Andrew Murray
And God Created Woman
Difference between Anabaptists and Evangelicals
Kingdom
Mysteries
Part 1
Part 2
Anabaptist
Voice
Newsletters
Dec 1994
Dec 1995
Dec 1996
Dec 1998
Dec 2000
April 2001
Dec 2001
Apr 22, 04
Mar 17,05
Apr 14, 05
Dec 28, 05
Nov 08, 06
Jul 04, 07
Apr 02, 08
Apr 16, 08
Apr 23, 08
Apr 30, 08
May 07, 08
May 14, 08
June 18, 08
June 25, 08
July 02, 08
July 16, 08
Aug 20, 08
Aug 13, 08
Sept 03, 08
Sept 10,
08
Oct 02, 08
Oct 08, 08
Oct 15, 08
Oct 22, 08
Oct 29, 08
Nov 05, 08
Nov 12, 08
Nov 19, 08
Nov 26, 08
Dec 03, 08
Dec 10, 08
Dec 17, 08
Dec 24, 08
Dec 31, 08
Jan 07, 09
Jan 14, 09
Jan 21, 09
Jan 28, 09
Feb 04, 09
Feb 11, 09
Feb 18, 09
Feb 25, 09
Mar 04, 09
Mar 11, 09
Mar 18, 09
Mar 25, 09
Apr 01, 09
Apr 08, 09
May 06, 09
May 13, 09
May 20, 09
May 27, 09
Jun 03, 09
Jun 10, 09
Jun 17, 09
Jun 24, 09
Jul 01, 09
Jul 15, 09
Jul 22, 09
Sermons by Eli Hofer
03/14/01
08/22/01
08/11/02
The Writings of Ulrich Stadler
Volume 1
Volume 2
Volume 3
Volume 4
The Anabaptist Voice
07/22/2009
Proclaiming the Good News of the Kingdom of
God: Love, Joy and Peace in Jesus.
Dear friends in
Christ,
Grace
to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
We pray you are well. We are all fine. Praise God. Naomi has been spending
more time with her friend Mary
these days. She is
enjoying the fellowship and the help that she gets from Mary for crocheting.
It has been aro
und
100 degrees these days here in southern Arizona, so we do not go out much.
We are
thankful for the air conditioner. Here is a photo of a cactus in a neighbor’s
yard.
The other day we had a strong rain in the afternoon, and we enjoyed
watching the rainfall and water running down the street, as we do not get rain
often. It was so wonderful to have rain. After the rain the temperature went
down from about 100 to the 70s. What a wonderful gift! Thank you, Lord.
Last
Saturday our dear friends
Tony and Kris Brown were here with us. While Kris was working in the house for
us, Tony was outside pruning the plants and weeds. It was almost 100 degrees
but Tony worked and he did a good job. Tony just returned from working in
California and now is back at his old job with a paving company. He uses a
scooter to go to work, as you can see in the
photo.
We are experiencing
more of the love of our Lord through friends and nature. Here is Naomi and
Michi in the photo.
Our son Michael has been calling us every Monday, and we are blessed.
Thank you, Mike. For his new job, he is driving a couple hours a day for maybe
4 days a week to work and back. He told us that he is getting used to driving.
We are glad to hear that.
Our son Patrick called and we had a wonderful time with our grandchildren
Titus and
Elizabeth Michiko on the phone. Even though at the Hutterite
colonies the children do not speak English until they start school, Patrick and
Betty taught their children
English, so we can
communicate. Thank you, Pat and Betty, for teaching them English. Titus will
be 6 years old on the 30th. He speaks fluent English. Elizabeth is
only 3 years old, but she speaks English and we can communicate. Anyway, they
are wonderful singers and they sang “Jesus Loves Me” for us. It is such a joy
to listen to them singing, and the conversation is wonderful, too.
A
friend of us informed us that Sharon Stevens’ husband of 47 years had passed
away and the memorial service would be Tuesday evening
at the CDO church. We never met him, but we know Sharon. Michi and Naomi were
together with her in the CDO Sunday school. Don and Michi went to the memorial
service while Naomi was at Mary’s house.
Sharon told us that they were to travel to California that morning. He
got up early and tried to pack up things in the car. He did not wake Sharon and
she over slept. When she got up and went to look for him, he was on the garage
floor, dead. What a shock! We pray Sharon can get over the shock and be able
to rest in the arms of our Almighty God the Father.
There were lots of people at the memorial service. Many people we know
greeted us, it was a joy to see our old friends.
The Sunday sermon at the Continental Baptist church included five tests
for you to determine if you are saved: Moral Test: Keeping His Commands. Do you
keep Jesus' commands? Not that you know them all; but insofar as you know them,
you seek to keep them.
Social Test: Loving the Brethren (your brother/sisters in
Christ). Do you love your brothers and sisters in Christ (second only to, and
sometimes above, your blood family)? Do you like being with and serving the
saints of God?
Loyal Test: Loving God instead of loving the world. Does love
for the Father in heaven surpass any love for the world? Affection for Jehovah
should wean the saint of love for the world.
