God’s Design for Women • 07.03.22
Nick Lees   -   July 3, 2022

God’s Design for Women
Genesis 1:26-2:25

Embracing the truth of God’s good design for women

  1. God created woman in his image and likeness
  2. God gave woman particular callings
  3. God did not make woman self-sufficient
  4. Woman turned against God’s design
  5. God provides His Son as the redeemer of woman

 

If you’re new, welcome! My name is Nick Lees and I serve as the senior pastor. I have the privilege of studying God’s Word with you this morning. This is our 3rd week on Biblical Roles: God’s Good Design. The format for this series is different than our usual preaching style. Rather than going verse-by-verse through a book of the Bible, we’re going to trace an idea throughout Scripture. Over the last two weeks, we’ve studied God’s Design and Plan for men. Now we’re turning our attention to God’s Design for Women, as revealed in the book of Genesis. Then, next week, we’ll go wider as we study God’s Plan for Women by looking at how she is called to relate to God and others in the various roles she inhabits. If you’re paying attention, this is the same format that we utilized when discussing men! That was intentional. We want to be consistent in how we evaluate the design and plan of God for both men and women. As we’ll see, there are plenty of areas of overlap in the way God designed and called us, yet there are also beautiful distinctions that we must celebrate and learn to embrace.

Before we go any further…

Ushers + Bibles (Genesis 1 – Pg 1 of Blue Bibles)

Two weeks ago, when we began this series, I shared the preamble from The Nashville Statement. It highlighted for us the incredible move that our culture has taken away from the beauty of God’s design for human life.  Many today deny that God created human beings in his image and for his glory. Included in this abandonment of biblical ideals is the value of our design as male and female. Identity and gender are now viewed as fluid and linked to our preferences rather than to God’s design and our biology.

Frankly, the cost of such redefinition of our personhood and humanity is incredibly high! Rather than experiencing God’s good design for his creation, we have chosen shortsighted alternatives that eventually ruin human life and dishonor God. The questions asked the preamble of the Nashville Statement were as follows:

Will the church of the Lord Jesus Christ lose her biblical conviction, clarity, and courage, and blend into the spirit of the age? Or will she hold fast to the word of life, draw courage from Jesus, and unashamedly proclaim his way as the way of life? Will she maintain her clear, counter-cultural witness to a world that seems bent on ruin?

Our answer must be – “Lord, help us! Help us to hold fast in biblical conviction, clarity, and courage. Help us to hold fast to the word of life, draw courage from Jesus, and unashamedly proclaim your way as the way of life. May we be a clear, counter-cultural witness to our world. Help us to represent you in love and truth!”

As part of this answer, we are preaching through this series on Biblical Roles: God’s Good Design. We must know how God made us and why he made us the way he did if we’re going to joyfully adopt our roles and callings in creation. The truth of God’s Word must guide our every step in this life, and that includes the beautiful creation account of Genesis, especially our design as male and female. God is our Creator, and he has told us who we are and how we are to live. Again, we agree with the authors of the Nashville Statement when they said:

We believe that God’s design for his creation and his way of salvation serve to bring him the greatest glory and bring us the greatest good. God’s good plan provides us with the greatest freedom. Jesus said he came that we might have life and have it in overflowing measure. He is for us and not against us.

Now, when we started this series two weeks ago, I also put my cards on the table, so to speak. I want to revisit that again today for anyone who wasn’t here then. Here at Harvest Bible Chapel, we believe that there are only two genders, male and female, as designed by God and revealed in His Word. As we dive into the discussion of God’s Good Design in biblical roles, there are generally two broad approaches within Christianity to these issues. These approaches are known as:

  • Complementarian
  • Egalitarian

The complementarian position believes that God created men and women as equal yet distinct image-bearers of God. Meaning men and women have equal value, worth, and dignity in God’s sight – one is not better than the other. However, there are distinct and complementary roles for each one. Complementarians believe that the gender roles found in the Bible are purposeful and meaningful distinctions that, when applied in the home and church, promote the spiritual health of both men and women. Embracing the divinely ordained roles of men and women furthers the ministry of God’s people and allows men and women to reach their God-given potential.

The egalitarian position believes that God created men and women as equal without gender distinctions. There is no distinction between men and women in equality or in function/role. This position asserts that the fall of man in Genesis 3 introduced disorder and hierarchy into the relationship of the man and woman that wasn’t present prior to the fall and that Christ’s coming removes those distinctions.

