The Status of Women: In Church or In Christ? (Part 1)

“Jesus always showed the greatest esteem and the greatest respect for woman, for every woman, and in particular He was sensitive to female suffering. Going beyond the religious and social barriers of the time, Jesus re-established woman in her full dignity as a human person before God and before men.” ~ Pope John Paul II

For centuries, the debate has gone on concerning women’s role and status in church. Woman’s identity, status, position and authority has constantly been questioned and argued about for ages, especially concerning women in leadership. While the secular world is making room for women, giving them the right to vote, education, equal opportunities in employment, etc, the Church of Jesus Christ continues to struggle and sometimes fight over the ‘women issue!’

Many Christian leaders find the issue uncomfortable to deal with and would do anything to avoid it. Women who rise up to address the subject and to advocate for change are often described as Christian feminist. Thus Christian women who are using their qualifications, gifts, talents and abilities effectively and efficiently in the secular world, find themselves in church just warming the pews. Many have no desire or ambition to serve the Lord, apart from the ‘usual’ tasks often assigned to women, e.g., hospitality, stewarding/ushering, Sunday School and crèche. It is a real challenge to get women to rise up beyond those assigned tasks, to engage more effectively in true service to Christ. Those who, indeed, rise up are challenged by the limitations imposed on them or the level of control they encounter.

A Typical Experience

The leadership of the women’s department of a particular church approached me to support them in developing their ministry. For so long, the ministry had confined themselves to cooking, baking, knitting, pampering, etc. Even their retreats had given more priority to some of these things than spiritual growth and development. Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with women incorporating these activities in their agenda. There is everything wrong, when these activities are constantly or deliberately given priority over spiritual growth and development!

Anyway, I explained to the leaders who approached me, that as a ministry their focus should extend beyond themselves and the walls of their church. I challenged them to help the women grow in the things of God and to stir up a desire in them to know and serve Him better. Of course, they were very pleased and excited and came up with a quarterly agenda that included spiritual growth, evangelism/outreach (targeting the area around the church) and fun (including pampering, massages, etc). We all thought it was a great plan and the women’s leadership team began to work to bring it to fruition.

Unfortunately, the Church leadership, which consisted only of men, felt very ‘uncomfortable’ with the agenda and decided to scrap it. To them the women were getting out of line and working outside the remit of the women’s ministry! Eventually that particular women’s ministry leadership team was removed from office, and replaced by a more ‘comfortable’ one.

The sad truth is that there are still leaders out there who would rather control and make every effort to keep women ‘in their place,’ than disciple, empower and release them to serve the Lord. This has resulted in many women being self and church focused rather than God’s kingdom focused and bearing very little fruit for the kingdom.

Again, the sad truth is that by limiting and under-utilizing the gifts and talents of women, the Church has operated under-capacity and not been fully effective. Unfortunately, this is one of the major setbacks to the Church’s fulfilment of Christ’s Great Commission (Matt 28:16-20). For far too long, more than half of God’s workforce has been made redundant, whilst the other half has struggled to get the work done. This too IS NOT GOOD…!!!

Two Types of Women in Church

The above incident is not an isolated one. Wherever I go, I meet two types of women in church:

1. Those who have settled and cannot see beyond the walls of their churches. Some are indifferent, apathetic and self-focused. Many come because of a need they hope will be met by the church. Some of these women come to church on Sundays as part as their social life. There are others who, like the biblical Martha, get very busy in church, but are very religious and have no real personal experience of Jesus Christ and no revelation of His kingdom and their place in it!
2. Then there are those who are hungry and want more from God. There is a frustration in their hearts, as the feel there must be much more for them to do for the Lord. These women are often labelled as rebellious or troublemakers.

The Issue at Stake

However, a careful look at the issue at stake highlights a fundamental problem in the definition of our status as Christian women. The debate that has raged for centuries and has hindered many women has been about women’s status in Church. However, upon closer scrutiny it is very obvious that the issue is not just about the status of women in church. Underlining this debate must be a far higher and more crucial concern, that is, the status and identity of women in Christ.

