It was the religious leaders of Christ's day who came against Christ. They led the people as mediators for God but rejected Christ.
Somewhat like our "religious" leaders today with all their man-made criteria for church gatherings and their educated-by man, mentality where the only ones accepted as worthy teachers are those who have been in seminaries indoctrinated by people who are often unsaved themselves. Do not be fearful of the leaders who use intimidation and manipulation to control the people under them. No one should control us except the Holy Spirit.
God made it clear that leaders are to lead by their own example and by teaching, they have no authority over the born-again believer. The Holy Spirit lives in every believer, if the leader had authority over someone with the Holy Spirit this would make them above the Holy Spirit.
Matthew 23:12-36 Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
13 “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut the kingdom of heaven in people's faces. For you neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in.
15 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel across sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves.
16 “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’
17 You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that has made the gold sacred?
18 And you say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gift that is on the altar, he is bound by his oath.’
19 You blind men! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift sacred?
20 So whoever swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it.
21 And whoever swears by the temple swears by it and by him who dwells in it.
22 And whoever swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and by him who sits upon it.
23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.
24 You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel!
25 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.
26 You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean.
27 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people's bones and all uncleanness.
28 So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
29 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous,
30 saying, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ 31 Thus you witness against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets.
32 Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers.
33 You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell?
34 Therefore I send you prophets and wise men and scribes, some of whom you will kill and crucify, and some you will flog in your synagogues and persecute from town to town,
35 so that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah the son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar. 36 Truly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation."
The leaders of our churches today do not physically attack authentic believers but they try to control them in other ways, spiritually and emotionally demeaning those who bring the truth. They have anger and hatred in their hearts for anyone who will correct their wrong doctrine. We know this because of the shameful way they treat those who call them out for their sin of pride and elevation of self above God.
Hebrews 3:13-14 " 13 But exhort one another daily, as long as it is called today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. 14 We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly to the end the assurance we had at first.…"
Every born-again believer has the Authority of the Holy Spirit in them to be able to correct and admonish any other believer no matter what their status.
Women are not to be the teachers and leaders in the church gathering where men are present but they are free to speak to unbelievers about Christ, to teach in gatherings of unbelievers in evangelism, and to lead women and children to the Lord and in truth.
Those who attempt to silence women outside the church gathering are quenching the Holy Spirit. All born-again believers have a calling and all are indwelt with the Holy Spirit.
Galatians 3:28-29
"28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise."
Women are to obey Christ in the matter of silence within the gathering of believers. It is not that they are less intelligent or to be demeaned, it is merely the order God gave for the gathering. It is more of a protective stance for the woman than an oppressive one.
Proverbs 6:20-7:27
"My son, keep your father's commandment, and forsake not your mother's teaching. Bind them on your heart always; tie them around your neck. When you walk, they will lead you; when you lie down, they will watch over you; and when you awake, they will talk with you. For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching a light, and the reproofs of discipline are the way of life, to preserve you from the evil woman, from the smooth tongue of the adulteress."
Men and women have different roles, when each one carries out their role as given by God, things work smoothly and flawlessly. When men take God's word and attempt to bring oppression because of the role just because they are bigger and stronger, then they are abusing the principles of Christ.
Women are to be cherished, treated with gentility and respected for their roles given to them by God. Does it make sense to demean a woman for her role when that role was given to her by God? Those who elevate one role over another are acting in pride not love and humility.
The woman's role is not higher than the man and the man's role is not higher than the woman, they are just different but equal in their status before God.
1 Peter 3:7
"Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered."
Men are to honor their wife as someone to be protected. This is true in the church too, men should honor women as delicate vessels to be protected.
Proverbs 31:28 "Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her."
If the men in the church and the husband at home do not treat women respectfully then the children will not respect them either. Children have a natural tendency to follow a man more than a woman. This is the natural away of life in our humanity.
This is why it is so important that the husband and the leaders teach respect and honor for the women.
Anyone my age remembers the day when a man stood up when a woman entered the room and why the man gave his seat to the woman if there were no other seats. I remember when the man helped a woman with her chair when she sat down, when he removed his hat when a woman approached and he opened doors for her. These were acts of honor to help someone who is the weaker vessel.
Now the women have become harsh wanting to be a man instead of enjoying how God made them. Because of this, the men have reverted to primal responses treating women without respect. The men no longer respect the woman's frailties, in fact, the men expect the woman to do what the men do and the women want it this way. Honor is gone for the women and the men have given into it.
When someone begins treating others as lesser than they, it becomes an overall trend because the heart of man desires to be superior to others just like the devil desires to be superior to God.
The godly men I have met never treated women disrespectfully, they were humble and kind, it is only those who are self-indulged who desire to act superior and dominant. The Pharisees were of this type, wanting to be given priority over everyone else to feel special. They were rude and mean to those under them in order to control others.
Matthew 23:4-6 "…4 They tie up heavy, burdensome loads and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them. 5 All their deeds are done for men to see. They broaden their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels. 6 They love the places of honor at banquets, the chief seats in the synagogues,…"
The Pharisees of old are much like the leaders of our day, they love to be treated with respect but give no one else respect.
I write these things not to upset anyone but to help us see what has happened to the genders and encourage each of us to walk in the Spirit instead of our sinful flesh.
We do not have to become like this, if we are like this we can destroy the work of the devil in our hearts by seeking Christ to root out of us any remnant of our culture that condones prideful superiority.
I praise God for what He has shown me. He did not tell me to fight against it, not at all, He told me to become more like Him so that He will deal with my frailties and feelings orientation within my heart so that they do not become actions. We all battle these things because we are bombarded on all sides every day with wrong attitudes in the culture. The more we see it the more likely we are to become what we see. This is why we must fight it in the Spirit of Christ so that the devil will not have the victory over us, destroying what God began in us.
Philippians 1:6
"6 For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work among you will complete it by the day of Christ Jesus."
1 Corinthians 1:6-8
"6 just as the testimony concerning Christ was confirmed in you,
7 so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you eagerly await the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ,
8 who will also confirm you to the end, blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ."
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