Whichever position you adopt will influence the way you view marriage and gender roles within the church and society. Our church believes and teaches the complementarian position. We believe it is the most faithful interpretation of the Scriptures that reveals a beautiful plan of God for how men and women relate to one another. Complementarianism seeks to preserve the biblical differences between men’s and women’s roles while valuing the quality and importance of both genders. The result of true complementarianism is honor to Christ and harmony in the church and in the home.

With all that being said, let’s dig into God’s Word in Genesis 1. If you’re not familiar with Genesis 1, it is the recounting of the Creation. How God spoke all things into existence. There are six days of creative work and one day of rest. We’re going to pick up on Day 6, the last day of Creation, where God creates humans. As I read this, I want you to pay attention for truths about God’s good design for women.

Genesis 1:26–31 (ESV)

26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

27     So God created man in his own image,

in the image of God he created him;

male and female he created them.

28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” 29 And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. 30 And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. 31 And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

The first two chapters of Genesis reveal God’s good design, not just for humanity but also for the rest of creation. There are so many things to be amazed by. I was challenged by Rebekah Merkle, author of the book Eve in Exile, who pointed out that so many find the rest of God’s design exciting and beautiful but then act as if he somehow got it wrong with the roles of men and women. As if they were an afterthought of some sort! Of course not, the role of men and women are woven into God’s Creation plan. So, our aim today is…

Embracing the truth of God’s good design for women

Not just acknowledging it intellectually but embracing it – agreeing with God – this is very good!

What elements of God’s good design for women do we see in Genesis 1? Let’s start with…

  1. God created woman in his image and likeness

Verse 27 tells us that God is the creator of woman. Just like man, woman did not come from an ape. The perfect Holy Creator made her. And listen to how he did it in chapter 2.

Genesis 2:18–22 (ESV)

18 Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.” 19 Now out of the ground the Lord God had formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. 20 The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him. 21 So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. 22 And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man.

No helper was fit for him! The narrator gives you a moment of dismay with this statement. What will God do?! Where is Adam’s companion and life partner? God has a beautiful plan! God performs a divine rib removal. The Garden of Eden is the first operating room and God is the divine surgeon 😊 And from that rib, he does what no one else could do – he makes it into a woman! There is a real sense of closeness in the way that this creation takes place. Woman is from man. Just by the way she is made, they are already deeply connected. There is incredible value placed upon woman as a creation from God in this narrative!

Not only did God create woman, but as we heard…

  1. God created woman in his image and likeness

Verses 26 and 27 tell us that woman was made in God’s image and likeness. Meaning women have the privilege of being the visible representatives of the invisible God. There is no other part of Creation quite like humans. We have been set apart by God to represent Him to the watching world around us.

There are things about woman that reflect the beauty of the Creator. Woman’s ability to speak, reason, rule, and demonstrate character qualities consistent with God are all part of what it means for woman to be in the image and likeness of God. Woman as a complete being, body and soul, is set above all the rest of Creation.

We also read “male and female he created them.” We discussed this previously. God created gender. He made two genders, male and female, and they are both equal image-bearers of God.

And, as we read in verse 28, God blessed them and part of his command to them was to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. This is known as the Creation mandate. God’s desire was that humanity would populate the earth with more image-bearers of God. Everywhere humans spread, there would be reminders of the God who made them and rules over all.

In light of the recent SCOTUS ruling overturning Roe v. Wade, it is important to remember that these passages form the basis of our understanding of the value of all human life. All men and women are made in the image of God and therefore have inherit dignity and worth. From the moment of conception to the end of our life we are image-bearers of the Creator. As Christians, we must treat all our fellow image-bearers with the dignity that is due to them, even if they hate the God who made them and those of us who worship him.

If any of this has made you uncomfortable so far, it is illustrative of how much our culture’s opinions have influenced you. What I’ve laid out so far are foundational teachings from God’s Word. These matters ought to be incredibly clear for Christians and we ought not to compromise on them.

Let’s get back to the text of Genesis…

As a being created in God’s image and likeness, Scripture also tells us that…

  1. God gave woman particular callings

There are callings or duties that woman is expected to exercise on earth. One of the primary callings is to have dominion or to rule over the earth. We see that in 1:26 and 1:28.

