Does the Fact That Adam Was Formed First, and Then Eve, Insinuate That a Man Has Authority over a Woman?

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DOES THE FACT THAT ADAM WAS FORMED FIRST, AND THEN EVE, INSINUATE THAT A MAN HAS AUTHORITY OVER A WOMAN?

I remember an incident that occurred while attending Bible school in the early eighties. At this time, I was married with one small child. Getting any kind of work to support my family was almost impossible. Someone at the school got hold of me and offered me a job working for a cleaning company. I knew of the pastor who ran this company, as he was not only well known on campus but was considered as one of the leaders in the hierarchy of the church. The job paid well, and I felt it a privilege to be asked to work for him.

Not too long after, I received a phone call instructing me where and when to meet the cleaning crew. I arrived where I was told to meet up, stepped into a waiting van, and was on my way to work with a group of fellow believers. I didn’t know any of them but introduced myself. The job site was located in a huge industrial building that needed to be cleaned. All-day long, we cleaned, cleaned, and cleaned. When the shift ended, I was brought home and told I would be contacted again for future work.

I was so thankful for not only work but also decent pay. The Bible school was located in what I would consider economically depressed in some occupational areas, especially in trying to get hired in any of the machine shops or getting a job teaching in a high school. These were considered to be my two areas of expertise. I was called to work over the next couple of weeks. All seemed to be going well, and then the unexpected happened.

On what was to be my last day of work, we were on our way back home from another cleaning job. As it seemed that some of my fellow believers became more comfortable engaging in a dialogue with me, one of them proceeded to ask me a question right after making this statement, “Eve, Adam’s wife, was called by the Lord as a help meet to her husband.” What did I think that the words help meet meant?

I told them that I couldn’t answer this for sure, as I had not studied these words. My opinion was that she assisted her husband in the responsibilities of maintaining the Garden of Eden. One of them interjected and said help meet meant that Eve was submissive to Adam in all areas. I responded by saying that I didn’t believe this was the case. And then all hell broke loose.

Another member of the group said that I didn’t know what I was talking about. If I continued in my false narrative, I would be under physical assault. At that point, I bit my lip and didn’t say another word. I was dropped off at my residence and was never called up again for future work.

I found out later that this person who threatened me with physical harm was very good friends with the president of the Bible college. I was also aware that he was very knowledgeable in memorizing the Word and was someone who was well-known on campus for having answers to biblical questions. Another thing I noticed about him with respect to the instance mentioned was that he had a quick temper. He was entrenched in the view that a woman was supposed to be in subjection to a man whether in the home or in the ministry, which was one of the paramount doctrines of this church. This topic, as I’ve learned, can press a lot of unpleasant buttons of retribution, if you know what I mean.

The question we’ll now attempt to answer is before us. In what way does the creation account of Adam and the deception of Eve in the Garden of Eden relates to whether the office gifts of the church could be gender-specific?Please go to the Book of Genesis, chapter 2.



Suggested Reading: Genesis 2:7, 18, 22, 24

7 And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.

It’s true that Adam was made first, and then Eve. Some suggest that this order has relevance to the calling of the male gender to the office leadership gifts. The traditional view says that because Eve was formed from Adam’s rib, this suggests the subordinate nature of her rank.

24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.

I don’t think anything should be conjectured as to rank based on who was formed first. We can agree that both of them were in union with God and, as such, expressed humility toward Him and each other. God joined them together, and they were one flesh. The words one flesh signifies spiritual unity, living in integrity without sin.36

The next scriptural section talks about God making Adam and then surmising that it was not good for him to be alone. So, he decided to make another person, whom God described as someone who would be his help meet. What do these words mean?

Please stay in the Book of Genesis, chapter 2.

Genesis 2:18 And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.

God made Eve be a help meet for Adam. Depending on how the words help meet are defined by some churches will determine how their teaching on the relationship between a husband and wife in the home and in the church is formulated. According to the traditional interpretation of the words help meet, these words are understood to mean that Eve was Adam’s servant. In other words, she was considered to be his "waiter, one who works under another."37It’s easy to understand that this narrative could be used to support the view that a woman should be under rank to the man with respect to church authority and in the home.



