In our work in the developing world, we often find that even people who claim to follow the Bible cannot escape the syncretism that injects cultural bias into Scripture. We all read the Bible through cultural lenses. When people see for themselves what the Bible actually says, instead of what they’ve been taught, or assumed, that it says, they are often surprised and even delighted.
Simply studying God’s word and understanding it for yourself can bring great freedom. That is one reason we’ve published Face to Face, a study for individuals and groups, based on our New Man, New Woman, New Life seminar that we teach in Africa, India and Haiti. If you’re looking for an egalitarian study on marriage, we think you’ll find this one very helpful. You can get the intro and first chapter free, just by subscribing to our blog.
We wanted to share a few excerpts from that study with you over the next few weeks. Use the following excerpt to jumpstart your own study. We suggest you journal your answers to the questions, or share them with a friend and discuss. To read more, visit our amazon page and use the “look inside” feature to see more. Or get a free download of the first chapter by subscribing to our blog.
Here’s a short excerpt from the introduction and first chapter of Face to Face:
In these studies, we see that the Bible presents a three-part story of human relationship with God and with each other. This story reveals that we were created male and female, in the image of God, to fulfill an ideal – humanity living together in unity, harmony, and companionship, regardless of gender, race, age, or social position.
The second part of the story traces our rejection of the life of faith and God’s abundant provision for us. This fall from grace brought division among God’s creation, a striving for power over each other, and the loss of the fearless, intimate love for which God created us.
The final chapter of this story finds us redeemed – bought back by Christ from the bondage of the fallen world into which we sold ourselves. Both economic and romantic/sexual motives are accepted, but with the addition of another critical layer – agape, self-giving, compassionate love, love the way God loves us.
This study guide explores that story, showing how redemption not only restores each one of us to wholeness with God, but also brings us back to the Creation ideal of identity based not in gender, but in our relationship with God. Intimacy, compassion, and balance with one another are also restored. And joyfully, the dilemma between justice and belief in the Bible proves not to be a dilemma at all.
Let’s begin by looking at Genesis 1. There we see that after creating the heavens and the earth, light and dark, plants and animals:
26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”
27 So God created mankind in his own image,
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.
28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”
29 Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. (Gen. 1:26-29, NIV, emphasis added)
Questions to journal about or discuss:
Who was created in God’s image: the man or the woman?
To whom does God give the blessing of children, the man or the woman?
Note that dominion over the earth and the ability to have children are given as blessings, not commandments. This is like saying, “Go in peace!” or “Be blessed!” (or, for Trekkies, “Live long and prosper!”)
In a similar way, marriage is given as a blessing, not a commandment.
Leave a comment below to talk about your response to these questions, or to ask a question of your own.
To get a free copy of the full intro and first chapter of Face to Face, simply subscribe to our site. Click here to give us your name and email, and we’ll send you the first lesson, for free, right away.
To see more of the first pages of Face to Face or to purchase a copy, visit our amazon page.