Hebrews Chapter Two, Under Man's Feet

 

Hebrews 2:7 You have made him a little lower than the angels; You have crowned him with glory and honor, and set him over the works of Your hands. [8] You have put all things in subjection under his feet.” For in that He put all in subjection under him, He left nothing that is not put under him. But now we do not yet see all things put under him.

 

The author of Hebrews, applying this OT passage, explains that God created us lower than the angels. The angelic hosts are God’s messengers, servants and guards in the heavens. Mankind, created in a position lower than angels, has been made custodians of the created order, as is explained in Psalm 8:7, 8, “All sheep and oxen—even the beasts of the field, the birds of the air and the fish of the sea that pass through the paths of the seas.” 

This agrees with Genesis 1:28, which reads, “Then God blessed them, and God said, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” All the works of God’s hands in this instance are defined in Psalm 8 and Genesis 1 as the planet earth and its natural resources (fill the earth and subdue it) and the animal kingdoms on land, sea, and air. What goes on beyond the earth appears to fall outside human jurisdiction; likely because apart from the Third Heaven where the throne of God resides, there is nothing of import for human utility outside of Earth’s boundaries.

 

As a side note, notice how Moses, inspired by the Holy Spirit, indicates both male and female as being a part of what some refer to as the Dominion Mandate. The first portion of the mandate (be fruitful and multiply) clearly predicates the need for men and women before mankind is to “subdue the earth.” The verses in Genesis and Psalms also clearly indicate that the earth and its abundant resources, as well as the animal kingdoms are what are in view here as mankind was charged (and still is) with being responsible stewards of God’s creation. Why include this side note? I have debated misogynists who use these verses to declare that women, too, are subject to men in the Dominion Mandate. Ridiculous as it may sound, the concept that all women are subject to all men is a grotesque distortion of the familial order, especially as it translates to the church of Christ. Paul makes it clear that a father is given charge over his daughter until/if she marries, 1 Corinthians 7:36, 37. Furthermore, wives, once married, are to submit to their own husbands, Ephesians 5:22. The husband is head of the wife (leader of the household, Ephesians 5:23) as a father is head of his unmarried children, male OR female. Paul clarifies this topic further in Colossians. “Wives, submit to your own husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives and do not be bitter toward them. Children, obey your parents in all things, for this is well pleasing to the Lord. Fathers, do not provoke your children, let they become discouraged,” Colossians 3:18-21, see also Ephesians 6:4.

 

God creates order in all things. Wives are to submit to their husband’s headship, and the husband has final say in matters pertaining to the family. But we as husbands are to love our wives and not exasperate our children, but train them in the word of God by teaching and demonstration. Paul, referring to the woman’s role once more, says, “And if they want to learn something, let them ask their own husbands at home,” 1 Corinthians 14:35. This commandment seems to originate in Genesis 3:16, where we read, “Your desire shall be for your husband, but he shall rule over you.” Paul, when writing to Titus, again states that godly women ought to, “be…obedient to their own husbands,” Titus 2:5. Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, is teaching that Eve was beguiled and Adam was not; he willfully chose to follow her into sin, 1 Timothy 2:13, 14. This may clearly indicate the infrastructure of the church; how elders and deacons, given a place of leadership, are to be men who govern their household well, 1 Timothy 3:4.

 

We gain a little clarity about the passage in 1 Corinthians 14:35 by looking into the epistles of Timothy. Paul writes to him, “Let a woman learn in silence with all submission. And I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence,” 1 Timothy 2:11, 12, see also 1 Corinthians 14:34. The “silence” then, is in regards to a woman attempting to wrest authority in a church. Men and women learn and teach differently, as I believe daily life attests if you simply watch how the genders function. Part of the curse upon our first mother was subjection to Adam and (for future women) to future husbands. Whereas man holds headship, he also shoulders the burden of being directly answerable to God for decisions made and treatment rendered. Women, as the helpmeet, are to act as equal (but not identical) partners, helping the husband govern the household. For order’s sake a leader is required for clarity of direction, and God has appointed that to men who demonstrate that they can actually handle the responsibility. However, nowhere in Scripture are all women everywhere subject to all men everywhere. This is a blatant distortion of Scripture to support the male ego and rampant misogyny, not biblical truth.