The Bible has no subtext that requires women to receive God's Word through a husband or male leader. The Bible is talking to you. If you are a woman, God is talking directly to you. If you are a child, God is talking directly to you.
I recently met a woman named Kathy. Kathy was shocked to learn that God was talking to her directly. She had never considered that to be the case because she was married and her church experience had taught her, in subtle ways, that she had no voice and that God only spoke to her through her husband. She told me she would be reading her Bible with a new perspective, a personal perspective. Praise be.
A few years ago, I published a blog post called Patriarchy Promotes Idol Worship, and in that post, I said, "Don't let your husband become an idol. Pursue Jesus, with or without him. If he does not pursue Jesus as strongly as you, leave him in the dust and pursue Jesus alone. Ideally, couples will pursue Him together, but each of us still has a personal responsibility to pursue Him ourselves, waiting on no one."
You might be shocked to learn that I received quite a bit of backlash against that. Christian women began to send me private messages telling me that I am not in God's will, that I should look to my husband for spiritual things, that I will not be blessed if I do not follow what they consider God's plan and they believe God's plan is patriarchy.
They were/are wrong. My Bible tells me to look to Jesus, the Author and Finisher of my faith (Hebrews 12:2). There is no included qualifier for this for women. He is talking to you. You are to look to Jesus, the Author and Finisher of your faith. You. By yourself. You personally. You, no matter your gender or marital status.
If I am reading God's Word through my husband because of the filter of patriarchy, I am making my husband an idol because he is coming between myself and my Savior. No one comes between you and your Savior. No one.
I believe the Fundamental churches, whether Baptist or not, have given patriarchy a place that God, Himself, never gave patriarchy. It was very much how society was set up in the Old Testament, at least by men. God did not require that. God does not prefer that. God does not operate within that.
There is no patriarchal filter in the Bible.
Look to Jesus, the Author and Finisher of your faith.
~Tricia
