Adam's War by Rafael Vilá ©2008

adam's war - the redemption

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by Rafael Vilá

So the LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, “Cursed are you above all the livestock and all the wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” Gen 3:14-15

Adam and Eve by Peter Paul Rubens © Public Domain The falling at the Garden of Eden took Adam (man and woman) by surprise but God, who has a plan already to restore mankind (Gen 3:14-15 and Ephesians 1:19-21). Many of you will might asking to yourself, how is it possible that God, knowing what was going to happened, let everything went the way it occurred? But let be real, God didn’t creates us as robots, having all control over us, if so, we wouldn’t being created as His image and similarity.

What makes us superior among all God’s creation is not our pretty faces, but because we have the power to choose our eternal destiny. Leadership. He gave us free will in order for us to govern over all His creation. Gave us the opportunity to become lords and leaders. If God would’ve takes control of our decisions then we might be as the rest of the creatures, one more creation. Not even the angels has that ability to choose. The decision that Satan made put him in a disadvantage position and eternal condemnation. Not with us, we have the ability to be restore through the blood of Jesus and the grace through Christ’s resurrection.

Because of this free will, God provides a solution for the fall, restoration. It might seems unjust under the opinion of some, but would be even more unjust for us to govern the creation without free will, and even more unjust knowing that we were formed as Image and Similarity of God.

Adam’s fall start a chain reaction that started a spiritual rivalry among woman and the spiritual realm’s powers in heaven. Not only ignite a spiritual warfare but a war among sexes as we previously mentioned. This battle bring as a result a social crisis where the women were unvalued (from subject to co-subject) through centuries before and after Christ, as in the political society as in the religious society. As far as in many societies through all the world that women were treated as merely a reproductive and sexual object that men can depreciate or discard at will.

The ecclesiastic misinterpretation not only backed up the doctrinal ignorance but also reduce the position of women, even, in the Kingdom of God. Thanks be to God that He had always left key words in his scripture which allows us to know the reality about God and not our limited reality that had tried many times to force itself in us for long. This reality is the restoration of Adam as a complete being, man and woman. Where both of them reign once more how it was predestined from the beginning through the absolute power of Christ.

I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. Ephesians 1:18-21

The Ascencion © Public Domain Without women restoration to the original state we couldn’t declare the existence of The Grace, neither the power of Christ over all principality, authority, power, dominion and above all name mentioned... because the curse of ownership from man over women would be greater than the power of the dominion of Christ. But we can see how this curse, this order, of ownership was disintegrated by use of the absolute “all” in verse 21 (Eph 1:21). All curse authorized against humanity has no use and no value through Christ. This is why Apostle Paul emphasizes “for us who believe”. The secret for grace is to believe and confess with our lips, the only condition known in the Scriptures to receive this Sweet Grace.

The question that our religious mind leads us is... Why Paul mentioned about women submission to men?

As we mentioned before many times, when you decided to start an exhaustive study of the Scriptures we have to considered several points. They are: To whom is written? When was written? How was said? What’s the context?

To start I will use the Biblical verses used by many ecclesiastics institutions to enforce the submission argument.

“Wives, submit to your husbands as 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. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.” Ephesians 5:22-24 (NIV)

At simple look, literately Paul explain the Hierarchic Dominion the men should have over women and nothing else to argue about. But to read these verses without analyzing the whole context would be a tragic ignorance. Now, let study these verses in a whole and context. Let’s read Ephesians 5:21-33

“Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. Wives, submit to your husbands as 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. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church— for we are members of his body. “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.”

Now we have several points that we need to consider. First, when Paul introduces the submission argument he stared with the declaration: “ Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.” In other words, we all have to submit one another as a reverence to Christ. The Greek word used in this occasion was “hupotasoo” (#5293 Strong), a military word that means “to obey, submit, unify to the dominion from another, submit one another”, that suggest us a voluntary submission as a merge to the leadership of another. But when the same text talks about women’s submission was used the Greek word “kurios” (#2962) that means “to belong to” that suggest us literately that women might submit because she belongs to her husband. If we wouldn’t have the next declarations then we have to accept the male dominion over women.

The Good Shepherd © Public Domain When Paul encourage the women to submit herself to her husband he made an declarative statement about the husband’s position, “ For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church”. With this declaration the whole submission’s meaning totally change. One, Christ is a complete being who redeemed the church and placed it by his side as equal before God’s eyes; Second, Christ sacrificed himself for his church to reinstate it to the original position in the Garden, in leadership and equality to the majesty of God; Third, Christ takes care of the church and promise to advocate on her behalf in God’s Eyes. The context in this Scripture suggest that submission has nothing to do with a hierarchic position but as a redeemer and equality posture.

