about

Do men and women share the same identity and purpose in life? Ask several different people and you’ll likely get several different answers.

Too often, Christian men and women have been told to find their identity and purpose in roles like husband or wife, or father and mother. These good roles are designed by God, and yet, such roles are not the starting place for human identity and purpose. Genesis 1:26-28 tells us man and woman were created in the image of God and given a divine mandate—a regency mandate—to rule over the earth in God’s stead, extending his grace over the entirety of creation. Anyone familiar with the first few pages of the Bible knows man and woman failed in their creative purpose. The good news in Christ and His Bride is:

  • God came in the flesh, in Christ, and in his birth, life, death, burial, resurrection, and ascension, Jesus accomplished what man and woman failed to do.
  • Christ’s kingship exemplifies a humble, self-sacrificing, servant hearted reign.
  • Now, Jesus calls his bride to proclaim the news of the kingdom so that every man and woman rule in humility and service, demonstrating the gospel with their very lives.

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author

Julia B. Higgins, PhD (The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) serves as Associate Professor of Christian Ministry at Samford University. Her passion is equipping students to teach the Bible, make disciples, and serve their local church. She co-edited and contributed to The Whole Woman: Ministering to Her Heart, Soul, Mind and Strength (B&H 2021) and she authored Empowered and Equipped: Bible Exposition for Women Who Teach the Scriptures (B&H Academic 2022). She has spoken at various events for Lifeway Women and serves as a doctrinal reader for ‘Missions Mosaic,’ a publication of the WMU. She and her husband, Tony, reside in the Birmingham area with their loveable Shih-tzu, Charlie.