Wishing all of you

 

                                 

 

                             A MERRY CHRISTMAS AND

                           GOD'S BLESSINGS FOR 2021

 

 

 

 

P.S  I will take a short break but will start posting on this blog again on Monday 4 January 2021.

The husband is in charge: Nancy Leigh DeMoss Wolgemuth P/8

                                                      Read Part One HERE

 In this post I continue to focus on Nancy Leigh DeMoss Wolgemuth. She is a member of the Board of Reference of the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood.

She has written a True Woman Manifesto. One of the statements of that Manifesto is as follows:

 Nancy Leigh DeMoss Wolgemuth: "When we (women) respond humbly and appropriately to male leadership in our homes and churches, we demonstrate a noble submission that honours God's Word and reflects Christ's obedience to the will of His Father."

My Comment

Nancy Leigh DeMoss Wolgemuth very likely refers to the unbiblical teaching of the Eternal Submission of God the Son to God the Father (ESS) connecting that to further unbiblical teaching of submission (obedience) of a wife/a woman to her husband/a man, when she writes "....We demonstrate a noble submission that honours God's Word and reflects Christ's obedience to the will of His Father."  God calls both men and women to submit to one another in homes and churches (Ephesians 5:21-22). Jesus demonstrated what leadership in the church and at home would look like at the time of the Last Supper when He washed the feet of His disciples. After He had done this, He said in John 13:12-17

When He had finished washing their feet, He put on His clothes and returned to His place."Do you understand what I have done for you?" He asked them. "You call me Teacher and Lord and rightly so for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you should also wash one anothers' feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger, greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed, if you do them."

As male and female believers "wash each others' feet", they serve each other, care for each other, love each other both in their homes and in their churches, thereby honouring the Lord who served them by dying for them on the Cross.

Read Part Nine HERE

The husband is to be masculine: Nancy Leigh DeMoss Wolgmuth P/7

                                                     Read Part One HERE

In this post I continue to focus on bible teacher and author Nancy Leigh DeMoss Wolgemuth. She is a member of The Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood.

She has written a True Woman Manifesto. One of the statements of that Manifesto is as follows

Nancy Leigh DeMoss Wolgemuth: "Men and women are both created in the image of God and are equal in value and dignity, but have distinct roles and functions in the home and in the church. We are called as women to affirm and encourage men as they seek to express godly masculinity, and to honour and support God-ordained male leadership in the home and in the church."

My Comment

The term masculinity cannot be found in the Bible but is a cultural term. Therefore, Scripture does not describe what it means to be masculine. Neither does Scripture teach that women are "to affirm and encourage men as they seek to express godly masculinity."When God created the first man and the first woman He gave them the task of ruling over creation together (Genesis 1:26-28). At the time of the Fall the man took it upon himself to begin to rule over the woman (Genesis 3:16d). However, Christ reversed that situation when He died on the Cross. All believers, male and female, are now to be like Him (Philippians 2:1-11), submitting to each other (Ephesians 5:21-22), serving as Christ did who only came to serve (Matthew 20:25-28) whether at home or in the church. 

Read Part Eight HERE

The wife's role is to bear children: Nancy Leigh DeMoss Wolgemuth P/6

Read Part One HERE

In this post I continue to focus on bible teacher and author Nancy Leigh DeMoss Wolgemuth. She is a member of the Board of Reference of The Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood and has written a book called "Lies Women Believe."

Some further statements from that book are as follows

Nancy Leigh DeMoss Wolgemuth: "The Scripture is clear that a married woman's life and ministry are to be centred in her home. This is not to suggest that it is necessarily wrong for a wife and mother to have a job outside her home -  unless that job competes with or diminishes her effectiveness in fulfilling her primary calling at home. The truth is that God gave to the man the primary responsibility to be the "breadwinner" for his wife and children." (p.127)

Nancy Leigh DeMoss Wolgemuth; "In the apostle Paul's first epistle to Timothy, we are reminded that childbearing is a basic, God-given role for women.... A woman's willingness to embrace, rather than shun, her God-given role and calling ("childbearing") is a necessary fruit that will accompany genuine salvation - it is proof that she belongs to Him and follows His ways." (p.171)

My Comment

Scripture does not make it clear that a married woman's life and ministry are to be centred in her home. Instead, in Genesis 1:26-28 God gave both the man and the woman the task of ruling over creation. They were to fulfill that task as equal partners. We have examples of couples working together as equal partners in the New Testament such as 

Priscilla and Aquilla who pastored a church together (Romans 16:3-5a)                                            Andronicus and Junia who were apostles (Romans 16:7)                                                               

Furthermore, Paul mentioned a number of women co-workers such as Mary (Romans 16:6), Tryphena, Tryphosa and Persis (Romans 16:12).

He mentioned as well some women overseers such as Chloe (1 Corinthians 1:11) and Nympha (Colossians 4:15)

Jesus had a number of women disciples who left home to travel with Him such as Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joses, the mother of Zebedee's sons (Matthew 27:56), Salome (Mark 16:1) and Susanna (Luke 8:1-3).

No doubt, these women had households to take care of but they are not mentioned in connection to their homes, only in connection to their ministry.

As for the man being the main "breadwinner", God gave to both the man and the woman the task of ruling over Creation in Genesis 1:26-28. That will have meant they both worked in the Garden together. That is confirmed when God tells the woman in Genesis 3:16 that it will be more challenging for her to work the soil because of the curse that is about to be placed on it as we know from the CORRECT translations of Genesis 3:16a which is as follows

I will surely multiply your toil (related to the soil) and I will multiply your conception.                          With effort you will bring forth children.                                                                                                  You will turn to your husband.                                                                                                                 And he will rule over you

Examples of women as "breadwinners" are:                                                                                             Caleb's daughterAcsah (Joshua 15:18b-19); The Proverbs 31 Woman (Proverbs 31:16-18a); Lydia (Acts 16:14); Priscilla (Acts 18:2-3).

As for Paul's first epistle to Timothy, Nancy is very likely referring to 1 Timothy 2:15 

But women will be saved through childbearing - if they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety.

