Voices of the True Woman Movement

Notes and highlights for

Voices of the True Woman Movement: A Call to the Counter-Revolution (True Woman)

DeMoss, Nancy Leigh

Introduction

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So much is determined by which voices we hear and heed : our sense of who we are and why we are here ; the way we relate to others ; the choices we make ; the way we spend our moments and years ; our personal , emotional , and spiritual well - being ; and yes , the ultimate outcome of our lives .

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Conflicting voices were an issue all the way back in the garden of Eden .

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Eve was led astray by listening to the wrong voice . And she proceeded to become a voice that echoed the deception of the Serpent himself as she influenced her husband to choose to reject the voice of God .

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Many are quick to point to the gains women enjoy today as a result of this revolution . However , they are not so quick to recognize the enormous losses and pain that I believe more than offset those gains .

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In October 2008 over six thousand women from forty - eight states and seven countries gathered in Chicago for the first True Woman conference , hosted by Revive Our Hearts , along with our ministry partners Moody Bible Institute , FamilyLife , Moms in Touch , and Life Action Ministries . These women came together to hear God’s Word and to affirm His mission and purpose for their lives .

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This volume is a collection of the messages that were presented in the plenary sessions at True Woman ′ 08 .

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To help you cultivate those kinds of relationships , we’ve included a study guide at the end of this book ( “ Going Deeper ” ) , designed to facilitate discussion of each chapter .

Part One - Foundations of True Womanhood

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My assumption is that wimpy theology makes wimpy women .

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The opposite of a wimpy woman is not a brash , pushy , loud , controlling , sassy , uppity , arrogant Amazon . The opposite of a wimpy woman is fourteen - year - old Marie Durant , a French Christian in the seventeenth century who was arrested for being a Protestant and told she could be released if she said one phrase : “ I abjure . ” Instead , she wrote on the wall of her cell , “ Resist , ” and stayed there thirty - eight years until she died , doing just that .

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Wimpy theology simply does not give a woman a God that is big enough , strong enough , wise enough , and good enough to handle the realities of life in a way that magnifies the infinite worth of Jesus Christ .

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Wimpy theology is plagued by woman - centeredness and man - centeredness .

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Wimpy theology doesn’t have the granite foundation of God’s sovereignty or the solid steel structure of a great God - centered purpose for all things .

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God’s ultimate purpose for the universe and for all of history and for your life is to display the glory of Christ in its highest expression , namely , in His dying to make a rebellious people His everlasting and supremely happy bride . To say

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The ultimate purpose of creation and redemption is to put the glory of Christ on display in purchasing and purifying His bride , the church .

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In fact , it leads to the mind - boggling truth that womanhood and manhood — femininity and masculinity — belong at the center of God’s ultimate purpose .

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I don't know if i believe that it is at the center. How did he get there.

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It didn’t happen like that . God did not look around and find manhood and womanhood to be a helpful comparison to His Son’s relation to the church . He created us as male and female precisely so that we could display the glory of His Son .

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In other words , from the beginning , manhood and womanhood were designed to display the glory of Christ in His relationship to the church , His bride .

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the ultimate meaning of true womanhood is this : It is a distinctive calling of God to display the glory of His Son in ways that would not be displayed if there were no womanhood .

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When God described the glorious work of His Son as the sacrifice of a husband for His bride , He was telling us why He made us male and female .

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Was he? Or did he use language that we could visualize.

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The point here is that marriage is meant to display the covenant - keeping love between Christ and His church .

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Men take their cues from Christ as the head , and women take their cues from what the church is called to be in her allegiance to Christ .

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Headship is the divine calling of a husband to take primary responsibility for Christ - like , servant leadership , protection , and provision in the home .

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Submission is the divine calling of a wife to honor and affirm her husband’s leadership and help carry it through according to her gifts .

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Affirm means acknowledge. It does not mean agree with everything. It does not mean that she do everything for his glory. It does not mean that she does things his way. She is to serve according to her gifts.

