How does God view women...Part 1

I'm taking a two week New Testament course called "Women in the New Testament" that I'm really excited about.  It's taught by Jerram Barrs and if you ever have the priveldge of hearing him speak or read any of his books on appologetics and contemporary culture you will be blessed.  This course is a look at particular women whose stories intersect with the life and ministry of Jesus.  This class is based off of his most recent book called Through His Eyes: God's perspective on Women in the Bible.  I'm most intreged by his approach because of having a misunderstanding myself of the relationship of a woman to a man, both in the marriage and in non marriage relationships.

First, to lay the foundation he wanted us to understand one key thing, that for some may be easy to undertand in theory, but in practice goes against how we relate as men and women.  This key point is that both women and men are equally made in God's image.  Genesis 1:27 "And God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them."

On our first day of class we dialogued about how both Women and Men are made in the image of God. That means that we have God's likeness or his characteristics that are unique only to humans.  No animal is made in God's image.

In a lot of cultures around the world we operate from the idea that men are supreme and therefore concluding that they are made in God's image more so than a woman.  Don't get me wrong, he's not talking about women's liberation or some sort of distorted feminist movement birthed out of the 60's.  We also discuss some about how we have distorted the idea of man being head over his wife and the wife's desire should be for her husband.  That comes from Genesis 3 when God talks to Adam and Eve after they have eaten the forbiden fruit.   I don't have time to go into that right now when I should be studying.  But for the time being I thought I'd add some of my notes on us being made in the image of God.  I love reflecting on how beautifully God has made us to be like him in these ways.  Feel free to post your thoughts and comments on the comments option at the end of this post.  I'd love to hear what you think. 

Notes from bethinking.org as well as lecture

1. Creative- Animals are uncreative. The creativity we observe in them is instinctive. So birds build their nests but every year it has the same design. They just do the same old instinctive thing. God on the other hand has been creative beyond anything we can comprehend. Now human creativity is of a different order from God’s, not least because we lack his astonishing power, intelligence and artistry. But none the less, we have original, creative ideas. Sub-creators- as God made out of nothing, yet we create using inspiration from God’s creativity (Francis Schaeffer coined the phrase "Sub-Creators".)
2. Intelligent - The mind that lies behind the creation is reflected, albeit in very small measure, in our capacity for understanding and rational thought. We are able to enquire, to reason, to think God’s thoughts after him (Kepler). The Psalmist wrote, 'Do not be like the horse and mule which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle (Ps 32:8&9).' Human intelligence is unlike anything found in the animal kingdom. We ponder the meaning of our existence, the significance of our actions and the prospects of our destiny. Unlike animals, man is a thinker and capable of being instructed and growing in understanding. Religious beliefs which are anti-intellectual and belittle our need to study and learn, have failed to see the wonder of who we are. Approaches to evangelism which diminish the proper place of argument and persuasion diminish the humanity of the people we would reach. So the apostle Paul urges that we should be 'transformed by the renewing of our minds' to discern the will of God (Rom12:2). We are history makers, as God is the author and ruler of history.
3. Aesthetic - our capacity to appreciate beauty. Genesis 2 v9, 'The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground – trees that were pleasing to the eye.’ Delighting in what God has made.
4. Moral - The creator God, the mind behind the universe, was the artist who designed a beautiful world and created mankind who could understand his moral character & purposes. Animals suffer from fear but as far as we can tell, they have no natural sense of guilt or awareness of good and evil choices. Yet our daily lives are dominated by such awareness. Human conscience is a major aspect of our humanity. We battle with evil within ourselves and witness it in others. We long for the good but find all too often that the good that we would do we don’t do, while the evil we know we should not do - we end up doing.
5. Relational - both in community with the Triune God, as well as other humans.  We serve not ourselves, but others. Community breaks down, unity breaks down when we serve ourselves (Hugh Barlett, June 6, 2010 sermon).  Our work is always for the enrichment of others, bringing gladness to their hearts and mind.  We can delight in work through the lens of a communal sharing of this calling.  It is fulfilling only when shared with others.  IE. In marriage when one is only focused only on their own personal fulfillment the marriage will disintegrate. God is not alone but also in relation to the triune Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He is also in relation to his creation.  We have the ability to love. Parenting - God is the ultimate Father.  So we are called to be involved in teaching and training others. Does not have to be limited to conceiving your own children. Without children we are still created to “parent”.  Our Relational aspect includes our ability and desire to work. As God never stops working.
6. Spiritual - So man is incurably religious. Whether we pursue God, or desire superstitions, false gods, charms, astrology, etc we are still seeking a God given characteristic that we are made to be spiritual. Ultimately our fulfillment in our spiritual aspect is when in union with the True God himself.
7. Language - communication with others. Adam named the animals and Eve. It involves self- revelation, and self expression. We use language to understand and express the world.  As a child learns to speak, there is power in language.  God used his words to bring forth the creation of the world. He is a God who speaks to us.  He is not silent to us.  More detail - The Heart of Prayer - there is an appendix in this book about the misunderstanding of mysticism being higher than language.