Overcoming Prejudice - Women

It is hard for many of us in the Western world to understand Kingdom mentality because we have never lived in a Kingdom. As the children of God we need to allow Spirit to create a mindset so that we move from a democratic thinking to a Kingdom thinking. This takes a lot of surrender and the acceptance that it is a steep learning curve that we will not always succeed in living. Mistakes will happen.

A Kingdom takes on the character of the king. If he is a cruel king then the kingdom will be dominated by cruelty. If he is a kind king then the kingdom will be dominated by kindness. If he is a generous king then the kingdom will be dominated by generosity. So we can understand by these then that the Kingdom of God will reflect the attributes of our King.

We should note that there has been a lack of training in this understanding and revelation. We have many good people sitting in churches and living out there lives who have no concept that they are citizens of the Kingdom and that being such affects their entire thinking and approach to life. They have been recreated but are living according to the old habits because they do not understand the new habits of God's Kingdom.

I preface this blog entry with this explanation because if I do not then we will miss the significance of Jesus' actions. One of the various reasons Jesus came was to demonstrate the Kingdom. Sometimes we reduce this demonstration to the power that enabled miracles. But Jesus also demonstrated the mentality of the Kingdom, which is revelatory-knowledge of Father's heart.

One of the extraordinary things Jesus did was "see" women. This was a time when the Jews treated women very poorly. There is a whole list of things they did to put women down and treat them worse than cattle. The Pharisees were the worse examples of this culture of prejudice. 

How significant is this in understanding the Kingdom? Well, keeping in mind the treatment of women in Jewish culture, consider how many famous stories of Jesus were centered on a woman. Consider his acknowledgement and treatment of the women in his lives. Is it not significant that the recorders of the gospels left these encounters with women in the story of Jesus?

The Samaritan woman at the well was a dramatic encounter that probably is one of the first to come to mind but the one I want to highlight for you today is the woman who broke into Simon's home to wash Jesus' feet with her tears and hair. Simon was a Pharisee. But this woman had been so touched by Jesus that she needed to worship him regardless of the risk. To consider the significance of the moment we need a little background.

Women were not allowed to eat with Jewish men, especially when guests were over. On top of this, Pharisees, real women haters, would never acknowledge a woman, not even so much as a glance. Now realize what this woman of low repute, a prostitute, did. She broke into this Pharisees' home, entered into the dining area and began to touch Jesus. But how could Simon put a stop to this without acknowledging the presence of the woman? He tried to ignore her at the same time condemning Jesus in his thoughts.

There is a lot to this incident but considering all that I have mentioned maybe you can understand the significance of what Jesus said, "Look at this woman Simon".

WE know in reading the Scriptures that Jesus used this woman to teach Simon the proper response to sacrificial love and then he pierced this Pharisees' prejudice, lack of love, that encased this his heart and demanded him to look past his prejudice and see this woman : Simon, look at this woman". Jesus spent every day "seeing" the "unseen".

If you can get past the familiarity of this incident you will be awestruck by the actions of our King. There is no room for not "seeing" in the Kingdom. It is hard to believe that to this day women still have to fight to be seen. Nowhere is this more true than in some parts of the Church which is crazy. Instead of learning from our King and living the character of the Kingdom we have copied the behaviour of the Pharisees. Shame on us.

Now using this as our diving board, we jump into our current history.

The Church should not be in the background of this growing movement of "Black Lives Matter" because we should have been fighting for them to be seen from the beginning. That is our Father's heart, to fight for the "unseen". But it is more than that. If this is the character of the Kingdom, in the body that represents the Kingdom in this world they should never have been unseen. In our King, our Lord Christ Jesus, there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female. We can add, neither white nor black, settlers nor indigenous because in Jesus we are all one. 

Does this mean that some will get special attention over others? You bet. Jesus loved Simon but Simon did not need the attention this woman did. She was "unseen" and needed to be brought into the light. Simon was "seen", privileged, and needed to be humbled. It did not lessen his value in the eyes of Jesus.

Black lives matter. That is rightfully the anthem for today because black lives need the attention right now. We all have the same value to our King, he loves us all very much. But many of us are in a position of strength, privilege, in our society and we need to give over some of this strength, privilege, so a disadvantaged group can rise up to their designed place. After this anthem cry there will be another group and we will need to give our strength to that group but for today it is "black lives matter".

