Hey ladies…well I am certainly behind the ball on this one as I meant to share the recap for Week 1 of our True Woman 101 study on Thursday…and of course, I totally forgot to record the live discussion we had together as a group. Alas…I am so glad you decided to take this 8 week Bible study together with us through True Woman 101: Divine Design by Nancy Leigh Demoss and Mary Kassian. It has been a rich study and I highly recommend it! (Yes, it’s not too late to join in or get a few friends of your own together to study this resource!)
If you haven’t checked out the panel discussion video, please watch this fun discussion for week 1:
Or watch it here.
Here is the review of Week 1 and some of the questions and passages of Scripture that we looked out! Please feel free to share any thoughts you have in the comments!
Review: This week, we read about how gender matters because manhood and womanhood exist to glorify God and put the gospel of Jesus Christ on display. Day 1 described how we were made uniquely in the image of God, stamped with His likeness, in order to display His glory. When God created male and female, He had the dynamic of His own relationship in mind – unity, communion, sacrificial leadership, and willing submission. Day 2 & 3: We learned that God designed these relationships to tell His story – we were designed to picture the relationship of God to Christ, and Christ to his church. We are part the core/center of His magnificent plan – the very cross of Christ! Day 4 & 5 cultivated the idea that our womanhood has eternal worth and significance because of this mission and purpose to put God on display. We have a choice to fully embrace the beauty of our position right now.
Let’s start by looking at a few passages of Scripture mentioned in the study. Feel free to read them yourself and think about the discussion questions here:
Genesis 1:26-27 – Who is speaking here and to whom? God to the Trinity.
Why did He create two different sexes and not just one? To emphasize the importance of communion and unity. Relationship is essential for life and godliness. Also, to show how we need one another to fully display God’s glory and thus it is important that we work together to display the beauty of the Godhead – mutual self-denial and sacrifice. Keeps us humble rather than self-sufficient.
Isaiah 43:6-7 – For what purpose were we created as sons and daughters? To glorify God. It’s not about us. It’s all about Him!
What are some ways you think that human beings can image/reflect the glory of God? We have consciousness/understanding, we enjoy relationship/friendship/communion with others, we can communicate, express emotions, pursue sanctification (the ability to display character), and possess authority (to have dominion to rule over all creation).
Psalms 8:4-6 – How does this verse describe our position?
Out of all of God’s creation He chose you, He chose me, to display His glory. He called us out with honor and dignity to mirror, reflect, display, and represent His unique design and attributes to all other creatures. Literally, just slightly lower than “being gods” ourselves. Being created in His image gives us enormous dignity, privilege, and worth.
How does this truth speak to the chronic feelings of unworthiness/inferiority and other struggles you experience as a woman? It puts them to shame! They have no place. We have beauty and value incalculable.
How does God feel about you? He’s mindful of you.
What are some of the places you try to find your self-worth? I try to find my worth/value in completing/slaving over to-do list, seeking approval from others through the number of responses I receive on each blog post, insecurity in my lack of college education and wanting to prove my intelligence in a piece of paper.
What should my response be to these struggles of self-worth? The truth is that we don’t need a greater sense of “self-worth”. What we desperately need is a greater sense of His worth. We need to dig deep in meditating on God – His awesomeness, majesty, goodness, etc. And remember that He has stamped this image on us. We are made in His likeness and we are fully loved and approved by Him.
Eph 5:23, 30-32/1 Cor 11:3 – How does this speak to the specific roles assigned to male & female individually? God has designed manhood to walk in servant hearted leadership to meet the spiritual, emotional, and physical needs of His wife, just as Christ came to serve and lay down His life for His church (Mark 10:44-45). But the church was created to reflect the responsiveness, grace, and beauty of the bride He redeemed. And marriage was created to reflect the covenant union between Christ and His bride.
In Tim Keller’s book, The Meaning for Marriage, I love how he describes another facet of this by showing how the male & female relationship can also reflect the relationship of God the Father to God the Son. God the Father planned and led in the orchestration of the plan of salvation. We see that Christ images the willing submission, responsiveness, grace, and beauty in obedience to the Father by coming to earth, laying aside His glory, and dying for His church. This role can be beautifully reflected in the wife to her husband as she willingly, freely, submits and responds to his leadership. She can chose to fully embrace it and glorify God in the process. In this way, both male and female have a “Jesus role” to play.
Just like the Trinity, husband and wife are equal in dignity and value but they have different roles. When these roles are embraced, there is peace, harmony, and God is displayed and glorified. When we rebel and try to imitate each other and take on a different role assignment, we ultimately mock God’s plan, we cause disunity, frustration, and ultimately will be fruitless for His Kingdom. We lose out on the sweet communion God designed.
John Piper says in his sermon on The Ultimate Meaning of True Womanhood (a fascinating sermon that I strongly recommend):
Masculinity and femininity, manhood and womanhood, belong at the center of God’s ultimate purpose. Manhood and womanhood are not an afterthought of creation. They’re not an afterthought of the cross. They’re not peripheral to the design of what is being said when Jesus dies to magnify the grace of God. They’re right there at the center at Calvary. It’s staggering. Oh how I pray that you women would be done with small thoughts about God’s design for womanhood.
