What is the biblical view of man and woman and the hierarchy of their values? There is a great misguiding that causes us to believe in the assumption that there is any kind of caste system in the eyes of God based on whether you're male or female. But as far as God is concerned, men are not more "highly favoured" than women. We are all favoured equally.
From the beginning, man and woman were meant to be co-equal, not classified. We were all equally created in the image of God. Genesis 1:27 says, "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them."
Moreover, when Christ took to the cross the salvation of all mankind, He died equally for men and for women. There is no reason to believe that men are superior or of higher value to God than women. As Galatians 3:28 tells us, "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus."
Submission, Not Subordination
One of the biggest arguments to the equality of men and women in the Bible is found in God-ordained marriage roles that command wives in Ephesians 5:22, saying, "Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord."
To most, submission automatically means subordination. This is how our thought pattern usually constructs this argument: Because woman is to submit to man, it must mean that man has more favour in God's eyes.
God appointed both men and women to lead at certain points. He appointed Israel to be a royal priesthood that would become a channel of blessing to the world.
But that never meant that God loved leaders or Israel more than any others. Special appointment is not special favour. It is in fact a means by which God uses one person or group to show favour to all.
The Problem: Leadership As Elitism
The flaw in the argument lies in thinking that leadership is elitism. We live in a day and age where everyone wants to be in charge because being the leader means having more perks, more favour, more money and more prestige.
But that's not how Jesus defined leadership. Jesus said, "If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all." (Mark 9:35)
Jesus' model of leadership was not always a view from the top but a view from the bottom even. Being a leader does not make you a more valuable person.
The same applies in the roles of marriage as prescribed by God.
God values all equally—follower and leader, Jew and Gentile, saint and sinner, man and woman.
