663 THE WOMAN'S RÔLE

A Book by Dr. Curtis Hutson - Messianic Edition -

"Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of Elohim (God). Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Master. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Messiah is the head of the Messianic Community (Church): and He is the saviour of the body. Therefore as the Messianic Community (Church) is subject unto Messiah, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing. Husbands, love your wives, even as Messiah also loved the Messianic Community (Church), and gave Himself for it; That He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the Davar (Word), That He might present it to himself a glorious Messianic Community (Church), not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be qadosh (holy, set-apart) and without blemish. So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Master the Messianic Community (Church): For we are members of His body, of his flesh, and of His bones. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Messiah and the Messianic Community (Church). Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband" (Eph.5:21-33, KJV).

Chapter 1

I. The Importance of the Woman's Rôle In the World

When we think of soul winners, we usually think of men; but the greatest soul winner in the Bible may have been a lady. In John, chapter 4, a lady, who had been married five times and was living with a man who was not her husband, after drinking of Living water, went into town and said, "Come, see a man, which told me all things I ever did." And many believed on Messiah. Others followed her back to where Yah'shua (Jesus) was. And those who followed her accepted Messiah when they saw Him for themselves.

The unusual thing about this story is that twelve preachers had been in that same town all day, and not one of them had led a single soul to Messiah. Now here was a fallen lady who had never joined the fellowship and never been baptised who said, "Come, see a man, which told me all things that I ever did: is not this the Messiah?" She exaggerated. He didn't tell everything she ever did! He only told her that she had been married five times and was living with a man who was not her husband. This woman led nearly the whole town to Messiah!

The greatest giver in the Bible was probably a woman. Yah'shua (Jesus) stood over by the treasury and beheld as they came to cast in their gifts. The one He told about was a little widow who had only two mites, and she put them in, and our Master said, "...but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even her living." She was probably the greatest giver. At least Yah'shua (Jesus) used her as an example of how believers should give. The most beautiful stories ever written about women are found in the Bible.

• I think of Jochebed, the mother of Moses, whose very name signifies her glory is Jehovah.
• There are three women in the story of Moses: his mother, Jochebed; his sister, Miriam; and Pharaoh's daughter.
• Then who could ever forget the beautiful story of Hannah who prayed for a baby boy; and when Elohim (God) gave him to her, she gave him back to Yahweh.
• Then there is Deborah holding back the host of Sisera, winning a great victory, and thus silencing forever the feeling some have had concerning women's weakness.
• Then there is Abigail, kneeling at the foot of the mountain until 400 men halt and turned back.
• There is Ruth, queen of the harvest field, who is in the ancestral line of our Master.
• In the Messianic Scriptures (New Testament), there is Mary the mother of Yah'shua (Jesus) who lived beautifully before Him in everything. And, humanly speaking, if there were more mothers like Mary, there would be more children like Messiah.
• There is the Syrophoencian woman who, without a promise, pleaded with Yah'shua (Jesus) for her daughter who was grievously vexed with a devil. No greater emunah (faith) was ever demonstrated.
• There is Dorcas who made garments for the poor and put her love into every stitch.

And the stories go on and on and on. Messiah was always especially tender with women. It was for two women (Mary and Martha) that He broke the seal of death and raised Lazarus from the tomb. It was for a mother that He stopped a funeral procession in Nain and raised a young boy from the dead. It was for a woman (Mary Magdalene) that He cast out seven devils. When Yah'shua (Jesus) hung on the cross, He uttered seven things. Three utterances came before the darkness, three after the darkness, and one during the darkness. One utterance had to do with His mother. He looked at John and said, "Behold thy mother!" and made provisions for her after His death.

The Bible is filled with stories about women. I could not begin to tell them all. No one can read the Bible and not be impressed with the importance of women.

Chapter 2

II. The Value of a Woman

A woman is of great value, probably more value then we sometimes think. She is of great value because her far-reaching influence for good. The greatest trust in the world is in the hands of a woman.

Someone said the most influential position in the nation today is held by a woman. She enforces law, practices medicine, and teaches -- without degrees, certificate of confidence, or required training. She handles the nation's food, administers its drugs, practices emergency first aid, and tests for all the spiritual, physical and mental ills of the American family.

A man literally places his life and the lives of his children in the hands of a woman. Her influence has no limit. The woman may mark the pathway for generations to come. She can be the key to success or failure of her children's lives.

Susannah Wesley helped shape the spiritual history of two continents in rearing John and Charles Wesley. If you doubt that, read the book, This Great Freedom Whence? and you will discover that many of the blessings we enjoy in America are by-products of the Wesley revivals.