Nancy has  made the gospel a gospel of works since she insists that women are to be willing to embrace childbearing as proof that they are saved. This is a very interesting statement coming from her since she was a single woman until 2015 when she married at the age of 57 and has never borne any children. Moreover, there are many women who, though married, have not been able to bear children. Would that mean they could not be saved? Of course, not. Nancy completely misunderstands this verse, as do many other bible teachers, causing much damage to the body of believers.

This verse is a correction to false teaching that had entered the church in Ephesus through one or more false female teachers.  Part of their false teaching was that marriage and motherhood were obstacles to a close walk with God. Paul is correcting that teaching by stating that marriage and motherhood are blessed by God as the Creator and  does not prevent any woman to have an intimate relationship with God as long as her relationship with God is based on faith, love and holiness.

P.S. My apologies for the sentence "This is unbibiblical council and should be ignored by any woman" in my previous post which should read "This is unbiblical counsel and should be ignored by any woman."

Read Part Seven HERE

 

The wife must revere her husband: Nancy Leigh DeMoss P/5

                                                      Read Part One HERE

In this post I continue to focus on bible teacher and author Nancy Leigh DeMoss Wolgemuth. She is a member of the Board of Reference of the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood and has written a book called "Lies Women Believe."

Below are some statements from that book.

Nancy Leigh DeMoss Wolgemuth: "There are extreme situations where an obedient wife may need to remove herself and/or her children from proximity to her husband, if to remain in that setting would be to place themselves in physical danger. However, even in such a case, a woman can - and must - maintain an attitude of reverence for her husband's position; her goal is not to belittle or resist him as her husband but, ultimately, to see God restore him to obedience. If she provokes or worsens the situation through her attitudes, words or behaviour, she will interfere with what God wants to do in her husband's life and will not be free to claim God's protection and intervention on her behalf." (p.149) 

My Comment

Nancy's statement shows that she does not know the heart of God towards the hurting, including hurting women and children.

Scripture does not teach anywhere that a woman is to be obedient to her husband. However, Scripture teaches that husband and wife are to mutually submit to each other (Ephesians 5:21-22), love each other (1 Peter 4:8), serve each other (Galatians 5:13), respect each other (1 Peter 2:17).

Any husband who is mentally or emotionally or spiritually or physically abusive towards his wife and children is not submissive towards his wife, does not love her, does not serve her, does not respect her. He has broken the marriage covenant. And the wife of a husband who behaves abusively towards her and her children needs to remove herself and her children in such circumstances. She may well have to divorce her husband to make legal what has already taken place in her marriage and to protect herself and her children.

As for God restoring a husband to obedience, God can only restore him to obedience if the husband is truly willing for God to do that work in his life by showing true repentance. That work does not require for the wife to remain in the marital home or even to remain married to her husband.

As for the wife not being free to claim God's protection and intervention on her behalf if she provokes or worsens the situation through her attitudes, words or behaviour, thereby interfering with what God wants to do in her husband's life, this is unbiblical counsel and should be ignored by any woman!! She is not responsible for what God wants to do in her husband's life. That is between God and her husband, and very much depends on her husband's willingness to co-operate with God.

P.S. We will look at some other statements from the book Lies Women Believe in my next post.

Read Part Six HERE

The husband takes pride in his strength: Nancy Leigh DeMoss Wolgemuth P/4

                                                      Read Part One HERE

 In this post I continue to focus on bible teacher and author Nancy Leigh DeMoss Wolgemuth. She is on the Board of Reference of the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood as well as on the Board of Reference of Joyful Christian Ministries, a ministry founded by the wife and daughters of fundamental Baptist pastor and evangelist John R. Rice, including his daughter Elizabeth Rice Handford who wrote the book "Me? Obey Him?"

We will continue looking at some statements from the book as follows

  "When you give back to your husband the responsibility for the direction of the home and the making of decisions, you also give him the responsibility for the consequences of his decisions.... Fortunately, that's the way a man likes it. God made a man to be aggressive, to respond to challenge, to glory in his manhood, to rejoice in draining his strength, to risk great hazards for the one he loves. It is his very aggressiveness that a woman sometimes finds frightening, simply because she is a woman. She doesn't have confidence in her physical strength, in her ability to cope with danger, in her decision-making ability. It is a privilege unearned, for a woman to have a man take upon himself her welfare." (P.56).

My Comment 

In Genesis 1:26-28 we read that God gave both the man and the woman the task of ruling over Creation. That has never changed so it is not only the man who is responsible for the direction of the home. Both the man and the woman are responsible for the direction of the home and make decisions for it as a team under the Lordship of Christ!! His and her confidence in their ability to make right decisions is not in themselves but in the Lord that He will give them wisdom to make the right decisions when they prayerfully seek Him. As for any man to be aggressive and to glory in his manhood, any male believer is to glory in the cross of the of Christ as Paul wrote in Galatians 6:14

May I never boast (glory) except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me and I to the world. 

As for a woman to have a man take upon himself her welfare, a wife is to be a husband's  "ezer kenegdo" or "equal partner" according to Genesis 2:18 and not a"welfare" project.

P.S. I believe that Nancy Leigh Demoss Wolgemuth, though not the author of the book "Me? Obey him?", will be in agreement with what is written in it since she is a member of the Board of Reference of Joyful Christian Ministries, the ministry that was set up by the wife and daughters of fundamental Baptist pastor and evangelist John R. Rice, one of whose daughters is Elizabeth Rice Handford.            In my next post I will begin to focus on statements from Nancy Leigh Demoss Wolgemuth's book "Lies Women believe."

Read Part Five HERE

The husband speaks for God; Nancy Leigh DeMoss Wolgemuth P/3

                                                     Read Part One HERE

In this post I continue to focus on bible teacher and author Nancy Leigh DeMoss Wolgemuth. She is on the Board of Reference of The Council On Biblical Manhood and Womanhood as well as on the Board of Reference of Joyful Christian Ministries, a ministry founded by the wife and daughters of fundamental pastor and evangelist John R. Rice, including his daughter Elizabeth Rice Handford who wrote the book "Me Obey Him?"