Is there another way to define or interpret the words help meet?

Yes, an alternative interpretation of the words help meet can also mean that the woman God would make would be Adam’s partner. This word suggests that she was to be a perfect resemblance of the man possessing neither inferiority nor superiority but being in all things like and equal to himself.38

Another traditional insinuation by church teachings as to Eve’s inferiority to Adam has its roots in the fact that she was deceived, which according to church authority, would support the perception that she was more susceptible than the man in this regard, and therefore should not be placed in any spiritual office in the New Testament church. Verses that pertain to this conjecture are found in the Book of 1 Timothy, chapter 2.

1 Timothy 2:13-14 For Adam was first formed, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.

It’s made evidently clear that Eve was deceived (to believe something that was not true ) by the craftiness of the Devil.

Genesis 2:17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

We know from Scripture that God told both Adam and Eve that if they were to partake of the forbidden fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, they would die.

Genesis 3:3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.

Genesis 3:4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:

And it’s quite clear that the Devil conveyed to Eve two untruths. One was that if she just touched the fruit, she would not die as God declared that she would. And likewise, she would also not die if she were to partake of the fruit of this tree. Eve believed Satan’s lies and decided to eat the forbidden fruit. After which, she gave Adam the same fruit, and he took of it and ate with seemingly no response to her concerning the command by the Lord beforehand not to eat such.

Here is an interesting thought to consider. If two people were going to a job interview where a decision was going to be made to choose one of them and place him/her in a position of authority over other people; and the determination to be made for who would be selected would be decided as to how either one of them responded to a rule that the company set before each of them should not be disobeyed under any circumstance, which one do you think they would choose? The one who was persuaded by deception to disobey or the one who willfully disobeyed.

The traditional view would say that what happened in the Garden of Eden reflects the sentiment that women are more susceptible to error (more easily deceived) than men. And furthermore, she convinced someone else to disobey God’s command. Subsequently, this decision by her to believe something that was not true as conveyed to her by someone else disqualified her from leading in any capacity.

There’s an alternative view that will begin by asking this question. Well, what about Adam, doesn’t he bear any responsibility? Satan didn’t attempt to coerce him at all. When his wife offered him the fruit, we heard no response from him, such as God told us not to do this under any circumstances. Therefore, I’m not going to eat this fruit. He was not deceived in his mind but simply decided to do the wrong thing. He willfully took the fruit that his wife gave him and ate it.

Knowing the background of this story with respect to disobedience, which one do you think should get the job? Personally, I don’t think that either one should be chosen to get the job in the fictitious scenario. I would disqualify both of them.

Should the fact that Eve was deceived disqualify her from being called by God to a leadership position in the church? Does the fact that Adam was not deceived indicate that he was less susceptible to deception than Eve? Some churches would say yes and yes. Others would say that deception is not relegated to a particular gender. I’ve attached an article that addresses both of these different perceptions.



WOMEN, EVE AND DECEPTION

According to Google Analytics, which provides me with statistics about visits to my website, people often arrive at this site after googling phrases about women and deception. Here are some actual Google searches that have brought traffic to my site last month: [“females are deceptive, Bible verses on gullible women, Bible verses on deceptive women, women in the Bible who deceive men, are women more easily deceived than men? women are gullible and easily deceived, deceptions women believe, why are women more vulnerable to false doctrine?” (In Spanish); etc.].

These phrases indicate that too many people believe that women are generally more gullible than men and that women are especially susceptible to deception and false doctrine. Moreover, it seems that many Christians assume that this is what the Bible teaches about women. Are these beliefs and assumptions valid? In this article, [we’ll] take a quick look at what the Bible says about women and deception, and especially at Eve.



Eve in the Old Testament

According to Genesis 2:21-22, Eve was the first woman created. In Genesis 3:1ff, she is seemingly targeted by the serpent in the Garden of [Eden,] who successfully persuades her to eat the forbidden fruit. She then shares the fruit with [Adam,] who was with her. By eating the forbidden fruit, Eve and Adam disobeyed God’s explicit command in Genesis 2:16-17. This act of disobedience had catastrophic consequences.

