Chapter 10

The Restoration

Chapter 10 Text

When Eve offered Adam the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and when he partook of it, sin entered the human race. Where sin is, broken relationships are sure to follow. The sin in the garden opened wide a door of distrust between the genders, creating a gap in relationship that still needs to be closed in many arenas, as God restores both men and women to the fullness of His purpose in creating us—male and female.

Today millions of women are in bondage because of Eve’s deception and subsequent involvement in sin in the garden. But that act of hers has been redeemed. Nevertheless, because sin has run rampant through nations, cultures, mindsets, and the systems of societies, millions of women remain captive to sin and brokenness, as I shared earlier.

We must remember, however, that no purpose of God’s can be withheld from Him (see Job 42:2). What He has purposed will come to pass, and He has purposed that the genders—male and female—be reconciled to reflect His full image in the earth together. Indeed, God is moving mightily in the lives of women today. He is saying, “I will have a body of women in the earth who have given their hearts to Me in a full-fledged way. They are redeemed; they are restored; they are awakened; they are aware. They understand My plan. They understand why I have called them.” God is raising up women who understand that He is looking for any individual woman or company of women who will cooperate with Him in bringing forth the plan He spoke of in Genesis 1, 2, and 3. This matter of reconciling male and female is the part of the nature of the war we see around us on earth and the war we sense around us in the spiritual realm. It is the purpose of the restoration that is underway as God heals, strengthens, and equips women to serve His purposes and advance His Kingdom alongside our brothers.

Restoration in Perspective

The restoration God desires for women is not about positions on church boards: it is not about whether we can be pastors or leaders and still be “doctrinally correct.” We can (and do) see women in all these positions in churches around the world. Today, as in the early New Testament Church, we have women such as Junia, who was named among the apostles in Romans 16:7. We have women such as Phoebe, a deacon (or deaconess), specifically identified as a leader or manager of the things of God who, at times, worked with Paul (see Romans 16:1, 2). There are women such as Priscilla, a teacher of both men and women (see Acts 18:24–26).

Yet we are still missing God’s heart. Although we have women functioning in all these roles, we are still nervous about it, uncomfortable, unsure that it is fully appropriate. The reason is that the issue goes much deeper than that. It is not about whether women can teach or hold offices in the Church. It is about the image of God, the likeness and glory of God being manifested in the Church, male and female. It is about both coming together as He designed from the beginning. It is about respect that comes from a heart revelation of the vital contribution of both male and female, and the devastation that results when either is missing or not functioning. Only as we walk together will we be fully equipped to expose the works of darkness and counter the lies the enemy has perpetrated throughout the ages.

Toward the Reconciled Church

As we move toward becoming the Church in which male and female are fully reconciled, we see that we have been in a time of transition. We have outgrown the past and present experience we have had, and it is time for a new day to dawn. As I travel the nations of the earth, I notice a restlessness in God’s people, a holy dissatisfaction, a discomfort with the way things are in the world and in the Church. I believe the reason we are restless is that God has placed within our hearts a desire to move forward. He is taking us from our current position to the place of destiny He has purposed for us. Just as God brought the Israelites out, that He might bring them in to a good and a large place (see Deuteronomy 6:23), so we, too, as His people are leaving the place we have been and are moving toward something greater.

As the Israelites were about to cross over into their inheritance, Joshua tells us that, on the third day, the officers ran through the camp saying, “When you see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God . . . you shall set out from your place and go after it” (Joshua 3:3). In other words, “Get ready to get going!” As the Church, we are about to cross over into what God has spoken and promised to us. But like the Israelites, we have not been this way before. Therefore, we, like the Israelites, must keep His presence before us and follow where He leads us. God called Abraham to leave his home and go to a land He would show him. Abraham obeyed, not knowing where he was going. I believe we are in a similar place today. We are certain He is guiding us, but we must keep His presence before us as He leads us to our destiny.

A Day with No End

Genesis 2 gives us a picture of the people God desires us to be, as it reveals what He intended for Himself had sin never entered the picture of humanity. The chapter opens with the seventh day, where we read that God finished His work and then He rested. The seventh day is the only day that has no recorded end in Scripture. All of the previous days in the creation account had a beginning and an end. But on the seventh day, God rested because He had set in place His perfect plan, and nothing could prevent this plan from coming to pass—not sin, not time, not flesh, nor the devil. Let Satan do his worst and God would still rest. He had set in place His perfect plan and it would be fulfilled. Hebrews 4:3 states that His works were finished from the foundations of the world!

Through Genesis 2, we see the Church walking in the seventh-day rest, not striving, but resting and confident in God’s finished work. We see the Church living in a life-union with God. We see the Church walking in unity with one another, male and female. We see the Church walking in authority, subduing and taking dominion in the earth. And finally, we see the Church fulfilling the mandate God had given us through the power of the life that was to have come from the Tree of Life, which represents the life of Jesus.

This is God’s plan. This is the reconciled Church!

Is what God’s Word says—is what He has declared—really going to come to pass? It is being pushed to the limit and, as this spirit of anti-christ is arising and tensions increase in the earth and the Church, God is forming a Body of people who are strong, whole, and passionate for Him and for His purposes. He is causing women to arise. He is causing men and women to come together in the way He purposed from the beginning, because He is going to showcase His authority, His power, His divine nature, His divine presence in the earth. There is an alignment of genders, a merging of anointings, taking place in this hour that will bring forth a powerful victory on earth. It was intended from the beginning; it is the true face of dominion; and it may well be necessary for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.

The place where the Church has lived is too small. We have not reflected the full image of God or begun to live as the spotless Bride for which Jesus will return. However, God is making ready a glorious Bride, and we are part of it. He is changing and expanding and purifying the Church, setting His house in order. He is bringing forth in the earth a people who will arise in His strength, His power, His authority, such as we have never seen in all of history.

O Lord, let there be a great restoration such as has never been seen in the earth before, male and female, the foundation of Your house, joined together in respect, in honor, valuing one another as indispensable to Your plan. Let us go forth in might, in power, in the full revelation of Jesus Christ on earth, according to Your original design, fulfilling our mandate declared at the beginning of time. For Your sake, Lord, for Your glory, for Your purpose, we pray! Amen and amen. So be it!

Summary

• Sin leads to broken relationships.
• God wants to restore broken relationships between men and women, both individually and corporately.
• The restoration God wants for women is not to elevate the status or position of women in the Church. It is intended to help reveal the fullness of His image to the world.
• As the Church, we have outgrown our past experience. It is time for something new.
• God’s plan is for the Church to walk in confident rest and bold authority and for us to walk in unity with Himself and with others. This is the reconciled Church.