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The point is that these two , headship and submission , are different .

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But if you — you married women — embrace the truth that your womanhood , true womanhood , is uniquely and indispensably created by God to display the glory of His Son in the way you relate to your husband , you will have a calling of infinite significance .

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there are truths about Christ and His kingdom that shine more clearly through singleness than through marriage .

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In other words , true womanhood can flourish in marriage and singleness .

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Therefore it does not revolve around the husband but around Christ.

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I commend to you this truth : The ultimate purpose of God in history is the display of the glory of His Son in dying for His bride .

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God has created man as male and female because there are aspects of Christ’s glory which would not be known if they were not reflected in the complementary differences of manhood and womanhood .

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Therefore , true womanhood is a distinctive calling of God to display the glory of His Son in ways that would not be displayed if there were no womanhood .

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Your womanhood — your true womanhood — was made for the glory of Jesus Christ .

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a passage that I believe is at the heart of the True Woman movement : Oh , the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God ! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways ! “ For who has known the mind of the Lord , or who has been his counselor ? ” “ Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid ? ” For from him and through him and to Him are all things . To him be glory forever . Amen . ( Romans 11 : 33 – 36 )

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If the first eleven chapters are the “ what ” of the gospel , the last part of Romans is the “ so what ” — how are we to live in light of these great truths ? And the doxology of Romans 11 : 33 – 36 serves as a bridge between the two .

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God has designed history in such a way that even human unbelief and rebellion cannot thwart His final , eternal purposes .

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However , as I have meditated on Paul’s words , I have been reminded that they are foundational to what it means to be a true woman of God and to everything my sisters will address in the chapters that follow .

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It gives us a fixed reference point for our hearts . It tethers us to God’s ultimate , eternal purposes . It gives us a perspective — a grid — for responding to His sovereign choices in our lives , especially those we cannot understand or explain .

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But though we can never reach the bottom of God’s unfathomable ways , we do know what it’s like to reach the bottom of our own strength .

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He is inexhaustible , limitless , immeasurable . “ Oh , the depth … ” But though we can

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But the true woman knows that deeper than her own limitations and problems , is the bedrock of God’s riches , wisdom , and knowledge . His unseen yet sovereign , eternal purposes are underneath it all , holding it all together .

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It reminds me of the well - known account from Corrie ten Boom’s life , when her sister Betsie , wasting away and dying in the Nazi concentration camp at Ravensbruck , urged her to “ tell people what we have learned here … that there is no pit so deep that He is not deeper still . ”

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“ They will listen to us , Corrie , ” Betsie had told her . “ They will listen to us because we have been here . ”

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Some - one — who is deeper still . “ The eternal God is your dwelling place , and underneath are the everlasting arms ” ( Deuteronomy 33 : 27 ) .

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God will never experience economic collapse or even the slightest wave or bobble of uncertainty .

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The wisdom and knowledge of God are infinitely greater than our own . The human mind could never have come up with a way that sinners could be justified and declared righteous before a holy God . No one has wisdom and knowledge like that . But the wisdom of God devised a way — before sin had even entered the world !

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“ For the foolishness of God is wiser than men , and the weakness of God is stronger than men ” ( 1 Corinthians 1 : 25 ) .

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In other words , no matter how brilliant a person may be , no matter how hard or long she works at it , she can never completely understand why ( or how ) God does what He does .

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We simply cannot know all that He is doing or why He does what He does . Those answers are hidden , locked away in the mind of God , and we have no choice but to leave them there .

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In fact , rather than demanding answers to our questions , we should trust that He knows what we need to know — as well as what we don’t — and that it is His kindness that withholds from us what would be too grand or painful for us to absorb in our mortal minds .

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“ In every situation and circumstance of your life , God is always doing a thousand different things that you cannot see and you do not know . ”

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You will never be able to fully explore what God is doing in your life .