Doctrinal Test: Confessing the Son as Jesus the Christ. Do you
confess Jesus Christ as the incarnate Son of God who died for your sin? Jesus
was the Christ at His birth and died as Christ in your place on the Cross.
Behavioral Test: Doing right instead of living in sin. Do you
behave rightly, choosing daily not to live in sin? Sin cannot be excused, it
must be removed through
forgiveness by a true child of God.
May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship
of the Holy Spirit be with you. (2 Cor 13:14)
Your brother and sisters in Christ,
Don, Michi & Naomi Murphy
Tucson, AZ, phone 520-297-1639
www.AnabaptistChurch.org
Jesus said, “People will know that you are my disciples
by your love for one another.” (John 13:35)
---------------------------------------
And God Created Woman
by Don Murphy
09/05/1985
In the beginning God created man in His own image. But then He said, “It
is not good that man should be alone. I will make him a helpmate.” So God
brought to the man all the animals and all the birds of the sky. The man gave
them all names but a suitable helpmate was not found.
So God created woman out of the man's rib. And then He brought her to the man. The man exclaimed:
“This at last is bone from my
bone,
and flesh from my flesh!
This is to be called woman,
for this was taken from man.”
And the two became one body.
So in the beginning God created man and woman in His own image and the Bible states that He gave them dominion over the animals and the birds. (Genesis 1:28) This implies that there was a degree of equality between the man and the woman. There was no sin, only goodness and joy in Paradise.
It is good for us to refresh ourselves with a reading of this Genesis account of the reason for the creation of the woman. You may want to do that again now...
After the creation, there came the fall.
The woman was led astray and fell into sin (1 Timothy 2:14), destroying the equality between the man and the woman that had been in existence. For God said to the woman: “Your husband shall be master over you.” (Gen. 3:16) The woman had sinned first, therefore, God placed her under the leadership of the man, that she would follow his directions (and not the serpent, the devil) and he would be responsible for her. So the beautiful relationship that God had intended for the man and the woman was a victim of the fall.
Does this marriage relationship continue on in time? Yes, if we can accept the Biblical account. Peter writes, “In the same way (as Christ left you an example of obedience), you women must accept the authority of your husbands.” (1 Peter 3:1) He goes on to say, “Sarah obeyed Abraham, her husband, and called him, 'my master'”. (1 Peter 3:6) And he calls upon modern Christian woman to follow her example. Paul gives us similar commands in various verses: “Wives, be subject to your husbands as to the Lord; for man is the head of the woman, just as Christ is the head of the church. Christ is, indeed, the Saviour of the body; but just as the church is subject to Christ, so must women be subject to their husbands in everything.” (Ephesians 5:22-24) “Wives, be subject to your husband for that is your Christian duty.” (Colossians 3:18) In 1 Corinthians 11:3, Paul teaches that the head of the woman is the man, the head of the man is Christ and the head of Christ is God.
The Bible shows a clear continuity concerning the role of the woman in the family from the time of the fall to the time of the Church. God has decreed, in His sovereignty, that the woman is to obey her husband in everything (Ephesians 5:24) and to even reverence him (Ephesians 5:33). How can we accept that? (Remember that Jesus himself said that “they will follow your teachings as little as they have followed mine.”) The ways of the world are often in conflict with the ways of God.
Some Bible verses that might seem to indicate a different view should be examined. The Bible does tell us to submit to one another (Ephesians 5:21). But the very next verse (“Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord”) indicates that Paul is speaking first to the church (“submit to one another”) and then to the family (“Wives...”). And in another place, it is stated that there is neither male nor female, we are all one in Christ (Galatians 3:28). But in this passage Paul is not speaking of family roles but of the contrast between faith in Christ and the Jewish law.
Now we need to remember that God is not putting down the woman. Since God is love (1 John 4:8), He would not do such a thing. When we feel that we are being 'put down', are not we really reflecting our self-love? God does not put down the woman for a Christian woman is as precious in His sight as a Christian man. Paul teaches us that in Christ Jesus there is no distinction, we are all one in the Lord (Galatians 3:28). All are blessed who are filled with His Spirit.
What about the husband who does not fulfill his God-given responsibility as the head of the family? For when one is responsible, one must give an accounting for those under this charge. (Hebrews 13:17) What will we say to the Lord when it is time for us to give an accounting? Is our conscience clear? Another common objection to submission is the fear that the husband will abuse his position of authority. This is a very real problem because few husbands are perfect. After commanding wives to obey their husbands, both Paul and Peter command husbands to love their wives. Peter says that wives are also heirs of the life of grace and that the husband is to treat them with respect “so that nothing will hinder your prayers.” (I Peter 3:7) A husband must be in unity with his wife if he wants his prayers to be heard!
But God does not call us to submit only to perfect
leaders. We are to obey them and they must answer to God for their conduct.
This seems to be the clear message of the Bible for all disciples of Christ.
The passage in 1 Peter 3 on women is preceded by a teaching on obedience to
unfair masters. (1 Peter 2:18-25) “In the same way, wives should be obedient to
their husbands.” (1 Peter 3:1)
(See the entire article at
www.anabaptistchurch.org/And_God_Created_Woman.htm)