Good Morning TRC, Friends and Guests. We are so glad you have watching and participating with us in worshiping King Jesus as we are gathered together in a most scattered and on mission state. What a glorious opportunity the Lord has given us to see how he is still building his church and join him in that work.
Today is “Mother’s Day”, and our Scripture passage will help us to celebrate womanhood and mothering not merely our ladies who have biological children. We recognize Mother’s Day can be hard for some, so we wanted to look at the image of God in women and glory in Christ that he carries those qualities and was gracious to give us female as vital to the creation mandate.
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Notes are below the video.
Mother’s Day 2020
Genesis 1:26-31
Mother’s day is hard for many women because some have lost mother’s tragically
- , or mothers have lost children tragically
- , or a widow who lost her husband tragically with no prospect of a husband or perhaps having to parent children without their spouse
- , or some women don’t think of themselves as mothers because they’ve not had biological children
- , or some women don’t think themselves mothers because they are single and don’t have the prospect to have children any time soon.
So, I’d like to take our eyes off of the “holiday” of Mother’s Day, and focus on what God says about womanhood / motherhood.
Why? Because mothering is deeper and more glorious than being married and even giving birth.
Don’t misunderstand, marriage is good and holy and right, and marriage fulfills a strategic part of the mission of God, but marriage does not define God’s image in women and mankind in general.
- Marriage is temporary.
- See Matthew 22:23-33
- Womanhood, and mothering that comes out of womanhood is an image of God issue that will stay with women for eternity. The image of God is not going away.
- Rather, it will be redeemed and brought to fullness in the full establishment of the Kingdom of God.
The image of God in men and women have innate value and purpose whether married or not, and whether one has children or not.
Women, if you are not married, have not had or can’t have biological children, you can still be a spiritual mother to others because mothering is not merely biological and pragmatic.
- Thinking of mothering as a one dimensional physical identity or function is more atheistic naturalism than Trinitarian Christian theology.
- Mothering is built into women as the image of God long before we ever even consider merely having children biologically.
- There is glory to see in God via womanhood and mothering before see one of it’s functions in subduing creation.
- Mothering is a gift given by God to all women to exercise in his kingdom that serves to point people to the glory of God.
Read Genesis 1:26-31
What does our text say?
- 1. The Trinitarian God created mankind (humans).
- 2. Humans are by created nature a unity and distinction.
- One person that is distinct in parts.
- Trinity: There are three persons in the one true and living God: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. They are the same in substance, equal in power and glory.
- 3. Humans carry the image and likeness of Trinitarian glory.
- Image – “selem”: shadow; replica;
- Likeness – “demut”: model; shape;
- We are very much like God, but we are very much not God.
- 4. Trinity’s image is male AND female.
- Male and female are to exercise dominion over creation in subduing it together.
- Male and female are to multiply and fill the earth.
- 5. God “blessed” men and women so they could actually fulfill the creation mandate.
- 6. Female/Woman/Mothering is created by God and in God’s image.
What do we learn about God/Man? What does God’s word teach us about womanhood/motherhood?
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- 1. Women, like men, are made in the image and likeness of the Trinitarian God. V. 26-27
- Therefore, mothering is part of the image and likeness of God.
- God chooses to refer to himself as “he”, and there is order in creation that is derived from God’s order in creating and in giving us his name and identity.
- BUT that does not in any way diminish the TRUTH that God carries female attributes in his person that are essential to us as his creatures.
- Women image forth parts of God’s nature that we MUST see, glory in and employ!
- 2. The entrance of sin is going to strike hard at the image of God in women, but the curse will not render mothering fruitless by merely striking at biological multiplication or rebellion against order or any such thing.
- God is going to defeat sin with sin’s unintended consequences:
- God will cause mothering, and his glory through it, to be put on full display through women mothering children not their own and by women becoming spiritual mothers to people and even nations.
- See Deborah (Judges 4:5; 5:7).
- God will cause mothering, and his glory through it, to be put on full display through women mothering children not their own and by women becoming spiritual mothers to people and even nations.
- God is going to defeat sin with sin’s unintended consequences:
- 3. Mothers share in the creation mandate to have dominion over created order. V. 28
- Mothering’s dominion knows no bounds to four walls or even to a cubicle.
- Mothering has a global application.
- 4. God blessed women/motherhood in order to exercise the mandate to have dominion. V. 28
- Blessed – “barek” – praise, put favor on, fill with strength from the praise and favor for the task.
- Blessed to multiply
- Biological children
- Adopted children
- Spiritual children
- Spiritual mothering is a real need.
- 5. “Mankind” (male and female) is glorious, and therefore, points to the glorious name of the Lord.
- Psalm 8
- Womanhood/mothering is glorious and has an end greater than pragmatic numerical results…The glory of Creator Father, Son, Spirit.
How do we make application of Genesis 1:26-31? (Believe? Know? Do?)
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- 1. Believe that mothering is as God-like as fathering.
- 2. Believe that mothering has the end of seeing the glory of God as a first priority.
- 3. Therefore, know that you can mother by discipling, teaching, and leading others who need the unique and glorious nurturing of motherhood.
- Don’t allow having / not having children or a marriage rob you of mothering other women and little ones.
- Mothering is God’s image displayed to show his glory, bring people to worship Jesus, and subdue created order.
- 4. Don’t let Satan accuse you because you are single, divorced, widowed or unable to have children.
- Your motherhood is a powerful weapon against the curse of sin.
- Fierce momma bear love for spiritual and physical offspring that shows us God’s fierce love for his children.
- Strong and detailed discernment in knowing the mind of the room and atmosphere of the situation that shows us the powerful work of the Holy Spirit to counsel us when we don’t know.
- Multi-tasking in getting stuff done shows us Trinity’s one work in three persons in history.
- Initiative taking like Deborah to judge and mother and war when some men are too weak or passive to lead, that then gives that extra shove to get his tail in gear that shows us the powerful call of Trinity to move mankind to the mission from being static.
- We have an abundance of passive men who sit floundering while capable women set the pace.
- Thank you, you Deborah’s of God’s kingdom!
- Untiring ability to just keep going long after the rest of us have tuckered out.
- Like a battery on an alternator, mothering shows us the God who never sleeps or slumbers over his people.
- Your motherhood is a powerful weapon against the curse of sin.
- 5. Let God’s glory in motherhood/womanhood drive us to worship the God whose image we see in our women as we celebrate God who gave such glory to the world.
- Psalms 8 (ESV) 1 O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. 2 Out of the mouth of babies and infants, you have established strength because of your foes, to still the enemy and the avenger. 3 When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, 4 what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? 5 Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. 6 You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet, 7 all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field, 8 the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas. 9 O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
- The majesty of the creative genius of God to make women in his image should make us look up and and sing!
Theology in the Dirt 