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He doesn’t owe you an explanation . He is God , and He is working .

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God doesn’t need to consult with anyone about anything . He never needs input or counsel , needs no guidance or advice — not from me , not from you , not from anyone .

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God is everything we are not . He makes no mistakes . He’s not indebted to anyone , doesn’t owe us anything . Nothing ever just occurs to God . Nothing ever surprises Him . He never has to scramble to come up with a solution . He has no sudden starts or emergency situations . This One who cares for us so completely doesn’t have to follow current events — He determines and foresees all events — past , present , and future . He never needs to stop and figure out what His next move will be .

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So … Women of God , why would we ever need to get bent out of shape by something that’s not going our way ? Why would we doubt that God is not only fully capable of providing our need , but that He has seen this challenge coming from far away and has been preparing us for it all along … that He is even now accomplishing “ a thousand different things ” through this very process of events ?

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Believing this leaves no place for doubt , or fear , or anger , or second - guessing , or disputing God’s choices . He is God , and we are not . It’s not up to us to understand it all . And why should we ? We are covered and cared for by One who is sovereign and all - wise , whose thoughts are unfathomable , the depths of whose ways are impossible to plumb .

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God’s ways for you — just as His ways for these women — will not always make sense to your human reasoning .

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But we stand in this line with the Lord Jesus , for whom the ways of God meant divesting Himself of His rights , experiencing rejection and ridicule on a scale never known by anyone before or since , then ultimately enduring a cruel death on the cross . “ How inscrutable . ”

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Paul’s towering statements of truth can lead to only one conclusion : “ For from him and through him and to him are all things ” ( Romans 11 : 36 ) . Everything finds its true meaning and purpose in God’s meaning and purpose .

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This is why true womanhood results in a God - centered life and perspective , a God - centered worldview , eternally tethered to who God is and His sovereign , inscrutable ways .

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So when you feel like you just can’t hold things together any longer , guess what ? You can’t hold anything together — not even for a second . But He can . And He does .

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But God loves us too much to let us continue hurtling toward hopelessness and dissatisfaction . When we oppose His righteous , unsearchable judgments , He lovingly disciplines us as His children until we’re back in line with the way things really are , the way He created all things to operate .

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There is simply no escape for anyone from the cosmic reality that “ from him and through him and to him are all things . ”

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The appropriate response to the fathomless depths of God’s wisdom and ways is to step out of the spotlight and turn the spotlight on Him .

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There are many implications and applications we could make , but I want to leave you with three simple ones that apply to every Christian woman .

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1 ) A true woman lives a God - centered life .

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Not a man, ANY MAN HUSBAND OR PASTOR, centered life.

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A God - centered woman embraces the supreme purpose for which she was created . She lives to reflect the beauty and wonder of His ways and to join every created thing in heaven and earth in glorifying and worshiping Him eternally .

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Our greatest problems , no matter how enormous and unsolvable they may seem , become puny when measured against the vastness of God .

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2 ) A true woman trusts God .

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But the true woman doesn’t give in to fear . As Proverbs 31 : 25 says , she “ smiles at the future ” ( NASB ) , because she knows He’s got the whole world in His hands .

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So a true woman accepts His plan as good , though it may not be the way she defines good .

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I know life is hard to understand . From our limited frame of reference , it sometimes seems that God doesn’t know what He’s doing . And though many of us would never dare to speak such words aloud or even consciously think them , many of us are practicing atheists at times , living as if there’s no God , or at least wondering if He has really messed things up this time .

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A true woman , however , trusts God completely , patiently believing that He is faithful , and that in His way and in His time , His promises will be fulfilled .

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A true woman trusts that her past failures are not beyond the reach of God’s redeeming grace . Unredeemable losses and impossibilities do not exist in the inscrutable mind of God . As Martin Luther succinctly captured it , “ God can draw a straight line with a crooked stick , ” even if those “ crooked sticks ” are your personal failings , even if they’re the sins of a parent , a husband , a child , an employer . Nothing is beyond His plan and repair .

