Zach’s Theological Musings

  After making a number of good observations on the matter, The Common Loon asks:

“Is there something about Reformed theology that is inherently complementarian…?“

It is a fabulous question that I wished got asked more often. The answer from this Reformed Complementarian is YES! Yes, in a very direct, powerful, beautiful, poetic, and profound way.

  To see why, try this experiment. Look squarely at the relationship between God/Christ and His people from the Reformed (i.e. Biblical) perspective. Now tilt your head 90 degrees so that the vertical axis transforms into a horizontal one and spiritual dimensions get projected down into earthly/physical ones. Now, with your neck thus bent, Rev 19 overlaps with Gen 2 (passing through 1 Cor 11 and Eph 5 on the way), the shadow of God/Jesus’ initiatory/leading role in the “divine romance” is taken up by a husband, and the particular submissiveness which adorns the church is embodied in a wife. I would argue that what you are looking at is precisely complementarianism—Calvinism turned horizontal.

  Someone who is called a Calvinist will look at someone who is called Arminian and say, “You are ascribing roles, duties, and responsibilities to humanity which are only fit, right, proper, and/or possible for God.” Now make the following replacements in the previous sentence:
Calvinist –> Complementarian
Arminian –> Egalitarian
Humanity –> Woman
God –> Man
In other words, the “Calvinistic” doctrines of grace are not merely connected or related to complementarianism via third-party doctrines and convictions, but the two are in fact one doctrine, in its ultimate/spiritual and allegorical/typological/physical presentations, respectively.

  One the modern American evangelical scene, I would probably be considered a hyper-complementarian in that, ideally, I highly favor a system of godly arranged marriages even above the current conservative fad of “courtship”. The Biblical picture of a bride that is “effectually” chosen and called by the masculine component of society, who is “wooed” by her husband after betrothal and matrimony, makes the Reformed-complementarian link that much more clear and stark to me.

  (On a related note, the qualities that make a husband’s heart flitter for his wife are precisely what God is working to bring about in His bride as well (1 Peter 3:2-6). I have often emphasized this point when writing of a yearning for revival.)

  I have not set out to “prove” or even “defend” Reformed or complemenentarian theology in this post; God willing I will do more of that at another time. But I hope to at least have shown a theologically coherency that makes it not at all surprising that the two commonly (though not universally) go together.