Identity and Calling in God’s Kingdom with Julia Higgins
Today we’re continuing our biblical theology series with Dr. Julia Higgins, who walks us through how to consider our identity, purpose, and role in the kingdom as males and females. We hope this episode lifted your eyes to King Jesus and reminded you of the impact of your role in his kingdom. Find her newest book here.
Timestamps from the Conversation
04:26 — Identity, Calling, and the Regency Mandate
11:44 — Tracing God’s Kingdom Purposes from Genesis to Christ
23:18 — Women’s Roles, Gifts, and Ministry in the Church
27:13 — Why Sound Doctrine Shapes the Way We Live
37:55 — Living Faithfully in Our Different Callings
NOTES & QUOTES
“Women made in the image of God: that is our fundamental identity that's given to us in Genesis 1:26-27.”
“Often when we talk about this conversation, we jump right to these roles we play: husband or wife, mother or father, or professor. We put a lot of weight in our titles or roles in shaping and forming our thoughts about who we really are. And yes, those are roles that we take on, but I think we need to step back and see that the Scriptures tell us that our identity is not in those things.”
“The Scriptures tell us who we are. We are image bearers. We're made in God's image to represent him in the world.”
“Jesus the true King who calls out a bride that consists of men and women who are brothers and sisters in Christ and fathers and mothers in the church.”
“Where Israel and all the people failed in the Old Testament, by virtue of Jesus in his ascension as the King, we are seated with him and we are able to go by the power of his Spirit and accomplish kingdom work.”
“We reflect the image of our Creator in our agency, in our rationality, in our will, in our moral accountability. As men and women, we're all called to do that. We're all called to represent the goodness of God.”
“Our behavior cannot be divorced from what we believe. If we have wrong belief, then we're going to have wrong behavior.”
“Sometimes we're so focused on ‘What is this telling me to do? Just give me the checklist and I'll do it. I'll check it off. I'll behave rightly’ without first understanding that we can't do any behavior apart from who we are in Christ—that we're united to him. He's the one who did all of these things in our place, then he gives us his Spirit to accomplish that work.”
“When you go to the Scriptures, don't skip over those hard parts. Come to them curious. Even if you are very busy as a wife or mom, if there's something you read that you don't understand, become curious about that and pursue the answer. Simple as that.”
“To begin in pursuit of the answer, we want to go to commentaries or online helps. I would say the first help is to say, ‘Holy Spirit, lead me to understand this.’ And then he'll begin to guide you into the truth. And then that will come through probably the preaching of the Word in your local church and then through online helps and commentaries and things like that.”
“As a single up to age 40, I considered ‘How do I live out what is often talked about as God's design as wife and mother in the church, where it's heavily emphasized, when I'm not able to do that because of my life circumstances?’ And the encouragement I found from the Lord was going back to the Scriptures and seeing where Paul discusses that in 1 Corinthians, where he's almost sounding like he's persuading them, ‘Get married if you want to, but think about the good gift of singleness in that you can be wholly devoted towards the things of the Lord.’ So I began to reframe my thinking about singleness as a gift to be used for God's glory. As a daughter of the King, I'm actually a part of the real thing—married to Christ, the bridegroom.”
“We all have different circumstances to fulfill the callings that God has placed on us. And we're just called to be faithful and follow him in that.”
RESOURCES
Empowered and Equipped: Bible Exposition for Women Who Teach the Scriptures by Julia Higgins
Christ and His Bride: How Men and Women Tell the Story of the Gospel by Julia Higgins
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
Genesis 1:26-27
Luke 24:27
Genesis 2:18
Ephesians 5:25
1 Corinthians 12
Titus 2
Galatians 3:1-14
Genesis 3:15
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
What do you often consider to be your primary “identity”?
How does it impact you to hear Julia talk about the ways God has made males and females distinctly?
How does it encourage you to hear about our shared mission, regardless of gender, role, or purpose?
What Scriptures that were discussed most impacted you? Consider memorizing one of those verses or passages this week.
What might you do or implement based on what you learned in this week’s episode?
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IMPORTANT NOTE
Journeywomen interviews are intended to serve as a springboard for continued study in the context of your local church. While we carefully select guests each week, interviews do not imply Journeywomen's endorsement of all writings and positions of the interviewee or any other resources mentioned.
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