“We are called to be women. The fact that I am a woman does not make me a different kind of Christian, but the fact that I am a Christian does make me a different kind of woman. For I have accepted God’s idea of me, and my whole life is an offering back to Him of all that I am and all that He wants me to be.” ~ Elisabeth Elliot
We all know that a Christian should be different from a non-christian. However, often it’s really hard to see a difference. Take a woman from the church and a woman from the world, stand them side by side on a Monday afternoon and they’ll look and act relatively the same.
But every once in a while you come across a lady who is obviously, radically different than the average woman. Jesus Christ shines through her character and pours from her speech.
What is it that makes this girl different while so many others continue to look like the world?
Elisabeth Elliot says it starts by accepting God’s idea of who we are.
When we first became Christians we naturally accepted God’s idea. We agreed with God assessment that we were rebellious, sinners who deserved death and couldn’t save ourselves. Salvation is dependant upon us agreeing with the Bible’s view of our identity.
But for some reason, once saved we find it hard to continue accepting God’s idea of us. Ask any group of Christian women what they think about the Bible’s pattern for Christians and for women and you’ll quickly discover we don’t like God’s ideas.
Surely God didn’t really mean all Christians should live holy lives. Or that we will look like fools in this world if we are following Him.
And let’s not even start talking about His plan for women! Isn’t it just old fashioned to believe that He created woman to be a helper for man? Or that it’s good for women to submit to their husbands?
I’m convinced that the majority of our insecurities and relationship issues can be traced back to either a rejection or misunderstanding of God’s idea of us. We don’t understand our identity as Christians and we definitely don’t understand our identity as women.
Since we accepted what God said about us before receiving salvation, it’s time to accept what He says about us now, as daughters of the King.
We are Christians
Before we can understand our identity specifically as daughters (not sons) we need to understand our identity as Christians. So many women are confused about God’s idea of femininity because they try to define their Christianity according to their womanhood rather than defining their womanhood according to Christ and His salvation.
As Elisabeth Elliot said “The fact that I am a woman does not make me a different kind of Christian.”
All of God’s promises and commands to Christians apply to you, regardless of your gender. Every statement about a Christian’s identity is equally true of both guys and girls.
So what is God’s view of a Christian?
This article is not sufficient to dive into all of the implications of Christ’s death and resurrection and our identity in Christ. But here is a small taste; God says we were …
Chosen before the foundation of the world in Christ (Ephesians 1:4).
Accepted in Christ (Eph 1:6).
Redeemed by His blood and forgiven of sin (Eph 1:7).
Loved with a great love (Eph 2:4, 3:18-19).
Given access to God in Christ (Eph 2:18)
“A chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvellous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.” (1 Peter 2:9-10)
As a Christian you are a child of God, loved by God, forgiven of sin called to be holy and to proclaim God’s praises with your life. We must first accept God’s idea of a christian before we can ever hope to accept and understand His idea of a women.
We are Women
But we are not genderless. We are women. And God does have an idea for your femininity that is distinct from His idea for masculinity. We can’t ignore this.
However our identity as a Christian is what changes our identity as a woman.
All of us have believed lies about God’s view of women at some point; that God doesn’t love us, that His plan for women isn’t good.
Having a correct understanding of God and our identity in Christ, completely disarms these lies.
Since God loves Christians because of the blood of Christ, then He loves you as a woman because of Christ. Your sex doesn’t change Christ’s love.
Similarly, because God calls us as Christians to declare His praises with our lives, He calls us as women to declare His praises with our lives.
When we talk about God’s design for women we need to start with His design for Christians. We need to put aside our own ideas, society’s ideas, and even the church’s ideas, and simply come to the scripture to find out what it means to be a girl. We must agree with God’s statement that it is very good.
What are some lies you have believed or heard about God’s view of women? Let me know in the comments below!
In the weeks ahead we’ll be looking more at God’s idea of femininity and how being a Christian changes how we live in this culture as women. If you have any suggestions of topics you’d like to see addressed please leave a comment below or click here to send me a private message with your suggestions!