Chapter One

THE REDEMPTIVE MOVEMENT HERMENEUTIC
The debate over the full equality of men and women in church and home is fought largely in the realm of hermeneutics. Succinctly defined, hermeneutics is the study of the biblical text with the ultimate goal of proper application. For the Christian, however, exegesis alone, the understanding of a text upon its own terms, is not the only goal but application for the sake of personal and corporate transformation. This means that the reader must move beyond exegesis and move toward the application of the truth within the text in the reader’s current cultural context. This challenge is intensified when trying to apply a text that is bound up in the cultural trappings of its time to the much different socio-cultural context of today. This necessitates a hermeneutic that seeks a culturally appropriate interpretation for the sake of transcultural application.
William Webb, in his text Slaves, Women and Homosexuals, describes a hermeneutic which takes into consideration the cultural context of the original documents and provides a means of applying the content of the text in a culturally appropriate way in a contemporary context. He identifies his method of interpretation and application as the redemptive-movement hermeneutic and he contrasts it with what he calls a static or stationary hermeneutic which applies the words of the text “isolated from their ancient historical-cultural context with minimal or no emphasis on the spirit of the text.” On the other hand, a redemptive movement hermeneutic seeks to understand the redemptive spirit of the text and apply it in the contemporary setting in such a way that its redemptive purpose is preserved. In today’s setting there are times when we can simply “do the words” of the text and fulfill the redemptive spirit behind them. This happens because the “cultural horizons of the two cultures overlap” . However, there are many places in Scripture where simply “doing the words” might actually mitigate against the original intent of the human author and the Holy Spirit. Webb points out that the term, “redemptive-movement hermeneutic is derived from his concern that Christians apply the redemptive spirit within Scripture, not merely, or even primarily, its isolated words.” A more detailed description of this hermeneutic will be provided. It is useful at this point to highlight the fact that similar hermeneutics have been applied throughout the history of the church and in recent years it has been utilized in the debate regarding the role of women within the church.

