Woman: The Co-heir and Co-laborer, The Prophetic Nurturer of Life
Many struggle with whether women can be ministers or in ministry. I’d like to dedicate this post to all women, especially the female progenitor of human life.
Ministry isn’t just for men. If you are a female minister, you’re role isn’t only in nursery, children’s church, to be the “First Lady” to a man, to be a worship leader or in the choir, to lead women’s ministry, or to be relegated to a Bible study teacher.
A question I have always posed to those who disagree with female ministers is: Do you believe a woman can lead people, including men? For example, governors, senators, or presidents? So, why can’t a woman preach the Gospel? Why can’t a woman be an apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, or teacher?
The Woman: The Co-Heir
Elohim (the one true God) made woman for man.
- Woman, a counterpart of or wife to husband (man), was meant to support her husband.
- But before the curse, a woman’s desire wasn’t to be manically crazed after a man; instead, it was to help him.
- Elohim had plans for the woman all on her own. In fact, according to Genesis 1, the spirit of woman, the feminine part in man (Adam), heard the command of God to subdue, tend to, generate, populate, and represent Him on earth. That was not simply for the first man, Adam.
- From that point, the woman – and women, even with the curse – has always had a ministry before and unto God to fulfill on the earth.
The Woman: The Co-Laborer
The powers of darkness had observed the breathing, living, active human man running wild with abandon…alone.
All the animals, created order, and nature were present and under his authority in his sphere – the garden – as he remained under the authority of Elohim (the one true God).
Gensis states that Adam was complete. There was nothing he needed in and of himself. Yet, in order for him to fulfill the mandate over in Genesis 1, he couldn’t do it alone.
- One theory I propose the snake pursued the woman instead of the man is because of the purpose and genetic makeup of women – women conceive and give birth; men do not.
- Yes, men give identity to children, and without the sperm of a man, women would not be able to conceive. It does take two.
- In God’s eyes, a woman is more than a requirement for a man or a means to an end. She is wanted. In the kingdom of darkness, a woman is coveted. Therefore, I believe the bounty was placed on a woman’s seed.
- Now the powers of darkness were watching the breathing, living, and active woman who spawned from Adam. They watched. They waited and calculated. Then, they pounced.
- With that being presented, it’d be plausible to rouse a woman to curse herself, which would entail a curse on all future generations.
- I believe this to be true even more because of the blessing revealed by God in woman – that woman’s seed would bruise the kingdom of darkness.
- That means women had destiny and purpose even after the sin, so think about their destiny and purpose before the sin that has been redeemed by Yeshua!
The Woman: The Prophetic Nurturer
Still, as a co-laborer, woman wasn’t only partnering with Adam, but also the God of heaven.
Woman had a beautiful destiny to speak and see into the future, declaring the covenant promises of the Lord over generations.
She was created to tend to the garden with man, but also her garden–her children, children’s children, and their children. In the woman, were God’s words to Rebekah about Rebekah’s seed pushing back the battle at the gates. That was a part of woman’s destiny.
Nurturers are:
- Communicative
- Overseers of resources
- Innovative (making something new from something existing with an ability to do it bigger and better with great impact)
- Give to the world and society
- Generous
- Loving
- Vigilant (observant, watchmen)
The people of God are meant to be a generous generation, a generous people. All can be traced back to the woman as she was ever ready to give–it’s in her nature.
It is the woman who sees and speaks into future and prophesies life, hope, and stability in the face of death, debt, and famine. Her prophecies feeds the soil grounds of her children to be fruitful and multiply even in dire straits.
Her prophecies also watch the future to see how to maneuver in the present while redeeming the past. Powerful stuff!
The Downfall
The woman got ahead of God’s timing by the subtle fortune-teller, Python, who told her fortune through the fruit from a forbidden tree.
Her eyes became lustful for a future time that she hadn’t yet earned the authority through God to access. The woman had a voice. This was always God’s intent. She was so respected for her voice by her husband that he listened to her, engaging in his own fortune being told.
So, Adam (man and woman) ate and became something else…
The Downfall: The Curse
As God appeared before them, the blame game ensued: husband blamed wife, wife blamed Python.
But there was distinction: Adam was representing Adam, the man and not Adam (man and woman – woman who was in man). He told God, “The woman gave it to me.” She hadn’t had a distinct name yet because she and man were one. Ergo, man’s assignment was hers, as well as outlined in Genesis 1.
Curses (that which is outside of the blessing and protection of God due to disobedience and lack of repentance which creates iniquity) befell them and the Earth and the serpent and the prophetic voice of the woman, including her gift to prophetically nurture the generations.
After the curses had been delivered, Adam exclaimed, “Your name shall be Eve and you shall be the mother of all living.”
Did you catch the shift? Woman had gone from perfect unity in Adam and being distinguished as the feminine, female aspect of the human being to now being separate from the perfect unity in Adam (who is a type of Christ) and the mothership.
Semicolon: The Story Doesn’t End
Unfortunately, though, many then and over centuries have relegated women to simply that: baby machines. That was never God’s intent in the statement about a woman’s seed bruising the serpent’s head.
