Top 20 Bible Questions #1: Women

Q. What does the Bible say about women in ministry - specifically, women pastors and/or preachers?

A. Religious leaders who put the Canon together took the liberty to change certain parts of the scripture to make women look lower than the man.

The story of the woman caught in adultery, for instance, was inserted into the scriptures by a monk in the third or fourth century and most good Bibles will have a marginal note at the story saying that most good manuscripts do not contain this account.

The changing of the Garden of Eden to be a literal story rather than an allegory places the so-called woman as the culprit that caused the man to sin. It clearly ignores the part of the Word that says, "Male and female created HE them."

Religious leaders went on to fabricate sin as behavior problems, such as drinking, smoking or committing adultery - which are works of the flesh, not sin. The real meaning of sin is to be fragmented, in pain, and out of touch with the real self, which is hidden from the EGO.

The Apostle John tells us that 'the person who is born again cannot sin.' He points this out using two different words to indicate sin: Strong's Concordance #266 and #264.

Perhaps the most grievous distortion of text occurs when the word 'Woman' is made to mean gender. It is clear from scripture grammar that Spirit is always called male and Soul is always expressed as female or emotional. Every person is both male and female. It is by our manner of living that we demonstrate God’s will.

Most sound theologians admit that portions of Paul’s Epistles to the Corinthian Church were altered to imply woman werenot given authority over a man or the privilege of speech in the Church. This is simply not true to the first century church.

The man/woman issue is always and only present at the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. In the Kingdom of God, there is neither male or female, bond or free, but all are ONE in Christ (Galatians 3:8) To make them different is to be out of Kingdom reality.

Spiritual Realm vs. Spiritual State

Q. Some people are very comfortable communicating with God; others are not. Talk to us about prayer and other ways to access the spiritual realm.

A. How to touch God? How to touch the hem of his garment? What is that garment that must be touched? Can we touch it by prayer? To ask God for the very things He has provided us with already is to insult Him and drive His sweet holiness away.

Can we get close to Him by praise and worship? He is gentle and appreciates an open heart of love, but that approach leaves the EGO open for emotional hype and false emotions.

The way of getting close to God that meets my heart's desires, that meets the Bible requirements and posts the least resistance is, according to these Bible suggestions:

• “Be still and know that I Am God”! (Psalm 46:10)
• “Take no thought for what you should eat, or wear...” (Matthew 6:31)

The Psalmist cried out with great intensity, “One thing have I desired of the Lord and that one thing will I seek after, that I might dwell in the House of the Lord (His consciousness) forever, to behold the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in His tabernacle.” (Psalm 27:4)

Our essence is His tabernacle; our inner self is designed to seek Him in order to behold the Beauty of the Lord. To BEHOLD his beauty means that we pass up the usual watering holes of our EGO’S demand for emotional stimulation as we given in to our hunger to really know Him in all His hidden beauty.

Remember that God’s primary mode of communication is not language oriented. This is because language tends to be about things already over and done with. The communication that touches the garment must be in the NOW as it is happening. It must carry the hope that, if I can just touch his garment, the hem of that garment, He will reach out and touch me.

Will this bring us into a “spiritual realm" of some sort? Remember that God is Spirit. There is no place where God is not present. Therefore, it is impossible to be out of a spiritual realm; but it is possible to be insensitive to the Spirit. The Holy Spirit calls that state “the grieving of the Spirit.”

The most effective cure for grieving the Spirit is learning ways to quiet your inner man, to cut his brain noise to a very low level so that you can reach out and touch. The lesson to learn is that you are always in a spiritual realm, but not always in a spiritual state. Asking the Holy Spirit for wisdom in this area of your life helps to make "God consciousness" a reality.

Recommended: "The God Code" by Greg Braden

Q. Each Wednesday, you have graciously agreed to recommend a book you have found helpful to your growth. Which book jumps off the shelf this week?

This blog thing is real exciting. Off the top of my head I would suggest The God Codeby Greg Braden. It has some powerful stuff in it.

Greg Braden tells us how the ancient name of God is encoded in every cell of our body because science has named the DNA by that holy name, in code. Fun to read and well researched.

Beyond Christian, Jew, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Shinto, Native, Aboriginal, white, black, red, or yellow; man, woman, or child, the message reminds us that we are human. As humans, we share the same ancestors and exist as the children of the same Creator. In the moments that we doubt this one immutable truth, we need look no further than the cells of our body to be reminded. This is the power of the message within our cells.

(Watch this short video.)

I’ll give this a lot of thought for the weeks to come.

The Placing of a Son

Q. Please explain the second part of the meaning of "adoption," as it relates to "the placing of a son."

The word ADOPTION as used in this passage (Romans 8:15 KJV) is the Greek word “huiothesis," from huios (mature sons) and thesis (placing). [See #5206 in Stong’s Concordance.]

In the life of a Hebrew male, there were three major events recognized and celebrated by the community. The first event was Circumcision, which occurred when he was only eight days old. This was the moment he was marked as a "covenant man" in Israel.

The second major event was his Bar-Mitzvah, which means "a son accountable." This ceremony, usually scheduled as the son was about to enter puberty, signified 1) when the son became accountable to keep the Commandments of God, and 2)when he became an apprentice to his father in the family business.

The third event described in the Greek text is the "Huiothesia," - or "son placement," - known to most Hebrews as a young man’s "adoption ceremony." When a male child reached what was considered to be the age of maturity (somewhere around 30),
the father placed his hand on his son's head and openly proclaimed, "This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased!
I bestow upon him now all of my riches and power and authority (through power of attorney), so that he might act on my behalf in all of my affairs."

In the first usage, the son recognizes the Father; in the second the Father recognizes the son. This is a form of one of the Apostle Paul’s themes: “Apprehending that which apprehends us.” (Philippians 3:12)

This concept must register in our consciousness and convictions to bring change.

The Spirit of Adoption

Q. I’ve heard you say, “The word ‘water’ will not satisfy a thirsty person.” Many people have read about God; but most people don’t really know Him. How can a person begin to get past the words to know God personally?

A. Your question is excellent, as it get to the bedrock foundation of how we live and experience the MIND OF CHRIST in our expanded or awakened Christ-consciousness.

Let me suggest that we first ask the Holy Spirit for the Spirit of Adoption, whereby we cry,“ABBA FATHER”.

In the Greek, this term (adoption) expresses first and foremost, recognition with great joy. It as if a child lost sight of his daddy at the mall and was frantic with fear until his father came to his side and said, “Here I AM, Tommy."

In his own way, Little Tommy would cry, with great joy, relief and happiness,“ABBA FATHER.”

This is the picture is of the Prodigal Son, who, while still a far off, having spied his father running to him, cried out, “Oh, ABBA FATHER!” as he fell into the Father’s loving, forgiving arms.

Then, the next part of the essential word takes place, which is summed up in the term, “The Placing of a Son.” But that’s for another blog post.

We must remember that the Bible is a book which contains some precious lessons to learn, but the WORD of God is “NEAR US EVEN IN OUR MOUTH." Just as the word water won’t help a thirsty man, the NATURAL MAN can never understand the Word of God. In deep, quietness we behold HIS glory, so that by being still, we can KNOW him, Whom to know is LIFE ETERNAL.