We will continue looking at some statements from the above book as follows

1. " Beyond a shadow of a doubt, the Scriptures say a woman ought to obey her husband. If you are intellectually honest, you will have to admit that it is impossible to find a single loophole, a single exception, an "if" or "unless." The Scriptures say, without qualification, to the open minded reader, that a woman ought to obey her husband (pp.24, 25).  

2. She is to obey regardless of his spiritual condition. The wife who obeys her husband may win him over by her meek and quiet spirit, her loving behaviour (p. 25).   

3. She need not fear conflicting authority. There is no hint that a woman may have to choose between conflicting authority... If is it needed in order to fulfill both obligations, God will do a miracle to make it possible... It is safe to conclude that when God told a woman to obey her husband, He intended for her to be able to do it without risk of offending other authorities (pp. 25, 28). 

4. She obeys without reference to her feelings about the will of God, The Scriptures say that a woman must ignore her "feelings" about the will of God and do what her husband says. She is to obey her husband as if he were God Himself. She can be as certain of God's will , when her husbands speaks, as if God had spoken audibly from heaven (p.28).

My Comment

1.The Scriptures do not teach anywhere that a woman is to obey her husband. In Genesis 1:26-28 we learn that God gave to the male as well as the female the task to rule over creation. In Genesis 2:18 we read that God made the woman as the man's "ezer kenegdo" or "equal partner."                                       In Ephesians 5:21-22 we read of mutual submission.                                                                                In 1 Peter 3:1-6 the Apostle Peter mentioned that Sarah listened to or heeded Abraham, However, in Genesis 21:8-12 we read that God told Abraham to listen to or heed Sarah. 

2. As I already mentioned Scripture does not teach that a woman is to obey her husband. Neither does it teach that she is to obey him regardless of his spiritual condition. Abigail did not obey her husband and saved her life and that of the members of her household (1 Samuel 25). Moreover, queen Esther went to see her husband even though he had not called for her, thereby putting her life in danger (Esther 4:15-16).

3. God does not always do a miracle to make it possible for a woman to fulfill both obligations because He has never told a woman to obey her husband. However, the woman is to obey God as we know from Acts 5:29                                                                                                                                               Peter and the other apostles replied, "We must obey God rather than men!"                                    In the above situation God did not do a miracle for the apostles had been in prison and afterwards were flogged. Likewise, any believer be they male or female may well have to face the consequences of their actions rather than have a miracle happen to them. However, no matter what they may have to go through they can be assured of God's Presence with them at all times.

4.Scripture never mentions that  a woman is to ignore her feelings about the will of God and do what her husband says for he speaks as if he were God Himself. That is making an idol of her husband!! The Holy Spirit resides within every female believer and He will help her know if there is anything she needs to say to her husband as his "ezer kenegdo" or "equal partner." Let's remember that in the case of Abigail, she acted without her husband's approval. And in the case of Esther, she went against the law of the land as approved of by her husband.

Read Part Four HERE

 

Women are easily led astray: Nancy Leigh DeMoss Wolgemuth P/2

                                                       Read Part One HERE

 In this post I continue to focus on bible teacher and author Nancy Leigh DeMoss Wolgemuth, who is on the Board of Reference of The Council On Biblical Manhood and Womanhood as well as on the Board of Reference of Joyful Christian Ministries, a ministry set up by the wife and daughters of fundamental Baptist  pastor and evangelist John R. Rice, whose daughter Elizabeth Rice Handford wrote a book called "Me? Obey him?"

Elizabeth Rice Handford has written the following: "We've had the impression that women as a class are more spiritually minded than men, with sensibilities more refined, and purer thoughts. Scriptures says the opposite is true. Women are more often led into spiritual error than men. Perhaps it is caused by her intuitive, emotional thinking. (Intuitive thinking is God's gift, not to be despised, but it needs the balance of a man's reason.) I should add too, that a woman does not have to be led into error. That is the reason God commanded her not to usurp authority over the man, so she can be protected from false doctrine." (p.17)

My Comment

There is no passage in the Bible that says that women are more often led into spiritual error than men. Neither does the Bible declare that this is because of a woman's intuitive, emotional thinking that needs the balance of a man's reason. 

On the contrary the Apostle Paul recommends a number of women such as Deacon Phoebe (Romans 16:1-2), Co-Workers Mary (Romans 16:6) and Tryphena, Tryphosa, Persis (Romans 16:12), Teacher and Co-Pastor Priscilla (Acts 18:24-26; Romans 16:3-5),  Overseers Chloe (1 Corinthians 1:11) and Nympha (Colossians 4:15), Apostle Junia (Romans 16:7).

Scripture makes it clear that all believers, male and female alike, are to have a renewed mind according to Romans 12:2

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - His good, pleasing and perfect will.

The renewing of our minds will happen as we study and meditate on God's word.

All believers, male and female alike, are to be led by the Holy Spirit in their thinking, in their speaking, as well as in their actions as we know from Romans 8:14

Because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.

As for a woman not usurping authority over the man, Elizabeth is most likely, referring to the King James Version of 1 Timothy 2:12

But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.

This verse refers to a false woman teacher or false women teachers who was or were not allowed to teach for the time being because she or they had to learn right doctrine first. Once she or they had received correct doctrine they could teach. 

Read Part Three HERE

 

Women are daughters of Eve: Michelle Lesley P/12

Read Part One HERE

In this post I continue to focus on popular blogger Michelle Lesley when I will discuss a final statement by her on 1 Timothy 2:11-12 and beyond

 Let a woman learn in quietness and full submission. I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man, she must remain quiet.

Michelle Lesley: "But even though we, daughters of Eve, bear the taint of her reproach in this small way all these years later, God has graciously provided us with many ways to redeem the name of womankind by serving Him if we "continue in faith love and holiness with self-control (1 Timothy 2:15b). One of those ways is the gospel influence mothers are able to have in their children's lives."

My Comment

Paul never called female believers "daughters of Eve" who bear the taint of her reproach in a small way, but he calls them "sons of God" (Romans 8:14, Galatians 3:26) for he sees them as "New Creations in Christ" (2 Corinthians 5:17) since Christ became a curse for male as well as female believers (Galatians 3:13).

As for 1 Timothy 2:15, it is as follows

"But women will be saved through childbearing....If they continue in faith, love and holiness with self-control." 

