Angelic Conflict part 100: Human history – Gen 3:16-17; 1Ti 2:1-15; Rom 8:20-23.Title: Angelic Conflict part 100: Human history – Gen 3:16-17; 1Ti 2:1-15; Rom 8:20-23.
Provisions of the Adamic Covenant are in 4 categories: the serpent, satan, the woman, and the man.
Next is the Adamic Covenant to the woman, which has 4 provisions: menstrual pain with more frequent conception, pain in childbirth, a desire to rule her husband, and the lordship of her husband.
Gen 3:16 To the woman He said, "I will greatly multiply Your pain in childbirth, In pain you shall bring forth children; Yet your desire shall be for your husband, And he shall rule over you."
Before the fall, giving birth would have been painless, but now it is with pain. However, the pain of birth is followed by joy, Joh 16:21.
Joh 16:21 Whenever a woman is in travail she has sorrow, because her hour has come; but when she gives birth to the child, she remembers the anguish no more, for joy that a child has been born into the world.
This joy is a deliverance for the woman from her inability to take a leadership role in the church or in marriage, and her inability of expounding scriptures to men.
This is obviously something that a man cannot experience.
The menstrual cycle, a result of the fall, also makes for hormone imbalances in the woman from time to time. Also, past the child bearing years menopause occurs which makes the endocrine system unbalanced. Men lose testosterone. Small hormonal changes can have large effects on the body.
God never gives any excuse for bad thinking or behavior, but understanding the source of some of our problems is helpful in combating them and overcoming them.
Always the solution is the mind of Christ: Heb 12:3 For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you may not grow weary and lose heart.
1Ti 2:8 Therefore I want the men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands [clean hands – symbolic of correct thinking], without wrath and dissension [effective prayer means without MAS’s].
1Ti 2:9 Likewise, I want women to adorn themselves with proper clothing, modestly and discreetly, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly garments;
The contrast here is between the artificial glamour of the world and the true beauty of a godly life.
Paul did not forbid the use of jewelry or lovely clothes, but rather the excessive use of them as substitutes for the true beauty of "a meek and quiet spirit," 1Pe 3:1-6.
“modestly” – kos,mioj[kosmios] = cosmetic, orderly, or well arranged. “discreetly” – aivdw,j[aidos] = reverence, sense of honor, humility.
A woman who depends only on externals will soon run out of ammunition! She may attract attention, but she will not win lasting affection. Perhaps the latest fashion fads were tempting the women in the church at Ephesus, and Paul had to remind Timothy to warn the women not to get trapped.
1Ti 2:10 but rather by means of good works, as befits women making a claim to godliness.
Paul did not suggest that good works are a substitute for clothing!
Rather, he was contrasting the "cheapness" of expensive clothes and jewelry with the true values of godly character and Christian service.
"Godliness" is another key word in Paul's pastoral letters and it refers to living the spiritual life.
Glamour can be partially applied on the outside, but godliness must come from within.
The sad part about people who do this is that they are always found out. It’s too difficult to keep up appearances continually and what we truly are, which is what is in our hearts, always reveals itself.
Mat 23:27 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness.
We must never underestimate the important place that godly women played in the ministry of the church. The Gospel message had a tremendous impact on them because it affirmed their value before God and their equality in the body of Christ (Gal 3:28).
The low status of women in the Roman world was completely changed by the Gospel. This reveals that the submissive role of the woman in human history due to the fall is not demeaning, especially in the CA, but it is a role that God has given, and in that role God is glorified and so then it brings out the best in a woman.