Precursors of the Redemptive-Movement Hermeneutic
As mentioned above, hermeneutics has always been at the center of this current debate. Many of the scholars debating this subject from the egalitarian perspective have utilized some form of developmental, trajectory or redemptive-movement hermeneutic. In order to partially validate Webb’s model I will describe three of these interpretive models advanced by other egalitarian writers. Namely, Bilezikian’s progressive model which focuses on the creation-fall-redemption motif; the developmental hermeneutic advanced by Richard Longenecker; and the trajectory hermeneutic employed by R.T. France. There is similarity and overlap between each of these models and Webb’s and I will attempt to point out these points of connection throughout a description of each.
Gilbert Bilezikian, professor emeritus at Wheaton College, provides a model of interpretation in his book, Beyond Sex Roles. He opens his book with these words, “The basic premise of the interpretive method followed in this book is that God’s revelation of Himself and of His will is progressive.” He continues by noting that everything in the Bible is related to the one of the three concepts supported by the words: creation – fall – redemption. Creation, in this motif, demonstrates God’s original intention for the entire cosmos and especially human beings. Fall represents the “temporary thwarting of divine purposes that resulted from human mutiny against God’s will.” Redemption is a reference to God’s initiative, derived from his very nature, to restore what was broken and corrupted through the sinfulness of man and the results of the fall. By exploring Scripture through this hermeneutical lens one can see God’s redemptive purpose reflected in the oft culturally bound words of the text. Bilezikian sees God’s redemptive work being accomplished through two different stages. The first is initiated through the person of Abraham as recorded in the Old Testament and identified by the author as the “old covenant”. Its purpose was to anticipate the full redemption that would arrive through the person and work of Jesus Christ.
This second stage is referred to as the “new covenant” and its intention is to restore the original purposes of creation through the ministry of Jesus within the community he created, the church. Its final consummation will be witnessed through the second coming of Christ “when the negative effects of the fall will be completely obliterated and the new community becomes the eternal community.” In this model the redemptive purpose of Jesus’ incarnation is the guiding concept in understanding all gender passages.
Bilezikian highlights two important advantages within this model. The first, is a model that enables the reader to read portions of Scripture under an appropriate heading which provides and interpretive lens for the reader. For example, when reading the first chapter of Genesis the reader is enabled to put it under the heading of Creation. The first chapter illustrates God’s design for mankind in all areas of life. When reading the third chapter the reader can place the text under the heading of the Fall. This description helps the reader understand that what follows is a description of the results of mankind’s rebellion against God and the reader is to recognize that such descriptions do not reflect God’s ultimate goal. One can then proceed to Genesis 12 and look at the calling of Abraham and God’s promise that, through Abraham all of the world would experience a blessing. This is to be understood in light of the heading, Redemption. It looks forward toward God’s ultimate purposes being reinstated and redeemed mankind experiencing the type of fellowship and oneness that was present in the Creation narrative. Much like Webb, Bilezikian is challenging the reader to seek the redemptive intent within the text.
A second advantage highlighted by Bilezikian is that such an interpretive model is derived from the Bible itself and is not an arbitrary guide to reading Scripture. This concern expressed by Bilezikian is shared by other scholars who employ similar methods for interpreting Scripture. Of course, those Christians who are not committed to the authority of the Bible and the inspiration of Scripture have no problem dismissing various passages of Scripture by an appeal to the current culture and circumstances. However, for Bilezikian and other evangelicals, this is not an option and developing a means for understanding Scripture that gives Scripture the respect it deserves is vital. In this respect Webb is quick to point out that his choice of terms such as “redemptive-movement” or “redemptive spirit” reflect his “concern that the derived meaning is internal, not external, to the biblical text.
Richard Longenecker’s developmental approach is a similar model for interpreting the texts related to the role of women in church and family. He identifies four rules of interpretation that should guide such inquiry. First, in the New Testament redemptive categories take precedence over all others without minimizing them. For example, throughout the New Testament there is an emphasis on the “new creation”. This is Paul’s means of describing the experience and process of redemption within the Christian community. Longenecker is joined in this by Gordon Fee who accents the importance of “new creation” theology in the New Testament by appealing to such passages as 2 Corinthians 5:14-17, Galatians 3:26-28, and Romans 6. Fee states, “The new creation, therefore, must be our starting point regarding gender issues, because this is theologically where Paul lived. Everything else he says comes out of this worldview of what has happened in the coming of Christ in the Spirit.” New creation and redemption categories are essential to understanding Paul as they are at the center of his theology.
The second rule focuses one’s study first upon the ministry of Jesus before appealing elsewhere. Longenecker says, “A proper Christian approach, I believe, is to begin the study of any issue at that point where progressive revelation has reached its zenith, that is, in the ministry of Jesus as portrayed in the Gospels and the apostolic interpretation of that ministry in the writings of the New Testament.” This is closely related to the first rule in that Christ’s work represents the climax of redemption and it is in his words and ministry where we most clearly see the basis for all of our behavior regardless of the context.
