Ask the Pastor 63

What does it mean to be equal?

The Declaration of Independence begins with the words, “We hold these truths to be self evident that all men are created equal” while at the same time there were signers of the declaration who were slave owners. What does it mean exactly, to be equal? Many demonstrate by their actions that to them equality means being the same and this is not true. We see equality first in the Godhead, that God is one essence and yet three persons, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. All three are equal and yet are different, they are different in function and they defer to one another. The Son is spoken of as always doing the will of the Father and being in submission to the Father (see John 5:30; 6:38) and the Holy Spirit is spoken of as being sent by the Father (John 14:26) and by the Son (John 16:7), indicating that the Holy Spirit obeys the Father and Son. Men and women are equal but they are different in function. The woman was created to be a help to man, the man is to be the head of the family and the woman is to submit to him in that role while being equal (see I Corinthians 11:3; Ephesians 5:22-26). There are specific roles to be played out as mutual heirs of the grace of God (I Peter 3:1-7). In the Church, the body of Christ, there are many different gifts given to each member to carry out various roles within the body, all different but all equal as one body (see I Corinthians 12:12-18). In business and in government there are different levels of authority and a working hierarchy, which means that people have different roles and functions and are compensated accordingly, they are equal but different. The only way to be truly equal is to be one in Christ through faith in Him, outside of that there will always be disparity, anger, hatred and violence which is the way of man.

Have questions about the Bible? Send them to Dr. Greg Koehn at gak4850@gmail.com and read the answer here in this article.