Gospel affirms a woman’s equality in BOC Gal 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
For example: There were devoted women who ministered to Jesus in the days of His earthly ministry (Luke 8:1-3). They were present at His crucifixion and burial, and it was a woman who first heralded the glorious news of His resurrection. In the Book of Acts we meet Tabitha (Acts 9:36 ff; abounding in deeds of kindness and charity), Lydia (Acts 16:14 ff; catalyst for starting the church at Philippi), Priscilla (Acts 18:1-3; greatly supported the ministry of Paul), and godly women in the Berean and Thessalonian churches (Acts 17:4,12). Paul greeted at least eight women in Rom 16, and Phebe, who carried the Roman epistle to its destination, was a servant in a local church (Rom 16:1) helping many as well as the apostle Paul. Many believing women won their husbands to the Lord and then opened their homes for Christian ministry.
1Ti 2:11 Let a woman quietly receive instruction with entire submissiveness.
Submission in no way means lesser in quality.
Rom 13:1 Let every person be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God.
The governing authority at this time was the emperor Nero, one of the worst in human history. His behavior was barely human.
The order of authority in any realm is a result of the fall and because of that fall an Adamic Covenant was laid down by God.
Submission is recognizing God's order in the home and the church, and joyfully obeying it.
When a Christian wife joyfully submits to the Lord and to her own husband, it should bring out the best in her.
The husband is to love his wife as Christ loves the church. Therefore, in him, virtue love and the word of God become a tool to build with and not a weapon to fight with or to diminish. He is submitting to the Lord as she is, but in a different role and capacity. We can either be one who helps bear burdens or we can add to the burdens. It is the love of Christ that makes the difference.
Mat 23:11 But the greatest among you shall be your servant.
Anyone can serve; both leaders and followers. Actually, you cannot be a leader until you learn how to follow the authority that God has put over you. Christ came to serve. The Father and Spirit served Him and He served them and they all served the human race. This in no way diminished their character or lowered their exalted position.
Husbands submit to the Lord, Eph 5:25; Christians submit to one another, Eph 5:21; wives submit to the Lord, the authority in the Church, and their husbands, Eph 5:22.
We are all submitting to God given authority.
When you find yourself struggling in submission to your God given authority the problem is a lack of virtue love, which is first directed toward God.
1Ti 2:12 But I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man, but to remain quiet.
Both teaching a man (not children) or exercising authority in the church were forbidden.
The translation “quiet” though correct is misleading. Fortunately we have the original language.
“quiet” – h`suci,a[hesuchia] = peaceable, tranquility from within, causing no disturbance, quiet.
1Ti 2:13 For it was Adam who was first created, and then Eve.
1Ti 2:14 And it was not Adam who was deceived, but the woman being quite deceived, fell into transgression.
1Ti 2:15 But women shall be preserved [sozo = saved or delivered] through the bearing of children if they continue in faith and love and sanctity with self-restraint.
Women shall be preserved [delivered] = the joy after a child is born is unique to her and so a deliverance from pain in childbirth and her inability to take certain leadership roles.
This doesn’t imply that every woman should have a child. Knowing that a woman brought the Savior into the world is a special joy to all doctrinal women. And, if she doesn’t have children she skips one of these provisions – pain in childbirth.
Gen 3:16 To the woman He said, "I will greatly multiplyYour pain in childbirth, In pain you shall bring forth children; Yet your desire shall be for your husband, And he shall rule over you."
The third provision in Gen 3:16 states: Your desire shall be for your husband.
“desire” = hq*WvT=[teshukah] = desire to rule.
This word is only found twice elsewhere in the OT. In Gen 4:7 it is a reference to a desire to rule; and, as in Gen 3:16, it is also coupled with the Hebrew word for ruling, mashal. SOS uses the term in dealing with sexual desire. It is the usage in Gen 4:7 that applies here as Moses wrote both of them and not SOS.
The SOS reference leads some to accept the meaning to be that she desires a sexual relationship with her husband… This is not the meaning.
Gen 4:7 "If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire [teshukah] is for you, but you must master [mashal] it."
It’s very similar.
Sin’s desire is for you and you must rule it. Your desire is for your husband and he must rule you. Sin wants to rule and the woman wants to rule him.
A woman has a nature that wants to rule the man. She will think that she knows better than him, she sees problems clearer than him, she can deal with adversity better than he can, and in all this is her desire that is a curse of the Adamic Covenant which is and always will be the result of her fall.