The third rule guiding Longenecker’s developmental hermeneutic calls upon the reader to distinguish between what the New Testament says about life in Christ and the degree to which it is implemented in the first century. This requires the reader to recognize and accept the fact that much of what is commanded by Christ and the early apostolic writers is in it’s embryonic stages when we read about it in Scripture. In this respect we can more easily identify the cultural conditions for women in the first century and understand the restrictions placed upon them by Paul in his letters. These restrictions need not be read as being based in God’s ultimate plan but they should be recognized as initial steps toward full implementation. F.F. Bruce recognized this distinction when he wrote regarding Galatians 3:28: “Paul states the basic principle here; if restrictions are to be found elsewhere in the Pauline corpus….they are to be understood in relation to Gal.3:28 and not vice versa.” Bruce recognizes the prescriptive nature of this passage and makes it a standard by which similar passages are to be interpreted. It makes sense to assert that there were differing levels of implementation throughout the New Testament. This is a crucial principle to follow because of the apparently divergent voices about the role of women throughout the New Testament. While not a simple task, nor an easy one, it is necessary.
Longenecker’s fourth interpretive principle focuses on the effect of circumstances upon the application of redemption and the new creation. These circumstances, which are not always known to the modern reader, must be taken into account as we seek to understand all passages in the Bible. However, they must especially be considered when trying to interpret and apply so called “hard” passages such as 1 Timothy 2:15. (Is it possible for this verse to be understood without taking into account the extenuating circumstances in Ephesus?) This is also a means of resolving apparent contradictions in Scripture and paying due respect to Scripture as a document that is of both divine and human origin. In addition this allows the reader of Scripture to look at the diversity within Scripture as a resource rather than a liability. Longenecker’s “developmental hermeneutic” is similar to Bilezikian’s in the respect that he advocates redemptive categories over all others. Also, Longenecker’s hermeneutic is compatible with Webb’s redemptive-movement hermeneutic which sees redemptive categories as primary along with the movement of Scripture, or development in Longenecker’s terms, pointing in the direction of God’s ultimate redemptive purposes. Longenecker points out that his hermeneutic is not without some support in the history of interpretation by pointing to the Antiochian Fathers, Chryostom and Theodore, who accepted the idea of a developmental method of interpretation, that although operating very much from a grammatical-historical standpoint, safeguarded an understanding of the progressive nature of revelation. Webb also argues that this type of hermeneutic was in play with Athanasius as he sought to expound the doctrine of the Trinity.
R.T. France has espoused a trajectory hermeneutic, in part, to aid in his defense of the ordination of women within the Church of England. France does not spell out his perspective as clearly as Longenecker or Bilezkian but he does provide some basic guiding principles to use in understanding the difficult texts related to gender. As a New Testament scholar he points out that thorough exegesis on all passages related to gender must be undertaken before seeking to apply the truth found in those passages to the contemporary context. He stresses however, that there comes a time when one must move beyond exegesis into the realm of application. Readers must ask whether the principles of the first century apply in our current century and to what extent they do. If they do in fact apply then how are they applied? Again, simply “doing the words” of the New Testament does not insure that one will do what was intended by those words. One must ask the question: Do we apply this passage in the same way or are there now more appropriate ways of applying the same Scripture? In addition, France asserts that one must set any given passage within the broader context of the whole of Scripture. With these principles France is in agreement with Bilezikian and Longenecker and has, in his own words, articulated a portion of Webb’s redemptive-movement hermeneutic.
In addition other scholars have held to many of these same principles of hermeneutics. Grant Osborne provides some useful guidelines for the effective determination of whether a passage is transcultural or not. Those principles that are consistent with the hermeneutics described above and with the redemptive-movement hermeneutic include:
1)Didactic passages must be used to interpret historical events…
2)Passages must be interpreted in light of their (historical and
literary) context.
3)By using tools of redaction criticism, the interpreter can distinguish
between teaching prompted by the immediate situation and that which
represents earlier, normative teaching for the church
4)Teaching that transcends the cultural biases of the author will be
normative.
5)It a command is wholly tied to a cultural situation that is not timeless
in itself, it will probably be a temporary application rather than an eternal
norm.
6)Those commands that have proven detrimental to the cause of Christ in
later cultures must be reinterpreted.
Each of these guidelines is reflected within the redemptive-movement hermeneutic. It is a developmental understanding of interpretation recognizing that new insight and application can be found within the text of Scripture.
In fact, almost all egalitarian scholars presume some developmental component within their hermeneutic. Bilezikian, Longenecker and France are not alone in their endorsement of trajectory or development in the text. Webb, Sumner and France each recognize that those espousing the hierarchical-complementarian position have arrived at their current position by looking for the meaning that stands above the cultural constraints of the text whether it is in relationship to marriage or women in ministry. If not tacitly endorsing a redemptive-movement type of hermeneutic they are, at least, being selective in their application of texts to their complementarian position.

