The Will of God Regarding the Roles of Obedient Men and Women, Part Two
Tempting and Deceiving: Satan’s Ongoing Strategies
“And Adam
called his wife’s name Eve; because she was the mother of all living” (Genesis
3:20). Eve allowed the most deceitful liar among the living beasts to tempt her
to the point that she sinned against the living God. The woman had ventured
away from the protection of her husband, and Satan led her down a path she
should never have ventured. The mother of all living, the helpmate of the man,
rebelled. She, knowing the undying love her husband held for her, enticed Adam to
sin. Their sinning against God altered the course of the world forever.
Satan had accomplished his goal to
spread doubt and chaos. He had successfully tempted Eve, and, through her
actions, Adam, to go against their Maker; so, they forfeited their perfect
estate and were cursed. Scripture says, “But every man is tempted when he is
drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it
bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death” (James
1:14-15). All of humankind coming after Adam and Eve would bear the fruit of
the curse. “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by
sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned” (Romans 5:12).
Because of the man, we are all guilty. The devil set the world on fire.
Satan is still the most cunning
creation God has made, and he is out to steal us from God. His tactics are
subtle, and the flesh has no power to detect the devil’s lies and tricks. The father
of lies is currently winning souls by convincing them to go against the Word of
our Lord. “And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the
Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the
earth, and his angels were cast out with him” (Revelation 12:9).
Satan’s Attack on the Woman’s Mind
The serpent’s attack worked on Eve.
Because of his success in the garden, the devil is using the same kind of
tricks to continue to lead women to rebel against the headship of men, and more
devastatingly, away from God’s will for them. While God gave men the special
privilege of protecting, loving, caring for, and leading women, men often find
themselves in a downward spiral of submitting to the weakness of the flesh. So,
women are taking the lead. The devil is loving it, because he knows that
rebellious women are, like Eve, under the influence of the devil’s lies. The
Word of God is in full effect, but because men are falling prey to the devil’s
ways and becoming weaker, the women are choosing to go their own way.
As their defiant state increases, the
mind of the woman is constantly under attack by the prince of the power of the
air; he is carrying females further and further away from God’s plan for them, to
get them to question God and to reject God’s ordained order of things. There is
perhaps no bigger fight in this age than that of the woman rebelling against
submitting herself to her husband. What they are hearing from the world is that
they must fight to prove that they are no different from men and that they can
do whatever men can do. Under the influence of the prince of darkness, women are
like runaway freight trains heading for eternal destruction.
With the fallen man’s support, the
woman’s rebellion is fully supported by him because he wants to be friends with
the world and the darkness therein. The ungodly woman’s fight is against the man’s
headship and for their own elevation to be like the man, both in power and in
status. They have given in to temptation and cannot see the trap they’ve fallen
into.
Paul spoke
of a time when people would no longer hear the truth. Some people will call you
evil and even kill you for pointing them to the truth. Humanity’s hearts have
hardened to sound doctrine.
For the time will come when they
will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to
themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears
from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. (2 Timothy 4:3-4)
We are here; we have turned away from the truth, accepting
the lies of teachers and supporters who promote the desire for all things that
satisfy our lusts and self-interests.
God’s Will for the Woman and Man
To
understand the written will of God for humankind, we must have the Holy Spirit
in us, leading, teaching, and helping us to know and believe Scripture. What is
Scripture for? “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable
for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works” (2
Timothy 3:16-17). To reject, take away from, or add to Scripture is to sin
against God. Therefore, if we want to practice righteousness, we must believe
the scriptures, which will always go against the rebellion of the flesh.
Submission and Love: Resembling the Church
The
rebellious and disobedient spirit under the influence of Satan has turned the
word submission into something ugly. However, it is God’s will that the woman
submit to her husband. The unbelieving man and woman who practice sin will
never submit to God’s will. If we don’t submit to God, we can’t possibly submit
to anyone else. James says, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the
devil, and he will flee from you” (4:7). How can we resist the devil’s tempting
us to evil if we do not submit ourselves to God? It is not possible.
