The Kingdom in Reverse

I (Jon) was teaching today on Genesis chapters 2 and 3. I live in a culture that is often unbiblical in it's thoughts, ideas, and actions towards women. So I seized the opportunity to switch from teaching mode to preaching mode to encourage these 35 students (31 of which are male) to clearly understand what God's Word says about the male and female genders, their roles and responsibilities, and the practical application according to Christ and His Apostles. I asked them to list for me the Biblical order of authority and/or roles. They rightly listed God the Father, Jesus (God the Son), Males, and then Females. It was interesting to see their reactions, when I then took this list (based on God's Word in 1 Cor. 11) and turned it upside down. I put God and Jesus on the bottom, then man just above them, and then woman just above man. I then went on to explain how God, from the beginning, has used His authority to bless and have grace and mercy. From the very beginning of creation to this very day. I showed them the humility of Christ and His servant's attitude - from the incarnation, to His birth in a cow's feeding trough, His life in a poor village from a region that was looked down upon, and ultimately His willingness to die on a cross for our sin. I then explained that the Bible teaches that we (men, that is) are to have the same attitude towards women that Christ had - giving of Himself to the point of death to humbly serve! I could tell that they understood it, but that it offended their cultural senses. It went against the unspoken norms that they have always known and lived by, even if not consciously. What a challenge this truth is to all men everywhere. But even more so for these men who are learning to truly love and honor God's Word and to have their traditions and ideas changed by it's truths rather than trying to change the truth of God's Word with their own ideas and traditions.