One of the ways woman is an image-bearer of God is in her authority over the creation. God has delegated authority to woman to rule over the earth. Woman is expected to cultivate and care for the world God has created. As we said with man, dominion is not a license for exploitation. We were not created to run this earth into the ground. We are expected to cultivate the land and bring forth a bountiful harvest from it. Woman is a thinking and creative being meant to innovate and develop the earth. In doing this, you glorify God. He created you to fill the earth, explore it and unlock its possibilities, and then to make beautiful things/societies from it.

Whether farmer or engineer, teacher or tradesman, artist or inventor, homemaker or mother you have been tasked with taking what God has supplied you and doing something creative with it! Ladies, it is good to exercise the skills and abilities God has entrusted to you for his glory! Raise up a crop. Teach the next generation. Build amazing architecture. Cultivate a hospitable home. Nurture a healthy family. But by all means, do not be lazy. Don’t be a freeloader. You were made to help subdue the earth. Nothing about that task is easy. It requires intense effort for an extended period of time. And all that God calls you to, he equips you for. So, ladies, rise up and subdue the earth!

Another calling of God for woman is to help fill the earth, again as seen in Genesis 1:28. Just as man could not subdue the earth on his own, he cannot fill the earth on his own either. They need one another to be fruitful and multiply. This is a work they can only do together. It is a beautiful design!

However, this is an area of God’s good design that has been under attack for quite some time now. We see this battle raging in our day, as women fight for their supposed “right” to only fill the earth when they desire to do so. What started in early feminism as an argument to have control over childbearing has extended to the push for birth control and easy access to abortion. Under the guise of sexual freedom, we now see the demand for birth control and abortion as basic human rights… and yet this is a rebellion against the very calling of God for woman to be fruitful and multiply.

God’s good design for woman is to have babies. That’s clear from the very first pages of Scripture and it is also hard-wired into the biology of a woman. Despite our culture’s false narrative about “birthing-people” the entire world still knows that only a woman can gestate a baby, give birth to a baby, and nurse a baby. No matter how hard you try, you cannot have a biological male do any of that. God even built in a monthly reminder of this part of his design for women. *Pause*

Now, I know this is a sensitive topic. Unfortunately, sin has broken much in our world. There are women who desire to have children and yet have not had that desire fulfilled. There are women who have gotten pregnant and never been able to hold a healthy baby in their arms nine months later. There are women who have faced incredibly difficult decisions regarding the continuation of a pregnancy that may cost them or their baby their lives. I’m sure there are many other scenarios I’m failing to mention… My point is this…

We must grieve with these women and their families. This brokenness is a result of the fall. Sin’s curse extends far and wide, including the breakdown of our own bodies against our will. Ladies, if this is your situation, please know that our pastor team and SG leaders and biblical counselors are here for you. We have resources in the library on miscarriage and infertility. We do not want you to go through these trials alone, as so many do. They are often the unspoken sufferers in the church. Please let us walk with you in the hard seasons of life. God has hope and comfort to offer you in time of need. *Pause*

Underlying both callings has been the teaching of Genesis 2:18.

Genesis 2:18 (ESV)

18 Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.”

God created woman to be a helper fit for man. For some of you, that statement provokes an immediate reaction. Our culture would tell you to start grinding your ax. Off with my head!

Feminists hate this word or concept. They believe the term helper is demeaning and somehow makes a statement about woman being inferior to man. It most certainly does not imply either of those things. Please realize what is at stake with the battle over the term “helper” – either we agree with God’s good design as revealed in his Word or we rebel against it! That’s no small matter!

Here are some very important observations about this role of helper. First, as God started in verse 18, the situation without woman “was not good”. God realized that woman was a necessary and valuable part of his creation! She is a helper fit for or “corresponding to man”. This is the complementarian view in a nutshell – man needs woman and woman needs man. They have been supernaturally designed to complement or complete one another! The world is a better place because women are in it. Can I get a hearty AMEN from all the men in the room?!

Godly men recognize their weaknesses and need for help. This isn’t about some sort of superiority/inferiority complex between the sexes. God simply saw that man alone wasn’t sufficient and made woman to complement/complete him, thereby bringing fullness and goodness to the creation! How sweet is that!?