The following points will explain what I mean…

1. The argument about a woman’s place and position in God’s kingdom has, so far, been determined by the status and identity of women in Church. This has been based on specific instructions, seemingly given by the Apostle Paul in 1 Timothy Chapter 2, regarding the behaviour of some women in church. It appears these instructions, and a few others, have been the determining factor in how far women can go in pursuing the work of the kingdom.
2. For so long, women have been told “You can only come so far in church because you are a woman. You can only do so much because of your gender. God has set the protocol and status quo, and you have to accept that”. Many have been vigilant in enforcing, what to them, are God’s boundaries and limitations set for women within the Church.
3. God-given gifts, abilities, talents, grace, callings and anointing are non-consequential. What matters is that women stay and remain in their ‘place’ in church.

 The question is this: must this continue to be the predominant factor in defining the role of women in the Body of Christ, whilst the Gospel remains hindered and un-preached and the world is perishing? I do not think so! I believe there is a far more vital and conclusive determining factor in the argument about women’s place and role, that is, THE STATUS AND IDENTITY OF WOMEN IN CHRIST!

You Must Remember You Are Baptist First

I had another experience which, though a bit funny, is still very sad. A few years ago, we travelled to a country in Africa to run our Free to Serve Discipleship Course. I will not tell you which country because this is not to expose them, but just to use the experience as reference. Over 200 women attended the training and we had a terrific week, looking at the things that hinder them as women, and teaching them about Jesus and the women of His time, how to overcome fear, submission, redemption, and the freedom Christ has given them to serve Him. Many of the women had travelled down from the villages and slept on the church floor all week in order to attend all the sessions. Many were delivered from strongholds, mindsets that had kept them bound and hindered. We all rejoiced and praised God for the freedom only Jesus gives.

On the last day of the conference, one of the leaders of the church was asked to come and give the closing remarks. He first asked me and my fellow ministers, “Which church do you attend?” He then turned to address the women and his next words shocked us!

“You see, none of these speakers are Baptist! I would like to caution you, whatever you have been taught this week, you MUST remember that you are Baptist first before anything else!”

As the bible says, SELAH!!!

To be continued

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By Apostle Jennifer Abigail Wallace

THIS ARTICLE CAN BE USED BY PERMISSION BUT WITH REFERENCE TO AUTHOR

The Uniqueness of Woman – Part 5

To discover the nature and essence of God in woman is to discover the potential, nature,purpose and function and occupation of the Church

God-Discovery, Not Self-Discovery

God is restoring and raising women. He is restoring our identity and purpose! Indeed, it is time to discover who we are in Him! It is also time to discover, celebrate and applaud our areas of uniqueness as women, rather than assuming they don’t exist or are insignificant and weak. It is time to discover and celebrate our identity as women and the feminine characteristics that God has bestowed on us, knowing that they are just as valuable and useful as our masculine counterparts’!

However, our search for identity and insight to our uniqueness must never be one of self-discovery, but of God-discovery. This is because to discover the nature and essence of our gender is to discover the inherent nature and power of God in us. As the scripture says,

“As He IS, so are we…” – 1 John 4:17

However, discovering and celebrating our identity and uniqueness must not be an end in itself, but a means to an end. This means that finding our uniqueness in God should empower us to go forth in His knowledge to do exploits for Him. It is not just enough just to know that women are unique, it is also important to discover the purpose attached to that uniqueness and fulfil it!

This is something every Christian woman ought to bear in mind – that we were created for a purpose and because we are unique, that purpose would remain unfulfilled unless we rose up and accomplished it.

The Church, The Bride Of Christ

This has even greater implications for the Church, because spiritually, she is a woman, the Bride of Jesus Christ, the last Adam (1 Corinthians 15:45; Ephesians 5:25-32). For to discover the uniqueness of woman is to further discover the uniqueness of the Church, the Bride of Christ!

Here are some points for you to reflect on:

1. Just as woman is unique and the only existing ‘one of its kind,’ so is the Church and the only one existing of her kind. There is no other ‘being’ or ‘body’ like the Church on earth. She is unique and unparalleled
2. The Church came out of Christ, and as He is, so are we, therefore, the Church must continue to be transformed to bear, possess and manifest the image of Christ in essence, nature, character, authority and power. The Holy Spirit is with us to transform us into His image.
3. A vacuum is created when the Church is not revealing and manifesting the glory of God, and this does not serve the purposes of God. Wherever a vacuum exists, the enemy is quick to fill it with every form of evil. Thus, the Church must come into her fullness, even unto the stature of Christ, to fill our homes, communities, towns and cities with the goodness, mercy, justice, righteousness, peace and love of God. (Ephesians 4:11-16)
4. The woman had her time alone with God, thus, the Church must have her ‘time alone’ with God by making prayer a priority. We must get into the closet and spend time with God, getting to know Him through prayer, praise, worship and the Word, and be transformed in the process.
5. Just as the creation of the woman built up and completed all things, the Church must grow, expand, establish and build up our nations. Jesus gave us a mandate to preach the gospel and disciple the nations, teaching them to observe all that He has taught us (Matthew 28:18-20). The Church must influence and change our cultures until they are aligned with God’s word. Every area of society, including language, marriage and family, socio-economy, government, education, media/arts and religion, must be influenced and built up by the Church. (Micah 4:1-5)
6. As Adam recognised the woman as “bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh,” Jesus Christ also recognises the Church as such, and loves her and gave His life for her. Thus the Church shall submit to Jesus in all ways to fulfil God’s purpose for her existence. (Ephesians 5:25-33).
7.  The Church must rise up against the works of evil in our homes, families, communities, villages, towns, cities, and nations! We must rise up and proclaim the glorious gospel of Jesus to the utmost parts of the world, starting from our homes, families, communities, workplaces, market places, cities, towns and villages and nations. We must travail over our families, communities, towns, cities and nations, until Christ is birthed in them. We must demonstrate to the principalities and powers that Jesus is Lord.
8. Indeed, the Church of Jesus Christ shall become the “LIFE-SPRING” of our homes, workplaces, schools, government, cities, towns and villages and nations!

It Is Still Not Good!

This is why it is very important for women to know who and what God created us to be, and empowered by that knowledge, rise up to be used by God. The Church needs to take note of this fact – so far as women in Church remain hindered and disempowered, the church will be limited and disempowered. God’s words still ring true,

“It is not good for the man to be alone!”

We NEED to raise women to stand together with men to fulfil the mandate of building the kingdom of God on earth. The characteristics the Bride of Christ must display to make her victorious are already inherent in women, and come to us naturally. Loren Cunningham, founder of YWAM, in his book, “Why Not Women,” said he would rather have one woman with him on the mission field than 15 men, because that’s the number of men he would need to accomplish what he would accomplish with one woman!

Woman, the truth amazing truth is that God has created you in His image as unique, strong and beautiful. You are one whose existence completes all things and without you all things will fall apart. Sin damaged you, but God has repaired the damage in Christ Jesus. Indeed, He has set you free from the clutches and bondages of sin, for who the Son sets free is free indeed!

Woman, no one can improve on what God has created! You are already unique! Don’t sit around waiting for someone to help you, show you and empower you. Your Father has already provided help – you have the Word of God, the Holy Spirit and access to the Father. Seek God, get to know Him, let Him re-define, transform and strengthen you. And when He’s done that, rise up and be used by Him to fulfil His plans and purposes.

There are prayers waiting to be prayed by you. There are people waiting to hear of Christ from you. There are people waiting to be discipled and raised up in Christ by you. There are people waiting to be empowered by you. There are homes, families, communities, towns, cities and nations waiting to be changed by you through Jesus Christ.

Yes, woman uniquely created, Jesus Christ NEEDS you to ARISE!

 

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

1. Do you see yourself as uniquely created in God’s image?
2. What will the world would be like without women? Consider all aspects of life, including family, society, economy, church, etc. Use your imagination, think beyond the box.
3. Ponder over the areas of uniqueness mentioned in this chapter. What do they tell you?
4. Now look at your own life. In what areas are you manifesting this uniqueness?
5. Begin to pray and ask God to make this real in your life.

 

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An excerpt from Apostle Jennifer Abigail Wallace’s soon to be published book, “SONS OF GOD – Our Ultimate Identity as Women in Christ” THIS ARTICLE CAN BE USED BY PERMISSION BUT WITH REFERENCE TO AUTHOR

The Uniqueness of Woman – Part 4

“Sing, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem! The Lord has taken away your judgments…” – Zephaniah 3:14-15a

6. Different Judgement

Even in judgement, God differentiated between man and woman! Unfortunately, Adam and Eve rebelled against God by listening to the serpent, the devil, and God dealt with this by pronouncing judgement on all parties involved. Apart from the generic judgement of death and separation from God which was pronounced on both man and woman, each of them was given specific descriptions of the consequences of their sin.

