Equality according to the Bible

There is movement in the contemporary Church which is seeming to align itself with racialism, gay rights, and feminism, and their peculiar views regarding what constitutes equality. There is increasing evidence that churches and denominations are accepting leftist cultural viewpoints and rejecting traditional Bible doctrines because those doctrines are "hateful" and "oppressive."

Cries of "check your privilege" and "all whites are racist" and "men are oppressors of women" and "why are you against two people loving each other" are beginning to be expressed in churches previously committed to biblical teaching. The echos of the shouting of radicals in the street have made there way to church elder boards and denominational leaders. Contemporary culture is gaining a greater foothold in congregations and faith organizations.

In political terms, the root of many of these kinds of statements is a stated or tacit assumption that our culture is flawed and evil and needs to be modified, supplanted, or overthrown. The rhetoric is different, the methods are varied, but the goal is the same as it has always been: Socialist revolution.

Christianity has always been a target for those who wish to throw off any and all restraint in the name of freedom. Christianity speaks of a holy God who looks at the hearts of men. All men are sinful, all men need a savior, and all men fall completely short of the righteous standards of God. These sort of things grate on the darkened mind.

And those who carry the message of righteousness, repentance, and forgiveness from sin in Christ Jesus become targets. The bearers of the Good News are the enemy, a constant reminder of the iniquity of those who are not saved. Thus it becomes easy and necessary for those who dwell in darkness to cast their opponents as being against equality, or unloving, or judgmental, which in turn justifies any sort of sanction.

The Church from its earliest days has always been prone to compromise. But it seems worse now. Contemporary culture is viewed, if not a model for church ministry and doctrine, at least something to be accommodated. Truth is either malleable or reinterpretable as culture changes. Over the course of time compromised positions become inerrant doctrine. At some point the church or denomination becomes indistinguishable from the culture that surrounds it.

A famous person once said, "if you and me always agree, then one of us is unnecessary." Indeed, if the Church looks exactly like the world, the church is redundant. And that's why many mainline denominations are experiencing declines in attendance while others are dying out completely. They simply don't have anything to offer that is different from the culture.

So this brings us to the idea of equality. Has the Church adopted contemporary culture's ideas on equality? I was considering an argument someone made regarding there being no such thing as equality in the Bible. They wrote:

1 Corinthians 12 talks about how the Body of Christ is constituted of many members, some of which appear "less honorable", "weaker" and even "unpresentable". They serve purposes that appear ignoble, and the more "presentable" body members therefore have an obligation to care for these. The apostle Paul hints that these unpresentable members often have hidden value (probably both to God and to us; personally, I suspect their value consists largely in the graces they were created to cultivate in the other members of the Body), but what is very clear is that they were created to function differently. Further, whatever value they do have, no claim whatsoever is made in the passage that the various parts are "equal" in any way, or anywhere else in the Bible, only that they need each other to function properly

Here's the referenced passage. 1Co. 12:20-27:

As it is, there are many parts, but one body. 21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” 22 On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, 24 while our presentable parts need no special treatment. 

But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, 25 so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. 26 If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. 27 Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.

The point being offered is that there is no statement of intrinsic equality implied, which is true. However, it is clear that we are to regard people as valuable even if they seem unvaluable. That is, to regard them from the perspective of God. So much of Jesus' teaching is to contravene the common way of the fleshly man in favor of a godly perspective. We judge by mere appearances, but God judges the heart.

So what does that mean for equality? Perhaps we should define what is meant by equality.

When the political Left talks about equality, they actually mean sameness. Any differences in ability, work ethic, training, or risk taking are all irrelevant. The Left considers equality as a matter of resources only. Money is the measure of equality.

Unequal distribution of resources is regarded as prima facie evidence of inequality. And they regard those resources as finite. This means that if someone has more than another, the only way he could have obtained it was by taking it from the other. It's a zeroed out equation.

But what does God mean by equality? Two things: One, Ro. 3:23:

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

which means we are all equally lost.

Two, everyone who is saved has equal standing before God because of the saving power of Jesus Christ and the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. 1Co. 12:13:

For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body — whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free — and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.

So the question is, can we be unequal in abilities, position, or resources, but also equal in the eyes of God? Of course! God's view is all-encompassing, holistic, and error-free. He knows the heart, and He is the one who imputes worth and value. We are what we are because of who He says we are.

The black man who is a Christian is my brother, because God commanded it. The wheelchair-bound Asian Christian woman is my sister, because God commanded it. I am not to regard position, wealth, talent, status, or intelligence. My only call is to love. Col. 3:11-14:

Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all. 12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

Ro. 12:10:

Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. 

Equality then becomes irrelevant. It doesn't even enter the equation. God looks at the heart according to the divine indwelling:

...to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.

That's who God sees in us, Christ. And, Ga. 3:26-28:

You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, 27 for all of you who were baptised into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

But having said this, everyone is uniquely gifted, and there are positions in the Church. Some are worth greater esteem. Some deserve our attention when they speak. Everyone has value. but some are worthy of greater honor.

1Ti. 5:17 The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching. 

Ro. 13:7 Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.

We must appropriate the heavenly perspective. We must find ourselves in agreement with God. It is our obligation to edify one another, bless one another, love one another, and be at peace with one another. 2Co. 5:16:

So from now on we regard no-one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer.