost each of them: getting ready for our encounter with Jesus. Yes, Peter admits it, there are some things that Paul wrote that are hard to understand, but that in no way justifies someone manipulating or twisting what has been written. As we will see further on, this only leads to destruction. Thank God, what I have just written is what Peter says; it is not something that I have come up with.
Now, for the purpose of our reflection, I will say that much of what has been manipulated and twisted from Paul’s letters has to do with the role of women in the Church. Much damage has been done —and continues to be done— by people who, when confronted with the things that are “hard to understand”, choose to go against the great biblical truths. Twisting Scripture is the same thing as adding to or removing from what Scripture says, and, according to John in Revelation, such an attitude has terrible consequences (see Revelation 22:18, 19).
“As in all the churches of the saints, the women should keep silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be in submission, as the Law also says. If there is anything they desire to learn, let them ask their husbands at home. For it is shameful for a woman to speak in church” (1 Corinthians 14:33-35 ESV). “Let a woman learn quietly with all submissiveness. I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet. For Adam was formed first, then Eve; and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor. Yet she will be saved through childbearing—if they continue in faith and love and holiness, with self-control” (1 Timothy 2:11-15 ESV).
You may now realise why I started this article with Peter’s line of thought. The texts you just read have produced so much pain and discrimination that one may wonder why the Holy Spirit would allow such ideas to be included in Scripture. The truth is that many understand Christianity from the (distorted) interpretation of these Pauline statements; they forget that, in Christ, “there is no male and female” (Galatians 3:28 ESV), because we all belong to Him equally.
Explaining or clarifying the details pertaining these controversial texts is beyond my ability and beyond the scope of this article. I apologise for sharing texts that I will not go into depth to explain, but I invite you to reflect on our introductory passage. Peter says that “the patience of our Lord” is for “salvation”. He goes on to say that Paul writes about this in “his letters”.
Paul’s main goal was not to go deep into the existing social and cultural differences of the 1st Century Greco-Roman society to which he belonged. He is aware of his cultural context. As a result of that knowledge—and with the desire of making the church a place of salvation and not of confusion—he exhorts believers to avoid scandalising the world and instead focus on reaching them with the message of salvation. Like all biblical writers, Paul puts the emphasis on the universality of God’s precious salvation, which He offers in Christ—in love and in patience—to all of humanity.
“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them” (Genesis 1:27 ESV). The principle of equality is clear in the Bible. God created men and women as equals. Sin distorted the divine plan and created a difference that brought about various consequences, but Christ came to “destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8 NKJV). In Christ, we recover what was lost because of sin. In Christ, the goal is that we all become one (John 17:11, 21-22), so that the world may believe that the message of the Cross truly works.
The church thrives through gifts, talents and service. No one is unnecessary; we are all needed. This is not a cliché; it is an evident reality. In the same way that Jesus called women to be part of His group (Matthew 27:55; Luke 8:1-2), His Spirit now empowers those who are part of the church to preach the gospel of salvation throughout the world.
Paul himself says, “There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all […] But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills” (1 Corinthians 12:4-7, 11 NKJV, emphasis added). Could it be that manipulating Paul’s words would imply ignoring the fact that the Holy Spirit is not limited by cultural or social conventions? “Each one” implies both male and female. Saying otherwise would be manipulating the text and that, as Peter says, could result in “their own destruction” (2 Peter 3:16b NKJV).
Has it been fair to Paul to use his thinking to oppress women? Can we justify reducing women to silence without considering their gifts based on texts that, although difficult to understand, must not be twisted by ignoring the greater truth of salvation in Christ? Let me rephrase the question. Does God justify the abuse, discrimination against and suffering of thousands of women who have been silenced, humiliated and ignored simply because they are women?
The answer is simple, “Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me” (Matthew 25:40). If this applies to the hungry, the stranger and those in prison, I can assure you, it also applies to women.
The biblical principle teaches us that one Bible text cannot contradict another. If women are created in the image of God alongside men, we should not allow anything to reduce their value, destroy their dignity nor justify any abuse of power. When the church contradicts the Lord, it cannot be justified. There is only justice in following and obeying Jesus. He says, “But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea” (Matthew 18:6 NKJV). So grave is the belittling, harm and abuse that is inflicted on the weak by those in power.
By God’s grace, as we fix our eyes on Jesus, as we are transformed by the work of the Holy Spirit, all abuse will disappear. All injustice will be diluted. And then, like Paul, we will be able to wish, “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it” (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 NKJV). Amen.
Copyright: ISHA
Translation: Alexandra Mora