To the woman, God said,

“I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; in pain you shall bring forth children; your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.” – Genesis 3:16

However, to the man, He said,

“Cursed is the ground for your sake; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, and you shall eat the herb of the field.In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for dust you are, and to dust you shall return.” – Genesis 3:17-19

The details God gave for the consequences of their sin were different, in accordance to their purpose and function. Thus this unfortunate situation revealed a further difference and uniqueness between man and woman.

7. The Serpent’s Judgement

One of the most defining, but most often ignored, evidences of woman’s uniqueness is found in God’s judgement to the serpent after Adam and Eve had sinned. In His sentence to the serpent, God outlined His redemptive and restoration plan for humanity, and provided a crucial indicator to the exceptional nature and essence of woman.

 “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.” – Genesis 3:15

God promised Satan, that the woman and her Seed would destroy him. Thus, God gave the woman an important role in the redemption, deliverance, and restoration of humanity. The woman and her Seed would be Satan’s worst enemies! The woman’s Seed would crush his head, destroying him forever. This promise has been fulfilled through Jesus Christ, the Seed of woman. Jesus, who’s human DNA carries only that of a woman, crushed the head of Satan when He defeated him on the Cross. Through Christ Jesus, the price of Sin has been paid, the enemy has been defeated, the power of death has been broke, redemption has been accomplished and humanity can be reconciled with God again! Hallelujah!

However, in that same judgement a promise was made to Satan specifically concerning the woman –

“…I will put enmity between you and the woman” – NKJV

“…I’m declaring war between you and the Woman” – The Message Bible

“…And I will cause hostility between you and the woman” – New Living Translation

There are questions to be asked:

“…Why would God say such a thing?

“…Why the woman and not the man, or both of them?”

“…What is so peculiar about woman that God would place such a responsibility upon her?”

The answer is that God created woman in His image with the inherent strength, ability and capacity to reproduce and nurture life by taking, multiplying and incubating ‘seed’, then labouring to birth the fruit of that seed. (We will talk me about this later). It is that strength which enabled Mary to respond positively to the angel Gabriel’s news that the Messiah would be birthed through her. “Be it done unto me according to your word,” she said! Mary bravely took the seed of the Word, knowing full well that her reputation, future and life may be damaged and changed forever. Mary carried, laboured and birthed our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ!

However, since that faithful and painful day in the Garden of Eden, the enmity between woman and Satan has continued till date. There has been nonstop attempt to destroy woman, a battle that has raged through the centuries and which transcends time and culture – rape, abuse, violence, suppression, subordination, murder and destruction. (Revelation 12)

However, God is stirring and raising up women to fight against the works of the enemy. Women, blood-bought and washed, Spirit filled and on fire for Jesus, are rising up with a God-given anger against the works of evil!

So, even in judgement, God defined our uniqueness!

8. The Mother Of All Living

 Genesis 3:20

“The man called his wife’s name Eve [life spring], because she was the mother of all the living”

The final indication of woman’s uniqueness is shown after God had passed judgement. The scripture says that the man called the woman by the name, “Eve” {Hebrew ‘Chavvah’} meaning ‘Life-Spring’. In judgement the merciful God had declared hope. Through the woman and her Offspring, Jesus Christ, humanity shall live again and recover all that was lost.

Yes, the woman had been declared the life-spring of humanity, one who nurtures life, the MOTHER OF ALL THE LIVING. Nothing else in all of creation received this title, but the woman, indicating her uniqueness!

To be continued

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An excerpt from Apostle Jennifer Abigail Wallace’s soon to be published book, “SONS OF GOD – Our Ultimate Identity as Women in Christ” THIS ARTICLE CAN BE USED BY PERMISSION BUT WITH REFERENCE TO AUTHOR

The Uniqueness of Woman – Part 3

“I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvellous are Your works, and that my soul knows well”– Psalm 139:14

Our search for clues in the scripture concerning our uniqueness as women continues. Today, we will look at some more indicators to the fact that women are truly unique beings. First on today’s list is the method by which the first woman was created.

[3] Built Up and Made

In my previous blog, I discussed that both man and woman were created as human beings, and different from the rest of creation. However, a careful study shows that the method of the creation of man (male) was different from that of woman (female). Even though both were created in God’s image, man and woman were created differently. The method of woman’s creation clearly distinguished her from man and the rest of creation.