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The true woman who trusts God doesn’t have to strive .

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The true woman who trusts God doesn’t have to strive . She doesn’t have to be afraid . She can relinquish control . She doesn’t have to manipulate and control the whole wide world ( as if we could ) . She doesn’t resent , or resist , or run from the cross . She embraces the cross with faith .

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3 ) A true woman says , “ Yes , Lord . ” That’s basically what Paul goes on to say in the verse that immediately follows our text : “ I appeal to you therefore , brothers , by the mercies of God , to present your bodies as a living sacrifice , living and holy and acceptable to God ” ( Romans 12 : 1 ) .

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She’s willing to make personal sacrifices , not constantly asking , “ What will make me happy ? ” Rather , she wants to know : “ What will please You , Lord ? ” “ What will further Your kingdom ? ” “ What will display Your glory ? ” Her heart attitude is , “ If it pleases You , it pleases me . ”

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It is not, what will affirm my husband.

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To say , “ Yes , Lord , ” means saying no to a lot of other things :

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But it means saying yes to a lot more :

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And if you will keep pressing on by His grace , I assure you the day will come when you will get to the summit , as Paul did in Romans 11 . Then , you’ll look back at the trails you have scaled by His grace ; you’ll look around at the scenery , amazed at the unsearchable depths of God .

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For sure , there will be those long nights and days when the summit seems hopelessly far away , when all you can see is trouble and danger , when you’re not sure why He’s put you in such a tight place . For all those days , I offer you Romans 11 : 33 – 36 — the depths , the riches , the wisdom , the knowledge of God . His unsearchable judgments . His inscrutable ways . You can fall back into His sovereignty , sure of His love , and proclaim with Paul , even through your tears and troubles , “ To him be glory forever . Amen . ”

Part Two - The Battle for True Womanhood

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Women truly have come a long way in the past fifty years . But a long way isn’t necessarily a good way or the right way .

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Consider the cultural image of women in the 1950s represented by the popular TV sitcom Leave It to Beaver .

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In this television series , four ideals were presented as requisites for a happy life , both for women and men : education ( Ward and June Cleaver both had college degrees ) , marriage , children , and hard work .

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June and Ward Cleaver were both happy and content . In fact , adults in the Leave It to Beaver sitcom who didn’t or couldn’t attain the cultural ideals of education , marriage , children , and hard work were the ones depicted as being troubled or missing out .

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As the Leave It to Beaver sitcom suggests , life for women truly was vastly different fifty years ago than it is today .

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The Mary Tyler Moore Show was lauded as a television breakthrough because it portrayed the first independent , attractive career woman as the central character .

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From children’s cartoons to television series to movies , women in popular media are now portrayed as having an “ in charge , don’t - need - a - guy , I’m - powerful , traditional - marriage - and - family - and - morals - are - outdated , I - have - the - right - to - rule , how - dare - you - tell - me - what - to - do ” mentality .

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A woman can set her own standards and dictate the terms of her relationship with men . And as long as she’s “ nice ” about it , and true to herself , it really doesn’t matter what she does . Who are we to judge ?

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We’ve now been thoroughly indoctrinated with the message that when it comes to relationships , women can make their own rules .

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In the new worldview , men are whiny , needy , not too bright , and totally unreliable . They are marginalized and emasculated — used , regarded , and discarded like Kleenex from a box .

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Nowadays , the height of empowered womanhood is to live a self - serving , self - righteous , neurotic , narcissistic , superficial , and adulterous life .

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So in a few short decades — in the span of my lifetime — the ideal of a happy , fulfilled woman has gone from one who values and serves her children , her husband , and her community , to one who serves and exalts herself , sees men as dispensable , and considers children to be optional add - ons to her quest for fulfillment .

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Which begs the question : How did this happen ? The factors are many and complex , but a large piece of the puzzle can be attributed to the philosophy of feminism .