Now we know that Paul did not teach here on God's free gift of salvation that no woman can enhance by her own works, including childbearing. But this text is a correction on further false teaching that marriage and childbearing were not considered to be good things. In fact, Paul was saying that marriage and motherhood were part of God's plan for women as their Creator and were not obstacles to a close walk with God as these false teachers claimed.

P.S. This is my last post on Michelle Lesley

 

Women must not overstep their position: Michelle Lesley P/11

                                                     Read Part One HERE

In this post I continue to focus on popular blogger Michelle Lesley when I will discuss another statement by her on 1 Timothy 2:11-12 and beyond

Let a woman learn in all quietness and full submission. I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather she is to remain quiet.

Michelle Lesley: "The second reason that God reserves the positions of teaching and authority over male and mixed groups to men can be found in 1 Timothy 2:14

And Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor.

Here Paul reminds us that, when Eve listened to the serpent, she stepped out from under her husband's oversight, was deceived and sinned. Eve's sin reminds us that she not only was deceived into rebelling against God's command about eating the fruit but she also broke His design for male headship in marriage. In establishing male leadership in the church, God is recalling, reflecting and restoring His pattern for male headship that started in the Garden."

My Comment

As for the woman having stepped out from under her husband's oversight, she was never under her husband's oversight, so she could not have stepped out from under it. The truth is, she disobeyed God and so did the man by eating the fruit. She did not break God's design for male headship in marriage because there was no such design in place as we know from Genesis 1:26-28 where we read that God gave both the man and the woman the task of ruling over creation. Moreover, God is not recalling, reflecting and restoring His pattern of male headship that started in the Garden but certain male church leaders such as Professor Wayne A. Grudem, Pastor John Piper and others like them, have been bringing in unbiblical patriarchal/complementarian teaching through the Council of Biblical Manhood and Womanhood trying to establish the rule of men over women at home as well as in the church. Their teaching is very much in line with the teaching on the role of men and women of Roman Catholic Church Fathers as well as Protestant Reformers of the past who, in fact, were all influenced by Greek pagan Philosphers such as Plato etc.

As for the woman having been deceived, she acknowledged before God that Satan had deceived her as we know from Genesis 3:13b. At that time the man sinned knowingly but did not acknowledge it. Instead, he blamed the woman and indirectly blamed God for his sin as we know from Genesis 3:12.

Read Part Twelve HERE

Women are "helpers": Michelle Lesley P/10

                                                                                                                                                                                               

                                                      Read Part One HERE

In this post I continue to focus on popular blogger Michelle Lesley when I will discuss a further statement by her on 1 Timothy 2:11-12 and beyond

 Let a woman learn in quietness with all submission. I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man, rather she is to remain quiet.

 Michelle Lesley: "Why would God reserve the positions of teaching and authority over male and mixed groups to men? He gives two reasons. The first one can be found  in 1 Timothy 2:13

For Adam was formed first then Eve.

Michelle Lesley: "Starting with Creation, God began laying out the pattern of the male headship in the foundational institutions of His kingdom: Creation, the family and the church. Man was created first, woman second. Man was given authority over Creation, woman was specifically created for him, to be his helper. We also see male headship in the family. God requires husbands to take the primary leadership role and wives to submit to and respect their husbands. Starting with the very first man and woman, before sin entered the world, God initiated a pattern of male leadership." 

My Comment

Some women in the church in Ephesus may have been behaving in a domineering way because of false teachings they had received and were now teaching. These false teachings included errors with regard the Creation Account. For instance, the first woman was supposedly created before the first man and Paul wants Timothy to bring correction to that false teaching. However, as far as the Creation Account is concerned, we read in Genesis 1:26-28 that God did indeed give the first man authority over Creation but that, likewise, God gave the first woman authority over Creation.  And their authority was specifically over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, over every livestock, over all the earth and over all the creatures that move along the ground. The man was not given authority (headship) over the woman, neither was the woman given authority (headship) over the man. As for the woman being the man's "helper", she was made his "ezer kenegdo" which means "equal partner " in Genesis 2:18 which fits in exactly with God's design for the man and the woman in Genesis 1:26-28.

Read Part Eleven HERE

 

Women must never instruct men: Michelle Lesley P/9

 Read Part One HERE

 In this post I continue to focus on popular blogger Michelle Lesley when I will discuss a further statement by her on 1 Timothy 2:11-12 and beyond

1 Timothy 2:11-12

Let a woman learn in quietness with all submissiveness. I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather she is to remain quiet.

 Michelle Lesley; "Paul goes on to explain in verse 12 what he means by " in quietness with all submission." Women are not to teach men or to exercise authority over them. Teaching included any situation in the gathering of the body of Christ in which women would be given instruction to men in the Scriptures and/or in spiritual matters  whether in an official position of teacher, pastor, teaching elder, Sunday School/Bible Study teacher, or other leadership position, or any other situation requiring exhorting, teaching, or explaining of the Scriptures. Exercising authority includes any official position (pastor, pastoral positions, certain committee positions, elder, teacher, director, or other leadership position) or other situations which places a woman in charge of, over, or responsible for men or places men in a role subordinate to a woman."

My Comment

As I previously mentioned, in 1 Timothy 2:12 Timothy dealt with false female teachers.These false female teachers had to learn right doctrine quietly with all submission so they could absorb what they were taught. This meant that for the time being these women should not teach anyone, including men. As for the words that they were not to "exercise authority over men," Paul used the Greek term "authentein" which is not used anywhere else in the New Testament. However, we do know that it had a very negative meaning including "domineering." Paul was, therefore, not saying here that women should never be allowed to have rightful spiritual authority over men as teachers, pastors etc, but that women should not behave towards men in an inappropriate manner which was contrary to his teachings.

Read Part Ten HERE

Women's role is to listen: Michelle Lesley P/8

 Read Part One HERE

 

In this post I continue to focus on popular blogger Michelle Lesley when I will discuss another statement by her on 1 Timothy 2:11-12 and beyond

 1 Timothy 2:11-12

Let a woman learn quietly with all submissiveness. I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; she is to remain quiet."