Here’s what the scripture says about the creation of man (male):

“Then the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.” – Genesis 2:7

God took dust and formed man out of the dust, breathed life into him and man came alive. The Hebrew word for ‘formed’ is ‘yatsar’ {pronounced yaw-tsar} which means to form, fashion or frame. It also means to pre-ordain, pre-determine, plan or give purpose or intention of a situation. This gives the idea of an initial sketch, outline or drawing, similar to the initial sketch an artist makes before actually filling a painting with colour and detail, or the structure/frame a builder puts up before actually laying the bricks, pipes, etc. This implies that God created the man as a sort of ‘framework,’ with every intention of completing him, otherwise, he would be incomplete and bare. It also explains why God had said’ “It is not good that the man should be alone!” Man was an unfinished creation!

In the creation of woman, however, the process was totally different.

“And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam; and while he slept, He took one of his ribs or a part of his side and closed up the [place with] flesh. And the rib or part of his side, which the Lord God had taken from the man, He built up and made into a woman, and He brought her to the man.” – Genesis 2:21-22

First of all, God did not take put Adam to sleep. Whilst he was sleeping, God took out one of his ribs and closed up the place with flesh. Notice that God did not create woman from fresh dust, but took a rib out of Adam, thus making both man and woman from one source. With the rib He had taken out of man, God built up and made woman!

The Hebrew word used is ‘banah’ {pronounced baw-naw} which means to build, setup, establish and cause to continue. The word build suggests of the process involved in constructing a house, based on architectural design, giving attention to detail, plan and design. This indicates that whereas the creation of man was of a ‘temporary’ structural nature, the creation of woman brought permanence, stability and structure! WOW!

All great artists make a rough draft before they make a masterpiece. In creating humanity, our God, the Great Architect, first ‘drew’ a sketch of man, with every intention of completing him, by bringing woman alongside to add detail, structure, beauty and permanence, and thus build man up.

This explains how a young bachelor, struggling to make it on his own gets married and, suddenly, begins to look better, more confident, fulfilled and complete. The house he lived in is transformed into a home, as his new wife puts her special touch on everything around them. Her uniqueness permeates every area of their lives, bringing transformation, beauty and permanence!

No wonder Solomon said, “He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favour from the Lord”

Again, Solomon rightly asked, “Who can find a virtuous woman? For her worth is far above rubies?” No amount of money can purchase her because she is unique and priceless, and a gift from God.

Yes, woman is fearfully and wonderfully made…

[4] Alone With God

It is worth commenting on the time the woman spent alone with God whilst Adam slept, as it is another evidence of her uniqueness. Many claim or insist that a woman needs a man as priest between her and God. In fact, some religions, and even Christian denominations, sanction this to the point of separating the women from the men during prayer and worship. However, right at creation, God distinguished His relationship with woman by spending time alone with her whilst the man slept. God valued her individuality and endorsed it the same way in which He had endorsed man’s before woman was created. Whilst man slept, all of creation stood still and watched as God created and put value on woman as His unique creation!

Interestingly, the story of the birth of Jesus seems to also endorse this fact. The angel was sent to a woman named Mary, who was betrothed to a man named Joseph, to inform her of her role in the birth of our Saviour Jesus. Her husband, Joseph, was completely out of the picture on that occasion, as the angel discussed the details with her.  Mary, in response, made an independent decision to accept God’s plan for her life.

To the single woman, therefore, I would say this, never let the absence of a man in your life hinder you from getting close to and walking with God. Seize the day, and develop and enjoy your relationship and fellowship with Him.

To the married woman, never let being married take you away from your times alone with the Lord; take time apart to deepen your relationship and fellowship with Him.

Finally, access to God is by the finished work of the Cross and Blood of Jesus Christ, not by gender (Galatians 3:26-28). So, get to know, love, worship and serve God! This is what you were uniquely and specially created for.

[5] Adam’s Recognition

Another sign to woman’s uniqueness is how Adam instantly recognised and acknowledged her!

“And Adam said, “This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.” – Genesis 2:23

With this declaration, Adam endorsed woman’s uniqueness!

Remember, God had given Adam a chance to search through all creation to see if he could find someone or something suitable, befitting and appropriate for him and the task God had given him to fulfil, but he had found nothing. There was nothing in the whole of creation that equalled him or could stand together with him, as his counterpart!

Then Adam woke up and, suddenly, there SHE was, everything he ever wanted or needed! With great joy he declared, “This is what I have been waiting for.” Adam immediately recognised and acknowledged Eve as his counterpart and co-equal, whereas before, he could find none.

