ONE FAMILY PLAN
Union of the Man and the Woman
First, there is NO spiritual difference!
“So in Christ Jesus YOU ARE ALL CHILDREN OF GOD through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, NOR IS THERE MALE AND FEMALE, FOR YOU ARE ALL ONE IN CHRIST JESUS.” (Galatians 3:26-28)
Second…
IN CHRIST we are NOT UNDER THE LAW!
“Therefore we conclude that A MAN IS JUSTIFIED BY FAITH APART FROM THE DEEDS OF THE LAW.” (Romans 3:28, NKJV)
If we are led by Spirit…
“BUT IF YOU ARE LED BY THE SPIRIT, YOU ARE NOT UNDER THE LAW.” (Galatians 5:18, NIV)
Third…
This is how we are to live! There is NO LAW IN LOVE!
“BUT THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT IS LOVE, JOY, PEACE, FORBEARANCE, KINDNESS, GOODNESS, FAITHFULNESS, GENTLENESS AND SELF-CONTROL. AGAINST SUCH THINGS THERE IS NO LAW.” (Galatians 5:22, NIV)
“DO EVERYTHING IN LOVE.” (1 Corinthians 16:14 NIV)
“Whoever does not love does not know God, because GOD IS LOVE.” (1 John 4:8 NIV)
“And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. GOD IS LOVE. WHOEVER LIVES IN LOVE LIVES IN GOD, AND GOD IN THEM.” (1 John 4:16 NIV)
In Christ there are no “do this” and “do that” demands – there is ONLY LOVE!
“So then, the word of the LORD to them will become: DO THIS, DO THAT, A RULE FOR THIS, A RULE FOR THAT; A LITTLE HERE, A LITTLE THERE—SO THAT AS THEY GO THEY WILL FALL BACKWARD; THEY WILL BE INJURED AND SNARED AND CAPTURED.” (Isaiah 28:13, NIV)
“LOVE DOES NO HARM TO A NEIGHBOR. THEREFORE LOVE IS THE FULFILLMENT OF THE LAW.”
-Romans 13:10 (NIV)
“CARRY EACH OTHER’S BURDENS, AND IN THIS WAY YOU WILL FULFILL THE LAW OF CHRIST.” -Galatians 6:2 (NIV)
“Let no debt remain outstanding, except THE CONTINUING DEBT TO LOVE ONE ANOTHER, FOR WHOEVER LOVES OTHERS HAS FULFILLED THE LAW.” -Romans 13:8 (NIV)
“SO IN EVERYTHING, DO TO OTHERS WHAT YOU WOULD HAVE THEM DO TO YOU, FOR THIS SUMS UP THE LAW AND THE PROPHETS.” -Matthew 7:12 (NIV)
And so it is… whatever “do’s and dont’s” we needed “under the Law” – from these we are FREE IN CHRIST…IN LOVE!
As we are ‘ONE flesh’ in marriage, so we are ‘ONE people/person’ in Spirit- it is a profound mystery, a story, a parable!!
“This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church.” (Ephesians 5:32)
“Or know ye not that he that is joined to a harlot is one body? for, The twain, saith he, shall become one flesh. BUT HE THAT IS JOINED UNTO THE LORD IS ONE SPIRIT.” (1 Cor 6:16-17)
We are ALL a part of each other…
MAN IS FROM DUST: “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” (Gen 2:7)
WOMAN IS FROM MAN: “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.” (Gen 2:23)
Both are from God! Of God! For God!
Man “…is the image and glory of God: but the woman is the glory of the man.” (1 Cor 11:7)
From the man for the man…As woman is companion, friend, comforter, and lover of man, so mankind is lover, friend, companion of God… but of course… From God for God… and His Love is beyond measure!
“For man is not from woman, but woman from man. Nor was man created for the woman, but woman for the man.” (1 Corinthians 11:8-9)
Woman had not arrived yet… but we all know it is LONELY being ALONE for either sex!! There is power in unity, oneness, LOVE!