Another observation is that the role of helper implies the woman has strengths that are different and complementary to the man. There is a reason God made woman and not a second man. Woman was needed for her complementary design! Man and woman don’t have to be the same, there is divine design and beauty in their differences and strengths/giftings. Ironically, in a society that says it prizes diversity, we work incredibly hard to minimize the differences between men and women, seeking to make them functionally the same! It’s an illogical approach to the issue of manhood and womanhood and it greatly diminishes the beauty and value of women to make them just like men (or vice-versa).

For the sake of time, we must keep moving. There is more to say about God’s good design for women. Not only did he create woman in his image and likeness and give woman particular callings, God also did not make woman to operate all by herself… As we’ve already been discussing, God created woman to rule side-by-side with man and to fill the earth and subdue it. These are activities that cannot be done alone, therefore we conclude and embrace the truth that…

  1. God did not make woman self–sufficient

Despite what feminists would have you think – woman is not a superior being to man, nor a carbon copy of man, they are a unique and beautifully different being than man. Equal yet distinct.

And man and woman need one another. Without one another the human race would cease to exist. Without one another the existence of the human race would be much duller – if every utensil in your kitchen is a fork, how in the world do you enjoy soup!? How do you cut a loaf of bread? If every tool in your toolbox is a hammer, how do you hang a sheet of drywall?! How do you tile a floor? The answer is – you don’t. You are limited in what you can do and enjoy. Hopefully you get the point. God has made us beautifully different and dependent on one another. Woman needs man just as man needs woman. And the world is more beautiful and better for it.

Biblical womanhood does not allow for any sort of superiority complex. “I’m a strong, independent woman who don’t need no man!” Nope, you’re wrong. You need others in your life. Just as the first man needed the woman and the woman needed the man, so we need relationships and companionship today. In the context of how men and women relate to one another, this passage is a reminder that both are equally important and inter-dependent on one another. Humans simply were not made to go at life alone. This is not saying that all of us must be married. It simply means we were made for relationships! But when it comes to marriage, women need men. Biblical womanhood embraces the beauty and joy of being a helper in the task of filling and subduing the earth.

Ladies, it is important for you to humbly recognize your lack of self-sufficiency. Puffing yourself up and pretending that you can take on the world by yourself goes directly against God’s design. Wise King Solomon put it this way in Ecclesiastes:

Ecclesiastes 4:9–12 (ESV)

9 Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. 10 For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! 11 Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? 12 And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

There is strength and protection in relationship. Whether that is between man and woman in a marriage or in the variety of other relationships that we engage in throughout life, we need one another. There is no place for proud self-sufficiency in a godly woman.

Ladies, you’ve got to be willing to let others in. Whether you’re a loner or an introvert or simply busy with a career, family, or other demands in life, you are not made to do it alone! Life is so much richer when you allow others to walk with you. As Solomon stated, there is strength in numbers and relationships. I know that it will be tempting to think, “I’m too busy for that. I have enough going on as it is.” If you don’t have time for relationships, then perhaps it’s you who needs to change. Maybe you’ve overcommitted in certain areas of life. Or perhaps you’ve made your life seem busier than it really is… being worked up over issues that should not prevent you from relationships. I’ve seen this happen often with new moms. Life after baby is hard, no doubt. But it is no excuse to withdraw from relationships. That is the time when you need people in your corner to walk through all the changes with you! You’ll need sound counselors who can help you navigate parenting and post-partum depression (if you struggle with it) and the changes that come to your marriage and family unit.

Regardless of your life situation, ladies, you need women who can speak freely into your life and challenge you to grow as a woman of God. Do you have relationships like that in your life? If not, what is keeping you from them? I want to encourage you to figure that out and pick someone to let into your life. Be intentional to spend time with them, growing in your walk with Christ and in life together. *Pause*

We must keep moving! There is so much to say on this topic… I hate to tell you this, but after the creation ideals of Genesis 1-2 comes the rebellion of woman in Chapter 3. You see, woman did not successfully submit to God’s plan, but instead…

  1. Woman turned against God’s design

This is seen in Genesis 3:1-12. For the sake of time, I’m not going to read it today. Write Genesis 3:1-12 next to this point and you can go back and review it in detail later. What I want to point out from this chapter is the elements of woman’s rebellion. These elements show up in the struggles you face as women to this day!