Michelle Lesley: "Timothy and the elders are to allow women to be taught the gospel so that they might be saved. See the word "let" here at the beginning of verse 11? Timothy and the elders have the responsibility to step up and make sure women are allowed to come into the church and be taught the gospel."

 Michelle Lesley; "The men had the responsibility to make sure women were taught God's word so they could be saved and grow spiritually, but the women had the responsibility to listen, learn and conduct themselves in a way that would not hinder others from learning and hearing the gospel."

My Comment                                                                                                                                                    All believers, male and female, had the responsibility to listen and learn for that was the way Rabbinical students learned. In verses 11-12 Timothy did not deal with all female believers, he dealt with false female teachers. In their case he did not expel these false female teachers from the church, as he had done with some false male teachers (1 Timothy 2:19b - 20), but he allowed them to stay so they could learn right doctrine to prepare them for the time that they could teach.

Read Part Nine HERE

Women should know that 1 Timothy is not really for them: Michelle Lesley P/7

                                                      Read Part One HERE

In this post I continue to focus on popular blogger Michelle Lesley when I will begin to discuss her teaching on 1 Timothy 2:11-12 and beyond

She has made the following statement with regard 1 Timothy 2:11-12

"Let a woman learn quietly with all submissiveness. I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather she is to remain quiet."

Michelle Lesley: "First Timothy is one of the pastoral epistles. It was written by Paul to young pastor Timothy as a sort of job description and operations manual for pastors, elders and the church. So right off the bat, an important point we often miss about 1 Timothy is that is was written to a man, Timothy, a pastor, who would use this letter to train his elders (also men) and, subsequently, his congregation. That doesn't mean that 1 Timothy does not apply to women, or shouldn't be studied by women, or that women aren't required to obey 1 Timothy. It just means that when we open the letter of 1 Timothy, we need to understand that we, as women, are reading somebody else's mail. Mail that pertains to us, yes, but that mail is addressed to Timothy, and by extension, to pastors and elders today. That will help us better understand the tone and perspective of the passage."

 

My Comment

Paul wrote this letter to Timothy because he wanted him to deal with the false teachers at the church in Ephesus as we know from I Timothy 1:3

 

As I urged you when I went into Macedonia, stay there in Ephesus so that you may command certain men not to teach false doctrines any longer.

 

 Some of these false teachers were men (I Timothy 1:19b-20) but some of these false teachers were, in fact, women  (1 Timothy 2:11-15). Paul has Timothy deal with these male false teachers by removing them from the church but he has him deal with these false female teachers in a very different way as we will learn in future posts.

 

Rerad Part Eight HERE

Women should fulfill their roles in the church: Michelle Lesley P/6

Read Part One HERE
 

 

In this post I continue to focus on popular blogger Michelle Lesley when I will discuss her next example related to Galatians 3:38

Galatians 3:28

There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is mo male and female, for you are all one in Christ.

Michelle Lesley: "Anyone can come to Christ in repentance and faith - Jew or Gentile. slave of free, male of female, all are welcome. The ground is level at the foot of the cross. No one is more important than anybody else. We are all equally saved, equally loved, equally forgiven of our sin, equally precious in God's eyes. But equality in salvation does not translate to equality in church roles."

Michelle Lesley: "Let me illustrate it this way. My husband and I have six children. Each and every one of us are all equally Lesleys even though I married into the family and the rest of them were all born into the family/ No family member is more loved or important than another. However, we all have different roles, which come with different blessings and responsibilities. My 12-year old might not be able to drive the car, but he doesn't have to work eight hours a day and pay bills either. I no longer have to do homework but I do have to do housework. Our family would not operate in a healthy way if I tried to take on my son's role or my husband tried to take on my role."

Michelle Lesley: "It is the same way in the church. God loves, forgives, and saves each one of us equally. But He also loves us each individually. And it's because of that individual love that He gives each of us unique roles to fill in the church so that it will operate in a healthy way. The role of women in the church is precious and vital to the well being of the body of Christ. So is the role of men. They are both equally important, yet God has specially gifted women to fulfill the roles He has designed for us just as He specifically gifted men to fulfill the roles He has designed for them."

My Comment

Michelle Lesley is correct when she states that anyone can come to Christ in repentance and faith for we are all equally precious in God's eyes. But her following statements are not correct as far as Scripture is concerned.

As for her example of her son and her husband not being able to take on her role, her son is still a child so he is obviously not yet ready to take on adult responsibilities at home and he will not yet be spiritually mature to take on spiritual responsibilities at church. Moreover, as far as her husband is concerned, she and her husband are to work together as a team according to Genesis 1:26-28 and in the church they are to function in accordance with their spiritual gifts.

Their spiritual gifts are given by the Holy Spirit as He determines as we know from

Romans 12:4-8

Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are  many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then given generously; if it is to lead, then do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, then do it cheerfully.

P.S. Please note that no gender is mentioned in Romans 12:4-8 in the original text so it is best to use "you" when speaking of a particular gift.

And in 1 Corinthians 12:4-11

There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working but the same God works all of them in all people. Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and He gives them to each one just as He determines.

And in Ephesians 4:11

It was He (Christ) who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers....

 We learn from the above passages that the Holy Spirit does not have a special list of gifts for Jews, a special list of gifts for Greeks, a special list of gifts for slaves, a special list of gifts for free, a special list of gifts for males, or a special list of gifts for females. He, apparently, is "blind" as far as nationality, position in life, or gender is concerned. Therefore, believers are to function in the church in accordance with their spiritual gifts regardless what their nationality, status in life or gender may be. That may mean that a wife may be the pastor of a church and her husband may be serving as an usher. Or it may be that a wife is a deacon and her husband serves as a car park attendant.

Read Part Seven HERE

Women are not equal in the church: Michelle Lesley P/5

Read Part One HERE

In this blog I continue to focus on popular blogger Michelle Lesley.

She has made the following statement with regards Galatians 3:28

Michelle Lesley

Galatians 3:28
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.

Michelle Lesley: "Anyone can come to Christ in repentance and faith - Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male or female, all are welcome. The ground is level at the foot of the cross. No one is more important than anybody else. We are all equally saved, equally loved, equally forgiven of our sin, equally precious in God's eyes. But equality in salvation does not translate to equality in church roles. A king and a pauper might have worshipped side by side in the Galatian church, but when it came to the role of giving, the church would not have expected the same offering from the pauper as from the king. This didn't make the king more important than the pauper, it just gave him a different area of responsibility because of who he was. Likewise, men and women are equally saved and forgiven in God's eyes, but still fulfill different roles in the body of Christ of who they are."