[Note that the Greek noun used of Eve’s transgression in 1 Timothy 2:14 (parabasis) is the same noun used of Adam’s transgression in Romans 5:14. Both Adam and Eve disobeyed God’s command about the forbidden fruit; both violated his rule].

The [Scriptures] simply don’t tell us why the serpent spoke to Eve and not to Adam. Many people assume it was Eve because she was easier to deceive. The [Scriptures], however, neither state nor imply that she was easier to tempt or deceive than Adam.

Furthermore, while we know Eve’s excuse for eating the fruit—she was deceived—[we’re] not told what Adam’s excuse was. [So,] Adam, and men in general, have escaped from being branded with the stigma that Eve, and women in general, have suffered with.

Eve, however, readily acknowledged and confessed her deception to God (Gen 3:13). She didn’t stay in a duped state. [So,] it’s utterly unjust to use Eve, in her short-lived deceived state, as a type for all women for all time.

Eve’s deception [was] never mentioned again in the Hebrew Bible (the Old Testament), nor [was] it mentioned in the Gospels. None of the writers of the Hebrew Bible or of the Gospels felt [was] necessary to bring up Eve’s momentary failure. Moreover, none of the writers of the Hebrew Bible or of the Gospels ever mention or hint that women are more gullible or more easily deceived than men.



Eve in Paul’s Letters

Paul is the only New Testament writer to mention Eve’s deception. He mentions it in [2 Corinthians 11:2-4,] where he warns both men and women about the danger of being deceived by people who [preached] a different Jesus and a different gospel to what Paul had preached. Paul does not give the Corinthian women an extra warning about being deceived. Rather, he believed that both the men and women of Corinth [put] up with false teaching too easily (2 Cor. 11:4b).

Eve’s deception is also mentioned in 1 Timothy 2:13-14. While the meaning of these two verses in 1 Timothy is clear—they are an accurate summary of Genesis chapters 2 and 3—the intent of these verses is far from clear. We cannot say with certainty why Paul brought Adam and Eve into his discussion.

Some say that Adam being created first and Eve’s deception are the reasons a woman cannot teach a man (cf. 1 Tim. 2:12). I suggest, however, that Paul was [correcting false] teaching that Eve was created first and that Adam was the one deceived, which is what several ancient Gnostic texts state. Paul succinctly corrects these false ideas with his words in 1 Timothy 2:13-14. [More on 1 Timothy 2:11-15 here].

Like the other biblical authors, Paul never states or hints that women are more easily deceived than men. In fact, the false teachers in Ephesus who were especially problematic were all men: Hymenaeus, Alexander, and Philetus. On the other hand, women such as Priscilla, Phoebe, Junia, [Euodia,] and Syntyche were among Paul’s trusted ministry colleagues. [More on Paul and Women here].



Are women more easily deceived than men?

The Bible contains several narratives where men were deceived, usually by other men. Jacob (Gen. 31:20, 27), Samson (Judg. 16:10, 13, 15), Saul (1 Sam. 28:12), for example, deceived other men. Paul, writing rhetorically, mentions that he was deceived by sin (Rom. 7:11). Elsewhere, Paul describes false teachers as “people of depraved minds” who were “deceiving and being deceived” (2 Tim. 3:8, 13). These false teachers were predominately men. And each of the Gospels [contain] warnings from Jesus about false teachers who would come and deceive his followers (e.g., Matt. 24:23-24). While some of these false teachers would be women, most of them were men. There are very few biblical accounts of women being deceived or deceiving others.

Despite what too many Christians believe, the Bible [does not just] say that deception is a female trait. It’s a tremendous injustice that later Christian theologians and ministers have used Eve and her deception as a type for all women.39

Believe it or not, there’s yet another reason, one that might be considered paramount by some churches, as to why only a male can be called by God to a position of leadership. This one has to do with the Scripture declaration about the institution of marriage which says that the husband is the head of the wife. It’s true that these words pertain to the subject of headship in the home, but what does headship mean? Are you ready to find out what this is all about? I am. Let’s take a look at this in the chapter that follows.



Endnotes

36Bible Knowledge Commentary.

37UBS.

38Adam Clarke’s Commentary.

39Marg Mowczko, “WOMEN, EVE AND DECEPTION,” 2012. 1 September 2021. .

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