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It’s important to understand that feminism encompasses much more than the cultural phenomenon of the women’s rights movement .

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Feminism is a distinct worldview with its own ideologies , values , and ways of thinking .

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We need to know where we’ve come from and how we got to this point if we hope to determine where we go from here . This is a biblical way of approaching history .

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My purpose in this overview is to help you “ understand the times ” so that God can raise us up as a holy Issachar generation of women in our day . Women who hold the knowledge of our times in one hand , and who hold the truth , clarity , and charity of the Word of God in the other .

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time . In the late 1940s and 1950s , the world witnessed revolutions in India , Korea , China , Hungary , Iraq , and Cuba . In all these revolutions , the ruling class was overthrown through violence or civil disobedience by the class they had ruled and sometimes oppressed .

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During the 1950s , a female French philosopher , Simone de Beauvoir , proposed that modern society was also in need of a revolution in gender roles .

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In her resulting book , published in 1963 , Friedan argued that women were trying to conform to a religious , male - dictated image of womanhood — the Leave It to Beaver ideal she called the “ feminine mystique ” — but that doing so left them with vague feelings of emptiness , yearning , and wanting something more .

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According to Friedan , a woman could only be fulfilled if she had a life plan that included education , a career , and work that was of “ serious importance to society . ”

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According to feminism , the only hope for woman’s happiness and self - fulfillment lay in rejecting a male - defined , Judeo - Christian worldview .

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Friedan summarized the underlying precept of feminism when she declared , “ We [ women ] need and can trust no other authority than our own personal truth ! ”

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Patriarchy was to be understood as the “ rule of the father , ” and was used to describe both the dominance of the male as well as the inferiority and subservience of the female .

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In the first phase of feminism , women claimed the right to name themselves , to redefine their own existence .

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feminist agenda , which consisted of five main tenets : 1 ) full self - determination , 2 ) freedom from biological distinctions , 3 ) economic independence , 4 ) total and equal integration into the workforce , and 5 ) sexual freedom .

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But although awareness of the women’s movement was growing , allegiance to the feminist perspective was still not widespread . Feminist theorists concluded that women as a whole needed enlightenment . They needed to discover how oppressed they really were .

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Feminists in New York discovered that if they gathered women together in small groups , and got those women talking about their personal hurts and grievances against men , then all the women in the group would begin to get upset and bitter against men — even those who initially had no identifiable issues . With direction , the group’s anger could then be channeled into personal and political activism . Collectively , the whole group could be empowered to rebel against men , thereby becoming actively committed to the feminist cause . Kathie Sarachild , a feminist activist in New York , learned that this new technique was called “ consciousness raising , ” and that it wasn’t actually “ new ” at all . Consciousness raising was a political technique that had been used by the revolutionary army of Mao Tse - tung , whose slogan was , “ Speak bitterness to recall bitterness . Speak pain to recall pain . ” To promote discord and instability in a village , Mao’s political revolutionaries would gather townswomen together to discuss the crimes their men had committed against them , encouraging the women to “ speak bitterness and pain . ” Initial reluctance gave way to collective anger as woman after woman recounted stories of rape by their landlords , of being sold as concubines , of physical abuse by their husbands and fathers - in - law .

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As the women vented their bitterness , they experienced a newfound strength and resolve that empowered them to corporate action .

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In his arrogance , he thought he ran the world and answered to no one , but the unseen hand of God was in control , moving and working behind the scenes to accomplish His purposes .

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“ What is God up to ? ” That’s what really matters .

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Esther is not the star but simply a player in the heavenly drama being acted out on an earthly stage .

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But He is accomplishing the goals of His heavenly drama through you , purposes that are bigger and more eternal than anything you can see or understand . His plans are sure . He is in total control .

