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Some women think terrible things about God and His relationship with women today. They’ll say things like:
- God hates women.
- The Bible is misogynistic.
- God created women to be inferior to men.
- Men are more important than women to God.
If that was the kind of God we had, I could understand why a lot of women wouldn’t be excited about loving Him wholeheartedly or yielding to His Lordship. That sounds horrible! Thankfully, this is NOT the message of the Bible.
Of course, many people go the opposite way today, saying that women are superior to men and all men are evil. We humans seem to be obsessed with trying to make one gender inherently more holy and one gender inherently more evil than the other.
How can we know what is really true?
Let’s do a brief overview of what the Bible actually has to say about our worth as women together, precious sisters.
The Bible is our source of absolute truth because it is the infallible Word of God. God’s Word must be the measure we use to determine what is right and what is wrong. If I trust any other source, I am trusting sinful, fallible people and I am not going to find the real truth. When I build my life on God’s Word, I build on Solid Rock rather than sinking sand.
OUR WORTH IN GOD’S EYES:
- Men and women were both created in the image of God.
- So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. Gen. 1:27
- God blessed both men and women.
- And God blessed them. Gen. 1:28
- God pronounced that everything He made was very good after He created both man and woman.
- And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. Gen. 1:31
- God created man first, then He created woman with a very special purpose.
- Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.” Gen. 2:18
- The word “helper” is the same word that is used about the Holy Spirit being our helper. It is not a derogatory term, but a powerful and good term.
- God did create men and women to be different from each other. He created unique roles for each one.
- In God’s economy, “different” doesn’t mean one is less valuable and having equal worth doesn’t mean we are identical.
- God designed for women to be unconditionally loved, cherished, and honored in marriage to demonstrate the way Jesus loves, cherishes, and honors His Bride, the Church. God created marriage to be a permanent, life-long covenant between a husband and wife that is the primary example of His love for His people.
- Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. Gen. 2:24
- Marriage is to be a living picture of the beautiful relationship between Jesus and His church where the husband is to portray the selfless love, leadership, humility, and sacrifice of Jesus for the church and the wife is to portray the admiration, cooperative spirit, honor, and love of the church for Jesus – Ephesians 5:22-33
- Men and women both sinned and are equally cursed because of sin and equally in need of a Savior. We are all in the same boat. There is no room for any of us to be prideful that we are “better” than anyone else. Only God is good. People have no goodness in ourselves because of sin. Some of the curse of sin impacts men and women differently, but we are all cursed because of sin and rebellion against God. And we are all subject to death because of our sin.
- The curse for men, women, and the serpent – Genesis 3
- For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. Rom. 3:23-24
- For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Rom. 6:23
- For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16
- The gospel is for all people – men and women – and all have equal ability to become children of God through Jesus and the cross.
- We all have equal access to God through Jesus.
- All men and women are to submit absolutely to the Lordship of Christ.
- In Christ, all people have equal worth/value and equal access to all that He has done for us.
- There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. Gal. 3:28
- But because of his great love for us (all believers), God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. Eph. 2:4-7
- Women are co-heirs with Jesus and with our husbands as children of God and are to be treated with dignity and honor. In God’s economy all people are to be treated with love, respect, dignity, and honor.
- Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. Rom. 8:17
- Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered. 1 Pet. 3:7
THE TWO GREATEST COMMANDS
There are two commands Jesus says are the greatest in all the world for all of us – men and women (Matt. 22:36-40):
- To love the Lord our God with all our hearts, minds, souls, and strength.
- To love others as we love ourselves. (This includes all people)
The Second Greatest Commandment means that all believers in Christ are to love all people with the very agape love of God found in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8:
- Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.
And all believers are to be Spirit-filled so that the fruit of all of our lives include the love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control of God in the way we interact with all other people (Gal. 5:22-23).
When we are in right standing and relationship with God through Jesus, He completely transforms our ability – as men and women – to have healthy relationships with other people. We want to treat others well – with love, value, respect, and honor.
AUTHORITY DOES NOT EQUAL WORTH IN GOD’S KINGDOM
I believe some of the greatest misunderstandings people have about God, the Bible, and women come from the worldly expectation that “people who have positions of authority have greater worth.” The president of the company makes a lot more money, in our society, than the janitor, for example. That may be how things are for the world, but in God’s economy, a person’s worth is a function of God’s love for him/her and that person being created by God in His image.
Our worth is not related to our function, talents, gifts, or roles in various areas of our lives in God’s eyes.
An unborn or newborn baby has great value and worth in God’s sight, but the baby has zero authority. Widows and orphans have great worth in God’s sight, but in many cultures throughout history and even today, they often have had no authority or standing in society and no ability to provide for themselves. That is why God has created positions of authority to protect these people He loves so dearly. God does not show favoritism.
Jesus is God, He is part of the Godhead. He submitted Himself humbly to the authority of the Father, and yet He was equal to the Father. His submission was out of love for God and out of reverence for God’s government. The example of authority/submission in the Godhead has nothing to do with worth – it is about love, provision, and order.
GOD’S AUTHORITY STRUCTURE
- There are different positions of authority that are delegated by God to accomplish His will in our lives. He chooses to lead us through certain means. This is God’s system of spiritual government and order: government leaders, police/military, work leaders, church leaders, family leaders (husbands and parents). It is critical to understand that in God’s economy, positions of authority are not related to a person’s worth. In fact, God generally uses the stronger people to protect the more vulnerable, weak, and precious ones.
- Spiritual Authority – This post contains most of the verses in Scripture about God’s design for His system of government and order in all areas of our lives.
- People in positions of spiritual authority (both male and female) are to do God’s will and His work. They are not permitted to abuse or sin against anyone by God.
- When God gives someone a position of authority, it is to protect, bless, shepherd, care for, nurture, and lead the ones in that person’s care into God’s will. It is never for the leader to be a selfish, abusive, unloving, prideful tyrant. The leader is to imitate the very love, humility, sacrifice, and selflessness of Jesus for His beloved Bride.
- Jesus called them to him and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant. Matt. 20:25-26
- All people in positions of God-given authority, all believers, and all unbelievers answer to Jesus in the end.
- And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” Matt. 28:18
- Great White Throne Judgement
PRAYER
Lord,
Please heal the areas of our hearts, minds, and souls where we have misunderstood Your heart and Your love for men and women. Help us to see and reject the lies we have embraced that are so toxic. Help us to build our lives on Your Word, Your truth, Your love, and Your goodness. Help us to seek Your will above everything else. Help us to find all of our identity and security in Christ, not in anything the world may try to say. And help us to become the radiant, peaceful, joyful, Spirit-filled, holy women You call us to be. Use us to radically impact our families and this world for Your kingdom!
Amen!
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Biblical Womanhood and the Problem of the Old Testament – Trillia Newbell, www.desiringgod.org
Articles about Biblical Manhood and Womanhood – from www.desiringgod.org
Is There Misogyny in the Bible? – by www.gotquestions.org
Does Deuteronomy 22:28-29 Command a Rape Victim to Marry Her Rapist? – by www.gotquestions.org
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What Does the Bible Say about Spousal/Marital Rape? – by www.gotquestions.org
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BOOKS TO HELP US DISCERN BETWEEN WORLDLY THINKING AND BIBLICAL THINKING
Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood downloadable book
Radical Womanhood – Feminine Faith in a Feminist World by Carolyn McCulley
The Feminist Mistake – the Radical Impact of Feminism on the Church and Culture by Mary Kassian
The Feminist Gospel – The Movement to Unite Feminism with the Church by Mary Kassian
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