Just a footnote : We should all understand that the vast majority of our world lives in rebellion to God's Kingdom. The only way to truly change a heart and a broken mindset is through the transforming power of the Holy Spirit. So, it is good to see these shifts in our society but the underlying problem remains as long as Jesus is rejected as King. 

 

It's Time To Put Equality In Its Place

There was an article in one of my city`s local papers that spoke a truth that many people want to deny. For decades women have fought for equal rights but a branch of them are not interested in equality, they want to be better. On the other end we have most men who don`t want any trouble and want to be politically correct. This article pointed out what the Church should have been teaching for years : It is not about equality because men and women are not equal in ability, but they are complimentary. Women are great at some things and men at others but when put together we make a whole. Maybe the difference is too subtle to see but it is an important difference.

God made it clear that the responsibility to lead was given to the male gender. Of course, our sinful nature took that and twisted it as it does with all good things God has called into being. However, it is also true that no man can lead properly unless his wife allows him. Yes, I said allow him. A wife can dominate her husband quite easily, and those who are married know exactly what I am talking about. Women, in disobedience to God, have all that is required to take over leadership from their husbands. It is never a question of ability and always a matter of obedience.

Women are strong, intelligent, determined, insightful, compassionate and very capable of doing anything they put their mind to. It has been that way since the beginning. Personally, considering that God made women last and gave her the ability to incubate life, I think she is his crowning glory in all of creation. But he did not intend for her to lead. It has nothing to do with being second class in the Kingdom because she is a compliment to her husband as her husband is to her. The greatest things are going to happen when a couple understand and walk in their God-appointed roles and work together instead of against each other. It is fantastic when it works; it is disastrous when it doesn`t.

Paul gave Timothy a warning about those who were teaching false things about God. Paul knew that if these men were able to capture the heart of the woman it would affect the whole family:

Some men fool whole families, just to get power over those women who are slaves of sin and are controlled by all sorts of desires. (2 Timothy 3:6)

I will tell you right now a truth that his been proven over the ages: women are the hearts of their family. They can be the worse mothers, make huge mistakes, anger their children but they will always have the hearts of their children. Forgiveness comes for a mother whether she asks for it or not. Sure, children get angry, daughters don`t talk to them for years as teenagers, but watch what happens when the hormones come back into place. I am telling you, no matter what, we love our moms. If dads make those same mistakes, look out, they`ll still be hearing about it in 40 years from now.

Why do you think the Church is filled with more women than men? I think in many ways women have a deeper understanding of God's heart. Father's love their children, work hard to give them a better life, would lay down their lives for them and cherish them dearly, but we have never had the physical bond of a mother with them.There is something to it that only God and women really understand. I marvel at it and sometimes I am envious of it, but it doesn't rob me of my responsibility to lead. I have a wife that makes sure of that, who speaks to me with great insights of how I should approach the children and how best to deal with some difficult situations, especially with my girls. She makes me a better leader and is obedient to God by allowing me to lead. But if she wanted to, she could destroy with a word.

If sin grips the heart of the woman, if she embraces false teaching and allows others to lead her astray, then the whole family is in trouble. That is my place to protect my wife, to lead, to make sure we stay in step together with the Spirit, to insure that our lives are based solidly on the Word of God. I am responsible to keep a guard over my house so that no thieves sneak in and steal away what belongs to God. I need to know and understand the desires of my wife's heart so that I can help guide in God's holiness and righteousness. There is nothing so powerful as a woman with a righteous heart and there is nothing so destructive as a woman possessed by evil desires.

The Spirit gave Paul an interesting insight as he added:

These women always want to learn something new, but they never can discover the truth. (v. 7)

Just because someone wants to learn doesn't mean they can. A life of disobedience does not allow for applied insight. The Word of God is not some great academic book to receive certificates of learning for studying it. It is not filled with theories to discuss with friends. It is not a book of philosophy to be picked apart. It is the revelation of God, about God and what he has done for us. It is something that provokes us into action. The only way to truly understand it is to have the Holy Spirit write it on your heart and to live it. Disobedience is a roadblock in this process.