In verses 1-7 we see that woman listened to the snake instead of God. She was deceived by the snake and began to doubt God’s truthfulness. This was her undoing! This is a key reminder that your first allegiance is always to God. Godly women prioritize God’s Word. They obey God first and foremost and when the culture or other voices contradict God, a godly woman sides with God! There is a real war in this area, ladies. You’ve got to be alert to it!

Unfortunately, Genesis 3 reveals that man and woman go on to disobey God! Eve was deceived and then invited Adam to participate in her rebellion. And now they know evil. Which humanity has struggled with ever since this first sin in the Garden.

Not only did woman listen to the snake instead of God, she also hid from God. We see this in verses 8-10. When God came walking through the garden, man and woman hid themselves from God! Instead of delighting in her Creator, she was now ashamed of her nakedness. Rather than helping her husband confess sin and obey God, she helped him sin by fleeing with him in rebellion. Ladies, are you helping others handle sin God’s way or are you enabling sin? You have incredible influence, use it wisely!

Unfortunately, the woman went further in the wrong direction. Not only did she hide from God, she also blamed the serpent rather than taking ownership. When God questioned the woman on what she had done in verse 13 her response was, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” Rather than taking ownership for her disobedience, she points her finger at the serpent/Satan and blames him. Her response lacks humility that leads to confession and repentance.

When I meet with couples to work through marital conflict and issues, I always remind them that they are responsible for their own speech and behaviors. God never gives us an excuse in Scripture to point our finger at others and say, “It’s their fault! They made me do it!” Rather, what we see is that godly men and women take ownership for their part of the problem! Ladies, you must take the log out of your own eye before trying to take the speck out of anyone else’s eye. Whether it’s marital conflict or an older child who is acting out or a conflict with a co-worker/neighbor, a godly woman first turns the magnifying glass on herself and asks, “How did I contribute to this problem? Are there any ways that I need to confess/ask forgiveness/change?” That is the position of humility, and it pleases God. That is what the first woman did not do.

The result of this was that her calling became harder. Let’s look at Genesis 3:16.

Genesis 3:16 (ESV)

16 To the woman he said,

        “I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing;

in pain you shall bring forth children.

        Your desire shall be contrary to your husband,

but he shall rule over you.”

Notice that the curse affects both childbearing and helping – two key components of woman’s calling. And this curse has been woman’s reality since Genesis 3.

God’s design for woman as a bearer of children is reinforced here. Unfortunately, as we’ve already discussed, sin has made this process painful and complicated.

Not only that, but sin has corrupted the desires of both man and woman when it comes to their relationship to one another. Rather than delighting to help, the woman shall desire to manipulate her husband, either by fighting to lead or with pleasing passivity, and he will respond by being domineering to her. Sin tempts the woman to contest God’s good design for the man to lead.

The desire to rule rather than help leads to all kinds of perversions. One such example is women forsaking or disdaining their womanhood. Rather than valuing the way God has made them, women believe they have a better way. They buy into the lies of our culture that a woman should be like a man but better.

Now, there is nothing preventing a woman from using her time, talents, and treasure in the working world. However, there are some very real and serious consequences when she does that at the expense of her marriage, home, and family.

It is very tempting for a woman to have dominion for her sake rather than God’s glory. To build a career for selfish reasons rather than following the example of the Proverbs 31 woman who had an industrious life for her family’s benefit. There is a key difference in the goal of the dominion! Your good and glory or the glory of God and good of others! This is a real perversion of womanhood that you must be on the lookout for, ladies!

Beware the temptation to worship self by building your own kingdom, rather than worshiping the Lord by serving his kingdom. What is the end goal of your dominion? Are you dominating that job for your glory or his? For the benefit of your namesake or your family? Do you bristle at the idea of cultivating a marriage or home or family? Does that sound inferior to you than cultivating a career? If so, you’ve been deceived by the lies of our culture.

God has created you with incredible character and know-how and abilities, but he has also given you direction for how to use them. Make sure you’re allowing his good design to inform your thinking about these matters. Titus 2 has some clear instructions on how both men and women are to conduct themselves in this life. You might be surprised at how clearly God emphasizes the home as the primary domain for a woman to exercise dominion and cultivate a beautiful harvest of righteousness.

