Denzel Washington is one of my favorite actors in hollywood. Once he played in a movie with Gene Hackman called Crimson Tide. If you haven't seen it then go watch it right now. Gene is the captain of a Navy nuclear ship while Denzel is 2nd in command. During the movie they receive an order to launch a nuke. The only problem is that the order was cut off and you cannot read the rest of the message. Gene argues they should launch the nuke since they could be the last line of defense while Denzel says they can't launch it because what if they are wrong?!?! The problem is that both have to agree if a nuke is going to be launched. This leads to multiple mutinies on the ship. At the end of the movie the courts for the Navy decided that both Denzel and Gene were right and wrong in how they handled the situation.
What was the problem? The lines of hierarchy were not clear. The movie displayed a situation where one man was right for rejecting the captains orders yet the captain was right for placing him under arrest. Lucky for us God has established a divine hierarchy that is clear. 1st Corinthians 11:3 tells us this divine hierarchy is God-->Christ-->Man-->Woman. This doesn't describe the levels of value. For God and Christ are valued the same. Rather, it describes function. In this universe that God created Christ subjected himself to the Father in order to carry out redemption (Heb 5:8-9; John 6:38). Therefore, God established that women should function in subjection to men. All church members function in subjection to their church leaders without feeling devalued so women function in subjection to men.
1st Corinthians 11:4-5 explain that in the Corinthian church there were certain cultural nuances that were being disregarded that disregarded God's divine hierarchy. For the Greeks women wore head coverings as a sign of submission to their husbands and/or fathers. Evidently the women in the Christian church were throwing off their head coverings espousing their freedom in Christ. But Paul tells them that they should continue to observe cultural trends that distinguish between the genders. That is, it is not right to blur the lines between masculinity and femininity.
Paul explains his reasoning in 1st Corinthians 11:7-9. Man is in the image and glory of God while woman is in the glory of man. Men display God's character in that they were created to practice dominion over this creation with wisdom, power, skill, creativity, and responsibility. Women, in her submissiveness, honor, and respect of men display's man's submissiveness to God. Together, functioning in their proper roles, they display the perfect balance of the image and glory of God.
Paul then goes on to explain that even nature testifies to us that men and women are different (1st Cor 11:14-16). We should understand simply by looking at each other that we were created different. We have different plumbing, women naturally look more soft while men are more rugged. Once we start to talk everyone can realize men are from mars and women are from venus. Unfortunately in the American culture we have disregarded these differences and have come to believe that you can choose your gender. This is a direct attack by Satan who is attempting to scar the image of God.
Bruce Jenner said in an interview, "I'm a woman even though genetically I wasn't born that way." Interesting that HE said genetics make no difference in HIS sexuality. Yet the homosexual movement has been telling us for years they are "born this way" and "have no choice" because they have the gay gene. So which one is it? Do genetics determine your sexual preference or do they not? Whenever you suppress the truth of God in unrighteousness it always leads to illogic, a darkened mind and a hard heart.
The Church needs to be the salt and light in preserving the image of God. We can do this only if women decide they want to be fully women and men decide they want to be fully men. Don't let the culture tell you what makes a man/woman. We need to look at God's Word and see WHO makes man/woman. For only then can we understand how we are to function.
In what ways are Christian men/women failing to function as true men/women?
What was the problem? The lines of hierarchy were not clear. The movie displayed a situation where one man was right for rejecting the captains orders yet the captain was right for placing him under arrest. Lucky for us God has established a divine hierarchy that is clear. 1st Corinthians 11:3 tells us this divine hierarchy is God-->Christ-->Man-->Woman. This doesn't describe the levels of value. For God and Christ are valued the same. Rather, it describes function. In this universe that God created Christ subjected himself to the Father in order to carry out redemption (Heb 5:8-9; John 6:38). Therefore, God established that women should function in subjection to men. All church members function in subjection to their church leaders without feeling devalued so women function in subjection to men.
1st Corinthians 11:4-5 explain that in the Corinthian church there were certain cultural nuances that were being disregarded that disregarded God's divine hierarchy. For the Greeks women wore head coverings as a sign of submission to their husbands and/or fathers. Evidently the women in the Christian church were throwing off their head coverings espousing their freedom in Christ. But Paul tells them that they should continue to observe cultural trends that distinguish between the genders. That is, it is not right to blur the lines between masculinity and femininity.
Paul explains his reasoning in 1st Corinthians 11:7-9. Man is in the image and glory of God while woman is in the glory of man. Men display God's character in that they were created to practice dominion over this creation with wisdom, power, skill, creativity, and responsibility. Women, in her submissiveness, honor, and respect of men display's man's submissiveness to God. Together, functioning in their proper roles, they display the perfect balance of the image and glory of God.
Paul then goes on to explain that even nature testifies to us that men and women are different (1st Cor 11:14-16). We should understand simply by looking at each other that we were created different. We have different plumbing, women naturally look more soft while men are more rugged. Once we start to talk everyone can realize men are from mars and women are from venus. Unfortunately in the American culture we have disregarded these differences and have come to believe that you can choose your gender. This is a direct attack by Satan who is attempting to scar the image of God.
Bruce Jenner said in an interview, "I'm a woman even though genetically I wasn't born that way." Interesting that HE said genetics make no difference in HIS sexuality. Yet the homosexual movement has been telling us for years they are "born this way" and "have no choice" because they have the gay gene. So which one is it? Do genetics determine your sexual preference or do they not? Whenever you suppress the truth of God in unrighteousness it always leads to illogic, a darkened mind and a hard heart.
The Church needs to be the salt and light in preserving the image of God. We can do this only if women decide they want to be fully women and men decide they want to be fully men. Don't let the culture tell you what makes a man/woman. We need to look at God's Word and see WHO makes man/woman. For only then can we understand how we are to function.
In what ways are Christian men/women failing to function as true men/women?
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