Keeping the Mission Alive: God’s Call for Men to Rise and Women to Keep Standing | Day 1 – In the Beginning: God’s Mission Was Shared

Before sin entered the world, before conflict, and before confusion about roles or authority—whether man should do this or woman should do that—there was purpose.

God created humanity with a shared mission.

Genesis 1:26-28 NKJV tells us, “Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them have dominion…’ So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.”

Notice something here: God didn’t just give dominion to Adam, or just to Eve. He gave it to them. Together. 

Humanity—male and female—was created to carry the image of God and to reflect His nature through unity, stewardship, and fruitfulness. 

What I am understanding, Family, is that the mission was never about superiority or control. It was about partnership under divine purpose.

Genesis 2:15–18 NKJV expands that picture. 

God placed Adam in the garden to work it and take care of it. Adam was called to guard, to nurture, to cultivate. His leadership began with obedience, not authority. Then God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make a helper suitable for him.” 

The word “helper” here doesn’t mean servant or subordinate—it means “one who comes alongside with strength.” It’s the same Hebrew word - ezer (ay zer) - used to describe God Himself as our Helper in times of trouble.

Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 NKJV reminds us, “Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, one will lift up his companion.” 

From the beginning, God’s mission was designed to thrive in partnership. Man and woman were meant to work side by side, lifting one another, reflecting divine unity in earthly stewardship.

So from the start, man was called to lead by listening to God, and woman was called to stand as a partner in strength and faith. The mission was shared: to keep God’s presence central, to multiply His image across the earth, and to align creation with His order.

But when that unity was broken in the Garden, the mission faltered. Not because God’s design failed—but because obedience was replaced by independence. 

Adam stopped listening. Eve reached for more than what God offered. The serpent sowed division, and both fell short of their divine assignment.

Romans 5:17-19 NKJV draws the contrast: “For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.” 

Adam’s disobedience fractured humanity’s unity with God, but Christ came to restore it—to realign men and women to their shared purpose under grace.

Yet even then, God didn’t abandon the mission. He spoke of redemption: how the seed of the woman would crush the serpent’s head. That promise was God saying, “My mission will not die. My image will not be erased. I will restore what was lost.”

Let’s fast-forward to the New Testament, where we hear Jesus echoing the same mandate: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations…” (Matthew 28:18-20). 

The Great Commission wasn’t given to men alone or women alone. It was given to all believers. Once again, the mission was shared.

And just so we are clear, I stuck a pin right there and studied this some more. Because someone might say well that was a command Jesus gave to His disciples.

If we read Acts 1:14-15 NKJV, we will see that both men and women were present when Jesus promised the Holy Spirit: “These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers… the number of names together was about a hundred and twenty.” 

And Acts 2:17-18 NKJV confirms that the Spirit—and the call to proclaim—was poured out on everyone: “And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, that I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy… And on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days; and they shall prophesy.” 

We remember, that even before Pentecost, Mary Magdalene was the first to declare His resurrection: John 20:17–18, NKJV “Jesus said to her, ‘Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, “I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.” Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that He had spoken these things to her.’”

Amen?!

Now, it is also important for us to understand and accept that Ephesians 5:21-23 reinforces divine order within that shared mission: “Submitting to one another in the fear of God. Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body.” 

However, this isn’t about hierarchy—who is at the top and who is beneath. Rather, it’s about harmony, which is much more beautiful and lends to the shared partnership God intended in the first place. 

Leadership and partnership, Family, work hand in hand when both are rooted in submission to Christ.

Today, we live in a time where that same pattern still plays out. When men rise and listen to God, the mission advances. When women stand in faith and endurance, the mission endures. But when either side withdraws—when men fall silent or women grow weary—the witness of Christ in the earth weakens.

So as far as I see, this isn’t about gender wars or who leads who or who is superior: male or female. Rather, it’s about obedience to the original assignment. 

Men are still called to rise, to lead in integrity, to protect, to model Christ’s love through humility and spiritual authority. And women are still called to stand, to intercede, to teach, to nurture, and to build with faith and strength. Together, we represent the fullness of God’s image on the earth.

The thing about it is, the enemy knows that when unity between men and women is broken, the mission of God is hindered. And that’s why he fights so hard to divide homes, silence men, and exhaust women. 

But, my brothers and my sisters, we are called to resist that pattern. We are called to keep the mission alive.

God’s heart has never changed: He wants His creation to flourish under His leadership. 

And the way that happens is through men who hear His voice and obey, and women who stand in faith and strength, advancing His kingdom side by side.