What is A Woman’s Purpose?

                I desire to write this paper due to a common assertion that I have often heard within Christian circles which I have not found to be strictly biblical. An assertion that on the surface without much thought seems totally reasonable but when laid out next to scripture falls apart at the seams. That assertion is that a woman’s primary purpose is to have kids.

                If we are speaking strictly biologically then sure, the woman’s biological purpose is to bear children but then by extension the man’s purpose would be to propagate children as well. This is because biologically it takes two people one male one female to make a child and because of our finite lives we need to have children in order to not die out as a species. So, as you can see if we take a purely naturalistic approach and treat humanity as simply animals whose survival depends on continuing the species then absolutely a woman’s primary purpose is to have children. But I will let you in on a little secret, absolutely nowhere in scripture does it say a woman’s primary purpose is to have children.

God does tell Noah in Genesis 9 and Jacob in Genesis 35 to be fruitful and multiply, but these commands are given to early patriarchs and are not gender specific and these passages do not hang someone’s worth on ability to procreate, these passages are just God telling specific individuals that because they are to be the fathers of many then they need to have children. We also see in the story of Abraham and Sarah as well as Jacob and Rachel both in Genesis and Hannah in 1 Samuel that being barren or childless was seen as shameful, but it must be noted that the shamefulness of barrenness was cultural and not something that God himself ever called shameful.

So, the question arises, what then is a woman’s primary purpose? Well Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 says, The conclusion, when all has been heard, is fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person. For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil. Or for a New Testament example we can look to Ephesians 1:11-12 which says, also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will, to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ would be to the praise of His glory. We can see here the primary purpose of all believers is to fear or respect God, obey God, and that we are to praise God. These are just two passages of many that express this idea of what our primary purpose is and now in the New Testament age if we wish to begin fulfilling our purpose we must understand John 3:16 a verse that summarizes God’s desire for us and how we can be in obedience, it says, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. We see here God’s desire for us to believe in His Son and His sacrifice so we would not perish this then puts us on a path to fulfill our purpose already outlined above.

But what of Gendered specific purposes? For that we need to go to Genesis to see one of the original purposes. In Genesis 2:18 it says, Then the LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.” Then a couple verses later God takes one of Adam’s Ribs and fashions a woman for him. So, we see a secondary purpose for women is to be a helper to man though we know from Ephesians 5:22-33 that the arrangement of marriage is intended to be a picture of Christ and the Church. The wife is to be in submission to her husband like the Church should be to Christ, but The husband should love his wife like how Christ loved the church. As a side note we are all fallen individuals and our marriage will never be a perfect picture like we see in this passage in Ephesians because of sin but we should never stop striving for perfect obedience.

But what of those who for some reason are not married, whether through divorce, widowed, or never married yet? 1 Corinthians 7 speaks to this it says in verses 32-35, But I want you to be free from concern. One who is unmarried is concerned about the things of the Lord, how he may please the Lord; but one who is married is concerned about the things of the world, how he may please his wife, and his interests are divided. The woman who is unmarried, and the virgin, is concerned about the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and spirit; but one who is married is concerned about the things of the world, how she may please her husband. This I say for your own benefit; not to put a restraint upon you, but to promote what is appropriate and to secure undistracted devotion to the Lord. I recommend you read the entire chapter or ideally the whole book but Paul in this section is expressing the pros and cons of marriage and single life as a Christian. This is because both are good and can be beneficial in your ministry for God. In the above passage specifically, he is saying that if you are unmarried, it is possible to be more focused on the things of God because you do not have to worry about a spouse, obviously if a woman’s chief purpose was to have children, then this passage would not be in the Bible.

In conclusion I will outline an unofficial hierarchy of purpose for women. The first is true of all people, to believe on The Lord Jesus Christ and his finished work so we may not perish but have everlasting life. The second is true of all believers it is to respect, obey, and praise God, the third is true of all married women and that is to be a helper to man. The fourth is for unmarried women and that is to take advantage of not needing to be a helper to a husband and focus fully on the things for God. The fifth and final is biological and that is to bear children. As you can see ones worth, and purpose is not tied up in physical attributes but is tied up fully with the purpose and work of God.