If we read the following scriptures we can see how Paul urges men to assume Christ roll before women when command men to love the women. To understand love’s concept in this scripture we have to go back at the beginning of the chapter 5: “Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a man is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God” Ephesians 5:1-5 (NIV). In modern words, the love referred by Paul to men was as referred to women, a command for respect, loyalty and fraternal love.

To broke a pact of loyalty, respect and love free the women of this voluntary submission. Is impossible to submit to a traitor, wrong behave and obscene men, don’t you think?

In the letter “Apostolic Letter Presentation Mulieris Dignitatem from John Paul II About Women’s Dignity And Vocation” presented in September 30th, 1988, John Paul II exposed his point of view about women position and dignity after the revelation of Christ. In this letter he suggested that our knowledge and attitude towards women dignity should be reevaluated with the arrive, death and resurrection of Christ, because Christ never show discrimination towards women but in contrary restored her original position to which she was predestined in the Garden of Eden. The former Pope made the following declaration in which I am completely agreed: “Sin overcoming – redemption – should be also manifested in the overcoming of the perversion in the restoration of an order in conformity with the creation, the return from “object” to “co-subject”. In relation to this, the Pope, in his Letter, illustrates very insistently how the redeeming action of Christ also tolerates the reestablishment of the rights and the dignity of the woman”. Previously in this letter is mentioned how the women was considered an object as a result of the “original sin” and how Christ restored women for “object” to “co-subject” in harmony with men.

In other point of view, Pastor Pablo Caballero mentioned several points that are very interesting in reference Paul’s position towards women’s ministerial position under the Kingdom of Christ and God. Is our custom many times to try to force styles and formats over God’s sovereignty. But in God parameters do not exist when to his will it talks about and through whom it decides to exert his judgment and dominion. One thing is what men say God is and another what He really is. Let see this through Pastor Caballero’s point of view.

Deborah • Judge and Prophet

For the time the Book of Judges were written, the Jewish tradition imposed that women didn’t have voice before God’s people’s political or religious issues, but a silent witness under male dominion. But we find Deborah, judge and prophet with the authority invested by God himself. What serve as a proof that in God there was never discrimination upon women, but upon those who sin. God never change or move but the humanity star a process of changes because their legacy of sin. The teaching of a quiet submission went through centuries up to date, where we find it even in Paul letters as in 1 Timothy 2:11-12 “A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent.”

We have to remind ourselves, everything should be filtered, we can not live in ignorance accepting everything that it’s says or written as a definitive truth, including my study about Adam’s War. The same Paul mentioned about this even about himself in Galatians 1:8 “But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned!”

Ministerial Position Before God

Pastor Pablo Caballero in his studies about Women’s Ministry present us a very interesting point about the ministerial position of the women. He shows us how Jesus Rebuke Satan © Public Domain Paul’s teachings, according to his letters, the pastoral as well as servant position belongs only to men. This is easily observe in the following scriptures: 1 Timothy 3:1-2,12. In these verses Paul teaches important characteristics that Timothy should consider at the time he has to choose the leaders of his ministerial group. This along with Acts 6:3 suggest us that only men could be consider for pastoral and servant positions. But as our brother Pastor Caballero mentioned: “But thanks be to God that we found another verse in the Bible that says the following: Romans 16:1 (KJV) “I commend unto you Phebe our sister, which is a servant of the church which is at Cenchrea.” If this verse wouldn’t be included in the Bible I’m pretty sure that many will deny the opportunity to the women to function as a servant. Now, if women was able to be servant, why in the Bible is written that the servant should be husband of one women? Again, we going back to the right way of interpretation, the historic-grammatical method. By the time these words were written is was usual that men could have more than one wives, even more, it was accepted by society, Nevertheless, women didn’t needs that declaration, because she was able to have just one husband. With this point I think we understand about church authority. Is not that women can’t be pastors, but that pastors couldn’t have more than one wife”.

Understanding the pastor position, and knowing our God, is simple to conclude that God has no discrimination among men and women when chooses ministerial authority. But he commands us to respect the authority He lay over as in men as in women. Because the authority comes from God and not from humans. 1 Corinthians 7:4, Romans 13:1-3.

In the next chapter I will talk about Permissive Power, where I will explain by detail that the submission comes through Christ, and how this gives us freedom and joy. Primarily when we learn to submit to our governmental and ecclesiastical authorities voluntarily, not imposed.