In Kentucky, many years ago, there lived a sweet-tempered Christian lady. There were many things she did not know, but she did know the Bible. She used to tell her little boy Bible stories, as they sat by the fire in the log cabin.

She did not know science, but she loved nature, and she told her little boy the glory of Elohim (God) in the world!

She did not understand philosophy, but she told her boy the worst thing in the world is to be a hypocrite while the noblest thing in the world was to be a good, true man.

Her boy grew up to become President of the United States. He was Abraham Lincoln. After his mother's death, he said, "All I am and all I will ever be I owe to my darling mother."

Did you know every dope addict, every prostitute, every drunk, every murderer, once sat on a mother's knee, learned from a mother's lips and listened to a mother's song?

Billy Sunday said, "If you want to hurt the Devil, don't hit him with a crutch; hit him with a cradle." I heard Dr. John R. Rice say, "The best way to get rid of drunks is to stop raising them."

I cannot overemphasise the importance of the woman's rôle in the world. I wish I could make you see it like I have seen and thought about it today. Human life is placed in a woman's hands. Elohim's (God's) own Son was placed in the arms of a woman. You may be holding in your arms the next John Wesley, Charles Spurgeon, John R. Rice, Lee Roberson, Jack Hyles -- who know? Eternal destinies are placed in a woman's hands.

Regarding Timothy, Paul said, "When I call to remembrance the unfeigned emunah (faith) that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also" (2 Tim.1:5). He gives not only Timothy's mother credit for his great life; but he gives the grandmother credit, too.

Did you know most people are saved while they are children? In revival meetings, I have asked how many were saved before they were eleven years old; and, without expression, every time the majority of people raised their hands.

I was saved when I was only eleven years old. Most children are saved before they leave home. Dr. Lee Roberson was led to the Master by a lady Sunday school teacher -- Mrs. Daisy Hawes. Many preachers were led to the Master by their mothers.

A woman is important, too, because her offspring take on something of her likeness. Your children may not by everything you want them to be, but they will be a lot like you. Ezekiel 16:44 says, "As is the mother, so is her daughter." You don't beget what you want; you beget what you are. Women are very valuable.

Chapter 3

III. The Rôle of the Wife in Marriage

According to the passage I just read in Ephesians 5, earthly marriage is a drama. Elohim (God) Himself is the producer; the earth is the stage; the Ruach ha Qodesh (Holy Spirit) is the director, and the Bible is the script. You have no choice in the rôle you play. When you are born, Elohim (God) assigns you a body. If He assigns you a female body, the rôle you play in the drama is the Messianic Community (Church). If He assigns you a male body, the role you play is Messiah (Christ). You don't have to worry or wonder about how you are to act or play it out , because the script is given.

You can't change your rôle. The rôle is assigned. The moment you say, "I do," and the preacher pronounces you husband and wife, the curtain is lifted and the drama begins. You can't stop it.

The drama we are playing as husband and wife, picturing Messiah and the Messianic Community (Church), is not a drama we can stop if we mess it up. If we fall down, we must get up and go on. If we forget our lines, we can't stop. The plot is set. The lines are given. We can't rewrite the script.

If we could get every man and woman in the world to take the Bible as it is and say, "I'll read the lines that have to do with me, and I'll play my part," we could solve all the martial problems in the world. But the problem is, we are reading the other fellow's script and saying, "He is not playing his rôle too well," or, "She is not playing her rôle too well." We are experts at identifying our partner's problem.

I challenge you ladies tonight. Look at your script and see what you rôle is. The first word is given to the wife in verses 22-24, "Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Master. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Messiah is the head of the Messianic Community (Church): and he is the saviour of the body. Therefore as the Messianic Community (Church) is subject to Messiah, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing."

I can almost hear the Director of the drama saying, "Okay, let's go over your script." And He says to the lady, "Let's go over your part in the drama. I am the Director. I am the Ruach haQodesh (Holy Spirit). I will see that you do it right. I will help you. If you mess up, I will be alongside to assist you. Here are your lines. You are to play the part of the Messianic Community (Church), and your husband is to play the part of Messiah. That is your Elohim (God)-assigned rôle. You must submit yourself to your own husband in everything."

I like to think of the word "submit" as being an attitude, not an action. Titus 2:3-6 says "The aged women likewise" are to "teach the young women to be sober [that is, not to be flighty], to love their husbands, to love their children, To be discrete [that is, appropriate], chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands." Submission is an attitude; obedience is an action. Did you know you can obey your husband without submitting to him? You can say, "I'm going to fix your breakfast because you asked me to, and I am supposed to obey you," but you can have a bad attitude while you are obeying.