To be continued

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An excerpt from Apostle Jennifer Abigail Wallace’s soon to be published book, “SONS OF GOD – Our Ultimate Identity as Women in Christ” THIS ARTICLE CAN BE USED BY PERMISSION BUT WITH REFERENCE TO AUTHOR

The Uniqueness of Woman – Part 2

Woman – Unique, One of a Kind

The word ‘unique’ is defined as “being the only existing one of its type” or, more generally, “unusual or special in some way” To be unique, therefore, is to be distinct, exceptional, one of a kind and irreplaceable. To be unique is to be authentic, genuine, real and not a counterfeit – an original. Thus in our quest to find out our true identity and purpose as women, we need to discover what is unique – special, unusual and rare about our gender. What separates us from the rest of creation and makes us authentic and unique? Indeed, what makes woman an exceptional, distinctive, incomparable and irreplaceable creation of God?

Praise God, we do not have to travel far to find the answers to these questions. The Lord Jesus promised us, “You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free” (John 8:32). The bible gives several clear insights to the uniqueness of woman as exclusive, distinct, incomparable, one-of-a-kind being. God, in is His infinite wisdom, created women as unique beings and put clear indications of our uniqueness in the scriptures. It is our privilege and pleasure to discover them, and to do so, we must go back to the beginning – Genesis Chapters One to Three.

Come with me on this awesome journey of discovery and see what the scriptures reveal.

[1] Woman Is A Human Being

The first thing that differentiates woman from the rest of creation is that she was created as a human in God’s image. Together with man, woman was created as a human being. This clearly differentiates her from the rest of creation – the sun, moon, trees, plants, animals, birds, etc.

Now, you might think, “well everyone knows that?” Unfortunately, however, there many cultures, especially, ones I have come across in Africa, where women are not considered as full human beings. For instance, among certain tribes in Ghana, when a woman has a baby, the first question asked is, “Did she have a human being or a girl?” During our FREE TO SERVE Training in Kenya last year, we heard some absurd stories about how women are viewed among certain cultural groups in Kenya. Many of these cultural groups do not consider women as human beings and so, for instance, if you sent a child to the next house with a message and they met only women there, the child would not deliver the message but return to you saying they met no one at home!

Of course, this kind of cultural belief is very wrong and contradicts the scriptures, which tell us that on the sixth day of creation, God created Man in His own image as male and female.

“Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” – Genesis 1:26-27

Woman, therefore, is a human being created in God’s image and, together with man, reflects the image of God on earth. This is what differentiates both of them (woman and man) from the rest of creation and makes them both unique. This also provides evidence of woman’s equality with man, because right at creation, God made them equal in His likeness and image.

Woman, you are no less a human being than man! You have been created in the image of God and you are unique, different and special.

[2] The Vacuum

Another indication of woman’s uniqueness is the huge vacuum that existed before her creation. In fact, before woman was created, God declared that her non-existence was not good! Throughout the ‘process’ of creation, the bible constantly states, “And God saw that it was good.” Then suddenly, for the first time, God declared “It is not good…” SOMEONE very essential to God’s plans and purposes was still missing.

“And out of the ground the Lord God formed every [wild] beast and living creature of the field and every bird of the air and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them; and whatever Adam called every living creature, that was its name. And Adam gave names to all the livestock and to the birds of the air and to every [wild] beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found a helper meet (suitable, adapted, complementary) for him.” – Genesis 2:12-20

All of creation was in place – the sun, moon, galaxies, mountains, hills, trees, plants, animals, birds, etc, had all been created and assigned their place and purpose on the earth. Yet, man, with his important God-given assignment to take dominion over the earth and to multiply and replenish it, was alone and by himself. There was absolutely nothing in the whole of creation to substitute or replace that which was missing! God’s plans and purpose for creation stood at a crossroads! Something must be done urgently…!

Was this an error on God’s part? Did He forget or miss something? Many have said that woman was created as an afterthought, to rectify a problem with creation. This cannot be true as God is omniscient and knows the end of a matter from its beginning. He is also constant, the same yesterday, today and forever. With Him there is no shadow of turning, neither does He make mistakes!

However, this was an vital part of the divine plan, to show man the value of woman above all creation. The fact that there was a lack of an appropriate replacement for woman in all of creation is clear evidence of her uniqueness, essence and value.