She took the initiative in talking to the serpent and gave to her husband and now she has a submissive role put upon her by God that at the same time possesses a nature that wants to rule him.
Third provision: The woman will desire to rule her husband.
She will seek to gain authority over the husband just as sin desired to rule over Cain. However, Adam should master her.
The woman chose to act independently of the man, and now she will have a desire to rule and possess him. Hence: “wives be subject to your husband’s in everything.”
She shall desire to control the man, and to dispute the headship of the husband. Man was already in authority over the woman before the Fall, but he did not exercise that authority when the time was needed but rather stood with her as she talked to the serpent, and so now she will have a tendency to rebel and try to rule him.
Fourth provision: He shall rule over you.
“rule” - lv^m*[mashal] = dominance, mastery, and leadership. Adam is to rule over her as Cain was to rule over sin.
So this means more than just a loving leadership. It means dominance and mastery. This isn’t tyranny and it shouldn’t have to be. But the husband is to rule over her in love as Christ rules the Church. Christ is patient, forgiving, can sympathize with our weaknesses, but He never compromises the truth or His authority or the authority He has delegated.
You can see how this part of the Adamic Covenant has been almost completely destroyed by satanic attack in our society. The women become aggressive and refuse to be ruled and the men become wimps and refuse to rule. Christ loves the Church and Christ rules the Church and Christ does not compromise with arrogance, rebellion, or falsehood.
She tempted her husband to sin and she will now be mastered by him. This does not mean that before the Fall they were on a co-equal authority structure. Even before the Fall, there was subordination of the wife to the husband, as there was between the Father and the Son during the incarnation. The new element is that of subjection, with the man exercising lordship, mastery, dominance, etc., with her desire to rebel against it.
In Christian marriage, both should be thinking in terms of virtue love in order to ease the burdens on both. Hence the importance of both having positive volition.
If only one has positive volition then the word of God is more than powerful enough to overcome the adversity. We are to do what we do as unto the Lord and not as unto men, not even our spouses. God will provide what is necessary in each individual case.
Isa 54:17 No weapon that is formed against you shall prosper;
The Adamic Covenant for the man; four provisions, Gen 3:17-19.
Adam is responsible for the present human condition.
Gen 3:17 Then to Adam He said, "Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, 'You shall not eat from it'; Cursed is the ground because of you; In toil you shall eat of it All the days of your life.
Because Adam stands as the representative head of the human race the judgment that comes upon him comes upon his progeny and becomes a judgment on humanity.
Because you have listened – he failed to exercise headship.
And because you have transgressed My one command…
First provision: Cursed is the ground because of you and in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life.
This is a common biblical principle.
Man did labor before the fall: Gen 2:15 Then the Lord God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it.
That which was under man’s authority is now cursed. When God judges a person in authority, He also judges that which is under the authority.
None of us have ever known this type of work. A perfect body with perfect energy and strength cultivating perfect ground in a perfect garden. No pain, no headache, no fatigue, no failure for everything grows (perfect green thumb). No sweat, no body odor, no need for shower and shave.
No longer: Rom 8:22 For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth [curse] together until now.
Adam brought pain into the world and now there would be painful toil without which the earth, which once produced beautiful things, now produces thorns, thistles, and weeds.
[quote] Botanists have reckoned that a single seed of the common thistle will produce in the first crop 2,400, and 5,760,000 in the second crop, and so on (13,824,000,000) in the same extraordinary ratio of increase. Thorns and thistles, which thus possess the natural property of reproducing themselves in so great profusion, are mentioned as prominent parts of the curse pronounced upon the earth for the sin of the first man; and experience shows that weeds of all kinds, particularly thorny or spinous plants, such as those mentioned here, which are the effects as well as the evidence of deteriorated physical conditions, would increase with such dangerous rapidity as to overrun the ground, if they were not eradicated or checked by the industry of man. [JFB] |