REVIEW QUESTIONS:
- Does gender matter or are we free to define it as we wish?
- What did God hope to accomplish with His design of gender?
- How is it possible that the two sexes are different and yet equal?
- How important is it that woman understand God’s design for womanhood? Why?
- Do you feel that God’s design is “very good”? Explain.
- Have you wholeheartedly said “Yes” to God’s plan? Is there any part of your heart that you are holding back?
Next week: Read week 2 – Snips & Snails. I want to encourage you again to really delve into the Scripture passages in the side panels of the book. Look up cross references, read commentary, and meditate upon them, and come back to share your insight!
Lastly, I just wanted to encourage you all to take advantage of the resources available online for the study. Visit True Woman 101 for week by week additional supplemental materials – sermons and articles applicable to the topic.
Further Article & Audio Inspiration for Week 1:
Plastic Womanhood
A Vision of Biblical Womanhood (a series of inspiring audio program by Nancy Leigh Demoss)
Whatever the Cost
oh this was so great!! Thanks for posting!
I’m so glad you are offering up this study on your blog! I haven’t really been in the Word daily or doing any kind of devotional in a really long time, and when you posted about the study coming up, I figured it would be a great way for me to have some accountability! It’s ironic, too, because Paula Hendricks, who hosts the segments online, was on my floor at Moody Bible Institute! We knew her well! I have really learned a lot from the study so far, and am really gaining a new appreciation and awe for God’s creation, gender, and how much more it matters than the value we place on it in a worldly setting. Thanks again!
I’ve purchased this book and am joining in. I’ve enjoyed the first week!
“It’s a breathtaking charge to go about the business of daily life & all the while reflect the image of the Almighty.”
This quote from day 2 stood out to me. I often struggle with longing for recognition & appreciation from others for the many things I do each day as a wife & mother. This statement reminded me how important it is to stop worrying about others’ approval & simply honor God with my daily life.
“They are different AND equal. Neither is better than the other. It would be absurd for them to play the comparison game, criticize each other, and put each other down on account of their differences.”
This quote from day 4 also stuck with me. Accepting that two things are different does NOT mean they are unequal.
“One-upmanship, manipulation, words that belittle or demean, abusive behavior–these are an attack on the very image of God.”
This may be the most important lesson I learned this week. I constantly remind myself to think & speak only good of my husband but I struggle with comparing our daily responsibilities. Reading this statement was a “lightbulb moment” for me–not only does belittling my husband cause our relationship to suffer, it causes my relationship with God to suffer because my husband reflects God’s image just as much as I do.
Man is the head of a household.
The head is as important as the heart which is as important as another part of the body, because God has made them all for a purpose.
Though they are all important, they are different because they have different purposes.
The heart pumps blood for all the body, and the body will not function if it fails, and is as important as the pancreas or liver or lungs. But all these can be transplanted without affecting the identity of the person. What gives an identity and character to a person is his head. Even if everything else is perfectly healthy, if there is something wrong with the head, the person becomes a different human being.
A plant is known by the seed that grows in it and not by the pot that it grows in.
A man’s soul, mind, and intelligence is in his head, which is the most protected part of a human body, and all the rest are appendages required to keep it healthy.
When Scripture says that a man is the head of the family, there is a reason for it, and any socoety which tries to dilute that truth will face social problems.
The leg can argue that it is the most important part of the body, because it supports the whole weight of the body, and can grieve that it does not get as much attention as the face or eyes which does not work as hard, but gets more attention.
But that is how the creator has designed the body. The leg is designed to take the weight of the body, and withstand thorns and sharp stones.
Any attempt by the leg to become superior to the brain will be futile, and will be like Satan’s attempt to become superior to God.
I have my book and I’m looking forward to the bible study/discussion during my busy summer/beginning fall. I like the panel discussion. I’m thrilled to read that you will be recording your discussion and sharing that. I did the first week and I loved the quote in there by Elizabeth Elliot. Very inspiring.
Hey! I just bought this book on my kindle last night, and I intend to read the whole first week tonight, as well as week 2 day 1. I am excited about this study, and how I can fully embrace my God given role as a wife and mom. Once I fully understand what it means to be female and what my roles are, then I can teach it to my girls.
I am really enjoying this Bible study! Thank you so much for recommending this book. Can’t wait to get started on week 2!!!!
I’m going to watch the video today. I ordered my book a week ago so I hope it comes in soon!
First, Lindsay, I want you to know that I just found your blog on Tuesday and it could not have been at a better time. You are passionate about all the things that I am and I am so excited to have stumbled upon your blog (which is beautifully done and very informative!) I have been longing to be a part of a bible study about this topic and I can’t believe I found this just 2 days before it started. I ordered the book on my Kindle so that I would have the material in time and read the whole first week in one night!! This study is beyond interesting and the message is quite astounding. This first week has already given me a clearer picture of what my role as a wife is and I can’t wait to delve into week 2 which I will do shortly. I want to honor God in every way and always put Him on display.
Praise the Lord Rebecca! I’m so excited I hear all that he is doing in your life! So glad He lead you to join us!