Women Redeemed from the Curse

 When Jesus died on the cross, the totally innocent Son of God had to suffer the ultimate injustice. Through his unjust death, Jesus took upon himself the punishment we deserved for our sins.

The only completely innocent man of all time died an agonising death so that all guilty men and women could be freed from God's judgement.

With his voluntary death, Jesus began to free people from all the curses and injustices that began with original sin.  

The first injustice was foretold by God himself.

To the woman he said, “I will make your pains in childbearing very severe; with painful labour you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.” Gen 3:16 NIV

It was not God's command that men should rule over women. After the original sin, the character of men was corrupted. Men's greater physical strength was used to dominate women, which was never God's intention.

But millions of men have harshly dominated their wives. For thousands of years, women have been treated as second-class human beings.

In the Bible, Jewish women were also victims of harsh discrimination, but in Christian history and also in our time, we see that many Christians still do not understand that God created us for partnership and not for the subordination of women.

In the Bible, new beginnings are of particular importance. As his first act after his resurrection, Jesus restored the equality of women.

Mary Magdalene was chosen by Jesus as the first person to proclaim his resurrection, not Peter or John, and not even Mary, his mother.

Mary Magdalene thought Jesus was the gardener. The first gardener was Adam, and Paul teaches us that Jesus is the last Adam. This means that Jesus is the beginning of the new humanity.

So it is written: “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. 1 Cor 15:45 NIV

For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. 1 Cor 15:22 NIV

Adam was the first man and the father of all men. He was without sin until he succumbed to temptation.

Jesus came as the second man without sin and he resisted all temptations.

Jesus came to give all of us men, women and children the innocence and glory of the original creation. He came to create a wonderful new humanity, a humanity where men and women can fulfil their potential in equality, freedom and partnership.

When Mary Magdalene announced to the apostles that Jesus had risen, they did not believe.

Later Jesus appeared to the Eleven as they were eating; he rebuked them for their lack of faith and their stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen him after he had risen. Mk 16:14 NIV

What did Jesus want to teach us? From now on, pastors and apostles must also take women seriously. The curse of male domination is over as far as God is concerned. Many Christians are slow to understand this.

Christian Feminism. From the World of from God?

 Many conservative Christians believe that feminism is anti-Christian and has its origins in radical secular social reform movements.

Some radical feminists around the world aggressively promote abortion and gay marriage.

But who were the real pioneers of the movement that paved the way for women's equality?

250 years ago, John Wesley started adult Bible classes. Many of the groups were led by women.

The first college in North America where men and women studied together was founded by the famous revivalist preacher Charles Finney. At Finney's college, men and women, black and white, studied in the same classes.

In North America, Charles Finney and DL Moody trained women preachers. In England, William Booth promoted women preachers and women in leadership.

A. B. Simpson, the founder of the Christian Missionary Alliance (CMA), included women at all levels of his leadership.

Sadly, the organisations founded by Moody and others later reversed the policy of promoting women.

In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, there were many Christian missionaries in China. There were twice as many women as men.

Women were only allowed to proselytise among women. So Chinese Christian women became the majority. Now, despite communist persecution, there are more than 50,000 house churches. More than 75% of the pastors and leaders are women.

The equality of women does not come from the world, but from God.

There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

What does 'no difference' mean? Of course mothers are women and fathers are men.

But women and men should have equal authority in marriage, in the family, in the church, in politics, in society, in the office, in Christian leadership and in all areas of ministry.

Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. Eph 5:21 NIV

you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 1 Pet 2:5 NIV

All believers are a priesthood. That includes men and women, ordained and lay members.

So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.
God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” Gen 1:27–28 NIV

Men and women are both in the image of God, called to exercise the same authority.

Authority of Believers

 In 1965, a powerful revival emerged in Timor, Indonesia.

Local evangelists went around preaching the gospel. Sick people were healed, dead bodies were raised to life.

Two missionaries were threatened by crocodiles. One of the Christians ordered the crocodiles to turn round and move away. The crocodiles obeyed simply because a believing Christian had exercised his authority in Christ.

In Romans, we see that all Christians, including women, are called to be adopted sons of God.
What does that mean?

In the Roman Empire, an adopted son had all the rights of a natural son. He was the heir of his adopting father. He was to inherit everything after the father's death and exercise the authority of the Lord of the family.

If we understand this correctly, women were also included. This was a radical concept at the time, because daughters never had the same rights as sons.

In Genesis, we read that God created the first human beings as man and woman, that both man and woman were created in God's image, that both man and woman were to rule over God's earthly creation.

So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.

God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” Gen 1:27–28 NIV

From the very beginning, God created both man and woman with the mandate that they should rule and reign, but they were not to exercise this rule independently, but as God's children and partners, as God's representatives on earth, to implement God's authority.

We still see humans dominating nature today, but this dominion has become corrupt and ugly. We struggle to conquer and exploit the environment. Our planet is now being progressively ruined by pollution and climate change.

But it wasn't like this in the beginning. Adam and Eve lived fearlessly with lions and tigers.
But then people no longer trusted God. Sin has corrupted us.

In the Old Testament, we read how God never abandoned his original plan.

The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. Is 11:6 NIV

This is how it was in the beginning, before the fall of man. Adam and Eve did not need a gun and a whip to control a tiger.

Because of Adam and Eve's sin, we humans lost our fellowship with God and also our authority to rule as God's representatives on earth.

But after the death and resurrection of Jesus, God gave back everything we had lost. All we have to do is repent and trust God.

Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. Rom 5:1 NLT

Those who trust Jesus with their whole life are reconciled with God. Not only can we enjoy fellowship with our heavenly Father. We also have the privilege of adopted sons to reign with Jesus.

For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ. Rom 5:17 NLT

Unfortunately, not all Christians have fully grasped this truth, but some have.