

#Man of the house meaning full
Its greatness and its importance should ever be held up as woman’s divinely intended sphere, in which all her womanly qualities and gifts find full play and happiest gratification’ (p. Lenski well noted that: ‘This is the domain and province of woman, in which no man can compete with her. The wise husband will recognize this and cooperate with his wife, the result being a contented home. The passage cannot be employed, of course, to cancel the role relationship taught elsewhere (e.g., Ephesians 5:22ff), but it does recognize that women have domestic skills that men do not possess. It signifies to be the ‘master’ of a house, to ‘rule’ a household, ‘manage’ family affairs (Thayer, p. “Almost surprisingly, Paul contends that the woman is to ‘rule the household.’ The term ‘rule’ ( oikodespotein - present tense standard procedure) is a fairly strong word. Allow me to quote from my commentary that addresses this matter. In one of his letters to Timothy, Paul declares that woman is to “rule the household” (1 Tim. However, there is a sphere in which a woman is allowed to exert some authority. For a more thorough study, see “Woman’s Role in the Church”.īeyond this, however, there are these facts: Authority In the homeĮven in the home, the husband is to be the head and the wife is to be in “subjection” (Eph. A woman is not to act in any official capacity as an authority figure over man in any sort of religious teaching role. In that context, it appears to have reference to spiritual matters. The Greek word authenteo simply means to act authoritatively to exercise authority. The word “usurp” as used in the King James translation of 1 Timothy 2:12 is not a good rendition of the original term. 5:22ff), in the church, and even beyond in our societal relationships.Įxactly how this principle is to be applied in various settings is the tough question. Thus, it would appear that in this context the apostle is discussing the principle of headship within the assembly of Christian worship, nonetheless, the principle of headship applies generally - in the home (cf.

Neither the immediate passage nor the surrounding context warrants the rendition of “husband” or “wife.” Certainly, it is not suggested that Christ is the head of only husbands. In such a case, the context must determine which English word should be employed. In other words, the same words for man and woman are also used for husband and wife. This diversity is due to the fact that the Greek words serve a dual function. The KJV, NKJV, ASV, NIV render the Greek terms aner and gune as “man” and “woman,” while a few other versions (NRSV, ESV) translate the original words as “husband” and “wife,” though inconsistently within the same context. Next, there is the controversy as to whether the terms of verse 3 are to be rendered “man” and “woman” or “husband” and “wife.” The subsequent context regarding creation would appear to support this latter view. Rather, literally, Christ is the head of “every man” whether they accept him or not (433). Lenski asserts that the phrase “every man” must not be restricted to Christian men. Lewis Johnson contends that the male gender as such “displays the authority of God on earth” (1247 cf. “is one that touches the fundamental proprieties of life (8-15) and the three headships enumerated belong to the hierarchy of nature” (p. Others insist that the relationship principle is broader than merely that of a Christian woman to a Christian man. Some commentators take the position that Christ’s headship here pertains only to Christian men (Meyer, Fee, etc.). It is important to note that the expression every man is more comprehensive than every Christian man. Next, Christ is “the head of every man” (1 Cor. God the Father is the head of Christ because Jesus, by means of the incarnation, subordinated himself to the Father (Phil. 6:24) or metaphorically of rank - as in the present case. The word may be used literally of a physical head (Mk. Namely, God is the head of Christ Christ is the head of every man and man is the head of woman.įor our present purpose, we will explore the meaning of the phrase, “the head of the woman is the man.” Man, Head of Woman Paul alludes to it in First Corinthians 11:2ff. Headshipįirst, there is an appointed scale of authority that God has prescribed for humankind, though such is scarcely recognized in today’s modern world. There are no explicit guidelines regulating such matters, but there are some sacred principles that surely must be taken into consideration in assessing this issue from a biblical perspective. “Though it seems clear that a woman has a certain subordinate role in church matters, what should be her posture in the business world? If she is a man’s boss, has she usurped his authority?”