“And the Lord God said, ‘It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.’” (Genesis 2:18)
Can a woman be independent and still be a Godly woman? Yes! IN LOVE, IN CHRIST, THERE IS NO LAW! Is it offensive to men? Sometimes, yes. Should it be? No! Is it offensive to dress certain ways, eat certain foods- sometimes, yes. All of us should be aware and proceed cautiously… when in Rome…
“DO EVERYTHING IN LOVE.” (1 Corinthians 16:14 NIV)
Women can be DIFFICULT:
“I find more bitter than death the woman who is a snare, WHOSE HEART IS A TRAP AND WHOSE HANDS ARE CHAINS. The man who pleases God will escape her, but the sinner she will ensnare.” (Ecclesiastes 7:26) “Better to dwell in a corner of a housetop, than in a house shared with a contentious woman.” (Proverbs 21:9; see also 21:19; 25:24) “A continual dripping on a very rainy day and a contentious woman are alike; whoever restrains her restrains the wind, and grasps oil with his right hand.” (Proverbs 27:15-16)
Men can be MORE DIFFICULT:
“The king spake, and said, IS NOT THIS GREAT BABYLON, THAT I HAVE BUILT for the house of the kingdom BY THE MIGHT OF MY POWER, and FOR THE HONOUR OF MY MAJESTY? While the word was in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken; The kingdom is departed from thee.” (Dan 4:30-31)
AUTHORITY
Scripturally speaking, "there is neither male nor female" (Galatians 3:28). We are ALL equally important! Man is NOT to be elevated above a woman! We are ONE in Christ:
“So in Christ Jesus YOU ARE ALL CHILDREN OF GOD through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, NOR IS THERE MALE AND FEMALE, FOR YOU ARE ALL ONE IN CHRIST JESUS.” (Galatians 3:26-28)
It is an honor for women to be married and to be homemakers and to be kind to their husbands...
“…self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.” (Titus 2:5)
“So I counsel younger widows to marry, to have children, to manage their homes…” (1 Tim 5:14)
It is also an honor for a woman to RULE A COUNTRY!
Placed in authority by God…
“Now DEBORAH, A PROPHET, the wife [she was married] of Lappidoth, WAS LEADING ISRAEL at that time.” (Judges 4:4)
Deborah understood the delicate male ego. With kindness she responds…
“'Very well,' she replied, 'I will go with you. But you will receive no honor in this venture, for the LORD’s victory over Sisera will be at the hands of a woman.'” (Judges 4:9)
Women are placed in authority by God:
“Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for THERE IS NO AUTHORITY EXCEPT THAT WHICH GOD HAS ESTABLISHED. The authorities that exist have been established by God.” (Romans 13:1)
Can women lead? Yes! WOMEN CAN DO ALL THINGS IN CHRIST!
The picture/parable/physical parallel is clear… our design is relevant to the plan
“Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior.” (Ephesians 5:22-23)
“Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.” (Ephesians 5:24)
“And God placed ALL things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church…” (Ephesians 1:22)
Men have a great responsibility. We had better love our wives with ALL our heart! We are ONE FAMILY!
“HUSBANDS, LOVE YOUR WIVES, EVEN AS CHRIST ALSO LOVED THE CHURCH, and gave himself for it…” (Ephesians 5:25)
“There is ONE BODY, and ONE SPIRIT, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; ONE LORD, ONE FAITH, ONE BAPTISM, ONE GOD AND FATHER OF ALL, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.” (Ephesians 4:4-6)
It is the heart!! Can a woman wear lipstick, make-up? Of course! There are no rules in Christ, IN LOVE. It is NOT the outward appearance but the hidden man of the heart!
“Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.” (1 Peter 3:3-4)
“Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband.” (Ephesians 5:33)
GOD IS THE HUSBAND…
“FOR YOUR MAKER IS YOUR HUSBAND—the Lord Almighty is his name—the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; he is called the God of all the earth.” -Isaiah 54:5 (NIV)
We are the wife…
“‘THE LORD WILL CALL YOU BACK AS IF YOU WERE A WIFE DESERTED and distressed in spirit—a wife who married young, only to be rejected,’ says your God.”-Isaiah 54:6 (NIV)
“FOR A BRIEF MOMENT I ABANDONED YOU, BUT WITH DEEP COMPASSION I WILL BRING YOU BACK.” -Isaiah 54:7 (NIV)
Married to Christ! Married to God!
“I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him.” -2 Corinthians 11:2 (NIV)
WE are New Jerusalem, the Bride of Christ…
“And I John saw THE HOLY CITY, NEW JERUSALEM, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared AS A BRIDE ADORNED FOR HER HUSBAND.” -Revelation 21:2 (KJV)
And the Body of Christ…
“So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church: FOR WE ARE MEMBERS OF HIS BODY, OF HIS FLESH, AND OF HIS BONES.”
-Ephesians 5:28-30 (KJV)
WE are married to Christ… ONE in CHRIST
“Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become DEAD TO THE LAW BY THE BODY OF CHRIST; THAT YE SHOULD BE MARRIED TO ANOTHER, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God.” -Romans 7:4 (KJV)
“For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.” -Ephesians 5:31-32 (KJV)
