Each generation has its own issues that rise to the fore, and surely “gender questions” would rank high on anyone’s list. It’s odd, in a way, because these questions are so foundational to life and who we are – we might think that questions so essential have long been settled! But of course in a fallen world things are never so easy, and the confusion on this issue seems in fact only to increase. Well, that states it mildly: our culture is in outright rebellion on this score! And so it becomes increasingly important to return to Scripture to keep our thinking on track. Drs. Andreas and Margaret Köstenberger have written God’s Design for Man and Woman to help us do just that, and today they are here to talk to us about their work.
Books At a Glance (Fred Zaspel):
It’s good to have you, Andreas, back with us, and it’s especially good to have your wife, Margaret, with us now for the first time! Perhaps it would be helpful for us to begin on a personal level. Tell us how this topic has become a specialized interest for each of you. And I assume this is something you have taught on in various settings often?
Andreas Köstenberger:
We are glad to be with you, too, and thanks for your interest in God’s Design for Man & Woman! Yes, we’ve been interested in this topic for quite some time.
Marny Köstenberger:
Andreas’s involvement goes back at least as far as the early 1990s during his doctoral studies at Trinity. What started out as a seminar paper turned into his first book, Women in the Church, which he co-edited with Tom Schreiner and one of his fellow students. This book, by the way, is soon going to come out in a third edition, with new and updated portions, so it continues to make a contribution!
Andreas Köstenberger:
Margaret wrote her doctoral dissertation on feminist hermeneutics and later published a revised version of her work as Jesus & the Feminists. We’ve also spoken and taught on this subject in a variety of ways, both individually and jointly. Margaret, in particular, has led women’s mentoring and discipleship classes in churches in which God’s design for women was a prominent topic.
Books At a Glance:
You state up front that you attempt with your book to “fill a gap.” Explain for us just what you have set out to accomplish. What is the contribution you are hoping to make?
Andreas Köstenberger:
Well, surprising as it may be, we discovered that there was no book that set out God’s design for man and woman in a consistent biblical-theological format, that is, from Genesis to Revelation. Most previous efforts are more focused on disputed passages rather than tracing the larger biblical sweep all the way through Scripture.
Marny Köstenberger:
Also, the vast majority of books on this topic are devoted to women or in some cases, exclusively to men. It has been our experience, however, in teaching and speaking on this subject, that it is precisely when people see how God’s overarching design for both men and women is consistent through both Testaments that they find this design utterly compelling. We firmly believe that Scripture teaches both male leadership and real male-female partnership in being on mission for God, and so we think it imperative to cover men and women equally. We are also energized by the crying need for the next generation to be equipped to understand and live out God’s design. As parents of two girls and two boys, this is a deep personal commitment for us, and we find that there is so much confusion and misinformation in our culture on men’s and women’s identities and roles today that the church must not neglect this important subject but deal with it honestly and straightforwardly.
Books At a Glance:
Tell us how you approach all this in your book. Chapter 8 is full of practical application – what is the role of the previous seven chapters?
Andreas Köstenberger:
Well, after an introduction highlighting the importance of the subject, we get straight to work. We first look at God’s original design established at creation in Genesis 1-2: male leadership as exemplified in the creation of the man first and male-female partnership as indicated by the way in which God’s command to fill the earth and subdue it is given to the man and the woman jointly. Next, we engage in an in-depth study of the way in which God’s design was distorted (but not eradicated) at the fall in Genesis 3: the man abdicated his God-given leadership role, and instead followed the woman into sin. After this, we show how in subsequent OT history male leadership continued to obtain in form of the patriarchs, national deliverers (Moses, Joshua), kings, and the priesthood. We also note how both men and women served as prophets deriving their authority directly from God and his Word. While God’s design has been distorted, it has not changed, as the wisdom literature makes clear. The wise man and woman lives out his or her identity and role in keeping with God’s good design.
Moving on to the NT, we look at Jesus, the early Christians, and Paul. In each case, we find that the twin pattern of male leadership and male-female partnership is put into practice. Jesus chose 12 men as apostles but affirmed women as disciples and witnesses. The early Christian mission is spearheaded by the Pauline circle but men and women jointly partner in propagating the gospel. Paul teaches that pastors and elders should be men and calls on wives to submit to their husbands but he also affirms significant roles for women in the home and in the church in partnership with men. In all this, as in God’s original design, there is to be unity and harmony rather than division and a struggle for control. God’s original plan, as redeemed and restored in Christ in the power of the Spirit, in turn, is part of his overarching program to bring all things back together under one head, the Lord Jesus Christ (Eph 1:10). We conclude our survey of the biblical material with a quick look at the other NT letters and Revelation and find that even there male leadership is affirmed while men and urged to treat women with dignity and respect, as Peter puts it, as “fellow heirs of the grace of life.”
Books At a Glance:
Just what is it to be male or to be female? Previous generations may have considered this rather self-intuitive, but in our world today these questions are screaming for answer and careful definition. How does Scripture direct our thinking here? What is the essence of maleness? And femaleness?
