The New Women's Movement - Restoring Our Position. Reclaiming Our Power.

INTRODUCTION

“Men are from Earth; women are from Earth. Deal with it.”
|| GEORGE CARLIN1

If you have been in any sort of relationship with the opposite sex, you are well aware that men and women are different. We think differently. We relate differently. We view the world differently. Many of us have resigned ourselves to a lifetime of tolerating those differences and to a quiet (or a not-so-quiet) disconnect with the opposite sex. However, we are still the same, designed as two parts of the same whole. We carry the same purpose: to live as one flesh and rule and reign over planet Earth.

Women and men seem to be far from fulfilling the purpose of living in unity as one flesh. Instead, there is struggle and conflict between the sexes, confusion about who we are and who we are to each other. Many are confused about their roles, their genders, and their places in the world. Women continue to chase after men, looking for love. Men continue to oppress or abandon women instead of leading them and protecting them. Our marriages and our families are hurting. Divorce has ripped through many homes and hearts. Fractured men and women and their fractured relationships have created a fractured world.

It is time for that to end. The restoration and reconciliation of men and women is the answer.

We were designed as one flesh, made to function in perfect unity as a complement to each other. As George Carlin said, we are both from Earth; though he meant that in jest, the truth is we were made from the same dust, and any differences we have are meant to complement one another, to make us better together.

However, that is not what we have been taught. We have been taught that God made Adam, a man, in His image and that He gave Adam the big job of ruling the Earth. Then, we were told that Adam was lonely, so God made Eve, a woman, to be Adam’s subordinate, to help him do his job. We married women were told that God wanted us to quietly submit to our husbands; as the helpers, we were supposed to “help,” whatever that meant. Submission to your husband was taught from this paradigm: man is in charge and was made in God’s image, and you are to be his helper. He leads and you follow. He decides and you submit. In this dynamic, there is no unity or peace. We were taught that when mankind fell, they brought upon themselves a curse, which was basically a fight for leadership and control. This is not accurate either. Unfortunately, for years and years, much of the Christian church culture and doctrine about men and women has been based on these incorrect concepts. These “concepts” have been repeated and handed down to each generation without question. We started with faulty interpretations, expanded on them, and built error on top of error. These misunderstandings are part of what has created struggle and conflict between us. These incorrect concepts of how and why God made us frame our understanding of who we are as women, diminish our voice, and interfere with how we relate to men. God wants to expose these incorrect concepts and how they affect women, and restore us to our place of power. To be restored as women, we must begin by correcting the errors.

We must go back to the beginning, which is where the Lord took me. Line by line and word by word, He revealed His original design and an even bigger picture emerged. There is a principle we can use to study the Bible called “The Law of First Mention.” It states that to understand a subject, you begin by examining the first time the subject is mentioned. The basic concepts and patterns revealed in the first mention of a subject are a measuring stick we can use to interpret a subject from its simplest to its most complex interpretations. In other words, we use the fundamental design as the basis for the interpretation and then develop the subject in its complexities. Applying this principle to something in the natural, we could say that the basic design components of an airplane never changed from the Wright brothers’ original design to the complex planes of today. The basic design is still present and unchanged, even though it has been added to and expanded.

Applying this law to the study of how God made men and women, we must examine the first mention of mankind. We will examine the creation, uncover the simplest concepts, and establish truths. After we establish the fundamental truths about men and women, we can then interpret more complex concepts, like the concept of submission, within the framework of the basic design. In the next chapters we are going to look into the creation story. We will challenge errors, and we will establish truths about how we were originally made, what really happened to us during the fall of mankind, and how we can get back to the perfect, original design.

The Lord started me on this journey of discovery with this scripture: “Behold, I will do a new thing, a woman will encompass a man” (Jeremiah 31:22). I pondered that scripture. I looked at it in several versions of the Bible and in the original Hebrew. I asked questions. I searched commentaries. I meditated on that scripture over and over, asking the Lord what it meant. After looking at many commentaries, I realized there is no clear consensus on what this scripture means. Then God began to reveal some key concepts to me. He had me look at every word in the original Hebrew and study its usage and meaning. Then He showed me that this was a picture of the original design for women. He began to reveal to me how and why He made us the way He did. He showed me that in the Jeremiah scripture, the word “new” actually means “renewed” or “restored.” He is doing a renewed thing. He showed me that He is taking us back to the original design, which has been hidden for many years because of demonic influence, the power of culture, and the accepted yet erroneous teachings of the church. He wants to restore us to the original design in which two become one in His image. As I continued studying and praying, many other scriptures came together, and the picture became more and more clear. The original design, of a woman encircling and encompassing a man, was being restored.

As He brought further understanding, many other scriptures began to fall into place. Scriptures that I had pondered for years began to connect and I began to hear His heart for women. Women were not made as “helpers” in the sense that we have understood it; women were made as equals to men, equal in position and power and significance. We are equal but different, and we were not designed to compete but to complete. Our original design and functions are not what we have been taught; they are far more powerful. We were designed to encompass men with His Spirit. We were designed to be powerful influencers of men.

One day God put it on my heart that now is the time for the fulfillment of Jeremiah 31:22. Now is the time for God to restore women to the position that He originally intended them to hold. As He restores women, these restored women will also bring their influence and the Spirit of God to release the men. He created both male and female in His image, and they were to function as one, in power, unity, and agreement. The enemy knows the powerful, true position women have. He knows they have the power to encompass men, to guard their hearts, and to draw them into their right place. The enemy does anything he can to stop that, because when men and women live in their right positions, they reflect the image of God.

God began to show me how our design works against us, just as He explained to the first man and woman all the way back in the Garden of Eden. When Adam and Eve fell, their powerful, beautiful, original design gave way to a corrupted relationship between two orphans with broken hearts, conflicts, and struggle. Instead of encompassing Adam’s heart with the Spirit of God, Eve would chase him, crave him, and turn to him to solve her inner ache for wholeness. This new relationship pattern would include a new response from man. He would now respond with pushing her down, pushing her away, or running away himself. Their unity was shattered, their relationship was compromised, and the original design was lost. This is where we have lived for generations.

To heal this, the Lord first wants to empower His beautiful, precious women. Through them He wants to reconcile the male/female relationship and bring restoration to the men. When men and women live and function from their rightful positions, we reflect the image of God. We become Him on Earth in a way that we cannot do without each other. All women, married or single, can be restored to their original design and relate with men more in line with God’s plan. Married or single, men and women can be restored to their original positions, which complement and complete each other. Women can be freed from their “need” for a man and instead function as his valuable and vital counterpart. She can receive all that he supplies to her, as well. Marriages will take a greater step towards the power they contain. His original concept for marriage was a relationship that reflected His image. He is a Trinity, a three-part being that is in perfect unity and agreement, powerful, creative. We were made in that image and as a two-part/one-flesh leadership team, we were given complete authority to take dominion over the planet. How many couples do you see who are in unity and agreement? How many marriages do you see today that actually take dominion over the world’s problems? Most couples can barely take...