The Dignity of Woman

 

Hello everybody, my name is Dean Davis and this is “Multiply,” the podcast that provides a word of encouragement for Village Church Planters.

One of the most amazing descriptions about human beings is found in the very first book of the Bible in the very first chapter. The book of Genesis tells us that “God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.”  This is an amazing statement!

First of all, God created people.  We are not an accident.  We are not the result of an impersonal process. God created human beings.  That’s amazing. But of course, God has created everything that exists in the natural world, all trees and plants, all fish and birds, all four-footed animals, everything.

Now, not only did God create mankind, he created human beings in his own image. No fish, no bird; no four-footed animal, no plant or tree was ever created in the image of God, only people.  This means that human beings are very, very special.  If we respect God, we must respect human beings. When we look at human beings we can learn something about God.  Human beings are creative and God is too.  We create because God is the creator and we are made in his image. We know the difference between right and wrong.  God does too.  We know right and wrong because we are created in the image of God. 

People can love because God is love and we are created in his image.  Yes we are broken.  Yes we are sinners.  God is not. God is altogether righteous and holy and pure. But human beings are made in the image of God. Even though we do not reflect his image perfectly, we carry the image of God with us wherever we go. Male humans are made in God’s image and female humans are made in God’s image.  When we are together we better reflect the image of God than when we are alone. This is amazing. “God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.”

So whenever you see a man or a woman, a boy or a girl, you know that person was created in the image of God. For this reason, each human person is worthy of respect. No matter what color their skin, what language they speak or do not speak, no matter educational level or religious beliefs, every human being is worthy of respect.

Many people in many countries around the world don’t understand this. Many people disrespect women.  When any person disrespects a women, he or she is disrespecting God our creator. Because women are created in the image of God they have dignity. They are creative, they know right from wrong.  They think and reason and express sisterly love to others. Women have been created with dignity.  For this reason, everyone in the church of Jesus Christ must show respect to women, regardless of education, or wealth, or tribe, or skin color.  All women are created in the image of God and are worthy of respect.

And so, we must follow the Holy Spirit’s example and move women into places of significant ministry. Acts chapters 1 and 2 tells us that on the day of Pentecost, the Spirit of God used many women to declare the wonders of God to people from every nation under heaven. God, the Holy Spirit trusts women to declare his message and so should we. Since women are created in the image of God, and since the Spirit of God has delighted to use women to declare messages from God, who are we to disrespect women or to disparage their dignity?

Women have been given dignity by God. Women should not insult the dignity of their sisters or selfishly push them down. Men must recognize the contributions of women and the dignity of women because “God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.”  

This has been “Multiply.” And I’m Dean Davis asking, “Who will you share this encouraging word with today? E3-35

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