How can a husband and wife be equal when the husband has the rule over the wife?
Question:
I read your article and I thought it was good. While I agree with most of it I find it hard to believe it all. Eve fell for the lies of Satan and ate the forbidden fruit. She sinned against God and gave Adam the same fruit and he also ate of it, thus causing Adam to sin. While they may have been equal in the beginning, Eve ended that when she sinned and caused Adam to sin. You see that they are no more equal in Genesis 3:16 "Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow, thou shalt bring forth children, and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee." Nowhere in the Bible does God reverse these punishments. All the punishments are still in effect today including her husband having the rule over her. Therefore she is no longer equal to him but rather in subjection to him.
Answer:
You are correct that a husband and wife do not hold the same position of authority in a family. Even in general, when it comes to authority God as said, "But I want you to know that the head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God" (I Corinthians 11:3). But a difference in authority does imply inequality in all aspects. For example, this verse is clear that God the Father has authority over the Son of God. This is confirmed by Jesus himself, "You have heard Me say to you, 'I am going away and coming back to you.' If you loved Me, you would rejoice because I said, 'I am going to the Father,' for My Father is greater than I" (John 14:28). Yet at the same time, we are told that the Father and the Son are equals. "Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God" (Philippians 2:5-6). The difference is which aspect is under consideration: Jesus' authority or Jesus' deity. "For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily" (Colossians 2:9). In authority the Father is greater, but in deity, they are the same because God is one.
It is no different in a marriage. Marriage is the act of two people becoming one. In authority, the husband is the head of the household. But in status, they are equals because they become one. "Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered" (I Peter 3:7). "Weaker vessel" is not a derogatory term, but a reference to a fine, delicate piece of porcelain. In terms of salvation, they are also one. "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus" (Galatians 3:28). Though men and women are not made the same by God and they have not been given the same duties to perform or the same authority in life, still, in the eyes of God, they are equals -- joint heirs of salvation.
We carry the same concept in the United States. We state that all men are created equal and, thus, deserve equal treatment under the law. But we know that some men, such as the president, hold higher authority than others. A president may be my leader in government, but he is also just a man like me. "Honor all people, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king" (I Peter 2:17).
