DeYoung and the CBMW conference 2014

This is a duty kind of post. When I read that DeYoung was going to speak on the topic of “The Beauty of Difference- In Heaven and on Earth,” I thought that he was going to talk about the subordination of women in heaven. According to these notes of his talk, he did not. He certainly affirmed subordination for women, describing their major characteristic as “eager helper” and “willing to be led.” As far as I can see, no mention of eternity. So I want to acknowledge that. Here are the notes of his talk.

“What would you say to a little girl that comes up to you and says, ‘Mommy, what does it mean to be a woman.’” (vica versa with males) Question originally asked by John Piper.

What does it mean from the Bible? What would you say?
Perhaps you would start by stating we are created in the image of God and having identity in Christ.

Here are 5 differences we see in Scripture:

1) Appearance- 1 Corinthians 11. The confusion of gender is contrary to nature. Men are not to appear like women and vica versa. This is where it can be dangerous because people will add false descriptions of what manhood and womanhood looks like. We add things like girls can only be interested in things like their nails and men have to get excited about guns.

It is not right for men to be like women. 1 Cor. 11:14. How this distinction plays out is somewhat played out by our culture. There is an intermediate step that we see in 1 Cor. 11. Nature does speak what manhood and womanhood looks like, but our culture also gives us some clues.

Examples: nature teaches men shouldn’t where a dress and where lipstick. Our culture would identify this. The debate is where the line is drawn.

2) Body- One of the most scandalous verses to our culture is 1 Corinthians 6:19- “not our own, bought with a price- glorify God in your body.” Part of being a man is that your body was designed for a women. Part of being a woman is that your body was designed for a man. Both the Bible and natural theology teaches us this.

3) Character- Men are to be honorable, understanding. The crowning value of the woman is her true beauty. This is not seen by hours in front of a mirror. Men long for a true strength. (Isn’t this seen in their love for conquering video games, sporting events, et?)

4) Demeanor- 1 Thess. 2: 7-8, 11. Paul likens his pastoral approach to motherhood and fatherhood. For motherhood he uses nurturing and gentleness. From fatherhood he uses exhortation, encouragement.

5) Eager Posture- the wife’s posture is to be eager to help. By creation of design Eve had a posture to be an eager helper of her husband. The wife is willing to be led. The husband is eager to take sacrificial leadership on his shoulders. The most important exhortation in complementarianism is not for women to sit down, it is for men to stand up.

There is nothing new here, perhaps the video games, but otherwise standard fare. I know, growing up, I thought women were not allowed to wear makeup and Jesus wore a dress, but perhaps I was mistaken. Anyway, I will restrain myself from further comment. I just wanted this on record.