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So whether you win or lose the world’s beauty and popularity contests , whether you land your dream job or lose the one you’ve got , whether you’re financially prosperous or watching years of accumulated earnings lose their value , whether you have healthy children or a child with special needs , whether you have an intact family background or a dysfunctional one , whether you’re physically fit or struggling with sickness — these things matter greatly in the kingdom of man , but they pale into insignificance in the Kingdom of God . The question is not , “ How will this circumstance affect me ? ” or , “ How will it fulfill my wants and needs ? ” The right question to ask is , “ How does God want to use my position , my season of life , my place at this moment in time to fulfill His Kingdom purposes in the world ? ”

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basing our reactions on a single snapshot of this unfair moment in time .

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That’s often the mood in the kingdom of man — panic , anxiety , apprehension , fear , dread — “ confusion . ” But there’s never an iota of confusion in the Kingdom of God . Only plans — God’s wise , good , eternal plans .

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Do not think to yourself that in the king’s palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews . For if you keep silent at this time , relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place , but you and your father’s house will perish . And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this ? ( vv . 13 – 14 )

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Mordecai is saying in effect , “ God is not dependent on you . He doesn’t need you to accomplish His purposes . God will win with or without you and me . He can bring deliverance from other sources . But , ” he reminds Esther , “ there are a lot of lives at stake — you , your family , your people . ”

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Whether it was Esther then or you today , only God knows — and only time will tell — why He has sovereignly placed you where you are right now , at this moment in history . You have been given a role to play , and no one else can fill it .

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Notice that she didn’t act alone . She realized she was part of a community ; she understood the necessity of being in one accord . There’s a reminder here of the importance of linking hearts and hands with other believers as we seek to deal with the issues in our day that oppose the Kingdom of God .

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Esther , in taking her bold measure of faith , was willing to leave the palace , risking her life in order to save her people . The Lord Jesus , by comparison , actually did leave His heavenly palace , giving up His life in order to save His people . In this way , Esther’s story foreshadows the gospel message , even as our lives are intended to point people to the redeeming heart and work of Christ .

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You too are a tool in the hand of God , being applied to situations that may just feel like “ everyday life ” to you but are actually backlit stages where the purposes of God are being put on display from your street address . And He knows the audience He’s playing to , whether it be members of your family , church friends , random acquaintances — whoever needs to see His power at work in a surrendered heart … like yours .

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1 ) We are in a battle .

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2 ) The weapons and tactics of the earthly , human kingdom are different than the weapons and tactics of the heavenly Kingdom .

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3 ) God has a sovereign , redemptive plan , and it will not jail .

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Nothing in this world can abort His eternal plan .

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Through faith and obedience , you can be part of God’s plan .

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The potential impact of one woman who is filled with the Spirit of God and is available for His Kingdom purposes is incalculable .

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5 ) No situation is so desperate that God cannot redeem it .

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Remember what Pastor John Piper said ? “ In every situation and circumstance of your life , God is always doing a thousand different things that you cannot see and you do not know . ” Never forget that . Write it on the tablet of your heart . And learn to wait for God to act , to wait on His time .

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Making things happen is His role in your situation , and He is sure to act in His perfect time , according to His good , sovereign , and eternal will . It will be worth the wait , I assure you .

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Even when called to confront evil , true women are marked by a spirit of grace and meekness . They keep their power under control — under God’s control .

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And because heaven rules , we can respond to even the most threatening circumstances with courage , faith , and quiet confidence .

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6 ) Don’t judge the outcome of the battle by the way things look right now .

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Remember that things are not now as they will always be .

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The entire story , from first to final chapter , was written by God in eternity past ; it is being unfolded in our present day , waiting for its ultimate outworking in eternity future .

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Our hearts ’ desire , as true women , is for the Kingdom of God to be established and evident in our lives and for Christ to be exalted and reign supreme in our world .

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to be so secure and surrendered to the Lord that you can embrace your problems under the umbrella of His sovereignty .

