Men In the Transformation of the Nations

Any Movement for Transforming the Nations Must begin with Men. Many women may dismiss this as nonsense. You may think it is the old chauvinistic position all over again. You may say that nwomen have been emancipated from subservience to men and they do not want to go back to that. Let me assure you, that this author sees the status and role of women as so awesome as to shatter our puny thoughts. So hold on, women. You are in for a huge treat which I hope, will not scare you.

But first, the men. And let no man run away from this. When God set out to establish His kingdom on earth, He first created the heavens and the earth. On the earth He first created the natural environment, and all the resources on which mankind would have to depend. Then God created mankind. In Genesis 1:26-38, God said,"Let us make man in our image, after our likeness...So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them."

This is not inconsistent with what is said in Gen. 2:7,18,21-23. God said, "And the Lord God formed man out of the dust of the Ground... And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone, I will make, I will make him a helper suitable for him... And God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam...and He took one of his ribs...and the rib which the Lord God had taken from man, made He a woman, and brought her unto the man."

The fact that the man was made first does not mean that the man is more important than the woman; or that the woman is inferior to the man. It does mean that they are of equalt status and of equal dignity. It also means that they had equal powers and rights in ruling and having dominion, and subduing the earth. The man ruling over the woman came as a result of their sin. Look at Gen. 3: 16. The man ruling over the woman is part of the curse resulting from their sin. That was not God's original intention. When man and woman are restored in Christ Jesus, God's orginal intention is restored. The new man in Christ is not made to rule over the woman, nor the woman over the man.

Just as in the beginning God created the man first, so in the new creation, first the man is made a new creation, a new man. Then that new man in Christ Jesus turns around and, by the grace of God, and the witness of his new life, he labors for the birth and emergence of a new womanhood. He lifts up women. He cannot degrade, exploit, oppress, abuse, or treat women with violence. Such treatment of women as is common in our time is unthinkable in the new creation. Men lift up women to their full status and dignity, co-equal with him in the purposes of God for mankind.

Look at Adam's response when God brought to him the woman whom He had made. "Adam said, "This is now bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh. She shall be called woman because she was taken from man." Waw! Adam said, This is fantastic! This is awesome! This deserves a dance. Clearly Adam was filled with a sense of appreciation, wonder and awe at what God had done. She was in the image and likeness of God just as he was. When Adam looked at Eve, he saw himself, fully human as he was. But more, when Adam looked at Eve, he saw God. Eve saw the same when she looked at Adam. Here is one awesome truth to revolutionize our thinking and our attitudes one toward another; male and female toward each other. Tell me, where does domestic violence comes into this.

Ladies and gentlemen! What does all this say for the kinds of boys and girls we bring up in our homes? The leadership of the nations depends on the product of the homes that make up the nations. The strength of the nations in every area of national life depends on the kinds of persons produced by the homes that make up the nations. A strong nation is not one that has the most advanced technology, or the greatest military, but the one that excels in the hightest moral and spiritual values. Look how the nations that pride themsleves as the greatest economies, and the greatest military powers are crumbling today? It has happened before in the history of mankind. What is the root of it all? The answer lies in the quality of men who lead the nations in terms of their politics, their economies,their social, their prevailing moral philosophies, their belief systems etc.

To transform any nation, we must begin with the men. Begin by restoring men to their full dignity and status. There is no greater vision of what men ought to be than that found in the Christian Revelation - man in the image and likeness of God. You will say to me, men today are in the backgtound. They are not taking their place in society, in the church, or in community life. It is the women who are in the forefront. That is precisely the point. Bring the men into a transforming relationship with Jesus Christ. Let them discover the dignity, the status, the power that is theirs in that life changing relationship, and the whole world will change. This is the task of the Church.

The evangelistic work of the Church needs a new focus. Focus on the restoration of men into the image and likeness of God. This is the whole purpose of God's redemptive work in Christ Jesus. In Christ Jesus we do not become gods, we grow into the fullness of the manhood that God intended. So that we see God in one another. So that we have all authority and power to have dominion over all earthly powers; we rule and reign and bring all things into subjection; so that we are priests and kings in the earth. All of us. It Must Begin with the Men.

To Get the book:"Restoration of men: Key to the Transformation of the Nations" Go To

http://www.iuniverse.com/bookstore/book_detail.asp?isbn=9780595472956