The Ruach haQodesh (Holy Spirit), the Director, says to the wife, "Your rôle is this: you are to be the Messianic Community (Church). Your husband is to be Messiah. And you are to be subject to your own husband, like the Messianic Community (Church) is subject to Messiah. Do you understand that?"

The says, "Yes, I've got that, but I don't like a boss telling me what to do."

The Director says, "It is not like a boss over an employee. It is more like a head over a body. It is a little different."

She says, "Well, what if he asks me to do something I don't want to do?"

He says, "You have to play the part. Even if he asks you to do something you want to do, your part is to be submissive to your husband in everything" (Eph.5:24).

"What if it gets rough?"

"I will help you. I am the Director. That is my job. I will stand alongside you."

It may get rough sometimes. I heard of a lady who had a nervous breakdown because her husband grumbled so much. She went to the doctor and he asked, "Do you ever wake up grumpy in the morning?" She said, "No, I let him sleep. I wouldn't wake him up for anything!"

You are not responsible for how your husband plays his rôle, but you are responsible for how well you play your rôle. You are to show the world the relationship of the Messianic Community (Church of Christ), and your part is to make the Messianic Community (Church) look best you can. It is the husband's part to make Messiah look as good to the world as he can by playing the part of Messiah.

You say, "What if he doesn't try very hard? What if he messes up? What if he gives me a tough time? You mean I still have to play my rôle?" Yes.

The Ruach haQodesh (Holy Spirit) says, "Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Master (Lord). For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Messiah is the head of the Messianic Community (Church): and He is the saviour of the body. Therefore as the Messianic Community (Church) is subject unto Messiah, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing."

She asks, "In every thing"?

"Yes, every thing."

I made a mistake as a young pastor that I corrected later. I told a lady, when her husband told her not to go to church, "You just tell him you are going to church anyway. You are going to live for Elohim (God)." I gave her unscriptural advice. You are to be to your husband what the Messianic Community (Church) is to Christ -- submissive, obedient.

It is like buttoning up a shirt - if you get one button right, you get the rest right. If you get your rôle right and keep it right, no matter how much pressure comes - and you can believe there is going to be pressure - it will work out right. A preacher once said, "Do good and it will be good."

Did you know the whole life is pressure? You are like a vessel on a potter's wheel. Elohim (God) is forming your life, and He makes you form the pressures that come to your life. When you say, "I do," and the curtain goes up, it is like getting inside a pressure cooker...

Submission is a right attitude, recognising that the husband is the head. That doesn't mean the wife can't make suggestions -- that she can't tell him what she wants. But the husband is to lead the home, and he is make the final decision.

Someone says, "Now, wait a minute. I have said, 'I do,' The drama is on. I know my rôle. Now, what is my husband's rôle?"

Well, if he were here, I would tell him. I might say that his script is a little longer than yours, a little more detailed. But there is no need to talk about him; he is not here. Your rôle is to be submissive. Look at Titus 2. Your rôle is to love your husband. Your rôle is to be discrete, chaste, keepers at home. Did you know a woman's home is her career? It should be...

I must confess I have not been as much like Messiah as I wanted to be. I must confess I haven't tried very hard at times. It is easy to forget your rôle. When your husband asks you to do something, it is easy to say, "Do it yourself. I am not your slave." Remember, you are not playing the rôle of the church when you do that.

I would like for you to leave here tonight thinking this: I don't know about anybody else, but I know my rôle. I know the curtain is lifted, and I'm on stage. The drama is in progress, and I am going to live it out till I die. When life is over, you will either have your rôle good or bad; but you will play it. Let's identify our rôle and give it our best.

I wish I had known, when I first got married, what I know now. I surely would like to have an opportunity to replay it. I don't like the way I have played my part. I haven't studied my lines very well. I have needed a lot of coaching from the Director, the Ruach haQodesh (Holy Spirit). But thank Elohim (God) for one thing, He is always alongside to help us.

I wonder how many here tonight are thinking the same thing I am thinking: I haven't played my rôle too well. Wouldn't it be good if you could go back home and say, "Now, listen, I can't go back and change yesterday. I can't change my husband's rôle. I can't play his part. I have to play my part, but I would like for it to be better."

I wonder what would happen if some of you went home and said, "I am going to start playing my rôle no matter what my husband does. I am going to be submissive. I am going to have the right attitude toward him. I am going to be an obedient wife. I am going to study this rôle of the Messianic Community (Church) and, with Elohim's (God's) help, play it."

I think you may find him making some changes if you do, I have never known it to be otherwise.

This page was created on 13 November 2018 Last updated on 13 November 2018

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