How Aglow International received it's first mandate from God...
In 1981, Aglow President, Jane Hanson began to speak the unfolding revelation God was imparting to her heart concerning the restoration of women and the significance of their role in His plan. It led to the critical issue of male/female reconciliation in the body of Christ. The restoration of this foundational relationship is necessary before the Church can be fully restored and fulfill its destiny to express God's image and take dominion of the earth.
The Master Plan
"From Genesis to Revelation, it is clear that God is a God of eternal purpose...One such prophetic promise, spoken at the dawn of creation, will ultimately deal with the ancient curse against Satan in Genesis 3:15. While this verse refers directly to the woman, we understand that from the beginning God told us what dominion would look like on earth. It was male and female. This was the structure God designed to deal with the enemy...It was "plan A," God's master plan.
The enemy, being aware of this plan, moved swiftly to separate the man and the woman, bringing distrust, fear and suspicion between the genders, to weaken, or attempt to render powerless, the plan of God."
(Excerpt from "Master Plan," by Jane Hanson Hoyt.)
The Help God Sent
In Genesis 2:18, the word help, or ―ezer, in Hebrew, is a very strong word, used 21 times in Scripture. It means ―to surround, to protect, to aid, succor.‖ Webster’s definition of succor is ―help, to run under, to give aid or assistance in time of distress.‖ In the Bible, this word refers to divine help (16 times) and human help (5 times). It is always used in the context of help in a time of trouble or help from one’s enemies. Eve was both human help and divine, because she came from the hand of God. The help God was bringing the man was to protect him from his aloneness.
The woman was uniquely and specifically designed to stand before the man in an intimate, face-to-face relationship. She was not created to be over him. Nor was she created to be under him or dominated by him. She would be his wife – someone who would be like him, yet different. Someone on an equal par with him. She would be his ―other self‖ taken from his side. She would stand ―boldly out opposite him and call him forth in a way no one else could. She would be someone with whom he could bond more deeply than with any other person.
If the marriage, and ultimately the Church, is to be strengthened, the man and woman must be restored so that this relationship can function in the way God intended.
As we look at the relationship between male and female down through the centuries, we have to ask: What went wrong? What happened to God’s plan?
The Strike
It was not happenstance that the serpent approached the woman first in the Garden. He had been present when God spoke His words of intent for the man and woman. He knew she had been called to be a help for the man. Satan’s goal has always been to exalt himself above God, and if possible, to disrupt the plan of God. By approaching the woman first, his intent was to attack the very help God had sent. Thereby, the enemy hoped to undermine or weaken the whole of God’s plan by silencing the woman and rendering her useless and powerless in the man’s life.
Satan had conclusively separated them from the one source of life that was stronger than he. He turned them from God to their own wisdom, their own way, the way of the flesh. God intended for Adam and Eve to choose His Spirit (Tree of Life) as their source of life and wisdom, rather than their own experience of good and evil. As a result, fear, separation, mistrust, blame, and myriad other emotions and attitudes were now a part of Adam and Eve’s world. The immediate result of their action was broken relationship – with God and with each other. Satan had struck at the core, the very heart of the plan of God.
The Desire of the Woman
Genesis 3:16
…Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you."
This is a key verse for all women. God is revealing the root of dysfunctional behavior in women toward men, and where her heart is the most vulnerable to deception. It is the place that needs healing and restoration so she can be the help God designed.
It is an issue of the heart. The word desire, in Hebrew ―teshuqah, means ―desire, stretching out after, a longing. It also means ―turning away. In essence, God was saying to Eve, ―The desire of your heart is turning away from Me to your husband and he will rule over you.‖ God was telling Eve that man would rule her in a way He never intended, as a consequence of her turning away from God as her source. It was her choice.
It needs to be noted that Genesis 3:16 is an observation on God’s part. It is not a part of the curse! Women have a choice in the ―desire‖ of their hearts. They can choose to turn to God as the source of their life, value, identity, and purpose instead of the man. Once a woman’s heart is turned back to God to meet her needs, she is then free to be the help God intended her to be: to draw the man out of his aloneness by relating on a level that moves past the surface and touches the deep places of the heart. She is able to relate to him based on wholeness rather than inappropriate neediness, hurt, and woundedness, knowing that God is the supplier of her every need. She is able to speak into her husband’s life with more effectiveness because her worth and identity no longer depend on his response.
Aglow's Call to Women
Aglow’s calling is still the restoration of women, but it is time to understand that calling in the context of the bigger picture of God’s purposes in this season. Women restored will help bring restoration to the foundation of the House of the Lord (the Church) – male/female reconciliation – not only in our personal lives, but corporately. Only then can God’s purpose to express His image in the earth and take dominion over His enemy take place – male and female together. Remember, He showed us in the Garden what dominion would look like: male and female together!
All excerpts in this blog from Aglow International's, "Male/Female Reconciliation Mandate Teaching Guide," September 2006.
