A new way to think about women's roles
Christianity Today
July 10, 2026
Share
- X
- Telegram
-
-
-
Illustration by Christianity Today
This piece was adapted from CT’s books newsletter. Subscribe here.
## Christ and His Bride: How Men and Women Tell the Story of the Gospel
Julia B. Higgins (Author)
B&H Books
192 pages
Julia Higgins, Christ and His Bride: How Men and Women Tell the Story of the Gospel (B&H Books, 2026)
“In the past thirty years or so, conversations about womanhood in the church have been low-key obsessed with what women shouldn’t be doing,” writes Julia Higgins toward the end of this book. She holds a complementarian view of the relationship between men and women (as do I), which gives this observation a particular punch. “Let’s flip that question. … What should brothers and sisters in Christ be doing together to extend Christ’s self-sacrificial rule for the good of the church and flourishing of society and the world?”
In other words, how can men and women build marriages, train leaders, use our gifts, and collaborate in mission as partners together?
Thanks for signing up.
Explore more newsletters—don’t forget to start your free 60-day trial of CT to get full access to all articles in every newsletter.
Sorry, something went wrong. Please try again.
Higgins’s approach to that question centers on the concept of co-regency. Men and women govern the world together as regents, exercising authority on God’s behalf until his kingdom comes in all its fullness, and we govern in ways that echo and reflect the relationship of Christ and his bride, the church. Much of the book develops this theme in the form of a popular-level biblical theology, moving from Creation and Fall (chapters 1–2) to the Law, the Prophets, and the Writings (chapters 3–6), then the ministry of Christ (chapters 7–9) and the church (chapters 10–11), and finally the new creation (chapter 12). It concludes, as we have seen, with some application for today.
At times Higgins’s chatty style (“Are you a beach or mountain person?”) clashes with her use of theological jargon (“regnal formula,” “synchronistic”). In some sections, the main thread of the argument about men and women gets lost for several pages; in others, questions are asked but not quite answered. But Christ and His Bride offers plenty of insights too—some theological, some pastoral, and some practical. Which of these predominates may depend upon the reader.
## Numbers 1-19 (Apollos Old Testament Commentary)
L. Michael Morales (Author)
Apollos
528 pages
L. Michael Morales, Numbers (Apollos, 2024)
Numbers is one of the least read and most difficult books in Scripture. The central chapters (11–25) tell a dramatic, relatable, theologically weighty, and deeply challenging story about the grace of God and the rebellion of Israel as they wander in the wilderness. But this absorbing narrative is sandwiched between two large sections filled with laws, lists, censuses, offerings, land boundaries, and descriptions of the Israelite camp (chapters 1–10 and 26–36), which can be tough going. Even people who know the Bible quite well can struggle to make sense of what these passages mean, let alone how they constitute good news.
Enter L. Michael Morales. A professor whose previous work includes books on Exodus (Exodus Old and New) and Leviticus (Who Shall Ascend the Mountain of the Lord?), Morales has an unusual ability to make the obscure depths of the Pentateuch accessible and even delightful to students and readers today. So it is no surprise that his recent commentary on the Book of Numbers is outstanding.
It is a deep dive, running to over 1,200 pages in two volumes and integrating historical, literary, theological, and pastoral insights. But the coherence of the book—especially its focus on the presence of God amid his people in the camp—is presented clearly throughout, thanks to a combination of cogent argument, thoughtful charts, a keen eye for the way different parts of the book illuminate one another, and a magnificent introduction that is worth the price of the book on its own. Admittedly, in some places engagement with the secondary literature threatens to overwhelm the flow of the book, and the format of the series (in which “Comment” and “Explanation” are separated from each other) does not always help. But the clarity and richness of the exegesis—and the biblical-theological perspective that recurs throughout—more than compensate.
Students and lay readers will find themselves understanding Numbers, and preachers will find themselves wanting to preach it. Let’s hope Morales is planning to tackle Deuteronomy next.
## The Expulsive Power of a New Affection (Crossway Short Classics)
Thomas Chalmers (Author), John Piper (Foreword)
Crossway
80 pages
Thomas Chalmers, The Expulsive Power of a New Affection (approximately 1819)
There are two ways of trying to drive sin and worldliness out of the human heart, says Thomas Chalmers (1780–1847). One is to show the emptiness and vanity of worldly things; the other is to present the heart with something better. The first method is “altogether incompetent and ineffectual.” Only the second—setting forth God as a greater object of desire than worldly things—has any chance of success.
Consider a young man, Chalmers says. He overcomes his obsession with eating by committing himself to the quest for pleasure. Then he stops idolizing pleasure because he is drawn to the idol of money. Then he gives up his pursuit of money because he wants power.
“There is not one of these transformations in which the heart is left without an object,” Chalmers writes. “Its desire for one particular object may be conquered; but as to its desire for having some one object or other, this is unconquerable.”
You cannot stop a person from loving the world by showing that the world is worthless. You have to show that God is worth more. Chalmers continues, “The heart is not so constituted; and the only way to dispossess it of an old affection, is by the expulsive power of a new one.”
This is one of the great sermons of the last few centuries: wise, searching, pastoral, warm, and evergreen. It is worthy of serious reflection by those who want to guide their own hearts, let alone the hearts of others.
Andrew Wilson is teaching pastor at King’s Church London and author of Remaking the World: How 1776 Created the Post-Christian West. Follow him on X @AJWTheology.
-
-
-
-
Share
- X
- Telegram
-
-
-
Related
### Getting Lost in the Luminous Dark
### We Need the Doctrine of Hell
### Are Near-Death Experiences Evidence for Heaven?
### A Map Through Natural Theology
### What Kids Think About God Matters
- Books
- Theology
- Women
##
Our Latest
View All
Review
## A New Way to Think About Women’s Roles
Books on womanhood in the church, the Old Testament, and the pursuit of pleasure.
## Mindfulness Will Never Be Enough
Sadie Maples
Nature walks and deep breaths can be helpful. But your first resort should be Scripture.
The Bulletin
## Platner’s Allegations, Strait of Hormuz Conflict, and America’s Royal Wedding
Rape accusations end Platner’s bid for Senate, Iran strikes commercial ships, and Taylor and Travis get married.
News
## Iran and the US Agree on Little, Except to Not Talk About Religious Freedom
Christian advocates say the Trump administration has thrown Iranian protesters and religious minorities “under the bus.”
From Our Community
## God’s Kingdom Is Alive, Even in the Midst of Setbacks
Caitlin Edwards
How reading Christianity Today inspires a ministry leader in Indonesia to continue growing.
News
## After US Aid Cuts, the Sick Wonder Who Will Visit Them
Emily Belz in Tharaka-Nithi County, Kenya
One year after the US shuttered USAID and cut HIV funding, faith-based institutions struggle to stay in touch with rural patients who might fall through the cracks.
News
The president of two universities emphasized Christ-centered education.
If you spend your whole life despising the rich, the greatest tax will be on your soul.