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Oh , how abundant is your goodness , which you have stored up for those who fear you and worked for those who take refuge in you , in the sight of the children of mankind ! ( Psalm 31 : 19 )

Part Three - The Refining of True Womanhood

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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 . 1 — ELISABETH ELLIOT

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So can the prayers of a praying woman affect the course of a nation ?

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Let’s consider the answer — as well as a number of other discoveries about the role of women in God’s Kingdom purposes — through a familiar Bible story about a true woman of faith .

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So although it was not God’s created ideal , He obviously allowed His people to choose polygamy . But every time polygamy was practiced in the Bible , it brought trouble into the family’s life .

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When state supreme courts begin ruling that same - sex marriages are to be legalized and officially recognized , we are striking at the heart of God’s good and perfect plan , and we inherit the whirlwind as a result .

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Insert Elkanah into this chauvinistic scenario . He easily could have gotten rid of Hannah for not creating a mandatory lineage for him ,

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“ The Lord had closed her womb . ” Uh - oh . Now we have a sovereignty issue at work here . Could God actually make a woman infertile ? Oh , yes . That could be part of His good and perfect plan .

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“ The Lord had closed her womb . ” Scripture says it as plainly as that . But don’t doubt for one minute that He had a reason and purpose for this . This was God , acting in His sovereignty , performing His work in ways that were inscrutable to this wife whose hopes and longings remained unfulfilled month after month .

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Can you accept His will for your life right now , even if it’s not what you want ?

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We so easily say , “ Oh God , I love You , ” but how we balk at saying , “ God , I also trust You . ”

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“ Her rival used to provoke her grievously to irritate her , because the Lord had closed her womb ” ( v . 6 ) . Scripture doesn’t tell us exactly how she “ provoked ” Hannah , but we can use our sanctified imaginations to get close to the answer .

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Sometimes God allows obnoxious people into our lives , and when He does , He has His reasons .

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Sometimes God allows obnoxious people into our lives , and when He does , He has His reasons . Those aren’t lessons I’m entirely fond of , but I know He does it .

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Elkanah , her husband , would say to her , “ Hannah , why do you weep ? And why do you not eat ? And why is your heart sad ? Am I not more to you than ten sons ? ” ( v . 8 ) .

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Not being able to produce a child was a matter of deep shame and loss of value .

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This was more than just an infertility problem ; this was a validation issue . And she was not being validated .

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I have a feeling that “ standing up ” meant “ I’m going to stand on my trust in You . ” It was more than the position of her body ; it was the position of her heart . She was a woman who was “ deeply distressed . ” So she went to the temple , “ prayed to the Lord , and wept bitterly ” ( v .

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She could do it because she was God - centered , because her relationship with the living God said , “ Lord , I will trust You . I can surrender myself to You . I so believe in Your provision , compassion , and care that if You give me a son , I will show You my love by giving him back to You . ” That is truly a magnificent prayer . A prayer that could change the course of a nation .

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Having shown ( as the Proverbs would later relate ) that “ a soft answer turns away wrath ” ( 15 : 1 ) , her gentle and gracious spirit evoked from Eli , not an apology , but at least encouraging words of promise :

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No , Hannah didn’t know when she gave up her son that God would graciously fulfill her longing for children , but look how generous God is — exceedingly , abundantly beyond what we could ask for or imagine .

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God has put us in the position of being true women of prayer for those He entrusts to our care . And when we’re finally in glory , we’ll be able to meet the ones we’ve been praying for so steadfastly .

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Motherhood gives us feelings of fuzzy blankets and baby rattles and toys to line the crib . But motherhood is actually one of God’s refining fires . The reality of motherhood is that it’s a place to learn surrender , letting go , trusting and believing that God is God .

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1 ) Fear distorts reality .

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Fear tries convincing you that things you know to be true are not exactly as they appear .

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Fear victimizes us .

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Fear adds stress .

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Fear creates doubt .

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Fear cripples us .