I do want to recommend Eve in Exile by Rebekah Merkle on this topic. Either in book format or in the video documentary through Canon Press. Written by a woman, Rebekah Merkle understands both the push of culture informed by feminism and the beauty of God’s design. She is able to articulate the beauty of God’s design in such a powerful manner. She understands the influences that tell you to disdain the beauty of biblical womanhood and speaks right into them. I cannot recommend this enough.

It is a fairly easy read and I was in tears by the time I finished it. Tears of conviction for my lack of faith in God’s ability to redeem our broken nation. Tears of hope and joy at what could be if women in our nation had an accurate understanding and application of their design and calling from God. Women are incredibly powerful and when in unison, that power can be incredibly destructive or incredibly life-giving.

Women have a powerful influence when they expend their time, talent, and treasure in the realms to which God has called them. Their incredible creative power and beauty is capable of producing wonderful fruit in the workplace, in their marriages, in their home, and in their families. But none of this will happen apart from God’s work in you. This is not something you can achieve in your own strength or by following the world’s sinful direction.

There is so much more still to be said on this topic. Which is why we’re having another sermon on it next week to get further into the details! But before we wrap up today, I must share one final truth about God’s good design for women that we must embrace. It is found in Genesis 3:15 where God is speaking to the serpent (Satan):

Genesis 3:15 (ESV)

15     I will put enmity between you and the woman,

and between your offspring and her offspring;

        he shall bruise your head,

and you shall bruise his heel.”

This is what is often referred to as the protoevangelium. Meaning the first gospel. It is the indicator that God is sending someone to defeat the power of sin and death.

Here’s the truth to embrace:

  1. God provides His Son as the redeemer of woman

We know from the pages of the New Testament that God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, as the fulfillment of this promise in Genesis 3:15. Jesus, born of a woman, came to redeem women.

I love the example we find in John 4. There Jesus initiates an interaction with a Samaritan woman at a well. This would have been unheard of in those days, at least in a positive manner. She even asks why he would talk to her! His purpose was not primarily to receive a drink of water from her, but rather to tell her about the living water that he had to offer her. Jesus went on to reveal personal details of her life to convict her of her sin and his identity as the Messiah. He was pointing out her need to repent and believe in him, for he is the redeemer of women!

Which brings me to this familiar passage that we keep bringing up:

Romans 3:23 (ESV)

23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Here’s an unpopular message this morning – women are sinners. Just like men, you need the redemption of Christ. Here’s the hope that Jesus provides for women and men:

Romans 10:9–10 (ESV)

9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.

The call to confess sin and believe in Jesus is for women. The call to turn away from sin and live to please Jesus is for women. Has there been a definite time in your life where you’ve admitted your sin and need for Jesus to save you? If not, what’s stopping you today? If you have questions, I would love to talk with you further about that. *Pause*

The Bible gives us snippets of Jesus’ interactions with women. Luke 8:1-3 reveals that Jesus called women to follow him and they were instrumental in supporting his earthly ministry! Jesus not only redeemed women, he partnered with them to accomplish the mission!

Another such interaction occurs in Luke 10:38-42, where Jesus visits Martha & Mary in their home. Martha had invited Jesus in (showing hospitality by the way) to provide him a place to teach. While there, Jesus personally counseled Martha through a conflict she had with Mary and encouraged Mary to be present at his teachings. He did not treat women as if they were lesser, but rather gave them his time and attention!

Then, after his death and resurrection, Jesus first appeared to women. Luke 24 records this for us. The primacy of women witnesses to the resurrection is a powerful statement about the value of women to Jesus and Christianity! In those days, in that culture, women were not considered legal witnesses and their testimony would not have been valid. But Jesus doesn’t care! He values women and is their redeemer, so he personally appears to them to show his resurrection power!

And, as you would expect, the result of Jesus’ redemption of women is that they are called into service as disciple-makers of Christ. The Great Commission is for women. The call to be ambassadors for Christ is for women.

Ladies, do not diminish the beauty of God’s good design for you. Do not buy into the lies of our culture about what a woman is or is not. They are so confused on this matter that they can’t give you a consistent answer anyways. But God’s Word is truth. And he has a glorious design for women. Embrace the truth of God’s good design.

Let’s pray.

Pray

  • Pray for salvation
  • Pray for walking humbly with our God
    • To joyfully embrace his design
    • To confess and forsake selfishness and sin
    • To follow Christ as redeemer
    • To invite others in to our lives to walk this journey alongside of us
  • Thank Jesus for his example and redemption!