Andreas Köstenberger:
At the heart of biblical male identity is the man’s role as a spiritual leader, provider, and protector of his wife and family. This comes with authority, but more importantly, it entails responsibility to care and to be a channel of blessing for others. As in all things, Christ serves as his great example: he sacrificed himself for the church, his bride (see the entire passage (Eph 5:22-33). I just saw an interview on the news with a young women who survived a recent shooting in a theater because her boyfriend shielded her from the shooter’s bullets and gave his life for her so she could live. This amazing act of heroism typifies on a smaller scale what Christ did for all of humanity with saving significance: he gave his life for us so we could live, and do so for all eternity.
Marny Köstenberger:
At the heart of female identity is the woman’s role as the man’s loving partner. She gives herself in trust and devotion to the man as his God-given companion. She alleviates aloneness and bears children; they raise their children together, and join in on mission for God together. She is a nurturer, an encourager, a lover, and a source of blessing for her husband and her children as is typified in the women of Proverbs 31. She is God’s most precious gift to her husband who deeply appreciates her and sacrifices for her. The Bible calls the woman “the weaker vessel,” which calls on husbands to treat the woman with sensitivity and respect. While in our sinful nature we struggle for control, Christ in his Spirit can help us to trust our husband’s leadership and to partner with him in love.
Books At a Glance:
Our maleness and femaleness shows itself most obviously, of course, in the context of marriage. How does the biblical teaching on male and female impact the single adult Christian?
Andreas Köstenberger:
Thanks for asking this follow-up question. I was just about to comment on this. I am currently teaching a Life class in our local church which includes many singles so I am acutely aware that God’s design for man and woman applies to singles also, yet it is sometimes more difficult to see exactly how. I remember very well what it feels like to be single. When the Bible talks about God’s design for man and woman, though, it is not predicated upon a person being married. What we just said about the essence of masculinity or femininity pertains to the single man or women just as it does to married men or women. Like you said, obviously if you’re single, you can’t live out parts of God’s design directly. You may not be married now, but you may be one day. You are part of a local church that teaches and encourages biblical teaching on this matter. Be a part of encouraging it. In any case, you are part of a natural family, as son or daughter, etc., and even more importantly, you are part of God’s family. Single women should affirm appropriate male leadership in their lives in the context of their family and local church, and single men should lead responsibly and sacrificially.
Marny Köstenberger:
In addition, Andreas has written an entire chapter on singleness in his book God, Marriage & Family (Crossway), which may be helpful.
Books At a Glance:
On the front burner today, of course, is homosexuality and “gay marriage.” How is homosexuality and homosexual marriage, as you put it, “a breach of God’s design”? What are the most important lines of thought we should keep in mind as we discuss this question with others?
Andreas Köstenberger:
As Genesis 1-2 clearly teaches, God’s original design is lifelong marriage between one man and one woman (see esp. Gen 2:24-25). The OT and NT Scriptures make crystal clear that homosexuality falls short of God’s design and is part of the fallen world (see the chapter on homosexuality in God, Marriage & Family). At the heart of God’s mandate for humanity is procreation involving both one male and one female.
Also, we see in the creation account that God is presented as a plurality (“Let us make man in our image”), resulting in the plurality of male and female. Same-sex marriage cannot exhibit this type of gender plurality which is at the heart of God’s design for man and woman according to Scripture.
In Leviticus, homosexuality is proscribed in no uncertain terms, and in the book of Romans it is presented as part of the immorality that characterized the demise of the Roman Empire. Jesus, too, affirmed that marriage is the lifelong union of one man and one woman in keeping with God’s original design (Matt 19:4-6).
The church must be loving yet firm in dealing this issue today as part of our calling to witness to God’s abiding truth in an ever-changing culture. That said, we cannot necessarily expect unregenerate individuals to wholeheartedly affirm and live out God’s design. In the end, lasting change and fulfillment can come only by spiritual transformation, rather than political action, legislative initiative, or judicial decree.
Books At a Glance:
You have recently developed an online course based on your book God’s Design for Man & Woman. Can you tell us more about this? How is this course part of your larger vision of equipping this generation to understand and live out God’s design in the world today?
Andreas Köstenberger:
When we first conceived of this project, it was always part of our vision that the printed book would be part of a multimedia package with a teaching component as an overall integrated resource. We wanted people in the churches, and individual men and women and students of Scripture, to be given tools and resources to embrace God’s design and to teach it to those in their sphere of influence. As a result, we were very excited when BibleMesh approached us after the publication of the book and asked if we were interested in developing the book into an online course. The course is useful both in the academic sphere, whether for colleges and seminaries, and there will be a special version tailored for people in the church. After months of preparation, this course has just been released and is now available through both BibleMesh and Biblical Foundations. The course includes fresh video footage, the essential material from our book plus additional material on topics such as the OT prophetic and wisdom literature. There are also various tools for assessment and application. It is our hope that God will use these resources for his glory and as a blessing to many who want to live out their identity and role as men or women in keeping with God’s design – a design that is beautiful, wise, and good.