My Comment

Michelle Lesley is correct when she states that anyone can come to Christ in repentance and faith for we are all equally precious in God's eyes.But her next statements are not correct as far as Scripture is concerned.

Let's first of all look at her example of a king and a pauper. It is true, that as for financial giving the king will be able to give more than the pauper. However as far as the spiritual gift of financial giving is concerned, the requirement does not state that it has to be a large amount to be acceptable, it simply states that it is to be done generously and a pauper can give as generously as a king and might even do so sacrificially while  a king  might just give generously even though he may well give much more than the pauper. The story of the widow who gave what she could is such an example. She was praised by Jesus for, though she only gave two small copper coins, she gave more than any other for they gave out of their wealth and she gave out of her poverty (Mark 12:41-44).

Furthermore, the Holy Spirit is the One who gives gifts as He determines as we know from

Romans 12:4-8
"Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, then do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully."

P.S. Please note that no gender is mentioned in Romans 12:4-8 in the original text so it is best to use "you" when speaking of a particular gift.

And in 1 Corinthians 12:4-11
"There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working but the same God works all of them in all people. Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the messaged of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and He gives them to each one just as He determines."

And in Ephesians 4:11
It was He (Christ) who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers...."

We learn from the above passages that the Holy Spirit does not have a special list of gifts for Jews, a special list of gifts for Greeks, a special list of gifts for slaves, a special list of gifts for free, a special list of gifts for males or a special list of gifts for females. He, apparently is "blind" as far as nationality, position in life, or gender is concerned.
Therefore, believers are to function in the church in accordance with their spiritual gifts, regardless what their nationality, status in life or gender may be. That may mean that a pauper may be the pastor of a church and a king may be serving as an usher. Or it may mean that a cleaning lady is an elder and her employer serves as a greeter.

P.S. I will continue to focus on blogger Michelle Lesley when I will discuss her next example related to Galatians 3:28.

 

Read Part Six HERE

Women are not allowed to teach men: Michelle Lesley P/4

                                                      Read Part One HERE

In this post I will continue to focus on popular blogger Michelle Lesley.

Some of her statements on 1 Corinthians 14:34 - 35 are as follows

 Women should remain silent in the churches. They are not permitted to speak, but should be in submission, as the Law also says. If there is anything they desire to learn, let them ask their husbands at home. For it is shameful for a woman to speak in church.
1 Corinthians 14:34-35

Michelle Lesley:"The most important thing to remember about rightly handling and understanding God's word is that we must study it in context..... Paul is trying to establish a structure for worship service, and a hierarchy of church leadership, and one of the main ways he can quickly and neatly cut a lot of the chaos is to tell the women to be quiet and hang on to their questions until they get home and can talk freely, in more depth, and at greater length, with their husbands. So taking this passage and other passages about God's design for worship and men's and women's roles in the church hand in hand, it doesn't seem what Paul is saying in this particular passage is that no woman can ever say a word out loud in the church meeting simply because she has two X chromosomes. There are occasions when women can speak- in an orderly way - in church, as long as they are not doing it in a way that violates any other Scriptures (e.g instructing men in the Bible or holding improper authority over men, as prohibited by 1 Timothy 2:12).

 Michelle Lesley:"For example: if you go to a church where people are prone to say the occasional "Amen" when the pastor says something especially important in the sermon, it would not be a violation of 1 Corinthians 14:34 for women to say "Amen" along with the men."

Michelle Lesley: "Neither would a women be disobeying this verse if she stood up to make a general announcement if the church has a designated time of the service for that. Saying something like, "Just a reminder - we're having a potluck on the 23rd. We could really use some guys to help move tables." would be fine."

Michelle Lesley: "There are probably  many instances in which it would be fine for a woman to say something in church, assuming she is not being disruptive or violating any of the other Scriptures that define God's plan for women in the church. But if there is any question about the biblical appropriateness of the situation, it is best to have a godly man handle things instead."

My Comment

It is interesting to me that, though it seems Paul does not allow women to speak in church and seems to say that it is in fact shameful for a woman to speak in church, Michelle Lesley tries to find loopholes so that, according to her, Paul does not mean it when he  says women cannot speak in church as long as they do it appropriately. Her view on this passage is, therefore, not helpful but confusing.

The reason her approach to this text is confusing is because she does not understand that the words in 1 Corinthians 14:34-35 are, in fact, not Paul's words. Let me repeat that statement: The words in 1 Corinthians 14:34-35 are NOT PAUL'S WORDS but is a quotation from a letter he had received from some of the Jewish religious leaders in Corinth as we know from 1 Corinthians 1:11

 

My brothers, some from Chloe's household have informed me that there are quarrels among you.

 

. Paul's answer in the form of a rebuke can be found in 1 Corinthians 14:36-37

 

What!! Did the word of God originate with you? Or are you the only people it has reached? If anybody thinks he is a prophet or spiritually gifted, let him acknowledge that what I am writing to you is the Lord's command. If he ignores this, he himself will be ignored.

 

These religious leaders were trying to silence women in the church and Paul told them off for doing so. Please don't forget that the overseer of the church in Corinth was a woman named Chloe as we know from 1 Corinthians 1:11

 

My brothers, some from Chloe's household.....

 

 He would, therefore, not have silenced women as we know not just from this verse but from many other passages such as 

 

Romans 16:1-2; Romans 16:3-5a; Romans 16:6; Romans 16:7; Romans 16:12; Philippians 4:2-3; Colossians 4:15.

Read Part Five HERE

Women are called to be like Sarah: Michelle Lesley P/3

https://prayingandprophesying.blogspot.com/2020/08/in-this-post-i-will-focus-on-bible.html 

                                                      Read Part One HERE

   
In this post I continue to focus on popular blogger Michelle Lesley

Please find below her final comments on 1 Corinthians 11:4-5 followed by my comments

Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonours his head, but every wife who prays or prophesies dishonours her head, since it is the same as if her head were shaven...