The big vacuum and gaping hole in creation and man’s life spoke very loudly and clearly when God Himself said, “IT IS NOT GOOD!” There was nothing or no-one in all of creation, quite like her. It was only after both man and woman had been created and commissioned that God looked upon everything He had created, saw that it was ALL good, and then He rested.

Without woman in her rightful position besides man – on the earth, in our homes, families, communities, churches, marketplaces, etc – that gaping hole still exists, and IT IS STILL NOT GOOD. It does not serve God’s purpose for the earth! Just open your eyes and see – the evidence is all around you!

=To be continued next week

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An excerpt from Apostle Jennifer Abigail Wallace’s soon to be published book, “SONS OF GOD – Our Ultimate Identity as Women in Christ” THIS ARTICLE CAN BE USED BY PERMISSION BUT WITH REFERENCE TO AUTHOR

Testimony: From Nigeria

By Pastor Azuka Gbogboade (Esthers Arise Intl Ministries, Nigeria)

Women In Tune (WIT), came to Nigeria by divine appointment in the year 2004 with the “Free To Serve message.” This message was an eye-opener to the women leaders that attended the seminar. The impact of the message cannot be over emphasized; as it stirred up the women to serve the Lord with confidence. We were told to break through our cultural limitations and serve the Lord with liberty, as a result of the finished work on the cross.

While we were still ruminating on this timely message, Apostle Jennifer Wallace came back with the following year with another message on the “Identity of the Woman”. This second message further strengthened us in our service to the Lord. The identity of the woman was unveiled. We saw ourselves as God sees us, we saw the value He placed on us, and we also discovered that we were uniquely created by God for His specific purpose and Glory.

As a result of this unique work, WIT has made an impact in the Western part of Nigeria and the neighbouring country, Benin Republic. Christian women leaders who attended the WIT seminars took the messages back to their various ministries, towns and spheres of influence with passion to impart others.

WIT also did a joint work with our ministry, Esthers’ Arise Intl’ Ministries (Nigeria) annually for several years during the Christian Women Leaders’ Prayer Retreat. Apostle Jennifer Wallace continued to impart grace into our lives through her unique messages.

Last year, precisely January 2012, WIT also came to Nigeria, under the umbrella of Cedars’ House Christian (International), with a specific message to the Nigerian Church and the Nigerian youth. Apostle Jennifer Wallace urged the Nigerian church to wake up from slumber and rise up to the Lord’s call to kingdom lifestyle and righteousness. The identity and purpose of the church was emphasized. As a result of this message, a group of 5 pastors are now meeting regularly to intercede for the Church and the nation.

Identity crisis was also dealt with among the youths as they were told to break the mould that held them down for too long to stand for Christ. There were healings and deliverance at each meeting. We look forward to more open doors for the ministry in Nigeria especially in other parts of the country.

The Uniqueness of Woman – Part 1

“Picture and think of a world without women; use your imagination, think beyond the box. Describe what the world would be like if women ceased to exist.”

This was an exercise I set for one of my mentoring classes. I was buzzing with excitement as they split into groups to discuss the points raised, thinking it would be an easy exercise for them to do. However, as I went from one group to the other to listen in on their discussions, I soon realised that the women were struggling to picture what life would be like in a world without women.

The purpose of the exercise was to empower the women to rediscover the identity and purpose of woman, who was created beautifully in God’s image. Thus, my excitement began to wane as I realised that many of the women in the class had never imagined the impact it would make on the world if women did not exist! With a bit of encouragement and prompting, they began to think and describe what, to them, the world would be like without women. Here are a few of the answers they gave as feedback:

“Men will be lonely and shabby.”
“There would be chaos”
“There will be no housework done”
“Men will be incomplete in all things.”
“There will be no homes because women create homes.” “They will be no children as men will not be able to give birth.” “Man’s friends will be the animals.”
“Jesus would not have been born” “Churches would shrink and not function” “There will be no development.”

These answers might make you smile or laugh, but, try the exercise and see if you can come up with your own answers. Pause for a few moments and think of what the world would be like if God had not created woman and women did not exist? Surely, it would make a great impact on the world if women ceased to exist! If that is true, then, what makes women unique and different from everything God ever created?

To be continued

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An excerpt from Apostle Jennifer Abigail Wallace’s soon to be published book, “SONS OF GOD – Our Ultimate Identity as Women in Christ” THIS ARTICLE CAN BE USED BY PERMISSION BUT WITH REFERENCE TO AUTHOR