Submission
doesn’t make sense to the man or woman who lives by and trusts in their own
understanding. They disobey the wisdom found in Proverbs that says, “Trust in
the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In
all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths” (3:5-6). Temptation
cannot overtake us when we submit to God.
Eve clearly had neither submitted
to her husband nor to God. Therefore, she told God, when God asked her what she
had done, “ … The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat” (Genesis 3:13). Is that still
the rebellious woman’s excuse for choosing not to submit to God? Yes. Are most
men loving their wives the way God loves the church? No. If they were,
submission would be more readily accepted. Nevertheless, whether one submits or
not, love or not, it is God’s will that submission and love align with the
church.
Submission of the Woman
The
submission of the woman to the man is God-ordained. The Book of Life has laid
out how and why the woman is to submit. It is not hate speech or derogatory to
the woman, but for her good. The following is the biblical account:
Wives, submit yourselves unto your
own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even
as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.
Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their
own husbands in every thing. (Ephesians 5:22-24)
God likens the submission of the wife to the submission of God’s
church to Christ. Submission is no small thing. It is a godly act for a woman
toward her husband, her head. Modern-day women reject that order of God. In
doing so, they make Satan their god.
The Love of the Husband
The woman defies
the Word of God because, most often, the husband’s ungodly ways turn her
against the Word. God intends for the husband to model Christ. The husband and
the wife must have the mind of Christ.
Let this mind be in you, which was
also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to
be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the
form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in
fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the
death of the cross. (Philippians 2:5-8)
A sinful mind cannot align itself with the will of God and
cannot be capable of obedience, but is full of corruption. Not possessing the
mind of Christ, the man goes his own way, and the woman chooses a different
path than the one God has chosen for her. The man cannot, then, love the wife,
and the wife will not submit to the husband. Both will move forward in error
should they remain outside of Christ. Admitting they have erred is not
something a stubborn, hard-hearted person can do, so they commit to traveling
down the path that leads to hell.
Scripture
is clear. What is not clear is the independent mind that cares nothing about godliness.
What the scriptures say regarding the love of a man for his wife is this:
Husbands, love your wives, even as
Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify
and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it
to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing;
but that it should be holy and without blemish. So ought men to love their
wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. For no man
ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the
Lord the church: For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his
bones. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be
joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery:
but I speak concerning Christ and the church. Nevertheless let every one of you
in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she
reverence her husband. (Ephesians 5:25-33)
The man has a God-given responsibility to love his wife like
Christ loves the church. The Scripture is for the souls that walk in the light.
They are understood by the righteous in Christ because the Holy Spirit is alive
within them.
Submission and Lifestyle of the Godly Woman
As humanity
continues down the dark path that leads to hell, they turn God’s word into a
lie. One of the most contested scriptures in the Bible pertains to the role of
women in the church. That scripture is, “Let the woman learn in silence with
all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over
the man, but to be in silence” (1 Timothy 2:11-12).
The Woman’s Role in the Church
Notice that the woman is not to
teach in church, nor is she to have authority over the man. A woman preaching
violates the Word of God. Women and men alike reject, twist, and even mock the
inspired Word of God concerning the woman’s role in the church. Oftentimes, male
preachers ordain their wives and daughters to take over the church or to preach
in the husband’s or father’s absence. They denounce the Word of God, defiantly
announcing to the public that they don’t see anything wrong with female preachers.
Some false prophets who feel pressured by true believers have even gone as far
as to find a way around Scripture by doing what they call ordaining women’s
gifts. Isn’t Satan such a deceitful beast?
Let your women keep silence in the
churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to
be under obedience, as also saith the law. And if they will learn anything, let
them ask their husbands at home: for it is a shame for women to speak in the
church. (1 Corinthians 14:34-35)
Women are not to speak in the church; they are to remain
silent. That is the inspired word of God. Not to speak or yell out in the
church! That means no preaching, teaching, leading prayer, no laying on of
hands, no ordering men around, no acting as a substitute in the absence of the
husband or the father. The church that openly defies God’s word is a dead church;
rather, it is not a church but the house of devils.
