The Hidden Wisdom Argument
regarding women in church leadership
The Argument: “I just think that Paul knew something that we don’t, and that’s why he wrote what he did about women. It seems hasty to abandon our systems of men-only leaders in the church until we really understand what Paul meant. What if we’re missing something really important?”
Counterargument 1: This argument seems to be rooted in emotion and not reason. Emotions are good and God-given, but they are not a good basis for decision-making, especially if the Biblical evidence, logic, science, and circumstances all support another course of action.
Counterargument 2: If the New Testament authors had some hidden wisdom regarding how men and women were supposed to interact, and then that wisdom was lost, then Christians have been without the knowledge of how to properly interact with the opposite gender for thousands of years. This does not seem accurate. History is dotted with men and women who served the Lord well together in various leadership positions. Some people attempted to respect a supposed law about men's and women’s roles; others interacted with more freedom and flexibility.
Counterargument 3: Paul knew far less than we do today about science, hormones, and the differences between male and female brains. Paul knew more about how Christ’s righteousness transformed all areas of his life including his working together with women. This is evident in his commendations of women who worked to spread the gospel with him. For Paul to speak of women in this way was highly unusual for that time.
Counterargument 4: This argument sounds like God is holding out on us. It also doesn’t seem to agree with what Jesus said about the Holy Spirit leading us into all truth (John 16:13), what Paul said about testing to discern what the will of God is (Rm 12:2), how the Corinthians were blessed in all knowledge (1 Cor. 1:5-7), how God has already made known the mystery of his will to us (Eph 1:9), and that if anyone lacks wisdom he may ask God who gives generously… (James 1:5). The New Testament authors seem to be saying that the wisdom to live rightly has already been revealed to us. This includes the best way to interact with the opposite gender in regard to leadership positions. God is not holding out on us. It seems more likely that we are holding out on him.
Counterargument 5: This argument treats Paul’s knowledge about gender as if it were some fact or key that we could discover if we searched in the right places. Paul does not speak about his own understanding as if it were dependent on human effort in this way. Rather, Paul talks about his knowledge of righteousness as that which comes through knowing Christ (Phil 3:10) as revealed to him through God’s spirit (1 Cor 2:7-13). Paul said there is no other righteousness except that which was from knowing Christ, the power of his resurrection, and in sharing in Christ’s suffering and death (Phil 3:10). Thus knowing right from wrong is something the gospel reveals to us through our ongoing transformation into Christ’s image (2 Cor. 4:3-6).
This last counterargument is impossible to explain to anyone who has yet to see how Christ in them takes the venom out of the gender-power-struggle debate. It’s like trying to explain to someone that the shoes she chooses to wear on a treacherous jungle hike aren’t that important because as soon as she gets on the trail, she’ll learn that the Trail Guide intends to carry her through anything she can’t muster on her own, including the lava pits, the piranha-infested waters, the gorilla territory, and the damp marshes that’ll cause jungle rot regardless of what boots she wears. There’s no point arguing with her about footgear at the trailhead when the Trail Guide will carry her the whole way if she lets him. He’ll carry her right into God’s presence where she must remove her boots anyway because that place is holy ground.
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