Was Paul a Chauvinist?

Paul addressed the issue of authority in the visible church by appealing to how it was in the beginning, that is, he pointed to a creation principle. Paul didn't bring some new special revelation that applied only to the church, nor did he take an established church principle to solve the problem. Rather, he took a principle from creation and applied that to the church context. The debate in our day about who can lawfully exercise authority over others cannot be settled by appealing to tradition, competence, ability or intelligence, but rather by humbling ourselves under the mighty hand of God and living by every word from His mouth. We will need both humility and courage to do this in our generation.