The Redemptive-Movement Hermeneutic Defined
The redemptive-movement hermeneutic is a fairly new development in the field of Biblical interpretation. However, as has been displayed it is not without it’s predecessors and the principles behind it have been employed by numerous interpreters for quite some time. In fact, Webb, would likely acknowledge that this means of interpretation is utilized sometimes without the knowledge of the interpreter and often at an intuitive level. It may be more accurate to describe the redemptive-movement hermeneutic as the culmination of these other trajectory approaches. One criticism of this approach is that it is “more asserted than argued.” These interpreters and especially Webb are the exception to this case. Webb takes great pains to establish the validity of his model creating a nuanced hermeneutic that equips the interpreter to assess the level of control the cultural context of a passage plays on its contemporary application. No longer is it appropriate to dismiss certain passages as “cultural” without exploring a means of application that is “transcultural.”
The redemptive-movement hermeneutic is an attempt to understand a text by examining how it would have been applied in its original culture which often reflects a less redeemed social ethic and then applying that same text in a contemporary culture which possesses a more advanced social ethic, all the while looking forward to the ultimate social ethic that is reflected in the text.

Webb’s Model
While Webb’s hermeneutic is more complex I will focus on his persuasive criteria. Using the author’s original description I will add more content to the brief discussion of each.
Persuasive Criteria
1) Preliminary Movement
A component of a text may be culturally bound if Scripture modifies the original cultural norms in such a way that suggests further movement is possible and even advantageous in a subsequent culture.

This concept causes the reader to ask the question: Has the text made a statement of change that is absolute, no more redemptive progress will be made than what the text indicates, or has it made preliminary movement which anticipates more redemptive change. For example, Scripture clearly indicates that Christ’s grace is the ultimate development in the scheme of salvation history. However, the sacrificial system and the law in the Old Testament anticipated and even described, in prophetic terms, what Christ has delivered. The law and sacrificial system describes preliminary movement toward redemption while Christ’s sacrifice delivers the absolute change. After Christ’s sacrifice no further sacrifice is needed nor anticipated.
In comparison with the subject of this study one need only look at the status of women in the Old Testament compared to women in the New. There appears to be some development between the Testaments regarding the status of women. In the Old Testament the woman had no right or opportunity to initiate divorce yet in the New that opportunity becomes available, although the results of a divorce were still more detrimental to the woman than to the man. Likewise, in the realm of sexuality the wife was considered little more than the property of her husband who could do with her as he wished. In Paul’s teachings there appears a leveling of the field when he describes a type of sexual interaction between husband and wife that requires equality as in I Corinthians 7:1-5. . In the comparison between the two Testaments we see movement but now one is left to ascertain if the results found in the New Testament signify the end of this movement or is there more to come? From the standpoint of this author, and Webb, there is. One reason to assume this is that the treatment of women in comparison with the broader culture and the religious culture of Judaism represented in the Old Testament was much improved, it was “softened” and “less restrictive” than what one would find in either context. This idea will be explained further in the exegetical section of Ephesians 5:21-33.
2) Seed Ideas
A component of a text may be cultural if “seed ideas” are present within the rest of Scripture to suggest and encourage further movement on a particular subject.

Seed ideas, like their description suggest, require continued growth in a later context that outstrips any gains made in its original context. The metaphor that Webb uses is apt because it describes a progressive type of application that requires more intensive responses from later readers than from earlier. For example, Galatians 3:28 describes a change in status among three different groups in which great divisions existed. In the instance of the second groups, slaves and freemen, the proclamation did not create immediate equality. However, this concept grew in the environment of the early church to the point that slave owning Christians had to reconsider the practice and contemplate the release of those people who had formerly been their property. One might look at it like this. In Galatians Paul lays the groundwork in what is probably his earliest extant epistle. He continues with this theme in I Corinthians where he cautiously advises slaves to access their freedom if they can. (I Corinthians 7:21) But he fulfills this even further when in Philemon he urges the former slave owner to release the man who was once his property and receive him “as a brother.” So, in this example of Paul’s attitude toward slavery we see the seed idea planted in Galatians and I Corinthians and the fruit possibly harvested in the letter of Philemon.
3) Breakouts
A component of a text may be culturally confined if the social norms in the reflected in the text are “broken out of” in other biblical texts.