So let's throw the world's definition of equality out the window along with the other philosophies of this place and let's start living the Word of God. Men and women are complimentary and we must be obedient to our roles. Maybe we are uncomfortable with them but sometimes we must do things that make us uncomfortable at first. Husband and wives were but together as a team and as a team they must walk together. When they do, great things are going to happen for the glory of God.

What's Up With Paul Telling Women To Be Quiet In The Church?

There are a few things in the Word of God that are hard for us to understand or accept in this "modern" age. One of those things is the attitude toward women. For a long time there has been a quiet debate in the Body as to the place of women. It may sound like a silly thing to discuss in an age when equal rights was dealt with a long time ago and we have moved on to other matters. However, it is still there in the Bible. What are we to do with this?

First of all, let us understand where we all are in our relationship with Jesus:

There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3:28)

There are your equal rights long before such a phrase was ever uttered. This is a wonderful passage, beautiful in it's writing and application. The context needs to be read:

You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. (Galatians 3:26-29)

Many people would like to leave it there and walk away but there are several passages that need to be dealt with that may make some people uncomfortable. Although our relationship with God puts us all on the same footing, God has set up a certain order for things in the Body of Christ in this world.

We may have messed things up with our own ideas but there is a type of authority God has put in place. Not authority as we understand authority but instead an authority of service. In order for people to receive from this authority there has to be a volunteer submission to it. For instance, within the context of the Body God has called a select number of people to act as servant authorities. They are the apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. These are the training servants to the Church, who have the responsibility to train believers in works of service. Look it up for yourself in Ephesians 4.

In this same way God has placed the husband in this servant authority to his wife. Paul commands the husband:

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church— for we are members of his body. “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband. (Ephesians 5:25-33)

I apologize that I shared so much here but it is a beautiful passage that must be read in its entirety. When a husband takes his proper place and is mature in the Lord he sees his role as fulfilling, completing and increasing his wife. His greatest joy is to offer himself to her to see her blessed, multiplied, and again I use the word, increased. But in order to receive this blessing the wife must do the same thing the Church must do with Jesus:

Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. (Ephesians 5:22-24)

It is unfortunate that we have allowed the world to taint our understanding of authority and submission because God's definition is a beautiful relationship that is not based on power but on love. Jesus does not force himself on anyone nor should he be forced on anyone. The relationship only works when, out of love, we gladly surrender ourselves to him and he in turn lavishes us with his love. This is marriage.

So now, when we read Paul's statement to Timothy we can better understand what Paul is promoting here:

A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. (1 Timothy 2:11)

"Woman" here is also translated as wife. Who is the wife suppose to be in submission to? Her husband, who is her covering, who has a relationship with her to see her increase. This is also in context to worship. The passage continues:

I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man; she must be quiet. (1 Timothy 2:12)

Understand again here that "woman" and "man" also translate as wife and husband. It is out of sync with God's order that a husband should have to be taught by his wife. The roles are reversed. Unfortunately we have a lot of that in our current age but it is seldom the woman's fault. Men do not act like real men. They shirk their responsibilities. They are lazy and do not want to take the place of authority servant. They are selfish and just want to pursue their own interests. They allow their wife to go off to church and take their place while they go golfing or watch their sports. The reason women make up so much of the leadership in churches now is because men have failed to take their place.

Not much has changed. Adam would have saved us all a lot of trouble if he had just been the man who should have been. God placed everything under his authority but he couldn't even say no to his wife when she faced temptation. He wasn't there to protect her, defend her, cover her. Oh, he was there physically but he wasn't spiritually and he allowed her to lead him instead of him leading her.

Think what you want about God's order but his Word never changes. In the context of two people filled by the Spirit of God, this is a beautiful thing. It only gets messed up when we allow selfishness, sin and the world's wisdom to enter in. Men, take your place. Love your wife in the same way Jesus loves his Bride. Give yourself fully to her and desire her increase. Women, respect you husband which is the highest form of love. Submit to him in the same manner as the Church submits to Jesus so that you may receive the blessings God will pour into you through him. Let this be done according to God's wisdom and will, not man's.