Jesus. My radical Jesus, my Lord and Savior, the love of my life. Jesus came to set us free. One of his missions was reversing the oppression placed on women in the Old Testament. God wants us to operate in the Holy Spirit like never before. He has released authority to us-male and female. It’s time for us to come out of the shadows and operate in the light. We have been given dominion over the earth, to maintain, care for, and nurture it and everything in it. That authority and dominion is not based on our gender. It’s based on our belief in and acceptance of almighty God! The enemy tricked Adam and Eve out of that authority, but Jesus restored it to us.
After Adam and Eve sinned, God laid out the consequences of their actions (Genesis 3:9-16). He didn’t desire bad things for them. They’d just removed themselves from the place of good. They’d broken their covenant with the Father. God told Eve, [T]hy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee (Genesis 3:16). This was a consequence of sin! At no time before this had Adam ever ruled over Eve. Rank, domination, and hierarchy were only experienced after the covenant with God was broken. Only then did male rule and female subordination replace God’s original design of co-leadership. Life after the fall opened the door to the spirit of patriarchy, and mankind was alienated from God. Men ruled over women, and women became dependent. As a result, the woman turned to her husband for what she really needed from God. Domination began here, but this was never God’s best for men or women.
Again, the Hebrew word, is the same word that God used to refer to himself: as a strong rescuer and help. If the woman was so evil and inferior, then why did God make this connection and refer to the woman the same way he referred to himself? This is what I mean by renewing our minds. We have to change our mindset as it concerns the roles each gender plays in the body of Christ. We have to be enlightened and aware of how the enemy tries to deceive us and how God wants us to truly operate. ‑Excerpts taken Chapter 3 of Gender Roles
Oppression and inferiority are not from God. They are a result of sin, but walking in the light of this glorious gospel sets us free from oppression and inferiority. Have you been oppressed by old mindsets? Have you struggled with feelings of inferiority? If so, leave a comment below. I’d love to hear from you.