Breakouts show further development or progression than do the criteria of preliminary movement or seed ideas. Breakouts, like the name suggests, illustrate a significant break with the current culture through redemptive movement. The two previous criteria point toward or suggest the change and largely remain unrealized whereas a breakout is a more definitive movement and change away from the culture. A breakout is an explicit challenge to the status quo. One example of a breakout in the New Testament that is not related to the topic of this paper is the subject of eating meat that has been sacrificed to idols. All one needs to do is to look at the letter from the Jerusalem council (Acts 15:20,29) that forbade the eating of meat sacrificed to idols and compare that with Paul’s direction in I Corinthians 8:1-10. Here we see what appear to be emphatic statements regarding this practice. However, within the same letter as one of these prohibitive statements is a breakout from what would otherwise be considered a biblical norm. Paul’s appeal to conscience makes it clear that the injunction of the Apostles in Acts 15 and his own words in I Corinthians 8 are bound by their specific context and are not to be transculturally applied to our contemporary context since the command was abandoned to accommodate for a slightly different context within Corinth itself.
Webb mentions some other examples of breakouts relative to our discussion of gender. Again, a breakout is an example of the realization of preliminary movement or a seed idea and, reminded of the fact that the legislating that occurred in the Old and New Testaments took place in a patriarchal framework, we see several examples of women taking places of prominence and leadership within these contexts. Webb notes Deborah as a judge, prophet and military leader. (See Judges 4-6) He also draws attention to Huldah who teaches or, at least, interprets the law for the King in 2 Kings 22; Priscilla, in the New Testament, is described as one who helps set Apollos straight in Acts 18:24-26 where she is also recognized as one of Paul’s coworkers and who receives greater attention than her husband when her name is listed first, a break with typical writing convention; and lastly he mentions Junia, “outstanding among the apostles”, who is understood by the best linguistic evidence to be the name of a woman instead of a man as has often been asserted. Each of these represent a breakout from the typical male dominated culture that is endorsed by the writers of Scripture as being good if not normative.
Lastly, I Corinthians 7:3-5 is an example of Paul stressing equality in the sexual relationship between husband and wife. This is a striking example of a break with the contemporary culture where wives were considered to be physically weaker, less capable cognitively, and the actual property of their husbands. Even if it is argued that Paul’s injunction applies only within the realms of the sexual relationship of married couples it definitely illustrates a clean break with the surrounding Greco-Roman culture and the Jewish culture from which Christianity arose.

4) Purpose/Intent Statements
A component of a text may be culturally bound if by practicing the text one no longer fulfills the text’s original intent or purpose.

An interesting example of this can be found in Paul’s directive to “greet one another with a holy kiss.” (Romans 16:16) The original purpose of this command was to create a sense of community and acceptance among members of the Body of Christ. However, in American culture practicing this would be at least distasteful if not completely inappropriate and would convey a much different message than was intended. The are other culturally appropriate means of communicating acceptance and creating community among believers. By following this command literally, in today’s culture, we might actually mitigate against effect which the text was written to create.
Webb also highlights the submission lists in the New Testament as an example of this criteria. In Titus 2:9-10, I Timothy 6:1, I Peter 2:13-15, Titus 2:4-5, I Peter 3:1, and I Peter 2:12 one sees submission being commanded for the sake of an evangelistic objective. None of these passages seem to command submission to the respective parties, slaveholders-government-husbands, for the sole sake of the submission itself but for the kingdom advancing effect that the slave, citizen or wife would have through their respectful deference. One way to discern if this criteria is in effect within a passage is to examine how well the intent of the passage would be accomplished if the command is obeyed literally. A contextual component of a text is less likely to be transcultural if it’s literal completion produces the opposite effect.
5) Basis in Fall or Curse
A component of a text may be transcultural if its basis is rooted in the Fall of humanity or the curse.

In his fifth persuasive criterion Webb addresses the issue of the Fall. In doing so he makes the point that simply because hierarchy is rooted in the Fall does not make hierarchy something that is to be perpetuated through the Christian community. He makes the point that texts related to the Fall are primarily indicative as opposed to imperative. They describe the way things are not the way things are supposed to be. In this respect the subordination of the woman, a result of the Fall of Mankind, is a description of what happened and not a picture of God’s ultimate arrangement between the sexes. In fact, we are to fight against the results of the Fall and the Curse not perpetuate them. Of his five “persuasive criteria” this last one appears to be the least useful in interpreting the difficult texts regarding the place and possible equality of women in the New Testament.