Women hold the power of life inside of them, and while many women might not ever want, can, or be called to conceive physically, birthing life isn’t always literal.
I believe the picture is more significant than the woman, the wife being a helpmeet to her husband, a woman who is cursed to be a love-sick person behind a man, and a woman producing seed.
I believe God hid the power of life in a woman’s tongue, the power of life to resurrect what is dead (or healing and miracles), and the power of life that prophesies. Also, the power to watch over and tend to life and her garden…and the gardens of the earth. Is it any wonder that wisdom and many prophetic words are feminine in most cultures? Is it any wonder that women can usually connect more quickly and easily in the spirit realm than men?
The woman “lost” this ability in the garden, but Yeshua reclaimed it for all women. Women, rise!
The Garden and Its Tender
Unfortunately, Satan tried to replace Eve many times with Gaia. Gaia is the Greek mythological personification of Earth itself and the mother of the titans, giants, and gods. Though similar to Eve, Gaia seemed to have a more passive role in the Greek content and prose outside of being a progenitor of life and keeper/tender of her garden—Earth.
Praise be to God for the Lord Jesus Christ who diffused His fragrant presence in our midst breaking all curses, including the curse of silence over women and her prophetic nurturing gift.
The Garden of Eden has many allegories:
- The command center from which Earth’s governors (Adam and soon to be Eve) were meant to rule and spread the “Gospel” and kingdom of heaven throughout the rest of the earth.
- It was a literal garden were Adam (man) was first tasked to keep and tend to, which taught him stewardship and responsibility over something he didn’t create or own. So, that when he would go out and subdue the rest of the earth, he’d have true dominion.
- It is likened to the Earth and Jesus is the Keeper/Tender.
- The woman (Eve) is the garden that the husband (Adam) loves, protects and tends to.
- It is a meeting place between God and man, a supernatural dimension.
- It is a meeting place of lovers (man and woman or Solomon and the Shulamite).
- It represents the pursuit and love a man (husband or Bridegroom [Jesus]) has for she whom he is pursuing (or his wife).
- With the reversal of the curse, women’s desire isn’t for men; men find a wife. This is the natural order.
- Women are free to fulfill their God-given destinies without the shame of needing to be attached to a man or a husband because singleness is a gift. And even in singleness, women are complete in Christ Jesus.
- Women are co-heirs and co-laborers with men and wives with their husbands. In the garden, there are two keepers (watchmen) where both equally have freedom of expression of who they are. This means women not only have a voice but they’re able to explore and unpack all the godliness in them God gave them.
- #’s 4,6-7 all depict Jesus’ love, pursuit of, protection, tending He has for the Bride.
- #’s 4,6-7 all depict Jesus’ restorative work He accomplished in His death, resurrection, and ascension.
- The woman as a mother of her seeds and nurturer of life itself, including everything that was created with reproductive abilities according to days three, five, and six.
Because God is multifaceted, so is His creation. Women might display these characteristics uniquely to them and their call. Nonetheless, note that women have a mighty call…whatever that may look like.
The Generous Covenant-Keeping God
Isn’t God comical? Even with all the heaviness over the generations on women, He still used (and uses) women in mighty ways. Yes, that heaviness includes saved and sanctified men in Biblical times (Paul had an issue with women in ministry or in any form of ministerial leadership), translators of the Bible, and those who gave the commands to translate.
Though, I bet when Jesus led captivity captive and gave gifts to mankind (Ephesians 4), that wasn’t just to human men. How could the generous covenant-keeping God be biased to only gift the male species? Well, James’ epistle tells us He isn’t partial in any way, shape or form.
Apostles/Pioneers: (1) Deborah was a judge over Israel. (2) The Shunamite woman (distinguished woman in 2 Kings 4). (3) Junia. (4) The elect lady (in 2 John 1) – that word elect means chosen, called out by God Himself for the work of ministry.
Warriors: (1) Deborah and (2) Jael.
It’s possible that you’ve never heard the name Junia before. There are at least two reasons for that. For one thing, she is only mentioned in one verse in the last chapter of Romans. For another, for generations, Junia was systematically removed from our Bibles.
You read that right! For almost 2,000 years, scribes, commentators, and teachers changed her name from Junia to a masculine version of the name: Junias.
Robert Dixon, Junia: The “Hidden” Apostle | Romans 16:7 | Women of the Bible (faithward.org)
Prophetesses: (1) Miriam. (2) Deborah. (3) Huldah. (4) Isaiah’s wife. (5) Anna.
Evangelists: (1) More than likely, Lydia used her business to promote the Gospel of Jesus Christ. (2) The woman at the well in John 4. (3) More than likely the women who followed Jesus when He walked the earth.
Pastors and Teachers: You’ll understand that the First Century Church had house ministries and churches, not the edifices we know and have today. (1) Lydia and (2) Rhoda had house ministries.
Teachers: (1) Lois and (2) Eunice (2 Timothy 1:5). (3) Pricilla.
Women, rise up! You are royalty and you have destiny.