Michelle Lesley: "Head coverings are no longer a cultural norm in Western society. Christian woman today do not have to wear a literal head covering, but even from the earliest Old Testament times godly women have always "adorned themselves with a symbol of authority" on their heads; their humility and submission to their husbands and to Christ, in the home, in the church, and in the world.

"Do not let your adorning be external . - the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear - but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious. For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, by submitting to their own husbands, as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him Lord. And you are her children, if you do good and do not fear anything that is frightening. 1 Peter 3:3-7

Michelle Lesley: "If you're following in Sarah's footsteps, striving to love Christ and obey His written word in all you do, you are already "wearing a head covering." So the next time someone tries to use this passage of Scripture against you, asking, "Why don't you wear a head covering?" you can confidently answer: "I do. Why don't you?"

 My Comments

Michell Lesley is referring here to 1 Corinthians 11:10

For this reason and because of the angels, the woman ought to have a sign of authority on her head.

However, she does not explain here that the words "a sign of" are not in the original text but have been added by the translators. Neither does she explain that the authority Paul writes about in this verse is the woman's own authority. This verse is, therefore, not related to women's humility and submission to their husbands, and to Christ, in the home, in the church, and in the world. 

As for Peter 3:3-7 Peter is referring here to women whose husbands are not believers and he counsels them to minister to their husbands through their attitudes rather than through words

As for Sarah, though at times she listened to her husband, at other times he listened to her as directed by God (Genesis 21:8-12). And as for Sarah calling Abraham "lord," that was simply a term of respect.

Read Part Four HERE

It is all about authority: Michelle Lesley P/2

                                                       

                                                     Read Part One HERE

In this blog I continue to focus on popular blogger Michelle Lesley

We will continue looking at her commentary on 1 Corinthians 11:4-5

Every man who prays or prophecies with his head covered dishonours his head, but every wife who prays or prophecies with her head uncovered dishonours her head, since it is the same as if her head were shaven... 

Michelle Lesley: "As chapter 11 opens, Paul commends the church at Corinth for keeping God's word as Paul had taught them, but, apparently, something was out of whack with the authority structure and the way men and women were behaving in the church because Paul immediately pivots to say , "But I want you to understand...."

Michelle Lesley: "Why is this important? Because those who use this passage to argue against the biblical roles of men and women either misunderstand or ignore the main point the Holy Spirit is trying to teach in these verses. The thesis statement of this passage of Scripture is not found in the verses mentioning head coverings. It is found in 1 Corinthians 11:3

"But I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, the head of a wife is her husband, and the head of Christ is God."

Michelle Lesley: "In other words, the entire point of this section of Scripture is not that women should wear head coverings, the point is the biblical line of succession of authority. Head coverings etc are examples, illustrations, and logical arguments supporting the main point in verse 3."

Michelle Lesley: "God is the head of Christ, Christ is the head of man, and man is the head of his wife. And similar to the way that Christ has a different role in the godhead than God the father, yet is not in any way inferior to Him, women have a different role in marriage and the church than men, yet are equal to them in value, worth and salvation. Paul proceeds to explain this by using head coverings, common place marks of apparel whose function and significance would have been easily understood by his first century audience - to illustrate his point. At that particular time, in that particular locale, among those particular people, a head covering was worn by married women to signify that they were married and that they respected and were in submission to their husbands. For the women of the church in Corinth, it was a symbol that they understood and embraced their role as godly wives. A woman who pointedly refused to wear her head covering in church would have been making a statement akin to, "I can do what I want. I don't have to do what my husband, my church leadership, or even God says." By doing so, she dishonoured both her own head (herself) and the "head" of her home, her husband. Worst of all, she rejected and rebelled against the authority structure God Himself established."

My Comment

Michelle Lesley may have never checked out the Greek word for "head" as used by Paul in this passage. However, it is very important to do since Paul wrote this verse, and, in fact, the whole chapter in Greek and not in English. Going back to the Greek language in Paul's days, there were 14 words for the word "head," including a word for "authority" which is the word "archon." However, Paul did not choose the Greek word "archon" for this verse but chose the word "kephale" which means "source," "source of life." Paul is, therefore, not giving us a hierarchical structure in this verse, or a structure of authority, which Michelle wants to introduce us to as we can see from the way she changes the order in the verse!! Paul is giving us an chronological order or an order of time for Christ was the Source of Life for the first human from whom every human has come, the first man was the source of life for the first woman and God was the Source of Life for Christ at the time of His incarnation.

Moreover, when she mentions that Christ has a different role in the godhead than God the Father, she undoubtedly refers to the unbiblical teaching of the Eternal Submission or Subordination of God the Son to God the Father and uses that teaching to defend the false teaching that, likewise, women/wives are subordinate to men/husbands.

Furthermore, she uses the words "wife" and "husband" rather than "woman" and "man". That is no, doubt, because she wants to prove her point. Her whole commentary on the head covering of women is in line with some religious leaders in Corinth who tried to bring women back into line rather than the words of Paul.

P.S. The next post will be my last post on Michelle Lesley's commentary on 1 Corinthians 11:4-5.

Read Part Three HERE

 

Women who obey God's command are wearing a headcovering: Michelle Lesley P/1

 

In this post I will begin to focus on popular blogger Michelle Lesley

She has made the following statement:

1 Corinthians 11:4-5                                                                                       

Every man who prays or prophecies with his head covered dishonours his head, but every wife who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonours her head, since it is the same as if her head were shaven.....

Michelle Lesley: We are going to take a look at the different roles God has laid out for men and women in the church and one passage of Scripture people commonly like to twist to argue against the clear teaching of God's word about those roles. But aside from a very small minority of folks, no one is arguing that Christian women need to wear some sort of head covering in church or while praying. Most of us seem to instinctively know that the first half of 1 Corinthians 11 is not a command that is binding on 21st Century women. So why even bring up this passage? Because 1 Corinthians 11 is used by egalitarians as a "gotcha" passage against Christians who rightly uphold the biblical roles of men and women in the church."If you believe women shouldn't preach, teach men, or hold authority over men in the church," they say, "then why don't you wear a head covering? See? You're a hypocrite! You pick and choose which Scriptures you'll obey!" What they don't realise- because this passage takes some digging and studying... is that women who obey Scripture's parameters for biblical womanhood such as submitting to their husbands, following God's role for women in the church etc are "wearing a head covering."