Galatians 3:28 Via Redemptive-Movement Hermeneutic
Virtually all egalitarian interpreters view Galatians 3:28 to have far reaching social implications. Bilezikian describes it as the “inaugural statement” for the believer within the New Community. Snodgrass believes that it represents a turning point in salvation history which brings with it new realms of opportunity for women in the church. Fee connects this passage with the importance that Paul placed upon the idea of the “new creation” which included a new relating between members of Christ’s body. Likewise, Longenecker, Grenz, Giles, Keener, Webb and others contend that Galatians 3:28 speaks in a significant way to the social interaction between the sexes. Bruce’s perspective, mentioned previously, is that this is the passage through which all other gender passages are to be interpreted. Of course, the thought that Galatians 3:28 has significant social impact is not without it’s critics, most notably the book length work by Richard Hove and the treatment the text receives in Piper and Grudem’s text.
From the perspective of the redemptive-movement hermeneutic this passage provides a fascinating case study. Each of the three couplets in this verse display one, or more, of Webb’s persuasive criteria. The following is a brief description of how they interact with what egalitarians consider a key passage.
“There is neither Jew nor Greek…”
The first of the couplets identifies the deepest social tension within the early church and proves to be an excellent example of Webb’s third criterion: breakouts. When Paul makes this declaration he is initiating a break with both the prevalent culture and the culture within early Christianity. Rather than allowing the fledgling church to advance a prejudicial culture which it inherited Paul pushes the issue to the point of conflict. It matters little whether the Jerusalem Council of Acts 15 took place before or after the letter to the Galatians was written because the tension between ethnic groups remained even after that event and circumstances required continued attention. The Apostle was so determined to change the direction of racial prejudice within the early church he confronted Peter and Barnabas’s improper behavior. (Gal.2:11-13) He revisits this concept in his other letters as well. (Eph. 2:11-22; Col. 3:11; I Cor.12:13)
“…slave nor free…”
We witness less movement in this area than we do in the previous one. Within the first century and the text of the New Testament there are fewer examples of a break from the original culture with regard to slaver than there are in regard to Jew/Gentile unity. However, in the realm of slavery we see in 3:28 an example of both criterion 1: preliminary movement and criteria 2: seed idea. Though subtle, movement is seen in this passage. One can’t deny that Paul’s proclamation of “neither slave nor free” did not bring an immediate end to slavery in the church or in the culture at large. However, preliminary movement is suggested in that a new expectation for behavior within the church is expressed. One certainly could not own slaves without at least evaluating if not significantly changing how those slaves were treated. This proclamation of Paul’s suggests further development that we actually see in later portions of the New Testament. It is a seed idea in the respect that the basic idea is planted among Paul’s readers and brings about fruit in subsequent circumstances. For example, in I Corinthians 7:21 Paul states that if a slave can gain their freedom, within certain implied limits, that they should. This seed idea bears full fruit in Philemon where Paul goes further and asks Philemon to receive his returning slave Onesimus back not as a slave but as a brother. (v.16)
“…male nor female…”
Paul’s declaration here is best viewed as a seed idea that sees both breakouts and preliminary movement in various places throughout the New Testament. Understandably, when read with a static hermeneutic, this verse could be understood to mean that men and women have equal access to salvation without any significant change in their social standing within the church. However, when read in context with the other two couplets it is difficult to avoid the trajectory of this verse. This is especially true when taking into consideration the variety of portrayals of women through the New Testament. Once it is set into the other “in Christ” (Col.3:11, I Cor.12:13) lists it becomes even clearer that there are social dimensions to this passage. If there is a radical equality in light of the accessibility to salvation for all of Christ’s followers then it only makes sense that interaction between groups would prove to be more open and equal.
One may wonder why the movement between Jew and Gentile seems to exceed that of the other two. Relative to the conflict that existed between Jew and Gentile the other divisions were less of a problem and would have required more societal change to reinforce. There was little movement at the time toward equality between the latter two in the broader culture and less need for it in the immediate context. However, as demonstrated, there is movement in the New Testament relative to each.