Paul And The New Creation
Chapter 6
Gender Issues: Reflections on the Perspective of the Apostle Paul
The task set out for me in this lecture is not an easy one, because so much of the controversy on gender issues in evangelical circles swirls around the Pauline data. Many of the problems, of course, are of our own making; here in particular examples of poor exegesis and selective hermeneutics are legion.23 At issue as well is our tendency to throw too many disparate matters (male/female; husbands/wives; ministry/structures) into the same container and homogenize them.
But some of the problems clearly stem from Paul himself and the ad hoc nature of his letters. Lacking the need to systematize his own thinking, Paul spoke to different situations in different ways. Take for example his advice to widows in 1 Corinthians 7 and 1 Timothy 5, where on the one hand (1 Cor 7:40) he discourages them to remarry, while on the other (1 Tim 5:14) he falls just short of commanding them to do so.24 So at issue for us hermeneutically is how to handle some of the differences that are actually present in Paul.
The original “lecture” was not written out, but was given from notes. In this “written” edition, I have kept much of the flavor of the oral presentation (while removing many of the colloquialisms) and added a few notes for further reference.
Perhaps the worst thing the evangelical tradition has done on gender matters is to isolate them from the bigger picture of biblical theology. Indeed, I think we are destined for continual trouble if we do not start where Paul does: not with isolated statements addressed to contingent situations, but with Paul’s theology of the new creation, the coming of God’s eschatological rule inaugurated by Christ — especially through his death and resurrection — and the gift of the Spirit.