Why does
the word of God forbid the woman to speak or teach in church? Let us refer to
the scripture to answer that question. “For Adam was first formed, then Eve.
And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the
transgression” (1 Timothy 2:13-14). The Word is clearly stated. Still, the corrupt
man and woman continue to speak lies and believe their own lies. Paul tells
Titus, “But speak thou the things which become sound doctrine” (Titus 2:1). That
scripture is speaking to us in this present age; the Word is alive and
instructing us to live according to what God has commanded. The mind apart from
Christ cannot receive those sayings and has not believed them. Many will claim
to serve and know God, but if they denounce even one scripture, they cannot
receive any of them, as all scriptures come from God.
Accepted Behavior of the Woman
God did
intend for women to teach, but not in his church. God calls on the woman to be
obedient so that his word is not cheapened or looked upon with scorn. The
woman, whom God loves dearly, has a special role. These are the accepted
behaviors for the woman:
Behaviour as becometh holiness, not
false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things; That they may
teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their
children, To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own
husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed. (Titus 2:3-5)
If any woman is a follower of Christ, she will obey God’s
Word. She cannot preach in the church and also profess herself a child of God.
The woman who is willing to act in defiance of the Word cannot lead anyone to
Christ. Her very act of disobedience proves she is in darkness. However, the
woman and the man are responsible for spreading the word of God in their
missions to win souls to Christ, but she cannot preach in the church. The woman’s
life is a testimony to whether she is a follower of Christ.
The Dress Code for Women
How a woman
presents herself either brings honor or dishonor to her husband. The way a
woman dresses either glorifies God or reveals her rebellion. A woman who claims
to be a Christian must be godly in all her ways, including her dress. Scripture
instructs women to “adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and
sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array; But
(which becometh women professing godliness) with good works” (1 Timothy
2:9-10). Today, the godly dress code for women is hardly anywhere to be found
in this world where the devil has blinded their minds. They laugh the scripture
to scorn. Paul warns us: “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a
man soweth, that shall he also reap” (Galatians 6:7). When women dress in the
world’s clothing, they are mocking the Word. Their sin will not go unpunished.
Saved Through Childbearing
We have
already established that God’s word is life. Humankind cannot afford to forget
that truth; they cannot overstate it. Hearers and doers of the Word until the
end will receive a crown of life. Although the serpent deceived the woman, “she
shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and
holiness with sobriety” (1 Timothy 2:15). The gift from God to the woman is not
that she should hold positions of authority in the church. Instead, her
God-given gift is her ability to give birth and raise obedient children whom
she can enjoy and who can enjoy her. If she continues in that God-ordained role
and is faithful, full of love, holy, and self-controlled, she will be a godly
representative of the Word.
The Eternal Word to the Man and Woman
The Word
does not change with time, circumstances, and the craftiness of the modern man.
“Jesus Christ he same yesterday, and to day, and for ever” (Hebrews 13:8).
Jesus is the Word: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God” (John 1:1-2). There
is absolutely no change in the Word.
The Word did not come from
humankind. We act as if the Word came from us, as if we can change it whenever
we desire to promote the gospel of men. The following scripture asks a couple
of critical questions, provides a stern rebuke, and gives instructions to the hearer
and doer:
What? came the word of God out from
you? or came it unto you only? If any man think himself to be a prophet, or
spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the
commandments of the Lord. But if any man be ignorant, let him be ignorant. (1
Corinthians 14:36-38)
The world lies in darkness. It is perverse. It’s under the influence
of the devil. Therefore, we are to hold tightly to the Word of Life and “shine
as lights in the world” (Philippians 2:15). God is calling us to obedience. God
spoke to Israel, and with those exact words, He is speaking to us today.
“Hearken unto me, ye stout-hearted, that are far from righteousness” (Isaiah
46:12). Are you listening with spiritual ears? Or, will you continue in your
own way, relying on your own knowledge? If so, this Word is for you: “There is
a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of
death” (Proverbs 14:12).
All Scriptures are from the King James Version
The above photo is by August de Richelieu
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