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Fear replaces faith .

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Fear disappoints us .

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Fear makes us doubtful of success .

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Fear fills our heart with despair .

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Fear steals and destroys .

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So that’s what I did . I told God I would shut my mouth , that there was nothing more I could say . Enough was enough . No more would I allow fear to grip and rob me of my joy and blessing . Instead , I resolved three things to the Lord :

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1 ) I promise that I won’t embarrass You .

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2 ) I promise that I won’t embarrass my husband .

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3 ) I promise that I won’t embarrass myself .

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myself , I put fear on notice that it could not make me its slave , forcing me to do whatever it demanded of me , trying to make me forget all that my Father had done for me in Christ Jesus .

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Instead of listening to myself , I needed to start talking to myself .

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And with His ever - present help , that’s what I did . I had resolved it , and He enabled me to live it . And you can too , putting into practice the biblical imperatives found in James 4 : 7 – 10 :

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Submit yourselves therefore to God . Resist the devil , and he will flee from you . Draw near to God , and he will draw near to you . Cleanse your hands , you sinners , and purify your hearts , you double - minded . Be wretched and mourn and weep . Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom . Humble yourselves before the Lord , and he will exalt you .

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1 ) Submit to God . I finally had to wave the flag and say , “ Lord , I surrender .

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2 ) Resist the devil

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God assures us the Devil will flee .

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3 ) Draw near to God .

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But drawing near takes work and faith .

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4 ) Cleanse your hands .

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5 ) Purify your heart .

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As I was going through my emotional meltdown , I had so much pride that I couldn’t even tell my best friends what was happening .

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6 ) Humble yourself .

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God cares most , not about making us comfortable , but about teaching us to grow up spiritually .

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The core of God’s plan is to rescue us from our sin .

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This means getting rid of sin . Yes , to be made like Jesus is to become kind and gentle and thoughtful and compassionate , but first — if you really want to be like Christ — you must learn to hate sin . To be like Jesus is to be made sinless .

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But my wise and sovereign God takes one form of evil — my suffering — and turns it on its head to defeat an even worse evil — my sin and self - centeredness .

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Suffering is a chisel in the hand of God to chip away our pride , to bring low our stiff - necked , stubborn rebellion .

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You know , I consider myself healed . No , I’m still confined to this wheelchair , but I’m armed with the full confidence that health and wholeness , maturity and completeness , will be totally mine one day , just as it will be yours .

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So if you aspire to be a jewel in the crown of your Lord , don’t focus on the hammer as it falls on your life . Look instead at the sandblasting that’s happening in the lives of others . Help them . Serve them . Look out for their interests .

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Sure , I may be in a wheelchair , but that doesn’t give me an excuse not to think of others who are more needy than I am .

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So I consider it a high privilege that God asks much of me , that He allows me to travel and share the good news of Jesus , giving wheelchairs to needy , disabled people in places like Peru and Poland , China and Cuba .

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If you want to increase your capacity for joy , if you want to increase your service and worship in heaven , if you want to enlarge your personal estate , don’t focus on the chisel in your own life . Focus on others who need to be quarried out of the dust and dirt of this world .

Appendix A: The Need for a Creed: Reflections on Creeds, Confessions, and Manifestos by Mary Kassian

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capacity to believe in something , then you have a creed — even if it’s an unspoken one .

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Humanist Manifesto was initially published with a small number of signatories , but then procured thousands more . Over the course of time , its tenets have been assimilated en masse to become the dominant worldview of our time .

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It’s important to note that contrary to secular creeds , the creeds produced by the Christian church are statements of faith that are meant to accurately reflect and summarize what Scripture teaches .

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The Apostles ’ Creed , drawn up in the first or second century , emphasized the full humanity of Jesus .

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The Nicene Creed , written in the fourth century , emphatically affirmed the deity of Christ .

Appendix B: A Prayer for Women by Pastor John Piper

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in ministry to people’s needs .