There have always been controversies along the subject of women’s place in society and even in the church. In the Purpose and Power of A Woman, Dr. Myles Munroe provides answers to many of these controversies which I’ll be highlighting here.
Firstly, you need to understand that God is a God of purpose. Everything He creates, He does because He has found a need for it. The purpose of every creation also determines its nature and potential.
The Nature of Women
When God created humans in Genesis 1:26-28, he first created the human spirit. Spirits do not have gender. So the human spirit is just “man” not a male or female.
Gender is in the human body not the human spirit and the human body is simply a container for the human spirit. So both males and females are the same with regard to their spirits. The difference comes when the spirit is put into containers. Men and women are the same but males and females are different.
Now, the separation of the human spirit into male and female containers is so they (both genders) can play specific roles that are unique to them but all contribute to the Dominion Mandate given to the human spirit. Males and females are equal but they are different.
This means that the woman is not the personal property of man, not a servant nor inferior to him, not a sex object, not lower in intelligence, not weaker nor worthy of abuse.
Roles and Purpose of A Woman by Dr. Myles Munroe
The roles of women can be classified into 3 broad categories under which are the purposes of women.
1. The woman is an enhancer
In the woman’s dominion role as an enhancer, she is a co-leader with the male. She shares his vision and works with him to accomplish what they were both created to do.
The woman takes who the man is and what the man has and enlarges and extends it. In this way, his leadership is effective and their shared vision becomes reality.
The first purpose of the female as an enhancer is to be a companion for the male so that he won’t be alone.
The second purpose of the female as an enhancer is to be good for the male.
The third purpose of the female as an enhancer is to share the man’s vision.
The woman enables the man to accomplish the vision and purpose for which they both were created. One of the ways a woman can help the man to fulfill the vision is to give him respect.
The fourth purpose of the female as an enhancer is to be the man’s helper.
When a wife decides she wants a completely different vision for her life than her husband’s vision, they will experience a di-vision. When the female decides she is tired of helping and is now going to become the boss, her home is in trouble.
The fifth purpose of the female as an enhancer is to be adaptable to the man.
A woman adapts herself to the source from which she came. If a woman enters a situation or environment, she is more prone to become like it than the male.
In all the ways in which the woman enhances the man’s life, she is also enhancing her own, since she is a co-leader and participant in the dominion vision.
2. The woman is a reflector
The human spirit was created out of the essence of God and in the image of God to receive God’s love and to reflect His nature. The female was created in the same pattern.
She was made out of the essence of the male and in the physical image of the male to receive the male’s love and to reflect his nature.
The first purpose of the female as a reflector is that she was made to be the object of the male’s love and to reflect the love that he gives her.
The second purpose of the female as a reflector is to represent the nature of the male.
She is to reflect the essence of all that God created the man to be in His image. A woman who is unhappy and depressed all the time is revealing the nature of her husband— he isn’t being a good husband.
3. The woman is a lifegiver
The third aspect of the female’s dominion role is that she is a life-giver but the woman’s dominion role of life-giving is not limited to delivering a human child. The woman is an “incubator,” because her very nature reflects her inclination to develop and give new life to things.
Her incubational ability permeates all areas of her life. She has a physical womb, but she also has an emotional “womb,” a mental and instinctual “womb,” and a spiritual “womb.” It is not only a matter of receiving but also of being able to
transform what she has received, which makes the woman an incubator.
A woman incubates in these main ways:
She sees possibilities and potential.
She ponders words, actions, and relationships between things.
She processes words, ideas, needs, and problems
She conceives and invents.
She develops ideas, plans, and programs.
She protects what she has received while it develops.
She produces something new from what she receives.
She multiplies what she is given.
Whatever you give a woman – Dr. Myles Munroe
Whatever you give a woman, she’s going to multiply. If you give her sperm, she’ll give you a baby. If you give her a house, she’ll give you a home. If you give her groceries, she’ll give you a meal. If you give her a smile, she’ll give you her heart. She multiplies and enlarges what is given to her.
Differences Between A Man and A Woman by Dr. Myles Munroe
Males and females have different needs and different ways of communication. What a woman says is an expression of what she feels, while what a man says is an expression of what he thinks.
The woman has thoughts, and the man has feelings. However, a woman will more likely express what she feels, and a man will more likely express what he thinks. They are communicating two completely different levels of information.
In addition to having different communication styles relating to what they speak about, females and males also have different styles in the way they hear what is said to them.
What a woman hears is received by her as an emotional experience, while what a man hears is received by him merely as information. They have two entirely different ways of processing the language that is spoken to them.
The woman emotionally receives language because she is designed to absorb the world around her and personalize it. She is designed to take in everything and incubate it.
Here are other differences between men and women.
In material things, women tend to look at the goals; men want to know how to get there.
In spiritual or intangible things, men look at the goals; women want to know how to get there.
Women are like computers; their minds keep processing in the background until a problem is solved. Men are like filing cabinets. They take problems, put them in the file, and close the drawer.
A woman’s home is an extension of her personality; a man’s job is an extension of his personality.
Women have a great need for security and roots; men can be nomadic.
Women tend to be guilt-prone; men tend to be resentful.
Women are constantly changing; men level off and stay the same.
Women tend to become involved with things more easily and more quickly; men tend to stand back and evaluate.
Yes, women should be in leadership because the Dominion Mandate and leadership spirit given in Genesis 1:26 was given to the human spirit not male or female. Right from the Old Testament, God endorsed women in leadership when He purposefully sent a woman (Miriam) to be a leader to His people.
Instead of asking if women should be in leadership, we should be asking how they are to exercise it, given their purpose and design. The spirit-man in every male and female is a leader. The execution of dominion is different for males and females based on their purpose and design.
Position Power Vs Influence Power
The male exercises position-power and the female exercises influence-power. Power and influence are equal but different. A woman and a man are equal in leadership. The difference is in their leadership functions.
Influence-power may be more subtle than position-power, but it has a potent effect. In fact, when a woman is not under the influence of the Holy Spirit, her influence can become dangerous.
There are several letters Paul wrote that connotes women should be in leadership. But we must understand that Paul’s writings on women reflect two contexts.
Firstly, it tells us of a woman’s equality with a man based on their redemption in Christ (thereby endorsing female leadership). Then there’s a cultural context (where women were given certain restrictions for the purpose of congregational order).
Even before Jesus died on the cross, He affirmed women in His earthly ministry in a way that was revolutionary to fallen man but was right in line with God’s purposes for humanity in creation.
10 Qualities of A Good Woman by Dr. Myles Munroe
The qualities of a good woman can be seen in the Proverbs 31 women.
She makes her husband comfortable because she’s trustworthy
She doesn’t pressure her husband to get material stuff
She does her husband only good
She’s not a lazy sleeper buy is always busy with productive activities
She speaks with wisdom and is not loud and defiant
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Olusegun Iyejare is a career coach and certified counselor. He helps individuals discover and maximize their potential to live satisfying lives regardless of obvious limitations holding them back.
