A look at the husband-wife relationship

In serving as a pastor in a church start up for 4 years I was able to observe and engage with a variety of marriages and circumstances. It seems that in our westernized culture marriage and the roles between the husband and wife have become very blurred. The women tend to be vocal and dominant while the men are becoming increasingly passive. The elders in our church noticed and commented that in congregational meetings the women were the most outspoken and verbal. We only need look at the statistics within the evangelical church regarding marriage and we see that the divorce rate is at 50%.

Therefore the following article by Joshua A. Hitchcock which I recently read may provide some helpful insight on the husband-wife relationships!

The result of reversing the roles in the husband-wife relationship:
In this post I want to examine what actually caused the fall of man. Was it simply that Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden fruit? I suggest that the answer is no. Obviously, God had commanded Adam not to ea of the fruit, and they disobeyed, and certainly that was a cause of the fall. But in the middle of the passage of the curses for the fall, we find Genesis 3:17.

Then to Adam He said, "Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, "You shall not eat from it": Cursed is the ground because of you; In toil you wil eat of it all the days of your life."

Verse 18 and 19 continue the curses upon Adam, but I particularly want to exame verse 17. Verse 17 provides two reasons for the curse upon Adam.

1. Adam listened to the voice of his wife.
2. Adam ate from the forbidden tree, he disobeyed God's command.

Number 2 is readily observed. Adam was in rebellion to God's special revelation, God's revealed will. It is important to see that special revelation existed before the fall. General revelation would not reveal to Adam to not eat from the tree, rather God had a specific command to a specific person at a specific time, thus Adam was the recipient of special revelation, and he disobeyed. Certainly this is deserving of God's justice.

But let us examine number one. Why would is Adam being punished for listening to his wife? God is not suggesting that it is sinful for a husband to listen to his wife, because this would be absurd. Rather, I want to show that God has established a hierachy in the Bible, and the fall is an inversion, a reversal of this divine hierarchy.

Obviously, God in three persons is at the top. Next in line is humanity, being created in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-28). Within humanity, Man is head of the woman. Genesis 2:18, though not explicit, implicity sets up this truth. The woman is a helper to Adam. Not an authority over Adam, but a helpmate. Woman is subordinate to man in this passage. Woman is made from man, thus man has dominion over the woman, being a part of him. Third, humanity has dominion over the Animal Kingdom (Genesis 1:28).

Within the Divine Hierarchy the God has established: God (Father --> Son --> Holy Spirit)
-->Humanity (Man --> Woman) --> Animals.

But notice whats going on in the fall: The Man is listening and submitting to the woman, doing what the woman says. The woman is submitting to the serpent (a member of the animal kingdom). It is no coincidence that that Satan disguised himself as a serpent, for he purposefully was seeking to distort what God has established.

The fall was caused, yes by disobedience to God's command, but also by a reversal of authority. This is why the apostle Paul commands believers to submit to governing authorities.

In our culture, this inverted hierarchy still exists. Evangelical Feminism seeks to continue the inversion of the fa,l. Believing woman to be authoritatively equal to man, evangelical feminism is simply listening to the lies of the serpent, rebelling against God's special revelation...the same thing happening at the fall.

At the fall Adam was just as guilty, if not more guilty, than Eve. Adam was suppose to be the representative of God has ruler over the woman and the animals. Yet Adam cowardly concedes his authority and gives it to the woman.

As believers, as we are being sanctified, recovering this hierarchy should be a serious priority. We do not need dictatorial men, but men who are godly examples of authority and women who willingly submit to their authority. We should all be in submission to God's special revelation, the word of God.

This is what caused the fall, this is what the problem is with our culture today. May we as believers seek to recover what God has established in and through Jesus Christ!