My Comment 

Michelle Lesley does not realise that the words in 1 Corinthians 11:4-5 are not Paul's own words but are words spoken by religious leaders in the church in Corinth and referenced by him. Literal headcovering was, therefore, not even taught by the apostle Paul but but by some religious leaders. Neither was a spiritual headcovering taught by Paul in this passage as a way to uphold the so-called biblical roles of men and women.

The subject Paul addressed in 1 Corinthians 11:3-12 is origin and not authority as we know from the last verse in this section which reads as follows

1 Corinthians 11:12

For as woman came from man, so also man is born of woman. But everything come from (originates from) God.

As for the subject of "authority" the word does appear one time in this section, in verse 10, when Paul wrote that the woman has "authority on her own head." It is, therefore, her own authority and is not related to the man's authority over her, be it her husband or another man.

".... The woman ought to have (a sign of) authority on her head."

Please note that the words "a sign of" are not in the original text but have been added by translators.

P.S I will continue in the next two blogs looking at Michelle Lesley's commentary on 1 Corinthians 11:4-5.

Read Part Two HERE

The woman is to remain in an abusive marriage: Above Rubies P/10

                                                     Read Part One HERE

In this post I will continue to share from a story told by teacher and writer Nancy Campbell in her magazine "Above Rubies."

The story is about a couple named Connie and Jim with Connie giving the details of their lives together as printed in "Above Rubies." I will follow up her statements with my comments.

 Connie: "The years went on and the crimes continued. I was completely exhausted and my mate still continued another crime and went to prison four years. I loved him. I felt he was demon possessed, yet he was my husband. I hated it when he deserted me, but I was married to him no matter what. Adultery to me was the worst of all sins..... "

My Comment

In the case of Connie and Jim, things eventually turned out well. Her husband did become a believer and he gave up his life of crime and unfaithfulness. However, it could have easily been a different story with Jim never changing. I doubt if Nancy Campbell would have shared this story then in her magazine "Above Rubies." Moreover, the fact that Nancy Campbell shared this story more than once in her magazine shows  that Jim's continuing unfaithfulnes was of no importance to her. It is one thing for Connie to not have addressed it perhaps out of a lack of understanding how God views things as a relatively immature believer but there is no excuse for Nancy Campbell to ignore all that took place in the marriage of Connie and Jim because she teaches many women and has done so for many years. She has thereby opened the door for other women to believe that they may have to accept their husbands' behaviour no matter what they may be doing, including being unfaithful and committing crimes of any kind. And that it would be wrong, even sinful, of them to speak up or take action when their husbands are involved in such activities.

P.S. This is my last post on Nancy Campbell.

The woman should allow her children to suffer emotional abuse: Above Rubies P/9

                                                      Read Part One HERE

In this post I continue to share from a story told by teacher and writer Nancy Campbell in her magazine "Above Rubies."

The story is about a couple named Connie and Jim with Connie giving the details of their lives together as printed in "Above Rubies." I will follow up her statements with my comments.


Connie: "Jim disappeared from the home about thirty times in twelve years. He would suddenly disappear without warning. The three children would run in from play crying, "Where is daddy, where is my daddy?"


My Comment
By allowing Jim to disappear over and over again without taking any decisive action to confront him with his sinful behaviour, Connie not only aided Jim to carry on in his criminal lifestyle, she was partly responsible for the suffering the children went through. Their suffering may well have had a long lasting effect on them for the rest of their lives. It is shocking to me that as a bible teacher, author and speaker Nancy Campbell never even addressed the fact that these children might have been traumatised by their dad's ongoing sudden disappearance.

 

Read Part Ten HERE

The woman is never to ask any questions: Above Rubies P/8

                                                      Read Part One HERE

In this post I continue to share from a story told by teacher and writer Nancy Campbell in her magazine "Above Rubies."

The story is about a couple Connie and Jim with Connie giving the details of their lives together as printed in "Above Rubies." I will follow up her statements with my comments.

Connie: "After Jim had been committing crimes he would come back home. I would receive him and take care of him. No matter what he had done to me, we were still one flesh. He was my first and only husband -  a terrible, ungodly, unfaithful husband, but he was still my husband."

My Comment
Jim had broken his marriage vows to Connie by being unfaithful. Their relationship was therefore no longer a one-flesh relationship since many other women had become part of their intimate relationship 

(1 Corinthians 6 :16). Once again, Connie was not fulfilling her role as "ezer kenegdo" or as "equal partner" because she was not confronting her husband with the truth about him having broken the marriage covenant between them. It seems she did not understand the seriousness of his sin and what that meant for their lives together. Furthermore, she was not helping their children understand what it means to be in a one-flesh relationship.

Moreover, Nancy Campbell does not make any comments on the situation when she shared this story in her magazine. Thereby, implying that she is in agreement with the way Connie handled her marital relationship.

 

Read Part Nine HERE

The woman should support her husband's sinful activities: Above Rubies P/7

                                                     Read Part One HERE

In this post I continue to share from a story told by teacher and writer Nancy Campbell in her magazine "Above Rubies."

The story is about a couple named Connie and Jim with Connie giving the details of their lives together as printed in "Above Rubies.". I will follow up her statement with my comments.

Connie: "I did not see my husband Jim for two and a half years because he was in prison. He then came home. After a year he began to commit crimes. In between he would come come back home, after he had been missing for 4-5 months each time."

Mt Comment
It is not surprising that Jim went back to crimes since that was his pattern. Sadly Connie did not take up her responsible task of "ezer kenegdo" or "equal partner" to speak into his life by letting him know in no uncertain terms that he cannot continue his life of crime, especially because there were children involved. Since she did not take action by, for instance, removing herself and her children and not allowing him to return to the marital home, he carried on committing these crimes in the knowledge that she and the children would be waiting for him when he tired of committing these crimes. She was in a way aiding him in his behaviour, even though she knew it was wrong, by not taking active measures.

 

Read Part Eight HERE