There
is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is
no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you
are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to
promise.
I mean that the heir, as long as he
is a child, is no different from a slave, though he is the owner of
everything, but he is under guardians and managers until the date set
by his father. In the same way we also, when we were children, were
enslaved to the elementary principles of the world. But when the
fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman,
born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that
we might receive adoption as sons. Galatians
3:28-4:5 English Standard Version (ESV)
(from
here) “A footnote in my
Bible adds, “The Greek word for
adoption to sonship is a
legal term referring to the full legal standing of an adopted male
heir in Roman culture.” Paul is saying that all who are in Christ
Jesus– Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male or female– have
received the
same promise of the adoption to sonship.
No
one who has faith in Christ has any lesser legal standing, powers or
privileges than anyone else.”
What does it mean to be a son of God?
To have all the rights, privileges and inheritance of a son?
I have the right to the kingdom of
heaven. I have the right to enter the presence of God and bring my
praise, requests and hopes before Him at any time. I have the right
to the indwelling of His Holy Spirit. I have the right to entirely
equal standing, as a woman, with any man in this world. I have the
birthright to the kingdom of God Himself!
Yet there is something terrible
happening, something my own Christian sisters and brothers are
promoting and living by.
“Once when Jacob was cooking
some stew, Esau came in from the open country, famished. He said to
Jacob, "Quick, let me have some of that red stew! I'm famished!"
(That is why he was also called Edom.) Jacob replied, "First
sell me your birthright."
"Look, I am about to die,"
Esau said. "What good is the birthright to me?"
But
Jacob said, "Swear to me first." So he swore an oath to
him, selling his birthright to Jacob.
Then Jacob gave Esau some
bread and some lentil stew. He ate and drank, and then got up and
left. So Esau despised his birthright.” Genesis 25:29-34 New
American Standard Bible (NASB)
Just as Esau sold his birthright for
nothing more than a single bowl of soup, so Christian women and girls
are selling their birthright as the Sons of God... for what? To be
accepted among the church. To appear to be “doing everything
right”. Selling it in favor of a false interpretation of a few
verses in the Bible that it seems many do not take the time to study
out to find their true meaning.
“I cannot be a pastor, I am a woman.”
“I can't go on the mission field
alone, I am a woman.”
“I cannot lead my family, I am a
woman.”
“I can't make that decision, I am a
woman.”
Tell me, is this not giving up your
BIRTHRIGHT as a Son of God? There are no “daughters of God”. Only
Sons, only heirs to the full birthright and inheritance. And if I am
a full heir to the Kingdom of God, who is to tell me that I cannot
serve my Lord as He has provided and led me? Who is to tell me that I am somehow "lesser" and "not able" to operate in equality with my pastor, my father, my husband, my brothers?
Somehow, as a woman, God cannot put in
me the desire and ability to pastor a church? As a woman, I do not
have the birthright to equality with men? God's Spirit falls on all
who accept it, both MEN & WOMEN. God's blessings are equally
granted to both men and women. God's Spirit and gifts are given to
BOTH men & women!
Sisters, it is no righteous thing to
give up your birthright in the name of “submission,” or
“obedience,” or “deference.” Brothers, it is no righteous
thing to take away the birthright of any of God's children simply
based on the fact that they are a woman.
But this
is what was uttered through the prophet Joel:
“‘
And in the last days it shall be, God declares,
that I
will pour out my Spirit on all flesh,
and your sons and your
daughters shall prophesy,
and your young men shall see
visions,
and your old men shall dream dreams;
even on my male
servants and female servants
in those days I will pour out my
Spirit, and they shall prophesy. Acts 2:16-18 (ESV)
When
Peter announced this on the day of Pentecost, he was stating that
those days of the outpouring of God's Spirit are upon us! That
prophecy from Joel had been fulfilled at that time, and is continuing
to be fulfilled today.
All of
God's children, both men and women, are commanded to walk in the
fruit of the Spirit. All are warriors in a fierce spiritual battle,
and are to put on the armor of the Lord to FIGHT that battle! Why
would we, as women, remove ourselves from that spiritual battle and
give up our birthright as the Sons of God?
Humans
make divisions and hierarchies. Jesus came to redeem us from the Law, from the patriarchal societies that go against God's will and design. In God's eyes, there is no-one
“better,” “stronger,” or “more able.” My strength comes
from Christ, not from my physical self. Women have the indwelling of
the SAME Spirit as men, so how does it make any sense that they would
not be called the same way, given the same gifts, and entrusted the
same mission and ministry as any man?
It
does not make sense that after the coming of the Spirit all people
were declared equal in Christ, yet... not in the realm of ministry? Not
in the home?
If God
has called and equipped me, it is up to me to do what He
would have me do. Do not sell
your birthright for anything! Not for security, comfort, or the
chance to fit in! I may be shunned by many Christians for they cannot
imagine the verses they read to mean anything other than what they
have always heard them interpreted as. Read, study, search it out for
yourself. Accept no teaching without thorough study of how it lines
up with scripture.
Accept
your birthright as a Son of God, and walk in the power of His Spirit
over your life!
