The first thing I realised when beginning my journey, was that I had no real idea what the bible said about being either a Christian or a Christian woman for that matter. So, the first question I asked is…what does it mean to be a Christian Woman? What does the bible say about it?

Well, I did some reading and research regarding the bibles descriptions of what being a Christian entails and specifically what it means to be a Christian woman.

“You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” (Galatians 3:26-29)

The Lord God said” It is not good for man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him” (Genesis 2:18.)

 So these passages tell me that God created both man and woman, and women are to be the helper to men (some texts say help mate). To me these passages indicate equality as it says in Galatians 3:28 that we are equal in Christ Jesus.

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” (Genesis 2:27-28)

 When God created man, he made him in the likeness of God. He created them male and female and blessed them. And when they were created, he called them “man” (Genesis 5:1-2).

 These passages tell me that God made men and women in his own image. Meaning that, both men and women are representations of Gods aspects. Therefore; neither can be more important than the other as Gods aspects are not more important than each other but are needed in balance to make the union balanced and functioning at its best. This also means that whatever I do is as important as what my husband does. This also means that I need to be mindful that what I do is representative of God. Therefore; I must be mindful of what I do.

The following passages tend to be the ones that women choke on when they read the bible. However, it’s my experience it’s an issue because women don’t read the whole passage nor do they understand the actual implications of it and what it means in practice:

“Be subject to one another out of reverence for Christ. Wives, be subject to your husbands as you are to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife just as Christ is the head of the church, the body of which he is the Savior. Just as the church is subject to Christ, so also wives ought to be, in everything, to their husbands. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, in order to make her holy by cleansing her with the washing of water by the word, so as to present the church to himself in splendor, without a spot or wrinkle or anything of the kind–yes, so that she may be holy and without blemish. In the same way, husbands should love their wives as they do their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hates his own body, but he nourishes and tenderly cares for it, just as Christ does for the church, because we are members of his body.” (Ephesians 5:21-30)

This passage identifies the man as the head of the home and the woman is to be subject to her husband as men and women are to be like the Lord and Christ was the head of the church. When we look at the way Christ loved the church we see that he loved it so much he was willing to be a sacrifice for it and acted in a self-sacrificing way. He also treated others with a spirit of servitude. Literally cleaning their feet and stating to his disciples that they should do likewise. So this passage becomes much easier to accept and understand. As women we should support and encourage and be council to our husbands and we are to leave the final decisions in his hands after having council with him, because the buck stops with him. God expects him to be as in love with us as Christ loved the church and to be as sacrificial. Think about it, would you say that Jesus should have the final say as he was the one to sacrifice himself , or the disciples,? (one that gave him up , and another denied he knew him).When you think about it that way, it seems appropriate that men are expected to have the final decision rights. However, he is also expected to be as concerned with what is best for the family and wife and decisions should be based in biblical truth. We as women, are to support our husbands by giving Godly advice and council, and we are to express our desires and views so that he can make informed decisions with us. In practice, I find that I don’t have challenges with this when I know my husband has listened to my council, and is praying and reading the bible to make decisions.

Well that is it for now, I will be back to further delve into what I find out about what it means to be Christian and a Christian woman.