Neither Complementarian nor Egalitarian: A Kingdom Corrective to the Evangelical Gender Debate

by Michelle Lee-Barnewall

While the gospel is offered to all, it comes to the Jew first and then to the Greek (Rom. 1:16). In Rom. 2:9–10 we learn that Jews have priority over Greeks when it comes to honor or tribulation given for those who respectively do good or evil. Most of all, Rom. 9–11 teaches that the gentiles remain “secondary grafts” onto Israel.39 Although all people can be “in Christ,” there remains this distinction between Jew and Greek as the church is founded on the promises given to Israel. Paul later talks about the eschatological role of the Jews in bringing about the final blessings (e.g., Rom. 11:12–16). Thus, while Jew and gentile are “equal” in the sense of being “one” in Christ, and there is “neither Jew nor Greek” (Gal. 3:28; 1 Cor. 12:13; Eph. 2:13–18), at the same time the Jew has a special role in regard to the gospel.