Genesis

Jul 03, 2022 | Greg Johnson

The Role of Woman

This morning, want to shift from the role of man to the role of WOMAN – As we walk through this, remember first and foremost that WOMEN, based on chapter one, were created EQUALLY in God’s image – Today, we will flesh out a woman’s specific role, a role that perfectly COMPLEMENTS a MAN - Note: I will approach this passage primarily about married women – if you are single, please don’t check out – If your hope is to one day be married or remarried, this will be good for you to hear and remember -

Illus – Things that need each other to fully function or enhance: Cement/Water, Shoes/Shoelaces, Cereal/Milk, Chips/Salsa, Movies/Popcorn, MJ/Scottie Pippen

Genesis 2:18-25

V18 – “Not good” – first time God has said anything in creation is not good – man shouldn’t be alone – I believe part of the product of the fall is man desiring to live in isolation, in independence rather than interdependence - “suitable helper” – “helper” in Hebrew is ezer - a tough word, because it needs context to define it.

Helper is most often used in scripture to define God’s relationship with us as a helper – Psalm 46:1, God is our HELP – Isaiah 41:10, I will strengthen and HELP you – Deut. 33:7, be his HELP against his foes - so, we can’t say that being a HELPER is inferior because the term is most often ascribed to God – If you say that woman is inferior because she is a HELPER, then you are also saying that God must be inferior because he is a HELPER – doesn’t make sense.

The word here means that she will be providing HELP to the man, who has PRIMARY AUTHORITY and RESPONSIBILITY – you could actually argue that man is the weaker one, because he needs HELP to accomplish what he has been tasked to do – So, woman is created to HELP man cultivate God’s power and presence on earth – and the word suitable means fit for, or to complement – this means that men and women literally fit together to accomplish God’s purpose – Jeff Wells says often that He is the head, and Gayle is the neck

Yvonne and I are great example – opposites, literally in every way, I am loud, she is quiet- I am a dreamer, she is a planner – I love action movies, she loves rom-coms (I actually love them too) – I love sports, she loves NOT sports – I am in the moment, she is thoughtful about the longer-term - but together COMPLEMENT each other’s gifts, not oppose – She makes my dreams and 30K plans better – most, if not all of the greatest things we have accomplished at Restoration have been from her perfecting an idea, if not generating it.

V19-20 – This seems out of order, out of sequence, but here is why it is important – Man gets to see first-hand that he is not an animal, not a beast – the animals are his to RULE, but not to partner with - in fact, he gets to see that his PURPOSE is bigger than him – HE NEEDS HELP, and won’t get it from the animals like he is DR. DOOLITTLE – another reminder that MAN rules over animals, but not over WOMAN.

V21-23 – the word RIB is not a perfect translation – realistically, God grabbed some flesh and bone from man’s side, and formed the woman – why? Because it is a picture of ONENESS, and she was created FROM HIS SIDE to operate BY HIS SIDE – and Adam realizes that they are one – flesh and bone – In the US, personal independence and individual achievement is celebrated – but in eastern culture, there is a sense of interdependence, where everyone is working together for the greater good.

V24 - It would be customary that a woman would leave her family to be united to her husband, but here man leaves his family – another picture of headship – No mama’s boys here – Side note on marriage: Moms and dads, when it’s time for your kids to leave and marry, LET THEM LEAVE – They need to establish their one-flesh relationship as husband and wife without interference – You don’t end relationship, but it does shift – all part of God’s created order.

V25 – Naked and felt no shame – this is a picture of innocence and naivety – Clearly, in our culture today, nakedness is a shameful thing – we are all clothed today and we undress behind closed doors – but, again, this is original design – don’t get fixated on nakedness, but on innocence – God’s original intent was innocence and purity – and we will see in chapter 3 the robbing of innocence.

Ok, so we see that the WOMAN’S primary role is to come alongside the MAN, and to be his SUITABLE HELPER – How does this get twisted in our culture? Two common ways would be COMPARISON and DOMINANCE – let me explain what I mean by each of these.

One of the biggest challenges in our culture today is COMPARISON, both genders – but let’s focus on WOMEN – by the way, you can always find someone better off than you, and worse off - body image issues, how your child behaves in public, how they’re performing academically, athletically, creatively, comparison of friend groups, who’s in and who’s not – It’s rooted in INSECURITY, always asking the question, “am I enough? Am I a good wife? Am I a good mom? Am I a good friend?” And, as you take your identity to the culture, it will tell you to alter your image through the gym or surgery, get your kid in anything SELECT, do whatever you have to do to break into the cool group of moms, and check out of your marriage because he’s not measuring up by comparison – ladies, be honest – how many of you scroll social media and come across a picture of a group of ladies you know that are doing something together and you weren’t invited? And how does it make you feel? How about seeing a husband/wife relationship you respect, and you wish your husband were more like him? COMPARISON leads to jealousy, judgment, and ultimately loneliness. By the way, a man’s AGGRESSION leads to a woman’s INSECURITY.

What about DOMINANCE? We talked last week about the cultural dumbing down of men, the King of Queens motif – When a woman sees her man as PASSIVE, she becomes ASSERTIVE, and over time she becomes DOMINEERING – What does female DOMINANCE look like? Overly critical, controlling, manipulative – Proverbs 21:19, God says, “Better to live in a desert than with quarrelsome and nagging wife.” It’s the antithesis of Ephesians 5:22: SUBMIT to your husbands as to the LORD – If you follow Jesus, and you fall under his leadership, then you will naturally live humbly with your husband – Ephesians 5:33, “respect your husbands” – MEN assert dominance through physical aggression, while WOMEN assert dominance with their WORDS – Ladies, you can either build up or DESTROY your spouse with your words

Do a fair amount of counseling, and often women will say, “I can’t submit to him because he doesn’t live worthy of my submission” – while it’s often situationally true, the question is, are you living submitted to Jesus? If you can’t live under the authority of Jesus, you won’t live under the headship of your husband

Do you see how COMPARISON and DOMINANCE can keep you from being the SUITABLE HELPER for your spouse? Men, can you see how your PASSIVITY or AGGRESSION can be keeping your wife from living into her God-given design for your marriage? Again, all of this is a product of Genesis 3 – SIN will rob you of the life God has for you - Here are a couple of closing thoughts:

1. Support your husband as he assumes spiritual responsibility for your family. Women, don’t emasculate your man, but affirm and support him as he embraces his role – Allow him to work his way through learning how to lead you well - pray for him daily, talk him up to your friends – Your words bear more weight than you can ever know – it’s the way God created your relationship – You were made to cheer him on.

2. Live into your E210 calling, but don’t compete with your husband. GOD will never give you a calling that undermines your marriage. You are an image bearer, equal in creation and affection just like your husband, but are called to complement your husband, not compete with him – culture today promotes female equality, but not from a Godly perspective – Your sweet spot as a WOMAN is living fully in your God-given IDENTITY, while also coming alongside your husband and HELPING him live into HIS calling –

Men, made for AUTHORITY and RESPONSIBILITY – Women, made for SUITABLE HELP, to make him better and more effective.

 

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