Our method of study is to survey the Bible’s history as it relates to roles, beginning in Genesis. The opening part of Genesis is important because it takes place before there are any cultures or customs which might confuse us about God’s personal desire and design. To consider Genesis chapters one and two is to look into a pool while it is still clear before the water becomes muddy with human trampling. What we see in the beginning is God’s own idea, God’s own plan.
This is why the New Testament goes all the way back to the creation to answer difficult questions about men and women (Matthew 19:4-6; 1 Corinthians 6:16; 11:8-9; Ephesians 5:31; 1 Timothy 2:13). Does God assign any roles in the earliest account of mankind? Are these roles kept by godly families, as we read through the Old Testament? It is true that the law of Moses no longer rules over us (Romans 7; Galatians 3; Hebrews 8). But the New Testament urges us to learn the great lessons and principles of the Old Testament (Romans 15:4; 1 Corinthians 10:11; 2 Timothy 3:15-17). This is what we hope to do.